The humble Spectrum was home to some remarkable games - including these underappreciated masterpieces…
I, like many, spend many years playing Spectrum games.
However, a lot of lookbacks at the Spectrum era tend to focus on the big highlights.
A good number of these are legally available via the emulation scene too.
I cant recommend World Of Spectrum enough (link at the bottom) to explore these more.
I lost more lives playingJet Set Willy.And yet, there was something really quite compelling about it all…
The low development cost of Spectrum games meant niches could be easily explored.
It certainly wasnt easy (thats an understatement), and it never captured any sense of pace.
But still, it was a lot more fun than its generally been given credit for.
Not a great game this, in truth, but it makes it here for a slightly different reason.
CRLs 1985 gameFormula Onegot surprisingly close.
It got easy by the time youd built your team up, but the journey there was excellent.
A sequel followed, but the original, as you explore a dangerous castle, remains the best.
It helps that Freescape had evolved to the point where a little more pace could be injected, too.
It too involved cars, and it too crucially involved cars with weapons.
The driving bit, at heart, was never particularly demanding, but the opposition you meet?
The ZX Spectrum version of the coin-opRampageleft a little bit to be desired.
The basic idea was thatThe Muncher,a monster from Chewits television adverts, was on the rampage.
And you had to stop him.
Featuring big, bold graphics, it was all a bit of a hoot.
No classic, but lots of fun.
A bit like Chewits, really.
Not every individual event gelled.
The driving and boating elements were great fun, but The Hill proved to be a real shit.
Its not quite on the same difficult level as the infamousAirwolfSpectrum game, but its not far off.
Still, there was always enough inRun The Gauntletto make it worth digging the tape out.
Still,Karnovwas a hoot.
There was a lot to battle through, and it hardly ripped up the platform game rule book.
But strong execution always did count for a lot, and that was certainly the case here.
It lacked multiplayer, but there was just a little more to it than its rivals.
Ocean publishedOperation Wolf,of course, but also put out arguably its most impressive rival,Cabal.
The game behind it all, though, was one of the Spectrums more accomplished shooters.
And just look at that loading screen!
It does sometimes feel as though GremlinsDeflektorhas got lost in the mix (Einstein-focusede-Motion, too).
It was a taxing little beast at times, not aided by an eager time limit.
It was the work of Costa Panayi, who was also responsible for the excellentHighway EncounterandTornado Low Level.
The originalChuckie Eggis rightly regarded as a classic of 8-bit computing.
No home computer in history has attracted game names of the ilk that the ZX Spectrum attracted.
More to the point, a worm thats been chased around the circuit board of the Spectrum itself.
Its well worth aread.
I went through phases on this one too.
Sometimes, I could blast through it no problem, others I died within meeting four foes.
Obviously, that was always the games fault.
It didnt start off life as aDan Daresequel, which probably helped.
Turned out to be a really good one, though.
A corking little budget game, as you had to defend a futuristic city from a plague of insects.
I played this one for ages, and suspect Im not alone…
The title of this one did publisher Gremlin few favours.
You shouldnt take my word for it though.
I spent too long addicted to the bloodyMilk Racegame, after all.
Loved this, even if I didnt warm to its sequel quite as much.
But just as with VirginsF.A.
Cup Football(where you had to manage ten teams at once!
), I played bothFootballer Of The Yeargames a lot.
Both hinged around the idea of you being one player, looking to build up your career.
It was all a bit of a mess, but surprisingly gripping.
I never got on withMarble MadnessandGyroscopeon the Spectrum in the way that I think I was supposed to.
Basically, you guide your ball along a road thats constantly coming towards you.
And thats when the assorted obstacles and different tiles with different effects kicks in.
Hair would frequently be pulled out when the bastard ball kept falling off the edge though.
Ive never forgivenTrailblazerfor that.
The first budget game I, and many of us, ever bought for the Spectrum.
It boasted some of the finest colour clash to be seen on Sir Clives old baby, too.
It was the closest we had to the feeling ofSpider-Manon the Spectrum.
A shame the modern day take onBionic Commandodidnt manage that.
Heres part two of our countdown…. Bamfrilly on triple word remains a highlight) and word processorTasword Two.
But I kept getting drawn back to it, not least because I couldnt afford too many games.
Its a good job weapons are at hand.
