• Tag Archives commodore

  • Waxworks (Amiga)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Waxworks is a horror themed role-playing game released in 1992 by Horror Soft for the Amiga, Macintosh and DOS based machines.

    The plot of the game involves undoing a curse on your family. Apparently, at some point in history, the player’s ancestor cut of Ixona’s hand for stealing a chicken. Ixona happened to be a witch and she placed a curse on your family. This curse basically makes it so that whenever twins are born in your family, one of them turns out evil and does very bad things. You (and your soon to be evil twin brother who is unconscious for some reason) inherit a magical wax museum from your uncle. You must use this magical wax museum to travel back in time to undo the evil things your ancestors have done and prevent the curse from ever being placed…before your brother wakes up evil.

    The game is divided into several sections, each with its own theme/time period. These themes include ancient Egypt, medieval Transylvania, Victorian England, the industrial revolution time period, and the time period of Ixona herself.

    Waxworks is played from a first person point of view and features a point-and-click interface. From this interface you can pick up items, avoid traps, solve puzzles, and engage in combat. During combat, you have the ability to target individual body parts such as an arm or head. Generally, the goal in each time period is to retrieve a special item from the evil twin of that era. Once you have collected all of these special items, you can then attempt to defeat Ixona herself to try to prevent the curse from ever being placed.

    There are some criticisms of the game including small game maps and an overemphasis on combat. However, the graphics, sound and music are pretty solid and do a good job of creating a horror filled atmosphere. The way the game is separated into different time periods also makes for pretty good variety. For fans of horror or RPGs of the era in general, it is worth playing. One unique aspect of the game though is the level of gore. It is highly graphic for a game of this time period with lots of gruesome death scenes. This may or may not be your cup of tea.

    Waxworks was re-released on GOG using DOSBox for compatibility with Windows and Mac OS. As I look now, it is currently available for only $1.49 here: https://www.gog.com/en/game/waxworks. I mean you can’t get a much better deal than that. Images above are from the Amiga version of the game but there’s not really any significant differences between the DOS and Amiga versions of the game. The DOS version even uses a similar 32-color palette to the Amiga version.


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  • Zzap! 64 (November 1992)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Zzap! 64 – Issue Number 90 – November 1992

    Zzap! 64 was something we didn’t have here in the U.S. and that is a gaming magazine dedicated to the Commodore 64. This issue is from 1992 and there was no longer much going on in terms of gaming (or anything else) for the Commodore 64 at that time. Which explains why this issue was the last (though it would be replaced by Commodore Force (also published in the U.K.) which would continue on for a little while. The November 1992 issue of Zzap! 64 includes:

    Regulars

    • Zzap! Zone – News about the end of Zzap! and the beginning of a new Commodore 64 magazine plus Zzap! editors discuss what they would be reincarnated as.
    • Tape Worm – A look at what’s on the cover tape including Silk Worm, Ninja Warriors, Breakdown, Frenzy, Hallax, and more.
    • Stuff ‘N’ Charts – A new controller from Spectra Video (Nigel Mansell’s Freewheel), a look at a preproduction version of Lemmings for the C64, new Star Trek The Next Generation game forthcoming, and more. Plus a list of the top 100 selling programs for the C64.
    • PD File – A look at some of the latest demos including Just in Time (Grafitty), Dreams (Eternity), Justice (Triad), and more.
    • Tips Section – Tips, codes, and cheats for various games including Potsworth & Co, Cool Croc Twins, Thalamus, Hudson Hawk, Arnie, The Blues Brothers, Exolon, Robocop and more.
    • Adventures – Book review of A Beginner’s Guide to Adventures, plus reviews of Danger Adventurer at Work 2, and more.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about Maniac Mansion, previous issues of Zzap!, review scores, BASIC programming, and more.
    • Hi-Scores – Reader submitted scores for Alleycat, Bubble Dizzy, Arnie, Creatures, Creatures 2, Gribbly’s Day Out, Hudson Hawk, Super Off-Road, Klax, Midnight Resistance, NARC, Navy S.E.A.L.S., Smash T.V., Robocop 2, Robocop 3, Rod-Land, Rainbow, Puzznic, Terminator 2, and more.
    • Previews – Previews of upcoming games including International Tennis, Crystal Kingdom Dizzy, Sceptre Baghdad, and more.
    • Next Month! – A brand new magazine.

