Thursday, July 19, 2012

Deeds Of Yore Update!

Hey everyone, I know I haven't been contacting the outside world very much the last couple of months regarding "Deeds Of Yore".  To anyone who has been sitting at the edge of their seat wondering what's going on I sincerely apologize.  So, here's the scoop... I am pushing back the release date of the last episode of the first season (Episode 15 "End Side A")  from August 1st, to sometime in September.  As you already know, I've had to change drastically the presentation of the second half of the first season.  At the same time, I also need to re-create the first half of the series in a compilation for new viewers, because I was forced to take down the first 13 episodes due to a split with one of the co-creators.  "Deeds Of Yore" is by no means all me.  A small team of dedicated artists support this series with their talent, and we have added some new blood recently so that we can take Season 2 to a new level (no pun intended). All this means we need a little more time to develop the story to it's full potential.  If I don't post for the next couple of weeks, it's because I'm busy on this exciting next phase of Deeds.  Oh, and the contest is still on!  Your artwork will be judged and a winner announced before the release of Episode 15, so stay tuned.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

A message from Robita.

Friends, fans, and everyone else,

Tonight I present to you the first in a two part ending to the first volume of the "Deeds Of Yore" saga.  The last two episodes are not presented as an end to the story, but rather the beginning of a new adventure in Yore starting January 1st 2013.  I did not intend my story to take this twist but, like all good works of art, it is the creation that decides the course it will take and not the creator.  I am extremely excited to take all of you down this new and even more exciting road in the Land Of Yore.  So stay up late (if you're in my timezone), kick back, relax, and enjoy "Deeds Of Yore Level 14, TheTop".

Robita-

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Rags to Riches, the best game in town...


I wanted to make "Rags To Riches" the Game-a-day #1, however, because of changes that I had to make on "Deeds Of Yore", and the time involved in making them my Game-a-day got off track.  I'm still heavy on the "Deeds Of Yore" work, and the new episode will be out this Sunday July 1st.  So, while I don't have time right now to post a lot on the blog, I still want to feature what I consider the best computer game of all time.  Yes, it's a bold statement, but for me it's true.  There is no other game that I have ever played that is so complete in it's creativity, simplicity and fun. "Rags" is creative... You play a bum, a hobo down on his luck.  How many games are about being a hobo?  Anyhow, the point of the game is to make a million bucks starting with two dollars ten cents, a subway ticket, two bottles and a bone.  Game play is the American dream in 8 bit.  It's simple to play... Keep your rest and food and or alcohol meters up, collect bottles for their recycling value, ride the subway to different parts of town, avoid the cops, robbers, and when you get a little in the bank, the IRS.  You can't get a job without a haircut or if you are drunk, you need to get an education to get a better job, and eventually if you play your cards right you will get that one million.  I have finished this game and <Spoiler Alert!>, nothing happens when you win... You just win, and you can keep playing, but there is little point.  I can still play this game over and over, and never get tired of it.  Maybe it's that it mirrors life so well, or perhaps it's just that hope it brings that an 8 bit hobo can be a millionaire. Whatever it is, I think "Rags To Riches" is magical.  It's an unknown masterpiece.  A timeless tale of making something out of nothing.

Rags to Riches on Gamebase64

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Deeds Of Yore, down a new road.


I'm back!  And so is "Deeds Of Yore".  I apologize for the information blackout the last two weeks, but it was unavoidable.  Deeds is a collaboration of many people (as you can see in the credits at the end of each episode).  Although it is a simple animated series there is a lot of work that goes into each episode.  Collaborative efforts like Deeds are often subject to the  opinions or moods of their creators.  Due to some creative differences in my team I will not be presenting "Deeds Of Yore" as I had intended  (in a second half of 12 episodes).  I will be presenting you with two last episodes that will  complete the "Yore" saga.  Don't fret, although, there are only two episodes remaining, I am setting things up to continue the story in a second season.  I am very excited about this second season, as it extends the story, and opens the land of Yore to amazing possibilities.  So here's the Schedule for the last two episodes...

July 1st, 2012   - We post Episode 14

August 1st, 2012 - We post Episode 15 (The final episode of season 1)

Season two is already under development.  I will announce it's release date, and start posting previews ASAP.  It's not easy making an independent animated web series, but I want to thank all the supportive fans of "Deeds Of Yore" for their words of encouragement and for watching my series.  I look forward to taking all of you on a new adventure soon.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012


Dear Fiends and Fans of Deeds Of Yore,

If you've been reading the blog you know that I've been a little down in the dumps this last week.  Several problems arose in my life and in the production of "Deeds Of Yore".  I will not be able to update the blog for a week or so, and the release of the second half of the series may have a slight delay.  I have been overwhelmed by the support and fantastic comments and interactions I have received from all of you, and I am still working toward bringing you  the second half of the series as promised.  Please Stand By... Thanks,

Robita-

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #24...Moebius - The Orb of Celestial Harmony


Whoa dude, the review of this game on Abandonia calls it "ahead of it's time"... Yes, I could not have said it better.  It's not only ahead of it's time, but it's freaking weird as hell.  It's got a sort of spiritual theme to it what with the yin yang and all. I dunno, I'll be honest, I didn't play it enough to fully understand it, and it's not the type of game that you can just start playing because it's very unique.  I think it's worth a good long investigation.  I never played "Moebius" when I was a kid, but I remember it was in a hint book I had (I still have it), called "The Quest For Clues".  It was a compilation of several popular RPG and adventure game walkthroughs, in the pre-internet days when you couldn't just find the answers to your games and you had to actually buy an expensive book.  I guess they still sell the strategy guides, but I have no idea who buys them, well I did buy one for a NDS Zelda game six or so years ago, so I guess the people who buy them still are people like me who miss the good old days of books.  Anyway, you don't need a book to get the walkthrough for "Moebius", Abandonia has it right on the page with the game.  Okay, so I didn't talk about the game very much here, but you can try it for yourself.

Moebius on Abandonia

Game-a-day #20...LA Drugs Bust.


Like I said yesterday, I'm a little down in the dumps, but this game gave me a good laugh in spite of it all.  First off it's called "LA Drugs Bust", Yes "Drugs Bust"... That's funny enough, but then play the game and you'll be rolling on the floor.  I'm an LA (Los Angeles) native, so already it's cool that this game takes place in my city.  I think it's awesome that LA is depicted as filled with street crime, and automatic weapons.  It's a regular turkey shoot game, that is, you have a cross hair and shoot targets as the field of view changes. I always liked this type of game for some reason, because it's so low commitment I guess, you just shoot stuff and move on.  "Drugs Bust" has old ladies who walk along the street in the midst of a firefight (I have no idea why an old lady would do this).  Don't shoot the old ladies, because they are linked to your health (also not sure why that is).  Anyhow, I guess the story line must be that a drug gang has taken over the streets of LA and now you must clean them up...  Hahahahaha!  See, it's so funny it's hard to do anything but laugh out loud.  Thank the creator for this awesome game.

LA Drugs Bust on Gamebase64

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #23...Weird Dreams.


