I remember Shadowfire as I was my favourite game ever. Red computers for combat , green for movement. Severina , Zahn , and Maul to name afew , it sold well and spawned a follow-up called Enigma Force
@@neunadi5147 Yes there were a lot of software houses that just made great games over and over. You could trust the brand as they did not make bad games. Palace Software, Quicksilver, Hewson, Durell and Gremlin Graphics...all hit after hit...
Loved Worse things happen at sea...my Speccie was literally bought off a man in a pub, came complete with three large carrier bags full of C90s, with zero labelling. Took *months* for me to go through them all and figure out everything there. Had to use a special pen with an ultra small nib to fit everything on each label. It was someone's absolute passion.
Storing backups of all your friends' games is a lovely way of looking at it, I must say. "Archivist" sounds so more more wholesome than the other word. And the role certainly had its perks, like getting to play and keep pretty much every worthwhile game released. I'm sure that when our U.S. NES-owning chums sneer at Speccy games, they're not taking the ability to "archive" those games into account.
It was indeed a blast. Get a C90 or C60. Got to school, chat to your mates. Get them to bring in a game on cassette and a blank tape. Take them home with you at night. Copy him a game, stick his game on your C90. Write its name on the label and the tape counter number it starts at. Go back to school the next day with original and the game you did for him. Give him them back. Talk to other mates...Get them to bring in a game and a blank tape...And so on. That was my life from 1982 till about 1989...heh....its probably why I still "Back up" everything now, from films, to tv and music and still games. Once you get into it, you can never leave...its so much cheaper.
@@Simon-xc5oy Yep, I carried on doing that for about a decade, early 80s (Beeb and Speccy games) to early 90s (Amiga games). Looking back at old magazines, there weren't many games that we _didn't_ get to "share and enjoy" - nothing notable, anyway. There was some planning to it as well, like organising who was going to buy which games so you didn't waste money by needlessly doubling-up on any purchases within your group. If little Seb was buying Game X then there was no need for anyone else to, because we'd all have it, so what was important was that we spread the buying out and people bought different (but also desirable) games to throw out to the group :) Oh, and sitting there in lessons (or detentions) writing out code-sheets, i.e. turning the Jet Set Willy password colour-codes into plain-text numbers that could be easily photocopied for everyone. All very naughty, really, but at least I did buy my share of genuine games .... even if, ultimately, maybe only 1 game in 10 in my game-library was actually a legitimate tape :) Like I said, I don't think our American friends with their NES cartridges fully understand what the attraction was to owning a humble but popular computer like the Speccy in the 1980s - it was because all of your mates also had one, so you were part of a game-"archiving" pool and everyone had C90s full of copied games, 10 or 20 games to a tape. There seems to be a retrospective move toward claiming that computers like the Amstrad CPC were alright really - and, sure, they _were_ better than a Speccy on an objective technical level. Not difficult, really. But honestly, that wasn't the point. Back then, you felt bad for the kid whose parents got them an Amstrad because they were forced to band together with the 1 other pariah kid in the school who had one. And he liked text adventures.
@@blatherskite3009 Yes, exactly...I would still buy originals from time to time but they had to be special, unique, the best the machine could offer or a favourite idea etc. And it helped if it had good packaging as well for display. I had a rule it had to be a Crash Smash and get good reviews in other mags as well. I did the same doubling up with mates to buy a range of games. I tended to buy stuff if no one else had it at all and I could not source it from anyone else, or if it was brand new, so no one had it yet. I still remember Christmas 86, and my friend John buying the Gauntlet arcade conversion for the Spectrum as he loved the game. And so I got Thantos, as who would not want to fly around on a dragon setting stuff on fire? And we did the copy swap thing so we both had each game. Happy days. Now you just go online and go...I will have that, and that, and that, and that film, and that whole series and those two albums etc...Its scary to think how easy it is and how much it would cost legit. I sometimes miss those old days though...the chats over who had what, and which friend of a friend might have a game we were after. You met so many people and got to be friends. And then the trips to across town to new areas and streets to score the game you were after. It got you out and about and seeing and doing other things on the way. And the Spectrum was Number 1. It was not the most advanced and most technically superior. But it was the affordable, and that meant everyone had one. Which meant masses of choice and the games were cheap, and it was British with unique titles. And like everything of that era there were some games that worked and were by far the best on the Spectrum. Same for the C64. You picked a system and stuck with it...probably like Xbox and Playstation these days...
