Reviews

So you, gentlemen want another vampire-themed game? How about one apart from the classic era?
Take a look at Ramiro, el Vampiro(2013)
Great example of the capabilities of La Churrera engine. Free source code!

Exploration games.
One of the most rewarding activities in quarantine times. Note for readers: written during covid-19 outbreak
Especially when it comes to classic and inmortal ones. And this is one of the Best examples so far.

Such a great fun!!
I just talked about exploration and Highway Encounter include itself, tough a linear exploration, you know.
Indeed, an adult game, or serious/elegant game as they said

more Exploration Games ...
Note for readers: written during covid-19 outbreak 
Few things better than explore the Streets of ANTESCHER with this ancient but eternal isometric game

Plenty of Keys and related actions!
warranted fun during quarantine

Let's continue "exploring the exploration side" of these Covid-19 times and its isolation consequences

With Fairlight you have not only the Best map ever, also the smartest implementation of inertia and gravity. Fairlight takes the Open World philosophy to New heights. And the SandBox concept, taken to extremes never seen before

Basically you can do whatever you want compared to other programs

Do you need more hints about the supremacy of this swedish creation? Play it, You don't even need to know any objective

Continuing with the COVID lockdown and the exploration games-based treatment, we reach Sabre Wulf

A true Masterpiece, this is Probably the Great Spectrum title prior to the pseudo-3 D era.
Not 100 % rrvolutionary per se, but a formidably well equilibrated software with no weak points

... " And finally autumn fell over us and with it the second wave of COVID-19. "

So we're all going to have to confine ourselves to our homes... And what better occupation to spend time with than playing this magnificent compilation and remembering 2 of the best Adventure and Exploration games that have ever been put together...

La Abadia del Crimen (The Abbey of Crime) exhibits a formidable technical display, only within the reach of the best titles, and its atmosphere envelops you like few times before. Its details are overwhelming and it makes you believe that you are playing on a superior machine, such as any the ones of 16 bits.

Sir Fred also got some firsts back in its day, like a rudimentary system of physics. Good playability and ability to keep you interested and trying the varied tricks and moves.

Getting bored is impossible with this couple.

Since I see that the initiative to remember this duo called 'Abadia del Crimen + Sir Fred, La' has been successful, I will analyze them separately:
Abadia is absolutely true that it is one of the best software ever programmed not only for spectrum, but for any 8-bit computer.
But it is also fun because you are intrigued by the amount of detail and the depth of the environment.
Exploring it is a pleasure.

this is a lot of fun. The frustration of not finding the exact touch to launch the things you pick up, in the swinging when hanging from the rope ... and what about the blows and injuries for not braking in time when you go too fast or hit yourself in the head for a jump at the wrong time ...

Android 1, Android 2, Alien 8... what a cool mix!
Indeed two of the best game companies are represented!!. Perfect for these troubled times .

Good entertainment for the confinement that awaits us. And again, with an emphasis on exploration.

The Ultimate game is arguably the best, with a vast, huge map. A detailed map that push the machine to the limits.
And what can we say about the playability/addiction factor.
Perfectly polished.

This, at least was used to present himself to Costa Panayi

This game from Vortex is another different thing.With the sequel for Android, Costa Panayi starts to show us what he is able

Indeed...

Starquake deserves the top consideration.
It's one of the brightest efforts when it comes to one of my core obsessions in videogames: exploration. Sum to it an excellent playability thanks to graphics and the rest of the elements needed for a top game. Great.

A more than average game with adventures and exploration probably i n one of the best landscapes one might choose.

It's tricky to get used to the bomb's trajectories but That's just an important part of the fun.

Add success graphics, level of the mapping and effects and you've got a winner.

It's good but graphics get slightly messy and scroll is not too smooth .

Well I suppose for 16 Kb you've got a bargain

Great fan of Ant Attack here; so I gave it Max rate back in the day.However you don't get same results nor same fun with this second part.

One of the most important points of this not very successfully updated version would have been the creative possibilities, but for some reason it was not greatly implemented with the helicopter
Overall an interesting curious follow up to an historic creation

and winter finally came. And with it the conjunction of the planets...Jupiter and Saturn aligned like never before
... and with all them the Covid third wave ??? ...

Blow, blow, thou winter wind

as in Shakespeare's poem ...

And what better activity for such dark times than to explore the vast places of one of the best adventure maps ever?

