Resurgence C64 – 10 Games Of The Year: 2017

The tide doesn’t turn, but instead it grows stronger… We got some really heavy and high value C64 productions this year – Some even better and bigger than we saw in 2016… Psytronik Software, Protovision, and RCGD gradually became more and more like the 80s equivalence to… Name three of your favorite publishers that released hit upon hit…!

And so…

1. Argus

Psytronik Software

A trio from the current generation of C64 top developers unleashes a damn fine Dungeon Crawler.

Achim Volkers (coding), Trevor Storey (graphics and design), and Saul Cross (music and sound effects) – Three heavyweights from the C64 game developing scene of the 10s chip in with one epic quest. Argus wears its main influences on both sleeves. The logo basically looks like the logo to the Psygnosis-published game that it draws a big part of its visual aesthetics from – Obitus. And Saul Cross’ in-game music sounds like a closer relative to Rob Hubbard’s groove for The Master Of Magic. So the atmosphere is dead on right from when the intro begins. (If you load the game from cassette, it starts slightly earlier with Richard Bayliss’ original loading music.) The intro is told in writing on a piece of parchment in candlelight by this dude telling us about the legions of Darkness, the sleeping Starchild, and a wizard called Zoran. The Starchild has kept the peace throughout the lands of Argus and the kingdom of Grayfall – Until now, that is. And this is when Zoran attempts to liberate the Legion from the underground and do bad guy-stuff…

You play Argus in first person view as Thoran, and your quest is to stop Zoran. The lands of Argus include the North Forest, three temples (The Temple Of Fire, Light, and Lies respectively.) the Forest Of The Dead, the Mountain Caves, the Sacred Woods, the Southern Caves, and the Frozen Caverns. The map is around 1500 locations big. (1491 to be exact.) The areas may sound like particularly nasty places in a trilogy of very well known masterpieces that are notorious for its difficulty levels, and sure – Without proper weapons and equipment, you’re pretty much fucked when you venture beyond the first area. (North Forest.) Argus is a clean-cut Dungeon Crawler with some RPG elements for good measure. You don’t create or level up your character, but you do search for different keys, delicious potions, and better weapons to fight monsters that are harder to kill than the first ones you meet.

When you move between each location, it’s animated smoothly on screen. (Like in Obitus.) Pushing the Joystick up is for walking, and each push right or left makes you turn 45 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise. The lower third of the screen displays your current weapon, a compass with all visible exits, and the location number. (Good for navigation.) Pushing the Joystick down brings up the inventory with weapons and items. The Fire-button is for attacking or using items. And you can bring up a map by clicking the parchment icon on the inventory screen. (Or by pressing the Space-bar. This is the only key that is used, so the game can be entirely played with the Joystick.) The game automatically maps out exits and the visited locations. (But not the paths.) On the map screen, you can also save the game. A fun adventure. — 1 Player · Joystick + Keyboard (Optional) · Disk / Cassette (Physical + Download)

Buy the game from https://psytronik.itch.io/argus ($4.99), and you get the game on all relevant formats including a map with location numbers and everything. It’s quite a good thing to have if you get lost, but a real C64 RPG-adventurer draws his / her own maps, doesn’t he / she…? (On graph paper!)

2. Galencia

Protovision

Galaga – C64-style. Next Gen of the Old School. Reference overload. Irresistible charm.

“Earth, 2017. We didn’t listen to the warnings. We decided to ignore the decline of our bee population, and now their guardians have arrived. You must pilot the 1981 Galencia Fighter and restore order.” It’s not like a non-stop Shoot ‘Em-Up inheriting a significant part of Galaga’s presence needs a story, but Galencia’s back story is good enough. (It’s actually even longer, about two pages (!), in the manual.) Because after a short cut-scene where you, Ace Harper, and your dog Roxy get into the Fighter, zap into space, and start blasting extraterrestrial bugs as big as your ship, you need quick reflexes and your Shmup skills intact.

You have 50 single-screen levels to blast through – Including four Bonus stages (Where you can earn extra lives, twin Fighters, and “Promethean Stars” that are worth 10.000 points.), four asteroid fields, and two Boss battles. Plus Galencia features a “Ebb And Flow”-difficulty curve. (Which isn’t really explained in the manual, but some features are addressed in the “Advanced Gameplay”-section.) Just like in Galaga, you can get a second ship to fight by your side if you manage to rescue it from the Siren’s tractor beam (The Siren’s Call.) – If not, you lose one life. Engineer / Sidekick Amy Starbanger is with you through your journey via communication link. (She appears frequently at the top of the screen with either helpful or funny comments.)

