The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

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The best classic Speccy game beginning with D

Poll ended at Mon Feb 12, 2018 10:03 am

Daley Thompson's Decathlon by Ocean
3
9%
Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge by Ocean
1
3%
Daley Thompson's Supertest by Ocean
0
No votes
Dambusters, The by US Gold
0
No votes
Dandy by Electric Dreams
1
3%
Danger Mouse in Double Trouble by Creative Sparks
0
No votes
Dan Dare by Virgin
3
9%
Dan Dare 2 by Virgin
1
3%
Dan Dare 3 by Virgin
0
No votes
Dark Sceptre by Firebird
0
No votes
Dark Star by Design Design
0
No votes
Day In The Life, A by Micromega
1
3%
Deactivators by Reaktor
0
No votes
Deathchase by Micromega
8
24%
Death Star Interceptor by System 3
0
No votes
Death Stalker by Code Masters
1
3%
Death Wish III by Gremlin
0
No votes
Deflektor by Gremlin
2
6%
Demon's Revenge by Firebird
0
No votes
Deus Ex Machina by Automata UK
1
3%
Deviants by Players
1
3%
Dizzy by Codemasters
3
9%
Dictator by DK'Tronics
1
3%
Dominator by System 3
0
No votes
Doomdark's Revenge by Beyond Software
1
3%
Doomsday Castle by Fantasy Software
0
No votes
Draconus by Zeppelin
0
No votes
Dragontorc by Hewson
2
6%
Driller by Incentive
1
3%
Druid by Firebird
0
No votes
Dun Durach by Gargoyle
0
No votes
Dustin by Dinamic
0
No votes
Dynamite Dan by Mirrorsoft
1
3%
Dynamite Dan II by Mirrorsoft
1
3%
 
Total votes: 33

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PeteProdge
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The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by PeteProdge »

Daley Thompson's Decathlon by Ocean
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Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge by Ocean
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Daley Thompson's Supertest by Ocean
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Dambusters, The by US Gold
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Dandy by Electric Dreams
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Danger Mouse in Double Trouble by Creative Sparks
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Dan Dare by Virgin
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Dan Dare 2 by Virgin
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Dan Dare 3 by Virgin
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Dark Sceptre by Firebird
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Dark Star by Design Design
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Day In The Life, A by Micromega
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Deactivators by Reaktor
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Deathchase by Micromega
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Death Star Interceptor by System 3
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Death Stalker by Code Masters
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Death Wish III by Gremlin
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Deflektor by Gremlin
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Demon's Revenge by Firebird
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Deus Ex Machina by Automata UK
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Deviants by Players
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Dizzy by Codemasters
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Dictator by DK'Tronics
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Dominator by System 3
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Doomdark's Revenge by Beyond Software
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Doomsday Castle by Fantasy Software
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Draconus by Zeppelin
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Dragontorc by Hewson
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Driller by Incentive
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Druid by Firebird
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Dun Darach by Gargoyle
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Dustin by Dinamic
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Dynamite Dan by Mirrorsoft
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Dynamite Dan II by Mirrorsoft
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Juan F. Ramirez
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Really great games there, but my vote went to Daley Thompson's Decathlon. I think it marked a milestone in Ocean history.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

... and mark a milestone in keyboard membranes too! :lol:
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by PeteProdge »

This has been a tough one for me. I'm not seeing much in the way of a standout title.

I played the hell out of Dizzy back in the day, as well as Treasure Island Dizzy, and although I'm grateful for the ovoid-shaped explorer for prolonging the life of the Speccy's commercial market (and I can give a nod to the Oliver Twins as being thoroughly nice chaps to speak to - buy their book!) I did feel it got to a point where the franchise was being milked. A lot of the sequels were fitting a template and repeating themselves.

I really should not allow my experience of the whole franchise to taint the many weeks (if not months) of gameplay I had on the first Dizzy. Yet, it's like that sitcom The Big Bang Theory, which I found genuinely funny for the first three series, and then, the constant formulaic writing started to grate, I could see the jokes coming along and I just fell out of love with it. To vote for Dizzy would be like voting for an ex-girlfriend. I don't begrudge anyone who does, of course, this is all an objectively democratic poll that's on for the next seven days, after all.

I've gone for Dandy - a nice pre-Gauntlet game that I got to play briefly when I was lent a games compilation. I found it a cerebral alternative to most offerings that fitted the Gauntlet mould (and let's be clear, Gauntlet is pretty much an official spin-off of Dandy anyway).
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Rorthron »

I went for Dynamite Dan II.

At this rate the winner will be the first to get two votes!
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Ralf »

I went for Dizzy.

Maybe I'm not following the rules but for me, in my heart, it's a vote for all Dizzy games. They are so similar that they seem like chapters of one big megagame for me.

I'll confess something now. I never remember actualy names of Dizzy games - something like "Fantasy World Dizzy", "Spellbound Dizzy" and so on. I've always called them Dizzy 1, Dizzy 2, Dizzy 3 and so on. So they all begin on 'D' for me but are absent here of course ;)
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by R-Tape »

Dynamite Dan for me. I played this a lot BITD.

