The screenshots look good, but it's a terrible game

[PeteProdge]

I think I've summed it up in the subject line, but to clarify - think of a ZX Spectrum game that looks good as a static screenshot, yet is really disappointing to play. (And I don't mean cases where they've stuck a beautiful and colourful Amiga screenshot on the inlay, or whatever.) Something that looked awesome when shown in a magazine, especially in the context of a preview ('cos you wouldn't ignore a stinking review, right?*)

Out Run is my top nomination. Sharply defined graphics here...

...but driving is like swimming through a reservoir of treacle.

Then there's Pac-Man, which looks like they've got the conversion as good as can be expected...

...but that screenshot doesn't tell you it's an unforgiveable flip-screen hell.

Take it away!..

* = Sometimes I did.

[DouglasReynholm]

Drift.







.. what? Too soon?

[Ralf]

Street Fighter 2



Good, big and detailed sprites and graphics. But try to play it. It's slow as a drunken turtle and very random - you have just one fire button and when
you press it, you never know if your character will punch, kick or do something else. Add some multiload from hell, you spend more time loading then playing if you do it on real Spectrum.

[Alessandro]

"Terrible" Out Run? Completely disagree, I said that a hundred times and now it's the 101st, that's the best it could be done on the humble Spectrum given the complexity of the original coin-op. Cannot in any way be compared to that waste of code that was Pac-Land, which frankly looks dire even from the screenshots, ugly sketchy yellow and black graphics, eurgh!

Street Fighter II, a brave attempt indeed, unfortunately the multi-load and the slowness seriously plagued it. When played on an emulator at accelerated speed it's much better, however. Should try it on the Next

Agree about Drift though, it looks good, technically amazing, but for me it's practically unplayable.

Apart from this I cannot think of a Spectrum game looking good but being a chore to play... usually when it looks good, it is good, and conversely, it might be graphically sparse but loads of fun, there are countless examples, especially from the early years

[8BitAG]

"Terrible" Out Run? Completely disagree, I said that a hundred times and now it's the 101st, that's the best it could be done on the humble Spectrum given the complexity of the original coin-op. Cannot in any way be compared to that waste of code that was Pac-Land, which frankly looks dire even from the screenshots, ugly sketchy yellow and black graphics, eurgh!

Well, the colour was in there originally... but, yeah... still eurgh really.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I12yn_IK5_k

[Juan F. Ramirez]

I agree with Alessandro as to Out Run, a very decent conversion.

I have two Ocean games to add to the list: V & Knight Driver.



V is sadly a good example. Great TV show (ok, it hasn't aged well, but back in the day was awesome!) that deserved a better game. The graphics I saw in the magazines foresaw a very good adventure but the result was quite dissapointing, a boring & monotone map .

I'm still looking for the wizards, where are they?

The same to Knight Driver.

[PeteProdge]

"Terrible" Out Run? Completely disagree, I said that a hundred times and now it's the 101st, that's the best it could be done on the humble Spectrum given the complexity of the original coin-op.

You're wrong. This is why. And this.

[...]and conversely, it might be graphically sparse but loads of fun, there are countless examples, especially from the early years

Oh yes, there's a lot of scope for a 'vice versa' edition of this subject, which I might start next weekend.

[PeteProdge]

Just remembered an obscure one that hit the budget market. Barely even talked about, it's Firebird's Merlin...



Lovely huge sprite, lots of colourful graphics.

In that particular screenshot, things do look good, but it's an OVER 1 affair for when the sprite walks past backgrounds, and most importantly, the game isn't all that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEMilVjiVH4

[Lethargeek]

Drift.

Come on, while definitely hard (mostly because the track is too hard to see, one can get used to the controls), Drift isn't by any means "terrible"

Apart from this I cannot think of a Spectrum game looking good but being a chore to play... usually when it looks good, it is good, and conversely, it might be graphically sparse but loads of fun, there are countless examples, especially from the early years

how about this?

...and it's still a huge disappointment even if the screenshots were worse (showing all the color clash in the games)

[Ast A. Moore]

but it's an OVER 1 affair for when the sprite walks past backgrounds

Aw, come on. The sprites are huge. Of course they’re XORed. Imagine adding a mask to each one of them and then copying the background to a buffer and back. That’d take ages and gobble up RAM like nobody’s business.

