So what were the worst Amstrad games in your opinion? Which were the embarrassing disasters? Insults to programming? Or blatant quick cash in rush jobs that should never have gone on sale? :o
Might be opening a 'can of worms' with this one and a rather distasteful subject for us all, but I'm putting together a light hearted 'worst ever games for the amstrad' video and didn't want to miss any out. ;D
I think public domain, homebrew and type-in games should be discounted. There were also so many bad Amsoft games too which I'll probably lump all into together at some position in the vid.
The more important or larger impact of the game the better, rather than some cheapo budget knock off too.
eg OUTRUN over say some obscure 99p budget release that no-ones ever heard of
I'll start off ...
OUTRUN
WORLD CUP CARNIVAL
COUNT DUCKULA 2
ALTERED BEAST
=Black...Tiger...
;D
Only for the fact I paid for this piece of crap...
=Xybots wasn't that bad (I paid for it too) as it had a sweet 2 player mode and to be honest, it is still far better than Speccy or C64 versions ... really...
but it could anyway be fairly better IMO.
The classic they could even had put the sprites in 3 colours...
You really do hate Black Tiger don't you? ;D
I never played it, will take a look at it later. Is it any worse than the other Capcom conversion/speccy port that is Bionic Commando?
Xybots had the smallest playing screen ever!!!
Xybot : yes but it is the ancestor of Doomlike Network games... and manage to be faithfull to arcade gameplay.
Black tiger :
Sadly... this could have done a decent job even in mode1 but collision when you fire at enemies are attrocious.
Music is anoying at best... no sound effect otherwise.
Just imagine a lazier strider engine but even "worsterst".
Well, Bionic Commando was in colour inside the playfield... I guess... ;D
But I hadn't played it at the time.
By the way to get a list, start with Speccy ports wikipage.
Please don't include Outrun... I know everyone keeps bashing it, but I found it was a good game in its own right. As a port, ok, maybe it sucked, but it was still much better than tons of other efforts!
Can't wait for the vid :)
When it comes to games lists like this, I'm kinda known for being consverative with my selections... and this is just the same!
It's only based on games I owned in the 80s/90s; so it doesn't include any games I've played since getting PC emulators & tons of .dsk files.
Amsoft (Bridge-it, Atom Smasher, Galactic Plague, Electro Freddy, Haunted Hedges, Rol-Ahoy, Rol-Caves, Rol-Run, Home Runner, Hunchback, Punchy, Mr Wong's, Qabbalah, Sultan's Maze, all sports related Amsoft games)
The Wild Bunch
Caves Of Doom
Chiller
Chopper Squad
Vampire Killer
Commando (No 3-channel music & no hiscore music! Disgusting)
Hi-Rise
Flimbo's Quest (No horizontal scrolling, so unplayable & crap title-music)
Ghouls
Knight Force
Kokotoni Wilf
Mr Freeze
Nemesis The Warlock (Load and listen to the music... but NEVER play the game)
Psycho Pigs UXB
<insert random name here> Simulator by Codemasters
St Dragon (horrible scrolling & graphics)
Starion
Trollie Wallie
Trashman
- Nothing controversial there, really!
Didn't Commando have a High-score music? I really do remember enjoying it... and, aside from that, an excellent game!
Chiller really broke my nerves - SO hard!
I also remember Chiller as being one of the worst games I ever played on any platform.
Commando on the CPC was quite enjoyable though. Much better then the C64 version and it did have High Score music.
For really bad games, the Spectrum people had this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Buy_This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Buy_This)
Hard to beat, really.
Super Gran needs a mention, that game was terrible.
Quote from: Gryzor on 10:44, 05 September 11
Didn't Commando have a High-score music? I really do remember enjoying it... and, aside from that, an excellent game!
No, you're right, it has 2-channel bleepy highscore music.
My mistake. I'll remove it from my list.
Oh man, Psycho Pigs UXB was technically terrible but lots of fun :laugh:
Triple Comando... what a pile of s#$t!!! :D
And how always, nobody expects the spanish "ugly ducklings" (http://lnx.webxprs.com/blog/la-chicha/1-patitos-feos/) ;D ;D ;D Sorry, you will need a translator to read all the articles about the most unknow spanish game companies, but i can promise hours of laughs, the first sentece is "Did you remember these companies? Did you have nightmares with their games?" ;D ;D ;D
Depends on how you define worst.
For me, Milk-Race by Mastertronic was really bad. First time I played it, I finished it in about 10 mins. It was then just put away and ignored.
Sorry Gryzor - but Outrun... SO SSSSLLLLOOOOWWWWWW to play... in fact, I use the term play quite loosely, more endure.
And, my most controversial choice is Alien-8 & Knightlore. I just didn't get it. Yes, a fake in isometric 3d... but the speed-ups and slow-downs when moving behind stuff (even worse when an enemy went behind things), the fact both games were pretty much the same... mad control methods, sound-fx ported from the spectrum. Looking back, I think I was forced into liking it because of the Ultimate label, obscenely high ratings and fancy packaging. This also put me off playing head over heels due to the similarities in graphics.
Outrun (DEFINITELY!!!)
Double Dragon 64KB version (Melbourne House)(DEFINITELY)
Streetfighter
Quote from: Jase on 13:50, 05 September 11
And, my most controversial choice is Alien-8 & Knightlore. I just didn't get it. Yes, a fake in isometric 3d... but the speed-ups and slow-downs when moving behind stuff (even worse when an enemy went behind things), the fact both games were pretty much the same... mad control methods, sound-fx ported from the spectrum. Looking back, I think I was forced into liking it because of the Ultimate label, obscenely high ratings and fancy packaging. This also put me off playing head over heels due to the similarities in graphics.
I must disagree, I loved KNIGHTLORE & ALIEN-8 (and SABREWULF, though it wasn't iso-3D), but will admit that you needed to know the levels before playing the game to actually get anywhere and the playability did suffer from serious slow-down most of the time. The recent remake of KNIGHTLORE was superb, if a little easier to complete than the original... possibly due to the fact that it didn't slow down, making timing of all jumps nearly possible.
HEAD OVER HEELS and BATMAN were a lot better in terms of looks and gameplay, though still suffered from slow-down when lots of things (ie 2) moved onscreen at once. I would recommend giving HOH a go if you've still got the .dsk/3" handy.
Also, give HYDROFOOL a go if you've not played it. Not only does it have a Rob Hubbard tune he DIDN'T release on the C64, it's also a pretty good isometric game that doesn't slow-down... too much!
Quote from: EgoTrip on 11:02, 05 September 11
Super Gran needs a mention, that game was terrible.
OMG forgot about that one. Have the original on tape. Awful.
Quote from: Xyphoe on 07:19, 05 September 11
The more important or larger impact of the game the better, rather than some cheapo budget knock off too.
eg OUTRUN over say some obscure 99p budget release that no-ones ever heard of
BARBARIAN 2 - Just plain rubbish in comparison to the brilliant, if a little samey, original!
GAUNTLET 3 - Terrible sequel that didn't need to exist!
GLIDER RIDER - Bombing was almost impossible & it was a blatant one-coloured Speccy port. The only redeeming grace was DW's awesome soundtrack!
JET SET WILLY - Why? The FINAL FRONTIER should have been the only JET SET WILLY game. Why have a cut-down version?
THE SENTINEL - Our version was diabolical in comparison to the 6502 and 68000 versions.
Anything with DIZZY or SEYMOUR... no, anything 8-bit from CODEMASTERS in general!
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 15:01, 05 September 11
Anything with DIZZY or SEYMOUR... no, anything 8-bit from CODEMASTERS in general!
I quite enjoyed
(Pro) Super Robin Hood
(Simulator) by CM... and Pro
(Super) BMX Simulator...
And the free version of
(Pro) (Super) Dizzy
(Simulator) given away by Amstrad Action (cos it was really easy to steal the music!)
But I have just remembered "
Karl's Treasure Hunt"... Anyone remember that? The noise made when your character jumps... sounded like a depressed cow or something... Graphics were crude too, and the (can't think of another word for it) physics when your character does jump...
I quite liked Glider Rider and the first Dizzy game (haven't played the others).
Kane was awful, as was Radzone. I never could figure out what to do in Sweevo's World, though I liked all the other 3D isometric games I've played (either by Ultimate, or Batman, Head over Heels).
Quote from: MaV on 16:02, 05 September 11
Kane was awful, as was Radzone. I never could figure out what to do in Sweevo's World, though I liked all the other 3D isometric games I've played (either by Ultimate, or Batman, Head over Heels).
I quite liked KANE and RADZONE, however BIOSPHERES (JDR's other CPC game) was bad. Also remember that RADZONE is written in BASIC with M/C sprite handling and random music routines!
I think this thread is beginning to lose its integrity somewhat, as personal preferences are dominating our choices. I think we should first establish what constitutes a BAD CPC GAME; is it graphics, sound, playability, badly programmed routines, lots of flickering sprites? Or should we just say AMSOFT and leave it there?
(
Are there any good AMSOFT games? Even ROL-TIME is a little chunky & ROL-SPACE is simply unplayable)
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 15:01, 05 September 11
BARBARIAN 2 - Just plain rubbish in comparison to the brilliant, if a little samey, original!
Aw, come on, even if th original was much better this doesn't make the sequel worth of a Worst Of list! It was actually quite a nice game, and Maria surely delivered once more! ;D
Quote from: Gryzor on 16:53, 05 September 11
Aw, come on, even if th original was much better this doesn't make the sequel worth of a Worst Of list! It was actually quite a nice game, and Maria surely delivered once more! ;D
BARBARIAN 2 was just terrible! It took the pink-graphic from the original and stuck him in a game where you had to pixel-perfect jump over pits & lava flows, fight an infinite number of hideously-coloured creatures that had no AI other than hit & move forward & hit again and navigate a seemingly impossible maze... at the same time! Even a scantily clad Maria on the box couldn't save it. My petition stands.
And then they made a CPC+ cartridge version! Without changing the palette! (Did they change ANYTHING on the cartridge version?)
VIXEN wasn't a very good game either and that had a scantily clad Corinne Russell on the box!
I have to say, the biggest disappointment for me ever, was the CPC version of Bubble Bobble.
But that was because I'd been playing the original arcade version a lot, and was so looking forward to it on the CPC. When I heard it was coming for the CPC I had christmas lights in my eyes. Oh wow what great news!!!
And then it turned out to be... well, a completely different game almost! Huge disappointment.
Crap graphics, no music, slow, shit sound-effects, wtf?!
Also gave the CPC a bad name with all my C64 mates.
I don't understand though, why Radzone was brought up. I always found that to be a rather good game. Great atmosphere, good graphics, neat sound-effects, big map, entertainment for a long time.
it seems to be true that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Big disappointments do not a bad game make. That's a different issue?
Of course a disappointing game = a bad game. ???
Of course not. If there wasn't an arcade Out Run, or a Bubble Bobble arcade original, we wouldn't be talking about them now.
Quote from: Gryzor on 18:24, 05 September 11
Of course not. If there wasn't an arcade Out Run, or a Bubble Bobble arcade original, we wouldn't be talking about them now.
Er... what?
So... because we're talking about them... then they're not bad?
Ok, I didn't know the rules then. My mistake.
No, you didn't get it, maybe I wasn't clear.
A game may seem to you bad or real bad or whatever because you had great expectations for it and it failed to deliver. But this doesn't prevent it from being a mediocre or even good game in its own right. What I was saying is that if Our Run was not Our Run but rather "Ferrari road trip (c)" or something, we'd judge it much better than now.
I think a better example would be my SAINT DRAGON;
I used to play SAINT DRAGON in the arcades almost every day, I could finish it in one credit and my highscore is still 23 million. Then, I heard they were releasing a computer version. The Amiga version was bad, but passable; the CPC version was horrible! The graphics were horrible, the sound was horrible, the scrolling was horrible, the controls were horrible.
Therefore, SAINT DRAGON is a bad game.
BUBBLE BOBBLE was playable and looked 'similar' to the arcade and OUTRUN wasn't as bad as people here are making out.
P.S. Also, what Gryzor said!
Ah like that. Yes of course.
It they didn't call it Bubble Bobble, but maybe Crap Dragons, and if you never played the original, then it could probably be ok.
Wait a minute....
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 18:40, 05 September 11
I think a better example would be my SAINT DRAGON; The graphics were horrible, the sound was horrible, the scrolling was horrible, the controls were horrible. Therefore, SAINT DRAGON is a bad game.
So, you honestly think that the graphics and sounds and scrolling and controls were better in Bubble Bobble? Obviously you've never played the CPC Bubble Bobble.
Quote from: mr_lou on 18:45, 05 September 11
Wait a minute....
So, you honestly think that the graphics and sounds and scrolling and controls were better in Bubble Bobble? Obviously you've never played the CPC Bubble Bobble.
Oh, I have. It doesn't even compare to SAINT DRAGON!
Please, load it up on a CPC/emulator and see. Then view any MYTUBESPACE video of the arcade!
I think I win.
Chiller :
Ow com'on.... the music is simply excellent on this game.
L.A. SWAT by Mastertronic was a big pile of sh*te. So bad, I can't even find it on CPC Power.
I actually liked a lot of the Codemasters games, were cheap and quite often good(ish) fun.
Controversial choice:
ZYNAPS
- Beautiful music (either via JDR's music disk or real hardware, as the game seems to lose a sound channel on emulators)
- Pretty and colourful, if small, graphics.
- Decent enough scrolling on a small screen.
- Nice, and varied, sound effects.
However, the game has some of the worst collision detection ever. You can die a mile away from the thing you "hit" & this makes the game almost unplayable without cheats... and then, later on in the 'bubbles' section, there's one part of the scenery that the collision detection doesn't ever let you past (or at least it doesn't let me past) and so the game is impossible.
For this reason, albeit a lame one, I claim this game as one of the worst... ok, most unfair, not worst!
(Thank-you, Mr. Rogers for a 6 minute AY tune)
Quote from: redbox on 19:19, 05 September 11
L.A. SWAT by Mastertronic was a big pile of sh*te. So bad, I can't even find it on CPC Power.
It was listed under
Los Angeles Swat (http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=3226) - but I have now modified the entry to include
L.A. SWAT as an alternative name. I've played it as well and it is shockingly awful! :o
Quote from: redbox on 19:19, 05 September 11
L.A. SWAT by Mastertronic was a big pile of sh*te. So bad, I can't even find it on CPC Power.
I actually liked a lot of the Codemasters games, were cheap and quite often good(ish) fun.
Well, as child we all had our idols and this also controlled us to buy CPC games.
(http://www.cpc-power.com/images/jaquettes/3226_6.jpg)
So, if you liked this cop, you are or singer in Village People or gay or both... :D
Quote from: Jase on 15:35, 05 September 11
But I have just remembered "Karl's Treasure Hunt"... Anyone remember that? The noise made when your character jumps... sounded like a depressed cow or something... Graphics were crude too, and the (can't think of another word for it) physics when your character does jump...
Ahhh, the pain. Got that as original on a compilation with Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy. One of the first games I bought.
Anyone remeber "Flight Path 737"? Awful. Even by the standards of the time http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Flight_Path_737 (http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Flight_Path_737)
I think I really did open a can of worms here! LOL :o
I have to say some of the games listed I couldn't honestly put as the worst ever games -
Barbarian II is a rather 'marmite' game - you either 'quite like it' or hate it. Ironically I'm somewhere in the middle - I loved the animation, deaths and the Conan inspired environments, but it was a frustrating experience and only really playable if you made yourself a map which always annoys me. Anyway - there's a longplay of it in my YT channel, so it is very completable.
ST Dragon - hardly played it much, think I've downloaded the disk a few years back and gave it a couple of games before getting bored. It's playable, but not exactly enjoyable - I don't think it could be put in the list. But just another disappointing arcade conversion like Bubble Bobble, which is exactly the same in the above respects.
Commando I thought was great fun!
Anyway yea I think Gryzor and others are right here ... there are a lot of crushing disappointment of games but it doesn't necessarily make them a bad game in their own right. However OUTRUN was and was a truly dreadful game putting aside the licence - sorry Gryzor! :P
I suppose if you want to find terrible games, you just have to mine the archives of DOMARK and US GOLD
So Just remembered -
(Domark)
Pit Fighter
Badlands
Super Space Invaders (how can you fuck up Space Invaders???)
(US Gold)
Line Of Fire (utterly unplayable and dreadful looking. Crashes on Plus machines too)
ESWAT (Actually many many people hate this and looks/plays rather dreadful... but I strangely kinda like it?!)
