|
|
|
The Mojon Twins are definitely addicted to surreal scenarios, but also to "private jokes" that sometimes make the story
difficult to understand. So in short, Sir Ababol have to collect 25 flowers to retrieve his sword. I assure you, you
don't want to know more...
We are once again facing a traditional platform game in which you have to collect items and of course keys to access to the
different areas. The Spanish team honed his skills as this Sir Ababol is a real success. The choice of mode
1 is justified by a dark atmosphere that reminds the worlds of GHOSTS'N GOBLINS or CASTLEVANIA and the graphics are very
thin. The character responds at pixel and it is a real pleasure to discover each new screen to slalom between the monsters.
Bonuses allow you to recover energy, which makes it less punitive than some previous productions. As always when good games
are too short, we wanted more but a sequel seems to be announced. Wait and see...
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by RAMOS
|
|
|
|
SMALL GAMES FOR SMART MINDS
|
2007
|
|
|
|
|
ESP Soft offers a moment of relaxation, an opportunity to put away lasers and machine guns, give a wide berth from
bricks falling relentlessly, but also from mazes promising a fatal fall at every turn: An Othello, Checkers and Sokoban
games to remember that you can have fun without feeling a constant sense of urgency.
SMALL GAMES FOR SMART MINDS is an unpretentious collection of puzzle games, but that does not mean it is devoid of interest.
With the game of Checkers, you must succeed in taking all the pawns of the board in 1 hit, Sokoban is to push boxes to
specific locations in mazes and Othello opposes you to the CPC in a game where you have to impose your color on a board
by capturing your opponent's pawns. There are many levels and graphics, without being exceptional, remain effective.
It is a pity that there is no music and sounds. Nothing new under the sun then, but this little compilation of classic
remains effective to take one's mind off things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developer : ESP Soft
Code & GFX : Artaburu
Add. GFX : Kendroock, DaDMan
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by KENDROOCK
|
|
|
|
|
A gold haired heroine driving heavily armed war machines, a succession of platforms straining your reflexes and
menus in Spanish that complete the illusion. Looks like the full range of elements of the perfect little DINAMIC game.
But make no mistake, it is actually the game that won the 2015 issue of the "#CPCRetroDev Game Creation Contest".
With its little variety of graphics and its very short lifetime that permits to finish it in a few minutes, SPACE MOVES
divided the community after the announcement of results of the competition. Its Spanish origin and the fan service
tendency have been accused of having weighed in the balance. But if it certainly isn't as good as ARMY MOVES or PHANTIS,
and although the end of the game announce maliciously a second part that finally doesn't exist, it remains a nice
entertainment developed by an amateur programmer certainly more deserving in this context than the confirm ones he was
opposed. Try it to take a breath of Iberian sensations from 80's.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developer : AmstradGamer
Code & GFX : Toni Ramírez
Music & SFX : McKlain
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by JUAN GIMÉNEZ
|
|
|
|
|
Asteroids exploited to the last gram of their mineral resources and finally abandoned are used to organize races against
the clock on winding roads. Enjoyable alone or with a friend, STAR DRIVER offers original direction for a well-proven
style of game.
A clever conding routine offers a striking view with curved perspective that justify the idea of racing around an asteroid.
On the other hand, the graphics lack of details and the sound of your engine is atrocious. Controlling the car is difficult
and you have to be persevering but once you understood how it works, you should progress quickly. When you have completed the
first lap imposed in less than 60 seconds on each asteroid, taking care not to hit the stage, you can try the "double-orbit"
that consists to accomplish a second laps in a total time of less than 100 seconds. In "versus" mode, the fastest player wins.
Despite the small size of the playing area and once overcome frustration of the first attempts, we pass a funny time in front
of the CPC screen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developer : Shocker Soft & Shimmer
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork by IXIAN FACTORY - Picture by OLGA MERKULOVA
|
|
|
|
STAR SABRE (Enhanced)
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
For once, forget a story without interest and instead let's talk about the surprises offered by this version of STAR SABRE,
fruit of a long maturity and requiring 128K of memory.
STAR SABRE draws on many influences such as those of P47, GRADIUS (NEMESIS) or X-OUT for quite a classical result. Each of
the five levels with varied environnements confronts you with two bosses, one of them mid-term. The musics stick to the
atmosphere and the perfectly smooth scrolling is awesome. Despite this, the game lacks variety. The successive waves of
vessels are unsurprising, offering bonuses after their destruction. The weapons are varied, but one quickly understands
that triple-shot is the best choice. The most annoying is the punitive and poorly measured difficulty with bosses often
more difficult to reach than to defeat. Still remains a game to discover for the technical slap and the overall quality with
a wealth of details (rasters, lapping when the vessels touch the water...) that attest the passion of the developer.
