Spectrum Games - Dark Star - Classic ZX Spectrum game

Darkstar ZX Spectrum
This retro classic is one of the finest ever vector graphics arcade games to grace the ZX Spectrum (or any other 8-bit micro for that matter).

This classic game was released at the tail end of 1984 and was met with universal praise from pretty much everyone; and with good reason too.

Design Design were one of the more 'wacky' software houses during the 8-bit era and their games were usually of high quality, slightly quirky, supremely slick and full of hidden features.

In fact I have a feature that goes more in-depth to the hidden gems to be found in this game here.

But for now let's take a look at a real classic game that still plays superbly in 2012.

Dark Star loads up

The Dark Star galaxy was divided into a 16 by 16 grid of sectors in the vacuum of space. No one can hear you scream either.

Anyway - there is a lot to describe in this game so here goes...

The LIAR's (what a great name for your ship!) battle computer generated a real time display on your screen which displayed all activity in your immediate vicinity.

As well as showing enemy ships and any missiles they fired at you, this display also showed energy concentrations (blue squares) and Warp Gates to hyperspace (yellow squares).

Flying through space towards those warp-gates

Flying through an energy concentration enabled LIAR to increase its supply of shield energy (energy used to operate the ship's navigation and weaponry systems was generated by an internal energy source - handy!)

Your weaponry was aimed by manoeuvring the ship via the central cross-hair, whilst of course the ship could be made to travel at various speeds using the accelerate or decelerate keys. It was classic arcade 3D action all the way.

As you cruised your way around space enemy ships would sporadically appear and take pot-shots at you; their missiles would deplete your shield energy rapidly so fancy flying and shooting was needed to take these bad boys out.

The overall object of the game was to liberate your galaxy from domination by the Evil Lord's tyrannical Empire. (Sounds familiar? I'm sure I heard this before a long, long time ago...)

To achieve this aim you had to wipe out all of the enemy's military centres on the planets within your galaxy which were displayed in green on the Tactical Sector Map.

The tactical galactic sector scan

Moving from one sector to another required you to make a transition to hyperspace.

This was done by first finding a set of Warp Gates, which were displayed as four yellow squares (arranged in a North, South, East, West formation) which shrunk and expanded as they opened and closed.

Flying into one of these whilst it was open took you in the direction you had chosen to move within the galactic grid.

The route through hyperspace was mapped out as a rectangular tunnel which weaved and turned as you navigated your way through it. Accurate flying was required here as travelling outside of this tunnel really put a drain on your shield energy; not to mention a slight crimp on your day.

Each sector of space you entered contained planets. You could investigate any planet by flying down onto the surface, which was achieved by flying directly into a planet (as if on a collision course). This would then switch your view to the planet surface as you entered the atmosphere.

Planetary data was displayed with some humorous text

The surface of a planet occupied by enemy forces was defended by anti-aircraft weaponry set atop towering structures.

These could be disabled by firing on the towers which collapsed very nicely when hit with your forward firing lasers. Missiles aimed at you could be shot out of the sky or avoided - and as you would expect too many missile hits resulted in game over.

Certain areas on the planet were defended by force shields which damaged you if flown through. Handily though, holes in these fields were displayed as rectangles which you could fly through to stop any damage to your ship.

Each enemy base on the planets were hidden in the centre of a ring of defences, and were also protected by three towers. These three towers generated the planetary defence shields, which had to be destroyed by destroying all of the bases on the planet, allowing you to escape the atmosphere and return to space.

Destroying these towers liberated the planet from the evil empire allowing you to move on to the next one.

In short this meant that if you ended up strafing a planet you could not escape again until all the bases on it were destroyed. (In the usual Design Design game customisation this feature could be disabled from within the game options menus)

Your computer could also display a tactical map of the surface, showing defences, bases and fuel dumps. Your position (and direction) were denoted on the map by a white arrow. The tactical map usually had humorous notes on the atmosphere (such as cold, wet and awful, just like Manchester) and further funny comments. These were classic gaming features from Simon Bratell.

Once all of the planets with military installations had been liberated then the game was won. Sounds easy no? Well let me tell you it isn't...

On Release:
Crash magazine ran a lot of previews of this game and when it was finally released they awarded it a well deserved 'smash' status. They also awarded it a score of 100% for their use of computer category, due to the awesome amount of customisation that you could perform on the game. Changing the enemy type, the screen display type, the enemy missile types, the sound effects, the fully define-able keys, the 'Universe Stopwatch Mode', the changing high-score table each time you loaded the game.... The amount of effort and attention put into this game was mightily impressive.

The game was also praised for it's ultra-fast and flicker free vector graphics which were, at the time, the fastest and smoothest to ever grace the Spectrum. In fact they were probably never bettered until the sequel to this game came along.

This game was a big hit and is for me a classic game from the 8-bit era.

The test of time:
You know what? This game still rocks.

Once I had played it a few times it all came flooding back. The blue energy squares, the warp gates, the planetary defences. The game zips along at a breakneck speed and plays along smoother than polished ice. The way the graphics move, the way the towers collapse as you shoot them, the transition through the warp gates; it is all completely flicker free and oozes class.

