The ZX Spectrum’s early days: the 15 best games
First years: 1982–1985
The first years of the spectrum from 1982 to 1985 were an exciting time in gaming with several new ideas being tried out for the first time. In this days one single person could develop an amazing game. New games took you by surprise, as opposed to being written about to death online before release. Indeed it was an exciting time to be a kid.
This list of games represent the ones that mean the most to me not that they are the best (they are) or anything. It’s just my personal opinion. Fnar fnar! Oo-er! :-)
The Horace games took their influences from the arcades. In this Frogger clone Horace must cross the road, get the skis, cross back again then try and make it down the slope. It was simple and addictive.
Manic Miner is the Spectrum’s first platformer and a stunning example of the genre. With its jaunty opening, boot-stomping ending and bizarre enemies, Matthew Smith’s game proved to be a masterpiece.
Manic Miner’s character, sense of humour, brilliant design and mammoth addictiveness made it one of the first true computer gaming legends. Every enemy is well placed and the structure of each platform feels almost organic. An utterly ingenious piece of programming that shows just how far you can go with sheer talent and a very healthy imagination.
Chuckie Egg installed platform jumping as a Speccy staple. Based on some of Nigel Alderton’s favourite coin-ops, such as Donkey Kong and Space Panic, Chuckie Egg is an insanely fast platformer that sees our hero Hen-House Harry going up and down ladders and leaping across platforms in search of eggs, while avoiding the angry hens. It may have only had eight levels, but they were fiendishly designed and it wasn’t until several loops had passed and the huge caged duck had been released that you began to appreciate just how expertly crafted they were. It was one of the most polished games of this era. A classic in every sense.
3D Deathchase is all about arcade action, quick reflexes and a fast trigger finger. In it the player controls a motorcycle-riding mercenary as he pursues two other motorcycles through a forest. Crashing into a tree meant instant death and the loss of a life. With the trees coming at you at breakneck speeds, an ingenious and visually intelligible difficulty curve was brought to the game. A genius concept made into a fastastic game.
Glug Glug, nice simple shooting game. Down on the ocean floor are goodies like gold, jewels and silver, and it’s your job to go down there and get them. Naturally the sea is full of vicious fish so you have to shoot them first, then bring up the treasure. The idea behind this game is very original, the graphics are simple but nice. It is very easy to play but it’s also very addictive.
Penetrator was a smooth scrolling Scramble type game. The gamer flies a ship, which could fire missiles and drop bombs at targets on a jagged terrain. There were five levels, with also a training mode and a design your own level mode. The game was kept fresh by the varying levels (flying through caverns was quite tricky) and differing enemies. It was all fast paced and very enjoyable.
Jumping Jack, a simple game that just required you to jump to the top of the screen. Naturally enough, this was easier said than done, with gaps appearing to jump through, and then, as they made their way down the screen, appearing under you feet. Very, very addictive though.
Match Point set the gold standard for ZX Spectrum sports simulations. Match Point got the mechanics of the game itself bang on. Every detail has been really polished even down to the spectators’ heads moving left and right with the ball. Itis a very playable game and calls for considerable skill. A true classic.
All the details of the original arcade (Phoenix) have been included and at the time I was very impressed with the big ship as the final boss. The sound have also been faithfully reproduced. Great Speccy game, great game all round!
Full Throttle is like Pole Position but on bikes. Impressive 3D bikes and a selection of race tracks made this a winner. Each track have their own characteristics, fast, lots of bends, even hairpins. The game is fun to play and is exhilarating.
After Jetpac, Trans Am and Pssst, Ultimate led in a new era of Spectrum visuals by giving Sabreman some brand new isometric look. Ultimate’s new graphics engine pushed the 3d style to previously unseen levels and conveyed a title that was both stunning to look at and an absolute joy to play through. Knight Lore is an extremely fun adventure.
The idea’s brilliant, the execution sensible. Move Rockford around the grid collecting diamonds and avoid being crushed by boulders that attempt to splatter you as you pass. You’ll also have to block growing amoebas, transform butterflies and outmanoeuvre fireflies. Mega addictive.
Mike Singleton’s The Lords Of Midnight proved that the Spectrum could aproach open world games with great success. Massive in scale, for the first time you really got the feel of being lost in a huge land in another world. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s book (Lord of the Rings) with an overwhelming sense of atmosphere and brilliant execution ensured that Lords of Midnight was a colossal and deserved success.
The Way of the Exploding Fist was originally based on an arcade machine called Karate Champ . Fist is remembered with fondness to this day thanks to the imaginative, atmosphere and immense playability of the game. It was great in multiplayer.
Popeye is a game that’s pretty to look at, and pretty fun to play. To keep Olive sweet, you’ll just have to collect the hearts you find on your travels. Take them back to her straight away and your love meter will be topped up. The characters are very large. The game plays well, with some complex ideas put into it. Collecting keys and trying to find which doors they fit is difficult. A very well done game. Brilliant!
This initial games line-up gave everyone just a taste of things to come.
Next: the golden years
