Good Speccy Games?

[psj3809]

3d Death Chase was amazing back then, excellent game and of course after seeing Return of the Jedi you loved it even more

I've got about 150 Speccy games on my GP32, so many great games and they bring back so many great memories. Managed to pick up a DVD full of every single issue of Crash scanned. Great memories !

Every month legging it down to WHSmiths to pick up Crash, looking at the 'coming next month' section and the excitement of seeing some of those games coming out, wow oh wow !

Its amazing the retro scene is so alive. Cronosoft still release new Speccy games and most of them are very very good. Its great getting new games for the Speccy. The 'Egghead' series of games are some great platformers, Matthew Smith (as i've said elsewhere) is alive and well and is releasing a game for the Speccy.

Some of my favourite games were the arcade conversions by Elite....

Ikari Warriors - When they released a one level demo on a magazine back then i just couldnt wait for it to come out. Brilliant game and great 2 player action

Commando - Very good arcade conversion for the Speccy. Just wish there was an 'end' instead of wrapping the levels around

Bombjack - One of my favourite games. Excellent conversion and so playable

Space Harrier - Despite not having colourful graphics it was a great shoot em up on the Speccy

Other great games....

Knight Lore - This was so revolutionary back then. For 48k it was simply amazing, never completed it but still amazing to see

Chuckie Egg - SOOO playable and a great laugh

Lightforce - Who says the Speccy cant do games without colour clash ? Great vertical shoot em up

Flying Shark - Mono shoot em up but very playable and one of the best on the Speccy

Manic Miner / Jet Set Willy - I presume everyone has heard of these, classic platformers. Many different Manic Miner/ Jet Set Willy games have been coded now on the Speccy, tons of clones available at www.worldofspectrum.org some of which are very very good.

A great list of games can be found at.....

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/ystop100.html

So many great games available for that system. Was a bit depressing near the end of the 80's when many of the games which came out were pretty poor (Moved over to the Amiga then) but many of those games now of which are 20 years old are still so playable. Like i always say the most important thing about a game is the playability, so many games today have great graphics/sound but at the end of the day its how playable it is.

One reason why games such as Chuckie Egg, Bombjack and Commando are still played tons to this day. Sorry for the rant, very passionate about old 80's computer games !

 

[lubidog]

I think part of the popularity in Retro gaming in the UK at the mo is the magazine Retro Gamer. An excellent mag, (marred by the worst subscription service I've ever known, i mean 5 weeks to send a copy to germany????). But it rekindled my retro love, bought a second speccy last year(my old one bit the dust years ago...), and hundreds of games, one day when my daughter is older i'll bore her senseless waiting for Horace goes skiing to load.... That'll show her

Course, the other bad side of those glorious speccy/crash days(the two go side by side for me), was the tape copying days! One bought game would multiply itself ten or twenty fold in the playground. Bit naughty really!

I too love the speccy!

 

[spaceboygp32x]

I think part of the popularity in Retro gaming in the UK at the mo is the magazine Retro Gamer. An excellent mag, (marred by the worst subscription service I've ever known, i mean 5 weeks to send a copy to germany????). But it rekindled my retro love, bought a second speccy last year(my old one bit the dust years ago...), and hundreds of games, one day when my daughter is older i'll bore her senseless waiting for Horace goes skiing to load.... That'll show her

Course, the other bad side of those glorious speccy/crash days(the two go side by side for me), was the tape copying days! One bought game would multiply itself ten or twenty fold in the playground. Bit naughty really!

I too love the speccy!

​

do you have spectaculator for the PC?

version 5 is freeware i think - its lovely!

 

[psj3809]

Well i think the person who decided to publish Retro Gamer decided at totally the right time. Retro gaming has been quite big the last few years and Live Publishing totally released the magazine at the right time.

I've got a fair few cd's full or roms i've bought off some dodgy companies ! I do love the emulators though and like Spaceboy said the last freeware version of Spectaculator is awesome and i regularly try that.

I sadly got rid of my speccy and games back in the late 80's but the last few years i've got a some Speccys off ebay and quite a few games. Prefer the emulation side as i can try many more games though.

You should seriously look to get the dvd for all the Crash issues. Excellent it is.

Ha ha those playground days were funny, remember being excited as hell with the latest game. Great years !

 

[lubidog]

Well i think the person who decided to publish Retro Gamer decided at totally the right time. Retro gaming has been quite big the last few years and Live Publishing totally released the magazine at the right time.

I've got a fair few cd's full or roms i've bought off some dodgy companies ! I do love the emulators though and like Spaceboy said the last freeware version of Spectaculator is awesome and i regularly try that.

I sadly got rid of my speccy and games back in the late 80's but the last few years i've got a some Speccys off ebay and quite a few games. Prefer the emulation side as i can try many more games though.

You should seriously look to get the dvd for all the Crash issues. Excellent it is.

Ha ha those playground days were funny, remember being excited as hell with the latest game. Great years !

​

Yep, Speculator is superb! Its far better than actually loading them up yourself! And I too have bought those dodgy discs.

