42 replies to this topic

[telengard]

Space Taxi
Laser Squad
and the new Berzerk Redux!

~telengard

[BydoEmpire]

telengard, on Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:11 PM, said:

Space Taxi
Laser Squad
and the new Berzerk Redux!

~telengard

And let's not forget about Telengard!

[FujiSkunk]

Pretty much all of the AtariSoft titles for the C-64 were well down (possible exception being Centipede, which feels a tad incomplete), but Donkey Kong particularly stands out. It was one of the few home ports that got both the number of screens and the positions of Donkey Kong and the hammers correct on every screen. It bests even the Atari 8bit version, in my opinion.

Activision put an extra layer of gloss on their 2600 remakes for the C-64, but there were some notable originals too. Park Patrol is one of my favorites, and of course Ghostbusters plays much better on the C-64 than on the 2600.

Very few lists of C-64 favorites are without least one or two titles from Epyx. Classics like California Games and Impossible Mission got their start on the C-64. My personal Epyx favorite is Jumpman.

Electronic Arts also had some good originals. I think my favorite of theirs is Realm of Impossibility. Sadly their translations weren't as hot; Marble Madness left a lot to be desired.

Virgin and Cosmi were good for quirky European titles. My favorites include Psychastria (a horizontal SHMUP), Slinky (a Q*Bert clone with cute interpretations of several well-known classical tunes) and Cosmic Causeway (not entirely unlike a 3-D version of Marble Madness, only over endless plains instead of Escher-inspired fortresses).

Taito and their hired guns did an excellent job with the arcade ports they released. Arkanoid and Arkanoid II are almost spot on. Bubble Bobble works, even if it feels a bit slow compared to the arcade game. Sky Shark (Flying Shark to those elsewhere in the world) could have used a little more polish, but is still pretty darn good as is.

Sega also did a very good job with their arcade ports. Games like Out Run, Space Harrier and Thunder Blade may have lost a lot in the translation from the arcades, but they still pack a good punch on the Commodore. Only After Burner is anywhere near a disappointment.

I must also mention one of the last commercial releases for the C-64, Konami's port of their arcade game The Simpsons. Not only does it help us prove just how long the Simpsons have been around ("They have games on the NES and even the Commodore!"), but it actually does a surprisingly good job of replicating the arcade game. Konami also released a port of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the same time, but The Simpsons fared much better.

One thing that makes Commodore games, even some bad ones, so memorable, is the unique sound hardware that went into the Commodore. Revolutionary at the time, it still doesn't sound quite like anything that went into any other system during the era of analog sound. And in the hands of a programmer who knew how to tap the hardware properly, a mediocre game could turn into a bona-fide classic (just look at Rambo: First Blood Part II). Commodore musicians became celebrities of sorts, sought after by small companies hoping the music would turn their lead games into gold. If you're considering a game that happens to list who did the music, and you see a name like Ben Daglish, Rob Hubbard, Jonathan Dunn or the Maniacs of Noise, odds are the game will be worth buying, if only for the music.

Edited by FujiSkunk, Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:13 PM.

[BydoEmpire]

Hm, per-publisher is an interesting way to look at it. I liked a lot of Mastertronic titles. For a budget label, they put out a ton of great games. Kane, being chief among them. I've never been a big fan of Western-themed games, but that was a great one.

[roberto]

BydoEmpire, on Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:21 PM, said:

Hm, per-publisher is an interesting way to look at it. I liked a lot of Mastertronic titles. For a budget label, they put out a ton of great games. Kane, being chief among them. I've never been a big fan of Western-themed games, but that was a great one.

Oh yeah! Kane was a great game! On the other hand, Mastertronic also released a lot of poor titles... how to forget "Pigs in Space" for example?

[frank_c]

Castle Wolfenstein
Space Taxi
Bruce Lee
Karateka
Summer and Winter Games
Airborne Ranger
Ghostbusters
Dr. J & Larry Bird One-On-One

Edited by frank_c, Sat May 1, 2010 11:08 PM.

[Atari2600Lives]

Pyromaniac605, on Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:35 PM, said:

It doesnt matter what format as long as they are on Commodore 64 it doesnt matter.
I dont have any favourites yet because i dont have my C64 yet.