Streetfighter (well remembered)
Oh and Double Dragon III ... probably the slowest game I've ever played. Even the crap versions of DDI & II look good compared to this!
But ESWAT has 2 different versions, the 64k and the 128k version are like 2 different games. Are they both terrible?
I remember being quite dissapointed with 1943 and Vigilante, as I was a big fan of the arcade versions, and after buying the games and trying them on the 464 I felt like I had been ripped off.
Vigilante is still a terrible game (for my taste), but 1943 wasn't that bad.
Human Killing Machine
Wild Streets.
Badlands, a ugly Supersprint in mode 1.
Super Soccer... totally unplayable.
Sorry i resurrect a bit of the past...
QuoteBARBARIAN 2 - Just plain rubbish in comparison to the brilliant, if a little samey, original!
I liked it... not as good as first opus but still a decent production.
QuoteGAUNTLET 3 - Terrible sequel that didn't need to exist!
Speccy port, does it even count ? anyway such game could have been a Proto Diablo game.
QuoteGLIDER RIDER - Bombing was almost impossible & it was a blatant one-coloured Speccy port. The only redeeming grace was DW's awesome soundtrack!
Don't know...
QuoteJET SET WILLY - Why? The FINAL FRONTIER should have been the only JET SET WILLY game. Why have a cut-down version?
What ? jet Set Willy 2 was good...
QuoteTHE SENTINEL - Our version was diabolical in comparison to the 6502 and 68000 versions.
I never figured how to play this game, but it looked great.
Quote
Human Killing Machine
Street fighter shitty engine re-used... some decent Mode1 graphic though.
QuoteWild Streets
totally... it even don't look as good as it should
QuoteBut ESWAT has 2 different versions, the 64k and the 128k version are like 2 different games. Are they both terrible?
Well, quite like Double Dragon ?
Don't know, the port was perhaps too ambitious like many Arcade ports from this era...
You know, they tried too hard to get the sprites almost the same size as on Arcade but of course, CPC couldn't do it...
Final Fight ?
QuoteVigilante
It looks so bad...
I suspect a lot of Graphical ports for some of those Arcade games to be straigtly ported on Atari ST with no handwork after the automatic re-dimension.
Anbd too often a badly used palette too.
Quote(Domark)
Pit Fighter
Badlands
Super Space Invaders (how can you fuck up Space Invaders???)
(US Gold)
Line Of Fire (utterly unplayable and dreadful looking. Crashes on Plus machines too)
ESWAT (Actually many many people hate this and looks/plays rather dreadful... but I strangely kinda like it?!)
Streetfighter (well remembered)
those guys should be exterminated for crime against youth.
You're right ... there was a 64k and 128k version of ESWAT.
It's on the same tape and disk though ... basically the 64k version is squashed down vertically and looks truly dreadful.
Shame as that (and also Final Fight) are rumoured to be Richard Aplin games!
AmSoccer
A game less technically advanced than pong,
Scrolling worse than... um... cystoscopy (sorry!)?
Sound? Beep & Static interference...
I thought I had cleared this from my mind, but it just came back.
How could you possibly consider Caves Of Doom for the worst game ever list its a perfectly fun game if you use the joystick
anyway
Supergran is probably the worst game ever for me.
Flightpath 737 isn't great but I think Ace of Aces is much worse
Rig Attack is pretty unplayable if you want to actually get any points
Fireman Sam apparently isnt great but I haven't been bothered to load it up to find out.
Quote from: Devilmarkus on 20:15, 05 September 11
Well, as child we all had our idols and this also controlled us to buy CPC games.
(http://www.cpc-power.com/images/jaquettes/3226_6.jpg)
Oh yes !! I have this one. The worst game with difference !! Please, don't try :D
I want to mention too text adventure games with wrong spelling or translations that make them unfinishable. An example? Pharaon Spanish version (this will be fixed in the next days ;) ).
Atom Smasher.
What a truly dreadful "game" that was.
Very difficult to control, and way too fast to be anything approaching a playable state.
And it was the first game I ever bought (way back in 1985).
:(
Yeah, thanks a whole lot for that one Amsoft!
Incidentally, I don't understand all the hatred towards Commando.
Yes yes, I know that the framerate suffers in the later levels when you need to cross the black stretches of road (runway?), and the later levels are amazingly difficult, but the first 5 or so levels are very playable.
By this logic of course, yes it is very flawed, but it still seems to receive far more venom than I think it deserves.
The scrolling was really bloody good too! (apart from the black runway bits :) ).
Count Duckla 2
Elite
Commando
Myth - History in the Making
Howard the Duck
One Man and his Droid
Super Scramble Simulator
Defenders of the Earth
Famous Five
HiJack
Marsport
Dragontorc
Tir Na Nog
Heavy on a Magick
Hercules
3D Stuntrider
Techician Ted
I remember my brother having heaps of fun with Flight Path 737 and completing it a few times! ;D Obviously I'm going to upset a few people who like those games, but what can you do! :laugh:
Blimey!!!
Are you serious about Elite, Commando, and Myth??
Famous Five was a pretty decent text adventure for it's type, I thought 3D Stuntrider was OK too.
Some of the others I haven't played, but GOOD CALL on Howard The Duck - that was abysmal!!!
That reminds me ... Big Trouble In Little China was DREADFUL, shame as it's one of my favourite movies of all time!
Quote from: MacDeath on 22:34, 05 September 11
Don't know...What ? jet Set Willy 2 was good...
It was the cut-down JET SET WILLY I was having a problem with, THE FINAL FRONTIER was excellent... even if the ENTERPRISE levels were a little tough to negotiate.
Quote from: CP/M User on 04:45, 06 September 11
Elite
One Man and his Droid
Marsport
Tir Na Nog
Techician Ted
Obviously I'm going to upset a few people who like those games, but what can you do! :laugh:
I liked all those games, especially ONE MAN AND HIS DROID and TECHNICIAN TED, although ELITE wasn't as fun as it was on the BBC-B for some reason.
Quite Serious - those games do nothing for me, though I'd have to be biased!
I also wasn't impressed with Super Space Invaders or Dynamite Dan, finding the right games for me isn't easy! :( For example I love City Slicker for all the wrong reasons - blowing up Parliament is great fun! ;D
Quote from: CP/M User on 04:45, 06 September 11Commando
Howard the Duck
Dragontorc
Tir Na Nog
Hey !! I had these four too (well, Tir Na Nog no, I had Dun Darach) These are GREAT games, except Howard but this last one is not so bad, only strange and hard... Try L.A. Swat and say then :D
Quote from: MiguelSky on 10:15, 06 September 11
Hey !! I had these four too (well, Tir Na Nog no, I had Dun Darach) These are GREAT games, except Howard but this last one is not so bad, only strange and hard... Try L.A. Swat and say then :D
Well I don't know Dun Darach and it's probably better for you that I don't know Dun Darach. I can't wait for them Elite game Fans come breathing down onto my post! :laugh:
Tried L.A. Swat, do you really want to know what I think about it?
I'm able to guess you could say about it ;D
Quote from: MiguelSky on 12:02, 06 September 11
I'm able to guess you could say about it ;D
Hmmm. ???
It must have been a prototype or something that was just released.
Just played it again and it is truly terrible. The only slightly good thing about it is the big eyes on the characters when you shoot someone[nb]If you can actually manage to do this because of the terrible collision detection![/nb].
I remember playing LA Swat back in the day... not exactly the most polished game ever, but for some reason I kept playing it. I don't know why, it was a buggy mess. :laugh:
What in the hell??
LA Swat crashed in game after about 20 seconds for me!!! :o :laugh:
I warned you: don't try !! :P
Well, Using the "worst" label is a bit hard to put on some games as they came with different price tags as well. Like a game like Kane was just £1,99 .. so i recall being happy just seeing the colourfull screen loading on that one :)
Also there is the age to consider. Like most of the early Amsoft games are quite horrible now but when they came out they technically also the best ones (being the only ones of their game-type).
Then there is text adventures .. they all look fairly plain to the naked eye but is really only limited by your own fantasy producing brainpower.
I still remember coming home with Explorer (Electronic Dreams) thinking it had to be a awesome spaceship shooter. Alas it wasnt. Imagine Lawnmover Simulator .. and then remove the lawnmover too. Basicly its more like a "lets go into the backyard where the grass is 3 foot high because your hippie parents didnt bother to clear it, and thus greatly annoy the rich neighbours"-game. But unlike the real life backyard-search-for-lost-toy game that could probably be covered in 4 screens .. this game is more like "oh look .. more jungle" in 40 billion screens. Point being: not everyone like stategy games but that dosnt make em bad either.
So having all that in mind what is there any games left that could earn a "worst" title?
Sure there must be 100th of full priced games after 87-ish that didnt live up to your expectations. Like a lot of movie, cartoon, ninja, vendetta, subway and arcade-games Back to the future 2 is definately one of the games that has dissapointed the most (in general on all system versions). And the amstrad version dont impress either showing up in 90' with the first part of the game in 2 colours black and white.
Like:
Pit fighter
1942
Mario Bros
Thundercats
Vixen
Airwolf 2
Cabal
Dynasty Wars
Blastroids
Zynaps
Also trying really hard to remember any good pinball, pool/snooker or golf game (it may be a bit unfair i guess as these are really hard to pull off on a 8bit i know .. other types of sport games like darts is much easier to do).
Anyways, i hope i havnt offended any game programmers (or anyone else) .. remember its just a bit of fun ;)
I thought 1942 and Cabal played 'ok' .... just not very spectacular
You've reminded me about Airwolf 1 though - that was so hard it was unplayable
I feel the need to also mention Renegade 3. If this was a £1.99 game, then it wouldn't of achieved the heights of disappointment that it welcomed with open arms. Honestly - I was P I S S E D ! ! !
Ninja Hamster was pretty bad too!
Air wolf isn't that bad, I still enjoyed playing it even though it was really hard. At least you felt like you achieved something Star Ranger I couldn't really say I'd achieved anything cause you had to be soooooooo accurate to even get to the second level. I would be happy to play Air Wolf again, if a game is a never play again ever then you no it maybe should be on the list.
I couldn't seem to get anywhere with turbo boat simulator but I might have been doing it wrong somehow.
Quote from: Cholo on 23:13, 06 September 11
Like:
Pit fighter
1942
Mario Bros
Thundercats
Vixen
Airwolf 2
Cabal
Dynasty Wars
Blastroids
Zynaps
- PIT FIGHTER was awful, however the original arcade machine was pretty dire to start with, so the home computer versions didn't really have much chance! Nice rendition of the horrible title-music, though.
- 1942 was great fun, though it quickly got boring as the levels were all pretty similar!
- THUNDERCATS will always be remembered as one of Rob Hubbard's greatest tunes... that had nothing to do with the original franchise! The game was pretty lame on CPC, which was a shame!
- VIXEN, yeah! Not good! Sorry, Corinne Russell!
- I quite liked
AIRWOLF 2, especially the 5 minute Mark Cooksey soundtrack (a lot like his GREAT GURIANOS tune). The game was very Speecy-port, but I used to get quite far in it!
-
ZYNAPS, as I mentioned earlier, suffered from bad collision-detection. Other than that, it was a decent game.
I'd like to say that
LA SWAT is every bit as dire as you've all been saying. Congratulations on finding something worthy enough to compare against
CHOPPER SQUAD or
VAMPIRE KILLER! Two games I paid full price for and wished I hadn't!
Naturally I forgot to pop Mario Brothers in my list - once you've played it on an Atari 2600, there's just no looking back.
I had no Crashing Issues with LA Swat at all.
Quote from: CP/M User on 07:43, 07 September 11
I had no Crashing Issues with LA Swat at all.
It happened after I accidentally shot the civilian on the left who appears first. Sadly I didn't record the footage :(
I like a lot to play Airwolf 1, but despite we have a magazine in Spain with an article explaining how to finish the game, it's not complete unless they had a version that was not released or keep for themselves :D. I wouldn't put it in a list as worst ever anyways, the main idea was great and addictive but I think they did not finish the job and just released it doing it almost impossible to realize :D
If I have to choose a bad game (or conversion), ¡Galivan is in the top position of my list!
1942 wasn't that bad...
Many of those awfull games were also released in compilations...
So it wasn't that bad.
A bad "full price" game could actually be a decent addition to a compilation.
QuoteDynasty Wars
oh yep... was this some shit-tier TierTex stuff again ?
QuoteAirwolf 2
As you know, licensed games are rarely good.
But this one is shamefully shamefull as they could have simply put the sprites and Backgrounds in 2 different colours... so the game would be a bit more playable or even better looking.
Intro page is quite decent though...
(http://www.cpc-power.com/images/ecran_titre/249.png)
But still the classical speccy pork lazyness :
=Masked sprites yet no 3 colours Sprites on CPC.
=Probably direct 1bpp conversion into 2bpp.... fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...
Many if not most if not all Speccy ports from a monocolour but with masked sprites Speccy games were quite ruined by this.
They sticked to the 1bpp mask instead of using a proper ink to perform this.
Was this technic not available nor known before 1992 ?
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 07:21, 07 September 11
- PIT FIGHTER was awful, however the original arcade machine was pretty dire to start with, so the home computer versions didn't really have much chance! Nice rendition of the horrible title-music, though.
Regarding PitFighter - although it was bad, it did have realtime scaling which I thought was very interesting.
where can i find a working disk version of pit fighter ?
If it wasn't for the ability to do speccy ports on the CPC, then I doubt that the CPC would have had much of a life at all. It would have taken a lot more time and effort to make the games from scratch for the CPC. So while it does suck that they were lazy, be grateful that they kept the CPC alive.
The problem is not that they ported the games, it is that they did it badly...
So now we get bitched by speccyfans that our CPC is by far inferior than a speccy, less powerfull or even has shitty graphics... :o
Many also believed in East Europa that CPC was a humble speccy clones... (until Batman begins)
The fact that a game was originally written for the Spectrum meant that half the work of writing a version for the CPC was already done, and it highlighted the extreme lazy-ness and/or greed of the publishing company that the other half of writing the CPC version was not done.
And it reflected some wrong behaviour of the customers too.
Quote from: TFM/FS on 19:11, 07 September 11
And it reflected some wrong behaviour of the customers too.
How do you mean exactly?
Quote from: Jase on 15:35, 05 September 11
..And the free version of (Pro) (Super) Dizzy (Simulator) given away by Amstrad Action (cos it was really easy to steal the music!)
Hehe! You too eh? I "borrowed" the music as well as the whole game was completely unprotected and in "normal" firmware format as well. I even think the game was small enough to load up in ram as well and still have basic running. Pretty amazing what i learn just from that one game.
Anyways back on topic.
Here is another bunch that failed to impress (well at least me):
Batty
Tetris
Lazer Tag
The Real Ghostbusters
The Running Man
Jail Break
Ninja Spirit
Karnov
Beverly Hills Cop
Gunsmoke
Street Fighter
Kat Trap
Highlander (its a 86' game but still)
Yie Ar Kung Fu 2: even tho the game may not be completely bad, im having a hard time remembering a time where i shut if off willingly (aka it always managed to bug out on me before i got to the time that i got bored of it).
1942 (again): well indeed the game does work of cause so i guess it cant really get the "worst" tag. Still i remember buying the original Elite bigbox version .. and being quite dissapointed with the quite generic enemies that just kept looping. Also i think some said the game had been "padded" to make it look larger :)
Quote from: Xyphoe on 20:45, 07 September 11
How do you mean exactly?
- Buy good games (I payed 80 DM for Gunship... and got the French one :( ..)
- Don't buy Specci-ports at all AND complain about them!
- Never hesitate to share your opinion with the Software houses. Good and Bad critics are both welcome and needed.
Did you know that only 3% of the not satisfied customers complain at all? Companies know, so they really care about feed back.
For example tell them "Damn FutureSoft: I want my nude patch for Giana Sisters now(!!!) and not in 3012!!!". So, believe me, the customers oppinion is always appreciated.
Quote from: Xyphoe on 08:32, 07 September 11
It happened after I accidentally shot the civilian on the left who appears first. Sadly I didn't record the footage :(
Sounds like a out of range error for if you shoot the wrong person points are deducted, I haven't checked this out carefully though.
I'm unhappy for the fact people decided to use Speckie graphics instead of relying on Firmware, for that I thank the Firmware downers! :( As a result software developers spent more time replacing firmware routines with their own! And would have kept the Speckie owners happy since they don't have it!
Has anyone mentioned Miami Vice? That's supposed to be a pretty poor game, though I haven't played it so cannot comment properly, all the reviews I think I've read about it tend to be in favour of it being pretty rough.