Oh, I remember Worse Things Happen at Sea😊 I played it once, my mate showed it to me. He was so proud that he worked out the controls and the gameplay all by himself (bearing in mind that no manual or instructions were provided for the pirated copy + he barely knew English - that was quite an achievement). We played the game for many hours as we really enjoyed the process. The next day the cassette was exchanged for something else " just for a while" as we thought, but the tape was lost in the endless process of further exchange operations (of course), then we forgot the title, so I was really surprised to see that in your list!!! Brings back the memories!
Honestly, your videos are brilliant! They take me back to my childhood back in the early eighties , well away from the stresses of middle age life! Please do more... ! Cheers😊
That's for making this video. It's good to hear someone talking about spectrum games in depth especially in this day and age. I've subscribed so I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos.
"... because I helped my classroom mates out quite a bit back in the day by keeping backups of their games for them..." I've never heard it put like that before 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I also stepped up to help out my school mates in this way. We were all good friends back in the day. The current RTX4090's don't do the colour bleed that the Spectrum perfected over 40 years ago and they call that progress?
Love remembering these old games. Buggy Blast brought it all back but I couldn’t remember the name. Gregory Loses His Clock is a Don Priestly game and he was a great programmer.
I really enjoyed Critical Mass back in the day. Durrell made some of my favourite Speccy games as it goes....Scuba Diver, Combat Lynx, Turbo Esprit and Saboteur.
I recall Critical Mass, WTHAS and Shadowfire and had no bloody idea what I was doing on any of them really, it's amazing how important instructions were back in the day - but not as important as a C60 or D90 cassette tape.
I definitely had Critical Mass and Shadowfire. Shadowfire's sequel Enigma Force has fond memories for me because I played a pre-production copy with a friend, and we managed to complete it on the 4th try - so much better than how we did with Shadowfire - and I was very proud that we'd completed it before it was released. I wasn't a fan of Crash, though. I did have every copy of Your Sinclair (and Your Spectrum) and most Sinclair Users.
I had Shadowfire and admired the packaging, programming, look, concept, everything but the gameplay which I could never get into. There was a time that I was buying almost everything Beyond released due to my love of their Lords of Midnight. Psytron was another sci-fi by Beyond that I admired but struggled to enjoy.
I remember them all apart from stiff lip. I actually played worse things happen at sea a few months ago. I'm better at it now than I was in 1984. I made it across lol
Another quality video. I only played Gregory Loses His Clock out of these, back in the day. It's really tough though, with awful control responsiveness. The next stage in the jungle will infuriate you. Crash's choice of Smashes were often very dubious. Remember Zub? In my view a polished but extremely tedious game, not really worth the budget price, but Crash thought it was the bees' knees.
Was expecting to recognise at least one of these from back in the day, but nope! Some of them have become infamous in the intervening years, like Worse Things Happen at Sea. Those Buggy Blast controls gave me a shiver - I was well used to QAOP like everyone else 😁 Critical Mass looks great - the guy being out of the ship seems way ahead of its time! Shadow Fire reminds me of Frankie Goes to Hollywood (I owned this one boxed) - a total mystery, even with the instructions. The graphical adventures generally reminded me of Sidewalk by Infogrames - Spent many hours playing that one ... though looking at the Jan '88 issue it wasn't quite up to Crash Smash standard.
Cheers for the comment, I'm glad someone else didn't know any of these back in the day 😊 critical mass is brilliant, well worth having a go on even now !
Shadowfire was very highly regarded back in the day. I think it was/is more appealing to those into games such as Laser Squad, a game produced by Julian Gollup, he of Chaos: The Battle of Wizards, and X-Com fame. I didn't have the instructions for Shadowfire (why I don't know as it was a legit copy - maybe my relative lost them?) so I didn't know what the hell I was doing.
I do indeed! If you watch my Ikari Warriors video for example, behind my head is a signed copy of the original ant attack artwork by David Rowe. Probably my all time favourite cassette artwork.
Lovely selection there, and some gorgeous ones. I'd heard of Buggy Blast but assumed it was some kind of dune buggy game! Shadowfire is one I played and found a bit confusing.I did play the sequel, Enigma Force, and managed to complete it as a child!
Played a ton of Shadowfire (Think I even had the big box version)... seem to recall eventually completing it. Never got very far with the sequel though. Would actually like to see a remake of the first title - I think it could work well, with you commanding the team via VR controls...
