Classic Replay

Commodore 64 Year Released: 1982  Manufacturer: Commodore Did you know? There are numerous underground sites dedicated to keeping the Commodore 64 alive and thriving. Check out C64.com and the more recent C64 Online Emulator . What is it? In the 80s, you were either an Amstrad, Spectrum, or Commodore kid. The C64 boasted a whopping 64K of memory, incredible sound, 16 colours, and superb hi-res graphics (for its time). It was also many kids' first experience with an online network when Commodore released the Compunet Modem, allowing them to spend all night downloading demos and chatting with other like-minded gaming fans. Why do I need it? For a treasure trove of original games that are still worth playing today. Titles like The Eidolon , Creatures , Wizball , and Ballblazer are some of the best and earliest games from Lucasfilm. Their first release, Rescue On Fractalus , used a pioneering technique to generate a believable 3D landscape - finding a 'Jaggi' enemy hammerin...

The 8-bit era was a fascinating time for home computers, with several iconic machines vying for dominance. Let's dive into why the Amstrad CPC was considered one of the best 8-bit computers, and how it compared to the Commodore 64 (C64), ZX Spectrum, and the MSX. Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC series, launched in 1984, was known for its robust design and built-in monitor, which set it apart from its competitors. It featured a Zilog Z80A CPU running at 4 MHz, 64 KB of RAM (expandable to 128 KB), and impressive graphics capabilities with a palette of 27 colours. The CPC's sound was handled by the AY-3-8912 sound chip, offering three channels of sound. Commodore 64 (C64) The C64, released in 1982, was a powerhouse in the 8-bit market. It had a MOS Technology 6510 CPU running at 1 MHz, 64 KB of RAM, and superior graphics with a resolution of 320x200 and 16 colours. The C64's SID (Sound Interface Device) chip was legendary, providing three channels of complex sound and music. ZX Sp...

The arcade conversion of Operation Wolf with its Uzi sub machine gun was not only a thing of beauty, but a true 1980s treasure. I originally owned and played the Amstrad CPC conversion of which I’m a huge fan and urge you check out. Now for the first time ever, I’m finally playing the ZX Spectrum conversion. But how will it go down when compared to the other 8bits and does it still hold up today? Join me to find out and more…  #operationwolf #Arcade #Taito

TOP TEN COMMODORE 64 GAMES This is my personal TOP TEN COMMODORE 64 GAMES for this home computer. Although I didn’t own the C64 in my younger days, I had access to this computer and its entire library of games. Today I own an original bread-bin and the new full-sized C64. Help me celebrates his fantastic home computer. Thanks for your support, leaving a comment, or rating my video! I really appreciate it. Please subscribe and like :)) Thanks. Follow us at: https://twitter.com/classicreplay https://facebook.com/classicreplayoff... https://classicreplay.blogspot.com  

It suddenly dawned on me the other day that the Amstrad CPC version of Stunt Car Racer might not be the best version. For some unknown reason, the C64, Speccy and more importantly 16-bit versions completely escaped me. That's not saying the Amstrad version is bad, just that I watched a video the other day that compared all versions, and just watching the 16-bitters blew me away. I always thought the Amstrad CPC version was really fast, too fast if that makes sense, those dips, hills and corners came at you at pace, giving the player less than a second to react in some cases. But the Amiga version really opened my eyes to how superior 16-bit computers were in comparison to my trusty 8-bit. At that time as well, I also had an Atari 800XL, but unfortunately, the games on that system were really hard to find, the ones I did find were absolute classics, in fact, the best tennis game I played until Virtua Tennis on the Dreamcast was a game called Real Sports Tenn...

If you dig through old ZX Spectrum, Commodore and Amstrad magazines, you'll find interviews and a whole treasure trove of information from our long lost almost forgotten past. It's slow going, plod like almost, but every once in a while you might come across something that you've never seen or heard of before, things that can't be found on the internet. For example; I've searched high and low on the internet for information about old game sales i.e. Units sold for my favourite 8-bit games, across many formats, but unfortunately this consistently turns up nowt. However, this hasn't deterred me, my mission is to seek out old information pertaining to these forgotten classics, the information is out there, but mixed up in a mass of detail. I'm quietly convinced this slug like approach has legs, heck I've even approached ex-programmers in a bid to find out as much information as humanly possible. With that in mind, this is what I've uncovered thus far, ...

I was obsessed with Ninja films back in the day, Revenge of the Ninja, Enter the Ninja, American Ninja, you name it, I've seen 'em all, back to back on several occasions. As you can imagine, I collected and played anything and everything with Ninja in the title for my Amstrad CPC computer. I doubt I've missed any off the list, but if it didn't have Ninja in the title, it can do one, and that goes for those pesky Teenage Mutant Hero turtles! I also wanted to include Way of the Tiger and Avenger from Gremlin Graphics, but they failed miserably and were disqualified for lacking the word Ninja. It's not the end of the world, as some of the below games were absolutely brilliant!     Bionic Ninja - Released 1989: Code and Graphics by Brian Cross I played this quite late in the CPC's life, it was a side-scrolling affair, budget from memory, but it definitely entertained me for a few evenings. I probably wouldn't play it today, but back in the day, things w...