Quote from: CP/M User on 09:42, 08 September 11
I'm unhappy for the fact people decided to use Speckie graphics instead of relying on Firmware, for that I thank the Firmware downers! :( As a result software developers spent more time replacing firmware routines with their own! And would have kept the Speckie owners happy since they don't have it!
Of course so many of the newer games apply strategies which have to disable the firmware so more program & loader can work under their own guidance! :-[ Would the story been different had it become popular to upgrade to 128k? ::)
Quote- Don't buy Specci-ports at all AND complain about them!
- Never hesitate to share your opinion with the Software houses. Good and Bad critics are both welcome and needed.
Did you know that only 3% of the not satisfied customers complain at all? Companies know, so they really care about feed back.
I quite aggree...
If at the time some companies were spamed by mails to tell them it was a horror that they speccy porked greatgames into infamy or whatever...
But some problems for that.
=Stamps were expensive while today a Email is not.
=You couldn't complaint easily to a foreign company that easily... I didn't speak english at the time.
=the speccy port phenomenon was not that well know in France per exemple... because Speccy was not a well known machine.
hell the only time i knew about it was when a guy I knew told me that R-Type was like his speccy version but even inferior.
Press in France never told us about it and a young casual guy like me didn't knew about portages, Z80 shared by those machines, the executive medling and so on.
Hell I remember perhaps only once that a guy for an obscure game told "the colours inherited from spectrum" but that's was all, I didn't understand that it was actually the full game that was ported from spectrum.
In France.
Had some magazines like Amstrad 100% put a "speccypork" sticker on every tests which needed it, with an usual rent against it...
Even a generalistic magazine like Joystick... they didin't covered Speccy games so there was no comparison.
But no, a monocolour game in mode1 was completely unoticed...
And R-Type or Strider were considered as fine games.
Quote from: MacDeath on 11:27, 09 September 11
And R-Type or Strider were considered as fine games.
The funny thing about Strider is Magazines like AA preferred Strider with it's Mode 1 graphics over Strider II, suggesting they were nice and crisp. By comparison Strider II was in Colourful Mode 0 and AA weren't all that Impressed with it, it would have looked Blockier. At the time though I don't think AA hinted that Strider had a case of the Spectrums, I guess it's all a matter of opinion though cause I felt the same way.
Perhaps one could argue that games like Xybots or Chuckie Egg have a case of the Spectrums, though in defence of Chuckie Egg it probably pre-dates into that time before Graphics were being transferred over from one machine to another.
Looking through my reviews on CPC Game Reviews, I have lots of suggestions which (I think) haven't already been mentioned:
- Castle Assault (Blue Ribbon)
- Surprise Surprise (Central Solutions)
- Five a Side Soccer (Mastertronic)
- Penalty Soccer (Gamebusters)
- Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona! (Grandslam)
- World Championship Soccer (Elite)
- Atomik (FIL)
- Wreckless Roger (Blaby)
- Bachou (Central Solutions)
- BMX Ninja (Alternative Software)
- Championship Baseball (Gamestar)
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Hill MacGibbon)
- Glass (Quicksilva)
- Greyfell (Starlight)
- Into Oblivion (Mastertronic)
- Jinks (Rainbow Arts)
- Liverpool (Grandslam)
- Maracaïbo (Loriciels)
- Plasmatron (CRL)
- Protector (Mastertronic)
- Rik the Roadie (Alternative Software)
- Santa's Christmas Capers (Zeppelin Games)
- Super Trolley (Mastertronic)
- Defcom (Quicksilva)
- Hercules: Slayer of the Damned (Gremlin Graphics)
- International Ninja Rabbits (Micro Value)
- Nuclear Heist (Players)
- Saracen (US Gold)
- Stunt Bike Simulator (Silverbird)
- Transmuter (Codemasters)
- Viz (Virgin)
If you want to know the reasons why I have chosen them, just go to CPC Game Reviews (http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/) and search for the review! :laugh:
There is one game on that list that I have not reviewed yet -
Deathkick, released by Blaby Computer Games in 1984. It's a beat-'em-up which is written in BASIC, and it has to be seen (and played) to be believed! :o
I think Blaby were famous for releasing some terrible games in the early days of the CPC. Many of Atlantis' early efforts were also dire, so I haven't included them in my list either.
Quote from: CP/M User on 23:49, 09 September 11Perhaps one could argue that games like Xybots or Chuckie Egg have a case of the Spectrums, though in defence of Chuckie Egg it probably pre-dates into that time before Graphics were being transferred over from one machine to another.
I would say that
Chuckie Egg more closely resembles the BBC Micro version (http://www.puremachinecode.co.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=125921) than the Spectrum version.
Re:Deathkick. Ahahahaha! I actually got up, went to my PC and fired it up. So cool! ASCII art loading screen, Strip Poker I characters, random bleeps and farts created by experimenting with the manual sound commands... and I can't understand how it's played. Fantastic!!
I thought Winter Olympics was pretty bad (not to be confused with Winter Games which at least the DOS version I liked although I haven't tried the CPC version) it just seemed to be really boring spam z and x I think and then I go to the next even which presumably is the same sort of thing except the tape failed to load so I may never know or ever be bothered to find out.
Xybots.
Speccy :
(http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/482139-xybots-zx-spectrum-screenshot-both-together-now-there-s-a.png)
C64 :
(http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/79183-xybots-commodore-64-screenshot-yikes-watch-out-for-that-xybot.gif)
MSX1 :
(http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/445661-xybots-msx-screenshot-playing-the-game-with-2-players-s.png)
CPC :
(http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/445885-xybots-amstrad-cpc-screenshot-playing-with-two-players-s.png)
Amstrad version while still quite "bad" is actually the best 8bit computer version because it had different colours for sprites and tiles, thx to the no-attributes system.
Just get the sprites to use more than 2 colours only (colour+transparency) and you may be good for a decent go.
Quote from: awergh on 11:51, 12 September 11
I thought Winter Olympics was pretty bad (not to be confused with Winter Games which at least the DOS version I liked although I haven't tried the CPC version) it just seemed to be really boring spam z and x I think and then I go to the next even which presumably is the same sort of thing except the tape failed to load so I may never know or ever be bothered to find out.
Oh man, you missed the best parts! Honest!
Oh so it did get better after the first level then? being more comparable to Winter Games? because I think it was speed scatting I played and it didn't really live up to my expectation.
Quote from: Nich on 17:49, 11 September 11
Looking through my reviews on CPC Game Reviews, I have lots of suggestions which (I think) haven't already been mentioned:
- Into Oblivion (Mastertronic)[/l][/l]
I thought that was supposed to be a good game, but then I've seen lots of cheats for this game in Cheat Mode, so I'm presuming that's the clue! :laugh:
Quote
- Jinks (Rainbow Arts)[/l][/l]
I've been meaning to check that one too, though AA only gave it 53% in Issue 44, but then I've seen AA give low scores to games I've enjoyed! Their only annoying when they crash! :(
Quote
- Rik the Roadie (Alternative Software)[/l][/l]
Ah yes that months covertape had a fun game in Zapp Assembler! :laugh:
Quote
- Santa's Christmas Capers (Zeppelin Games)
AA75 - 6% No really that's what it got! :laugh: Altered Beast (Budget version) was reviewed that same issue and got 14%
Quote
- Hercules: Slayer of the Damned (Gremlin Graphics)
Yes I picked up on that one after I downloaded the Covertape from AA116, I had more fun with Samurai Trialogy from AA114 I think it was on, also completed that one! :D
QuoteIf you want to know the reasons why I have chosen them, just go to CPC Game Reviews (http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/) and search for the review! :laugh:
There is one game on that list that I have not reviewed yet - Deathkick, released by Blaby Computer Games in 1984. It's a beat-'em-up which is written in BASIC, and it has to be seen (and played) to be believed! :o
I think Blaby were famous for releasing some terrible games in the early days of the CPC. Many of Atlantis' early efforts were also dire, so I haven't included them in my list either.
I'll check up and see what you had for The Jetsons. Reviewed in AA80, it got an impressive 10% :laugh:
I remember you giving Traffic a low score too, I must be a crack-a-jack cause I got it to Level 3! :laugh:
[/list][/list][/list]
Quote from: Nich on 17:54, 11 September 11
I would say that Chuckie Egg more closely resembles the BBC Micro version (http://www.puremachinecode.co.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=125921) than the Spectrum version.
Sounds like a reasonable comparison! :)
Well guys here's the full list of games posted in this thread in order - :o (wow there's a lot of bad games :P ...and a fair few that shouldn't be listed in the same breath as other games especially in a 'worst ever' list...)
Outrun
World Cup Carnival
count Duckula 2
Altered Beast
Black Tiger
Xybots
Amsoft (Bridge-it, Atom Smasher, Galactic Plague, Electro Freddy, Haunted Hedges, Rol-Ahoy, Rol-Caves, Rol-Run, Home Runner, Hunchback, Punchy, Mr Wong's, Qabbalah, Sultan's Maze, all sports related Amsoft games)
The Wild Bunch
Caves Of Doom
Chiller
Chopper Squad
Vampire Killer
Commando
Hi-Rise
Flimbo's Quest
Ghouls
Knight Force
Kokotoni Wilf
Mr Freeze
Nemesis The Warlock
Psycho Pigs UXB
<insert random name here> Simulator by Codemasters
St Dragon
Starion
Trollie Wallie
Trashman
Psycho Pigs UXB
Milk-Race by Mastertronic
Alien-8 & Knightlore
Double Dragon 64KB version
Streetfighter
Super Gran
BARBARIAN 2
GAUNTLET 3
GLIDER RIDER
JET SET WILLY
THE SENTINEL
Karl's Treasure Hunt
Kane
Radzone
Bubble Bobble
SAINT DRAGON
Chiller
LA SWat
Zynaps
Flight Path 737
Pit Fighter
Badlands
Super Space Invaders
Line Of Fire
ESWAT
Streetfighter
Double Dragon III
Human Killing Machine
Wild Streets
Bad Lands
Super Soccer
AmSoccer
Caves Of Doom
Rig Attack
Fireman Sam
Atom Smasher
Count Duckla 2
Elite
Commando
Myth - History in the Making
Howard the Duck
One Man and his Droid
Super Scramble Simulator
Defenders of the Earth
Famous Five
HiJack
Marsport
Dragontorc
Tir Na Nog
Heavy on a Magick
Hercules
3D Stuntrider
Techician Ted
Pit fighter
1942
Mario Bros
Thundercats
Vixen
Airwolf 2
Cabal
Dynasty Wars
Blastroids
Zynaps
Airwolf
Ninja Hamster
Batty
Tetris
Lazer Tag
The Real Ghostbusters
The Running Man
Jail Break
Ninja Spirit
Karnov
Beverly Hills Cop
Gunsmoke
Street Fighter
Kat Trap
Highlander
Yie Ar Kung Fu 2
Castle Assault
Surprise Surprise
Five a Side Soccer
Penalty Soccer
Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona!
World Championship Soccer
Atomik
Wreckless Roger
Bachou
BMX Ninja
Championship Baseball
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Glass
Greyfell
Into Oblivion
Jinks
Liverpool
Maracaïbo
Plasmatron
Protector
Rik the Roadie
Santa's Christmas Capers
Super Trolley
Defcom
Hercules: Slayer of the Damned
International Ninja Rabbits
Nuclear Heist
Saracen
Stunt Bike Simulator
Transmuter
Viz
Deathkick
Winter Olympics
Quoteand a fair few that shouldn't be listed in the same breath as other games especially in a 'worst ever' list...
I agree.
This list has a fair share of average yet disapointing Speccyports, poorly playable Mode0 games yet with good graphics, simply unfinished games or completely awfully bad baddest utter shytes...
Should sort them out.
St Dragon per exemple may be not good, but yet has almost decent graphics and a proper ending screen.
Barbarian2 wasn't a bad game, graphics are indeed good for C64 port and I loved my hacked "Naked Princess" version at the time... this game just suffers from the comparison with 1st opus and for being a Straight Disk to Cart port on GX4000.
Commando
WTF ? one of the best game of its era on CPC ? just freaking too hard...
Xybots : As I told, the game was quite playable and fun, and better than other 8bit version (except Atari Lynx of course, but can this be considered an 8bit at all ?)
Cabal : Was half decent because the Speccy was also half decent. As with Xybots, the playability gains from the coloured masked sprites on CPC, yet the game could deal with some bits of extra fastness...
To remove the Raster effect would give more CPU time perhaps (yet even fewer colours...) or to put this in PLUS standard (easier Rasters, Hardsprite for target) but Ok.
Myth history in the shiting : ok, speccy porked straightly, and not comparaible to C64... but still a decent one, well animated, playable.
Zynaps was a freaking good production, just some random collision but you can really deal with those.
Batty : it only suffers from the Arkanoid's series compairisons... when you get a ballbreaker in vertical fullscreen the rest simply cannot match.
Oathmeal... are YOu craaazy ?
OK I think I'm going to sort them out in some kind of order into what I think are deserving as being in a list of the 'worst ever', and the rest into 'bad but not the worst', 'disappointing but not *that* bad', 'what are they doing there??' and 'not played yet' ... and see what people think.
It's all subjective though, some people will think a game is completely terrible but I end up kinda liking (Psycho Pigs UXB being a good example! I still really like this game!) and I won't mean to offend anyone by placing a game in a certain bracket but I'm just trying to drill this down. Worst Ever games would also make a fun wiki article too :)
OK here's my arranged list in my personal opinion.... thoughts?
Deserving
=========
Outrun
World Cup Carnival
count Duckula 2
Altered Beast
Amsoft - majority of games!
Deathkick
LA Swat
Double Dragon 64KB version
Pit Fighter
Badlands
Super Space Invaders
Howard the Duck
Line Of Fire
ESWAT
Double Dragon III
AmSoccer
Five a Side Soccer
Penalty Soccer
Rik the Roadie
Santa's Christmas Capers
Super Gran
Karl's Treasure Hunt
Surprise Surprise
BMX Ninja
Just bad, but now the worst
===========================
Black Tiger
Xybots
Chiller
Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona!
Liverpool
Ghouls
Psycho Pigs UXB
Chiller
Zynaps
Flight Path 737
Streetfighter
Human Killing Machine
Wild Streets
Super Soccer
Defenders of the Earth
Mario Bros
The Running Man
Jail Break
Highlander
Yie Ar Kung Fu 2
World Championship Soccer
Stunt Bike Simulator
Radzone
Caves Of Doom
Vampire Killer
Kokotoni Wilf
Trollie Wallie
Rig Attack
Dynasty Wars
Kat Trap
Castle Assault
Hi-Rise
Atomik
Wreckless Roger
Bachou
Grand Prix Driver
Disappointing
=============
Flimbo's Quest
Knight Force
St Dragon
Trashman
Gauntlet 3
Bubble Bobble
3D Stuntrider
Thundercats
Vixen
Cabal
Blastroids
Airwolf
Tetris
The Real Ghostbusters
Ninja Spirit
Karnov
Beverly Hills Cop
Gunsmoke
The Wild Bunch
Atom Smasher
Chopper Squad
Mr Freeze
Nemesis The Warlock
Starion
Milk-Race
One Man and his Droid
HiJack
Hercules
Techician Ted
Ninja Hamster
Personal Dislikes Not Shared
============================
<insert random name here> Simulator by Codemasters
Glider Rider
Jet Set Willy
Kane
St Dragon
Famous Five
Dragontorc
Tir Na Nog
Heavy on a Magick
1942
Airwolf 2
Greyfell
Fireman Sam
Super Scramble Simulator
Marsport
Batty
Lazer Tag
Championship Baseball
What are they doing here?
=========================
Commando
Alien-8
Knightlore
Barbarian 2
The Sentinel
Elite
Myth - History in the Making
Not sure / not played yet
=========================
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Glass
Into Oblivion
Jinks
Maracaïbo
Plasmatron
Protector
Super Trolley
Defcom
Hercules: Slayer of the Damned
International Ninja Rabbits
Nuclear Heist
Saracen
Transmuter
Viz
Winter Olympics
I will take a look at each of the ones in the last bracket I haven't played, then edit accordingly. Including ones placed that people feel strongly about.
Quote from: Xyphoe on 07:18, 14 September 11
Deserving
=========
Outrun
Super Space Invaders
Just bad, but not the worst
===========================
Zynaps
Flight Path 737
Disappointing
=============
St Dragon
Bubble Bobble
Thundercats
Personal Dislikes Not Shared
============================
Kane
1942
Airwolf 2
What are they doing here?