Since I'm in a funk this week for some reason, I guess it's a good time to whip out the weird games, and there aren't any stranger than "Weird Dreams".  I'm serious, this is a game that plays like a series of bad dreams.  It's still a lot of fun to play, unless you get creeped out easily, and I don't.  It's arcade style play, but it's hard as hell.  The graphics are quite good at least in the DOS version, and the music sets the mood in each weird scenario.  I think it's just something you need to experience for yourself to understand, and then you might not anyhow.  Well I'm off to bed, and maybe some "Weird Dreams".

Weird Dreams on Abandonia.

Game-a-day #21...Grandma's House.



Today I'm feeling a little glum, maybe it's the stress of life, or just the way the stars are aligned, but I'm in a funk.  So I picked a game that gives me happy wholesome memories of my tween years, "Grandma's House".  It's not exciting at all, or even challenging, in fact it's a software tittle for kids.  The graphics are bad, the colors are bad, there is no game play, because it's just about populating a house with stuff.  Why do I turn to this title when I'm feeling low?  Because I bought it for my sister who is about ten years my junior.  I got it when I was a tween, so that she would have something to do on my computer.  As it turns out, she was very fond of this little game, because it's just about as simple as stuff gets, you tool around as your avatar (who you select) and go to different worlds I guess you would call them to get furniture or other cool stuff to populate "Grandma's House" with.  So yeah, not the most exciting thing in the world, but hey, excitement is overrated if you ask me.  Booting up "Grandmas House" brings me back to a time when I sat with my little sister and ate popsicles while playing with the C64 on the living room TV.  We can never regain the past, but it's nice to visit "Grandma's House" once in a while and remember what it was all about.

Grandma's House on Gamebase64

Friday, June 8, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #22... Detroit.


Wanna be Henry Ford?  You can... Just play Detroit. Here in the US there's a little buzz about the American car industry making a come back.  I don't know about all that.  But if you want to experience the early car industry in every detail, I'd go ahead and play this game.  It's a 1993 vintage, and at that time simulations were all the rage.  This particular simulation is full of detail, and I mean full of it.  I don't think they left a single thing out of this game... Just play it, I can go on and on about all the features, however, I feel like if you like complex simulators and cars, you're going to like this.  So go on, the little simulated world is waiting for your cars.

Detroit on Abandonia

Game-a-day #22...Mad Doctor.


This one is totally weird, but it's also very cool.  I plan to spend more time on this game because it's so bizarre. Seems to be a Mad Scientist (Doctor) simulator?  I think the idea of this game is to make a Frankenstein monster, there's underground dungeons, a little town, people to kidnap (for body parts).  Yeah, it's a little dark, but hey, it's called "Mad Doctor"... What do you want?  I like the simple graphics, they rock. I like the 3Dish feel, and it has a creepy mood, that I think a game called "Mad Doctor" should have.  Games like this are why the C64 is so awesome.  There were so many strange games made for the Commodore because something about the C64 inspires a raw creativity.  Forget the Apple Computer campaign "Think Different", the Commodore is the real deal dude.  So play "Mad Doctor", and be part of the real "Think Different" world.

Mad doctor on Gamebase64

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #21...Tintin - Prisoners of the Sun.


Tintin is a favorite comic book character of mine.  Although I am a native of the US, born and raised, I was lucky enough to have a mother who was familiar with Tintin, and who bought me most of the graphic novels for me at an early age.  Tintin really is super awesome, he's a reporter who get's into all kinds of adventures, you may have seen the recent movie.  If you're from Europe and you don't know who Tintin is, where have you been the last seventy years?  But I digress, back to the game.  "Prisoners of the Sun" isn't a bad game, but it's not fantastic either.  Being a huge Tintin fan, I was a tiny bit disappointed with the game play.  This is the most modern game I have yet mentioned in this blog, and it's not all that advanced.  It's an arcade style game with a story line.  The story is great, the arcade parts... not so great.  I guess I would have liked a point and click with more puzzle solving for a game in 1997, and I think that kind of game would lend itself better to the Tintin world.  I'm also a die hard Adventure / RPG player, so I always want more depth of play.  Other than pretty good graphics and being a Tintin game, I would probably not like this game a whole lot.  It's very hard, and not entirely rewarding.  Don't take my word for it, go ahead and play if for yourself.  Tintin fans NEED to play it asap.  I'll let you discover all the details yourself.

Prisoners of the Sun on abandonia.

Game-a-day #23...Trash Man.


I love games that deal with real world situations or vocations in the case of "Trash Man".   Like "Paperboy", this game sets you up in a neighborhood setting where you must serve the population.  Rather than a glamorous paperboy, you are a trash man.  Sure it sounds mundane, but what was "Frogger" about... crossing the road?  How much adventure was in Pac-Man?  What was Pac-Man?  I guess he was a puck, because his name was Puck-Man in his original iteration. Donkey Kong?  It's about rescuing your girlfriend from a gorilla, so, okay, it's more of an adventure, but still, no guns or ships or bombs.  Anyhow, let's just say some of the timeless classics of game history are non-violent, sometimes mundane, yet very fun games.  I like "Trash Man", it is fun, it's a little slow, but hey, so's your grandma.  It's easy, you have to collect trash and put it into the trash truck.  Avoid getting hit by cars, and be sure to do it fast or you get fired.  I guess it's a little like a day job, but if you always wanted to be a sanitation worker, here it is.  I say play it, I did and I'm glad... If you need a spaceship game try Asteroids.

Trash Man on Gamebase64

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #20...Aquaphobia.


Here's a game from the 90's that even at the time was a sort of throwback.  "Aquaphobia", it's not the most sophisticated game, but it has some good points.  It's an action game, and that's a plus if you're short on time and need a game fix.  It's hard, so you don't have to worry about mastering it too quick, and it takes place underwater, a setting I like especially in an action game.  You are a diver and you have harpoons to throw at the angry underwater things that come at you.  You have a limited supply of air, and that's what makes this game a real challenge.  You can't just hang back and kill stuff you have to worry about how much air you have in the tank. Air only drops down at specific places, so if you take too long, it's death for you.  I like this little spin on a time limit, because you also have to grab the air without getting killed.  So, it's not an amazing game that you want to see immortalized in a temple of game heroes, but it's solid and you should have some fun with it.  Hmmmmmm, Will there be any deep sea adventure in "Deeds Of Yore"? Dive! Dive!

Aquaphobia on Abandonia.

Game-a-day #24...Little Computer People.


Some people will say that "Little Computer People" isn't a game.  If Tamagotchi is a game then "Little Computer people is a game too.  This game is the grandfather of the current Sims games.  The Sims are fine, a lot of detail and all, but I like the simplicity of "Little Computer People" over all of their complicated glitz and glamour. Somehow I feel at home when I play this game.  I don't know why, but this game is like a time machine for me.  More than any other game it takes me back to the 80's, back to my bedroom, with the GIANT computer table, back to the days that I would watch Chanel 5 Sunday movies on my 13 inch TV.  "Little Computer People" takes me back.  It was a simple time, no cell phones or twitter, or facebook.  To be honest in many ways I miss that time.  I mean, I like all the stuff we have today, and you can never go back, but when I fire up "Little Computer People", I can get as close to going back as I think is at all possible.  You don't have much to do in this game, you just watch your little guy live his life in his little house.  He watches TV, eats, feeds his dog, talks on the phone sleeps, uses the computer, and even plays piano.  You do have to make sure your little guy has water and food, and dog food, and you can make his phone and alarm ring.  It's not the most exciting way to spend an afternoon, but it's fun, cool, and like I said, it takes me back.  Give it a try, there's a meditative quality to it.