Galencia has plenty of options that you can set before the game, like the shade of the vertically scrolling star-field in the background, color palette of the score / status panel, and difficulty. The Tournament Mode gives you one life and one life only. You get an extra Fighter every 100.000 points. (But not in Tournament Mode.) An ordinary game gives you three Fighters when the game begins. These are shown on screen in the lower left corner. At the bottom of the screen, you also see a timer (Clear the level before it reaches zero to get Bonus-points.) and which one of the five master ranks you have earned.

Galencia has an excellent soundtrack by Pulsebot. There are six tracks, and you can have either music, sound effects, or both during your blasting orgy. It’s a collection of seriously good songs that remind of Maniacs Of Noise. (And that’s one of the better compliments a SID-wizard can get!) Jason Aldred did the code and graphics together with Saul Cross, who also created the FX. It’s quite amazing what a good production this entire game is. It took seven months to develop, and everything is polished to the max. Hopefully, it does the same magic to you as it does to many of us. Something happens when you blast away and feel the excitement turn into something else. Die too often (And too soon!), and it’s a ride down frustration avenue. But win, and you should feel like the True King of the Arcades…! — 1 Player · Joystick · Disk / Cassette / Cartridge (Physical + Download)

Galencia v1.5 is the final version and obviously the one to go for as it includes a ton of Goodies like SID-files, sprite sheets, wallpapers, etc. A digital version is available for $4.99 via https://galencia.itch.io/galencia.

3. Gunfright

Rod & Emu Productions / Ultimate Play The Game

The spiritual sequel / follow-up to Nightshade – Finally on the C64 after 32 years…

Sheriff Quickdraw of Black Rock gets a telegram about a big bunch of real shit-heels heading towards town. No time to lose. Quickdraw loads his six-shooter and hits the dusty streets. But not before shooting at some slowly falling money bags at a shooting gallery in first person view. (This racks up the bounty.)

As Gunfright is another Filmation-game (The last one.), it’s played in isometric perspective. The upgraded Filmation engine made it possible to utilize some neat visual tricks when entering buildings. (You see the walls when you walk outside, but when you enter a building, the walls disappear to make it possible to see what’s inside.) The first of the gang to (hopefully) die is Billy The Kid – It’s a $700 reward if you bring him in dead or alive. Around the four-way scrolling town, there are citizens that you can’t bump into without losing a life. Some of them point in the direction where the bad guy is. (First time I played this game, I shot a couple of them as I thought that they were aiming guns at someone instead of pointing.) When you locate the Bastardo, you shoot at him to initiate a duel. The duel is in first person view, and you have to gun down the bad guy before you die of lead poisoning. You can also wait for the baddie to draw before you shoot him in the head… Sundance Kid is next. (Followed by: Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, Ma Baker, Wild Bill, Rumpo Kid, Clever Jake, Milkie Bar Kid, Klondike Pete, Bronco Colorado, Wayko Kid, Lone Ranger, Tonto, and Quick Draw McGraw. The last four are simply gangs of: Mexicans, Gunslingers, Bandits, and Hillbillies. They also get you the biggest rewards.) After the duel, you go after the next bastard.

As the assignments get tougher, you need more bullets. The price of ammo constantly changes, and when the baddies get to ride on horses, you also need to buy a horse to step up. This means that you need to bring in the cash at all times… In typical Ultimate-fashion, the layout of the screen is neat as hell. It displays everything around the playing area in an aesthetically pleasing way. The C64-port has a whole lot of improvements. (As expected from Emu, Steve Day, and Saul Cross.) Apart from optimizations, there is a screen with Mr. Smith’s “Under The Counter” Extras, which are cheats. (The Improved Edition (v1.10) includes C128- and SuperCPU-compatibility and other things, for example an adjustment to the “Bandit Draw”-mechanic.) The game also has two different sets of controls. But what’s missing? In a Western-themed game? Of course! Cross wrote an unbelievably charming Spaghetti Western-tune for the title screen. It’s complete with a galloping rhythm, gunshots, double lead “guitars”, and the SID-chip whistling an Ennio Morricone-esque “The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly”-style melody…! Excellent stuff, once again… — 1 – 2 Players (Alternating) · Joystick / Keyboard · Cassette (Download)

Nightshade has been available on the C64 since 1985 when it was co-published by Firebird. While it plays very well and mimics the original, I do believe that it’d benefit from getting a similar treatment that Gunfright and all the other previously unavailable Filmation conversions got.