Great graphics and personality, and those sound effects may be the last memory to decay in my head.

As usual, I haven't played every game in the list, including Dynamite Dan II, but it feels a bit wrong for what appears to be a regular sequel to usurp the original as best. If I find time this week I'll play DDII and change my vote accordingly.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by PeteProdge »

Rorthron wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2018 10:36 amAt this rate the winner will be the first to get two votes!
Well, that would be Dizzy now!
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

A very dispersed voting, definitely...
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Blerkotron »

Dan Dare for me. Beautiful, smooth, great fun to play - I lost days to that and still love a game even now.

Decathlon would've been my second choice - can't quite forgive it for breaking my keyboard membrane. :)
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Morkin »

So after suggesting Doomdark's Revenge for the poll, I've gone and voted for Dragontorc. :oops:

I thought it was an excellent successor to Avalon, very atmospheric, and felt a bit more 'open world' (to an extent) once you could travel the leylines to different areas. I liked the mixture of distinct above/below ground areas. Only managed to finish it with a few (magazine) hints though.

...I'm assuming it won't win though, I'm guessing that sodding egg game will win.. :lol:
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by AndyC »

There are some good games to choose from, but Dizzy is the absolute stand out. I get the "he was in too many sequels" counter-argument, but the reason for that is because of how good the original was. It's arguably not the best of the series, but a best games list that didn't feature Dizzy would just be missing one of the biggest impacts on the market the was.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by stupidget »

Some really great Loading Screens there as well. I still love the Deathchase one. Blew me away when I saw it 35 years ago :shock: :shock: :shock:
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by PeteProdge »

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Tue Feb 06, 2018 9:30 pm A very dispersed voting, definitely...
Yeah, for me I don't see any strong stand-out titles this time and I think it's the same, broadly speaking, for the rest of you. Quite the opposite of the C vote.

If I had to put money on the winner, I think it'll be Dizzy. Not that this should have any influence on voting, always vote for the game you like the best, even if you feel it's going to be mentioned with just 1 point on Monday.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Ast A. Moore »

Oh, I loved Deviants. A very cool game.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Sokurah »

Ast A. Moore wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:49 pm Oh, I loved Deviants. A very cool game.
Pretty good game - it's so fun running around, but the map is perhaps a tad too big.
... oh, and I hate those damn puzzle sections.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Ast A. Moore »

Sokurah wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:04 pm and I hate those damn puzzle sections.
Heh. I know many people complained about the bomb deactivation sequence. But I kind of figured it out pretty quickly and intuitively, so those rarely presented a problem.

The map is pretty big, yes.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Wow! deathchase has just turned the poll around!
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by PeteProdge »

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2018 4:47 pm Wow! deathchase has just turned the poll around!
I never 'got' Deathchase, but was very entertained by retrogaming's prolific Vimto-loving flat-topped SNP supporter giving it full-on praise.

This has been a lovely poll so far, quite a few games getting clicked on that you wouldn't suspect.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Ralf »

I would never personally vote for Deathchase but I can understand that some people value it that much.

It was a very impressive game for 1983. Fast crazy action and true 3D view which was very uncommon then.

Today for me? Funny for 5 minutes ;)
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Juan F. Ramirez »

Yes, Deathchase is technically great for a game from 1983. But I think there are more about it. It's bloody addictive once you start to play it. Even the crazy 'bumblebee' sound help make it addictive! :D
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Pegaz »

Dan Dare and Dynamite Dan II are by far the best games beggining with D.
My vote always goes to the first part of Dan Dare, as the best in the series and one of my favorite games for Spectrum, ever. :)
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by walrus »

This has probably been the toughest choice yet, there a number of good choices for me but no real stand out titles. I am looking for something which lifts a title above the others and although there are some excellent later titles I find myself keep being drawn back to Deathchase. I guess I am choosing the excitement of playing that game for the first time over the technical accomplishments some of the later titles. It may not be the deepest game but it is one I still enjoy playing.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by PeteProdge »

Ralf wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2018 10:25 am I would never personally vote for Deathchase but I can understand that some people value it that much.

It was a very impressive game for 1983. Fast crazy action and true 3D view which was very uncommon then.

Today for me? Funny for 5 minutes ;)
Yeah, as a latecomer to the Spectrum, right at its arguable commercial pinnacle (late '87) I initially didn't get the love for the ground-breaking early games like Deathchase and even Ultimate's stuff just made me go "yeah, that's alright I guess". With hindsight, that must have been incredible to experience in a time when most games were cheap and nasty arcade clones and graphics - even on machine code efforts - were really UDG-ish.
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Re: The best classic Speccy game beginning with D: vote

Post by Ralf »

I know what you mean. I got my Spectrum in 1986 and completely missed the experiences of first years.

Actually some game like Manic Miner or Jet Set Willy are much more popular in UK than let's say Poland or Russia. For you it was unique, new and great when it appeared. We got our Spectrums later and there was much more choice and more polished games already available.
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