Head over Heels should deserve a separate chapter in the history of the Spectrum
-And a good proof of his immortality is the appearance years later on the Nintendo Game Boy of Monster Max, a clone of the same authors, Ritman and Drummond

Puzzles and tests of all kinds, a display of fun, technical excellence and quality. As I said, an immortal game for you to rediscover it in these troubled times.

This would have been a superlative creation in its day.
An instant classic.
The dark and gloomy atmosphere. Very well decorated and ambienced. Correct map. A delight.

It is more than anything its magnificent presentation

Although its maps are small, it is a pleasure to explore its varied caves, full of dangers and opportunities.
Like they said, if you don't depend on great graphics and sound to impress, it ages better.

One of the best out there. Curiously this second part looks more appreciated than the first one.

I already knew about this forgotten non released game

Now that I watch it more carefully I can say that I like it more than at first sight. I thought it was of less quality. Incredible that it was not published.
Saboteur has an excellent father

I had the illusion to review one of my favs before 2020 end, so high quality review I was preparing for it because it's precisely illusion the graphic engine of this GAME; anyway here it is:





This is a school that is "alive". That is, things continually happen. You cannot pretend to stand still and do nothing and nothing happens to you. As in a (real world) school you have to fulfill your student obligations and as in a (real) school you are not alone, you have companions. And as in a school (again, a real one) unforeseen events and adverse situations happen that must be solved with imagination (with the imagination of a child). So in this game you don't have to navigate mazes or chase enemies or avoid aliens. You have to avoid being expelled! . This is a great genius sprinkled with details, which by being humble, make this one of the greatest.

Last but not least, how good it has to be that the worst thing that can be said it has is the sound, and yet you are presented with an unforgettable intro tune.

Great!
I really enjoyed this back in the day

In fact, there were a handful of games that drove my attention to a level that conditioned my style preferences. No need to say Saboteur! Was and will be a reference in the world of Exploration Games. Yes I know it's overkill to put Saboteur to the level of say, Adventure(Atari VCS) but it is worth the "risk". In fact, the two games are "only" 6 years apart.

We can conclude Clive Townsend did a true Ninja flying kick with this immortal title. It even spawned a [high quality] sequel!

True, Elite was astounding.
Incomparable. Misunderstood by many loved by a few
I was on the side of those who wanted it, but I could only know about it by hearsay and by looking at its references in magazines. It also had a great copy protection system!
I was able to taste it in emulated mode and was a mixed experience. You must see it with a 80's view because otherwise, it looks terrible. Such a delight trading and exploring through Space. Better emulating, so saving is easy. It was an extremely desired game.

EdiT: please refer to my Light Force review to see how I did to make it more appealing.

When I want to compensate for the lack of good graphics and detail in games that are simulation-oriented (specifically spaceships), I turn to Light Force. It makes me believe in some way that it is the continuation of that space simulation, that you can enter a supposed tactical mode of that simulation game (because many times that game is vector-based or even with an old "pseudo 3D simulation" so it lacks the detail of the typical SHMUP)
The perfect combination for me is Elite + Light Force

so Light Force offers a perfect fit for this way to "fix it".


. Such is the charisma of this Great game

Saboteur II - simply the second installment of a very well conceived historical game.





Saboteur II is in many ways better than the first. But there is no doubt that the magic of the first time is lost


Anyway it has very interesting touches.
This time the protagonist is a girl!

More difficult and with a great mapping!!

Funny and neat game. Martial Arts again. In all its glory. When tired of too much other genres, this simple but very well achieved title comes in handy

In fact, I would say any Martial Arts game that is well designed achieves that purpose

Of all the games where exploration is paramount, this is one of the most impressive and demanding. The sheer number of screens makes it easy for you to get lost. You need to make a map, as in good exploration games.
You also have to learn to trade and steal.
Good reflections so as not to come across the numerous passers-by that swarm through the town. And persistence, because this is a long game.

In any case, the quality and balance in all the elements that you are going to find will never be an obstacle.
The technical section is almost perfect and in general it is one of the best-finished software of the golden age.

Very Good game that tries to place us in a jungle after a plane crash.

It has its complicated facets however, as they say. Too bad they did not fully understood the problematic of that type of ingame interface and menu .
Back In its day, its cover full of testosterone helped him to become popular.

In this game, exploration is important but perhaps not as important as in others because it is full of details and puzzles and therefore memory can't manage a large number of screens


Actually, what counts here is skill and speed. It is a frenzied platform. Impossible to rest for a moment.
As if all this were not enough, the sound is ubiquitous (and excellent).
An adorable creation full of amazing details that make you wonder if you're looking at an old spectrum game.

This stands for Manic Miner from back forward.So you can guess what's about