Yeah, I remember Critical Mass, Shadowfire, Worse Things Happen At Sea. Buggy Blast rings a vague bell but I never played it. I'm surprised to see Critical Mass on the list as this was released around the same time as Turbo Esprit when Durell were at their peak (in my opinion). Totally agree with you about Shadowfire, I played it but couldn't make sense of it. Worse Things Happen At Sea was an odd one, I liked the concept but found it too frustrating. (bit random, but have you ever played Starfox from Reaktor? It was the last game I was really hooked on before getting an Atari ST and was an amazing send off for my "Spectrum years". I got to play it again recently through emulation and it still comes across as a stonking achievement by the developers)
It's weird how some games just passed me by, I had no recollection of Critical Mass at all, which is a shame because I know I would of enjoyed it. Maybe it was the piracy warning that put me off 😁
Gregory loses clock, i'd heard of, but not played. I think it was one of those games that I kept seeing on game shelves and immediately scoffing at the name. I *DO* remember looking at the screenshots on the back and scoffing that they definitely were not speccy graphics. I've never heard of any of the others... Buggy blast though - I think young me wouldve loved that!
I bought 'Worse things happen at sea' and didn't copy it and return it to the shop it was that good compared to most of the dreck available at the time.
Buggy Blast was the first game I ever bought. Well, second game, after I bought FIDO, loaded it, turned off the machine, took it back to WH Smith, and told them the tape was faulty. But Buggy Blast was the first game I ever bought and kept. Never got any good at it though, but I loved the idea of it.
Ah, the days of actual consumer rights. I fondly remember being able to return a game because it didn't work, even though I'd actually had the gall to open it and (gasp) try to play it for more than 2 hours!!!!
I knew about most of these games. Critical mass was a superb game on the Spectrum and a game you hoped you died to see the brilliant death effect. Not 100% sure but I think the C64 game plays differently though looks the same. Zzap slated it yet crash loved it. Definitely a good choice as an 8 bit battle as there's an Amstrad version. Great video as always mate.
@@SebsPlaceYT The only one I didn't know was Gregory loses his clock, you must understand I'm an old fart going back as far as the mechanical arcade machines 🤣
You’re quite right, and you can also get a feel for what Bandersnatch might have looked like from other Denton titles like FGTH or Gift from The Gods too.
According to spectrumcomputing.co.uk: Although the game was reportedly finished, sales of the original (NES) version were so bad that the Spectrum and C64 conversions were never published.
I played Antics. It was pretty cool, actually. Bit hard, as I recall, but had acool variety of sprites. Shadowfire was pretty great actually. but I remember buying it review unseen because I was so rad for Psyron which was also a Beyond game. Great Roundup and I'll have to check out Buggy Blast. But can it really beat my beloved Dark Star? I doubt it :P Cheers!
Couple of these spent ages on these. Shadowfire has a sequel as well. Brilliant early tactical game. I think a whole bunch of gen xers are excellent problem solvers due to working all this crap out without a manual. Ahem.
Yes, I owned an “unofficial” ahem, copy of Critical Mass and enjoyed it. Remembers Dentons games being critically acclaimed at the time. Hadn’t realised that they also converted the brilliant Spy Hunter to the humble Speccy. I think the only game I hadn’t heard of was Buggy Blast. Almost surprised that you didn’t mention Fat Worm blows a sparky which was also a Crash Smash. Perhaps that game isn’t as unknown as it used to be.
Ooooh 100 quid bounty on your head 😂 Fat Worm was a game that I knew as a kid just because of the weird name. It was very intriguing although the gameplay is not that memorable in all honesty.
I had Gregory on first release. It was a good but frustrating game. I would have given it 80-90%, not a smash. In crash at the time budget games had one reviewer, and he must have liked the graphics.
Critical Mass was a big deal, and I'd wanted to play it for ages before I bought a copy at the PCW Show around 1987 from the Durell stand, for a quid. Didn't bloody work, though.
@9:22 Uuuh, long before you had even spoken the name "Shadowfire", my inner sadistic DJ had already slammed the C64 theme music onto the turntable of my innermost sacred temple... Being rather uncharacteristically non-sadistic this time, since I actually really love that tune... Hmm, makes me wonder what's going on with him?!? 🤔 - Seb, do stop smashing your C64 about - it sounds like it's loosing kilobytes by the minute... 😝
Interesting. Did you ever try a Crash Smash called Blue Thunder? I bought it on the strength of the Crash review, but the game is utter turd. Abysmal controls, a shooter where almost nothing can be shot. Never trusted Crash reviews after that.
Ah yeah Blue Thunder, there was a TV show right? I've not played it, but I can see if you thought it sucked how it would make you distrust their scoring. I guess it's all subjective really, but it should never be that contrasting.
Mickey Mouse sucks😅 Its Ok to play mini games once or twice, but to build up a whole game on a tediuos process of completing the same boring mini games again and again - its bad taste or laziness. Plus this game is impossible to complete (the dreadful forth tower) - and that is bad as well!