The dvd of crash sounds excellent. I have bought lot's of crashes of Ebay (a couple of issue ones!!!), but being able to browse them on my laptop would be good. It's odd how a good magazine in those days was essential to the overall enjoyment of the 'scene' (hate that word!). Retro Gamer is a bit like that now, but more so finding this forum was what made me order a GP32. We must spend as much time reading about the GP32 as actually playing it, and it was ever so.

But speculator, everyone should get it and play Elite on it! Plus the Hobbit.

BTW, if this is a really dumb question sorry, but if I stick a joystick into my computer will it work with these pc emulators? Can it be configured for the pc mame etc? Very daft question, but I thought I'd ask it anyway... :huh:

 

[Quo Vadis]

I've been playing KnightLore again recently. I'm remembering just how incredible that was at the time. It's still pretty good although I prefer the Amstrad version as it's two colour. I'd give KnightLore a go.

 

[psj3809]

Well i managed to get the full dvd set of roms off World of Spectrum. Theyre not for sale but a few people have copied them all and sold them (very cheaply i must add) so i'm happy as hell with the full set on my machine. rebelstar.co.uk is another great site as well.

The Crash scans (And i've just noticed Your Sinclair which i'll get soon !) are from ....

http://www.zzap64.co.uk/zzuperstore.html

Theyre superb and work very well with the free PDF viewer

I hardly play Elite now for the Speccy as you really need a full keyboard and i use the GP32 a lot for speccy games BUT you should check out a game called 'X Beyond the Frontier' from www.egosoft.com . I bought this game instantly for the PC as it truely was 'Elite' for the PC. Open ended, non-linear you name it. You can do the main missions or just build a mining rig and just do small missions or trade.

Dont worry about the question ! Yeah with most joysticks you SHOULD be able to configure what keys they emulate. At the moment i have one of those X-Arcade joysticks (pricey but VERY good) which i use obviously for MAME but i've also got it set up for Speccy games as well.

 

[moz]

turbo esprit

the god father of GTA games

 

[psj3809]

I've been playing KnightLore again recently. I'm remembering just how incredible that was at the time. It's still pretty good although I prefer the Amstrad version as it's two colour. I'd give KnightLore a go.

​

I really want to try a lot of Amstrad games but was having a 'mare using the Amstrad emulator for some reason. Seemed a bit fiddley having to type load" etc plus the ones i tried wouldnt work.

Seen that the Amstrad version is more colourful.

Knight Lore really was such an amazing game back then. It really blew everyone away and the weird thing is it was created apparently before Sabre Wulf but they didnt want to release it so early as it would damage sales of Sabre Wulf and Underwurlde obviously.

Alien 8 was much the same but with an idea like 'filmation' you would be crazy not to release a fair few games the same.

I even dont mind Pentagram and some of the others. Gunfright wasnt bad either but like i say Knight Lore was stunning to see for the first time

 

[psj3809]

But speculator at everyone should get it and play Elite on it! Plus the Hobbit.

That reminds me talking about Spectaculator....

http://www.rzxarchive.co.uk/

A great site above, its like mini ' movies' of people completing Speccy games. Download a file, unzip it then double click it and it should open up in Spectaculator. You can change the speed of the file using the emulator to 10 x speed or something but some of them are fascinating to watch as you see whole games get completed.

http://www.therubberbeermat.co.uk/ is also another great Speccy site

What is DEFINATELY worth a read is their Top 100 games...

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/michael.frase...op100-index.htm

I've found many good games on that list i didnt really know about or ones to try.

Finally the Tipshop has great tips and Pokes for nearly any game out there (or scanned maps etc)...

http://www.the-tipshop.co.uk

One game i've discovered recently is the excellent 'Turbo the Tortoise'....

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseek.cg...tware+Ltd$

Dont laugh ! Honestly its great. Its like the Speccys version of the Gameboys Super Mario Land. Great platform game, VERY playable

 

[lubidog]

Well i managed to get the full dvd set of roms off World of Spectrum. Theyre not for sale but a few people have copied them all and sold them (very cheaply i must add) so i'm happy as hell with the full set on my machine. rebelstar.co.uk is another great site as well.

The Crash scans (And i've just noticed Your Sinclair which i'll get soon !) are from ....

http://www.zzap64.co.uk/zzuperstore.html

Theyre superb and work very well with the free PDF viewer

I hardly play Elite now for the Speccy as you really need a full keyboard and i use the GP32 a lot for speccy games BUT you should check out a game called 'X Beyond the Frontier' from www.egosoft.com . I bought this game instantly for the PC as it truely was 'Elite' for the PC. Open ended, non-linear you name it. You can do the main missions or just build a mining rig and just do small missions or trade.

Dont worry about the question ! Yeah with most joysticks you SHOULD be able to configure what keys they emulate. At the moment i have one of those X-Arcade joysticks (pricey but VERY good) which i use obviously for MAME but i've also got it set up for Speccy games as well.

​

Excellent, I was thinking of buying that very joystick!

And thanks for the links, I'll check themout!