There is plenty of challenge in here - and even if your reflexes ain't what they used to be you can customise the game perfectly to give you more of a fighting chance. Cramming this much into a ZX Spectrum was a programming miracle and for me it has stood up to the ravages of time very well. The full screen display is also impressive (using the Spectrum's border area during gameplay) and highlights just how much can be squeezed out of so little.

Even when you have lost the game you can have a lot of fun with the high score table which may even respond to whatever you type in. (Try entering 'Design Design', 'Computer and Video Games' and more.

Remember to read Dark Star Cheat Codes for more high-score table shenanigans.

Another famous high-score table from Design Design

Please, give this classic game a go. If you like vector graphics games then this one has to be on your list.

Oh - and as the inlay to the game said:
If it moves, shoot it. If it doesn't move - shoot it anyway. If it's sqaure - fly through it.

We recommend getting hold of the real hardware - but if not then download a ZX Spectrum Emulator and download Darkstar. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

GENRE: Arcade Game (Vector Graphics)
RELEASE DATE: End of 1984
RELEASED BY: Design Design Software
DEVELOPER(S): Simon Bratell, Graham Stafford, Neil Mottershead, Jon Ritman
PRICE: £7.50 -UK

Classic Arcade Action:

Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games

Spectrum Games - W*H*B - Modern ZX Spectrum Game

W*H*B
So what's this game all about then?
This is a superb puzzle game from modern day coder of the ZX Spectrum (and ZX81) Bob Smith - who has developed a number of great computer games over recent years.

If you enjoy classic games such as Tetris, Pipemania or even Downfall then you will definately enjoy this, it really is one of the most enjoyable and well though out puzzle games I have ever played on any platform.

So let's take a look at a fantastic recent game for the greatest ever 8-bit machine...

W*H*B Loads Up...

This is a game where you have to control a 1x2 'block' cuboid around on a set of grid levels, with the objective being get it to stand 'upright' on the marked floor panel.

Throughout the game there are special objects to make matters a little more interesting. There are teleporting blocks which teleport you to a different location and crumbling blocks which disappear once you have 'stood' on them. Sneaky!

The graphics are top notch being very nicely drawn and superbly animated. Your 'block' rolls and moves around the screen extremely smoothly and the isometric viewpoint is absolutely spot on. For me this is the type of computer game that lends itself to this style of screen rendering perfectly.



This game also features some nicely composed music on load up, and a funky little ditty at the beginning of each level. The controls are completely redefineable too which all adds to the overall package.

The game starts of nice and easy as I try to get used to the controls...

Once I reach level three it becomes more fiendish!

All that I can say that this game is a brilliant example of a modern classic game for a retro computer. It is highly polished and superbly implemented; a real clever piece of coding.

With music from Mister Beep and level design from the games coder Bob Smith plus Kev Thacker, Jumping Stack, Karl Gillott, Mulder anbd Znorxman this is a real winner.

Once of my favourite puzzle games of all time. Brilliant.

Arcade Games, Classic Games and ZX Spectrum Games

ZX Spectrum Games - Dark Side - ZX Spectrum retro game

ZX Spectrum Darkside
Darkside was released for the ZX Spectrum by Incentive Software in 1988 was the follow up to their ground breaking 3D game Driller.

Once again the revolutionary 'Freescape' engine was used to generate the explorable playing area - and Incentive managed to make the engine a little slicker in this follow up to their already classic game.

The whole story to the game was based on the Ketars, who had taken 200 years to plan their revenge. This time they had constructed a giant crystal weapon (called as Zephyr One) on Evath's other moon, the excellently name Tricuspid.


Intended to harness the sun's energy and direct it at Evath, the huge crystal was linked to a series of energy collection devices (EGOs). If the EGOs were allowed to reach full power, Zephyr One would fire and your planet would be blown into tiny fragments.

The mission was to shoot and disable the EGOs. You were dropped into a safe zone on the moon's surface with the minimum of equipment: a space suit, a jet-pack, quad lazers, a shield and a modest supply of fuel.

Tricuspid has 18 sectors including the dark and light sides of the moon. In each, the 3D landscape was observed through the viewing panel of the space suit. Buildings, walls, trees and walkways all stood out from the regular surface of the moon.

You could look up or down, rotate to view objects from any angle and tilt to the right or left. This was all highly impressive stuff on the ZX Spectrum in 1988!

Tricuspid was a moon of msytique. Weird and wonderful symbols adorned the buildings, tunnels were hidden beneath ground level and a number of places could only be reached by solving a series of puzzles.

The EGO network had to be tackled strategically. A column linked to two other active EGOs regenerated immediately after you had shot it, so only ECDs with a single working connection could be disabled permanently.

Powerporters (which looked like suspended slabs) provided instant teleportation transport. Restricted areas could only be accessed via a telepod, but for security purposes essential telepod crystals were hidden in various places on the moon. You really had to don your explorers hat to solve this game! But that is what makes it stand out as a true slice of classic gaming history.

Ketar defences were forced into action as you made your approach. Detector devices teleported intruders into a prison area while plexors broke down your shields as soon as you were within range of them. Your dwindling power supplies could be replenished by walking into fuel rods or shield pentagons.

Allowing your energy to run down, falling into the grip of the plexors or failure to complete the task in time mean that Evath's fate was sealed.

To complete the game you had to find and disable the final EGO on the dark side of Tricuspid - but this was by no means easy or quick to do.

