Classic Replay

Jet Set Radio Cel-shaded, psychedelic, roller blading graffiti action. Sega at their best! Countdown: 100 - Jet Set Radio - Dreamcast Join our blog for more...

Stefan Walker is not only a CPC Legend, but an ace programmer in his own right. He was just twenty years of age when he snatched his first job at MicroProse, where he wrote the excellent Pirates for the Amstrad CPC. He later joined Electronic Arts and gave us Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer. ACE Magazine included Chuck Yeager in their top-100 games for 98-97. Retro Gamer awarded Pirates the 84th best game ever made.  Are you still passionate about games?  Not new games. I find them far too time consuming than the days of old when you could just pick up a joystick and play, now it’s 30 minutes of customising your character before you even see any gameplay. What was it like working in America compared to the industry in Britain? It was the late 80’s when I worked at Microprose in Baltimore. Reagan was still president, it was certainly a more relaxed ‘vibe’ than working in the UK, but the expectations were probably higher. The Americans were actually ama...

In Satan, you really do get to take on the main man, I mean the demon himself. Apparently, (don't quote me on this) there's lots of wizards that need your help, the devil has captured them and is set to use them against our world, in a most distasteful manner. There're two parts to this fabulous game, with the usual Dinamic password system. The first level see's you traversing a large cavern; you must search and collect three scrolls to pr ogress. These scrolls reveal a fabulous secret power, the ability to transfer from Barbarian to Wizard. The second level is more of the same stuff, only this time you're out to rescue the wizards and defend the land from the evil forces of Satan. You swing from one area to the next, clinging for dear life, climbing from one pillar to the next, whilst unleashing unlimited firepower... Against the clock. There're all sorts of pickups, coins, power-ups and more importantly, clocks that give you that much needed extra tim...

Based on speed alone, Top Gear on the SNES craps all over the likes of F-Zero and F1 Exhaust Heat! There, I’ve said it. Top Gear is just so damn fast! But there's much more to this wonderful game!   In Top Gear, you get to race through seven different countries, each one comes with its own events. In this you race through the streets of Paris, a sprawling metropolis, and the Sahara Desert; you notice all sorts of famous landmarks on your way to the finish line. There are finely layered tarmac roads, dusty roads, and mud entrenched b-roads. The  night racing looks and feels amazing, but there’s a constant fight for visibility. Motorways can be up to eight lanes wide; impressive when you consider the sheer amount of cars on screen at any one time. Your car is also equipped with three nitro boosts; as with the game ChaseHQ, save ‘em for the long straights. You can choose from four vehicles, but I think the blue car gives the better balance, having a top speed of 137mph...

Just when you thought you had played every single game available for the CPC, along comes the official sequel to MegaBlasters! The original was released in 1994, with Amstrad Action awarding it 'MasterGame' with a score of 94%. This sequel marks the 20th anniversary of the game and what better way to celebrate than to release a  sequel. The four CPC Legends of 64K: Axeley (Programmer), Rexbeng (responsible for original graphics), McKlain (bells and whistles) and Tom & Jerry (beautiful music), have embarked upon their finest production yet, and it's a  real homage to the CPC! Axeley is quoted as saying "I sadly never encountered the original MegaBlasters when it was released, so for me, this game has been about bringing Rexbeng's great looking mockup to life. And it was also an opportunity to work on a game that required a different kind of game engine".  The new MB takes the original game but respectively improves on the tiniest of details wi...

Processor: Intel 80386SX or 486DX  Memory: 1MB(Expandable to 4MB). Graphics: 256KB. Sound: AdLib. Hard disk: 40/80MB. Monitor: 14" Dual-Sync. What's it all about: By 1991, Amstrad had completely dropped the Amstrad CPC model of computers, but they weren't ready to give up on home computing just yet. This new venture was a joint development with Sega. Starting at just under £900, the hybrid PC came with both the 68000 and 80386 central processors, a 3.5” drive, a Megadrive Cart slot and H.D.D compatibility. A CD-Rom with MEGA-CD compatibility was also available, but this was optional, massively bumping the price up. I’ve never seen it, but apparently Amstrad also released a 486 model, the Amstrad Mega PC Plus. The good bits: The Mega PC unlike the console was region free, which meant you could play JAP and US games through the computer. I have to admit, playing Mega Drive games on the Amstrad PC was a revelation at the time, especially when you consider the crystal cl...

In development since 2008, the journey through the Cave of Monsters to rescue their girlfriends is finally on! Right now... CPC style! The game-play remains as simple as ever. You'll need to corner, capture and surrender all enemies using your bubble blowing antics before they can escape. It wouldn't be fair to compare BB4CPC with the other 8-bit versions, especially when considering the timeline. Instead, what we have here is the best damn conversion, we could have ever wished for, on the humble CPC. It completely trounces firebirds effort of the 1980's, and unlike the CPC original, in this new version, the bubbles can't simply be popped by walking straight into them (I always hated that). This time around, we've been treated to the original infectious theme tune, cute sprites, strategic gameplay, oodles of secrets, tight controls and a largely responsive, albeit hit and miss Jumping system (Something's gotta give). As usual, with this type of CPC ga...