Game of the day...

[Juan F. Ramirez]

The only problem I see in that game is the use of white over a green background... far better black over green, IMO.

[RWAC]

I used to love International Tennis.
I think it plays better than Match Point although as Juan pointed out, the colour scheme is not ideal.

[Pegaz]

I agree that the color scheme is not ideal, though I would prefer to have configurable keys because I am used to playing Spectrum games on the keyboard.
My guess is, that the authors wanted the players to be fully painted in white gear and to keep the court in white too.
Black sprites would probably have to be transparent and just outlined, as I doubt they would look good if they were completely filled in some of the darker colors.
This also means, that court lines would also have to change from white to black (or some other color), to avoid color clash, so they probably chose this solution as a compromise.

[R-Tape]

Just played Octukitty through without cheats. Good fun. When I played it a while back, I used infy lives, but this game isn't that difficult or long. The map is well designed, especially with the extra life 'hooks' where you have to gamble on whether it's worth trying to collect it or not.

Spoiler

Don't forget to 'drop a kitty' on the last screen!

[moroz1999]

I'm playing an improved/bugfixed Hero Quest 1,2, unnofficial release by Mayhem (1997), using my ZX Evolution. The game is adapted for beta-disk with numerous of improvements:
Hero movement speed is improved
Arrow movement speed is improved
Original Holy water bug is fixed, it now works
Some usability fixes
Weapons can now be sold
And some other minor changes.

[moroz1999]

La Espada Sagrada [Toposoft, 1990]

Very cute and playable Spanish arcade/adventure.
No British magazine reviewed it.
MicroHobby gave it only 72%.
It probably deserved more.

I can tell for sure this game has one of the best pixel art on ZX.

[R-Tape]

Vade Retro

It's got a slightly crazy personality this game; there's a touch of 'Antiriad' about it, but with a sense of humour (things like the sword swipe). When I first played it in 2015, I thought it was too hard. Just been playing it (on my nice new shiny Next) and I made a lot more progress this time. You don't get a lot of energy, but it might be do-able on bread and water.

Well, it's Retroworks, it's going to be good innit.

[R-Tape]

Vade Retro

Just completed it. Delcram didn't put up much of a fight at the end! Great game, and easy to get through after several proper plays.

[mention]Metalbrain[/mention], why is it called "Vade Retro"? I understand why JBGV's game of the same name is so-called because it is obviously 'oldstyle retro'. Is it the same reason for the Retrowork's version? I suppose the graphical style is oldschool, and it seems to use ATTRs for collision, which is an oldschool technique!

[+3code]

Vade Retro

Just completed it. Delcram didn't put up much of a fight at the end! Great game, and easy to get through after several proper plays.

@Metalbrain, why is it called "Vade Retro"? I understand why JBGV's game of the same name is so-called because it is obviously 'oldstyle retro'. Is it the same reason for the Retrowork's version? I suppose the graphical style is oldschool, and it seems to use ATTRs for collision, which is an oldschool technique!

I thought it was for this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vade_retro_satana but, by the way, "vade retro" can be understand in spanish as "it's about retro".

[R-Tape]

I thought it was for this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vade_retro_satana but, by the way, "vade retro" can be understand in spanish as "it's about retro".

Aah I see—"Get back Satan", and used jokingly in conversation without the "satana". For some reason, I thought it meant "old retro". Ta.

[R-Tape]

The Vectornauts

Really nice AGD game. The graphical style, and the extra features (stun gun, computer interfaces, gravilifts) make it feel quite different to your average platformer.

[R-Tape]

I forgot ^this^ was a demo. I've just played it through and it mentions "now play the red version". Was there a finalised release?

[Morkin]

Goody by Opera Soft



Nice game mechanic with the ladder that you can use to scale high places, and the different tools to select.

A few difficulty spikes early on but gets better once you get indoors. I was put off a bit by the B&W though - the colourful version of the map makes it look much nicer... Is there a colour version of this game?

Seems like there's a decent game in here somewhere. I'd be tempted to try it with infinite lives perhaps, as the jumping controls are pretty broken and it can be difficult to avoid enemy fire sometimes, particularly that s0dding helicopter with its homing missiles.

[R-Tape]

I'll have to give Goody another go. Same as you, the early difficulty puts me off.

A few difficulty spikes early on but gets better once you get indoors. I was put off a bit by the B&W though - the colourful version of the map makes it look much nicer... Is there a colour version of this game?

Yep this is one of Ralf's mods. I put them here for now.

[R-Tape]

Elon M. with Jetpac

It doesn't look like much to start off with, but you really get into it. The inertia is really well done (don't know how that's done in AGD), and wanting to see the next level's baddies is a real hook. The AY is fantastic; sooo soothing without being bland. I'm trying to play without POKEs at the moment, and this game really could do with a few more than 3 lives.

[Morkin]

Yep this is one of Ralf's mods. I put them here for now.

Ah - fantastic.. Cheers (and thanks to Ralf too).

Looks loads better. And the extra lives help too..!

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Playing the excellent Rex by Martech



A game that I couldn't get back in the day. Really good (and hard!)

[Lethargeek]

Playing the excellent Rex by Martech
A game that I couldn't get back in the day. Really good (and hard!)

Great game! If you like it, you may want to try my old mod of the 2nd part (fixed/improved gfx) found on this page:
https://vtrd.in/games.php?t=remix
and/or "Rex Freeway" mod incorporating it and allowing free movement between the rooms (going back).

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Thanks for the link, I'll try them!

[R-Tape]

Dark Castle

IMO hidden platforms are normally the worst design decision ever, but they are the fundamental basis of this game—and it's great!

I wish it didn't have lives or the clock, as it's not so much fun going back to the start each time.

[akeley]

Playing the excellent Rex by Martech

Rex was so amazing, felt like next-gen Spectrum game at the time. Thanks for reminding me of its name, now I see I have confused it with Myth.

[R-Tape]

Free Climbing, a Spanish rock climbing game.

I didn't realise the phrase "free" was coined in this context so long ago, I only learned of it when Alex Honnold scaled El Capitan in 2017*. These days, you'd be forgiven for thinking that being a rock-climber is bleedin' compulsory—I feel like a conscientious objector at work! I never got into it, and unfortunately my skills on a real wall are about as good as mine in this game. It's not clear to me what makes you fall yet. Still, it's surprisingly fun to play and make progress up the wall.

Keys OP=arms, ZX=legs, M=climb up.

It's a really interesting idea. A quick google shows that rock climbing games are not an unexplored genre. There could be some interesting ideas for new Speccy games though.

(btw I know this game needs a running screenshot; just taken one :–)))

*ah hold on; free climbing is not what I thought it was: free climbing is climbing without any artificial aids like ladders or bolts in the rockface, it can still be with a rope for safety (as the games inlay shows), free solo is free climbing without artificial aids and without a safety option. The mad Ba**ards.

[Ast A. Moore]

free climbing is not what I thought it was: free climbing is climbing without any artificial aids like ladders or bolts in the rockface

Yeah. I did that at the uni. Gets fun after a while in a specially equipped gym. Then you get to climb real rocks and your overconfidence can get the better of you. I got lucky and . . . well, I’m typing this post, aren’t I? But dang it, that moment you realize you can’t go up, you can’t climb down, no one’s spotting you, and there’s a good sixty feet between you and the solid-rick ground below.

Ah, youth . . .

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Interesting, never heard of that game.

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Oddi the Viking, a cool puzzle game from 2010. Addictive.