Download: https://csdb.dk.

Additional note: The original ZX Spectrum version of Gunfright was also released on the: Rare Replay Compilation for the Xbox One in 2015.

Trivia: The town of Black Rock is referenced in Ultimate Play The Game’s C64 exclusive game Outlaws by Bob and Dave Thomas. Black Rock is the first town that the Lone Rider visits in the game.

4. LuftrauserZ

RGCD / Vlambeer

Demake of Luftrausers, but with 50 fps gameplay and superior music… Join the war effort…!

Game developer Vlambeer released a whole bunch of games from 2010 to 2015 for several different platforms, but after Luftrausers (Which was their sixteenth game.) in 2014, Nuclear Thrones in 2015, and the yet to be announced Ultrabugs, it has been more or less “quiet” on their release front due to various reasons. (Some of which are mentioned on various sites.)

Paul Koller demade (That’s remaking a game for an older system so that it might look like the original is the remake.) Luftrausers for the C64 under the name LuftrauserZ. (To differentiate it from the original.) And it took a significant chunk of a three-year period to develop. The background to the game (Including some of Vlambeer’s setbacks.) is mentioned in the manual. Koller previously made Super Bread Box from Vlambeer’s early classic Super Crate Box, and Micro Hexagon, which is a variant of Terry Cavanagh’s Super Hexagon…

LuftrauserZ is easiest to describe as a highly intense multi-directional scrolling non-stop Shoot ‘Em-Up set in an alternate dimension during war-time 20th century. This is reflected in the game’s minimalistic aesthetics. And this minimalism is also what makes LuftrauserZ blistering fast with the game running at constant 50 fps on the C64. (Where the original runs at 30.) You start each of the game’s sixty missions from the Hangar. This is a combined mission briefing and an option screen where you equip your Rauser, view results / statistics, and launch. After taking off, you need to be concerned over two things: The gravitation. And dodging bullets. Fighters, jets, and Aces try to blast you out of the sky, but there are also boats, battleships, and huge blimps that don’t appreciate your presence. Everything can be killed, though. (Even if some of the enemies are tough as hell.)

Killing multiple enemies in a row racks up your Bonus-score multiplier, which often is a part of the missions. Successful missions unlock upgrades to the Rauser. These include Weapons, Bodies, and Engines. (Five of each, which can be combined in 125 different ways.) The combinations change the appearance and the characteristics of the fighter. Not only that – Stein Pedersen’s dynamic in-game music is also affected by the configuration. So there are four thousand different Sprites for the Rauser alone while all the background graphics are created from a mere 54 character blocks. Since the original “energy-bar” couldn’t (?) be recreated for LuftrauserZ, you have to check the color of the border to determine how many hits you can take before you bite the dust. When the border is black, you have full energy. When it’s white, the next bullet takes you down. However, the Rauser regenerates as soon as you stop firing. Which is a bit of a disadvantage as you soon will have to fire non-stop – More or less… You accelerate the Rauser by pushing the Joystick up and rotate it clockwise and counterclockwise with its right- and left directions. You don’t die if you crash into the ocean, but it does drain your energy quickly.

LuftrauserZ is a sweat-milking ride and an endurance test from start to finish, and there aren’t many moments where you can sail smoothly through the burning skies. Luckily, you can save (and load) your progress at any time on disk. — 1 Player · Joystick · Cartridge (Physical + Download)

LuftrauserZ is $4.99 over at: https://rgcddev.itch.io/luftrauserz.

Trivia: Paul Koller also ported zep’s Rise And Shine Professor Miggles and Adam Saltsman’s Canabalt. (As “C64anabalt”.)

5. Planet Golf

RGCD / Psytronik Software

PGA Tours? Those are for wimps. A real golf champion plays… Planet Golf…!