Darkside was a thoroughly absorbing, immersive and once again impressive gaming experience from Incentive. The 3D landscapes moved even smoother than last time out, and this title was a slick and higly polished piece of software.

On Release:
Well Incentive were onto another winner with this arcade adventure game. The first title had been revolutionary with it's free roaming 3D environment - and this second game was bigger, slicker, smoother and better. Fans of the original snapped it up - and even the relatively high price of £9.95 on cassette did not put Spectrum gamers off.

The test of time:
Well here in the land of Spectrum games we reckon Darkside still has something to offer. Whilst by todays standards the 3D landscape is very simple, we all know that games like this were precursors to todays modern 1st person perspective games. If you can get into the game there is still some atmosphere in here and good puzzles to solve.

Go on... Take a walk on the Dark Side.

We recommend getting hold of the real Sinclair hardware but if not then download this one for a ZX Spectrum emulator. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

Please see our other ZX Spectrum retro game reviews and programmer interviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.

GENRE: 3D Arcade Game (Arcade Adventure)
RELEASE DATE: July of 1988
RELEASED BY: Incentive Software
DEVELOPER(S): Chris Andrew, Paul Gregory and Stephen Northcott
PRICE: £9.95 Cassette or £14.95 Disk - UK

Exploring the surface of Tricuspid...


Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games

Spectrum Games - Cobra - ZX Spectrum retro game

ZX Spectrum Cobra
Another classic scrolling arcade game programmed by Joffa Smith (who also coded Green Beret) and released by Ocean Software.

This game came out towards the end of 1986 and was 'loosly' based on the Sly Stallone movie.

When I say loosely I do mean loosely, Cobra was a scrolling 'kill everything in sight' arcade game that emphasised cartoony violence and humour.



For a start when you defined your keys the menu said 'Push Me' in reference to Sly himslef and the shoot key was labelled as 'murder'. Funny stuff.

Anyway, the aim of the game was to rescue a model called Ingrid Knutsen from the clutches of the Night Slasher and his evil henchmen and hench-women.

Cobra was a scrolling arcade game (with super smooth parallax scrolling, perhaps the best generated on a ZX Spectrum) and you ran either left or right. The bad guys would run in from both sides of the screen and attempt to kill you.

To begin with our Cobra had no weapon and you had to defend him with his bonce, by head-butting everyone with such force that they were sent hurtling across the screen.


Weapons were hidden inside hamburgers (yep!) and you could pick up either a knife, a pistol or the rather cool lazer sighted machine gun (made famous in the movie). These powerups only lasted for a certain amount of time though - represented by the slowly vanishing rubber duck at the bottom of the screen!

Cobra was a tough guy and dealing with knife brandishing thugs and rocket-launching evil women didn't scare him in the least. However, the mere sight of a pram hurtling towards him made the poor guy go weak at the knees and he was momentarily stunned if you didn't avoid the pram. Why pram's were hurlting around the screen is anyones guess!

You had three lives to begin (represented by 'Rocky' style boxing gloves) with and contact with any bad guys (or the knives they threw, rockets launched etc) took one away - unless you were toting a weapon in which case you lost the weapon and went back to headbutt mode.

Even when it was game over (or game under) it did make you laugh as you entered your name in 'The Morgue'.

Every now and again Ingrid would show up and run alongside you. This made you survive 'one hit' from a nasty. Instead of losing a life Ingrid would merely run away and would not appear again for a while.

To complete the level you had to dispose of every bad guy and use up every hamburger powerup. Once done you would move to the next level. There were three in all, but I've never made it past level two!

On Release:
Well the movie of the same name had been pretty popular, and the game turned out to be to. It was well recieved with gamers enjoying the parallax scrolling, excellent tunes and the funny stuff. Magazines such as Crash raved about the game and it was a deserved big hit. It was always nice for a movie tie-in to be worthy and not a quick cash-in.

The test of time:
Well here in Spectrum Games we like a bit of Cobra. It is still playable and good for a laugh. The parallax scrolling is excellent and the graphics have the right cartoony style. It's bloody difficult though!

Give this classic game a go - the gameplay is still there but beware, it's not easy!

We recommend getting hold of the real Sinclair hardware but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

Please see our other ZX Spectrum retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.

GENRE: Arcade game
RELEASE DATE: End of 1986
RELEASED BY: Ocean
DEVELOPER(S): Jonathan (Jof) Smith
PRICE: £7.95

The all too familiar game over ditty:


I'm sure NOT the cure in Cobra - a brilliant scrolling arcade game:


Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games

ZX Spectrum Game - Earthlight - ZX Spectrum retro game

ZX Spectrum Earthlight
Good old Pete Cooke and Ian Ellery who had previously collaborated on excellent 3D arcade games such as Academy and Tau Ceti came up with another winner for the ZX Spectrum yet again with this classic arcade game.

Pete Cooke was known as a 3D specialist and would port the Commodore Amiga classic game Stunt Car Racer to the ZX Spectrum in 1989.

But enough of the incidental information, Earthlight was released in the summer of 1988 by Firebird software to high praise and numerous accoldades.


As soon as the game loaded up you just knew it was going to be good. The nice 'earth rise' loading screen came to life. The games title 'shimmered' as a nice roll-over effect moved from left to right across each letter. All in all, extremely cool.