Little Computer People on Gamebase64

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #19...Crime Time


This is an interesting mystery crime type adventure.  The interface is dated to be sure, but it's easy to use and you'll be playing in a very few minutes.  It's like an early point and click, but you can't click on the actual artwork, that by the way is NOT animated but rather static.  There's some good mood music and you can interact with the world via clicking on actions and items on lists. Okay, I don't give this game any gold stars for being amazing to play, but the story is compelling and it's generally not bad.  If you like the crime genre, check this game out, if you get past it's slightly uncomfortable interface you'll get some great game play out of it.  Give it a try amateur detective types.

Crime Time on Abandonia

Game-a-day #25...Mothership.


Here's a simple, simple, simple one.  It's not as simple as "Down the Chimney", but it's dang simple.  You move and fire.  Now, the fact that it's simple doesn't mean it's easy, in fact it's freaking hard.  Fun?  I guess, it's not super enormous fun like Disneyland, or magic shows, but it's kinda amusing.  I like the Star Warsish look of it all, kinda cool too. I think I might like most other games a little better than this one, but I don't hate it.  Don't hate. appreciate!  Dont' hate, it's late, the game's not great, but it's your fate, to play it mate.  So go get it...

P.S. It's called "Mothership".

Mothership on Gamebase64

Monday, June 4, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #18...Zeliard.


"Zeliard" is in a word, delightful.  It's and arcade style adventure in the tradition of "The Adventure of Link", a sophisticated, stylish game that only the Japanese could bring to the table. Okay, so it's a rip off of "Link", but who cares, it's got it's own story, the artwork is awesome and original, it plays like an anime movie.  What more do you want.  I'll tell you what more I want, I want more time to play this game.  I was actually upset that I have to finish making "Deeds Of Yore" before I can spend a week on this game, and I LOVE making "Deeds Of Yore".... Oh Abandonia, why do you bring me such awesome games!?  I just want to play them and do nothing else.  Oh well, it's back to work for me, but if you have time, dude, this is the game.  I only played it for like ten minutes, and all I wanted was more.  Go to it adventures, go to it.

Zelirad on Abandonia

Game-a-day #26...Exodus.


Aka Ultima III.  It's a good starter Ultima for the RPG noob.  My favorite Ultima is Ultima I, but I'm hard core.  The bulk of the vintage game public may like to play a game less deep retro. Exodus is just particularly playable, and unlike it's child Ultima IV it's not a full time job. Let's say you're new to RPG games, you like the idea of playing an RPG, but you just don't know where to start...  Exodus dude, start with Exodus. You get to play with multiple characters, you have an epic quest, lot's of towns and castles, dungeons.  It's a solid game.  Most of the games that Origin made over the years are solid, you can be kinda sure that if a game has an Origin logo on it, it's gonna be pretty good.  You might be a RPG noob, or an RPG master, but either way Exodus is a great game.

Exodus on Gamebase64

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #17...Bad Blood.


Here's another cool one from Origin (you remember the creators of Ultima, Auto Duel... ).  This is a later era game (1990), and it's not bad.  It's Post Apocalyptic (I'm sold), after the bomb, you had me at Post Apocalyptic, and to add wonder to marvel, you get to play the mutants.  Yup, you get to pick a mutant to play, and you're like a cool good mutant to boot.  You have to stop an impending conflict between humans and mutants, and there's a sophisticated story line and everything.  It's top down, and that's very cool, and I like that the controls are easy and right in front of your face.  It all plays out on an old TV that is the main screen, a bottle lets you know your health status.  It's a creative interface for sure and I like the graphics quite a bit.  Seems like "Bad Blood" would be a good starter RPG, because it's not as complicated at say Ultima, but not as simple as console types like Zelda.  Check it out, see what you think.

Bad Blood at Abandonia

Game-a-day #27...The Untouchables.


Okay ya mugs, drop the heatrolas and reach for the sky!  That's my attempt at some good old fashioned thirties gangster talk. You know like James Cagney.  "The Untouchables" is a game set in the world of prohibition, bootleggers, G-men, and Tommy guns.  I always liked the 30's gangster genre, it's underused in the video/computer game world in my opinion.  Why don't they make a GTA bootlegger version?  Economic depression, booze, old cars... Anyhow, back to the C64 game,  it's a side scroll shoot-em-up.  It's Fun, has pretty good graphics.  The game play is smooth and fast paced.  It was published back in 89 a couple years after the blockbuster film of the same name that stared Kevin Costner and had the baseball bat scene, Sean Connery too.  If you like the movie, and you like side scroll shooting games, try this one out, it's a real peach, a hot tomato....see.

The Untouchables on Gamebase64

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #16...Inspector Gadget.


Did you watch Inspector Gadget?  I did... I know it was a goofy cartoon, but you know as a kid I liked it.  Wasn't my favorite, but it was funny, and I think it must have been the inspiration for the modern day laptop/netbook.  That's right, the Penny's computer book.  When I got my first laptop in 1994, I remember one of my first thoughts was, "This is like a real life computer book".  As kids we all wanted a computer book like Penny had, it was awesome, a portable computer the size of a book.  The computer book actually looked like a real book and opened like one... Maybe they should bake a netbook like that, I would buy it.  Okay, so the game here brought to us by our good friends at Abandonia, is pretty good.  It's like getting to play the cartoon, and as it's an early 90's game (1992), the graphics are good and the interface is smooth. It's a point and click type game, so to me it's awesome (I love a good point and click).  It's way easy to get started, and it is very much like the cartoon.  This game was made about six years after the series had ended, but Gadget enjoyed syndication well into the 90's so it's easy to see why they made the game at that time.  In the 90's they ended up making a lot of cartoons into games because the graphics were good enough by then.  If you like Inspector Gadget don't hesitate to get this game, it's fun and funny and will bring back memories, so go on.... Go Go Gadget Download at Abandonia.

Inspector Gadget at Abandonia

Arcade Compare #2...Star Wars.


Star Wars... It was HOT in the 80's, it's hot today, but when I was a kid, I think I would have done anything to be able to participate in the destruction on the Death Star.  Lucky for me the video game industry was aware of my desire, and realized it was the desire of about every kid who's eyes had fallen on the original Lucas classic.  In 1983 Atari created the Star Wars arcade game.  No trip to my local arcade was complete without a stab at the Empire in color vector graphics.I remember getting good enough to destroy the Death Star the first time (not too hard), I mean, I might as well have fallen into the movie I was so excited.  I thought I was Luke.  It's not hard to see why I bought this game for my C64.  I had the Atari 2600 version that did NOT have vector graphics, but the Commodore version did.  The C64 version of the classic is great, it's just about as good as arcade ports get for the Commodore.  The graphics are as close as they can be to the original, game play is very very close.  I'll go out on a limb and say this may be the best arcade port to C64 I know about.  Today, you can just fire up Mame and play the arcade version, and no matter how good the C64 version is, it's not the arcade version.  But it's fun to be able to play both and remember the days when the arcade was king, my shoes had Velcro, and I had to wait a week for new episodes of my favorite shows to air on TV.


Game-a-day #28...A Rock Star ate my Hamster.