-Darren-

Have you tried emulation? It works great and I even use my original joysticks with the stella adapter they sell on the site.

Anyway there are so many game I would not know where to start:


Pirates
Elite
Microprose Soccer
Pool of Radiance
Mail Order monsters
Hardball
Leader Board Golf
Summer games
summer games II
Winter games
Red Storm Rising
Starflight
Silent service
Airborne Ranger
The Zork series (and all other infocom games especially hitch Hiker's guide to the Galaxy)
F-15 Eagle
Gunship
test Drive

So many more but I would be here for hours listing them.

[tiggerthehun]

Where in God's name is the Archon love?!? For shame!!!

[dafivehole]

I had an Atari but a friend of mine had a C64 and we played with this program that would actually say whatever you typed... I think it was called SAM

I guess back then, it was pretty fun

Roger

[cimerians]

FujiSkunk, on Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:10 PM, said:

Pretty much all of the AtariSoft titles for the C-64 were well down (possible exception being Centipede, which feels a tad incomplete), but Donkey Kong particularly stands out. It was one of the few home ports that got both the number of screens and the positions of Donkey Kong and the hammers correct on every screen. It bests even the Atari 8bit version, in my opinion.

Activision put an extra layer of gloss on their 2600 remakes for the C-64, but there were some notable originals too. Park Patrol is one of my favorites, and of course Ghostbusters plays much better on the C-64 than on the 2600.

Very few lists of C-64 favorites are without least one or two titles from Epyx. Classics like California Games and Impossible Mission got their start on the C-64. My personal Epyx favorite is Jumpman.

Electronic Arts also had some good originals. I think my favorite of theirs is Realm of Impossibility. Sadly their translations weren't as hot; Marble Madness left a lot to be desired.

Virgin and Cosmi were good for quirky European titles. My favorites include Psychastria (a horizontal SHMUP), Slinky (a Q*Bert clone with cute interpretations of several well-known classical tunes) and Cosmic Causeway (not entirely unlike a 3-D version of Marble Madness, only over endless plains instead of Escher-inspired fortresses).

Taito and their hired guns did an excellent job with the arcade ports they released. Arkanoid and Arkanoid II are almost spot on. Bubble Bobble works, even if it feels a bit slow compared to the arcade game. Sky Shark (Flying Shark to those elsewhere in the world) could have used a little more polish, but is still pretty darn good as is.

Sega also did a very good job with their arcade ports. Games like Out Run, Space Harrier and Thunder Blade may have lost a lot in the translation from the arcades, but they still pack a good punch on the Commodore. Only After Burner is anywhere near a disappointment.

I must also mention one of the last commercial releases for the C-64, Konami's port of their arcade game The Simpsons. Not only does it help us prove just how long the Simpsons have been around ("They have games on the NES and even the Commodore!"), but it actually does a surprisingly good job of replicating the arcade game. Konami also released a port of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the same time, but The Simpsons fared much better.

One thing that makes Commodore games, even some bad ones, so memorable, is the unique sound hardware that went into the Commodore. Revolutionary at the time, it still doesn't sound quite like anything that went into any other system during the era of analog sound. And in the hands of a programmer who knew how to tap the hardware properly, a mediocre game could turn into a bona-fide classic (just look at Rambo: First Blood Part II). Commodore musicians became celebrities of sorts, sought after by small companies hoping the music would turn their lead games into gold. If you're considering a game that happens to list who did the music, and you see a name like Ben Daglish, Rob Hubbard, Jonathan Dunn or the Maniacs of Noise, odds are the game will be worth buying, if only for the music.

This is a great overview of the C64. I agree with everything FujiSkunk says.

I forgot to mention a few RPG's:


The Bards Tale 1,2,3
AD&D Goldbox Games:
- Pool of Radiance
- Curse of the Azure Bonds
- Secret of the Silver Blades
- Champions of Krynn
- Death Knights of Krynn
The Standing Stones
Legacy of the Ancients (not sure about the sequel)
All of the Ultima's (5 was better on the C128, not sure about 6)
All the Zork and Infocom games

I think there were a few Wizardry's converted to the C64 but I'm not sure how they are as compared to the PC versions.