Moving into the games option screens saw something very similar to a mouse pointer to choose start levels, control method and so on. Once again, pretty smart stuff (especially for the ZX Spectrum) and a little bit ahead of it's time.

The impressive title screen in this classic arcade game:



Anyway, like any good arcade game - this one had an imaginative back story.

An alien named Slaatn was on a routine intergalactic garbage collecting mission. Without warning he was drawn off course by a strong force coming from the direction of Earth and was forced to make a hasty emergency landing on the moon. The Slaatn had landed.

Alone on the airless world, Slaatn had only one chance of escape: Neutralise the moon's box transmitters and eliminate the offending force field. If only Obi-Wan had been around to do this for him....

The game took place over four levels, each of which was divided into eight zones. These zones could be tackled in any order. For some reason the moon's surface was a smooth chequered pattern - but it was pitted with the odd crater and other obstacles.

Planet earth could be seen hanging in space in the background, smoothly rotating at a speed that meant a day would last around two seconds!

Anyway, using a stolen saucer like craft you had to skim the moon's surface and collect each and every one of these box transmitters. Your craft could move left and right and had a nice and quick top speed. The screen would smoothly scroll as you skimmed along - with impressive parallax perspective as you went.

Your craft could also increase and decrease in height which was useful for avoiding tall structures on the surface. It was also equiped with a finite supply of missiles - and you needed them to take out enemy craft which were out to stop you. Colliding with an alien craft or a structure on the surface reduced your ships shields - and if the shield was fully depleted then you lost one of your three lives.

But the real trick to this game was the 3D effect. You could move the craft 'in' and 'out' of the screen - meaning you could move further 'away' from your own viewpoint. The ship decreased in size perfectly as you moved away - and increased again as you moved 'towards' your viewpoint. You could pull some pretty impressive moves as you skimmed along, climbing and weaving in and out of the moon's obstacles.

To clear a zone you had to collect all the transmitters and clearing all eight zones meant you moved to the next level. You always had to keep and eye on fuel though as running out meant the loss of a life...

On Release:
When Earthlight was released ZX Spectrum gamers were impressed with the polished presentation, the games options (you could configure the game by changing level colours etc) and the fact that it was something a little different. The parallax perspective effect was brilliant and the fact that you cold move in and out of the parallax 'area' added depth (no pun intended) to the gameplay. Requiring brains as well as brawn, Earthlight proved that good games were still being made for the Speccy in 1988. At £7.95 is was great value for money too.

The test of time:
This classic game is still playable - no question. Once you get the hang of the controls you realise what a fun game it is. Here in Spectrum games your humble reviewer here has been playing it regularly for the last couple of days. Because you have to think a fair bit and conserve your fuel and missiles it hasn't dated as much as some other shoot em up's from the 80's. A nice and playable arcade classic.

Come on, it's a marvellous night for a moon-dance. Let youself get carried away by a moonlight shadow. Take a giant leap...

We recommend getting hold of the real Sinclair hardware but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download this game. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

GENRE: Arcade Game (Shoot em up)
RELEASE DATE: June of 1988
RELEASED BY: Firebird Software
DEVELOPER(S): Pete Cooke and Ian Ellery
PRICE: £7.95 - UK

Impressive programming in this classic arcade game


Arcade Games, Classic Games and ZX Spectrum Games

ZX Spectrum Game - Trap Door - ZX Spectrum retro game

Spectrum Trapdoor
Trapdoor was released for the ZX Spectrum by Piranha software (I always found that name a bit strange) in 1986.

They had already released classic games such as Rogue Trooper and the developer of Trapdoor, Don Priestley became synonymous with 'big and colourfulgraphics' due to this game and Popeye.

Most of you will remember the children's TV programme Trapdoor the claymation style cartoon set in a dank, dark, mysterious castle. Well, the style and content of the TV show was pretty good material for a computer game, and Don Priestley did a good job of creating a game based on the show.


In this game you played the character of Berk (the hero from the TV show). Berk had to move around the rooms in the castle collecting the objects required to feed the boss (an unseen impatient fellow who lived in the attic).

The boss (simply named 'Thing') would bark orders ('Berk: Feed Me!) and you would have to prepare whatever snack he desired - all within a time limit.

A large trapdoor nestled in the floor of the start location. Just like in the show all sorts of nasty beasties lurked in the creepy room below it. A specific 'trapdoor monster' was needed to complete each task, so it was up to you to open the trapdoor and trust in lady luck as to what creature would jump out. If the creature was not useful then you would have to usher it back down below (for example a ghost would not return to the trapdoor until you fed it) and then re-open the trapdoor to have your desired 'helper'.

Useful objects and cooking utensils were dotted around the castle rooms. Of course most of them were cunningly hidden inside other objects and Berk had to pick things up and 'tilt' them to get at whatever was hidden inside. By combining these objects and the correct trapdoor monster he could produce the right meal for Thing and complete the task at hand. It's all a bit too cerebral if you ask me...

If Berk lost a vital object by dropping it down the trapdoor then the task could not be completed, and you had to commit suicide by throwing him into the void below the trapdoor...Talk about harsh!


Apart from the foes in the castle vaults, Berk did have some friends in the place. Boni the skull was quite intelligent - and could be picked up causing him to say something useful (giving you a clue - the downside being it would cost points grrr).

Drutt was a yellow spider that was basically a pest and did little except eat worms. Other creatures slithered and squirmed their way around the castle - some of them were actually ingredients for Things meals!

