Street Gang Football: Sinclair ZX Spectrum July Review

Street Gang Football Spectrum

Street Gang Football: July featured game

Street Gang Football is not your usual computer footy game. There's no pitch, just cold, hard brick and tarmac, with plenty of virtually grazed kneecaps. Well, it's certainly no Sensible Soccer or FIFA but I have to say I took an immediate liking to this game. The idea behind this game is nothing short of brilliant on Code Masters part. It reminds me of playing football with my friends during the school holidays when…

Dark Chambers: Atari 7800 June Review

Dark Chambers Atari 7800

Dark Chambers: June featured game

It's June and it's #AtariMonth so this month's review is a game described as the spiritual successor to Gauntlet, Dark Chambers, a remake of the 1983 game, Dandy. There's no mistaking this is a form of Gauntlet. The game starts and instantly you recognise the playing field. My first instinct was to brace myself for hordes of enemies... that, apparently, didn't get an invite. Taking a quick walk around I got the feeling I'd entered…

Hotel Mario: Philips CD-i May Review

Hotel Mario: Philips CD-i

Hotel Mario: May featured game

Mario's first outing on the Philips CD-i comes in the shape of Hotel Mario. I've seen Hotel Mario slated on many occasions. As a Mario game I can understand the dislike but I prefer to look at Hotel Mario as an ode to the Golden Age arcade era. If you strip away the Mario-ness of it all and look at Hotel Mario for what it is then there's a game akin to the likes of…

Astro Blaster: Sinclair ZX Spectrum April Review

Astro Blaster Spectrum

Astro Blaster: April featured game

I remember playing Astro Blaster many years ago but it became one of those titles that I overlooked in recent times. I'm a member of a Sinclair Spectrum group on Facebook, The Spectrum Group UK, and they set seasonal challenges with a different game each week. The object of the challenge is usually to get the highest score amongst the members taking part. This week the game is Quicksilva's 1983 title, Astro Blaster. Astro Blaster…

Krakout: Commodore C64 March Review

Krakout C64

Krakout: March featured game

No, not the answer to "What's the first thing you associate with a builder's trousers?" Krakout is a Breakout clone with a difference. We've seen this type of game a lot on various systems. Names such as Arkanoid and Batty will be familiar to many old skool gamers but Krakout stands out because it's different. All those other games play vertical whereas Krakout plays horizontal. One benefit of playing horizontal is a handy little option where…