Awful games that looked great in screenshots

[PeteProdge]

Yeah, I had to do the vice versa of this topic. What are the awful ZX Spectrum games that somehow looked amazing in their typical screenshots?

[Lee Bee]

LOL interesting topics as always!

[Daveysloan]

US Gold were absolute masters of this, so many games seemed to be designed with the inlay screenshots/ adverts/computer mags in mind rather than the gameplay.

Outrun is a prime example.

[Mpk]

vice versa of this topic.

It's an infinite loop!

[Lee Bee]

And of course, inlay screenshots tended to favour the systems with the best graphics. When I played my first Spectrum game and found it was monochrome, I thought it was broken! I mustn't have noticed the subtle disclaimer: "Screenshots from the arcade version" (if there even was one)!

[clebin]

I remember YS issue 1 had that rolling gallery of the other new Firebird 'Hot' releases on Side B.

I thought Gerry The Germ looked great. It took me about 30 years finally play it and, er, it's not.

Same could be said about Rasputin. I doubt many copies of the game were sold on the back of that demo.

[PeteProdge]

It's an infinite loop!

Code: Select all

10 GOTO 20
20 GOTO 10

[TMD2003]

Code: Select all

10 GOTO 20
20 GOTO 10

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JR 254

Infinite loop, two bytes.

[Dr beep]

Code: Select all

JR 254

Infinite loop, two bytes.

JP (HL)

infinite loop 1 byte

[Joefish]

I quite liked playing the Rasputin demo. Never bought the whole game though!
It really did suffer for want of directional control and separate jump/shield/stab buttons though.
And it wouldn't have taken much effort to align the oblique perspective with the character cells and add a bit of colour.

Come to think of it, in a game of this design, the jump could have been completely automated. You simply step up one block at a time. If there's more of an obstruction, or a two-block step, you jump up it. If there's a one or two block step down, you step down, otherwise, walking off the end of a platform automatically jumps.

[Rorthron]

It's not awful, but Riddler's Den didn't live up to the dragon screenshots.

[XTM]

Any game that looked great in screenshot but ran at 12 fps or less (excluding 3D games, they're a different kettle of fish)?

[WhatHoSnorkers]

Yeah, I had to do the vice versa of this topic. What are the awful ZX Spectrum games that somehow looked amazing in their typical screenshots?

Merlin and the other games with the same engine look amazing... but play poorly.

[Mpk]

Jack and the Beanstalk looked great. But it's the worst game of all time!

[zxbruno]

Darius+

https://microhobby.speccy.cz/mhf/207/MH207_17.jpg

[Juan F. Ramirez]

It's an infinite loop!

Now I don't know which thread I'm in!

[WhatHoSnorkers]

"Glass" looked fantastic but seemed a little disappointing to play. But looked AMAZING.

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Breakthru by US Gold. I've never got it.

[luny]

One of the originals was probably Jack and the Beanstalk. Four hi-res screen with colourful graphics and terrible, terrible game play.

[spider]

Another vote for Outrun.

I remember someone remarking at the Speccy screenshots and joking it being the underwater version!

The game itself aside from the lack of colour (expected) it just ran so slowly.

[Pobulous]

Merlin was first one that came to mind.

Willow Pattern. Airwolf. Fall Guy.

[spider]

Jack and the Beanstalk looked great. But it's the worst game of all time!

Another vote for this.

The first time I saw this game was on the (purchased!) Soft-Aid tape. I think in all the years since I've only ever got to the top of the beanstalk once, maybe twice and then died almost straight away on the second screen. I have seen the (now sadly denied) .rzx , but the actual 'climbing cell vs air cell' seems not quite what it should be. I think I may of tried the CPC or CBM version at one point too I can't recall.

[worcestersource]

I thought Backpacker’s looked good but I don’t recall it being great to play.

Steve

[equinox]

Good question. However, we have been ignoring the "elephant in the room", which is that big-box games usually had three or four shots on the back, and one of them would be yellow horror (Spectrum) and another one would look like total God art (Amiiiiiiigah). So, in big-box multi-platform releases, we would possibly be lucky even to get a shot at all. Then again, some multi-platform games did look really good on the Speccy, like Rainbow Islands.

See also: screenshots plastered over with text in pointy explosions ("IT'S AMAZING! THEY PAID ME TO SAY THIS!" -- Lyndon Sharp).

[equinox]

Also gotta mention that particular range (it was one of the Firebird sub-labels, like Silverbird, or Bluebird, or Pissbird) that showed actual machine screenshots instead of made-up graphics. Very, very brave in the '80s. They looked like ****ing sh*t mate. "Don't buy this!"