At the end of the week, if Berk had correctly completed all of his chores then he would get paid. Unfortunately, Thing was not a trusting soul and Berk's wages were sent down via the dumb waiter in a fortified safe. To get your pay you had to figure out how to get inside the safe - not a nice end to the working week.

On Release:
Trapdoor was a popular TV show, and the game was anticipated by many. When it arrived the reaction was positive - Don Priestly had managed to capture the atmosphere of the cartoon perfectly and the large and well animated characters were spot on. Not only that it was technically impressive - using full colour on the characters and the locations with barely any of the dreaded Speccy attribute clash was true brilliance. The concept of the game was pretty original too and solving the puzzles and making the strange meals for Thing was generally a good laugh.

The test of time:
Because Trapdoor was based on a show it doesn't seem too dated - the game matched the look of the TV programme perfectly. This classic game hits nostalgia on two levels, when you play it you remember the game (obviously!) as well as the TV show. The graphics still look nice - and stomping your way around the castle is a pleasant way to pass a bit of time (as long as you play it on learner level). Here in Spectrum Games we have a soft spot for it. Ahhhhhhh.

Open the Trapdoor and take a peek.

Don't you open that trapdoor, You're a fool if you dare.... Stay away from that trapdoor, 'Cos there's something down there....

We recommend getting hold of the real hardware - but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download Trapdoor for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

GENRE: Arcade Game (Puzzle Game)
RELEASE DATE: October of 1986
RELEASED BY: Piranha Software
DEVELOPER(S): Don Priestley
PRICE: £7.95 - UK

Berk goes for a wander in Trapdoor in this classic game:


Arcade Games and Classic Games...

ZX Spectrum Game - Driller - ZX Spectrum retro game

ZX Spectrum Driller
Driller for the ZX Spectrum was released by Incentive Software, who were already well known for their excellent programming utility 'The Graphic Adventure Creator' (GAC) and the brilliant arcade game Moon Cresta.

When this game was released for the Speccy in December of 1987 it was one of those games that everybody talked about. The true 3D playing area with freedom of movement was finally here.

The game took place on a distant moon called Mitral. This planet had (in the past) been mined by exiled criminals - and the mining had caused gas to slowly build up below the surface. Enter you, a space faring drilling expert (not Harry Stamper!) to draw the gas off and prevent Mitral from exploding.


A true 3D environment was here to explore...

 In this fine classic game you explored the deserted moon, locating pockets of gas and placing rigs in each of it's 18 sectors. The game was impressive and used the solid 3D, all-around-viewing system 'Freescape', which was used for the first time ever in Driller.

Freescape was promoted at the time as 'the new dimension' - and it was totally amazing at the time.


For the first time in ZX Spectrum gaming - it was possible to wander freely around a proper '3D world'.

The planet was represented to you in full 3D solid graphics which you could move around in (in the game you were manning an excavation probe) - allowing you to rotate around and view objects and buildings from almost any angle. This was the first time in 8-bit gaming where you were placed right inside a virtual world.

Not only was this world represented in 3D, objects behind other objects would be hidden from your view - a change from 'transparent' vector graphics - another jaw dropping feature.

Mitral was made up of large open squares. These square were surrounded by walls, block buildings, trenches, steps and acid rivers.

The whole planet was devoid of life, and this emptiness actually added atmosphere to the game. Automatic laser beacons fired upon you (if they detected you) and your vehicles defensive shield was depleted by repeated hits.

But this was Freescape - and you could retreat out of the lasers range or even get behind it - thus preventing it from shooting at you. Wonderful.

It was possible to hit back though if you fancied more than just being sneaky; your craft was also armed with guns so you could shoot back or even destroy the lasers power supply and render it useless.

An audible warning would alert you to the presence of an orbital scanner, and the only course of action here was to take evasive action.

For more mobile exploration you could dock with a reconnaissance jet, (not always easy to find!)
The jet was housed inside a hangar - and you had to solve a puzzle before being allowed to dock with it.

Once docked you could fly the jet over the surface of Mitral and land anywhere you fancied - making exploring the virtual world easier.

There were also teleports on the planet which you could use to move from point to point- again by the solving of a puzzle.

But the object of this classic game was unsurprisingly, drilling. When you located a gas pocket, a rig could be beamed down to Mitral's surface and positioned over the pocket where it would begin to syphon off the gas.

Once more than 50% of the gas had been 'sucked out', the current sector you were in was marked as safe.

Once a sector had been made safe the you could reach then next by travelling through doorways in walls, blasting away obstructions, or by teleporting.

The game was played against the clock. It gave you just four hours and eight seconds (stange time limit) to complete it - barely enough time to go sight seeing. Pah!

On Release:
As you may have guessed, this title was an amazing game when it was released on the ZX Spectrum. The whole '3D World' (and the Freescape engine) that you were immersed in was astounding - and in 1987 probably represented the pinnacle of graphical acheivements on the Speccy. Once you got over the landscape you realised that Incentive's program was a compelling and addictive game. It was regarded as an instant classic and was so popular that a sequel (the excellent Darkside) would be released a year or two later. Even at the high price of £14.95 gamers lapped it up.