Now, of course, you’d have to wait until the year 38911 when the first intergalactic golf tournament starts… Or you could just play Antonio Savona’s Planet Golf which lets you launch some balls across various surrealistic single-screen courses on five different planets in the Solar System. (Earth, Mars, and Jupiter are available from the beginning, and Neptune and Kepler have to be unlocked.) Each planet has its own gravitational conditions and terrain as well as numerous other distractions.

Just like in the more traditional variation of the sport, the idea is to get the ball into the hole with as few hits as possible. A hole-in-one is desirable on any course, and while it’s a tricky enough challenge on Earth, it’s quite a different stroke on other planets. (And in the future!) You can hit the greens… And many other colors, actually… Solo or with a friend. The two-player option is of the alternating kind. Planet Golf isn’t at all like, e.g., Leaderboard – There is only one club, and the courses are viewed from the side. Plus they feature several platforms of different sizes (and types) at different heights. (Save for the introductory courses.) You only see the ball on screen. From the exact position of the ball, you aim your shot by rotating a dotted line showing the part of the trajectory that’s closest to the ball. Logically, the trajectory covers around 180 degrees of a circle as you don’t have much use for aiming at the soil.

When you press and hold the Fire-button, you build up the power for the swing. This is shown as a gauge at the bottom of the screen in the status field. (Hole, Par, and Shots are also displayed.) When you release Fire, the ball is hit. Once the ball is in motion, you can either wait until it stops or fast forward the process (If you’re on the impatient side.) by pushing the Joystick up. Pushing the Joystick down brings up a menu where you can select music on / off or sound effects on / off. The sound effects vary from planet to planet (A fine array of sampled effects and speech.), and each planet also has its own soundtrack. In this menu, you can furthermore exit the game if you feel (or realize) that you’re not going to end up in the Galactic Hall Of Fame.

Your efforts are summarized after each completed game. (Planet Golf has 99 levels.) Additionally, six trophies can be earned: Bird Slayer, Space Pirate, Lightning, Sniper, Glory, and Shepard. (For example, you get the Sniper achievement if you manage to get a hole-in-one in any three holes in one game…) Who knew that golf could be this much fun…? Not that it’s golf per se, but nevertheless – This is top quality entertainment. Fun and challenging. And extremely well executed. You don’t even need to break your clubs when you get pissed off. — 1 – 2 Players (Alternating) · Joystick · Disk (Physical + Download)

The “Extras” disk includes two programs – “The Story So Far” and “Beatbox”. The first is a cinematic intro with digitized footage from a couple of conclusive historical space-related events – Complete with a snippet from John F. Kennedy’s speech and the first moonwalk. And what’s even more relevant in this case: The first swing of iron on the moon. The details around the intro (And other stuff.) can be read at: http://brokenbytes.blogspot.com – The intro is one impressive sequence that somehow was fit on one disk side. The other program, “Beatbox”, is simply a music player that blasts the fine OST from the game. (All ten pieces were composed by Aldo Chiummo and Gaetano Chiummo.)

Digital download available for $3.99 – https://psytronik.itch.io/planet-golf-c64.

Trivia: Get a Hi-score list in Planet Golf and type in “I WANT MORE” as your name. This unlocks 2K Race. (The game can also be downloaded separately for free.)

6. Platman Worlds

Psytronik Software

Platman returns.

Platman is a pretty close relative to another yellow spherical fellow that eats dots and occasionally chases ghosts. The biggest difference would be that Platman jumps on platforms instead of moving around in mazes. While there are other dangerous inhabitants than ghosts in Platman’s world, those familiar ones (Also closely related to Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde.) are his first and number one enemies… And would you believe that Platman is yet another game with origins in a more simple version, and that it too was created for the RGCD C64 16KB Cartridge Game Development Competition…? It’s indeed a channel for high quality software, and Platman finished on the third place after Icicle Race and Qwak in 2016. (Speaking of high quality software.)

Platman Worlds is an expansion to the original game and it has four worlds (Classic, Gothic, Ancient, and Future. O.G. Platman “only” has the warehouse, a.k.a. Classic World.) with an approximate 340 flip-screen count. So what’s particularly appealing about Andrea Schincaglia’s and Saul Cross’ Platman Worlds, then? Well, it’s a jolly platformer for a start. You zap around, eat as much fruit as possible, and collect keys for the many locked doors within each world. Those tight and narrow passages first appear impossible to get past without getting killed by at least one enemy, but just like in Bubble Bobble, you can jump through most of the platforms and still be able to land and move on them. I say “most” platforms, because some of them are obvious ceilings for the screen itself.

