Spectrum Games - Chronos - ZX Spectrum retro game - arcade game

Chronos ZX Spectrum
This game was a budget £1.99 release for the ZX Spectrum by Mastertronic in 1987.

In this solid enough scrolling arcade game you had to resuce poor old Chronos (the lord of time no less) who had been imprisoned in another dimension by the Dimension Weavers. The poor bugger.

For a budget game it was actually pretty decent and it also featured some fantastic beeper music.


You had to fly you craft (which looked like the craft from Ultimate's Cyberun!) across the left to right scrolling landscape blasting away at plenty of nasties, many of which were not the sharpest of bad guys. Watch them blindly fly into varying parts of the landscape - saving you the bother of shooting them.

Your ship could move up, down, left, right and of course was equipped with a forward firing lazer.

There were six levels in total (signified by the changing colour of the graphics as you progressed) and in true classic arcade fashion the game became more difficult the further you progressed.

The game went for the monochromatic look (which was probably a good choice) and had two layers of scrolling, which was smooth enough to make the game playable.

There were plenty of different enemies to avoid or destroy such as fighters, ying-yang type floating things, orbs and so on.

There were also laser barriers which had to be destroyed (by shooting the top or bottom part of them) and blastable blocks which had to be cleared away with trusty trigger finger action.

This game does sort of remind me of the classic arcade game Scramble with the maze like levels and constant scrolling.

The game was 'completed' once you breached level 6 and Chronos was rescued - no doubt just in the nick of time.

On release:
Well Chronos was a decent enough arcade game and for £1.99 was value for money. It picked up a bit of a cult status due to the impressive synthesiser style menu music and humorous high score table which would answer you with witty responses should you enter 'naughty words' instead of your name. There were also numerous Chronos cheat codes which could be activated through the high score table too - try typing in Peter Gough for starters.

The test of erm... time
Well it's a simle shooter that is still fairly playable - there are plenty of worse arcade games for the ZX Spectrum. Easy to pick up and play - give it a go to remember that Spectrum budget games could be decent.

Jing it baby!

Download a Spectrum Emulator and download this classic game for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

Tim Follin's impressive menu music:


GENRE: Arcade game
RELEASE DATE: 1987
RELEASED BY: Mastertronic
DEVELOPER(S): Steven Tatlock, John Tatloc, Tim Follin
PRICE: £1.99 - UK

Onto level 2 in Chronos - classic arcade game action...


Arcade Games, Classic Games and ZX Spectrum Games

Spectrum Games - Scramble - ZX Spectrum retro game

ZX Spectrum Scramble
A version of arcade classic Sramble for the ZX Spectrum - called Scramble!

Mikro-Gen (of Pyjamarama fame) released Scramble in 1983 which would run on a 16K Spectrum - and it shows.

When the game loaded up you could choose game speed options which were either slow, medium or fast. Nice customization.

For anyone who doesn't know Scramble - it was a right to left scrolling arcade game and your ship could move in all four directions as well as firing rockets and dropping bombs.

The object of the game was to score the most points - and that was it! (It was 1983 remember). Your bombs and missiles would get points as follows:

Surface to air missile (on the ground) - 30
Missile in the air - 50
UFO - 50
UFO Base - 100
Fuel dump - 150
Final Base - 2500

There were four stages to play through which were missile area, UFOs, Meteors, Fortress and final base.

You began the game with 4 ships to play with and a Bonus ship was awarded once you scored 10,000 points. Throughout the game your fuel was slowly being burned up. The only way to replenish it and keep it topped up was to hit the fuel dumps on the ground (just like the arcade version).

Every dump you hit gave you twenty more 'fuel units'. If you did run out of fuel your ship fell from the sky and crashed and burned Mav.

If you were a bit of a player you would eventually make it to the Final base. This base was at the bottomof a steep hill guarded by 4 UFO bases.

If you destroyed it the game restarted (as usual) back at the first level with increased fuelconsumption and more hazards to avoid. If you failed to destroy it you were given another chance and would come round to it again - this time without any fuel dumps so you had to blow that mother up quick smart.

On Release:
Scramble as we all know was a mega popular arcade game, so versions for your Spectrum were pretty popular. There were other versions released on the Speccy that were far better such as Cavern Fighter and Penetrator. Scramble was never a huge hit and suffered from being one of the poorer Scramble type games.

The test of time:
Well this game was pretty average back then and has really suffered over the years. For a 16K game it's not bad, but Spectrum Games really took off and became a lot more sophisticated after 1983. Play it for nostalgia.

It's Scramble - so it makes it worth a go I suppose.