=========================
Commando
Alien-8
Knightlore
Elite
Not sure / not played yet
=========================
Nemesis The Warlock
Starion
Trollie Wallie
Radzone
One Man and his Droid
Marsport
Techician Ted
Into Oblivion
These are the games I do not agree should be in their respective categories. (Yet again, this is just a personal opinion)
I loved all those games back in the day and would happily spend 6-10 minutes waiting for them to load on tape. ZYNAPS; I wouldn't even play the game, I would just sit on the title-screen listening to JDR's amazing score!
I am surprised no-one included any of the WHITE KNIGHT series. They were rather hit/miss with the critics!
You missed out Super Gran from your Deserving list, IMO it is the second worst game on the CPC I have played (Home Runner is the 1st).
Super Space Invaders was actually OK I thought, yeah its tricky to see everything at times, but it plays ok. Amsoft games dont really count if they were made at the start of the CPC's life - there was no real standard as such to live up to and they wanted to have a good amount of software for people to buy. Unless of course they were truly terrible like Home Runner, which was so bad they even made "features" out of the bugs and bad programming.
Add Red Arrows to that list too. It was completely unplayable.
Commando should not be anywhere in there, it was one of my favourites (Along with Ikari Warriors).
Bryce.
Commando and Myth: History in the Making are equally dire in their own right, overrated and irritating. The CPC version of Commando is rough through gameplay and execution, anyone whose played the Atari 2600 version of Commando knows the CPC version is merely a simple graphical touchup with a crude gameplay & plan, sure it might be unfair to compare with the Arcade or the Atari 7800 version which are high status games, though the CPC is capable of much better than what it got with Commando making for a poor effort from Elite.
Myth: History in the Making suffers from Poor Graphics along with poor Collision Detection (hello bad dudes I'm punching you and nothing is registering) and Gameplay, controls are awkward and I personally had no time nor patience in playing this game, to think it was highly regarded by Magazines like AA and others which think it's brilliant need to consider that this game isn't the kind of game that everyone would enjoy playing - so it's not perfect.
Quote from: Xyphoe on 07:05, 14 September 11
OK I think I'm going to sort them out in some kind of order into what I think are deserving as being in a list of the 'worst ever', and the rest into 'bad but not the worst', 'disappointing but not *that* bad', 'what are they doing there??' and 'not played yet' ... and see what people think.
The list as it stood I felt was quite accurate, the main problem with all those games are people are going to have selective views in the way people accept them. People will either enjoy them or they won't, i.e. One persons dud is another persons gem - Xybots for instance got a healthy 76% when it was reviewed as a Full Price Game in AA47 at £15 on Disc! And yet was to getting scores like 37% in AA76 and 58% in AA88 when it was being reviewed at Budget price of £4! Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters is also another victim of this, getting 78% as a Full-Price Game in AA59, on Budget Re-Release it was reviewed at 46% - so what have people got to say about these discrempies?? The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is clearly these games are all a matter of opinion and people will simply hate them if they don't like them. Don't like them, then don't play them and move onto other games which you might agree with.
QuoteIt's all subjective though, some people will think a game is completely terrible but I end up kinda liking (Psycho Pigs UXB being a good example! I still really like this game!) and I won't mean to offend anyone by placing a game in a certain bracket but I'm just trying to drill this down. Worst Ever games would also make a fun wiki article too :)
There are games which are badly done, though for one reason or another, someone may find them to be enjoyable. I enjoy playing Thunderzone, Street Gang Soccer, Spaghetti Western (AA60 - 37%), T-Bird (AA60 - 55%), Scramble Spirits (AA55 - 41%) for example. Games like Monty on the Run was once subjected to a low score of 37% in AA50 which I thought was a little bit cruel, but then you have to have to pick up the right items which is a little annoying component to the game, I enjoy Mutant Monty a little bit more myself, plus it was completable! :D Obviously it's great to have a challenge component in games as well, though sometimes you just feel like beating your opponent to get a sense of accomplishment. It's annoying having to deal with a game where you reach a certain point and not being able to proceed and being stuck! :o
Quote from: CP/M User on 11:59, 14 September 11
Games like Monty on the Run was once subjected to a low score of 37% in AA50 which I thought was a little bit cruel, but then you have to have to pick up the right items which is a little annoying component to the game, I enjoy Mutant Monty a little bit more myself, plus it was completable! :D Obviously it's great to have a challenge component in games as well, though sometimes you just feel like beating your opponent to get a sense of accomplishment. It's annoying having to deal with a game where you reach a certain point and not being able to proceed and being stuck! :o
Yes, MONTY ON THE RUN suffered from the 'escape kit' irritation... but the game (and especially the music) made up for it and it shouldn't really be classed as a 'worst CPC game'. It's the same problem I had with ZYNAPS... great game, just unfair!
MUTANT MONTY wasn't a part of the Gremlin Graphics 'MONTY' franchise, but it was ARTIC SOFTWARE's best game, in my view.
The graphics were a little poor, the music got very irritating quickly; but, as you rightly said, it was completable and it gave me plenty of happy gaming hours... even more when I finally ripped it to 3" without resorting to AMSKEY.
Some of the 40 levels required pixel-perfect timing, but also gave you a sense of achievement once you'd completed them!
EDIT: And, MUTANT MONTY wasn't just a SPECTRUM port either! ARTIC used multi-colour MODE 0 sprites and it looks a lot better than both the SINCLAIR and COMMODORE versions!
AMSTRAD CPC
(http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/m/mutant_monty.png)
SPECTRUM 48K
(http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jg27paw4/yr12/yr12_27b.gif)
COMMODORE 64
(http://cdn3.spong.com/screen-shot/m/u/mutantmont5493/_-Mutant-Monty-C64-_.gif)
Quote from: CP/M User on 09:48, 13 September 11
-Into Oblivion (Mastertronic)[/l][/l]
I thought that was supposed to be a good game, but then I've seen lots of cheats for this game in Cheat Mode, so I'm presuming that's the clue!
That was my very first videogame ever, so naturally I now own even a couple of sealed copies, but still don't know what to do in it :D
Streetfighter HAS to go in the "Deserving" category! Seriously - if Outrun is in(which I agree with) then that has to be in there too! It was full priced, horrible and a much anticipated game!
Quote from: sigh on 23:13, 14 September 11
Streetfighter HAS to go in the "Deserving" category! Seriously - if Outrun is in(which I agree with) then that has to be in there too! It was full priced, horrible and a much anticipated game!
I'm not sure it should go in the 'worst ever' or deserving category. Firstly it's not the worst 1v1 beat-em-up on the Amstrad and is vaguely competent - just dull, lacking and little gameplay or skill. Secondly, when talking about Outrun and it being much anticipated - at the time I really don't think it was. Hardly anyone had heard of and played Street Fighter I in the arcades - this was released in 1987 with the Amstrad version arriving in 1988. It wasn't until 1991 that Street Fighter II hit the arcades that everyone went batshit crazy over it and searched out Street Fighter I on the Kixx budget re-release (and then went - WTF!). I know at least for me that was the case. With Outrun it was one of the most popular arcade games ever and had been out for quite some time - the crushing disappointment was bad enough, but even on it own merits licence aside it was a terrible racing game - sheesh there were even better Amsoft racing games out there years before!
Just my opinion anyway :)
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 08:26, 14 September 11
These are the games I do not agree should be in their respective categories. (Yet again, this is just a personal opinion)
I loved all those games back in the day and would happily spend 6-10 minutes waiting for them to load on tape. ZYNAPS; I wouldn't even play the game, I would just sit on the title-screen listening to JDR's amazing score!
Sorry - do you mean that *none* of those games should be talked about as being particularly bad/worst ever or do you mean their respective placings in the certain category?
Quote from: Xyphoe on 07:11, 15 September 11
Sorry - do you mean that *none* of those games should be talked about as being particularly bad/worst ever or do you mean their respective placings in the certain category?
Ah, I see where the confusion arises now... sorry, English is my first language and I'm still crap at it!
I don't class those games as bad. I happen to like all of them on the list that I provided (my personal opinion, of course) However, I can understand why people would have issues with some of them.
I think we should start to consider voting to see which games make the
All-Time Bottom 10 CPC Games hall of shame!
No?
How about having categories, like an awards ceremony? Worst Graphics, Worst Conversion, Most Obvious Speccy Port, Biggest Disappointment, etc.
Ooh ! The Golden Raspberry awards for the CPC !
We should make an Alan- err Oscar & Golden Raspberry for every year !
It's interesting lots of references have been made to Outrun, I haven't played it though I've played Cisco heat (AA76 - 38%) and felt it was a lot better than that (AA even had a playable demo on the AA75 Covertape), I guess I wouldn't put it as the best game of it's genre, though since nobody has mentioned it until now, I'm presuming it's another one of those games which falls under the radar. AA76 seems to be the centre of the Universe when it comes to low scores! :o
QuoteEnglish is my first language
QuoteMost Obvious Speccy Port
I didn't know Native English speakers had "Obvious" as a synonym for the word "Shitty"...
I think I should have some more english lessons then. :laugh:
Categories ?
Ok...
=Bad lasy Speccy ports : obviously.
=Deceiving screenshot : looks good but bad game.
=Unfinished allegro : the game is clearly rushed to the released unfinished yet had a few potential good ideas/aspects.
=Arcade Lost in Translation : Bad Arcade pots.
=Shitfest licenses : yes, serial shit happens... be it only a stand alone game, they also comited sequels.
A little problem is that many speccy porks were also Arcade games... well...
After 8 pages, we should realise that "the worst games" are a matter of individual opinion and we will not agree if the criteria solely focusses on the "idea" of the game,
Instead we should rate games on technical merit, if the game is a masterpiece of programming then it will not be the worst game even though nobody ever plays it because it is so boring.
Criteria
Screen resolution
Number of colours on screen
Quality of sound reproduction
Quality of the music
Responsiveness of controls
User selectable options
Playability
Longevity of game
Comparison with versions written for other 8-bit micro's
"Idea" of game - good or bad
I think it's pretty much possible to tell which games are just a big pile'o'sh*te and which were disappointing...!
Really looking forward to the video Xyphoe :D
Quote from: redbox on 13:37, 15 September 11
I think it's pretty much possible to tell which games are just a big pile'o'sh*te and which were disappointing...!
Really looking forward to the video Xyphoe :D
You may know which games are rubbish, but can you get everyone to agree with you?
Quote from: steve on 13:50, 15 September 11
You may know which games are rubbish, but can you get everyone to agree with you?
Well really the topic was about 'the worst ever' Amstrad games, which I thought would have been pretty unanimous - I think we've got sidetracked with bad and disappointing games, and I was just expecting to find out about a few I may have missed (like LA Swat which I'd never played before).
Quote from: Metr on 09:54, 15 September 11
Ooh ! The Golden Raspberry awards for the CPC !
We should make an Alan- err Oscar & Golden Raspberry for every year !
Yes totally! That's a good idea :)
Actually a few months back I very nearly posted a topic called The Arnold Awards, or 'The Arnies' ... (around July time on the anniversary of the CPC) ... as a fun thing. But didn't in the end. I initially was going to do it for games and demo releases over the last year, but as there weren't that many it could have caused disagreement and more problems than fun. Then I thought about just for games overall ... but I figured we'd never all agree and someone would really strongly disagree with something leading to arguments and all that.
But you know what, maybe we should do it anyway, helps inject a bit of life into things ... obviously this topic has already spawned 8 pages in a couple of weeks! lol ;D
Quote from: Xyphoe on 07:10, 15 September 11
I'm not sure it should go in the 'worst ever' or deserving category. Firstly it's not the worst 1v1 beat-em-up on the Amstrad and is vaguely competent - just dull, lacking and little gameplay or skill. Secondly, when talking about Outrun and it being much anticipated - at the time I really don't think it was. Hardly anyone had heard of and played Street Fighter I in the arcades - this was released in 1987 with the Amstrad version arriving in 1988. It wasn't until 1991 that Street Fighter II hit the arcades that everyone went batshit crazy over it and searched out Street Fighter I on the Kixx budget re-release (and then went - WTF!). I know at least for me that was the case. With Outrun it was one of the most popular arcade games ever and had been out for quite some time - the crushing disappointment was bad enough, but even on it own merits licence aside it was a terrible racing game - sheesh there were even better Amsoft racing games out there years before!
Just my opinion anyway :)
Streetfighter 1 was extremely anticipated and well known - at least when I was at school and much noises was made about it on the top deck of the bus (even though we shouldn't of been going to the arcades in the first place) so I strongly disagree with you there.
Also it's not just "dull" - it misses
so much from the original arcade(if you ever played it much) especially when compared to the strong US version on the C64.
Maybe if I didn't play the C64 version I would of felt differently. I had more fun with Ninja Hamster!
But hey - it's a matter of opinion :)
*runs off to play third strike*
Quote from: sigh on 23:21, 15 September 11
Streetfighter 1 was extremely anticipated and well known - at least when I was at school and much noises was made about it on the top deck of the bus (even though we shouldn't of been going to the arcades in the first place) so I strongly disagree with you there.
Also it's not just "dull" - it misses so much from the original arcade(if you ever played it much) especially when compared to the strong US version on the C64.
Maybe if I didn't play the C64 version I would of felt differently. I had more fun with Ninja Hamster!
But hey - it's a matter of opinion :)
*runs off to play third strike*
Really? That honestly surprises me. At my school no-one had ever heard of it - at all! I don't remember ever seeing a SFI cabinet in any of the arcades - local or on the sea front.
It's strange how different places, schools, or whatever people had different experiences with gaming, arcades and computers. I often hear on the Retro Gamer forums when the Amstrad is discussed things like 'No-one in my school had a CPC!' or 'There was only one lonely guy with the CPC, everyone else had Speccy and C64's!' ... that's said a lot on there. Where as at my school, which was a bit rough, lots of kids had the more expensive CPC - it was the one guy with the Speccy that was laughed at!
Quote from: Xyphoe on 22:44, 15 September 11
Well really the topic was about 'the worst ever' Amstrad games, which I thought would have been pretty unanimous - I think we've got sidetracked with bad and disappointing games, and I was just expecting to find out about a few I may have missed (like LA Swat which I'd never played before).
Okay I'm looking at Post 1 and what do I see - Altered Beast. That's your fault cause you've raised the bar way too high. For your info Altered Beast reviewed in AA52 as a Full-price game got 50%. Two other games from that issue received lower scores - Tintin on the Moon (which also has nice graphics) got 44% and Ghouls and Ghosts was a pretty bog standard affair only scoring 49%. This goes back to the problem I mentioned earlier where it's open to debate - Altered Beast was reviewed in AA75 at Budget cost and scored a healthy 14% On the other hand Ghouls and Ghosts was reviewed as a Budget game in AA79 and scored 71% It's very difficult to judge what's obviously Worse Ever when you've got games of those sort which bounce up and down with people when it comes to percentages, sadly even the Odd Mastergame like WWF (AA77 - 90%) is hated as well which means other Mastergames need to be examined. :o Though anyone could be made to hate games like Rick Dangerous or Rainbow Islands.
Take a Look at the Jetsons though cause AA only gave it 10% in Issue 80, so they might be onto something really bad with that one. Sadly they gave games like Baby Jo 35% in AA78 and it's let down seems to be jerky scrolling, though 35% is cruel.
It's easy to trash AMSOFT games, though people must remember that Computers aren't made overnight, the Amstrad was up against other computers (C64, Speckies, BBCs, etc) and had to be a competitive contender in 1984. The Firmware is the lifeblood for many of those early games, and those games were mainly written to be played for the pleasure and knock up another Highscore. I've cheated at Electro Freddy with Infinate Lives, which is a simple game which never ends and only gets harder and faster as it progresses - probably has 255 levels, though it's mainly there for entering highscores and a large bulk of those early AMSOFT games were High Scores, even though games like Roland in Time doesn't feature it, it's mainly about collecting all the Gems, though like many other AMSOFT games they were made for the simple fun of it. Once the Amstrad had progressed into another phase machines like the 664 and 6128 came out and games like Sorcery came out as a measure of popularity which came from the 464!
How about a system like AA and other magazines used, ie: when The video has been uploaded or game has been played, a user poll could be started with categories such as: Playability, Graphics, Music, Inoovativeness, Story line, etc. For each category the user can give a mark between 1 and 10. The result would show a percentage for each catagory plus a total score/percentage calculated from the accumulated scores. That way a realistic view of the game could be given.
Bryce.