On the journey through the worlds, Platman can find 1UPs and tokens that turn, e.g., the ghosts, blue. Everybody knows that this enables the possibility to devour enemies during a limited time. (In this case: Until the gauge at the bottom of the screen is depleted.) You can collect multiple keys as any key unlocks any door. (There is a key- and a life counter in the lower right corner.) Platman jumps with the Fire-button (An always welcome design choice, which I personally prefer before the directional jumps – Especially in a game that doesn’t have a shooting mechanic.) and controls perfectly…

What else? Aim for what arcade game players have been aiming for since day one – A Hi-score. Each world has its individual Hi-score list, and the unlocked worlds can be selected on the title screen. The graphics and details are adorable. The Sprites are in single-color Hi-res mode, which give them this ZX Spectrum-style detail and quality to them. Another lovely detail is that Platman subtly changes appearance throughout the game – He gets fangs in the Gothic World, Old School Egypt-style make-up in the Ancient World, and a robotic look in the Future World. Saul Cross made the graphics, and as usual when he also composes the soundtrack, the result is the good stuff – The title-screen music (With a lovely reference to the Pac-Man jingle.), the in-game- and Game Over tunes. All excellent… Platman Worlds may not be endorsed by Namco, and it may not be a spiritual successor to any of the classic variants that we have seen on multiple platforms, but… It sure as hell feels like it should be. — 1 Player · Joystick · Disk (Physical + Download)

v3.0 is available @ https://psytronik.itch.io/platman-worlds-c64 for $2.99. (V3.0 fixes a bug that caused the game to crash on the final game completion screen.)

7. Rescuing Orc

poly.play / usebox.net

Well, everybody who knows anything knows that you’ve got to rescue the Orc…!

When a goblin’s best friend, an orc, doesn’t show up for tea for several weeks, then it’s obvious that the disappearance has to be investigated! And in that case, you could always play Juan Martinez’s flip-screen platform game / arcade adventure.

You play as a green goblin, and your journey to find your orc pal takes you from the Black Forest to the Rocky Mountains and back again, and further to the Bluestone Keep. And such a journey isn’t without its fair share of bad intentions and devilry – Crawling puddles of slime, heat seeking bats, Lizardmen, and other lunatics. It’s a good thing you have your sword with you at all times. The gameplay and the game’s mechanics “should” probably feel even more familiar than a game of Tetris at this point. (Nice exaggeration, eh?) But at the same time – Stick with what works. It has worked since the early days, and it doesn’t need to be more complicated than this. (Or over-complicated.) All you need to know is: 1) You strike with the Fire-button. 2) You walk left and right with those directions on the Joystick. 3) You are able to jump in three directions, and you can control Mr. goblin mid-air. (This should take at least a couple of thousand nanoseconds to figure out.) Actions, like reading signposts, are executed by pushing the Joystick down in front of, in this example, a signpost. Familiar as the grip of the Joystick.

Your life energy is illustrated as hearts in the lower left corner of the screen. A hit from an enemy steals one heart. Likewise if you happen to fall into water. There is also the always important score counter (In the lower right corner.), and a number that keeps track of how many keys you have found. The keys are for unlocking certain doors. Martinez crafted such an Old School charm-fest that you probably have played something near-identical gameplay-wise some time – Maybe even back in the 80s. There are so many modern C64-games with excellent controls, and Rescuing Orc is just another one – With some really good-looking Sprite- and background work.

Rescuing Orc is like that lost NES-classic that feels so genuine that you could probably fool some casual into thinking that “it was released on the C64 in 1987, but not on the NES”. (If you are very easily entertained, that is.) The soundtrack is quite classic-sounding (But not without some funky bits!) as well and it was also done by Martinez. Two SID-channels are used for the music, so that one channel can have sound effects that don’t drown out the tune… (The music can be turned off with the “1”-key.) What else…? What else is there to add? If you always are on the lookout for a good 8-bit platformer and feel the emptiness and need to keep playing another one as soon as one is done, Rescuing Orc should bring you right back into the mood. It could be the most fun you can have in front of a screen until you find an equally good / better game. Could. — 1 Player · Joystick / Keyboard · Disk / Cassette / Cartridge (Physical + Download)

Rescuing Orc is Freeware. v1.0.2 can be downloaded from https://www.usebox.net/jjm/rescuing-orc. And those who want a physical release in the shape of a Collector’s Edition can get it from https://www.polyplay.xyz/Rescuing-Orc-Collectors-Edition-Cartridge.