[PeteProdge]

but it's an OVER 1 affair for when the sprite walks past backgrounds

Aw, come on. The sprites are huge. Of course they’re XORed. Imagine adding a mask to each one of them and then copying the background to a buffer and back. That’d take ages and gobble up RAM like nobody’s business.

Pfft, get Don Priestley on the case!

[Ast A. Moore]

Pfft, get Don Priestley on the case!

He’ll insist that we the game be renamed Merlin’s Madcap Chase.

[Joefish]

but it's an OVER 1 affair for when the sprite walks past backgrounds

Aw, come on. The sprites are huge. Of course they’re XORed. Imagine adding a mask to each one of them and then copying the background to a buffer and back. That’d take ages and gobble up RAM like nobody’s business.

You just draw it character-by-character into the empty spaces. It's not as if it's got pixel-precise movement.

[Joefish]

Funny that Amiga screenshots on packaging was mentioned, since that was the machine that was absolutely the worst for its own games looking great in screenshots but playing terribly!

[Alessandro]

Pete Prodge: You are wrong you cannot compare those two games (especially the second, which always revolves around the same basic track) with the diversity and scope of Out Run, with its different 15 tracks. Now, for the 102nd time...

Lethargeek: Giant's revenge looking good? Huge portions of empty space with garish color combinations and unintelligible sprites... Eurgh!

[Joefish]

Out Run on the Speccy has far less going on on the screen compared to those other games. And it uses multi-loads for the varied sections of the course. There's just no excuse for its poor frame-by-frame performance.

[Alessandro]

Out Run on the Speccy has far less going on on the screen compared to those other games. And it uses multi-loads for the varied sections of the course. There's just no excuse for its poor frame-by-frame performance.

The "poor" performance is only really noticeable in the gallery level, which has a lot of stuff "going on" on the screen in fact. As is it always the case with what seems the most divisive Spectrum game ever - together with Lunar Jetman maybe, which I like even more -, its detractors only remember that one out of 15 tracks As for the multi-load, on the 128K the Spectrum will "remember" the tracks already loaded up to 5 if memory serves me well, so you can complete the game without loading the tracks from tape again if you do not change the tracks on your course after loading them. it's really a 48K issue only. And what about the +3 disk version? That game was really made for disk

[Lethargeek]

Lethargeek: Giant's revenge looking good?

yeah, for 1984

[Alessandro]

Lethargeek: Giant's revenge looking good?

yeah, for 1984

Argh... Even Jet Set Willy looked much better than that load of code waste

[Lethargeek]

Argh... Even Jet Set Willy looked much better than that load of code waste

not the static screens, jsw is obviously built of square tiles, beanstalk games' screens look more like paintings

[Alessandro]

Argh... Even Jet Set Willy looked much better than that load of code waste

not the static screens, jsw is obviously built of square tiles, beanstalk games' screens look more like paintings

Paintings done by someone who doesn't even know how to hold a brush in his hand, I'd say

[Nick]

The author of Merlin, Mike Westlake, was also responsible for Pieces Of Eight and SAS Combat Assault, both of which were very similar in look and gameplay.





He also coded Tarantula which "borrowed" some code from Elite's Rollercoaster.

[Lethargeek]

not the static screens, jsw is obviously built of square tiles, beanstalk games' screens look more like paintings

Paintings done by someone who doesn't even know how to hold a brush in his hand, I'd say

that's primitivist pop-art for you, dude anyway, still better than boring tiles

[PeteProdge]

Pete Prodge: You are wrong you cannot compare those two games (especially the second, which always revolves around the same basic track) with the diversity and scope of Out Run, with its different 15 tracks.

Really? ZX Spectrum Chase HQ successfully delivers all the facets you'd expect from a good conversion of Out Run. It's got the hills, traffic, the 'street furniture', the road forks in two and most importantly, it's got very impressive speed. Plus, you have a textured landscape as a bonus. (Yes, it's not a beat-the-clock racing game as such, but could be retooled that way, the technical feats are already proven.)

The one downside I'll admit - no music. But we'd accept that over what actually happened.

Look at the brilliance going on here...

https://youtu.be/onhV55pUejk?t=52

I'd take WEC Le Mans as a close second, which, again, achieves the technical feats and is more in tone with the 'beat-the-clock race' that is Out Run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgyfkiAzydI

[Morkin]

How about Explorer? I thought the graphics looked great. Couldn't really find much of a game in there though...



(Waits for Dunny to appear and voice disagreement )