Ok then, let's start with CHOPPER SQUAD by INTERCEPTOR SOFTWARE (they also did TROLLIE WALLIE).
Here's a bunch of info about the game from various places around the CPC network.
http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Chopper_Squad (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Chopper_Squad)
http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/c/index5.html (http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/c/index5.html)
http://genesis8.free.fr/amstrad/game-rom/amstrad-gamef.php?prog_id=977 (http://genesis8.free.fr/amstrad/game-rom/amstrad-gamef.php?prog_id=977)
http://tacgr.emuunlim.com/downloads/filedetail.php?recid=178 (http://tacgr.emuunlim.com/downloads/filedetail.php?recid=178)
I would suggest you guys play this game for... well, as long as you see fit, then return here and give it a score out of ten for:
Quote from: Bryce on 12:19, 16 September 11
Playability, Graphics, Music, Innovativeness, Story line, etc.
Good idea or no?
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 16:28, 16 September 11
Ok then, let's start with CHOPPER SQUAD by INTERCEPTOR SOFTWARE (they also did TROLLIE WALLIE).
Here's a bunch of info about the game from various places around the CPC network.
http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Chopper_Squad (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Chopper_Squad)
http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/c/index5.html (http://www.cpcgamereviews.com/c/index5.html)
http://genesis8.free.fr/amstrad/game-rom/amstrad-gamef.php?prog_id=977 (http://genesis8.free.fr/amstrad/game-rom/amstrad-gamef.php?prog_id=977)
http://tacgr.emuunlim.com/downloads/filedetail.php?recid=178 (http://tacgr.emuunlim.com/downloads/filedetail.php?recid=178)
I would suggest you guys play this game for... well, as long as you see fit, then return here and give it a score out of ten for:
Good idea or no?
Well I downloaded it and played it til I couldn't play it anymore, I agree with Nich (cpcgamereviews) on this one with a 6 out of 10, although I got to Level 9 and Completed that with one life to spare when the screen went blank with the Chopper Sounds for a few monents and then vanishing! The screen shots will show what I did to get through those later levels. AA gave it 34% and Amtix gave it 21% be interesting to know what Amtix said about it, AA is only a JPEG away! :) I think in their defence they probably thought the game was too expensive, £6 is a bit rich, I personally worked the game out in an hour and got through what I think is the whole lot, unless there's a bug in it somewhere, usually games that old are pretty routine when it comes to hacking them onto Disk Images. Anyway perhaps if it was £2 it might have been more favoured! :) I liked the Mode 1 Screen with the Red Helicopter on it though and nice how it would revert back to it from the screen. Otherwise I didn't mind it, it's no classic, though it plays well, with functional graphics not eye popping, though the speed of the game remained constant throughout with a little though not obvious slowdown when a lot of lazer beams (or rockets) were moving around the screen which I was glad about cause it's annoying when you see some games get ruined when too much on screen is happening and slowdown occurs, simple concept and earlier when I bombed out on Level 6 when I was trying to post a Snapshot of the game, it had that one more go appeal just to see where the end would be! :)
Quote from: Xyphoe on 06:21, 14 September 11
Amsoft (Bridge-it, Atom Smasher, Galactic Plague, Electro Freddy, Haunted Hedges, Rol-Ahoy, Rol-Caves, Rol-Run, Home Runner, Hunchback, Punchy, Mr Wong's, Qabbalah, Sultan's Maze, all sports related Amsoft games)
I got to Level 4 in The Galactic Plague, it's certainally not the sort of game you can have a cup of Tea while playing it, though when I got stuck into it, I got to Level 4 which was really nasty (I've just got to it a second time - HS1050). If you loose some lives while playing those early levels and get to the next one, you go back to 3 ships which is nice. For an AMSOFT game I think it's better than Home Runner, Roland on the Run and Bridge-it. Mr. Wong's Loopy Laundry suffers only cause you run out of spray, give them Infinite spray and the game would be so much better cause it gets hard when a third monster appears on the second level which makes it unfair (expecally if you're out of spray! :( ). Roland in the Caves is just awkward, even though the graphics are so nice. I haven't played Sultan's Maze (at least I don't think so), Atom Smasher or Qabbalah, but the other games you mentioned are alright, especally Haunted Hedges which feels so slick! :)
Quote from: CP/M User on 10:16, 18 September 11
Mr. Wong's Loopy Laundry suffers only cause you run out of spray, give them Infinite spray and the game would be so much better cause it gets hard when a third monster appears on the second level which makes it unfair (expecally if you're out of spray! :( ).
Had completely forgotten about this game and I remember running out of spray...!
Thanks for the reminder, will have to play it again :)
Count Duckula 2
Supergran
Saracen
Dandy
Outrun nearly made me cry with how bad it was.
Oh as for Chopper Squad (wow totally forgotten I had that game), sure it was crap but I kind of enjoyed playing it in a weird way
Quote from: khisanth on 21:34, 18 September 11
Oh as for Chopper Squad (wow totally forgotten I had that game), sure it was crap but I kind of enjoyed playing it in a weird way
Did you ever get beyond Level 9? Sadly it didn't take me long to get beyond only to find it bombed out to a blank screen! :( AA1 thought it had "good frantic action", though they thought it suffered from "Slow Movement is Frustrating" - whatever that means cause I didn't see any slow Movement only Good Frantic Action! :) AA thought the "Graphics and Sound are Poor" - at least I thought they were recognisable and relevant toward the action of the game and that AA thought the game was "Unoriginal" - I thought who cares it's only a game, stop trying to re-invent the bloody wheel!
Where Chopper Squad suffers for me is it's too easy, you can sit around on the Left-hand side of the screen on Level 3 watching your score mount up as you shoot the aliens on that level and once you have the 4 alien critters all overlapping one another simply make your escape via the edge of the screen - the overlapping alien will turn around and follow you the other way. If you're fast enough you can fly over it or under it, the trick is not to sit on the blue ground cause the alien will crash there and another alien will appear on the right hand edge of the screen. Levels 3 to 9 are pretty much the same thing cause they behave the same and once you work out shooting them only makes more appear away from the main pack shooting them on those levels is almost pointless! :) The only difference with Levels 3 to 9 is the pace of the game which isn't a great deal. I wouldn't say it would be the worse game ever though it's no classic. At least it's better than duds like Commando, Elite and Myth which just try to hard, though simple people like me only require simple games, those 3 games lay expectations out for specific demographic who know what the deal is when they come to play them - works the same way as a TV show - e.g. "Star Trek" appeals to a specific audience.
how can you call Elite a dud?????? :o
Myth was pretty good enjoyed it a lot. Commando was okay.
Quote from: khisanth on 20:17, 20 September 11
how can you call Elite a dud? ??? ?? :o
Okay can I ask you if you liked Dragontorc?? In responce to your question all I can say is it's very difficult to make a game which is going to receive high marks from everybody.
QuoteMyth was pretty good enjoyed it a lot. Commando was okay.
Fair enough, if you enjoyed them then that's all that matters.
Remember Bubble Bobble and how there was a group of people who were unhappy with it? When I play the CPC Version of Commando, I suppose you could say is simular to those who wanted to fix up Bubble Bobble. I haven't played Bubble Bobble at the Arcades though, so I thought what the CPC had was fine, though Commando on the CPC seems to be increased in Difficulty to the extent you go nowhere even if you've tried a few things which annoys me so much! >:(
Myth doesn't do anything for me, it's not because it's a Speccie Port cause I enjoy playing games like Uridium, Fantasy World Dizzy, er? Bionic Commando :) I thought there was a problem with the Collision Detection in Myth cause I was punching things which were complying with it and the Initial Difficulty of the game makes you want to ditch it and move onto something else.
No I don't think I have played Dragontorc.
Elite is one of the most respected and highly rated games for the majority of gamers who played it back in the 80s. It is a game that even if you dont like it, you can see how well it has been written and designed.
Bubble Bobble - I had played the arcade version and whilst the CPC version is nowhere near as good, I really enjoyed playing the CPC version.
Myth - I liked the graphical style,animation and the gameplay. I don't think I finished it though, but I can see how for some people they would not like it.
I find that back in the day people tended to not have the money to buy loads of games, so when you got a game for Christmas even if it was bad or generally thought of as being crap you still played it, you spent time on it and you would often discover it had some merit. Often these are the games that become cult games. Take chopper squad or galactic plague for example. Everyone will slag them off, but I got enjoyment from them because I spent time playing them as I did'nt have other games to play at the time.
It's the same with computers, I looked at ZX81s in the 80s and thought they were awful. Yet the ZX81 owners would rave about them because they had committed to them and looked beneath the surface and discovered the good points.
All things considered, I love the fact that every game will have it's fans. That somebody somewhere will enjoy it,which is the most important thing.
(even ET or Pacman on the Atari 2600!)
Quote from: khisanth on 10:22, 21 September 11
Elite is one of the most respected and highly rated games for the majority of gamers who played it back in the 80s. It is a game that even if you dont like it, you can see how well it has been written and designed.
I simply throw this one away for the complexity of it and yes I never got the actual game itself complete with Box and Instructions, it was merely a give away with AA100 with their instructions which probably doesn't do the game justice, though you don't really need a lot of instructions to get stuck into a game, but Elite I've seen more Hints, Tips and Suggestions in it's day to see a Comprehensive Book being written on this game alone! :o
The other issue which I felt was a point of relevance is games which get High-scores doesn't necessarily stack up with other reviewers. Take Head Over Heels for example - AA20 95% as a Full Price Game, AA58 Re-release on budget 62% True it's still not the worst game ever, the mind simply wonders what is going on. If you look at Reviews from other magazines for instance games like Spaghetti Western got 88% in ACU October '90, AA60 gave it 37%, simularly T-Bird got 86% in that same issue and AA60 gave it 55% That ACU issue had one game which was comparable to the review AA had in Zeppelin's World Soccer - 76% in ACU and 66% in AA60, and the other game which was on totally different ends of the scope with ACU and AA was Mike Read's Computer Pop Quiz with 80% in ACU and 39% in AA60.
I just hope nobody sets up a site to rant about the games a lot of people would like (I wouldn't personally). Such an idea would only be there to annoy people big time, which is why I say if you enjoy that game then that's all that matters.
Elite has a very simple goal. Make money. Fly through space, shoot things, buy things and then sell at a profit. The real beauty was that you could choose how you wanted to play. Be a space pirate, mine asteroids,bounty hunter or play as a peaceful trader.
Magazine reviews are notorious for often being biased or written by the wrong person (someone who HATES sports and sports games reviewing a football or athletics game for example). Games companies would and some still do tell you to give their a game a good review score otherwise they will not send you review copies in future. A famous example was someone who reviewed Kane and Lynch for Gamespot.com. The publishers of Kane and Lynch sponsored the show and when this guy gave it a bad review he got fired !!! They claim he was fired for other reasons...
Quote from: khisanth on 12:24, 21 September 11
Elite has a very simple goal. Make money. Fly through space, shoot things, buy things and then sell at a profit. The real beauty was that you could choose how you wanted to play. Be a space pirate, mine asteroids,bounty hunter or play as a peaceful trader.
[/b]
I grew up with ELITE on the BBC-B, which was far superior to the CPC attempt, which was very disappointing for me as I had 'bigged' the CPC machine up to my BBC & C64 owning cousins. However, when the 16-bits took over, FINAL FRONTIER was simply the pinnacle of Braben's vision! (A view not shared by critics) It nearly destroyed my A600, I played it so much!
With the CRCT techniques being used these days in demos (MOODY from VANITY for one), I think a 25Mhz stipple-filled vector version of FINAL FRONTIER would be pretty impressive on the CPC... well, 128Kb machines! More BLUE DANUBE, anyone?
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 12:40, 21 September 11
25Mhz stipple-filled vector version of FINAL FRONTIER would be pretty impressive on the CPC... well, 128Kb machines!
What CPC are you actually talking about? ;)
Quote from: MaV on 14:06, 21 September 11
What CPC are you actually talking about? ;)
The 128KB ones. Mighty machines that they are!
Maybe the PLUS might be a little better, as it has doody colours and all that stuff!
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 14:15, 21 September 11
The 128KB ones. Mighty machines that they are!
Maybe the PLUS might be a little better, as it has doody colours and all that stuff!
But they don't have 25MHz. ;) I guess you meant 25Hz double-buffered vector graphics.
Quote from: MaV on 14:30, 21 September 11
But they don't have 25MHz. ;) I guess you meant 25Hz double-buffered vector graphics.
Oops! That blasted
M! Sorry!
25Hz I guess it is!
If it's possible to get 50fps from CPC vectors then great, but I assumed 25 would be sufficient. Is 25 even possible? Could it be maintained in a gaming environment (ie enemy/planet positioning, HUD updates, keyboard checking, sounds, etc)?
(Ok, way off-topic now!)
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 14:52, 21 September 11
If it's possible to get 50fps from CPC vectors then great, but I assumed 25 would be sufficient. Is 25 even possible?
Since we are off-topic, just a short answer: 25Hz vector graphics, I'm afraid, won't easily be possible (simple objects perhaps?). Take a look at Starglider or the Demo by Odiesoft.
Starglider is a wonderfull and quick game. For 3D vectors and filled vectors take a look at Starfox and Starstrike. Z80 rulez!!! (Compare how slow it is on a c64 :laugh: )
QuoteThe 128KB ones. Mighty machines that they are!
Maybe the PLUS might be a little better, as it has doody colours and all that stuff!
I can only agree...
But concerning Elite, it was another case of quite straight portage I guess.
The 256x192 display is a clear sign of this.
But Ok, the 3D window manages more clashless colours than ZX speccy.
Same with Fighter Bomber, quite an incredible 3D game on CPC, yet...
Such games should have been a 128K games but... actually very few "real 128K RAM games" were really produced...
Even the awesome Pirates! is... slightly C64 ported (Graphics I guess) which is a bit sad because it could have had really impressive graphics "almost as good" as some 16bit versions.
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 12:40, 21 September 11
I grew up with ELITE on the BBC-B, which was far superior to the CPC attempt, which was very disappointing for me as I had 'bigged' the CPC machine up to my BBC & C64 owning cousins.
Out of interest, what were your issues with the CPC conversion? I thought it was amazing playing it, but hadn't seen the other versions. From what I looked at on YouTube ages ago it seemed the Beeb and C64 versions played a bit smoother and faster... but was that it in terms of issues?
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 14:52, 21 September 11
Oops! That blasted M! Sorry!
25Hz I guess it is!
If it's possible to get 50fps from CPC vectors then great, but I assumed 25 would be sufficient. Is 25 even possible? Could it be maintained in a gaming environment (ie enemy/planet positioning, HUD updates, keyboard checking, sounds, etc)?
(Ok, way off-topic now!)
It would be awesome, but 25fps would be highly unlikely, simply due to the fact that the CPC's screen display takes a fair bit of memory, and updating that memory each frame takes time.
On top of that you'd have to factor in the vector calculations, plotting the lines, managing the HUD and instrumentation elements, the 3D scanner etc. etc.
We can but dream...
I don't know much about the Beeb, but the C64's screen memory is only 1kb, and thus is very fast to update (though that version Elite is very flickery).
Having said that, take a look at Starion or Battle of the Planets. They may not run at 25fps, but they are very fast and smooth, and make you wonder how good Elite on the CPC could have been. :'(
Quote from: ervin on 03:03, 22 September 11
Having said that, take a look at Starion
Heh ... and someone listed "Starion" as one of their worst ever Amstrad games too!
I tried it out the other night, and quite liked it!
Quote from: Xyphoe on 02:54, 22 September 11
Out of interest, what were your issues with the CPC conversion? I thought it was amazing playing it, but hadn't seen the other versions. From what I looked at on YouTube ages ago it seemed the Beeb and C64 versions played a bit smoother and faster... but was that it in terms of issues?
ELITE for the Beeb was its 'Killer App' and brought me years of space piraty goodness! (Go Imperials!) The clunkiness of the CPC version was too much for me to handle and I dismissed it pretty quickly. I guess I didn't play it enough to really get into it as I already had the Beeb version that sat on the same desk as my CPC! It was simply a matter of turning my head around.
And then, of course, FINAL FRONTIER arrived for the Amiga, that replaced my Beeb on the desk, and I never looked back at ELITE!
Quote from: ervin on 03:03, 22 September 11
On top of that you'd have to factor in the vector calculations, plotting the lines, managing the HUD and instrumentation elements, the 3D scanner etc. etc.
We can but dream...
That's why the great Lord Almighty invented look-up tables! ^_^
But maybe we'll see a decent ELITE clone on CPC one day... ...