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork by IXIAN FACTORY - Picture by MATTHEW VAN ROOIJEN
|
|
|
|
|
Moosh wants to destroy the bridge linking his world to the evil Tysch's! To do that, he must crush
all the tiles in 32 levels passing over them. But when a tile collapses, he can't move back.
What a cute excuse for a nice puzzle game!
CPC adaptation of the Spectrum game created by Bob SMITH, STRANDED offers a challenge with a deliciously progressive
difficulty. We try again and again to discover in what order the tiles must be crossed to make them all disappear in
a limited time. Tiles with various effects complicate the challenge. Technically simple, this CPC version is curiously
less colorful the Spectrum one despite the use of the mode 0. Fortunately, all is pleasant and shall not affect a
simple and addictive gameplay. Only regret, the password given only every 4 levels, forcing the player to restart
levels already overcome, a frustrating loss of time. Without being exceptional, STRANDED is a pleasure to play. We
hope that its excellent sequel on Spectrum, STRANDED 2.5, will be converted...
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by GRAHAM RICHARDS
|
|
|
|
|
Needless to introduce Sudoku, the numbers game in which you must fill grids with numbers that must exist only once in each
column, row or diagonal. You can find thousands of grids on the Internet or in magazines but SU-DO'KU offers you to play on
your CPC.
We immediately tried to compare it to SUDOKU MASTER which it is the eldest. But if Binary Sciences shows that a puzzle-game
without any action can be impressive using rasters and overscan, SU-DO'KU rather opts for minimalism with graphics using
cold colors together with a single music. 120 grids are included but what really distinguishes this game is their size up
to 12x12 tiles. An editor included permits to create your own grids and we appreciate the presence of a 100% joystick
control mode, a laudable attempt even if the ergonomic of the keyboard is rapidly preferred. A good game to discover
despite its austerity. Obviously, it will be easier to carry a magazine rather than your CPC on the beach!
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork by IXIAN FACTORY - Picture by HERUKA
|
|
|
|
|
There is nothing better than ecological task to justify the destruction of tons of mutant fish! In any case,
this is exactly what offers SUB HUNTER, a shmup designed in 2008 for C64 and converted to CPC by the talented Paul
Kooistra who has already graced us with a number of wonders such as EDGE GRINDER,
STAR SABRE and RELENTLESS.
And this CPC version does not demerit. The graphics are very good, the animation suffers no slowdown despite numerous
differential scrollings and everything is accompanied by excellent music perfectly adapted to the atmosphere. The
variety is also at the rendezvous with different missions. You often have to save a number of swimmers but
sometimes you will be asked to go and recover them, bonus levels will embark you on a hunt for points when will not
simply have to survive. The difficulty level is fairly well balanced and it starts to get tougher from the tenth
level. Shame that no boss comes to disturb the linearity. Nevertheless, a real success.
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by JASON KELK and JASON MACKENZIE
|
|
|
|
|
Locked rooms, coins and a key to collect in a limited time, enemies with programmed moves and a small insect to guide
in this hostile environment. That's the simple context of an effective and addictive puzzle-game.
Originally designed for NINTENDO DS, SUBTERA PUZLO was adapted on CPC during the
16KBs ROM Game Development Competition.
Graphics have been converted in mode 1 and although we regret that it is less colorful than the original version,
this gives the game a typical CPC atmosphere with a pallet change for each level. The game's menu features a sumptuous music
and a passcode system allows the player to start in the room of its choice, for example the last explored. Despite a weak
difficulty level which reduces its lifetime, SUBTERA PUZLO is a very fun title with simple but devilishly effective
realisation in view of the size limitation imposed by the competition. A beautiful gameplay lesson that shows that this is
not the technical aspect that determines the global quality of a game. A word to the wise...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Design : Egotrip
Code : Redbox
GFX, music & SFX : Egotrip
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork by IXIAN FACTORY - Picture by IW
|
|
|
|
|
At Binary Sciences, when designing a puzzle-game, they do not make things by halves. With GROOPS!, They already
offered a first quality title. With SUDOKU MASTER, the bar is set even higher with a particularly austere kind of
game. Because it has to be said that it is a real challenge to create a game attractive enough to justify
shelling grid of numbers on a CPC.