I love Buggy Blast. One of those simple but addictive games I can always come back to. There's something I like about the careful and precise positioning of your shots without an on-screen cursor.
5:46 - Remember kiddies: if you're going to bleep over your swearwords, you do have to also remember to mute the swearing itself. ;) 8:08 - Yeah, like that! XD
I remember Shadowfire as I was my favourite game ever. Red computers for combat , green for movement. Severina , Zahn , and Maul to name afew , it sold well and spawned a follow-up called Enigma Force
Yeah it was the most interesting title here I think. Definitely will play it some more.
Enigma Force! Was scratching my brain. Both were great, completely diffferent to all the platformers.
Dont forget Torik the Bird Man!!! That name always made me laugh for some reason...it sounded like a comedy pinching sound effect...TORIK!!! Etc...
@@Simon-xc5oy Ah Beyond software couldn't put a foot wrong in those days, don't know whether I was just naive youngster or nostalgic now.
@@neunadi5147 Yes there were a lot of software houses that just made great games over and over. You could trust the brand as they did not make bad games. Palace Software, Quicksilver, Hewson, Durell and Gremlin Graphics...all hit after hit...
Loved Worse things happen at sea...my Speccie was literally bought off a man in a pub, came complete with three large carrier bags full of C90s, with zero labelling. Took *months* for me to go through them all and figure out everything there. Had to use a special pen with an ultra small nib to fit everything on each label. It was someone's absolute passion.
Ha! Love this. Must of been great going through the games and finding the good ones. Happy days!
Shadow Fire...............hit of nostalgia.........loved this.
I bought Gregory. Never thought it was as great as Crash said. But it is really out there and imaginative so I can understand their excitement.
£3 quid too! Bargain!
Storing backups of all your friends' games is a lovely way of looking at it, I must say. "Archivist" sounds so more more wholesome than the other word. And the role certainly had its perks, like getting to play and keep pretty much every worthwhile game released. I'm sure that when our U.S. NES-owning chums sneer at Speccy games, they're not taking the ability to "archive" those games into account.
Totally!! Try taking backups of NES cartridges!
It was indeed a blast. Get a C90 or C60. Got to school, chat to your mates. Get them to bring in a game on cassette and a blank tape. Take them home with you at night. Copy him a game, stick his game on your C90. Write its name on the label and the tape counter number it starts at. Go back to school the next day with original and the game you did for him. Give him them back. Talk to other mates...Get them to bring in a game and a blank tape...And so on. That was my life from 1982 till about 1989...heh....its probably why I still "Back up" everything now, from films, to tv and music and still games. Once you get into it, you can never leave...its so much cheaper.
@@Simon-xc5oy Yep, I carried on doing that for about a decade, early 80s (Beeb and Speccy games) to early 90s (Amiga games). Looking back at old magazines, there weren't many games that we _didn't_ get to "share and enjoy" - nothing notable, anyway.
There was some planning to it as well, like organising who was going to buy which games so you didn't waste money by needlessly doubling-up on any purchases within your group. If little Seb was buying Game X then there was no need for anyone else to, because we'd all have it, so what was important was that we spread the buying out and people bought different (but also desirable) games to throw out to the group :)
Oh, and sitting there in lessons (or detentions) writing out code-sheets, i.e. turning the Jet Set Willy password colour-codes into plain-text numbers that could be easily photocopied for everyone.
All very naughty, really, but at least I did buy my share of genuine games .... even if, ultimately, maybe only 1 game in 10 in my game-library was actually a legitimate tape :)
Like I said, I don't think our American friends with their NES cartridges fully understand what the attraction was to owning a humble but popular computer like the Speccy in the 1980s - it was because all of your mates also had one, so you were part of a game-"archiving" pool and everyone had C90s full of copied games, 10 or 20 games to a tape.
There seems to be a retrospective move toward claiming that computers like the Amstrad CPC were alright really - and, sure, they _were_ better than a Speccy on an objective technical level. Not difficult, really. But honestly, that wasn't the point. Back then, you felt bad for the kid whose parents got them an Amstrad because they were forced to band together with the 1 other pariah kid in the school who had one. And he liked text adventures.
@@blatherskite3009 Yes, exactly...I would still buy originals from time to time but they had to be special, unique, the best the machine could offer or a favourite idea etc. And it helped if it had good packaging as well for display. I had a rule it had to be a Crash Smash and get good reviews in other mags as well. I did the same doubling up with mates to buy a range of games. I tended to buy stuff if no one else had it at all and I could not source it from anyone else, or if it was brand new, so no one had it yet. I still remember Christmas 86, and my friend John buying the Gauntlet arcade conversion for the Spectrum as he loved the game. And so I got Thantos, as who would not want to fly around on a dragon setting stuff on fire? And we did the copy swap thing so we both had each game. Happy days. Now you just go online and go...I will have that, and that, and that, and that film, and that whole series and those two albums etc...Its scary to think how easy it is and how much it would cost legit.