Did you ever play the lemonade stand game?  It's a game where you run a lemonade stand and you buy lemons, sugar, ice and cups and see how much money you can make given weather conditions. "A Rock Star Ate My Hamster" is like an advanced version of that lemonade game.  You are a music producer and your goal is to create a star or stars.  I thought this game looked stupid at first, but after I played it for a while I got to liking it quite a bit.  It's humorous, and a little addicting. There's no action in this game, it's totally decision making strategy  based play, but it's kinda cool, and the graphics are classic.  Music fans will appreciate the silly parodies of rock and pop icons, and you strategy people will enjoy trying to get a gold record.  It's also a cool history lesson for you kids who don't know about the days when itunes didn't exist, and you actually bought albums.  It's fun and funny, try it out, you'll probably like it.


Friday, June 1, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #15...Legend Of Kyrandia.



Well, now that I've opened the flood gates to the games of the 90's it only seems fair to start featuring some of them in the Abandonia Treasures entry.  As and era I always thought of the 90's, especially the early part of the decade as a dark time in computer game history, kind of like the "Dark Ages".  But I was wrong, and it's Abandonia that set me straight.  When you look at all the games on their site, so many are so good and so from the early 90's.  I don't know what I was thinking, well I do know why I was thinking, but I was thinking all wrong.  See I had a Mac in the 90's and yeah it was sweet and had like 4MB of ram and a giant 117MB hard drive, COLOR screen, and 25Mhz of processing power.  For a laptop it was SUPER... but for games, not so much.  If you read the last entry Game-a-day today, you know that from 1991-1993 I was all wrapped up in being a rebellious young person, then after that... A Mac.  So, yeah I missed out on an entire world of games that they made for the PC until 1996 when I graduated from computer trade school and built my very own Pentium (well Cyrix) system with a 100Mhz CPU.  That's like five years of no good games, but... I did have one game that I remember was quite good for my Mac laptop, and it was "Legend Of Kyrandia".  Sweet, funny, great graphics, this game is a winner.  It plays utilizing one of my favorite systems of all time, the point-and-click method.  You collect stuff, you solve sweet puzzles, it's a win.  Now, I never played this game to completion, no sir.  But I did spend many hours playing it and marveling at the graphics that I was sure could get no better.  Okay, so graphics got better and I didn't think they would, I'm not a prophet, I'm just a man, and a man aint' nothin' but a man.  If you know who said that (not me), then you win an American folk lore prize.

Legend of Kyrandia on Abandonia

Game-a-day #29 ...Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters.


I'm gonna call today 90's day, because for the first time in Game-a-day history (a little less than two months) I'm pulling a 90's game off the shelf to talk about.  Yeah! the 90's were kinda cool, they started Grunge, Techno, Liquid Television, Reality TV, wild art coffee houses... I went to one in the early 90's called Van Gogh's Ear, it was right on the Venice Boardwalk, a famous strip of beach in Los Angeles, and the times I had there were very 90's alternative good.  But I digress into my early adulthood, and I'm not talking about games like I should. Okay, so I didn't actually get to play a lot of computer games from 90-93, because I was busy being a late teen who just liked girls, experimenting with controlled substances, and learning about tobacco and beer.  My C64 sat on a shelf for this three year period and at the end of it all it was outdated to the point of going into a closet.  There was one exception during this period.  I was hanging out with a girl I had a crush on who happened to have a C64 of her own, and was still trying to finish "Alice in Wonderland" on it, so we played that game a little together.  Man, memory lane kinda gets you off subject.  Anyway, needless to say I missed some of the most advanced titles the C64 had to offer and "Escape From The Planed Of The Robot Monsters" is one of them.  It's a rescue game kind of like "Alien Syndrome".  It's got Isometric graphics (awesome), multi-level ladder access, a bunch of robots, hostages to rescue, a weapon, and it even plays with the pace of a good arcade game.  The graphics are in the as good as the C64 can do and still have moving objects category.  The C64 enjoyed a long life for a personal computer, games being produced well into the 90's are good proof of that.  So while I was following the Grateful Dead, and hitchhiking through Northern California, some awesome game companies were making sweet games that I never got to pay, but get to now through the miracle of hackers and emulation.

Escape from the planet of the Robot Monsters on Gamebase64 

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #14...A Nightmare On Elm Street.


It's very possible that as a kid I was more scared of Freddy Kruger than of any other movie monster of that era.  It could be because he was burned beyond recognition, it could be the knife glove, or perhaps it was that he killed kids in their sleep.  Whatever the reason I was terrified of that guy.  I was very excited to see that there was a 1989 game made of the Elm Street series, but it falls kinda short in just about every way imaginable as a computer game.  I know I call this entry Abandonia "Treasures", and then I don't always like the game I'm talking about, but one man/woman's trash is another's treasure, so I'll stick to my guns on the title.  Besides, Abandonia as a site is a treasure in itself, so it goes to figure that anything they have available in their database is a treasure by default.  But why split hairs?  Let's get back to the game.  Graphics are kinda cool but not amazing, well short of this splash screen.  I found game play to be boring because it's just a maze game with a little combat, but not enough to make it worth playing for very long.  Sound in the DOS version is PC speaker, so it's lame, I'm sure the C64 version (I didn't play it) has better sound.  All in all this is a novelty game for fans of the horror genre, or the Elm Street saga.  Try it out, if you like it and find something I didn't in it, good on you, if you feel the same as I do about it, good on you too, it's not a competition people.

Nightmare on Elm Stret at Abandonia 

Game-a-day #30...The Secret of Bastow Manor.


I'm back to my old standby and favorite in many respects, yes, it's the old text adventure, now known as interactive fiction.  It's kind of like how Cape Canaveral became Cape Kennedy... Text adventure turned into interactive fiction, or Leningrad to Stalingrad, or Peking to Beijing... You get the picture.  Yes, back to the fact that I'm back on a text adventure kick, and it's because no matter how simple they are, I usually find them at least more fun than the last Game-a-day "Snoopy".  I shouldn't pick on Snoop, but I just couldn't get as in to it as I did this very simple game with graphics that will NOT impress anyone ever, unless they were punch card carrying programmers back in 1960.  I know the graphics aren't that bad, but I'm being dramatic for the blog.  To be honest the graphics are quite impressive because they are ASCII graphics, that means that only text is used to render all the pictures in this game.  Whoever went to the trouble of making this put some effort into that $%^& is all I'm saying.  As you can see from the picture above I died last time I played, and it's not because I wasn't cheating because I was.  And you can cheat too, because below is the walkthrough that will take you all the way to the end provided you do not decide you should strike out on your own and try to go it alone.  Bad idea kid, I did that and you see where it got me...Dead, with flowers to boot. Seeing as I didn't yet do the entire walkthrough (I don't have time to solve the game on my own), I still don't actually know what the story behind the manor or the Bastow is or what that secret is.  Seems like the secret is what the game is about.  Whatever, it's still cool to play, and you'll find out if you go with the walkthrough as I've recommended.  The parser is primitive, it's like trying to communicate with a box of hammers, but you'll get the hang of the limited vocabulary, and there's that walkthrough I keep talking about.   Play it for fun, for the ASCII graphics, for the mystery whatever it is, but do give it a shot, it's better than "Snoopy".

The Secret of Bastow Manor on Gamebase64

The walkthrough (you probably need it)

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #13...Batman-The Caped Crusader.