BTW, just been looking through the retro gamer forum (I know-too much time on my hands, day off!), and saw your post saying you were thinking of buying a GP! Hope you haven't regretted it!

Ta

 

[lubidog]

Wow, the site to watch vids of speccy games via specculator is amazing!!!!

Where did you get your x arcade stick from, can i ask?

Ta

 

[psj3809]

Well i bought mine direct off....

http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/

But theres quite a few on ebay, mostly 2 player ones. I've just got the single player as i want to put it into an arcade cabinet this year and the 2 player one is a bit too big.

What you should get also is the USB connector. I used to have the joystick plugged into my computer with the keyboard then plugged out of the X-Arcade. However as i used to type funny characters often appeared as the joystick must have conflicted with it slightly. With the USB it works fine.

Yeah those videos of Speccy games is cool ! Glad you liked that site, its cool seeing some of the old games completed from start to finish. I do want to watch the Ultimate ones being completed actually as i never could complete Knight Lore.

Yeah i havent regretted buying the GP32 at all. Previously i loved the Pocket PC for emulation, tons of emulators but poor controls. Sadly SNES isnt 100% on the GP32 but everything else is just as good if not better.

Rylehs emulators are amazing and fzx32 is one i play SO much. Cant wait for 'f' day to see what that is !

 

[lubidog]

Well i bought mine direct off....

http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/

But theres quite a few on ebay, mostly 2 player ones. I've just got the single player as i want to put it into an arcade cabinet this year and the 2 player one is a bit too big.

What you should get also is the USB connector. I used to have the joystick plugged into my computer with the keyboard then plugged out of the X-Arcade. However as i used to type funny characters often appeared as the joystick must have conflicted with it slightly. With the USB it works fine.

Yeah those videos of Speccy games is cool ! Glad you liked that site, its cool seeing some of the old games completed from start to finish. I do want to watch the Ultimate ones being completed actually as i never could complete Knight Lore.

Yeah i havent regretted buying the GP32 at all. Previously i loved the Pocket PC for emulation, tons of emulators but poor controls. Sadly SNES isnt 100% on the GP32 but everything else is just as good if not better.

Rylehs emulators are amazing and fzx32 is one i play SO much. Cant wait for 'f' day to see what that is !

​

Thanks, I'll order one!

BTW, I'm planning on building a cabinet myself in the summer! Gonna spend the summer with my brother (near Nuneaton ), and we are gonna have a go! But surely the two joystick version is better for a cab? Think of all those arcade games that need two players, etc.

And I do realise that the idea of me building an arcade cabinet, whilst being the thickest bloke on these boards is ridiculous, but I've got ambition! And just think of the end results.....


PS. Fzx32 is AMAZING! I know that when my mates back in Blighty (UK) see 3d Death chase, a few more GP32s will be sold B)

 

[psj3809]

Yeah the 2 player one would be much better for the cabinet, its very large though. Seen one cabinet on ebay with a 2 player X-Arcade and it comes out a bit at the side but still very cool.

The joysticks are very very good though !!!

My friend loves carpentry type stuff so i've bought the old PC (Just a 600mhz computer off ebay for 70 quid) which can run all the older MAME games i want. Should be able to hook it up fine

YES fzx32 is simply amazing ! I play that tons and have a ton of speccy games on my GP32. So many great games on the Spectrum available and all work very well on it. I love finding out 'new' speccy games from the WOS site and trying those

 

[psj3809]

Found that great Jet Set Willy remake i was talking about....

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseek.cg...+Makovsky$

Some russian guy created a new Jet Set Willy game (MANY others if you search for Jet Set Willy at the World of Spectrum archive), anyway each screen is based on a spectrum game, eg Chuckie Egg, Bubble Bobble etc

Best new version of JSW for the Speccy i've seen

 

[lubidog]

Yeah the 2 player one would be much better for the cabinet, its very large though. Seen one cabinet on ebay with a 2 player X-Arcade and it comes out a bit at the side but still very cool.

The joysticks are very very good though !!!

My friend loves carpentry type stuff so i've bought the old PC (Just a 600mhz computer off ebay for 70 quid) which can run all the older MAME games i want. Should be able to hook it up fine

YES fzx32 is simply amazing ! I play that tons and have a ton of speccy games on my GP32. So many great games on the Spectrum available and all work very well on it. I love finding out 'new' speccy games from the WOS site and trying those

​

A lot of new speccy games for me on that list of top 100, 5 mins downloading and they are all on my GP32! It's amazing!

Really want this cab built and working! Should be a boys dream come true! The 10ps I shoved into frogger....

 

[firefly1201]

Ah, the joy of small filesizes for golden oldies B)

 

[lubidog]

Ah, the joy of small filesizes for golden oldies B)

​

It never ceases to amaze me, that a game that took 5 mins to load by tape, takes 1sec to download!

Technology hey? Imagine in a few years time when we are emulating halo2 on our handhelds! With wifi (z protocol!- super fast!). And moaning that ps6 only runs at 120fps!

It'll do for me