Quote from: Xyphoe on 05:20, 22 September 11
Heh ... and someone listed "Starion" as one of their worst ever Amstrad games too!
I tried it out the other night, and quite liked it!
That would be me, again. I remember loading this up on my 464 and spending 20 minutes playing it before giving up and returning to 3D Starfight and Roland in Time! (How sad?)
Space Harrier I reckon should be quick enough for anyone! :laugh:
Quote from: ervin on 03:03, 22 September 11
I don't know much about the Beeb, but the C64's screen memory is only 1kb, and thus is very fast to update (though that version Elite is very flickery).
The BBC is very similar to the CPC and the memory overhead for
Elite's screen is about the same per pixel i think.
C64
Elite runs in a bitmapped screen mode, so 8,000 bytes of screen RAM in use - it's also just the Beeb code ported and not using the extra RAM for double buffering, the flickering is there on both but more obvious with the slower refresh speed.
As I told, the problem with Elite on CPC : speccy ported quite straightly...
So yep...
Speccy code done for a 7K VRAM machine running on a 16VRAM machine.
Ok more colours (playfield actually coloured) but twice more weight for every thing (HUD, "VRAM"...) classic issue.
can't be as smooth as it should.
But the game was good anyway whatever the format, just take the bast you have under hands.
Quote from: TMR on 10:19, 22 September 11
The BBC is very similar to the CPC and the memory overhead for Elite's screen is about the same per pixel i think.
C64 Elite runs in a bitmapped screen mode, so 8,000 bytes of screen RAM in use - it's also just the Beeb code ported and not using the extra RAM for double buffering, the flickering is there on both but more obvious with the slower refresh speed.
Ah, consider me educated!
Thanks for the info.
Elite was great on the CPC, i mean it played the same surely? slight differences in speed and smoothness aside, what was so drastically different and bad???!
Starion was COOL, got it from The Home Computer Club as one of the cheap opening offer titles.
The BBC's 6502 is more than twice as fast as the C64. The Z80 in the CPC is probably a little bit quicker at most things than the 6510 in the C64, but it has to deal with more screen memory, no hardware sprites or scrolling and complicated IO for the PSG/keyboard. The BBC has similar screen memory and setup to the CPC, but the 6502 is quite a bit faster when clocked at 2MHz. Having said all that, I played both versions of Elite, and the CPC version seemed great except for the odd frame rate drop when there were quite a few things on the screen.
Look at Starglider, Z80 at it's best. And don't forget that the Z80 knows a lot of commands wich is not known by the 65xx. So even a 2 MHz 65xx is imho inferior to a Z80 at 4 MHz. I'm solely judging (this time) by the finished product (Starglider, Driller for example...).
Quote from: TFM/FS on 01:41, 23 September 11
So even a 2 MHz 65xx is imho inferior to a Z80 at 4 MHz. I'm solely judging (this time) by the finished product (Starglider, Driller for example...).
Maybe so, but I haven't seen Starglider or Driller on the BBC B.
Quote from: Executioner on 01:47, 23 September 11
Maybe so, but I haven't seen Starglider or Driller on the BBC B.
Me either, but my guess is that it is twice as quick as on the c64. Or maybe I'm wrong?
It's not a vector game, but alwaysthough that it would not have been bad for the CPC have a few BBC ports :P
Quote from: SyX on 08:37, 23 September 11
It's not a vector game, but alwaysthough that it would not have been bad for the CPC have a few BBC ports :P
I always loved the Graftgold games on C64... but the CPC version of URIDIUM wasn't half as good and mono-colour didn't help! (I really liked JDR's version of Steve Turner's SID, though)
If someone did a proper conversion of URIDIUM, MORPHEUS and PARADROID, I'd be a happy man and could finally die peacefully!
but before they do that, can they improve Wizball please?!! Starting off by having the awesome C64 music, the paralax scrolling and the same game logic!
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 09:02, 23 September 11I always loved the Graftgold games on C64... but the CPC version of URIDIUM wasn't half as good and mono-colour didn't help! (I really liked JDR's version of Steve Turner's SID, though)
That BBC version in the video looks how a decent CPC version would must have been :(
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 09:02, 23 September 11If someone did a proper conversion of URIDIUM, MORPHEUS and PARADROID, I'd be a happy man and could finally die peacefully!
Ja ja ja, i think the same, it looks that we both will can rest in peace the same day xDDD
Quote from: khisanth on 09:30, 23 September 11
Starting off by having the awesome C64 music
I always hated the fact that Martin Galway never programmed on the CPC! Some of his music is far better than Rob Hubbard's tunes!
I'd love to convert those Wizball tunes to CPC with my very limited talent, but I would prefer it if a better musician did it instead, ie anyone else! I did get the highscore music started, but Mr Galway uses a lot of SID techniques that are simply beyond my capability to emulate and it just sounded awful on WinAPE A17! Maybe I'll give it another quick go this weekend!
Quote from: SyX on 09:39, 23 September 11
That BBC version in the video looks how a decent CPC version would must have been :(
The colours/sprites could be easily converted to CPC and with the new scroll technology being done (R3, is it?) at the moment, we could see a decent BBC-B conversion of URIDIUM. Looking at the different versions, it shocks me how washed-out the C64 palette really is... and now I loved it back in the day!
Oh guys, with 12 I learnt the hard way, that if you want to have something, you damn have to get it by yourself.
So if you want to have a superior CPC conversion, you damn have to code it by yourself. And don't cry for it. You are over 18 now, and babysitting is over :P :laugh: 8)
See is positive, you'll learn a whole lot :) :) :)
and people like me have to go and learn the code before we can even start :'(
Quote from: khisanth on 17:49, 23 September 11
and people like me have to go and learn the code before we can even start :'(
Well, learn what you like to learn. Or just do what you can. If you can go GFX, Sounds, or write a good plot of a Game, just do it :) And get some partners to do the rest of it :)
Really? I thought the Amstrad version of Uridium was really good ... in this rare case I don't mind the 4 colour graphics, the C64 version looked really garish at times and it's more detailed than the BBC version.
Quote from: Xyphoe on 19:07, 24 September 11
Really? I thought the Amstrad version of Uridium was really good ... in this rare case I don't mind the 4 colour graphics, the C64 version looked really garish at times and it's more detailed than the BBC version.
Well, the CPC version is good, but it could have been done way better (like it is often the case...). I like it's Mode 1 though.
Quote from: MacDeath on 23:16, 21 September 11
But concerning Elite, it was another case of quite straight portage I guess.
The 256x192 display is a clear sign of this.
While it may be a port as so many other games, a 256x192 screen helps with calculations of 3D vector graphics on an 8-bitter. 320 pixels would slow it down.
Take Starglider's screen. The vector graphics are limited to a 256x128 pixels, which is no surprise given that it does perspective 3D with hidden line removal, and the game still needs to be responsive to keyboard input and do some in-game calculations (map, enemy behaviour, etc.).
Sometimes a reduction in screen size really does make sense.
Beach Head, great game but the Amstrad version was the worst ive played
Quote from: tastefulmrship on 10:29, 05 September 11
Amsoft (Rol-Caves, Sultan's Maze)
The Wild Bunch
- Nothing controversial there, really!
Well, it depends. I guess I had quite a few CPC games that you'd consider better than these, but certainly I do remember spending a lot of time playing these 3. Certainly, graphically these were nothing to write home about, but I reckon I played each of them for as long as Chuckie Egg 2 or Jet Set Willy, both of which I completed, so in my book that makes them reasonably good games.
Super Space invaders !
I do not know how such a basic game can be messed up? So slow , First things first should be the game play. Then Graphics should be the best that can be implemented without stopping the game from being playable surely.
Wizball !
Just doesn't work with the flick screen style on the Amstrad, Find it virtually unplayable.
720' a crap port from Spectrum which doesn't even have changing levels in some events, which the spectrum had ???
Quote from: Puresox on 20:37, 11 February 12
720' a crap port from Spectrum which doesn't even have changing levels in some events, which the spectrum had ???
that sure was crap....... and just about anything from U.S. (MOULD) GOLD was absolutely shite on cpc
Agree'd ^^ That one really got my goat at the time,couldn't understand why they would not transfer the minimum from the speccy. Robbery
could go on 4eva about how pathetic U.S. MOULD were to cpc ..............
anyways Costa Capers was one of the worst games i can remember playing
Are any of the worst games mentioned here candidates for a rewrite, hopefully bringing it up to R-type quality?
:) worst supreme list :)
:o E-SWAT 64K version
??? HOME RUNNER
:-\ HOUSE OF USHER
:o DOUBLE DRAGON 1-2 tape version
>:( F1 SIMULATOR
:-X THE GALACTIC PLAGUE
>:( GALIVAN
:o GLEEN HODDLE SOCCER :o
>:( GRAND PRIX DRIVER (the best of s..t simulation)
:( GREYFELL
:o HELICHOPPER
>:( INDOOR RACE
>:( Sorry I can not continue I'm going to vomit.
good list there, all pretty damn awful.
Well, and one could add most Ocean games which are mostly spectrum ports.
darkgate i cant agree with you about The Galactic Plague, its true that tecnically its pretty short and frustating until you get with the controls and flow of the game. I remember when playing the first games and couldnt do a thing, that was so frustrating, but after getting the hang of it i really liked it and gave good hours of gaming.
And to contribute with this list, i have to add 3d invaders, to my point of view it is a big sodding shhh :o :-\ ??? game
Quote from: TFM/FS on 05:27, 14 February 12
Well, and one could add most Ocean games which are mostly spectrum ports.
not entirely true.... some of my fav games on cpc were from ocean / imagine - op wolf, op thunderbolt, navy seals on cart, robocop was brill and robocop 2 was good also, batman the movie was quite good and so too were these - chase hq, pang, plotting, puzznic, rainbow islands smash tv (loved it)
wec le mans was speccy port but i have to give it did play well even if a little slow and no in game music just spot effects until u got to see your lap at end of game and at the start screen the music was brilliant
wizball was pretty damn poor on cpc i thought......
the untouchables speccy colour scheme but was it a speccy port ???
Ocean and Imagine supplied Amstrad with a lot of decent stuff , They have a decent Hit rate... IMO
with many games , it is hard to take them on their own merit if you have played the best version on another system. Like Wizball for example.
Or Trantor, Driller, Starglider and Starfox as some more examples...
Trantor? Wich one is the best version?
Trantor is a nice short game (a year later it would transform in the first level of Savage :P), there are only 4 versions:
ST = ShiT
C64, we could argue about the sid/ay but use a monochrome sprite for Trantor and for me destroy all the playability :P
Zx, well is zx :P
CPC nice details and colourful, of course, much better in floppy :P
Quote from: McKlain on 20:34, 15 February 12
Trantor? Wich one is the best version?
The CPC version of course. That game was born and raised on the CPC 8)
I hadn't realised there's an ST version. Just tried it out. Tune is nice, but it surely lack the explosive qualities of the CPC version...
These were the worst games I owned on the CPC:
Custard Pie Factory
Outrun
Green Beret
Line of Fire
Transmuter (Amazing on the Speccy)
Sultans Maze
Bionic Commando
Altered Beast (Had everything, but the lack of speed killed it)
Turbo Outrun
1942
Alien Syndrome (amazing game, just bad CPC conversion)
Rambo 2
Pitfighter
Howard The Duck
Narc
Quote from: ukmarkh on 18:26, 17 February 12
These were the worst games I owned on the CPC:
Custard Pie Factory
Outrun
Green Beret
Line of Fire
Transmuter (Amazing on the Speccy)
Sultans Maze
Bionic Commando
Altered Beast (Had everything, but the lack of speed killed it)
Turbo Outrun
1942
Alien Syndrome (amazing game, just bad CPC conversion)
Rambo 2
Pitfighter
Howard The Duck
Narc
yeah they were terrible...... Pitfighter would have to be worst arcade conversion ever....... now that reminds me of another awful cpc game uchi mata anyone played that one ???
Quote from: ukmarkh on 18:26, 17 February 12
These were the worst games I owned on the CPC:
Custard Pie Factory
Outrun
Green Beret
Line of Fire
Transmuter (Amazing on the Speccy)
Sultans Maze
Bionic Commando
Altered Beast (Had everything, but the lack of speed killed it)
Turbo Outrun
1942
Alien Syndrome (amazing game, just bad CPC conversion)
Rambo 2
Pitfighter
Howard The Duck
Narc
1942, Alien Syndrome and Green Beret were all okay games, not terrible at all.
ahhhh Altered Beast forgot I owned that. Not a good conversion!
Quote from: cpc4eva on 20:35, 17 February 12
yeah they were terrible...... Pitfighter would have to be worst arcade conversion ever....... now that reminds me of another awful cpc game uchi mata anyone played that one ???
I hated it lol, but now I think of it, if you are into Judo, it's must be something.
I didn't like Break Thru at all :D
Jesus! Some unfair picks here in my opinion...
Howard The Duck wasn't bad, it just required patience. Once you learned how to jump the swamps and cross the river, it wasn't that hard at all!
Rambo II wasn't bad either. That said, once you finished it, you weren't in a hurry to go back to it.
Green Beret had poor scrolling, but other than that I found it somewhat enjoyable.
I'd have to go with (and yes, some of these will make people gasp in horror):
Kung Fu Master
Express Raider
Elite (Never saw the appeal, shit graphics, terrible music and damn near impossible to get your craft into the hexagon!)
Most of those 3D Isometric games (Especially Knight Lore and Sweevos World)
California Games
R-Type
Zorro
Last Ninja 2
Xcel
3D Monster Chase
WWF Wrestlemania
Yie Ar Kung Fu II
Hoppin' Mad
Ghosts N' Goblins
Did you class ELITE as one of the worst games ever???????? >:(
shit graphics? How can wire frame graphics be labelled shit? Do you think Asteroids in the arcade has shit graphics??!
Well, why are we bashing CPC games.... let's take a look at other systems...
... opening a new thread for that ...
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 00:04, 13 February 14
Green Beret had poor scrolling, but other than that I found it somewhat enjoyable.
Have to agree with this. I remember Green Beret being a game I played quite a lot.
But I think it means a lot whether or not you know the original arcade version before you see and try the CPC version.
I never knew about the original arcade version of Green Beret. If I did, and had gotten used to it, then I might not have enjoyed the CPC version.
Likewise, I also enjoyed Commando, but hadn't tried the original arcade version first. And I've seen people complain about Commando being poor.
But Bubble Bobble...... never have I been so disappointed in my life about a CPC game.
And to see people say it's "alright" and "playable" or even "great" (as one of my kidbrother's mates says) just baffles me.
But I bet they never played the original arcade version as much as me.
Quote from: Jonah (Tasteful Mr) Ship on 10:29, 05 September 11
When it comes to games lists like this, I'm kinda known for being consverative with my selections... and this is just the same!
It's only based on games I owned in the 80s/90s; so it doesn't include any games I've played since getting PC emulators & tons of .dsk files.
Amsoft (Bridge-it, Atom Smasher, Galactic Plague, Electro Freddy, Haunted Hedges, Rol-Ahoy, Rol-Caves, Rol-Run, Home Runner, Hunchback, Punchy, Mr Wong's, Qabbalah, Sultan's Maze, all sports related Amsoft games)
The Wild Bunch
Caves Of Doom
Chiller
Chopper Squad
Vampire Killer
Commando (No 3-channel music & no hiscore music! Disgusting)
Hi-Rise
Flimbo's Quest (No horizontal scrolling, so unplayable & crap title-music)
Ghouls
Knight Force
Kokotoni Wilf
Mr Freeze
Nemesis The Warlock (Load and listen to the music... but NEVER play the game)
Psycho Pigs UXB
<insert random name here> Simulator by Codemasters
St Dragon (horrible scrolling & graphics)
Starion
Trollie Wallie
Trashman
- Nothing controversial there, really!
I came 3 and half year late to this thread, but never mind.
Of those games you listed, I have fond memories of many of them. Many good games here really!
I liked all the games listed below, they have nothing to do in a list like this in my opinion.
Amsoft:
Galactic Plague
Electro Freddy
Roland Ahoy
Roland in the Caves
Hunchback
The Wild Bunch
Commando
Ghouls
Mr Freeze
Starion
Trollie Wallie
Quote from: mr_lou on 08:55, 13 February 14
But Bubble Bobble...... never have I been so disappointed in my life about a CPC game.
And to see people say it's "alright" and "playable" or even "great" (as one of my kidbrother's mates says) just baffles me.
But I bet they never played the original arcade version as much as me.