8. Sam’s Journey

Protovision

Sam’s journey could be about achieving the impossible? (Breaking new ground for 8-bit platform games, that is.)

Knights Of Bytes didn’t come from nowhere – They already secured their position as one of the top developers on the C64 with one particular game from 2005: Metal Dust. It’s an absolutely spectacular Shoot ‘Em-Up that followed in the footsteps of Manfred Trenz’s masterpieces. Not bad for a game that only can be played on C64s with a SuperCPU and 4MB of RAM. (Or an emulator on a decent computer, obviously.)

And twelve years later comes a Knights Of Bytes game that can be played on any regular C=. The bottom line is: When these guys release something, it’s something beyond extraordinary. And what do we have in the case of Sam’s Journey? A multi-directional scrolling platform game… Yeah… We have a whole bunch of those on this machine, but none with three worlds (The Lowlands, the Midlands, and the Highlands.) consisting of thirty (!) multi-section levels – 2000 (!!) screens in total. (And nineteen tunes on the soundtrack.) Eat your heart out, [popular platform game that was inferior and released on a more powerful platform]. There’s a new King in town. Anyway, this is a huge step for the genre. Programmer Chester “Sir Codalot” Kollschen, graphics artist Stefan “Sir Pixalot” Gutsch, and musician Alex “Sir Groovalot” Ney did a game that we could’ve never ever even dreamed of… On the Amiga. So you see, to see a game like this on the C64 is… Unreal…

Sam wakes up in the middle of the night and decides to examine a strange noise coming from his closet. In the next moment, a giant claw drags him into a Fantasy world. (That could happen to anybody, I guess.) After falling through the sky, sinking into the sea (without drowning) and discovering a door, he starts his journey through these magic dream lands. And throughout this colorful realm, Sam can find six different costumes (Pirate, Ninja, etc.) that grant him special powers. The journey is not all about platforming, but also about finding useful items and avoiding most moving creatures. Some of them can be jumped on, and others can only be knocked out of the game’s dimensions with the help of boulders, chests, and other hard objects.

Since you obviously can’t see beyond the screen dimensions, the game features a “Peek Mode” that lets you scroll the screen without moving. This is good for, e.g., checking out where you can jump without plummeting to your demise… Every little thing about Sam’s Journey is striking. From the title screen and the intro, you know you have a top game in your machine. The variation between the levels and worlds is exceptional. Surprises and visual touches are frequent, and it’s no wonder the game takes up four disk sides / images due to its size. It goes without saying that the game is best played from the cartridge to minimize loading times. The game has checkpoints in the shape of flags, which means that you have unlimited lives as long as you don’t quit. The “Save Game”-feature is available when you complete a world. (Games are obviously saved on disk.) Plus you have three “game slots”. This means that three players can play the game separately without risking overwriting another player’s save file. I can’t praise this production enough. (Directional controls notwithstanding. There is no support for two Fire-buttons, but this is another game where the controls are perfect.) Overlooking Sam’s Journey as a C64-gamer would be like ignoring The Last Ninja in 1987. — 1 Player · Joystick · Cartridge / Disk (Physical + Download)

Digital download: https://protovision.itch.io/sams-journey. (Yes, it’s $23.99, but believe “everybody” when “everybody” says it’s worth it!)

9. Sleepwalker

Psytronik Software

No need to sleepwalk back to 1984 again when games like this go full Retro-style…!

In April 2016, the “Games That Weren’t”-website mentioned a game called Sleepwalker. The platform game was supposed to be published by Software Projects way back in 1984. However, the game was never finished, but John Darnell (Who programmed classics like Star Paws, Match Day II, the Dragon’s Lair-games… And the Jet Set Willy sequel.) decided to resurrect the project and start over again – 30+ years later… In October 2016, he showed a 9×9 screen map, on paper, from the time when the game was originally developed.