The test of time:
I don't know about you, but I can still remember the utter awesomeness this game generated when it came out. Today 3D games are plentiful, but back in 1987 true 3D worlds were hard to come by! Of course that graphics are nothing special anymore - nor is the concept, but this game must go down as a pioneer in the field of 3D rendering, and helped to pave the way for future games such as the classic PC game Descent. Here in our own little world of Spectrum games we salute Incentive Software for what they accomplished.

Play it again, you too will feel alone in the cold blackness of a lifeless planet... A bit like my place of work!

We recommend getting hold of the real hardware but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download this game for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

GENRE: 3D Arcade Strategy
RELEASE DATE: December of 1987
RELEASED BY: Incentive Software
DEVELOPER(S): Major Developments
PRICE: £14.95 - UK

Mart explorers the lifeless Mitral...


A true classic game.

ZX Spectrum Game - 3D Starstrike 2 - ZX Spectrum retro game

ZX Spectrum 3D Starstrike 2
Those vector graphics bods over at Realtime did it again with Starstrike 2 - the follow up their excellent 'Star Wars' arcade game, 3D Starstrike.

Starstrike 2 was released in May of 1986 for the ZX Spectrum after much hype and anticipation, and it delivered to us gamers in spades.

The back story to Starstrike 2 didn't really matter when you had graphics like this, but we'll have a quick reminisce anyway.


The scenario of Starstrike 2 continues from the story told in 3D Starstrike. After the Outsiders' first attack was repelled by the Starstrike fleet, the aliens regrouped an returned to their homeworlds to plot once more against the Federation (the good guys).

The Federation decided that attack was the best form of defence and a new all-purpose fighter (the Starstrike II series) was created. You were the pilot of this new craft, and had the task of taking out the defences on each of the Outsiders planets

There was a lot in this classic game, pentrating force fields, refuelling your ship, battles in orbit with alien fleets and of course, a nice variation on the famous 'trench run'. Gamers who had played the original Starstrike would be familar with conrols and weapons of the craft. As in the first game being too trigger happy would cause your blasters to overheat and you would have to wait a few seconds for them to cool.

You had one life to play with, but your craft was equiped with defensive shields which could be topped up at the end of various levels.

Starstrike 2 had a great combination of ariel combat, ground attacks and sequences to destroy a planet. The combination of brilliant gameplay and (then) state of the art graphics ensured it's status as an instant classic. Starstrike 2 was a massive and deserved hit in the summer of '86.

On release:

This game had been the subject of a lot of hype prior to it's release. Could solid 3D graphics be animated properly on a humble ZX Spectrum? Thanfully, the answer was a big yes. Realtime managed to create a game with depth, variety, action and amazing graphics. Starstrike 2 was a landmark achievment in ZX Spectrum gaming and proved just how far clever developers could push the hardware. The first time I saw this running on a friends Spectrum 48K my jaw hit the floor. Solid vectors were unheard of on 8-Bit machines until this game was released. I saved up for four weeks to buy a copy!

Crash magazine awared it a stunning 96% - a true seal of quality at the time.

The test of time:

Here in the land of Spectrum games we must acknowledge that Starstrike 2 remains a classic. Of course the graphics are nothing special by todays standards, but once you see past that there is still some good gameplay in there. The pair of us are still amazed that Realtime crammed this much in to a 48K ZX Spectrum; a truly stunning achievement. Starstrike 2 proved that Realtime were the masters of vector graphics - and it is still worth playing today. Give it a go - it's still good.

We recommend getting hold of the real hardware - but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download Starstrike 2 for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

GENRE: Solid Vector Graphics Arcade Game

RELEASE DATE: May of 1986

RELEASED BY: Realtime Software

DEVELOPER(S): Ian Oliver, Andrew Onions and Graeme Baird

PRICE: £7.95 - UK

Mart needs to play a few more times to get the hang of the classic arcade action again...

Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games

ZX Spectrum Games - Thanatos - ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum Thanatos
Thanatos for the ZX Spectrum was released in December of 1986 by Durell software - who were by now making a name for themselves as one of the premier games developers for the Speccy.

With legendary titles under their belt such as Saboteur, Scuba Dive and Harrier Attack, Durell (and Mike Richardson) proved yet again with Thanatos that they were at the forefront of ZX Spectrum arcade gaming.

The premise of this game was that a good Sorceress called Eros had been imprisoned by an evil Lord of the underworld. Not only that, her belongings such as spell books, potions and so on had been locked away in separate castles.

These had be returned to the Sorceress to allow her to bring enlightenment back to the land and forever clear the good name of dragons, who were misunderstood as being fierce creatures.

Enter the dragon ('Thanatos the Destroyer') who would undertake this quest and free the sorceress and restore the image of dragons throughout the land.

This ZX Spectrum game took place over a parallax scrolling landscape, which was suitably displayed with mythical creatures such as sea-serpents and giant spiders and medieval buildings, all of which were smoothly scrolling with a multi-layered parallax view.

You had to work your way across the land, defeating enemies, burning down castle gates and battling with many mystical creatures before eventually rescuing the sorceress.

Your game character could walk over the ground slowly, but real fun was had by flapping his wings and taking to the air. As you flew across the landscape, humans would hurl spears and throw rocks at you - all of which would cause minimal damage.

You could either breath fire on these foes to kill them, or swoop down and pick them up with your talons before dropping them to their doom from a great height. It was also possible to drop one captured body onto another person on the ground and kill both this way - great fun.

