With it being Retro Week (now extended to Retro Fortnight) on ugvm, and with a guy coming up in a few weeks to interview me about old game systems, I rummaged through the loft this weekend for some old kit.
Standout games were:
Virus (Speccy)
It’s a bit bloody hard, yes?
Qix (Atari 400)
Excellent, even if the Qix (that’s the multi-line baddie in the middle, yes?) seemed to move at random rather than bounce off things.
River Raid (Atari 400)
Pretty good, although difficult to control.
Munchkin (Videopac)
It’s Pac-man, only with just 8 normal and 4 special dots on the screen. And they move. And the maze is different. But not bad, actually.
Space Monster (Videopac)
Space Invaders, only the bottom row of invaders act as shields, the mothership replacement swoops down (like in Phoenix) and when you get shot you’re still alive, only have to use a base as your new ship.
Renegade (Master System)
I only bought this recently. It’s rubbish.
Shanghai (Master System)
Like all good Shanghai games, it’s a good Shanghai game. It has the standard tile layout, and doesn’t mess with the rules.
Hang-On (Master System)
Built-in on the console I tried (I have about 5 Master Systems). I’d never realised previously how this is just the same game as World Grand Prix, only with three gears not two, bikes instead of cars, and no track editor. Even the sound effects are identical.
