UCHI MATA – Judo Champ : ZX Spectrum

Uchi Mata or Inner Thigh Throw‘ as its otherwise known is an ambitious attempt to bring the martial art of Judo to the ZX Spectrum. A judo simulator is an ambitious and original idea and fits in with the wacky nature of the Spectrum’s game library. This takes the form of a Judo contest, where […]

Masters of Doom : A Book Review

Genre: Book Author: David Kushner Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture is a title which I read at least twice a year. This is the story of two industry giants, John Carmack and John Romero who formed a mighty partnership and created one of the most influential games […]

Horace Goes Skiing – ZX Spectrum Review

Genre: Arcade / Action Release: 1982 Publisher: Sinclair Research Ltd I’ve always wondered what exactly Horace was. An icon of the 8-bit microcomputing era Horace became utterly iconic but his torso was baffling, were those holes supposed to be eyes? Whatever he was meant to be he was the Spectrum’s hero. Throughout his adventures he […]

Cheating to Win? A History of Video Game Secrets

Since the beginning of video gaming, titles have shipped with secrets. These can be secret levels, Easter eggs or ridiculous codes which have dramatic effects on the game. The first cheat codes were often created not to add extra levels or cause airplanes to drop from the sky but to help developers play through, their […]

Star Wars: The Arcade Game Atari 2600

Genre: Arcade / Flight Released: 1983 Published by: Parker Brothers The Star Wars franchise is about to return with a bang in our cinema screens with Rise of the Skywalker but perhaps the best Star Wars experience was… Star Wars, the original?(or the IV : A New Hope title). Featuring Lightsaber battles, Mercenaries, Space chases […]

Bounder : ZX Spectrum

Genre : Top down/ Action Platformer Released: 1986 Publisher: Gremlin Graphics Developers: Sean Hollingworth, Marcos Druroe, Peter Harrap and Chris Kerry In the mid-eighties, ball-based puzzle games were all the rage on 8-bit machines and Bounder was a classic in the genre. Audiences of Marble Madness and Trailblazer were thrilled by this smooth scrolling platformer […]

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: ANDY GREEN PIXEL ART

For the first post on this blog which celebrates all things 8-bit I had to place a review of a new title which showcases some incredible pixel art. Aficionados of the Pixel Art scene will have heard of the author – Andy Green has been a lauded artist and designer of classic and original loading […]