Thanatos could take a fair amount of punishment and your energy level was represented by a beating heart. The more punishment taken (battling with foes such as giant spiders, killer bees and evil dragons was a lot more damaging to Thanatos than human encounters) caused the heart to beat faster.

Too much damage would cause too much strain and poor Thanatos's heart would give up. It was possible to restore health by taking a well earned breather if you found a nice quiet spot on your travels.

You also had a limited amount of fire to breath, represented by a goblet. In some parts of the game you needed to breath fire to pass through (such as a castle gate which had to be burned down) - so using your fiery breath cautiously added a little strategy to the game. It was possible to top up your fire level by eating an evil witch, but you would have to watch out for an expert dragon slayer who always seemed to be around whenever you fancied a quick snack of 'witch - very rare'.

Once the sorceress was rescued she would climb up and ride on Thanatos's back - and she would have to be taken to the other castles and collect her stolen belongings.

There was a lot of land to play through with different environments, villages, beaches, the sea (complete with a nice shimmering moon reflection on the water), castles and caves. The varying enemies to battle added variety to the game, and certain parts were difficult to play through.

Thanatos was pretty tough, but was very playable and also something new. Who had seen a large green dragon as the main hero in a computer game before?

On Release:
Thanatos was a revelation when it was released. The parallax scrolling was the best yet on a ZX Spectrum, the level or perspective as the scenery flew by was pretty amazing. Couple that with the large game character (and large beasts to battle) - this arcade game stood out as a graphical achievement on the humble Speccy. Not only were the graphics jaw-dropping, the game was fun to play and kept you coming back for more. Breathing fire on giant killer bees and picking knights up from their horses before dropping them into the ground was brilliant fun - and the whole mythical theme was different from most other arcade adventure games at that time.

Crash magazine awared Thanatos a score of 93% and Durell software were onto another sure fire winner. Mike Richardson had developed yet another quality title for Durell who always seemed to come up trumps - and not even the relatively high price of £9.95 would put gamers off.

The test of time:
Here in the land of Spectrum games we reckon that this classic game deserves a place as a unique and cult arcade game. The large game characters and parallax scrolling were miraculous when you consider the hardware. It certainly paved the way for future mythical games such as Shadow of the Beast, and even to this day it is pretty playable and challenging. Even the simple theme tune at the beginning evokes the right atmosphere before you start the game - another title that is a true classic game from Durell.

Get some fire in your belly and play Thanatos.

We recommend getting hold of the real hardware but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download Thanatos for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

GENRE: Arcade Game (Arcade Adventure)
RELEASE DATE: December of 1986
RELEASED BY: Durell Software
DEVELOPER(S): Mike Richardson
PRICE: £9.95 - UK

Our dragon takes to the air and battles with evil foes - A classic arcade game:

Classic Games and Arcade Games

ZX Spectrum Games - Technician Ted - ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum Technician Ted
Technician Ted was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1985 by the proffesional sounding Hewson Consultants, who were well respected for previous releases such as 3D Sieddab Attack, 3D Lunattack and Avalon.

In the mid 80's the platform games (and arcade games) genre was going strong, and Technician Ted was a superb example of a flick screen platform adventure.


Technician Ted was obviously inspired by the seminal classics Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy, and took this style of arcade game to the next level.

Hewson's earlier efforts had on the whole been good games (3D Lunattack being probably their best up until this point), and the arrival of Technician Ted heralded them as major players in the ZX Spectrum games market.

As soon as you began loading 'Ted' you knew you would be in for a treat. In a change from most other games, there was no loading screen drawn in 'line by line'. Oh no. Here you had lots of little 'Technician teds' running from side to side of the screen, each one at a different speed.

Meanwhile, a counter in the bottom right hand corner began counting down to zero so you knew how long was left before loading was complete! This must go down as one of the all time technical achievements on the ZX Spectrum.

Once the game was loaded, the level of polish stayed high. A nice little image of the 'chip factory' (the game's setting) was drawn whilst a lovely rendition of 'The Blue Danube' played. Whilst the music was playing the games title dropped into the screen letter by letter. The wow factor was up, and the game did not disappoint.

First of all, completing this (classic game) was very, very tough. There were fifty odd screens to be explored, and some tasks could only be completed in a certain order via a certain route.

The whole premise of the game was that you (as Ted) worked in a Silicon chip factory and began the day at 08:30 am.Your boss has set twenty one tasks that have to be completed before 5:00 pm, or poor old Ted would be given the boot.

Completing tasks usually involved visiting a room (such as The Silicon Slice Store) and jumping into a flashing box. This would activate another 'flashing box' on another screen which you would then have to find and hit.

This would the completion of one task. Working out all of the tasks and which ones were linked together was no easy feat - and not many gamers managed to finish the game without POKES.


The gameplay was familiar to most, moving Ted left and right and jumping across platforms, avoiding bizzare nasties such as mutant floating potted plants, rogue fire extinguishers and disembodied floating heads. There were also stationary objects (such as coat hooks) that would take one of your thirty (yes thirty) lives if you came into contact with them.

What was instantly apparent was the smooth animation of the nasties and Ted, and also the pixel perfect (and supremely accurate) collision detection within the game. No other platform game before had displayed moving graphics so smoothly (with so many frames of animation per object) or had allowed the player the option of such fine movements when timing drops, jumps and so on.