And so, Sleepwalker a.k.a. Bear Beware!, was done and released. And it got some of the best audiovisual polish available anno 2017 – Graphics by Trevor “Smila” Storey and music by Joachim Wijnhoven and Roland Hermans. (Plus additional stuff by Carl Mason, Richard Bayliss, Glenys Darnell, and others.) Sleepwalker is aimed at fans of the Old School arcade adventures who didn’t develop mild PTSD from all the micro second-timed jumps and “impossible” environments in all those games. This includes the hardened demographics from both sides of the front line – The C64 and the ZX Spectrum. Of course, in 2017, the next gen platform puzzlers have additional features and qualities that a game like Jet Set Willy II – The Final Frontier “perhaps” didn’t have. We’re talking about Tutorial- and Attract Modes. Hi-res Sprites. Extended Background Color Mode. And some music…! (There’s that well known lullaby and a jolly in-game tune… And crank up that groovy loading tune, man…!)

When the fairground closes for the night, all prize toys come alive as usual. And one of the toys has to be the security guard. At this specific fairground, it’s this teddy bear that the player controls. He looks after this other smaller teddy bear that constantly is in a somnambulating state when he isn’t snoring. And as a good friend with “security” in mind, it’s up to you to bring your friend safe to bed again… As you might figure out from the attract mode, these nocturnal flip-screen adventures take place in extremely hazardous places with everything from automatic elevators to moving platforms. When a level begins, you need to locate your friend (Or friends in subsequent levels.) as quickly as possible using the two pointing bars in the lower right corner of the screen. (When you share the screen, the bars point in the direction of the bed instead.)

There is also a clock counting down towards bad times (Immediate Game Over!), and two energy-bars – One for you and one for your sleepwalking pal. With the Joystick, you can and have to interact with little Teddy in a couple of different ways – Bumping into him makes him change direction. You can also stop him in his tracks and pick him up / carry him around. The latter drains energy fast, and energy can only be restored by standing on recharging tiles that are strategically placed here and there on the floors. (This recharging business goes for the both / all of you.) The level is complete when the smaller bear(s) climb(s) into his / their temporary place(s) of rest. The remaining time is converted to Bonus-points before you hit the next level. There’ll be no sweet dreams for you a couple of levels in, and the nights just aren’t short enough. — 1 Player · Joystick + Keyboard (Commands only) · Disk / Cassette (Physical + Download)

Get Bear Beware for $2.99 at: https://psytronik.itch.io/bearbeware-c64.

Trivia: Due to obvious chronological reasons, this game has no actual connection to the 1993 Ocean-published / CTA Developments-made game by the same name. (And that’s probably why it’s better known as Bear Beware – To avoid confusion!)

10. Slipstream

Psytronik Software / Bauknecht

Caught in a cosmic slipstream… Hypnotized by one fine Shmup…!

P.C. Demo group Bauknecht has a long history of impressive productions. According to the group’s web-site, the first one was released in 2002. And in the 2000s, they started producing well-received Demos on the Commodore 16 / Plus/4. And from there, the step to games wasn’t that far away. Majesty Of Sprites and Zador were developed in 2015 and 2016, and in 2017, the group hit on two fronts with Slipstream as they released the game for both the Plus/4 and the C64.

Slipstream does have a dark and hopeless Sci-Fi story about defense systems turning on the inhabitants of Omikron. The game is set in the 147th century. (!) But the story is not what we’ll remember from the game, rather than the quality of the production itself. The Slipstream in the game is the angular, avian like vessel that the player controls via remote. (That’s you with the Joystick, isn’t it?) The goal is to wipe out the mechanized attackers and save Omikron from destruction. And Slipstream the game is a Shoot ‘Em-Up in three dimensions with filled vector graphics and lovely effects.

A word of “warning”, though. Even if the C64 is fully capable of handling vector graphics to a certain extent, Slipstream pushes these capabilities to the maximum. On the Plus/4, the game runs slightly smoother due to the higher clock frequency, but it’s obvious that Slipstream is optimized for the C64 as well. Just don’t expect a lightning-fast Shooter when going in… Unless you run the game on the SuperCPU – That’s when you get some serious action.

After the exceptionally good looking “T.V. static”-loading screen and title screen / menu (Where you realize that it really is people from the Demo scene behind the program.), you take off and fly after the Slipstream along a linear path. (Motion is visualized through a star field in the background and a dot landscape beneath you. The landscape changes from level to level.) The Slipstream fires automatically even without the Fire-button pressed. You don’t have to worry about shooting, but you must concentrate on moving around as well as moving your cross-hair. The latter is done by holding the Fire-button pressed, and once an enemy is in your sights, it’s automatically targeted. Your lasers take care of the rest. And if you can’t hit the baddies, you should try to avoid colliding with them.