We recommend getting hold of the real Sinclair hardware but if not then download Scramble 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: Scrolling arcade game
RELEASE DATE: 1983
RELEASED BY: Mikrogen
DEVELOPER(S): Stephen Townsend
PRICE: £5.50- UK

Flying ace Major Lawrence Bartle Frere Scrambles and gets into some classic arcade game action:


Classic Games and Arcade Games

Spectrum Games - Penetrator - ZX Spectrum retro game

ZX Spectrum Penetrator
Another fine version of the classic arcade game Scramble, Penetrator was released for the ZX Spectrum by Melbourne House in 1983.

As everyone knows, the game was a right to left scrolling shooter and you had to destroy suface to air missiles and radar stations.

Your fighter could move up and down as well as 'thrusting' forwards and 'braking' backwards.



The game actually went some way to explaining your crafts movements: The minimum height your fighter could reach was determined by the terrain. Your maximum height was determined by the 'fighter aerodynamics', but could also be limited by the surroundings. So when you entered the underground defence caverns, there would be a rocky ceiling to avoid.

Also, due to the forward momentum requirements of your fighter, you could not stop the craft for any length of time - this is why the game was a constant scroller!

Your fighter was also equiped with a forward firing missile launcher (allow rapid fire) and a bomb launcher to destroy ground targets. Only two bombs could be in the air at one time though.

The enemy radar bases added some depth to the game. The bases did not fire at you, but attempted to track your flight path. They would then send more accurate information to the missile launchers making them more difficult to avoid. Destroying the radar bases quickly was an effective strategy to keeping the 'danger level' to a minimum.

The danger level was displayed on your console, and continued to build as you penetrated further into enemy territory. There was only one sure fire way to reduce the danger level - blowing up the cool sounding neutron bomb store, thereby damaging the enemy missile command centre. Bwah ha haa!

The game was kept fresh by the varying levels (flying through caverns was quite tricky) and differing enemies. Some levels had paratroopers to shoot and avoid - a nice twist to Scramble!

On release:
Scramble arcade games were all the rage when this game was released on the ZX Spectrum and Penetrator was a pretty good version. The game was quite 'customisable' too - allowing you to run training simulations with unlimited lives, re-define the landscape and even alter the positions of enemy missiles and radar stations. Impressive stuff. Penetrator is a true retro game (check out the opening!) and was popular way back in 1983.

The test of time:
Well Scramble is a classic arcade game, and Penetrator is a pretty playable version on the good old Spectrum. We here in Spectrum Games reckon it's one of the better versions and is definately worth a go. It will keep you amused for a little while.

Grab your joystick and give it your best Penetrator.

We recommend getting hold of the real Sinclair hardware but if not then download Penetrator 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: Scrolling arcade game
RELEASE DATE: 1983
RELEASED BY: Melbourne House
DEVELOPER(S): Veronika Megler, Philip Mitchell
PRICE: £6.95 - UK

Flying ace Major Lawrence Bartle Frere cuts through the enemy in some classic arcade game action:

Classic Games and Arcade Games

ZX Spectrum Games - Cavern Fighter - ZX Spectrum retro game

Cavern Fighter ZX Spectrum
Good old Scramble!
The classic arcade game by Konami was given the ZX Spectrum treatment by Bug Byte in 1984.

Even by 1984 Scramble was getting on a bit (we're talking real old school here), but Bug Byte did well with their version.

Cavern fighter was a quite classic version complete with caves, missiles, cities, fuel dumps (for you to destroy to gain fuel and points), defence installations, asteroids and alien fighters.

The object of the game was to penetrate as deep as possible into the caverns of Zragg (great name!) and destroy the evil Dictator’s lair whilst avoiding the automatic missiles, guardians and alien fighters. It was classic arcade action all the way!

All of this had to be accomplished without crashing into the zig-zagging walls and ceiling's of the caverns.

For anyone that doesn't know in the game you could move up and down as well as left and right. You could fire horizontally (lazers) and also drop bombs onto targets.

Your fuel level constantly dropped as you flew along the right to left scrolling landscape (you never 'stopped' in this game) and you had to destroy fuel dumps to keep your fuel level topped up.

One difference that this game had over traditional scramble was that you were always 'inside' a cavern - there was always a ceiling to be wary of as well as the ground.

You began the game with three lives and the game was over if you lost them all - or you managed to kick the evil dictators butt clean across the cosmos.

On Release:
Well Scramble was incredibly popular in the arcades - and it was good to have a well crafted conversion on the ZX Spectrum. The game was playable and full of colour - the likes of Crash magazine awared it Game of the Month in April of 1984. Fans of the arcade game picked it up and were generally impressed.