Everyone needs a shiny new game to play on Christmas Day, right? But what happened if that game was a U.S.GOLD title? U.S.GOLD had a bit of an up and down relationship with Amstrad CPC owners. Most of their games felt like quick, dirty cash-in's, with big, bright, colourful graphics and broken controls; worse still, some of their games were riddled with bugs. I'm not sure how you guys feel about it, but for me, playing the vast majority of their games on the Amstrad CPC felt like I was wading through treacle. I felt screwed over on many occasions, but didn't seem to learn my lesson. I'd fall for the same marketing candy time and time again, with the promise that this time, their new game for the Amstrad would be amazeballs! I think the final straw came with the title California Games, the Amstrad version was crap, I suspected nearly every single publisher after that, with the exception of Ocean, I kind of half trusted those guys. Just play California Games on the CP...

It`s time to roll up your sleeves and fight for your life! Grab those nunchucks, tighten that belt and get your shuriken death stars at the ready. Meanwhile, back on earth, this article celebrates all those weird and wonderful fighting classics, powered by pixel push and 3D technology! So kick back, grab a slice of pizza and in no particular order... kick some ass! If I missed off your favourite fighter, it's probably because I never played it, but please comment and recommend all the same. I'm always looking for a good scrap. Virtua fighter 2, Arcade and Saturn, released 1994 The Sega Saturn was butchered by the Playstation, but VF2 (Both coin-op and Saturn version) were the highlight of the 90s 3D proving grounds. Virtua Fighter 2 doesn't get boring, you just improve, with the fight becoming more tactical the further you progress. Master one character and it's back to basics for the next. Virtua Fighter 2 came w...

I first played HotShot in 1998, it was a demo that came bundled on cassette with the latest issue of Amstrad Action! I loved it so much, but I was never able to fully experience the game in its entirety. I looked everywhere, but nobody stocked the game, even tried to get it on mail order, but that attempt failed miserably, instead they sent me a copy of Karnov, and I never bothered with mail order again! Strangely, I never to played it under emulation, but now in 2016, I've finally tracked it down, thanks to eBay and it's every bit as challenging as I remember. This is Pinball, Arkanoid and Pong all mashed into one, it feels futuristic and there's a fantastic two player option. No time to spare, I need to get back to being a crack shot! What the press thought!

I’m sitting here staring at a blank white Microsoft Word background. My head is swimming with random retro thoughts, however, I haven’t got a clue where I’m gonna go with this, but I'll give it a shot.  I've currently been thinking about all these new remakes i.e. The NES, Megadrive and five hundred other devices that are currently available or incoming. Initially, I was really excited by it all, but in essence, these are just more lumps of plastic that I’ve already collected. In 2016, shouldn't we be able to play all our favourite games on a single platform? For sure we have the PC and Raspberry Pie, but I’m thinking more along the lines of a SEGA console that plays all SEGA games, for example; SMS, Megadrive, Game Gear, 32X, Saturn, and Dreamcast all in one lovely lump of Japanese plastic. The same goes for Nintendo, Atari and any other console manufacturer, sick of the prospect of buying yet another lump of plastic and feeling restricted to only one genre of consol...

Most people associate gaming with kids' classics like Outrun, Space Harrier and Streets of Rage are games that have lived on and continue to live on through adults. Nowadays, it feels as if SEGA has tapped into this and is on a mission to re-release most of their prized possessions, such as PowerDrift, a perfect racer in which you race across all sorts of weird and wonderful structures, or the legendary Outrun, it took me years to properly master this Yu Suzuki classic, it was like no other racer in the world. But it's the imminent arrival of Turbo Outrun that has me real excited, it's not quite "Outrun" I mean you can't really compare the two, for example, the sequel is more of an atmospheric hi-octane race, that transports the player through nearly every road-like extremity. Gone are the branching paths and selectable soundtracks, but it does have better graphics and more features, including upgrading your car between stages, and more importantly, you can...

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!

I recently read an article in Retro Gamer by comedian, and guest writer, Iain Lee. He reckons that when you are looking back or reviewing old video games, it is advised you do so without the 'rose tinted glasses'. There's probably a lot of validity in this suggestion, but is it always this black and white? I am by no means 'having a go' at his views, just attempting to explore them further. I tend to remember the good games and forget about the bad. My nostalgic feelings towards older games are largely related to my childhood. I grew up playing certain games, with the enjoyable ones having embedding positive feelings, and bucket loads of satisfaction, that have never left me. But I can't help wondering, with my unwavering passion for old games, I am simply viewing them through the tinted specs? When judging an old game, it is necessary to take a couple of factors into consideration, for instance, the social culture at the time at which the game was made an...

Ever since StarWars flashed before my eyes, I've been hooked. I was just a kid back then, but the impression it left will stay with me until a right good ole' age. There's something else I probably shouldn't admit to, I had such a soft spot for the movie, I imagined playing the lead role and would pretend to shoot down Tie Fighters and ultimately the Death Star from the safety of my armchair. It had to happen, my only surprise is that it took so long. The now decidedly ropey Atari released Star Wars in 1983, it was a nice attempt at doing something new with a classic film. The graphics and sound were amazing for the time and had colourful vector graphics. It also featured the really cool heroic music of the movie, accompanied by smooth reactive-tight controls and a movie-authentic blasting noise. The speech is where it impressed the- be-Jesus outta me and at the time I thought the stuff of dreams. Star Wars was definitely my favourite game as a kid, I'd nev...