A cool game with good graphics that's kinda low commitment.  That is the sentence I choose to describe "Batman".  It's fun, it's easy to figure out, it's Batman.  How can you not like a Batman game, he's the best that DC Comics has.  I mean Marvel has all the coolest super heroes for sure, and now that "The Avengers" has rocked the charts it's going to be hard for DC to compete in the popular culture wars but for one thing... They have Batman, and for some reason no matter what Batman is awesome.  This game, it wouldn't be anywhere near as cool if I was some other hero. So, You play Batman and you can choose from two missions or quests or whatever you want to call them.  I call them missions because quest is like for gnomes and hobbits and stuff. The two missions involve the two most famous villains in the Batman mythos,  Joker and Penguin. There's no reason for me to go into too much detail about the game because you can get it and all it's documentation on Abandonia.  It's a side scroller, it's got items to find and use, you have to stop the villains, it's Batman.  It's a fun game once you get into it, at first I didn't like the comic book style of presenting locations or rooms, but after a few minutes of play I actually got to like it.  For a game from 88 on a PC, it's got good graphics, they're vibrant and look good, and I especially like the way they drew the skulls and skeletons and stuff like that.  They made a C64 and Amiga versions of this game, but I didn't try them yet.  I'm sure they are just as cool if not cooler than the PC DOS version.  Something to remember is that this game was made before the iconic Tim Burton Batman movie defined Batman for a new generation of super hero fans, so in the game he's a little more old school grey and blue Batman, but this game still has a dark quality to it that kind of takes the "camp" out of the character.  If you even like Batman a little bit you should give this game a look.  Enjoy!

Batman - The Caped Crusader on Abandonia

Game-a-day #31...Snoopy.


I know I already did a Snoopy game on the Abandonia Treasures a week or so ago, but this game deserves a mention.  I'm not writing about this game because it's a good game, in fact it's kind of bad.  This had to be one of the slowest side scroll games I have ever played.  It's slow, but for a slow game it sure ends up being hard, and not a LOT of fun, although fun is a relative term and I hate to assume that my idea of fun is the same as another person's.  We're all individuals, and if "Snoopy" is the game for you, more power to to you bro, or sister, if you're a girl.  Look, different strokes for different folks, and some folks love them a slow ass side scroll that stars a popular beagle from the newspaper comics.  You know, now that I'm thinking about it, this game could be called anything, and star any character because it's just a progression of side scroll puzzles (that suck) and you just happen to have an "Avatar" (stupid but well done movie), that looks like Snoopy.  Don't feel bad if you like this game either, there's an entire population of people who think the Twilight saga is outstanding.  Like I said, it takes different strokes man.

P.S. One last note.  I love SID tunes, but this game plays "The Entertainer" over and over, till you just want it to end.  Good stuff.  Still try it though.

Snoopy on Gamebase64

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #12...Magic Candle.


Dude!  Abandonia has once again proved that they ROCK, by turning me on to a game that looks to be as good as any in the Ultima series.  I know, bold words, but when you start playing a game and get that feeling, you know the feeling you get like you're there in the game, you know you have something awesome.  "Magic Candle" is that awesome type of game.  So it's a rip off of the Ultima games yeah, but they ripped off the best parts so who cares.  It's like if you took four of the best looking women in the world and combined the best parts of them to create a super woman.  "Magic Candle" is a super RPG game.  It was made at the end of the era of wonderful computer RPG and demonstrates the peak of the pure computer RPG.  Yes, they have made way more advanced games since, but for a purist, for the people out there like me who love the story, legend, and the feel of that other world that can't be generated by great graphics, this is a real treasure.  As the hero in the game you have to find a way to preserve the magic candle, because if it melts a demon named Dreax will be released and I'm going to say that's probably a bad thing.  There's a much more detailed review of the game itself on the Abandonia page.  I'm so excited to have discovered this gem, but I'm a little sad that my schedule won't allow me to actually sit down and play it for the countless hours I would like to spend on it.  If you have the time please play if for me.


Magic Candle at Abandonia

Game-a-day #32...One on One.


Finally I'm doing a sports game.  Okay, I did do "Skate or Die", and pro skating is a legitimate sport, but I'm doing one with balls this time...well, one ball.  I remember playing one on one or half court basketball for real especially in grade school. I was never any good as I'm not too much of a sportsman, but it was always a good time.  "One on One" let's you play a half court one on one game, but wait there's more... What if I told you that you get to pick either Larry Bird or Dr. J in this one on one game?  And then what if I told you the two of them are pitted against each other in mortal basketball combat?  Awesome right? And it is, but the game play is a touch on the boring side especially when you consider you're playing two basketball legends, I mean Dr. J invented above the rim ball. I still like playing this game regardless because it's all about my childhood and basketball and winning and all the good stuff.  The most hilarious part of this game is the fact that Larry Bird is like white white, he's the color of snow.  He was a pale guy, and there were only 16 colors available, so I guess it would be between pink, a kinda sick yellow or snow white.  I guess the regular white is better.  So they made a second version of this game that ousted Dr. J for a young vibrant star who had just come on the scene... Jordan.  That's the one I remember a little better, they called it "Jordan vs. Bird".  Today I kinda like to play Dr. J, just because it's even more retro-fantastic.  Sports fans, especially of the basketball variety should give this game a play for the nostalgia, but also for the many game options such as looser or winner's ball, timed or specific score wins the game, and computer vs man, or man vs. man, or even computer vs. computer (if you're the type who just likes to watch).  Get it play it... Just do it.

One on One on Gamebase64

Monday, May 28, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #11...Dracula in London.


"Dracula in London" is a multiplayer game.  Not on a network, not between computers, it's a board game without a board.  I'm sure it's a pretty good game if you don't play it by yourself like I did.  Some sort of manual would help a guy like me, because I tend to need some sort of explanation to understand the workings of games that aren't obvious.  This game seems to have a lot of cool stuff at your disposal like weapons and other stuff.  I like the simple DOS tunes that play now and again they remind me of that computerized board game Dark Tower .  The more I think about Dark Tower, the more I think this game might be inspired by that concept of a computer being melded with a board game.  Either way, I wish I knew someone who could show me how to play this game, because it's just not all that intuitive.  It follows the Dracula story well, keeping with the Bram Stoker novel characters and settings.  I'm talking the book now, not the 90's film that stars Winona Ryder.  I like vampire stories, well most of them, I hate that Twilight crap, but Dracula is THE original vampire.  Seems to me that the point of this game it to kill Dracula.  That was the point of the book, so there you go it's all about Bram.  I'd love to know if anyone gets a game of  "Dracula in London" going.  If you do post a comment about it, or better yet take pictures and send them to me.  I laugh a little when I think of like six people huddled around the CRT monitor playing "Dracula in London", a few gasses of wine, some beer... a DJ.

Dracula in London on Abandonia

Game-a-day #33...He-Man, The Ilearth Stone.