I sometimes miss those old days though...the chats over who had what, and which friend of a friend might have a game we were after. You met so many people and got to be friends. And then the trips to across town to new areas and streets to score the game you were after. It got you out and about and seeing and doing other things on the way. And the Spectrum was Number 1. It was not the most advanced and most technically superior. But it was the affordable, and that meant everyone had one. Which meant masses of choice and the games were cheap, and it was British with unique titles. And like everything of that era there were some games that worked and were by far the best on the Spectrum. Same for the C64. You picked a system and stuck with it...probably like Xbox and Playstation these days...
Oh, I remember Worse Things Happen at Sea😊 I played it once, my mate showed it to me. He was so proud that he worked out the controls and the gameplay all by himself (bearing in mind that no manual or instructions were provided for the pirated copy + he barely knew English - that was quite an achievement). We played the game for many hours as we really enjoyed the process. The next day the cassette was exchanged for something else " just for a while" as we thought, but the tape was lost in the endless process of further exchange operations (of course), then we forgot the title, so I was really surprised to see that in your list!!! Brings back the memories!
Ha! Love it! Well done to your mate on working it out. 👏
Same here. No manual as well, but got the gist of it and enjoyed it.
Did you play it in the bath though?
@@SebsPlaceYT Nope, as I never saw that advert:) so my experience was kinda bounded, I suppose...Well its time to catch up
😂😂
Honestly, your videos are brilliant!
They take me back to my childhood back in the early eighties , well away from the stresses of middle age life!
Please do more... !
Cheers😊
Than you very much for the kind words. Really appreciate it 😊
That's for making this video. It's good to hear someone talking about spectrum games in depth especially in this day and age. I've subscribed so I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos.
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!
Buggy Blast was an absolute classic! Childhood memory unlocked.
Yeah great little game! Pony controls though.
"... because I helped my classroom mates out quite a bit back in the day by keeping backups of their games for them..." I've never heard it put like that before 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I was a good friend 😂
Its a selflessness sadly missing from this generation...
😁😁
I also stepped up to help out my school mates in this way. We were all good friends back in the day. The current RTX4090's don't do the colour bleed that the Spectrum perfected over 40 years ago and they call that progress?
Heart of gold :)
Love remembering these old games. Buggy Blast brought it all back but I couldn’t remember the name. Gregory Loses His Clock is a Don Priestly game and he was a great programmer.
He was indeed!
Man, I had completely forgotten about Worse Things Happen At Sea - that was a great game. A proper nostalgia trip there!
I had Gregory! Had completely forgotten about it for 30 odd years!
I remember all of these, but I never saw Buggy Blast for sale in the wild.
Absolutely loved Shadow Fire - the sequel was pants though.
I've heard it's not great, but I haven't played it myself.
The sequel was fairly rubbish but nowhere near as bad as the American artwork for the first game. Check it out, but be warned...you can't unsee it.
Enjoyed seeing these...the only one I played was Critical Mass, which was pretty cool at the time. The others passed me by!
I really enjoyed Critical Mass back in the day. Durrell made some of my favourite Speccy games as it goes....Scuba Diver, Combat Lynx, Turbo Esprit and Saboteur.
Yeah 100% I played all of those back in the day, blissfully unaware of critical masses existence!!
I liked those games bought them all.
Only one I'd heard of back in the day was Worse Things Happen at Sea, but I wouldn't've remembered it if you hadn't brought it up here.
I recall Critical Mass, WTHAS and Shadowfire and had no bloody idea what I was doing on any of them really, it's amazing how important instructions were back in the day - but not as important as a C60 or D90 cassette tape.
😂😂 very true!
I definitely had Critical Mass and Shadowfire. Shadowfire's sequel Enigma Force has fond memories for me because I played a pre-production copy with a friend, and we managed to complete it on the 4th try - so much better than how we did with Shadowfire - and I was very proud that we'd completed it before it was released. I wasn't a fan of Crash, though. I did have every copy of Your Sinclair (and Your Spectrum) and most Sinclair Users.
Nice! I favoured crash but definitely bought all 3.
I had Shadowfire and admired the packaging, programming, look, concept, everything but the gameplay which I could never get into. There was a time that I was buying almost everything Beyond released due to my love of their Lords of Midnight. Psytron was another sci-fi by Beyond that I admired but struggled to enjoy.
