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Wow, amazing research. I didn't even know I lived through a golden age of arcade games or home consoles (not sure which the author was referring to). I was con

Wow, amazing research. I didn't even know I lived through a golden age of arcade games or home consoles (not sure which the author was referring to). I was confused by "Klax", thinking it was a pirate version of old Colecovision platformer Zaxxon but it was actually quite different. I didn't experience NES until 1988. Up to that point (<5 years after early home consoles like 2600, Intellivision and Colecovision had petered out) people of my age cohort had hoped that the pre-Windows PC platforms like the Atari 800, Apple IIe, or the first Macintosh would provide good gaming experiences but we were mostly disappointed. There were a few bright spots like Dark Castle and Choplifter, but the chasm between those experiences and what you could find in the arcades were significant. The NES was a huge development.

valiant-comma 5y ago
Wow, Choplifter takes me back. There was also the excellent Rescue Raiders. Spy vs. Spy on the Apple II was pretty good for multi-player fun (using one computer and keyboard), as well.
- the_af 5y ago
  I owned a pirated version of C64 Spy vs Spy (don't judge me: nobody owned legit versions of any C64 games in my country) and I never figured out what you were supposed to do. I understood it was about setting traps for the other spy, but what the overall goal was eluded me. And I didn't even know it was based on some obscure comic or cartoon.
micheljansen 5y ago
Klax was actually a very good game. I spent many hours on it as a kid, as it came on a dodgy 60-in-1 Gameboy cartridge someone brought me from Asia.
- tom_ 5y ago
  Yeah. Klax was great. I spent a lot of time playing it on the BBC Micro as a boy - possibly one of the last games released for the system. My high score was in the millions. I was surprised to later find out just how many other end-of-life platforms it was ported to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klax_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klax_(video_game) - who even signed off on all of this nonsense?! In particular, I have no idea why they bothered with the Atari 2600 version... how much did they make from that? Though I'm glad they did, because it's actually surprisingly good. (The ZX Spectrum version is decent too! You'd think it'd struggle, what with all those colours, but it's well done.)

valiant-comma 5y ago

Wow, Choplifter takes me back. There was also the excellent Rescue Raiders. Spy vs. Spy on the Apple II was pretty good for multi-player fun (using one computer and keyboard), as well.

the_af 5y ago
I owned a pirated version of C64 Spy vs Spy (don't judge me: nobody owned legit versions of any C64 games in my country) and I never figured out what you were supposed to do. I understood it was about setting traps for the other spy, but what the overall goal was eluded me. And I didn't even know it was based on some obscure comic or cartoon.

micheljansen 5y ago

Klax was actually a very good game. I spent many hours on it as a kid, as it came on a dodgy 60-in-1 Gameboy cartridge someone brought me from Asia.

tom_ 5y ago
Yeah. Klax was great. I spent a lot of time playing it on the BBC Micro as a boy - possibly one of the last games released for the system. My high score was in the millions. I was surprised to later find out just how many other end-of-life platforms it was ported to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klax_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klax_(video_game) - who even signed off on all of this nonsense?! In particular, I have no idea why they bothered with the Atari 2600 version... how much did they make from that? Though I'm glad they did, because it's actually surprisingly good. (The ZX Spectrum version is decent too! You'd think it'd struggle, what with all those colours, but it's well done.)