It's not a very "good" game, but it has it moments.  The real reason for including it in the Game-a-day is that it's another double 80's thing.  An 8-bit 80's game about a super 80's icon.  Like Thundercats, and all other cool cartoons of the 80's, He-Man was created to sell toys.  Actually, he started as a toy and the cartoon was made to sell more of him and his weird friends, like the skeleton with a six pack... No, wait, Skeletor was his enemy. For whatever reason, to sell toys, or whatever, He-Man became an icon of the 80's.  The toys and cartoon were called "He-Man, and the Masters of the Universe".  I don't know who the Masters were (They never explained that), but again 80's icon, so it doesn't matter.  I guess the people who made "The Ilearth Stone" also felt He-Man was so good even if the game sucked people would buy it.  It's not a good game as I said before. Clunky (my overused adjective to describe games that play...clunky), doesn't even get close to describing how bad the control of He-Man is.  It's ugly how joyless the the joystick can be in this game.  They might have made it a touch easier to control a super hero, or whatever He-Man is.  A couple of things I do like about the game are the authentic He-Man score playing in the background, and the graphics, that while not amazing are still cool looking.  That doesn't make up for the game play blunders however, and I can't see myself putting too much time into this game in the future.  It's more of a nostalgic novelty game to play when you just want to feel some 80's goodness in your veins, and you don't want to listen to Rio again.

He-Man, The Ilearth Stone on Gamebase64

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #10...Space Rogue.


Dude, this game if for real man.  Another gem from the heyday of Origin Systems who brought us Ultima and Autoduel.  I had never heard about this game until I found it on Abandonia, so I haven't played it in an extensive, obsessive way...YET.  I can tell by my limited experience with this game that it's vast, open ended, and super awesome.  I also made a point to read what others have said about it, and I think the best endorsement is the review on Abandonia (link below), that gives it 5.0 out of 5.0... I mean that's like and A+ in scholastic terms, or a Bo Derek in the 70's.  Anyway, It's a space RPG with 3Dish combat.  It doesn't get a whole lot better in my book.  It's like they took the *SPOILER ALERT* space combat from the end of Ultima I (Yeah, it had some cool vintage space combat), beefed it up, and gave us the top down Ultima experience we all love as well.  The minute I have some time to play this game you can bet I'm going to explore it further.  You  be a pirate, a trader, a bounty hunter, and there's still a main quest to complete.  You got outfitting to do to your ship, supplies to buy... It's all you ever wanted in a space RPG, at least it's all I ever wanted... Well not all I ever wanted, but close.

Oh, and the walkthrough and all the other stuff you need to get going on your space adventures are on Abandonia, so go there.

Space Rogue at Abandonia.

Game-a-day #34...C'est La Vie.


In the beginning computer games were simple, and nobody laughed at them no matter how goofy they were because they were like magic.  It was amazing to be able to hook a device up to your TV and play games on it no matter how strange the games might be.  This was an age of discovery and creativity for the video/computer game.  Systems with more RAM, colors and processing power opened the imagination doors for programmers.  "C'est La Vie" is one of the early and creative attempts to do new and interesting things with games on the computer.  You play a regular Joe who goes around (like Pac-Man) collecting money.  You need to avoid thugs and a tax collector who take your money.  You take your money to the band and buy stocks at the various buildings in the game.  If you hit the walls you get hurt and need to go to the hospital, and that costs money.  So the object of the game is to make as much money as you can (greed is good).  An apt subject especially for the 80's, 1983 to be exact.  This game is smooth, kinda fun, and funny as hell. I think my favorite part about "C'est La Vie" is that it's like adult Pac-Man and has a level of sophistication... Well it's more complicated than Pac-Man anyhow.  I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I like Pac-Man a bit more, but all in all "C'est La Vie" is good and worth a play for a laugh, or as the kids say "The Lulz".  Well... Such is life.


Saturday, May 26, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #9...Mixed-Up Mother Goose.


This is a kids game, but I like it because let's face it, I'm just a large kid with a little grey in my beard.  So, "Mixed-Up Mother Goose", it's a romp through the land of rhymes, and the rhymes are missing stuff they need.  You must find out what the people are missing, find it and bring it to them.  It's a simple game, I mean it's for kids.  The thing I like best about this game is that I get to wander around the rhyme world and interact with the characters.  The controls are super fantastically simple.  No key to pick stuff up, just arrow keys to move about and the game will just auto pick up whatever you pass over. This game might be less sophisticated than the games kids play now, but if you have a cool kid it might work out to let them try this out.  I dunno, they might hate you for it... I wouldn't if I was your kid, but I was born in the 70's.

Game-a-day #35...Samantha Fox, Strip Poker.


This is as racy as the Game-a-day is probably ever going to get, and to be very honest with you it's not all that racy.  When you consider the sheer volume and variety of pornography available online today the C64 strip poker games are like Micky Mouse movies for three year old's.  For a twelve year old in 1986 strip poker games were pretty hot.  As a lad I remember the more ambitious kids (with faster computers) would get on the BBS circuit (and run up their parent's phone bills doing it), to download all the pirate software.  Then for a price, or just the price of a floppy, they would make you a copy of whatever they got that week.  Well Strip Poker was a desirable title for us tween boys in the 80's because it allowed us to explore the female form (granted it was a pixeleated  form) without having a magazine to hide under the mattress. Remember, it was the dark ages we didn't have smart phones, or laptops, or even the internet, so porn was about whoever had an older brother who stole Playboy.  We had to get the strip poker games from pirate sources because it's not like we could go to the places they sold them, and our parents sure wouldn't be willing to purchase a title like "Samantha Fox" for us.  I had this very game as a tween, and for all it's naked hype, it was still a good poker game.  I credit it with teaching me how to play poker... So I guess it was all kinds of sinful because it's gambling and nakedness all in one.  Samantha Fox was an English celebrity who started her career as a boob model, and then became a singer.  There is an American adult film star with the same name, this is not her.  Enjoy, but play late at night so your parents don't catch you, or today so your kids don't catch you.


Friday, May 25, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #8...Total Eclipse.


Last Sunday here in Los Angeles we had a partial eclipse.  86% of the sun was covered by the moon.  I saw it using two pieces of printer paper, one with a hole, one to project the image on.  That was a partial eclipse, this game is "Total Eclipse".  The eclipse part of the game involves the world ending if the eclipse happens and you haven't destroyed the temple of RA... I don't make up the stories, the game writer does.  So you have to destroy the temple and it's not easy at all.  You have a gun, some water, a watch and compass, everything you need for a good temple destroying.  The temple is a maze, and you have to find treasure and solve little puzzles that involve what to shoot your gun at (it's not a combat game) to open doors and find stuff.  The game plays like a first person shooter without the frantic pace, although the tension is high as a result of always hearing your heart beating, and being on a time limit.  The heart beating part involves you not wanting to die of heart failure (in the game), and so trying to keep your heart rate low.  Falling and running into mummies seems to make your heart rate go up, I guess to give the impression that you can die of fear.  The graphics are like a low tech version of the Dire Straights video (You know the one), and the DOS version via Dosbox plays quite well.  Looking at some reviews of the C64 version it seems the feeling about the game on that platform it that it's way slow.  I only tired the DOS version, and it's not slow.  I would read all the stuff about the game on abandonia.com and download the manual there as well before you start to play, cause it's not an easy game.  They also have links to the C64, and Amiga versions, so you can pick your poison.

Total Eclipse at Abandonia

Game-a-day #36...School Daze.