[marcfrick2112]

Wow, favorite C64 games... Hard to answer, like asking what's your favorite food... (Answer to both questions, just about everything!)

OK, a few that haven't been mentioned:

Fist: The Legend Continues - sequel to Exploding Fist, with a cool side-scrolling 'adventure'
Eliminator - great music
Krakout - sideways Arkanoid clone
Zoids - hard as &^!@^%, but great music, Rob Hubbard
Paperboy
PHM Pegasus - loved it as a kid, now I find that I royally suck at it
He-Man and the MOTU
Master of the Lamps

[SoulBlazer]

Along with some of the classics allready mentioned:

Lode Runner
Jumpman
Miner 2049
MULE
Seven Cities of Gold
Heart of Africa
Larry Bird vs Dr. J
The Last Ninja trilogy
The Infocom games
Beach Head 1 and 2

There were a few more obscure games that I liked also.

One was called Wavy Navy, where you had a boat that went up and down these big waves and you blasted airplanes, kind of like Space Invaders on the High Sea.

Another game name escapes me right now, but it was a adventure game where you had to go to the Amazon to find a lost ruin with a party, and you maped the jungles and the ruins and sold artifacts to get money

Microprose made some really awsome games for the system also. Command H.Q. was a fav of mine for many years.

Edited by SoulBlazer, Sun May 23, 2010 4:13 AM.

[Mirage]

SoulBlazer, on Sun May 23, 2010 4:12 AM, said:

Another game name escapes me right now, but it was a adventure game where you had to go to the Amazon to find a lost ruin with a party, and you maped the jungles and the ruins and sold artifacts to get money

Probably the one you're talking about is "Amazon"?:

http://www.lemon64.c...ails.php?ID=427

I also love the game Alter Ego (Activision). I just played through it again a couple times a few weeks ago. I was actually disturbed at how young I died both times.

[SoulBlazer]

Mirage, on Sun May 23, 2010 4:19 AM, said:

SoulBlazer, on Sun May 23, 2010 4:12 AM, said:

Another game name escapes me right now, but it was a adventure game where you had to go to the Amazon to find a lost ruin with a party, and you maped the jungles and the ruins and sold artifacts to get money

Probably the one you're talking about is "Amazon"?:

http://www.lemon64.c...ails.php?ID=427

I also love the game Alter Ego (Activision). I just played through it again a couple times a few weeks ago. I was actually disturbed at how young I died both times.

Oh, thanks for reminding me about Alter Ego! I didn't have that back in the day but I would have really enjoyed it if I did.

Found the game I was talking about -- Expidition Amazon

http://www.lemon64.c...ails.php?ID=427

Edited by SoulBlazer, Sun May 23, 2010 5:25 AM.

[Mirage]

Oh, Expedition Amazon... I've never even heard of that one.

Looks like both our our lemon links link to Castle Wolfenstein... for me anyway. I guess you have to go there and search for the game title.

[roberto]

Mirage, on Sun May 23, 2010 4:19 AM, said:

I also love the game Alter Ego (Activision). I just played through it again a couple times a few weeks ago. I was actually disturbed at how young I died both times.

Alter Ago was one of the greatest games ever!! It had such a deep range of possibilities where every action actually affected how your character developed. I loved it!
And I'm pretty sure, together with Little Computer People, it must have inspired all the Sims type of games

[Atari2600Lives]

expedition amazon...hmmm..sounds cool, I have never heard of it either but I just noticed I do have the ROM for it. I'll see if I can track down a real copy of the game for my collection.

Edited by Atari2600Lives, Sun Jun 6, 2010 9:06 PM.

[SoulBlazer]

Atari2600Lives, on Sun Jun 6, 2010 9:06 PM, said:

expedition amazon...hmmm..sounds cool, I have never heard of it either but I just noticed I do have the ROM for it. I'll see if I can track down a real copy of the game for my collection.

If you ever finish the damn thing, let me know. Lord knows I've never done so, in years of playing it.