So place to the technical debauchery : overscan display, musics with digidrums, graphics using mode 1 but with up
to 10 colors simultaneously! And all this for a really complete game. There are 128 preset grids, a random grids
generator, 4 difficulty levels, with or without timer, and a saving system. To cheer up the game, you can switch
between 2 musics, several color palettes and even a plasma mask the screen when you pause the game. So of
course, you have to like sudoku to play this game. But SUDOKU MASTER could give a lesson to many pay games of
this kind available on the latest platforms!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developer : Binary Sciences
Code : Olivier Floquet
Graphics : Cédric Quetier
Music : William Bourgeois
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by CÉDRIC QUETIER
|
|
|
|
|
Inspired by the rules of the PICROSS series created by Nintendo, SuperPix invites you to a logic game where you'll
have to discover small pictures by filling boxes with clues in the form of numbers placed on the edges of the grid. This
is a rather abrupt principle but, as SUDOKU MASTER, very addictive if you appreciate games using numbers.
The game is not stingy and offers no less than 720 grids! In order not to be lost, progress and statistics are saved
automatically. Accessible even to novices through a tutorial in English and Spanish, the graphics in 4 colors make it
quite austere. However, the use of Mode 1 allows perfect legibility and the player can customize the display by changing
the colors to his liking. The music is pleasant with discrete sound effects while playing, prompting the player to the
concentration. Although PICROSS fans will quickly realize that the grids are taken from various Nintendo games,
you'll be captivated by the screen of your CPC in this game technically simple but offering very good content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developer : Crack'n'Rom
Code and GFX : Kukulcan
Music and SFX : Tom&Jerry
DOWNLOAD : 1 / 2 - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by IXIAN FACTORY
|
|
|
|
TEODORO NO SABE VOLAR
|
2012
|
|
|
|
|
Indie platform games offering a varied and original content, able to keep the player on their toes, are not so many on
CPC. But that did not scare Retroworks studio that offers us a game with rich and colorful graphics, featuring sumptuous music.
Teodoro has to walk the halls of his castle invaded by an unknown enemy to get alarm. He must avoid obstacles and invaders
but also find keys to progress. As in PHANTOMAS SAGA, it is fun to search for items and find out the right position to land
on the right place, falling several screens. The map is vast and Teodoro evolves during the adventure, discovering new skills
permitting to reach rooms previously inaccessible. We regret the relatively small game area size and the lack of a scrolling.
The difficulty level is well balanced but the game may be long, so a password system would have been welcome. We necessarily
tend to be intransigent with a game of such a level and TEODORO NO SABE VOLAR is already a wonderful game to discover urgently!
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by PAGANTIPACO
|
|
|
|
|
I'm not going to insult you by explaining the concept of TETRIS, a concept magnified by Nintendo. This is yet
another interpretation but it is not devoid of interest.
The graphics are a bit simplistic but effective, a tribute music welcomes you and the sound effects are adequate.
Critical elements, there is the display of the next piece and you can accelerate the fall of the current one without
having to do it fell at once, as it is the case in the disastrous official adaptation on CPC. The game features a
challenge mode with levels and a training mode in which you can set time and speed. In fact, this game just missed
excellence because of a recurring default present in most copies: difficulty that becomes too fast insurmountable. Indeed,
all the magic of the original is in its difficulty progressing in sawtooth, offering to the player rewarding respites
with regular easier levels than the previous ones. Aside from that, TETRIS 95 is great and recommended to all lovers
of this kind of puzzler.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developper : Power System
Code/GFX/Music : C. Kastriottis
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork by IXIAN FACTORY - Picture by JEREMY MALLIN
|
|
|
|
|
What meets the eye in this remake of TETRIS is of course the ability to play simultaneously with a friend. You will find the
classical modes, one to train chaining lines without interruption and normal one consisting of levels, each with new
obstacles. Must execute a number of lines to complete each of the levels in sequence with increasing difficulty. Of course,
the difficulty increases each time a level is mastered with the acceleration of the block falling speed.
Among the new features, we note the presence of two new blocks. An arguable addition but, amazingly, perfectly compensating
the difficulty associated with the presence in the advanced levels of blocks with which the player has to deal. Graphics are
simple, making the game easy to read. The only regret is that there is no music to liven up the game. You can change the speed
of rotation and lateral movement of the blocks to play with comfort. But if you find a second player to face you, he will
have to break his fingers because of the questionnable choice of the keys to play. A nice game for an as old amateur production
that offered in 1989 a strong alternative to the disastrous official adaptation from Mirrorsoft.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developer : Playfield
Code/GFX/SFX : Thomas Alber
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by IXIAN FACTORY
|
|
|
|
THE MASTER OF SPACE!
|
1994
|
|
|
|
|
You fly over warships and your mission is to eradicate every threat but your spaceship must refuel every minute, picking
up a capsule floating in space. When it appears, your weaponry is blocked. A race against time begins to find it quickly
and be able to blow the enemy again. improbable mix between URIDIUM and OUT RUN, the game alternates
assault phases and a capsule hunt, clever excuse to slalom between vessels and other obstacles.