The test of time:
Well Cavern Fighter is incredibly dated - the graphical style gives it away as an earlier Spectrum games release. But even so, it's still fun to play. The scrolling is adequate, the controls are responsive and it takes a fair bit of skill to make it through the varying sectors. If you're a fan of Scramble you could do a lot worse. Not bad and definately worth a go.

The games author never developed another title on the Spectrum as far as we know which is a shame as he was obviously a good coder.

Scramble! Scramble! - and play Cavern Fighter again.

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

GENRE: Scrolling arcade game
RELEASE DATE: 1984
RELEASED BY: Bug Byte Software
DEVELOPER(S): John K Jameson
PRICE: £5.95 - UK

Sector one is no match for flying ace Major Lawrence Bartle Frere. Classic arcade action:


Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games

ZX Spectrum Game - Harrier Attack - ZX Spectrum retro game

ZX Spectrum Harrier Attack
Harrier Attack was an earlier right-to-left scrolling arcade game probably inspired by the arcade classic, Scramble. This game achieved cult status and put Durell Software on the Speccy games map.

The developer Mike Richardson would go on to create many more quality titles for the ZX Spectrum during the 1980's (such as the quirky and original Scuba Dive and the excellent battle simulation Combat Lynx also released by Durell)

On load-up the loading screen picture was simply animated and the front most harrier would launch a few rockets before you were taken into the games menu. Once you had selected your controls it was into the game proper.

The aim of this classic arcade game was very simple - take control of a Sea Harrier jet to bomb enemy ground installations, ships and also defend yourself from opposing fighter jets.

Starting on an aircraft carrier you would take off and increase speed, and the sea (and clouds) would scroll past from right to left. It was possible to 'stay low' over the sea to avoid radar, but you would run the risk of being shot down by an enemy destroyer.

You would soon be flying over land where flak batteries would pepper the sky and enemy fighters would swoop in to try and take you out.

You could drop bombs onto the ground targets and you were also armed with air-to-air missiles to defend yourself against the enemy aircraft. These missiles were short range and were guided by your flight path.

If you fired then made your harrier climb, the rocket would also climb with you. This made for interesting tactics when shooting down any enemy planes. It was also possible to fly above the planes and drop a bomb onto them and destroy them this way - not the most realistic of scenarios eh?

If you made it to the end of the 'island' then you would fly over the enemy 'base' (which happened to look like a load of seafront hotels) and you would pick up the majority of your points as you unleashed your remaining payload onto the installations. Once past the base you would return to your carrier and land (carefully - otherwise you would put your harrier down too hard and destroy it)

There were simple indicators in the game showing your airspeed, fuel and remaining ammunition. You would need to land on the carrier before your fuel ran out to succesfully complete the mission.

It was also possible to 'bail out' and your pilot would parachute to safely as your harrier plummeted into the sea or ground. It was better than crashing if you ran out of fuel and was a cute little touch to the game too.

One thing should be noted with Harrier Attack was the fact that it was possible to bomb your own ship as you took off from it. If you did bomb it, then when you made it back it would no longer be there (presumably having sunk) and being unable to land on it your plane would just continue flying until it ran out of fuel and crashed, or you bailed out.

Nice attention to detail there by Mike Richardson.

On Release:
The game was an early release, but was generally given high accolades. It was probably the best side scrolling arcade game available for the Speccy at that point in time. Gamers enjoyed the fast paced action, the bombing runs and the five skill levels. The fact that it was available for a 16K Spectrum ensured it had a wide fan base. The quirks in the game (such as flying 'behind' clouds, bailing out of your plane and bombing your own ship somehow seemed to make the game even better).

The test of time:
Let's be honest here, this game is extremely simple. There is little depth and the action is repetitive. But you know what? It's still fun, and it represents the early days of home computer gaming. Remember a full scrolling arcade game was *squeezed into a 16K Spectrum - a minor miracle. If you've got 15 minutes to spare you could do worse than having a quick go on Harrier Attack - a fine retro arcade game.

*Good old Mike managed to get the executable size down to just under 9KB, which allowed for a fast loading time from cassette. The game is rumoured to have sold roughly a quarter of a milltion copies in total. Some going.

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

GENRE: Scrolling Arcade Game
RELEASE DATE: 1983
RELEASED BY: Durell Software
DEVELOPER(S): Mike Richardson
PRICE: £6.95 - UK

Flying ace Major Lawrence Bartle Frere shows he is still an ace when it comes to classic arcade game action...

Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games