Of course Bubble Bobble is playable and great. The CPC had many bad games and ports. Bubble Bobble was far from being one of the worse ones
Bubble bobble was disappointing I agree, however it certainly was playable. So like most people at the time, as you didnt have a disposable income you had to stick with the games you bought and you would get the most of it.
There are many "officially" crap games out there on all systems, but they often turn into guilty pleasures if you persevere!
I used to not like Electro Freddy back ::) But it totally changed in my mind.
A very nice 8 bit gameplay today with fun look (kiddy) and animation. So I bought the tape 2 weeks ago, and made it a classic for myself. Everyone got his own opinion and own representation of what is Amstrad.
Somehow it's nice to see how you like your Amstrad. :D
Quote from: khisanth on 12:37, 13 February 14
There are many "officially" crap games out there on all systems, but they often turn into guilty pleasures if you persevere!
Hahaha indeed!
I think Commando was brilliant on Amstrad , played fast, had plenty of levels (The C64 only had about 3), Good music too
In regards to commando, I really like the idea they used in this game to simulate the smooth scrolling by moving the tiles. Previously, I had never really thought much of the game before - but after discovering their techniques, I quickly changed my mind.
It even had the music.
Quote from: khisanth on 00:06, 13 February 14
Did you class ELITE as one of the worst games ever? ??? ??? ? >:(
shit graphics? How can wire frame graphics be labelled shit? Do you think Asteroids in the arcade has shit graphics??!
Yup, absolutely hated it. Flying around, blasting rocks for cash, then trying to fly into a "shop", which consisted of a tiny crack in a rotating hexagon, to me personally wasn't worth the loading time! Sorry!
And yes, Asteroids had shit graphics... Blasteroids on the other hand was bloody awesome! :D
Yeah Elite was ok , but not I never found it as appealing as everyone else did , Knew the concept and how to trade up but a bit repetitive . Blasteroids was awful , give me Asteroids any day
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 13:57, 15 February 14
Yup, absolutely hated it. Flying around, blasting rocks for cash, then trying to fly into a "shop", which consisted of a tiny crack in a rotating hexagon, to me personally wasn't worth the loading time! Sorry!
I have to agree. I never understood what was so appealing about Elite. I gave it multiple tries but it just bored and frustrated me every time. And yet I somehow ended up buying Frontier - Elite 2 for Amiga when that came out. Maybe I'd hoped it had gotten more interesting in the 16-bit era. Nope. Had a catchy theme tune though. I often just loaded it up for the intro. I still have it come to think of it. I gave away the original Elite though.
The absolute worst Amsoft, and probably worst of all, has to be Home Runner.
It was absolutely awful to control, the collision detection was bullshit, the graphics were really basic, and they turned the bugs into features rather than fix them. There was not a single redeeming feature about it. It was also a full price game for lower quality than what you could type in from ACU or CwtA.
I see other games like Sultan's Maze, the Galactic Plague and Electro Freddy get a lot of hate, but these were all great games. Sultan's Maze was a little on the slow side updating screens, but it was quite a good little game once you got past the flaws. GP was difficult but it was a nice quick game to kill some time, due to it being the fastest of the free games to load. Electro Freddy was a good game, had good humour, and was fun to play. Its not fair to compare these early games to later better games.
ELITE was brilliant on the BBC. It lacked a LOT on the CPC!
FRONTIER was amazing... but FE was a bunch of poo!
I still play FRONTIER on WinUAE!
Quote from: EgoTrip on 15:28, 15 February 14
The absolute worst Amsoft, and probably worst of all, has to be Home Runner.
I never knew this one, I'm gonna test it tonight :D
Galactic plague, nice but without sinuses and curves, it's like
(http://static.fjcdn.com/comments/Dat+Resident+Evil+laser+wall+_4023edac3e17eff7d55180ecc3b8eb05.jpg)
Quote from: TFM on 02:59, 13 February 14
Well, why are we bashing CPC games.... let's take a look at other systems...
... opening a new thread for that ...
Addressing the flaws in CPC games usually results in a game been rewritten. What's interesting though is I don't know if anyone has mentioned Bubble Bobble which was reworked to become more like the Arcade.
This is my feelings towards Commando since I once played the Arcade version and have played it on my Atari 7800 as well as an 2600, the Amstrad version seems to play like the 2600 with graphics more like the 7800 when you exclude some of the large sprites like the Helicopter in the opening sequence of the game and large animated storyline graphics. To have Commando play better on an Amstrad though would be a more difficult challenge than improving some graphics.
Bionic Commando for example I don't mind playing that game (to someone else they probably played the arcade and thought the Amstrad version could be better), but the graphics are definitely bad and they probably just need to be redone to make it work. Super Wonderboy in Monsterland I played this ages ago on a Sega Master System, I think the Amstrad version plays just as well, though it's another game where the graphics could be improved and it would probaly be alright. :D
Never really got into Elite either, but this doesn't mean it belongs with the worst CPC games ever! It's like Civ is a terrible game if you don't like strategy gaming...
Quote from: AMSDOS on 22:21, 15 February 14
Addressing the flaws in CPC games usually results in a game been rewritten. What's interesting though is I don't know if anyone has mentioned Bubble Bobble which was reworked to become more like the Arcade.
This is my feelings towards Commando since I once played the Arcade version and have played it on my Atari 7800 as well as an 2600, the Amstrad version seems to play like the 2600 with graphics more like the 7800 when you exclude some of the large sprites like the Helicopter in the opening sequence of the game and large animated storyline graphics. To have Commando play better on an Amstrad though would be a more difficult challenge than improving some graphics.
What are the things you dont like about Commando? Maybe graphically it could be improved, but I'm very interested in hearing if there is something you find wrong with the playability.
I dont know any other games that move this smoothly without the continuous scrolling techniques used in Mission Genocide etc.
Amazing 87 shooter. I didn't knew it, smooth ;)
Quote from: Gryzor on 18:58, 16 February 14
Never really got into Elite either, but this doesn't mean it belongs with the worst CPC games ever! It's like Civ is a terrible game if you don't like strategy gaming...
Oh yeah I certainly don't consider Elite to be a 'worst game ever'. It's certainly got effort and time put into it and appeals to people who like that sort of thing and I can appreciate what it did that was supposedly interesting and new in that era. For me personally though I wouldn't rate it very highly at all because I rate games on how much they actually entertained me overall and I got zero enjoyment out of it.
Now you mention it I didn't actually like Civilization at all despite how much my friend forced me to Though inviting me around his house just to watch him play it for hours didn't really do much to endear it to me and by the time I got my own Amiga and he copied the game for me in a bunch of others to have a 'starters library' of games I just couldn't bear to see it's graphics anymore. Particularly when the likes of Alien Breed, Lotus 2, Turrican II and others captured my attention far easier and quicker.
Quote from: sigh on 19:46, 16 February 14
What are the things you dont like about Commando? Maybe graphically it could be improved, but I'm very interested in hearing if there is something you find wrong with the playability.
I dont know any other games that move this smoothly without the continuous scrolling techniques used in Mission Genocide etc.
The things which annoy me about the Amstrad version of Commando is more of a playability thing. The Bad Soldiers for example have a Seek & Destroy motto on the Atari 7800 version which was true to the arcade, but on the Amstrad they seem to be in for the kill. If I play Ikari Warriors on the Amstrad for example the Enemy Soldiers in that game don't seem to be as direct, so the Amstrad is definitely capable of that sort of thing. Scrolling I'm not terribly fussed about, Commando has a large playing field on the 7800 which maybe something which suffers on the Amstrad, so I guess if were after a smooth scroll then it becomes harder when dealing with a full screen.
Grand Prix Driver from Amsoft
Sultan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del sultán)
Fruit Machine
[troll]Cyberchicken (boring but lets support the new developments)[/troll]
Quote from: pacomix on 11:27, 18 February 14
Sultan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del sultán)
Fruit Machine
[troll]Cyberchicken (boring but lets support the new developments)[/troll]
It was called Sultans Maze in English (and yes, it was crap).
Bryce.
Quote from: pacomix on 11:27, 18 February 14
Sultan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del sultán)
Fruit Machine
[troll]Cyberchicken (boring but lets support the new developments)[/troll]
Fruit Machine is in my opinion an excellent game. I have friends that back in the day wanted Fruit Machine everytime he visited us. The graphics are more than ok and the soundeffects add much to the game. I would say that Fruity Machine was the game that got my friend into gambling. A few years ago he came back from Thailand and the Philipines with a debt of over £200 000. He had spent the money on girls and gambling. I would have liked to blamed Samantha Fox Strip Poker for his unluck too .... but I think that would be very wrong. :laugh:
Quote from: pacomix on 11:27, 18 February 14
Sultan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del sultán)
Fruit Machine
Yeah, Sultan's Maze was crap made extra crap by the ridiculously long loading time (I couldn't remember quite how long but just checked the cassette inlay and it says 17 minutes.. jeez). Overall I found CPC tapes to not take too long to load and also do it quite reliably when compared with other 8-bits so why did that game need so long?
And Fruit Machine, well.. I didn't mind putting it on now and then cos it was kinda 'fun' in small doses but I ended up hiding the tape cos my sister and mum liked that game and when they'd play it I wouldn't get to play anything on the CPC for hours... I can still remember many a time of myself playing with my Transformers and ThunderCats figures while hearing that Fruit Machine's sound effects coming from the other side of the room...
Fruit machine was dreadful IMO, utterly bland ,
Cyrstal Castles
BreakThru
Quote from: Carnivac on 14:51, 18 February 14
Yeah, Sultan's Maze was crap made extra crap by the ridiculously long loading time (I couldn't remember quite how long but just checked the cassette inlay and it says 17 minutes.. jeez). Overall I found CPC tapes to not take too long to load and also do it quite reliably when compared with other 8-bits so why did that game need so long?
Sultan's maze was written in BASIC. Even when a BASIC program is tokenized, it still isn't as compact as machine code, which is why it took so long to load and runs so slowly.
Quote from: CanonMan on 16:19, 18 February 14
Sultan's maze was written in BASIC. Even when a BASIC program is tokenized, it still isn't as compact as machine code, which is why it took so long to load and runs so slowly.
Makes sense. But what doesn't make sense is why bother releasing it. I know the old Amsoft games were mostly pretty bad (though some like Roland on the Ropes and my personal fave of the lot, Oh Mummy, were very fun and playable) but it didn't seem to be something that you'd want to sit there waiting all that time to load on your brand new computer and then 'play'. If that had been the sample game running on a shop's display CPC my folks might have gone with the C64 or Spectrum. Though to be honest I'm not actually sure why they picked the CPC out of that lot (I wasn't there at the shop with them). Maybe it was the built in tape deck and the supplied monitor (green) that gave it that value all-in-one purchase appeal. I'm very glad they did though.
I know my Parents bought mine , because of the monitor as they did not want me to have a tv in my bedroom , that and the complete package was fairly competitive
Elite is a quality game whether you love it or hate it. I got it into it and enjoyed the trading, the danger, the risk/reward aspects and was a nice absorbing game to play for hours.
Cant wait for Elite: Dangerous to come out, shaping up really nicely.
The thing I didnt like about older games is the cover art could be incredible, stirring your imagination and the game is awful or nothing to do with the artwork!
Sultan's Maze was made in 1984. It was at the beginning of the CPC's life. What it achieved was OK for the time, but I feel like im repeating myself really. Its unfair to put it up against later games. I personally enjoyed playing it. It took ages to load cos it was in BASIC and although I can't be bothered to load it up and check right now, it probably uses up all of the available memory. Also, Amsoft games were recorded in standard AMSDOS format in SPEED WRITE 0, for reliability, so this is another reason they took so long.
At least it WAS playable, unlike the machine code Home Runner which was fucking awful in every way, and on a level of depravity all by itself. Super Gran is almost as bad to play, but at least (very minimal) effort was put into the horribly flickery graphics, not using redefined characters.
Sultans Maze, as bad as it was, was only made worse by it's 17 minute loading time for such poor, slow drawing graphics, for reasons already explained.
3D Monster Chase by Romik wasn't much better, but at least the loading time was halved and the graphics were easier to see. Still zero playability though.
Quote from: EgoTrip on 19:39, 06 March 14
Sultan's Maze was made in 1984. It was at the beginning of the CPC's life. What it achieved was OK for the time, but I feel like im repeating myself really. Its unfair to put it up against later games. I personally enjoyed playing it. It took ages to load cos it was in BASIC and although I can't be bothered to load it up and check right now, it probably uses up all of the available memory. Also, Amsoft games were recorded in standard AMSDOS format in SPEED WRITE 0, for reliability, so this is another reason they took so long.
At least it WAS playable, unlike the machine code Home Runner which was fucking awful in every way, and on a level of depravity all by itself. Super Gran is almost as bad to play, but at least (very minimal) effort was put into the horribly flickery graphics, not using redefined characters.
I wonder if it would be easy to implement some M/C drawing routine to Sultan's Maze or would it be asking for trouble to take some Commercial program from 1984 just to speed it up.
Quote from: AMSDOS on 08:55, 07 March 14
I wonder if it would be easy to implement some M/C drawing routine to Sultan's Maze or would it be asking for trouble to take some Commercial program from 1984 just to speed it up.
Changing the basic drawing commands for a fast RSX implementation maybe?
And adding some atmospheric music, why not ;D
Sultan's Maze: The Return.
A raycaster with textured graphics and lighting effects would probably still be quicker on the CPC than the current Sultan's Maze drawing routines!
Let's get our hands dirty. I'll do the soundtrack and effects :P
Quote from: AMSDOS on 08:55, 07 March 14
I wonder if it would be easy to implement some M/C drawing routine to Sultan's Maze or would it be asking for trouble to take some Commercial program from 1984 just to speed it up.
Someone in the community (I believe) is still in the process of doing this. Their last update was pretty impressive, but I've not heard from them for a while, now, so I do not know if it's still in development. I, personally, liked SULTAN'S MAZE back in the day, but my CPC-464 had a DDI-1 and Transit, so I didn't have the 2hr 44min loading time! ^_^
Also, if you're talking bad CPC games, then our conversion of ST. DRAGON (http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=1866) (an amazing Jaleco arcade game that I STILL hold the Reel's Worldwide High-Score for at 23 Million) was simply diabolical. Other than the amazing title music (a conversion of the arcade's Level 1 music; METAL PLANET) it played like a dog! The other conversions were ok-ish, but ours was poo!
Quote from: khisanth on 18:23, 06 March 14
Elite is a quality game whether you love it or hate it.
Why do you say that? The game has it's problems, why should people not prepared to overlook them for the sake of the concept still regard it as a quality game?
Quote from: Axelay on 15:29, 07 March 14
Why do you say that? The game has it's problems, why should people not prepared to overlook them for the sake of the concept still regard it as a quality game?
This is it, gaming is subject and one's poison is anothers pleasure.
And for me personally, I never bought into the hype. I certainly didn't believe it was the greatest game to arrive on the CPC, even when AA hyped it on it's 100th issue in the early to mid 90s. It wasn't pleasant to look at, the trading got boring after a while and trying to get into each station/shop was a right pain in the ass.
The game always got a big fat MEH! from me i'm afraid.
I kept on with Elite and made it to Elite, I enjoyed lining up the ship correctly before docking it
Quote from: McKlain on 10:23, 07 March 14
Changing the basic drawing commands for a fast RSX implementation maybe?
And adding some atmospheric music, why not ;D
Sultan's Maze: The Return.
On checking out Sultan's Maze I was pretty impressed with the opening screen and considering the game was done mostly BASIC (with some M/C here and there), it was ambitious what they came up with. The problem in the game itself seems to be filling in the walls because it has to deal with drawing lots of vertical lines along the main outline.
@Jonah (Tasteful Mr) Ship - CPC Power have a copy in Spanish which is using BASIC 1.1, so it's probably using MASK and FILL to draw in the Walls which would speed up the process of the original game, besides that I wasn't able to find any discussions relating to anyone reworking Sultan's Maze and I was surprised how few discussions I found about Sultan's Maze.
I can't believe people are willing to waste their time reworking Sultans Maze! Some stones are best left unturned :D
That reminded me of a discussion I was having the other night with friends about movie remakes. Why try remaking the films that were already great in the first place when there's plenty of crappy ones that you could do a much better job of. Sometimes a crappy thing had a decent concept or idea behind it. Not saying that's the case with Sultan's Maze but I'm kinda curious now to see a version of Sultan's Maze that isn't terrible. The basic gameplay could be kinda fun if in a much faster engine I suppose. Might end up somewhat like the 'flick 3D' RPG style of games like Dungeon Master and Hired Guns.