The graphics are superb and sound effects remember the good old time. Important element in this type of game, the
scrolling is smooth and fast. In contrast, the play area is much smaller than the one in the Andrew BRAYBROOK's fabulous
shmup and the skin that surround it is clearly too flashy. With twelve levels and a difficulty gradually evolving from
affordable to herculean, this production would still have been proposed by a publisher specialized in "budget" price games
and should delight old style shooting fans. A big thank to Kukulcan who managed to gather on a single floppy disk side the
game and its expansion available through a nice menu.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developer : Shocker Soft & Shimmer
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork by IXIAN FACTORY - Picture by BORIS VALLEJO
|
|
|
|
THE RETURN OF TRAXTOR
|
2015
|
|
|
|
|
Originally created on Gameboy for the third edition of the GBJam competition in 2014, THE LEGEND OF TRAXTOR was only adapted to ZX Spectrum.
Never mind, its sequel THE RETURN OF TRAXTOR enhances the concept and if it was designed for Spectrum, it also lands now on CPC.
You lead a ship with a tractor beam and the objective is to assemble colored blocks in this match-3 game that seems rather classic. But there is
a twist. Your ship can store up to three blocks that you can then deposit on the block column of your choice. A specific block semetimes appears
taking the color of the one on which you drop it and the speed, which increases steadily, decreases slightly every five levels. We can also
multiply the combos by accumulating blocks stored during the disappearance of other ones. All good gameplay systems are here to provide a solid and
addictive puzzle-game. The music provides a nice atmosphere and counterbalances colorful graphics less detailed than on Spectrum. So we play again and
again with pleasure, which is quite rare in such a recurring genre. THE RETURN OF TRAXTOR is simple but effective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developer : usebox.net
Code & GFX : Juan J. Martinez
Add. GFX : Craig Stevenson
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by USEBOX.NET
|
|
|
|
THE SHADOWS OF SERGOTH
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
Openly inspired by great classics such as DUNGEON MASTER and EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, THE SHADOWS OF SERGOTH (TSOS)
takes up the challenge of finally offering a good dungeon crawler on CPC.
First of all, the realization is of high quality even if one would have preferred that the graphician shows his talent in an
introduction rather than in screens to choose the language or change the floppy disk side. The game is based on a
simplification of the D20 system of AD&D and, taking over the interface of the tenors cited above, its handling
is relatively simple. The script, without being very original, is followed with pleasure until the final ending and fighting
against a bestiary varied multiplying references follow each other without weariness. We control a single warrior rather than
a team but the lifetime remains very good and like the board games which it is inspired, we take pleasure in restarting a game
even after completing the adventure. The astonishing fluidity of the action adds to the pleasure of playing. To summarize,
despite some small flaws, TSOS is a performance and all fans of this kind of game will be delighted to find a title to meet
their expectations on CPC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Code : Chris94, Kukulcan
GFX : Ced, Chris94
Music : McKlain, Rayxamber, Tom&Jerry
DOWNLOAD : 1 / 2 - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork by IXIAN FACTORY - Picture by UNKNOWN
|
|
|
|
TOTEMS - COLUMNS CPC TWO
|
2012
|
|
|
|
|
Puzzle-games are not lacking on CPC, it's rather a kind of game expanding on our favorite machine. But contrary to popular
belief, it is not so easy to develop an effective, engaging and fun to play gameplay. It is even a delicate exercise that
requires many adjustments. ESP Soft has paid for it developing a CPC version of COLUMNS,
the classic game from SEGA. Full of good will, this realization was quite perfectible and suffered of a limited gameplay. Now
more experienced, the Spanish studio offers us a sequel whose avowed aim is to provide a much more compelling game.
And to say the least, the goal is fully achieved. The graphics are very successful, enjoyable and detailed in 4 colors. TOTEMS
has real identity, taking the theme of Ancient Egypt, and music are both discrete and catchy. Many game modes for one or two
players are available and progressive difficulty is perfectly balanced. It is a sweet revenge for ESP Soft which gratifies the
CPC an excellent puzzle game.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developer : ESP Soft
Code, music & SFX : Artaburu
GFX : D-o-s, 6128, McKlain
DOWNLOAD : Game - Cover
|
|
|
|
|
Original cover-artwork and picture by 6128
|
|
|