Yeah I think I would have struggled too back in the day. Definitely one I will enjoy more now I think. Lords of Midnight... what a game!
I remember them all apart from stiff lip.
I actually played worse things happen at sea a few months ago. I'm better at it now than I was in 1984. I made it across lol
Ha, nice!
Remembered none of them, still, easily in the top 2 Crash videos ever.
I'll take 2nd 😉
Hi There,Just found the channel nicely put together and perfect for A Hungover Bingey Sunday “Subbed” 👍
Haha gotta love a hungover Sunday watching TH-cam 😁 cheers mate 👍
Glad you enjoyed Shadowfire.
It was touted and advertised as "the textless text adventure."
Great game
Due to the nuclear war threat of the time pretty much most of my friends stored each other's backups in case of emergency situations.
😂😂😂 do you remember threads?? That shit me up back in the day!
@@SebsPlaceYT oh yes - to this day i am nervous if i have to go to sheffield- scary film !
What a blast from the past! I always bought that speccy mag
Best one I reckon!
@@SebsPlaceYT
Agreed, although I did still buy Sinclair User too
Magnetic media doesn't last forever...
True
Zero memory of any of these! Good vid Seb, cheers!
😁 You and me both! Thank you 😊
I remember getting Critical Mass for Xmas
I like the new format with no logo at the beginning.
Yeah,cheers. A just get on with it approach.
Another quality video. I only played Gregory Loses His Clock out of these, back in the day. It's really tough though, with awful control responsiveness. The next stage in the jungle will infuriate you. Crash's choice of Smashes were often very dubious. Remember Zub? In my view a polished but extremely tedious game, not really worth the budget price, but Crash thought it was the bees' knees.
Thank you 😊 yeah they didn't always get it right eh! I will persevere with Gregory but I'm not looking forward to the Jungle part now 😂
Nice idea for a video. I haven't heard of any of these either. I like the look of that Mickey game...
Cheers
Was expecting to recognise at least one of these from back in the day, but nope! Some of them have become infamous in the intervening years, like Worse Things Happen at Sea.
Those Buggy Blast controls gave me a shiver - I was well used to QAOP like everyone else 😁
Critical Mass looks great - the guy being out of the ship seems way ahead of its time!
Shadow Fire reminds me of Frankie Goes to Hollywood (I owned this one boxed) - a total mystery, even with the instructions.
The graphical adventures generally reminded me of Sidewalk by Infogrames - Spent many hours playing that one ... though looking at the Jan '88 issue it wasn't quite up to Crash Smash standard.
Cheers for the comment, I'm glad someone else didn't know any of these back in the day 😊 critical mass is brilliant, well worth having a go on even now !
Shadowfire was very highly regarded back in the day. I think it was/is more appealing to those into games such as Laser Squad, a game produced by Julian Gollup, he of Chaos: The Battle of Wizards, and X-Com fame.
I didn't have the instructions for Shadowfire (why I don't know as it was a legit copy - maybe my relative lost them?) so I didn't know what the hell I was doing.
Tough without instructions for sure!!!
Some of these really look like they're pushing the Sinclair hardware to the limit... Nice to see. Some reminded me of ant attack... Remember that one?
I do indeed! If you watch my Ikari Warriors video for example, behind my head is a signed copy of the original ant attack artwork by David Rowe. Probably my all time favourite cassette artwork.
@@SebsPlaceYTcouple of questions. Did you do a separate review video of ant attack? And just checking if you received my email. Cheers.
Lovely selection there, and some gorgeous ones. I'd heard of Buggy Blast but assumed it was some kind of dune buggy game! Shadowfire is one I played and found a bit confusing.I did play the sequel, Enigma Force, and managed to complete it as a child!
Cheers Snorkers! I'd love to do a video on games I completed as a kid, but it would be rather short 😁
@@SebsPlaceYT There weren't many on my list either. Great Escape, Where Time Stood Still, Enigma Force, V, Treasure Island I think were it!
I had critical mass on a compilation. It was a fun game, but felt a little dated by 1989. I was impressed by the ship exploding animation though.
OMG ShadowFire... the hours I spent on that :)
Great game!
Played a ton of Shadowfire (Think I even had the big box version)... seem to recall eventually completing it. Never got very far with the sequel though. Would actually like to see a remake of the first title - I think it could work well, with you commanding the team via VR controls...
Yeah that would be cool!
Excellent video, more of this please.
Thank you 😊
Yes could you do one on zap 64 games if you hadn't already
Shadowfire was a huge hit on C64, and had a fantastic SID tune! Stifflip on C64 was a minor hit, but it had lots of digitized speech, so I loved it!