It's the plethora of original games like "School Daze" that make the C64 a retro-discovery zone even today.  The creativity in games of this type is just fantastic.  It's a little sad that computer games today, while amazing, often do not reach the levels of originality and innovation (short of graphics and sound) that made so many of the older games so wonderful.  "School Daze" is a good one.  It could be called a sim game I guess, it's got aspects of more modern sim type games, but it's classified as an Arcade game, I suppose because it's game play is arcade style.  "School Daze" is actually much more complicated than it looks and rather than re-invent the wheel, I'll just direct you to the wikipedia article I found about it so if you're interested you can investigate the game in more detail.  To summarize, you're a bad kid who needs to steal his report card.  You need to avoid getting in trouble and interact with various teachers and other students while you play.  If you read about it on wikipedia, you will find that it was created by and actual teacher.  Anyhow, check it out, read about it, and there were some sequels to it if you want to go further into the realm of school sim games.

School Daze on Gamebase64 
School Daze on Wikipedia

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #7... Charlie Chaplin


I'm a huge silent film fan, I mean I actually watch silent films quite a bit, and Charlie Chaplin was the king of the silent era.  So, when I was puttering around on Abandonia.com and found a vintage game called "Charlie Chaplin"  I got excited.  It' is a cool game, at least it's super original.  I don't think I'v played anything quite like it, and I've played a LOT of weird and wonderful games over the years.  Anyhow, "Charlie Chaplin" is a game about making your own Chaplin movies and trying to make them good enough to make money off of them.  It's an early film studio simulator I guess.  You look over the scenes in the script, sign the contract, shoot the scenes (you control Charlie), edit (VERY limited, you choose the speed of the scene), then it's on to screen the movie and see if the audience likes it.  I did one entire movie and the audience hated it, so I made no money.  I'm not sure what to do to make a good movie.  When you shoot you have control of Charlie and there are a couple of other characters that you can knock down or they will knock you down.  I'm yet to understand that part of the game, I'm sure there is a formula.  Then in the edit you just pick a speed for the scene... Again, not sure how this helps or hurts.  You have to watch the entire film after to see how it's received, and that's a tad on the slow side, but all in all the game seems to be fun.  It's in B&W graphics so it goes with the era, and the graphics are acceptable and even humorous.  I think fans of the silent film will like this game just cause it's about Chaplin, but  you other potential players out there should give it a shot just because it's weird.

Charlie Chaplin on Abandonia

Arcade Compare #1...Altered Beast.


Kids have it so good these days in the video game department and they don't even know how good they have it.  When I was a kid the best games were in the arcade.  Unless you were a millionaire or the child of an arcade owner, you either had to spend all your money at the arcade, or hope that a version of your favorite game in the arcade would come out for your computer or console system.  So, six times out of ten if you had a current piece of game technology they would have your game, however, it was never the same as the arcade version.  For this reason I am starting  the "Arcade Compare" entry in the blog, where once a week I will compare an arcade game to it's computer or console version.  This week it's gonna be one of my very favorites "Altered Beast".  The left image is the arcade version and the right is the C64 version.  Graphic wise there's really no comparison.  "Altered Beast" is a late 80's arcade game built on 16 bit hardware, so it's clear that the 8 bit C64 can't compete.  So game play is better on the C64, right?  Wrong, game play on the C64 is clunky as hell.  The C64 joystick's lack of more than one button kinda kills the feel since the arcade version has multiple buttons for kick, jump and punch.  However, for a port of such an advanced game I have to hand it to the C64, she does a good job with what she got.  As a kid in the 80's I didn't balk at the low grade ports of arcade games like "Altered Beast", I was just happy I could play it at home and would overlook the short comings.  It's just how it was back then, you never expected to get a game that was as good as the arcade, that's why you went to the arcade.  The exception to that rule began with N.E.S. and when Sega Genesis came out, the tides began to turn.  But I still remember a day when I would play the ported versions of games on my C64, Atari 2600, or Colecovision, and be grateful for it .  And I would walk to school in the snow uphill both ways and eat dirt for lunch too.  You kids have is so good.

Game-a-day #37...Tales of the Arabian Nights.


I haven't featured enough action / arcade games.  I get hung up on the RPG and Adventure types because they're my favorite, but I neglect the most popular genre... action.  "Tales of the Arabian Nights" is all action, it's very challenging yet fun to play.  The thing I like about it most is that it follows a story line (Arabian Nights), and is presented in 8 levels, each one different, hard and cool.  Between levels you get a little more of the story told to you... Yes, they TELL the story via speech synth, so of course I'm all impressed.  Even the credits when the game starts are speech synth.  You can't understand them all that well, but this is a game from 1984 so any speech is awesome.  I like the game play, although like many early C64 action games it's a little clunky. For example on the first level (night), you have to get the jugs or urns or whatever they are in order to spell ARABIAN, but the jumping and ladder climing are a little slow and picky leading to a lot of you dying.  It's not all that bad, and you will get the hang of it after a while so it's well worth the few minutes it will take to get your sea legs.  The graphics are nothing to write home about, but they do the job.  So get in on the adventure of Arabian Nights.  It's a retro treat you don't want to pass up.

Tales of the Arabian Nights on Gamebase64   

Monday, May 21, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #6...Wasteland


Long before the very popular post nuclear holocaust game Fallout was a twinkle in it's creators eye, there was a post nuclear holocaust RPG game called "Wasteland".  RPG is hands down my favorite game genre.  I think my love of RPG stems from the fact that most of them, even if they lack fancy graphics, sound, and music, have detailed story lines, items, and sophisticated puzzle solving.  "Wasteland" has all this and unlike so many other RPG games takes place on Earth after an atomic war has destroyed most of it.  Did I mention I love post-apocalypse stuff?  Cause I do.  "Wasteland" plays like any good classic RPG, but it's just so cool that it takes place after the bomb.  It's like getting to play a long Twilight Zone episode or something. I wish I could just take a month off and play this game, but I have work to do... If you have time to play it you should, then go on to the amazing games in the Fallout series, but never forget games like this that started it all.  This game was also available for the Commodore, but NOT the C64, you could only get it on the 128, I  remember, because I was super bummed out that I couldn't run it on my system as a kid.  Anyhow, if you check out the Abandonia page they have both versions and the manual... Sweet.

Wasteland on Abandonia

Game-a-day #38...Imagination.


I know, I know, another text adventure with graphics, but I swear this one is the weirdest yet.  "Imagination" is a spoof / tribute to the computer adventue game genre in general.  This game is particularly disjointed, I mean I'm all for variety, but this verges on chaos.  I guess it would be cool if it made a little more sense, or was tied together a little better, but then it wouldn't be the original adventure odyssey that makes it as charming as it is.   "Imagination" may be off beat, but It has good puzzles to solve, and game play feels smooth.  Interaction with the game is pretty advanced, and even humorous. One thing I particularly like is that the graphics frequently change to match what's going on.  I guess I would call "Imagination" an ART game for lack of a better term.  I'm not sure the game's creator said to himself  "I'm gonna make an avant-guard game that will live in infamy forever!", but it does manage to give me the feeling of being at a conceptual art exhibit. Ok that's a little over the top as far as a description, maybe it's more like an indy film.  You can choose what type of art you think it resembles for yourself if you go ahead and play it.


Thursday, May 17, 2012

Abandonia Treasures #5...Snoopy and Peanuts.


