Classic Replay

I've finally played it, admittedly only a demo of the first level, but so far things look and play just as good as the Amiga original. This will never replace a real life Pinball experience, but it's bloody good for a computer simulation. The ball moves exactly as you'd expect, and the flippers are highly accurate, you can even give the table a shove. Graphically I've never seen anything like it on the CPC, initially I was convinced it was Plus only, but the programmers have outdone themselves with this one.  Time will tell how good this game translates to the CPC, but so far, on current form, this could go down as the best game ever for the CPC! Published on 27 Oct 2016 * October 2016 PREVIEW for Amstrad CPC * First presented at RetroSevilla 2016 * IMPORTANT! We strongly recommend to play the game on real CPC & monitor! * Minimum requirements: - 128kb of RAM - Floppy drive * Instructions: run"disc

Everything Star Wars is fantastic, from the Millennium Falcon to Storm Troopers, we love it.   It's hard to believe that Star Wars has been with us now for nearly forty years. Episodes four, five and six, still impress today, but for me, it was 'The Empire Strikes Back' with its amazing story, light sabre razzmatazz, and Jedi powered party tricks, that forced me into a sedentary, Jabba-like state. The games didn't help me either, as I've played nearly every Star Wars game ever released, and yet somehow lived to tell the tale. Naturally, I've not been able to list every game, but special mention must go out to 'Shadows of the Empire' 'Force commander' 'Knights of the Old Republic' and 'BattleFront'. Without further ado, below are the games that stood out from the crowd? Star Wars, Arcade, Atari Corp, 1982 It's Star Wars! A no-brain shooter, but feels just like being in the movie. It's pretty basic stuff, with sm...

One lump or two Nothing beats the feel of real retro plastic - car boots, charity shops, and eBay should be your first port of call, but there are many other ways to get your hands on older kit, including Facebook groups and other social media platforms where you can buy retro kit directly.  However, if it’s simplicity you seek, there are now many retro games consoles that should satisfy your needs.  Below are the consoles that Classic Replay recommends:  Eagle Box - Retro Games console with Gamepad The Eagle Box, an Android Retro Games Console, will satisfy all of your retro gaming needs with it's ability to play all of your favourite childhood computers and consoles such as PS1, MAME, Dreamcast, N64, NeoGeo, Atari, NES, SNES, Gameboy, Gameboy Colour, Gameboy Advance, SEGA Master System, SEGA Mega Drive, CPS1, CPS2, Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and many more on your TV! Perfect for adults, children and your living room. Key Features ...

The Soviets strike again, only this time with innovation! I'm still struggling to understand how this one slipped me by. Twenty-six years later I'm scouring eBay, and the next minute, it's delivered through the letter box. This is basically Tetris with a 3D perspective, created by the same Alexey Pajitnov. There're three levels of difficulty, starting with beginner, advanced and finally expert. Each difficulty settings features its own game speed, with the latter seeming almost ridiculous. WELLTRIS continually chucks shapes at you, this bit being similar to the original, the difference now is that you can rotate each shape around the four outer walls as you watch it fall deeper towards the ground. There's sound, but nothing in the music department, sad really as I half expected the Tetris original, instead I found myself humming the original Korobeiniki soundtrack. The graphics are well defined, but seriously lack any real colour, it's also disappoin...

One of the greatest games ever made is now on its way to the Commodore 64! Originally developed by Danish studio Playdead, they've given the go-ahead for Søren Trautner Madsen to code the game for the C64. Limbo's visual style is amazing, especially when you consider the games this went up against on the Xbox One and PlayStation store, it truly was an inspiration in gaming. This puzzle based platformer, sounds like it's in the early throws of development, and who knows, maybe there's a possible Amstrad CPC and ZX Speccy release planned down the line. The bad news is, we're probably going to have to wait a while, although I can't help think that being a paltry 64 or 128k game, surely this should speed up the process? Oh well, I'm quietly confident the game will still be brilliant if it one day does eventually arrive on the C64. Until then, fingers crossed and bring it on!