Quote from: Carnivac on 19:05, 08 March 14
That reminded me of a discussion I was having the other night with friends about movie remakes. Why try remaking the films that were already great in the first place when there's plenty of crappy ones that you could do a much better job of. Sometimes a crappy thing had a decent concept or idea behind it. Not saying that's the case with Sultan's Maze but I'm kinda curious now to see a version of Sultan's Maze that isn't terrible. The basic gameplay could be kinda fun if in a much faster engine I suppose. Might end up somewhat like the 'flick 3D' RPG style of games like Dungeon Master and Hired Guns.
I agree to an extent, but because the concept was improved (via 3D Monster Chase), the game was still quite bland to play, you can only walk around collecting diamonds dodging ghosts/bats/monsters for so long before you tire of it.
Strictly my opinion of course.
far as i'm concerned ,loading Sultans maze is more exciting than playing it , it's that good
I even remember that after waiting such amount of time sometimes the game was freezing when generating the maze x'D
Folks, you do know that April fools day isn't for another few weeks, yeah? ;)
I still maintain Sultan's Maze was a pretty nice game. Gameplay is King!
Different strokes for different folks, I suppose , I really can't see much enjoyment in the game even without taking the slow draw times into account. I will give it a go to see if it entertains me these days .
Perhaps it is the poor games like sultans maze which should be rewritten?
I enjoyed Sultan's Maze back in the day. With the benefit of hindsight, the slow drawing is rubbish. At the time as an 8 or 9 year old, I just thought it was a fun game and the slow redraw just added to the fear of whether the ghost was going to appear or not.
Also, just re: Elite (talked about by people a month ago). Personally, I thought it was amazing. But even if it's not something you like, the fact that it was such an important game to many many people surely means you can't vote it as "worst game ever", just "something you don't like"...
Quote from: ralferoo on 23:40, 20 March 14
Also, just re: Elite (talked about by people a month ago). Personally, I thought it was amazing. But even if it's not something you like, the fact that it was such an important game to many many people surely means you can't vote it as "worst game ever", just "something you don't like"...
It may be important to many, but it's throwaway to many also... it's totally subjective.
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 02:32, 21 March 14
It may be important to many, but it's throwaway to many also... it's totally subjective.
Its important to the industry as a whole. Not one magazine review will have given it a negative review which tells you a lot. Like it or not, Elite is an important and technically impressive game.
Quote from: khisanth on 20:20, 22 March 14
Its important to the industry as a whole. Not one magazine review will have given it a negative review which tells you a lot. Like it or not, Elite is an important and technically impressive game.
Elite like Doom was a genre creator
I'm not denying any of this. I'm just saying I (like many others) didn't buy into it.
Thats fair enough, but some people were saying it was a crap game , not that they simply didnt like it etc. :)
And now thanks to a poster here I have Elite working on a 6128 plus I will be happily terrorising the space lanes again
Quote from: khisanth on 11:44, 23 March 14
Thats fair enough, but some people were saying it was a crap game , not that they simply didnt like it etc. :)
So we can't call something crap if we don't like it? So I can't call some teen boyband's song crap just because I don't like it when lots of people liked it enough to make it number 1 in the charts? Hmm...
No you misunderstand.
Saying you do or dont like something is fine, but to say something is crap when to the majority it isnt that is wrong. Opinions are one thing, but a fact can be wrong. If you can't recognise that Elite was a great leap forward in terms of design, scope, size and gameplay you are very short sited.
It's like saying "oh i dont like this new Ferrari ,therefore it's a crap sportscar" , a new Ferrari is very very very unlikely to be a crap sportscar. Another example, I dont particular like the actress Meryl Streep, but I dont then say she is a crap actress!
As for boy bands, it might be hard to admit that maybe they ARE good which is why they sell so many records! Dont have to agree with it though :)
although they are wonderfully engineered I have always thought Ferraris to be ugly.
There you go! I think that generally they are good looking, but every so often an ugly one comes along.
I can understand Elite was something different and inspirational to some people but to me it wasn't even remotely enjoyable which is all I want from a game. Therefore to me Elite is a crap game because it failed in it's task to entertain me at all and doesn't feel like much of a game at all. It's attempts at 'gameplay' feel far too much like chores to me. So I should call it a great game even though it bores me to death? Hell no...
And I don't care what the 'majority' says about anything. I like to try things out for myself. Opinion based reviews are pointless. They always have been since for the most part they are all about how the individual experiencing it perceives it. We do not all like or rate the same things and we shouldn't feel forced to agree with whatever the majority decides as fact without experiencing it ourselves within reason.
You like Elite. Good for you. Go enjoy it. I'm not stopping you. To some of us though it's utterly worthless as a game... I love Pacman. It's a classic and as important as Elite, probably even moreso. You'll get plenty people today calling it prehistoric crap (going by a lot of comments I see on websites about modern consoles having 'retro' games). So what? Doesn't affect my enjoyment of it and I don't try to change their minds because people are allowed to think what they like.
Okay two questions:
1) Did you play this back in the day when it was released or near enough?
2) Do you not recognise the technical merits of the game and its scope? (ignoring the fact it didnt make you interested)
I've already mentioned that I owned it and (for some stupid reason I can't seem to recall) still own Fronter - Elite II on Amiga despite finding it equally as tedious so yes I did play it when it first came out and despite repeated attempts to 'get it' since I still just find it a total waste of time.
I already said I could understand technically what it did or led to. Still was boring to play and looked ugly though.
I'm finding you a bit weird now that you can't accept that some of us regard Elite as crap as a game. Why can't you understand that some people just don't rate it at all? One man's big ol' golden chalice is another man's toilet and so on. Jeez...
I already said I have no issue with anyone's opinion on the game! I only find issue with people who say the game has no merit and say its crap, nothing more!
I can see how some people would find it boring and tedious, slow paced deep games are not for everyone.
Yeah but that's just it. This all sounds like nobody is allowed to call anything crap anymore. Pretty much everything is liked by somebody but you're saying whatever is liked by the majority is great and what is liked by a minority is crap? Is that it?
When it comes to things like creative things like art, games, movies and music I just don't think there is such a thing as a fact. It's all subjective and down the individual experiencing it. There are plenty of those things that got mostly bad reviews yet I enjoy them immensely so am I supposed to regard the thing I like as total crap because the majority says it is? Screw that. I love those things but I'm not telling people they can't call it crap. Cos life's too damn short and I want to fill it up with enjoying the things that I personally enjoy and love rather than go along with what the crowd thinks is good or bad.
Quote
I can see how some people would find it boring and tedious, slow paced deep games are not for everyone.
Some would describe Chess as that and yet I've enjoyed many a game over the years.
Quote from: khisanth on 13:33, 23 March 14
I already said I have no issue with anyone's opinion on the game! I only find issue with people who say the game has no merit and say its crap, nothing more!
I can see how some people would find it boring and tedious, slow paced deep games are not for everyone.
The problem is the significance of the game is still your opinion. It doesn't matter how many people might share an opinion, it doesnt become fact. Elite was the single most disappointing and over hyped game I've ever played. It probably is the case that it is not the worst CPC game ever, but there was a vast gulf between what I read about Elite and what I played on my CPC. The brilliant sounding concept behind the game is irrelevant to me when what I found after playing the game for a few weeks was something with an abysmal frame rate, a capricious and unrewarding trading system, and a vast galaxy to explore that did not once reveal anything worth discovering. That to me is not depth. You are obviously entitled to your own opinion, but I am certainly not going to regard the game highly simply because a lot of other people do, or because it had a great idea behind it.
Okay if we take chess as an example. If I were to say "chess is a crap game" how would you react to that?
I am making a sweeping generalisation and saying that chess is simply no good. Doesnt that sound daft to you?
Quote from: khisanth on 13:44, 23 March 14
Okay if we take chess as an example. If I were to say "chess is a crap game" how would you react to that?
I am making a sweeping generalisation and saying that chess is simply no good. Doesnt that sound daft to you?
Nope. I wouldn't care. That's my point. I'd rather just go and play it and enjoy it rather than waste my time trying convince you it's good. That's what I'm finding so damn bizarre about this whole thing. Why is it so important to you to insist that people can't say Elite is a crap game? Just deal with it and move on. After the whole speedball thing I've come to realise there's just no use arguing anymore.
Anyways I've gotta go. Friend's picking me and we're off to do something for Sport Relief but she hasn't told me what yet... I'm fit enough for anything though. I hope.
lol I am passionate about Elite , thats all :)
when I played Elite I filled in the gaps with my imagination, used to create stories based around the missions, by the time Origin put out Privateer and the Wing Commander series the games had caught up
I liked the fact you could play it how you wanted. Mine asteroids, be a pirate or trade. I liked the trading side of things, but eventually got tired of it. The amstrad version seemed to be missing a few things, I never saw any Thargoids or got any missions
I came across the thargoids a couple of times and had to transport a secret device
@Carnivac, the problem is using the word crap when what you mean is boring, no one can argue with you if you say you found the game boring.
For the word crap to carry any weight, it should be reserved for the worst of the worst games, i.e games liked by fewer people than the number of people involved in the games' creation.
A similar situation may apply to "serious software" like word processors etc, mini office 2 may be called crap compared to MS office, but is it really crap? can it still do what you need it to do? (OK, printers may be a problem, but perhaps it just needs another program to drive the printer).
Modern software suffers from "rampant featuritis", it has thousands of features, most of which the user is unaware of and will never use, so maybe the modern software is crap for wasting time and memory with features no one uses?
Quote from: dcdrac on 15:31, 23 March 14
I came across the thargoids a couple of times and had to transport a secret device
did you have to do anything to get the mission? I had 2 or 3 right on commander messages but nothing more happened
I agree that reviews are largely personal viewpoints and hence subjective - that's their nature and of course everyone is totally free to form their own opinion.
But if there is enough reviews and you combine them together you come up with a consensus.
And the consensus is that Elite definitely was not crap.
Quote from: khisanth on 15:42, 23 March 14
did you have to do anything to get the mission? I had 2 or 3 right on commander messages but nothing more happened
I would dock somewhere it was when I had reach dangerous level jump into hyperspace then by surrounded by thargoids or see something in the trading lsit that looked a bit odd buy it and it was a mission
I thought the CPC version of Elite was crap... ... when compared to the BBC original.
On one hand, I myself don't care much about general consensus. Much like Carnivac, I don't care what most people say to formulate an opinion.
On the other hand, one thing is "I don't like it" and another "this is crap". I find myself not liking things that others like quite often, but I recognise the quality in them. Two totally different things.
Axelay, OTOH, has actually given a valid review for it being crap :)
Quote from: Jonah (Tasteful Mr) Ship on 20:23, 23 March 14
I thought the CPC version of Elite was crap... ... when compared to the BBC original.
I am playing it on my BBC micro at the moment for the first time so will see how different it is soon enough :P
I have the BBC version of Elite too and I like both of them equally.
Quote from: khisanth on 13:44, 23 March 14
Okay if we take chess as an example. If I were to say "chess is a crap game" how would you react to that?
I am making a sweeping generalisation and saying that chess is simply no good. Doesnt that sound daft to you?
If you were to say "chess is a crap game", I would call you an idiot!On the other hand, I never got around to playing Elite so much that I understood and enjoyed it. I have always thought there was an excellent game in there, but haven't bothered to do more to find out.
I think the Amstrad version was dreadful, The BBC version was a superb game, just not my cup of tea. I do respect the game though. I find that it needed just a little bit more to make it more interesting, such as Missions etc. Starstrike II is a far better wire framed shooter .
Starstrike 2 was pure gold
Added the bin file to transfer to a 3 1/2 inch floppy using CPCXp
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I only recently realised how much there was to the game , and there are some fantastic visual tricks within the game.
Sorry to necro an old topic!
But there was a purpose to this to this thread all those years ago. :D
I planned to formulate an ultimate top 10 list, and make a video of it. Other videos took priority and was meant to do this as the next project after the "Amstrad CPC - Celebrating 30 Years" mega vid, and have contributions from notable YouTubers and gaming celebs. Couldn't get everything I needed so kept being put off. Novabug on YouTube is already doing his own I think this weekend.
So this Friday at 10pm (BST) I'll be doing a live stream on YouTube (https://gaming.youtube.com/c/Xyphoe/live (https://gaming.youtube.com/c/Xyphoe/live)) - and will be taking everyone's suggestions live, then downloading, playing and discussing the games. This will help finally formulate my top 10 for later separate videos, although I already have a top 10 in mind based on the discussions in this topic.
Hope some of you can join in! :)
(https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/20689689_2001229146787477_6976437098335295453_o.jpg?oh=ed008e149639a5e119e9132b8d375001&oe=5A368DF6)
29 pages about bad Amstrad games. I am not sure I like that :o
Sadly I'll be at a table quiz for this (hello middle age!)
I'm assuming this will be upped to YT to watch later though?
I expect to see some of my games in this stream.
I remember my dad buying a game called house of usher that was pretty awful really, it was an early release so perhaps that excuses it somewhat
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Quote from: EgoTrip on 11:26, 11 August 17
I expect to see some of my games in this stream.
I don't think so.
Quote from: tjohnson on 12:56, 11 August 17
I remember my dad buying a game called house of usher that was pretty awful really, it was an early release so perhaps that excuses it somewhat
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Yeah I tend to let off various 1984 and some 85 games to an extent due to being early games and even then some of those are playable enough. Something like Count Duckula 2 which was made in 1992 and yet is more badly designed/coded/sprited than many 84 games has simply no excuses at all.
I bought Outrun.... Why ever I don't know. As much as I loved 'the blues brothers' it did have a playing on a postage stamp feel to it. Other than that a great game!
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Quote from: CraigsBar on 15:27, 11 August 17
I bought Outrun.... Why ever I don't know. As much as I loved 'the blues brothers' it did have a playing on a postage stamp feel to it. Other than that a great game!
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Outrun sold on name alone though. I bought it with my confirmation money in '88. Was so excited only to find that my mother had collected the disk version... and I'm a 464 owner!! So we gotta wait a week before a tape version came back in stock to exchange it... and the excitement builds again.
Fucking rush up the stairs and slapped it into the tape drive, nice loading screen, and I'm full of expectation. Reset the tape counter, load in the start level and oh... my... god. The horror. No sound except that pathetic attempt of a screech, no crash effects, cars appeared out of nowhere, and yet 12 year old me accepts that it's really not all that bad because I can still chose which route I want to go...
... unlike c64 owners who had a choice of five routes! 😂😂😂
This happening tonight Xyphoe ? I'll prob be checking in ,cos I am on deaths door .
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 11:17, 11 August 17
Sadly I'll be at a table quiz for this (hello middle age!)
I'm assuming this will be upped to YT to watch later though?
Yep! It'll be available to re-watch on YouTube Gaming, then it'll be archived as an actual video and put live probably tomorrow.
Quote from: Puresox on 17:41, 11 August 17
This happening tonight Xyphoe ? I'll prob be checking in ,cos I am on deaths door .
Yep that's right! 10pm (BST) on YouTube :)
Quote from: Xyphoe on 19:42, 11 August 17
Yep! It'll be available to re-watch on YouTube Gaming, then it'll be archived as an actual video and put live probably tomorrow.
Cool! Will re-watch the first half then, seeing as I was able to catch the second half (to my surprise)
Thanks for the support last night for those of you tuned in! Had well over a hundred people watching the stream, with a minimum of 50 throughout! WOW!
It was great fun, and uncovered some awful games I'd never heard of too! Which was the point! I think I've whittled my top 10 list down now.
You can catch up with the stream here ->
Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1SMHk8EVwM
Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjQJ_zS7q5A
It's in 2 parts because about 2hours20 in the streaming software crashed and I had to reboot and start it up again :(
That was an entertaining way to spend a few hours. Too bad I didn't see it live but I doubt the timezones would line up anyway.
I even felt inspired to try out Rik the Roadie (I know I have it on tape somewhere), but I think I should probably keep such inspiration to a minimum!
Obviously we have different taste in games... :D
Quote from: SuTeKH/Epyteor on 10:29, 05 September 11
Amsoft (Rol-Ahoy)
Commando (No 3-channel music & no hiscore music! Disgusting)
Psycho Pigs UXB
Starion
I really liked: Roland Ahoy, Hunchback
I really LOVED: Psycho Pigs UXB (one of the best games ever), Starion, Commando
Some reviews from the time of release here:
https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/applications/1984-issue-1-of-cpc-464-computing-magazine/msg201245/?topicseen#msg201245
Issue 3!