Yeah great SID tune indeed! Didn't know about stifflips digitized speech, cheers!
Worse things happen at sea is the one i remember. WTHAS was the name on the C60 , saw an advert in SU and figured that was what was on the tape.
Great little game
Yeah, I remember Critical Mass, Shadowfire, Worse Things Happen At Sea. Buggy Blast rings a vague bell but I never played it.
I'm surprised to see Critical Mass on the list as this was released around the same time as Turbo Esprit when Durell were at their peak (in my opinion). Totally agree with you about Shadowfire, I played it but couldn't make sense of it. Worse Things Happen At Sea was an odd one, I liked the concept but found it too frustrating.
(bit random, but have you ever played Starfox from Reaktor? It was the last game I was really hooked on before getting an Atari ST and was an amazing send off for my "Spectrum years". I got to play it again recently through emulation and it still comes across as a stonking achievement by the developers)
It's weird how some games just passed me by, I had no recollection of Critical Mass at all, which is a shame because I know I would of enjoyed it. Maybe it was the piracy warning that put me off 😁
"for added realism, play in the bath" 😂
Would have been an obvious joke and an enjoyable one until everyone became overgrown sensitive children 😢
Yeah... at no point as a child would I have actually tried playing my spectrum in the bath.
Gregory loses clock, i'd heard of, but not played. I think it was one of those games that I kept seeing on game shelves and immediately scoffing at the name. I *DO* remember looking at the screenshots on the back and scoffing that they definitely were not speccy graphics.
I've never heard of any of the others... Buggy blast though - I think young me wouldve loved that!
Is your head actually a bollock, Billy?
Yeah me too. I would have got really into a space simulation like that when I was younger
I bought 'Worse things happen at sea' and didn't copy it and return it to the shop it was that good compared to most of the dreck available at the time.
😁
I had a backup copy of Shadowfire. I had no idea how to play it and still don't nearly 40 years later after watching this video 😂
I think you can get the C64 version manual as a PDF on the web, and the icon controls are the same on both!
I watched a number of longplays and was exactly the same 😁 if you had a copy back in the day, you were screwed 😁
Errrr yeah. I remember them all
Alright smart arse! 😁
Critical Mass was the only game I remember and played
Great game 👍
Buggy Blast was the first game I ever bought. Well, second game, after I bought FIDO, loaded it, turned off the machine, took it back to WH Smith, and told them the tape was faulty. But Buggy Blast was the first game I ever bought and kept. Never got any good at it though, but I loved the idea of it.
Ha - I wonder how many "faulty" tapes were returned for crappy games 😁
Ah, the days of actual consumer rights. I fondly remember being able to return a game because it didn't work, even though I'd actually had the gall to open it and (gasp) try to play it for more than 2 hours!!!!
I remember critical mass now but i thought i played it on my neighbours c64
Have heard it's good on the c64
I knew about most of these games.
Critical mass was a superb game on the Spectrum and a game you hoped you died to see the brilliant death effect. Not 100% sure but I think the C64 game plays differently though looks the same. Zzap slated it yet crash loved it. Definitely a good choice as an 8 bit battle as there's an Amstrad version.
Great video as always mate.
Alright show off 😂 I knew you would know most of them, which one didn't you know? Cheers mate.
@@SebsPlaceYT The only one I didn't know was Gregory loses his clock, you must understand I'm an old fart going back as far as the mechanical arcade machines 🤣
@@dennyhaynes3 But GLHC was the most well known game on this list! Noob! :D
@@billybollockhead5628 It is possible for something to bypass you like this did for me so obviously not the most known game 😉
I'm the noob, I didnt know any 😁😁
I thought Shadow fire was based on one of those Imagine Mega games, some of the ideas were used.
Oooh didn't know that. There was one called star traders.... could be!
You’re quite right, and you can also get a feel for what Bandersnatch might have looked like from other Denton titles like FGTH or Gift from The Gods too.
I had Critical Mass! Only completed it the once. My copy didnt have a blue tab thing however...
Naughty! 😊
I remember seeing a specie version of the NES classic, Solar Jetman in Sinclair User mag. did that ever get released?
According to spectrumcomputing.co.uk:
Although the game was reportedly finished, sales of the original (NES) version were so bad that the Spectrum and C64 conversions were never published.
@@SebsPlaceYT boooo... That was an amazing game... Surely there's a copy floating about out there
I was seriously hooked on Buggy Blast dodgy controls or not.
Great game, just wish controls were better!
I played Antics. It was pretty cool, actually. Bit hard, as I recall, but had acool variety of sprites.