On top of this good in game music played whilst you went about the screens which never seemed to suffer from 'slow down' despite the amount of action on the screen. The music could be turned off if you wished too. Technician Ted was a very well developed arcade game that was addictive and playable.

The game tried to help out by giving you those whopping thirty lives to play with - and you did need them. Once all of your lives were gone then a short animation would play (very reminiscent of the Manic Miner foot squash) showing the boss booting Ted out of the factory and into a trashcan. It would be back to square one and time for another go.

On Release:
This title gained some publicity prior to release, but nobody expected it to be quite as good as it turned out to be. When it was released people were amazed at the loading screen and the pixel perfect graphics. Most players had fun by simply exploring the chip factory and attempting to reach new screens. It was highly challenging but most people never thought the game was unfair. It's reputation put it up there with Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy - an accolade well deserved. Crash magazine awared it a Crash Smash rating and overall score of 96% which was one of the highest ever ratings.

The test of time:
The genre of the platformer is certainly dated, but Technician Ted is a true classic game in this field. The game is very simple, but the playability is still there and completing it will still test the hardiest of gamers. The off the wall nasties and room names still raise a chuckle too. The developers Steve Marsden and Dave Cooke really pushed the level of technical programming with this game.

Technician Ted the Mega-Mix was realeased a couple of years later for the Spectrum 128 which featured twice as many rooms, tweaked gameplay and true three channel music. It was nice to see a company putting in real effort into a remix of a classic game.

All in all, Technician Ted is definately worth another look after all these years.

We recommend getting hold of the real hardware - but if not then download an emulator and download Technician Ted for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

GENRE: Platform Game (Arcade Game)
RELEASE DATE: Early 1985
RELEASED BY: Hewson Consultants
DEVELOPER(S): Steve Marsden and Dave Cooke

PRICE: £5.95 - UK

Mart struggles to roll back the years in classic arcade game Technician Ted...

Arcade Games, ZX Spectrum Games and Classic Games

ZX Spectrum Games - 3D Deathchase - ZX Spectrum retro game

ZX Spectrum Deathchase
If ever there was a cult classic arcade game (on an 8-bit platform), then '3D' Deathchase has to be it. Released at the tail end of 1983, this classic game is even more remarkable due to the fact that it was squeezed into only 16K of memory! (16K Spectrum) An unbelievable feat.

Micromega really struck gold with this one, and it's timing of release which coincided with the movie Return of the Jedi (and it's famous 'speeder bike' scenes) really helped sales along nicely.

Micromega would go on to release many more quality computer games for the ZX Spectrum over the next few years such as Braxx Bluff, Codename MAT and the excellent adventure game, Kentilla.


This was an arcade game that was sooo simple, yet sooo addictive. The game is all about arcade action, quick reflexes and a fast trigger finger.

You take the part of a motorbike riding mercenary, who has to pursue and destroy two other bikers (one yellow and one blue) through a forest (slightly strange circumstances, but what the heck eh?)

Besides being on the rapid side, your machine was also equipped with a forward firing gun (which only fired when you are at full speed). The 'bullets' fired could be 'steered' in mid flight by the turning to the left or right. Neat.

Anyway, it was up to you to pursue the bad guys and basically blast them to bits (giving you $1000 for each kill). Once both were destroyed then the game would switch to 'Night patrol' (adding a twist to the feel of the game) and you would speed again through the inky darkness to hunt down your quarry.

Two more kills and you would be onto the next stage, which would put you in a denser forest with more trees to avoid. Crashing into a tree meant instant death and the loss of a life.

It was a case of getting through all eight stages (both in day and night patrol) - completing stage eight returned you to level one (that's classic game ethos right there!)

The occasional tank or helicopter would also stray across the screen and could be shot for bonus dollars - but you did not have to destroy them to complete the level.


The later levels in this arcade game were thick with trees, and it would take all of your concentration to weave in and out of them - never mind trying to aim at the enemy.

Like I said, this arcade game was simple and had little depth overall, but it did keep you coming back for more due to it's supreme playability.

On Release:
This game was well received and scored a whopping 92% in Crash magazine. Spectrum gamers marvelled at the incredibly rapid 3D graphics and the intensity of the gameplay. The asking price of £6.95 was well within most peoples budgets, and 3D games at the time really caught the imagination of many. For pure arcade action, Deathchase was difficult to beat.

The test of time:
We here in the land of Spectrum games we reckon that this is a classic game that still holds appeal even today. Okay - the gameplay is simple, but it's still a total blast hurtling through the forest at break neck speed. The programmer behind the game Mervyn Estcourt etched his name in retro history with this game. Legendary.

Stick on a bit of ROTJ (before the Ewoks come into it), grab a pair of goggles and give this classic game a go. You'll feel the wind in your hair.

We recommend getting hold of the real hardware - but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download this game for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

Please see our other game reviews and programmer interviews. All links are in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.

GENRE: 3D Arcade Game
RELEASE DATE: Tail end of 1983
RELEASED BY: Micromega
DEVELOPER(S): Mervyn Estcourt (Sometimes credited as Mervyn J Estcourt)
PRICE: £6.95 - UK

A true classic arcade game...


Arcade Games, ZX Spectrum Games and Classic Games