Games of note

[akeley]

For some years now I've been toiling away on my quest of playing every single ZX Spectrum game (chronologically). I'm now on letter N of year 1985, which isn't really far, but it'd probably be faster if I also didn't take detours doing the same with other 8-bit micros

Anyway, as you might imagine, I see a lot of amazing/amusing/kerrazy games I've never heard of on my travels, which is a chief reason of doing this thing. Eventually I plan on include them all in some sort of book/collection/whathaveyou, but given the glacial pace of progress I thought it could be a better idea to talk about some of them as I go.

So, starting as of today we have:

Nicotine Nightmare / Atlantis Gold

An anti-smoking game. Anti- games tend to be quite dour, but this one is quite fun and good looking actually, well, at least the first round where you have to put out ciggies while a funky lil' devil keeps relightning them. I didn't make it farther so maybe it's a turd later, but I think that first level and overall presentation warrant checking it out.




No 1 / Automata

This one is really impressive. Amazing engine, presentation and fluid gameplay. You're some sort of a skater on an alien planet, who's zooming toward the horizon, collecting doo-dahs and avoiding stuff. Really slick.

[akeley]

Nonterraqueous / Mastertronic

Deserves a mention for the cool title alone, but overall is not too shabby on all the other important counts too (plus it was a budget game). I particularly like the satisfying, Defender-like shooting, and the fact the baddies do not respawn (yay!). The real downer are some insta-death obstacles though (see SCR$ below).



Paws / Artic Computing Ltd

An interesting cat sim, with a city full of cute High St landmarks to explore.



Physical Frenzy / SM Software

A very simple game where you try to guide that springy thingymajig toy through many obstacles. The gameplay is basic fun, but the "of note" factor comes with a really super-simple and yet visually striking aesthetic. If it was a modern game it could be an indie darling.

[Daveysloan]

Keeping an eye on this thread, I love people uncovering interesting games like this.

[R-Tape]

Nonterraqueous is one of the few games I remember vividly. That funny looking ship, the swapping mechanic, the jetpac-esque laser, those bloody lethal white barriers (which aren't as fearsome as I recalled when playing it today), and that amazing fullscreen CGI bomb effect. The thing that strikes me most is how fair it is in terms of baddy spawning and deaths.

I'd see Paws before too, but second time around (i.e. post 2010). It's got a really cool map to explore like Sabre Wulf, but the similarity ends there because in Paws you DO get a moment's respite to pause and take in the scenery.

Physical Frenzy is a brilliant find. Exactly what I was hoping to see in this thread (and hopefully, your book). "Indie darling" sums it up perfectly. With pretty much the same presentation it could be a hit mobile game. I just played it through with snapshots, but I would have had a blast playing this on bread&water BITD (before I went soft).

Another fair game... what's going on?!

A very simple game where you try to guide that springy thingymajig toy through many obstacles.

Slinky!

[akeley]

Let's revisit the letter C (the year's still 1985 thou), mainly because I simply must mention the brilliant...

Chickin Chase / Firebird

Not sure why, but I just love it. It's deceptively simple but also clever, charming, and funny peck'em down. It's amazing how much gameplay they managed to squeeze in a single screen. You have to defend your coop from various pests or else missus won't be happy. Reminds me of best Hudson Soft games, but is actually a port form Oric.



Cosmic Wartoad / Ocean

This game has it all: an oddball title, intro!, "overland map", and a heap of shooty minigames. Somehow it all actually works, even if I'm not quite sure what I'm doing most of the time.




The Custard Kid / New Generation Software

We had Cosmic Wartoad, time for Custard Boy. Who investigates a custard factory. Why custard factory? Well, perhaps the chocolate one was copyrighted? Sort of slo-mo Atic Atac (though definitely not "turn-based" as ZXDB states), with interesting mechanics thrown in - custard detectors, bribing coppers, etc.



There's more but formatting posts is rather time consuming (how do you do it, @PeteProdge ? neural link?), so honourable mentions go to: C5 Clive, Chart Topper, Chewing Gum, Chip's Valley, City Of Death, Crossfire.

[R-Tape]

time for Custard Boy. Who investigates a custard factory. Why custard factory? Well, perhaps the chocolate one was copyrighted? Sort of slo-mo Atic Atac (though definitely not "turn-based" as ZXDB states),

I think Turn based is correct. You can play as 4 players, in turns, as part of the same game (I just haven't worked out how to switch players yet!). It's not like e.g. Chuckie Egg which is "Alternating" turn mode.

[PeteProdge]

There's more but formatting posts is rather time consuming (how do you do it, @PeteProdge ? neural link?)

I have Sublime Text 3 running, which I usually compose most of my fancy posts. Plus you get to learn the vital BBcode tags off by heart, like [fimg=320,240] being a really good size to show off Speccy screenshots. I used to make websites 'by hand' in notepad back in the 1990s and still tinker about in that fashion when needed. That helps.

Anyway, a more important matter is that you're looking at ZX Spectrum games beginning with C made in 1985 and you haven't yet mentioned the greatest one of all.

[akeley]

Anyway, a more important matter is that you're looking at ZX Spectrum games beginning with C made in 1985 and you haven't yet mentioned the greatest one of all.

Yes, Commando was quite awesome

The purpose of this thread is not to list all the greatest hits, but some of the more notable outliers.

[Lee Bee]

Akeley, I absolutely love this "mission" of yours, searching for hidden gems; overlooked games. Great thread!

[Timmy]

Yes, Commando was quite awesome

The purpose of this thread is not to list all the greatest hits, but some of the more notable outliers.

Still, Cyclone was great too.

Even if I already talked about it before in some other thread, and is not as obscure as other games here.

That said, I really like this idea of this thread, and I might make another thread myself but about text adventures, or something.

[PeteProdge]

Yes, Commando was quite awesome

It certainly was!

The purpose of this thread is not to list all the greatest hits, but some of the more notable outliers.

Fair point, I keep banging on about Chaos too much and it's cited a lot after its covertape appearance boosted its profile. I suppose it's time to consider a few obscurities like this.