I'm a huge fan of Peanuts by Schultz. I mean who doesn't love Snoopy and the gang?  If you answered "Me", then whats wrong with you man, a bunch of cute kids and a dog and a tiny bird are nothing you should hate on, you might need therapy...  Anyhow, "Snoopy and Peanuts" is playable Peanuts, so it's good just because it's that, but in addition the graphics are awesome, and game play is good too.  The one thing about this game that can get a touch on the nerves is the speed that Snoopy (who you play) moves, but in the end I got over it, and got very into the puzzle solving involved.  You need to find objects and give them to the correct kids, and there's a bunch of cool stuff to pick up and check out in the process.  Again, it's good to have Dosbox if you want to play this one (Abandonia.com has all the info), and make sure to play it in full color (because that's how it looks the best).  So go on, join the Peanuts gang for a little while, impress the little red head girl, spend some time with Linus, say hi to Lucy... You're a good gamer Charlie Brown.

Game-a-day #39...Barbie.


I'm going to guess the idea of this goofy game was to get little girls interested in computer games.  Of course in the 80's the only way the corporate establishment figured this would work would be to make a girly game. Barbie is what all the girly girls likes, so that's what they made. "Barbie" is more than a touch sexist, and just well... goofy.  You get a call from Ken asking if you would like to go on a date and to the game's credit you hear real synth speech, and that's always cool.  Ken asks you on different dates... dinner, the pool, tennis... The prom I think, then you drive down the very small street, dress and accessorize yourself.  Want blue hair?  They got that.  Want to wear heels and a bikini?  You can.  It's weird and not something I'd want a female kid of mine playing if for no other reason than it's just an exorcise in consumerism.  Ah well, it's a novelty piece at best misogynistic at worst, but still deserves a place in our electronic heritage, and it's Barbie, a toy legend.  So look it over if you want a laugh... She looks ok for an 8-bit chick eh?


Abandonia Treasures #4... Questprobe Featuring The Hulk



I saw "The Avengers" last weekend and it was a cool movie that featured The Hulk, so when I found this game in the archives of abandonia.com you can imagine how excited I was to find our ever popular Hulk in CGA splendor.  The Questprobe game series from Load N Go were quite good... yes they were simple, but a lot of cool graphics and sweet story lines along with classic Marvel super heroes is win win in my book.  There were three games in the Questprobe series... Hulk, Spider-Man, and Human Tourch / The Thing.  Like I said, you can't go wrong with Marvel heroes and considering Hulk was made in 84, it's hard to find too much fault with this game.  It's text adventure with graphics, and I'm always a sucker for that.  The CGA graphics on the DOS version are not as vibrant as the C64 version (Yes, they made a C64 version too!), but I don't care either way because the story and play are so good.  I'm not going to lie, this game is a little on the hard side, but don't fret my friends at abandonia.com  have you covered with a walkthrough on the same page as the game (they'er good like that).  So if you just saw "The Avengers" and you just can't get enough Hulk, You love Marvel Comics, or you just like a good text adventure with graphics, it's not hard to see that "Questprobe Hulk" is for you.  Smash!!!

Questprobe, Featuring The Hulk at Abandonia (here you will find the walkthrough)

Questprobe, Featuring The Hulk (C64) at Gamebase64

Game-a-day #40...Smurfen.


As a hardcore child of the 80's I'm a Smurf fan.  No, not the new movie that made no sense and set the Smurfs in New York (why God, why?).  I'm talking the real La la la, la la la, Peyo Smurfs.  Smurfs were popular in the 80's, so they spawned several video/computer games over the years.  "Smurfen" is a rip off of the earliest Smurf game "Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle".  I had that official title for Colecovision (my first computer was an ADAM), so when I came across "Smurfen", I was already familiar with how to play.  It's a side scroll adventure that's not all that incredible, but it's the Smurfs so you play it for that. "Smurfen" does have one VERY redeeming difference from the official game, and that's the Michael Jackson's Billie Jean SID (Chiptune) soundtrack.  The music makes this game.  It makes it an 80's classic X2, and that's classic.  Play if for the Smurfs, play if for the music, just play it.

Smurfen on Gamebase64

Abandonia Treasures #3....Manhunter - New York


I'm so excited, thanks to Abandonia.com I found a game I always wanted to play when I was a kid but never got the chance to due to not having the latest computer in 1988.  I remember seeing a demo of "Manhunter - New York" at Software Etc.  in the Santa Monica Mall in 88, and thinking that I hadn't seen graphics that good ever.  The demo also displayed some gore (eyes popping out of a corpse), that my 14 year old self thought was so cool.  Anyhow, I still had a C64, and no prospect of getting anything newer, so all I could do was check out the demo and wish I was rich and could afford a new computer.  Manhunter was made by Sierra, who were on the cutting edge of graphics and game play at the time.   Twenty four years later (today), I'm again browsing Abandonia, and see a familiar image from my childhood.  Until today I had been trying to remember what that game I saw in the Software Etc. demo had been, but I couldn't remember.  It was Manhunter, and I have finally played it.  The game takes place in the future (2002), weird aliens that look like eyeballs have taken over, and you're a lucky human who has been picked to hunt humans for the weird aliens.  It's an adventure puzzle game with a little action.  There's a lot more to it, so if you're interested (and you should be)... go on down to Abandonia.com  where they have the game and all the info you need to play it.

Manhunter - New York at Abandonia

Game-a-day #41...Down the Chimney.


Christmas in May!  Christmas all year round!  "Down The Chimney" puts you in the Santa seat for like 30 seconds.  This is perhaps the shortest game of all time, when you complete it, that's it it's over.  There are two skill levels fast and slow, all you can do is play fast after slow or slow after fast.  You are Santa, and you have to navigate down a sort of twisty chimney without hitting the sides.  Yes, that is all, and yes, only two levels of play.  So, no, it's not a crazy good or even a good game, but it has a lot of heart, and it is Christmas (in the game).  I find this game hilarious on so many levels that I played it like forty times already.  My very favorite parts are the short intro where Santa jumps into the chimney, and the end (if you finish) where a totally tiny Santa exits the fireplace and goes over to the awesome 8 bit tree.  If you play this game make sure to play both levels, "Slow" is painfully slow, and "Fast" is painfully slow.  According to the Gambase 64 this game was created by The Compucats. No further explanation is offered about this enigmatic group The Compucats, so I'm left to wonder and imagine who they might have been... Are they still around?  Will they make a new Chimney game?  Let me know if you know, and play this game because it's funny.

Down the Chimney on Gamebase64 

Abandonia Treasures #2...The Alpine Encounter.


It's not the most advanced game, it's CGA graphics are less than stunning, the game play is clunky and even awkward.  I still like "The Alpine Encounter".  It's so very retro-fabulous that you just want to play it to feel the vintage goodness in your veins (at least I do).  It's a text adventure with graphics that may not be all that fantastic, but for sure get the job done.  As many of you may already know from my past postings, I love me some text adventure with graphics and "The Alpine Encounter" is that on a cracker.  Okay, so the command list available to you is VERY limited, and the unforgiving nature of this game ends in your death (in the game, not real life) over and over, but that's what I want in a game from 1985.  I know I mentioned the graphics aren't amazing, but the image you see above is what hooked me as I perused the adventure titles on abandonia.com.
You need Dosbox to play it because it's so freaking old, not as old as me, but for a computer game it's on the old side.  Try it, love it, feel the vintage love.

The Alpine Encounter on Abandonia