Just a few thoughts on the tribute game made with AGD, for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. It's great and everything, but I'm confused? I'm still a massive fan of the original Donkey Kong arcade-style platformer from the 1980's. It is said to be the game that launched the career of Shigeru Miyamoto, but more importantly, Mario and Donkey Kong. The game went on to give Nintendo international stardom, with Miyamoto creating a legacy so powerful, that Nintendo and Japan should pray daily for his continued existence. However, Donkey Kong Jnr wasn't a great sequel, in fact, Miyamoto himself thinks it's a weaker game. It sold well, but so did the USGOLD home conversion of Outrun, so sales don't really mean diddly squat, in regards to us gaming enthusiasts. I did like the way this game reversed the characters roles, with Kong now caged and Mario becoming the antagonist. The game featured a good premise as well, instead of ...

Yippee! A new Amstrad game called Defence just arrived through my letter box, it's my very own, unique custom personalised edition. It comes in a big plastic box, with many extra features. I've not played it much, but the graphics, presentation and general feel of the game so far are looking positive. I hate to admit it, but I'm finding initial progress quite difficult, but that's probably down to me, as I'm used to modern games holding my hand. Update with more info soon...

Solomon's Key, Out of This World, 720, Sorcerer Lord, Red Led Anywhere you look on the internet, you'll find scores of videos and top ten articles from Amstrad CPC enthusiasts. But what about the games that never make these lists, the unsung heroes that programmed these unknown classics. Now is the time to don my cape, and celebrate the forgotten games of the CPC. So, here we go, these are a few games that I feel deserve a mention and recognition.   Sorcerer Lord - PSS, Amstrad Action, Rave, 81% This was great back in the day, no issues here, a great early 8bit strategy game, graphics as with all these types of games do their job, sound and presentation is nothing to write home about either, but engagement and play are where it shines best.   Western Games - Magic Bytes,  Amstrad Action, Rave, 76% These are some of the best graphics on the Amstrad, in fact, it's difficult to set them apart from the Atari ST version. The gameplay is great, with ...

Around 2400 BCE, the Babylonians dicked around with the Abacus, a primitive calculator that could perform addition and subtraction. Later interpretations such as the Suanpan Abacus, allowed for very complex multiplication and division. I’ve no idea if these counting frames are considered the world’s first computer, but back then, it must have felt that way. Evidence shows many iterations of the Abacus, the Roman’s, Indians, Japanese and even the Native Americans were said to have used them; the latter consisting of coloured knotted cords, called Inca quipu. I’m not even sure if the people using these devices even understood how it came about or had any sort of concept about how and why people invent things. I personally see modern day inventions as being as much about marketing, as they are about manufacturing; you only need to watch Dragons Den to see this play out. The story of the Abacus appears to be one of continual development, improving over thousands of years, but not try...

Lots of people have asked me if there's any money in running your own Blog or website? Well, in short, yes! But naturally, you only get out what you put in. There are many reasons why I like to run my own blog, the main one being nostalgia, So for me, it's definitely worth it. I started using Google AdSense and Analytics after watching the web team where I used to work, poke and prod a big Google Analytics stick at the company website, the results were shocking, and this finally gave the team the tools and visibility needed to properly focus their efforts and resource.   If I'm totally honest, I still wasn’t all that 'into it', despite witnessing what it could do, but a friend of mine insisted I should persevere. I started to use it half-heartedly at first, but within just one month, after weeks of writing articles, Google sent me a cheque for £172! I thought it must be a spoof cheque, or maybe Google had sent it by mistake. But the cheque's kept co...

Sorry folks, this guy won't be knocking at your door... Forget killer robots and saving Sarah Conner, yes, Terminator is a great movie, but nothing more than that. A computer is not a repository of all knowledge; Hollywood would love you to believe such a thing, but HAL and many other futuristic characters, are like the Dreamcast 2, unlikely to ever happen. The problem is, computers cannot accumulate infinite amounts of data; they simply input information, process it and then output it, it’s really that simple. Where computers truly excel over people, is in the day-to-day mundane data processing, interfacing with other components, number crunching, and automation. Sure, you could potentially build a futuristic machine, send it into battle, but that’s just it, you’d have to send it into battle, program it, and watch it roll, just like BigTrak.    No matter the computer, in essence, when compared to the human brain (unfortunately not in all cases), a computer is n...

Long before Gran Turismo on the PlayStation, we had Bobsleigh on the Amstrad, Speccy, and C64. This game featured six tracks of downhill madness, tight corners, fast straights and the need for skilful bob riding. You started off in the amateur ranks, with a minimum amount of sponsorship money, clapped out Bobsleigh and a far from world beating team. Qualification is really tough, getting to the bottom is relatively easy, but to do so at speed is especially tricky. Stunt Car Racer is perhaps the only other game that rivals Bobsleigh in the realism department, but the amount of options and strategy that needs to go into winning the Olympics or tournament, in my opinion, is unrivalled on an 8-bit. If that wasn't good enough, there's also a load and save feature, you'll need this as the slightest touch against an icy wall, will cost you in the damage, time and cash flow department. Training the team is also a necessity, especially in regards to the run off at the be...