    Features

    • Lead Review – The featured review this month is for a game called Reckless Rufus. This is a sci-fi themed action game played from a top down perspective that features object collection and puzzle solving. It gets a pretty good review here (84%).
    • Camera, Lights, Joystick And…Action! –

    Plus reviews of Blue Baron, Bully’s Sporting Darts, Doc Croc’s Outrageous Adventure, Frankenstein, Grandmaster Chess/Othello, Match of the Day, Neighbors, and Prince of the Yolk Folk.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Commodore 64 Computer Arcana Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Compute!’s Gazette (December 1984)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute!’s Gazette – December 1984

    Compute!’s Gazette was the most successful spinoff of the more general Compute! magazine. It covered 8-bit Commodore computers. For most of its life that really meant the Commodore 64 and 128 but in 1984 it was mostly the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. The December 1984 issue includes:

    Features

    • What if…? – A feature on simulation games. Games covered here include Ringside Seat (a boxing sim), various Avalon Hill battle simulations, SSI’s Rails West! (puts you in the role of a railroad baron), various chess games, and more.
    • Electronic Trivia – Trivial Pursuit had been released a few years earlier and had become very popular leading greater popularity of computer based trivia games. This article covers some of them including Trivia Arcade, Trivia Fever, Computrivia, Facttactics, Fax, Master Trivia, Trivia Trek, and Trivial Compute.
    • Inside View – An interview with Byron Preiss and Ronald Martinez, software designers for Trillium who create games such as Fahrenheit 451, Rendezvous with Rome, and Dragonworld.
    • Gazette Telecommunications Software Part 2: C/G Bulleting Board System – The second part of a type-in communications package for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20. The first part was a terminal program for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 and this part is a BBS system for the Commodore 64.

    Reviews

    • Microfiler – A cartridge based database system for the Commodore 64.
    • NATO Commander – A strategy game from MicroProse for the Commodore 64 that pits NATO forces against Warsaw Pact forces.
    • Road to Moscow – A strategy game for the Commodore 64 that recreates the Russian/German part of World War II.
    • Also Worth Noting – Short reviews of The Castles of Dr. Creep, Dragon’s Keep, Troll’s Tale, Rug Rider, and Impossible Mission.

    Games

    • Cosmic Combat – A type-in Space Invaders style game with versions for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • 3-D Labrynth – A 3D maze game for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 in which you must escape the maze (with an optional time limit).

    Education/Home Applications

    • Computing For Families: An Adventure in Telecommunications – A look at SkiWriter II, a combination word processor and telecommunications program.
    • Word Guess – A type-in hangman style game for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • Letter Attack – An educational type-in game for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 that teaches typing.
    • Programming Commodore’s Magic Voice – A guide to programming the Magic Voice speech synthesizer for the Commodore 64.

    Programming

    • BASIC Magic: A Christmas Assortment – A Christmas themed BASIC tutorial for both the Commodore 64 and VIC-20. Basically a sort of electronic Christmas card with sound.
    • Machine Language for Beginners – This tutorial guides you through creating a customized directory command for the Commodore 64.
    • Hints & Tips – A guide to controlling the keyboard buffer on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
    • Auto Line – A type-in program that will automatically number the lines in a BASIC program.
    • Power BASIC: Time Clock – A type in program that creates a digital clock on the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • Cassette Index – A short type-in program for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 that will create an index of files on a cassette.
    • Disk/Tape Backup – A type-in backup program for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 that will backup files from disk to cassette or from cassette to disk.

    Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – A summary of recent happenings at Commodore as well as a look ahead to the year to come.
    • Gazette Feedback – Letters from readers about reducing disk drive chatter when using copy protected disks, typing in programs on the VIC-20, programming the SID, cooling the 1540 and 1541 disk drives, and more.
    • Simple Answers to Common Questions – Questions answered about converting Atari BASIC programs to the Commodore 64 and transferring files between the Commodore 64 and IBM PC via and RS-232C interface,
    • Horizons 64 – A guide to drawing on the Commodore 64 including a look at programs like Tech Sketch and Peripheral Vision as well as options for controllers including a mouse, light pen and KoalaPad among others.
    • VICreations: Key Memory Locations – A look at various memory locations in the VIC-20 and their uses.
    • News & Products – A look at new products including the Access-M 64-128K memory expansion, Magic BASIC for the VIC-20, PRONTO home information and banking service for the Commodore 64, new peripherals for the VIC-20 and C64 from Maxtron (printer interface, printer, power supply, cassette drive, and speech synthesizer), Versaterm II terminal software for the C64, and more.

    …and more!


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