Shot97 Retro

  Jumpman Commodore 64, 1983 Randy Glover/Epyx $39.95 *My video review for Jumpman *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of writings *Game played/shown in its designed NTSC mode with 4:3 aspect ratio *If pics show artifacting, zoom in/out (CRT effect) There was a time long ago which you'd find not too dissimilar from today, when everyone making a game copied the one which had come before. Today it could be described as laziness, a lack of creative soul or integrity, the full throttle toward the tried and true; that which has already been proven financially successful. In the early 1980's however, the situation was more understandable, nobody really knew any better. There were entire consoles dedicated to thinly disguised ripoffs of Pong, and while the Atari 2600 put all of those to shame, how many alien invaders were we forced to endure through never ending yet ever faster waves?  Perhaps it's simply what the people wanted, or perceived limitations of the ...

  Winter Games Amiga, 1987 (Original C64 1985) Epyx Inc *My video review for Winter Games *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of writings *Game designed and best played in NTSC mode with 4:3 aspect ratio *Fast memory must be disabled to play game In a dark corner of my parent's basement lied the Amiga. Shrouded in shadow due to a fish tank, file cabinets, and the computer's desk creating a wall of gaming. There were a few windows to the outside world, but they had been covered up with cardboard. Sunlight is not going to spoil this party. Towering above our Commodore monitor the desk housed stacks upon stacks of computer magazines. It was in these very magazines that I first laid eyes on Winter Games from Epyx. Several pages had been dedicated to the game, showing large screenshots. What amazing scenery, my young self thought. ^Options and opening ceremony The magazine was as close as I got to the game back in the day, as we never got i...