Shadowfire was pretty great actually. but I remember buying it review unseen because I was so rad for Psyron which was also a Beyond game.
Great Roundup and I'll have to check out Buggy Blast. But can it really beat my beloved Dark Star? I doubt it :P
Cheers!
Thank you 😊, I've never played Dark Star but have heard of it. Will check it out, cheers.
@@SebsPlaceYT
Yeah.. Type "Ultimate" and other things into the high score table is hilarious. :) DesignDesign were crazy geeky lads.
Couple of these spent ages on these. Shadowfire has a sequel as well. Brilliant early tactical game.
I think a whole bunch of gen xers are excellent problem solvers due to working all this crap out without a manual. Ahem.
Haha yes! Very true 😂
Yes, I owned an “unofficial” ahem, copy of Critical Mass and enjoyed it. Remembers Dentons games being critically acclaimed at the time. Hadn’t realised that they also converted the brilliant Spy Hunter to the humble Speccy. I think the only game I hadn’t heard of was Buggy Blast.
Almost surprised that you didn’t mention Fat Worm blows a sparky which was also a Crash Smash. Perhaps that game isn’t as unknown as it used to be.
Ooooh 100 quid bounty on your head 😂 Fat Worm was a game that I knew as a kid just because of the weird name. It was very intriguing although the gameplay is not that memorable in all honesty.
Some interesting looking games there.
If it's specky in the bath please visit your GP ;-)
😁
I had Gregory on first release. It was a good but frustrating game. I would have given it 80-90%, not a smash. In crash at the time budget games had one reviewer, and he must have liked the graphics.
Yeah I think the price point tipped it into crash smash territory.
Had Buggy Blast. Played the s**t out of it. Firebird, wasn't it?
Was indeed!
I didn't play Shadowforce but I did play (and love), Enigma force which I think was a sequel, but don't quote me on that.
I've heard shadowfire is better but I've not played the sequel. 👍
Critical Mass was a big deal, and I'd wanted to play it for ages before I bought a copy at the PCW Show around 1987 from the Durell stand, for a quid. Didn't bloody work, though.
Nooooooo
@@SebsPlaceYT Bastards, I'll never forget - or forgive - such a skunk move.
Maziacs by far his best
Maziacs was a huge favourite of mine!
Some dead famous games in this list.
and shame on me for not knowing any of them!
Had stiff lip & co. Budget release on KIXX label
Did you like it?
@@SebsPlaceYT from what i can remember yeah. Was bizarre tho. Think there ended up being a walk thru guide or some type of cheats for it in a mag.
8:16 Minnie games??
Genius !
@9:22 Uuuh, long before you had even spoken the name "Shadowfire", my inner sadistic DJ had already slammed the C64 theme music onto the turntable of my innermost sacred temple... Being rather uncharacteristically non-sadistic this time, since I actually really love that tune... Hmm, makes me wonder what's going on with him?!? 🤔
- Seb, do stop smashing your C64 about - it sounds like it's loosing kilobytes by the minute... 😝
🤣 Is a great tune to be fair to him!
Interesting. Did you ever try a Crash Smash called Blue Thunder? I bought it on the strength of the Crash review, but the game is utter turd. Abysmal controls, a shooter where almost nothing can be shot. Never trusted Crash reviews after that.
Ah yeah Blue Thunder, there was a TV show right? I've not played it, but I can see if you thought it sucked how it would make you distrust their scoring. I guess it's all subjective really, but it should never be that contrasting.
Mickey Mouse sucks😅 Its Ok to play mini games once or twice, but to build up a whole game on a tediuos process of completing the same boring mini games again and again - its bad taste or laziness. Plus this game is impossible to complete (the dreadful forth tower) - and that is bad as well!
Yeah I never got that far in it despite giving it a 7 out of 10 back in the day!!
I played Worst Things Happen At Sea a lot, loved it and that was way back then. Hard to believe it was not well known.
Not well known by me 😁 rest of the world might have heard of it 😂 great little game though. Great fun!
I remember reading the Crash review but I don't think Silversoft had that big a distribution. I certainly never saw it in the shops.
I love Buggy Blast. One of those simple but addictive games I can always come back to. There's something I like about the careful and precise positioning of your shots without an on-screen cursor.
Couldn't agree more!
I hadn't played most of these either, although critical mass and mickey mouse were personal favourites.
I prefer the title dirty pirate ☠️
😁😁
5:46 - Remember kiddies: if you're going to bleep over your swearwords, you do have to also remember to mute the swearing itself. ;)
8:08 - Yeah, like that! XD
I got better as the video went on 😂😂