Multiple enemies can (and should) be locked on in a sequence, and the trick is to avoid the hails of enemy bullets at the same time. That heavy Fire-button action is actually for moving the cross-hair from pixel to pixel, but the thing with Slipstream is that it supports dual Joystick action! (Or simultaneous two-player co-op, if you will.) This way, you can move and shoot at the same time…! It’s a pretty hectic deal and a quite a hypnotizing one at the same time. This is thanks to the visual effects and Ronny “dalezy” Engmann’s spectacularly futuristic soundtrack. (The soundtrack for the C16-version was made by Ingo “Degauss” Jache and Ronny “5tarbuck” Krueger… Bloody good too, of course…) Slipstream also features sampled speech. — 1 – 2 Players (Simultaneous co-op) · 1 – 2 Joysticks · Disk (Physical + Download)

https://psytronik.itch.io/slipstream offers the game for free for both formats, but why not throw in a couple of bucks to support such excellent developers?

Before we go – Three honorable mentions:

Cookie (Andy Noble / A.C.G. / Ultimate Play The Game) – Of course. A “Stamper brothers”-game equals video game history no matter what. It took 35 years until someone made a C64-version of this ZX Spectrum hair-tearing extravaganza called Cookie. But here it is… And now, it’s the C64-players’ turn to finally go bald… I can imagine that people have said every imaginable thing about this game – That it’s a non-stop endurance test. And that it’s virtually unplayable. The latter may be a bit of an exaggeration, but who the hell knew that mixing cookie dough would be this crazy… For the protagonist Charlie The Chef, it’s like mixing ingredients in zero gravity… Between trashcans…! And there just happens to be monsters in these trashcans. The monsters constantly attempt to fuck up the cookie dough by throwing garbage into the mixing bowl. The ingredients are also much bigger than Charlie, and the only way to direct them towards the bowl is by throwing flour-bags at them… Oh, and if anything touches Charlie, he loses a life… Good luck… Neither Tranz Am, Pssst, Jetpac, or Lunar Jetman were ever ported to the C64, so this is the golden opportunity to play a 64’ized version of one very frustrating 1983 classic.

The Sky Is Falling (Psytronik Software) – Once you start throwing spanners at the cave ceilings, you can’t stop… Not until those bloody stalactites skewer you like small a chicken on a spit that’s too big… Icon64 is back already with a bit of subterranean shenanigans. The premise is unbelievably simple, but not totally detached from surrealism. Imagine if one side shot of the scene from Raiders Of The Lost Ark with Indiana Jones running away from a rolling boulder was repeated over and over again, i.e., as soon as he exited on the right side of the screen, he appeared on the left one. Except Indy was throwing spanners at stalactites as the cave ceiling was slowly creeping closer and closer. That’s The Sky Is Falling in a nutshell. But you throw spanners that push the stalactites into the ceiling when they are hit. Destroy all stalactites before the cave collapses and you get out and are transported to the next cave (Of course with another rolling boulder!) by a helicopter or a U.F.O… I might have also been hallucinating if Icon64 somehow managed to implement some good heavy shit into the pixels and sound waves… Because this is a strangely addictive video game… And those timed Fire-button presses kind of turn into a drug.

VVVVVV (unctio/ver / Terry Cavanagh) – The chance is that you have heard about VVVVVV if you have played video games in the past decade. It has been ported to at least ten different platforms (so far), and many are the media outlets that have talked about it – Both as a game and its development history. A preview for Paul Koller’s C64-version appeared as early as in 2011, but then… Nothing for six years and therefore no finished game anywhere in sight… But VVVVVV was finally released – This version was instead done by unctio/ver and appears to have not very much to do with Koller’s “Preview V2”. It’s a bit rough around the edges like a beta, and it does have a series of issues. But! It’s a full game. (If that is any consolation.) With all the crazy flip-screen platforming and Fire-button triggered gravity-switching implemented. (The soundtrack was done by Owen Crowley (Bomberland, Assembloids, etc.), Kamil Degorski, Mariusz Igielski, and Jaymz Julian.) Plus the game is in the public domain. When has that been a bad thing?

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And ten really good games from 2018 is what we’ll focus on next time – On June 22nd. Check back then…