Space Moves
(Retrobytes Productions, 2020)
Commando Shura has been given orders to travel to an enemy space station and find and destroy a laser weapon on board the station. This game, which is an updated version of the winning entry in the 2015 #CPCRetroDev Game Creation Contest, is divided into two parts that load separately, like many Spanish games of old. In the first part, you must negotiate enemy territory and reach the space station by various means – firstly by parachute, then by quad bike, and finally by spaceship. In the second part, you must explore the station and find six disks to insert into the computers around the base in order to retrieve the code for arming the bomb that will destroy the laser. The graphics are very colourful and the second part is fun to play (even if the music isn’t to my liking), but the first part unfortunately suffers from an unreasonably high difficulty level.
See also: Space Moves (#CPCRetroDev).
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
jgonza (part 1),
jgonza (part 2),
Saberman,
XeNoMoRPH.
In Space Pest Control you take control of a space commando in a dangerous mission – you must eliminate all the aliens and return home alive! As you have already guessed, this is an interesting shoot-’em-up. The graphics are nice and colourful. The sprites are drawn with imagination and care while their animation is fast and smooth. The sound includes both an in-game tune and sound effects which cooperate nicely. The whole package reminded me of the game Deep Core on the Amiga. The gameplay is fast enough but more enemies and a higher difficulty level would be appreciated; for some reason I feel that this game could be more complete than it actually is.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
jgonza.
A racing game set in the future featuring advanced hover bikes. The race starts with you lined up with your opponents. As soon as the countdown has finished, off they blast into the distance while you slowly build up your speed. Sadly, this game is just too difficult. You struggle to control the hover bike correctly and the slow frame rate mixed with the small play area makes for a very boring game.
Space Rider Jet Pack Co.
(Hi-Tec Software, 1990)
You are a test pilot working for the Space Rider Jet Pack Company, and have been sent to a planet to test their latest jet pack, and also collect 99 nuggets containing important minerals while you’re there. Of course, the caverns and mines in which you’ll find these nuggets are filled with hazards and aliens which will drain your energy, which is represented by an oscillating wave of coloured bars at the bottom of the screen – neat. However, the game is rather mediocre. The graphics and sound effects are poor and the jet pack is difficult to control; it’s practically impossible to stay still, which makes shooting the aliens a frustrating task. It also lacks originality.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
XeNoMoRPH.
Everyone has fond memories of NASA’s Space Shuttle. It was an iconic vehicle for its time despite being caught up in the heartbreaking Challenger disaster. This game allows you to take control of various aspects of a Space Shuttle mission. You can experience the launch, what it’s like to orbit Earth, interact with a satellite, and bring everyone safely home. The graphics are in Mode 0 and the effect as the Earth spins below when orbiting is nice. The game tries to help the player so you can make everything more difficult or just go with the flow. With that said, there isn’t a great deal of content, but it’s something a little different from the usual simulators, anyway.
Space Smugglers
(MHT Ingenieros, 1989)
The Space Smugglers are a highly organised group of dangerous assassins, and you have just been chosen to rid the galaxy of them. On the screen are three teleporters, and aliens appear at random. Some of them are harmless, but others are dangerous and will show you their weapon after a few seconds. You can only shoot an alien when they have drawn their weapon, so you will need quick reflexes to survive! When you have shot the required number of aliens (shown at the top of the screen), you are taken to the next level. This game can only be played using MHT’s own Gunstick, and it’s actually fairly unexciting. It takes ages to complete a level, and of course, the next level is the same, except that you may need to shoot even more aliens. The graphics and animation are absolutely wonderful, but that’s of little consolation.
Spaced Out
(Firebird, 1987)
A rather interesting board game in which you control the Space Cowboy, starting at the bottom left of the board and attempting to reach the top right. In each turn, two dice are rolled, and you can use them to move a certain number of steps in any direction you want. Then it’s the turn of the aliens to move randomly, as they attempt to block your progress. If you are stuck and can’t move, you are ‘spaced out’ and must pay a penalty. You can land on the aliens if you roll the correct dice and eliminate them, although this also penalises you slightly. If you accumulate too many penalty points, you lose. There are four different types of aliens and the difficulty can be configured. The graphics are nice and the sound effects do the job, and it’s not a bad game, actually, despite what some people might think.
Spaceman Kerl
(FitoSoft, 2022)
Kerl is in outer space and has to rescue his fellow astronauts. On each level, Kerl starts at the top, and he has to descend to the bottom where an astronaut is waiting for him. There are sets of platforms and boxes to be collected containing one of four types of item – fuel for Kerl’s jet pack, drills to remove platforms, slabs to extend platforms, or bonus points. The catch is that these items can only be collected if Kerl lands on top of them; he can’t collect them by walking left or right along a platform, so there is a puzzle element to this game as well. The graphics are detailed, although the choices of palette in certain levels are questionable, and I like the music that plays throughout the game, although it can stutter a little when Kerl is moving. The concept of the game is simple but it proves to be entertaining.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Saberman.
Firstly, this is not a simulator of any kind. I’m not sure how you would go about making a Spaghetti Western simulator anyway. It’s essentially an arcade shoot-’em-up. You take control of your cowboy (whose name is altered just enough so the lawyers can’t get involved) and are immediately assaulted from all angles by all manner of Wild West-themed objects. You name it – tomahawks, dynamite, glass bottles – and it’s flying at you. And of course there are bandits. If you’re quick on the trigger you can shoot thrown objects out of the air and fan your six-shooter to kill the bandits. The walking animation of your cowboy is nice and the backgrounds are detailed. The sound effects are basic and the controls could be better. Western fans should at least give it a go once.
Spannerman
(Amsoft, 1984)
An earthquake has struck and has damaged the pipes that cool a nuclear reactor. It’s time to call in the local plumber to mend the pipes. This is a platform game consisting of only one screen, and as leaks continually appear, you have to adjust the joints with your spanner to stop the leaks. To make life more difficult, the screen gradually fills with water, although you can go underwater to fix leaks. Other things to watch out for are mutated rats and falling debris. The graphics and sound effects aren’t particularly good, as would be expected from a game that was released in the very early days of the CPC, and despite the inclusion of five difficulty levels, there’s not much to make you want to play the game again after a few goes.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Xyphoe.