But I think I also just loved the idea.
As did, seemingly, the planners of every airport constructed since…
Publisher Automata routinely got on my nerves for making you reload a game at the end of each turn.
For a whole generation, it was their first introduction to the Marx brothers.
And truthfully, I struggled a bit with some of theMonty Moletitles.
I did loveWanted: Monty Molea lot though.
Had I played it, his take onMindermay well have made this list.
For starters, the TV series that its based on was excellent.
It deserves more love that it seems to get.
It felt a little different too, given that it pretty much literally turned the game on its side.
The best tennis game on the ZX Spectrum was, if Ive got my dates right, the first.
Is this the forgottenBatmangame?
That said, when theBatman: The Moviegame came along, it seemed to be forgotten about again.
Confession: I actually eventually wore my copy ofWrigglerout, so never got to see the end of it.
The fact that the other maggots were near-impossible to beat didnt help either.
Ive since read that the game featured 256 screens to navigate.
Id be amazed if I saw half of them.
Still, this is comfortably computings best ever maggot simulator.
Put that on the box.
Think of it as a moving version of snakes and ladders.
With, er, no snakes, and no ladders.
Very, very addictive though.
One of the best budget games every to grace the Spectrum.
They also fuelled a lively self-publishing business for some companies, and Goliath Games was one of those.
It worked well too.
To be fair, any four of theMagic Knighttitles are still worth trying.
TheDizzygames were good, but its surelyMagic Knightthats the best budget series of all time on the Speccy.
Plus, lets face it,Eric And The Floatersis an extraordinarily brilliant name for a computer game.
Nobody can ever convince me otherwise.
The Spectrum had two excellentThunderbirdsgames.
The later one, from Grand Slam,tends to be the most remembered (and remains strong).
It was terrible to look at, but a real time gobbler to play.
Surely ripe for an iOS and Android version too…
The finest beard of the ZX Spectrum era belonged to Kevin Toms, whos best known for theFootball Managerseries.
Toms also wrote a political strategy game,President, but his forgotten gem wasSoftware Star.
And should you release a game early, or put in some extra development hours?
Simple decisions maybe, but the tension when it came time to release a new title was palpable.
Game Dev Story, for the iPhone, is the only game to really capture the spirit ofSoftware Starsince.
And for me, it was theBehind Closed Doorsgames from Zenobi Software that marked the peak.
Its, basically, a hugely entertaining collection of games about being locked in the toilet.
As it turned out,Ghouls N Ghostshad an excellent platform game underneath all the humour.
The last levels a killer, though.
A controversial release, this one.
Fortunately,Trashmanwas excellent).Travel With Trashmansent the title character on a litter-collecting adventure around the world.
To my knowledge, no videogame game before it or since has asked you to do the same.
Two quid they asked forPippo.
For one of the most criminally addictive Spectrum games I think I ever played.
In more litigation-prolific times, the author ofPippomay well have been sent a letter.
Comfortably, for me, one of the ten most addictive games to ever grace the Speccy.
The only thing that lets the side down slightly is the catapulting over bullets being aimed at you.
Which was and is a bit of a sod.
More than anything though,Contact Sam Cruisewas and is a blast to play.
Tragically, it would prove to be the last game David Reidy would write.
Theres a lovely interview with himhere.
Contact Sam Cruise, then, remains his final game.
Its a flat-out classic, not without its problems, but a delight that videogame history should not forget.
However, history should not forgot the gloriously addictiveDynamite Dangames.
Objects were in different places each time you played, and assorted power-ups were available.
Using the word addictive barely comes close to coveringDynamite Danthough.
Great music, too… Jack The Nipper In Coconut Capers.The originalJack The Nipperis rightly lauded, but the second deserves mention.
The new environment never felt quite right, but the mischief making was still priceless.
Green Beret:Kids!
Knife the bad guys!
Good job theDaily Maildidnt have a Spectrum.
Corking arcade conversion, though.
Rick Dangerous.Just to say that I hated it.
The most unfair videogame I think Ive ever played.
Minder:I never played it, but lots of people tell me its great.
Thought Id better mention it.Hammerfist, too.
It was pretty crude, save for the graphic of all the unsold beer being poured away.
Was I the only person on the planet to play this one?
Leave your own suggestions below…
World Of Spectrum
