• Tag Archives Mindscape

  • Crossword Magic (1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    USA 1985

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/184619637574/retrocgadsusa-1985

    Today you can find any number of online apps that will let you generate your own crossword puzzles so it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. However, if you wanted to do such a thing in the 1980s you would have had to do it by hand or use a piece of software like this which made it a whole lot easier.

    I remember using a crossword puzzle maker in English class when I was in 8th grade (1988 or 1989) but I can’t remember for sure if it was this one or not. It would have been on an Apple II.

    Anyway, it does all the basic things you would expect to be able to do to make a crossword puzzle. I suppose there is probably a limit in terms of size but unless you are trying to do something crazy it’s probably not a big deal.

    Crossword Magic was released by Mindscape and was available for the Commodore 64, Apple II, DOS and Atari 8-bit computers like the 600XL and 800XL. Other than nostalgia, there’s probably not much reason to seek this out today as there are more convenient ways to generate crossword puzzles. However, this was a neat tool to have back in the day if you wanted to do such a thing.

    The ad above is from circa 1985.



    📂This entry was posted in Apple ][ Atari 8-bit Commodore 64 Computer Arcana DOS Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • The Halley Project

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    amiga_world_1986-01-006

    Source: Amiga World – January 1986

    The Halley Project, subtitled “A Mission In Our Solar System”, was a game released by Mindscape for the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit and Apple II in 1985. A version with updated graphics was also released for the Amiga in 1986. For those old enough to remember, 1986 was the year Halley’s comet made it’s once every 86 year visit to the inner solar system. It was definitely a big deal at the time so it isn’t surprising that a game would be made to capitalize on that publicity.

    The Halley Project is actually a pretty good game. It’s a sort of space flight simulator and you are recruited as a star pilot to participate in the “greatest scientific adventure in history”. This consists primarily of traveling to and exploring different objects in the solar system. The game is fairly high on realism for the time with realistic distances used. The game does give you a hyperdrive so you don’t have to spend months or years on each mission though. After completing all of the missions, you would be given a code that you would then have to mail to Mindscape in order to receive instructions on how to access the final secret mission. This basically just involved them sending you the password.

    The Halley Project is a relatively obscure game by today’s standards. It has not been re-released and there are no sequels (maybe when Halley’s comet comes around again). If you want to give this one a try, you’ll have to find an original disk or use emulation. The Amiga version has somewhat better graphics than the others but they all play basically the same so you can just choose your favorite platform.

    The screen shots above are from the Amiga version and the ad is from the January 1986 issue of Amiga World.






    📂This entry was posted in Amiga Apple ][ Atari 8-bit Commodore 64 Computer Arcana Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Conan (NES)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    game_players_025_-_1991_jul_079

    Source: Game Player’s – July 1991 – Page 79 

    It’s games like this that make you wonder how and why the decisions were made to develop it. In this case, the answer could only have been to make a quick buck. This game was released in 1991, very late in the life of the NES. Many late releases had excellent graphics, sound and game play because developers and learned every last trick with this system. But that was not the case with this game.

    The first problem is that this game started life as a completely unrelated game called Myth: History in the Making for 8-bit computers. This game involved a time traveling teenager from the 20th Century who must save the world from the Dark Angel of Time. This was somehow morphed into Conan for the NES.

    This in itself might not have been so bad if a good job had been done with the port, the graphics done well and the controls tweaked for the NES. However, this was decidedly not the case. While the review above from the July 1991 issue of Game Players magazine is somewhat critical of the game, they are still over generous. The graphics were poor, particularly for such a late game and the controls were not adapted well from the 8-bit computer versions. What may have made sense for a one-button joystick, wasn’t well suited to a two-button control pad.

    This seems to have been nothing more than Mindscape’s attempt to turn a quick buck and the end of the life of the original NES. If you want to give this game a shot, I recommend the original 8-bit computer version of Myth over Conan. If you do want to try Conan, you’ll probably be paying quite a bit for an original cartridge if you go that route. It’s late release and poor reception make for a relatively rare game.





    📂This entry was posted in Nintendo (NES) Retro Games 📎and tagged