There are so many new games available for the PS4 and Xbox, I really struggle to keep up, let alone sift through the good ones. I’ve come up with a cunning plan to combat this - I’m going to stop playing new video games! Instead, I’ve decided to do a retro rewind, take stock, and hunt through my collection of forgotten classics from the 80’s and 90’s, no internet required. I’m just as entertained playing old games, as I am playing new. Most of these games feel terrific and familiar, which means I can now break free of the video game rat race, and the constant fear of being left behind. For the first time in my life, I don’t have to play ‘em all.   With that in mind, I head to my garage, fight my way through all the crap piled up over the years, and stretch across an old sofa, in the direction of an old box. I catch it slightly with the edge of my fingers and pull it slowly towards me; it’s on top of an already unsteady pile. There’s dust everywhere, I blow at the to...

#Bigtrak gave us a glimpse into the future, it felt like cutting edge entertainment, and late seventies kids were the first to own their very own robot. At the time, TV advertisements showed it effortlessly, but very slowly delivering apples and other items to parents. You'd see it carefully navigating around a dog or cat, narrowly avoiding a flight of stairs, firing a laser, before dropping off its payload to an unsuspecting parent. What made Bigtrak really cool, is that you pre-coded it with a set of instructions, up to sixteen commands and three laser blasts, and it obeyed. You watched in awe as it cleverly followed your preset path. I tried all sorts of manoeuvres that would potentially scupper Bigtrak in its tracks, going up ramps, driving along steep ledges, but mostly used it to terrorise our dog. If you were lucky enough, Bigtrak came with an optional trailer, allowing you to impress friends by...

CODE & FX: MORRI MUSIC: MR LOU Released: 2016 Meet 'CoolBox', the CPC's answer to the mobile phone marvel, it's 'Block Dude', only mixed with a look and feel you've probably seen in 'BoxBoy' which was released a few years back on the 3DS. It's all a bit strange and confusing, but you're basically a box, a cool box , that must strategically manipulate the other boxes. CoolBox is in pursuit of an exit which is tactically positioned at the end of each level. It feels fresh, and get this, it's a puzzle game written completely in Basic 1.1! It starts off easy enough, but it won't be long until the old grey matter will need to power into overdrive, which is surprising as there's nothing particularly technical going on. Throughout the game, we're treated to rough scrolling, sluggish controls, and non-existent graphics, but amazingly, it features clever game design and holds onto those elusive, h...

I'm sure the #CPC community at large has already played this wireframe wonder from Alberto Rodriguez. I personally can't get enough of it, in fact, I like it so much, I purchased the bugger on 3" Disk. These are exciting times for the CPC community, I can't believe that after decades of being commercially dead, the #Amstrad CPC lives on, and appears to be going from strength to strength. I'd have been happy if everything would have stopped after the remake of R-Type, it was everything I'd hoped for, justice was served, the community could have packed up and gone home at this point, mission accomplished, Badda bing, Badda boom! Thank the heavens they didn't, as what came after, continued to deliver, with the same high standards. It's a very strange thing that has happened, I'm witnessing games and graphics I never thought possible, but equally praying this sweet spot in CPC gaming, won't turn sour. I can't prove it, but I reckon ...

The promise of instant loading, outstanding gameplay, improved graphics, were now and truly into full swing. The front page of nearly every CPC or high street computer magazine were still displaying adverts, as though carts were here to stay. Navy Seals, Robocop 2, Shadow of the Beast and Pang, were cited as some of the best games to happen to an Amstrad in years.   Meanwhile, USGOLD announced Gauntlet 3, whilst continuing to plug away at their lackluster back catalogue, with the launch of Coin-Op Hits 2, it featured terrible CPC conversions of Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, Vigilante and Dynasty Wars, with a half decent version of Ninja Spirit, not sure why they included Hammerfist, It was never an arcade game, to begin with.   The excellent people from Probe announced that Back to the Future, Part III was imminent, featuring four levels of movie action, horse riding, shooting, pie throwing and traversing a moving train. It turned out to be actually rather good and...