| Cosmic Guerilla | |
|---|---|
 German flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Universal (Arcade) Crystal Computing (Spectrum) |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1979: Arcade 1983: Spectrum |
| Genre(s) | Fixed shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Cosmic Guerilla is a fixed shooter arcade video game developed by Universal and released 1979. A ZX Spectrum port was published by Crystal Computing in 1983.
Cosmic Guerilla is a two-dimensional fixed shooter game. The player takes control of a laser cannon at the bottom of the screen whose movement is limited to left and right, and must fire at the aliens above. [1] In contrast to Space Invaders the aliens are arranged in a single vertical line on each side of the screen, [2] with their movement being towards the centre, one or more at a time, in an attempt to capture and remove the player's shields. [3] The aliens cannot be hit by the player's shots until they begin to move, and the player may only fire one projectile at a time. [4] Once a row of shields has been removed, one of the player's "lives", is exposed and able to be captured. [3] Occasionally a very fast "mothership" will appear and traverse the screen just above the player dropping bombs. [4]
There are six levels of difficulty [4] along with four game modes [3] allowing combinations of the regular game, bonus enemies, and faster aliens. There is also a two player mode where players take alternative turns. [3]
Cosmic Guerilla was invariably compared to Space Invaders , though Sinclair User described it as the "next step up", with its different scenarios and object arrangement. [2] Home Computing Weekly, Sinclair User and ZX Computing all praised the game's smooth graphics, [1] [2] though HCU felt that better use could have been made of the sound. [3] The game was generally well received, and described variously as "incredibly addictive" and "very playable", [2] and "highly recommended". [1] [4]
Sabre Wulf is an action-adventure game released by British video game developer Ultimate Play the Game for the ZX Spectrum home computer in 1984. The player navigates the pith-helmeted Sabreman through a 2D jungle maze while collecting amulet pieces to bypass the guardian at its exit. The player does not receive explicit guidance on how to play and is left to decipher the game's objectives through trial and error. Sabreman moves between the maze's 256 connected screens by touching the border where one screen ends and another begins. Each screen is filled with colourful flora, enemies that spawn at random, and occasional collectibles.
Alien 8 is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was released for the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC and MSX in 1985. The game is a spiritual successor to the best-selling Knight Lore, which was lauded by critics for its isometric graphics. In the game, the player takes control of a robot, Alien 8, whose job is to ensure that all of the cryogenically frozen passengers on board a starship remain viable during the ship's voyage.
Tranz Am is an action video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game that was released for the ZX Spectrum in July 1983. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the United States and centres around a racing car driver on his quest to obtain the Eight Great Cups of Ultimate, which are scattered throughout the country.
Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier is a platform game released 1985 by Software Projects as the Amstrad CPC port of Jet Set Willy. It was then rebranded as the sequel and ported to other home computers. Jet Set Willy II was developed by Derrick P. Rowson and Steve Wetherill rather than Jet Set Willy programmer Matthew Smith and is an expansion of the original game, rather than an entirely new one.
Lunar Jetman is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983 and later on the BBC Micro. In this sequel to Jetpac, the second instalment of the Jetman series, Jetman has to destroy alien bases whilst simultaneously defending himself, along with Earth, from a hostile alien race.
Cauldron is a video game developed and published by British developer Palace Software in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC home computers. It contains both platform game and horizontally scrolling shooter sections. Players control a witch who aims to become the "Witch Queen" by defeating an enemy called the "Pumpking".
Bug-Byte Software Ltd. was a video game company founded in 1980 in Liverpool, initially producing software for the Acorn Atom and ZX80. Bug-Byte's first hit was Don Priestley's Mazogs which was one of the most successful titles for the ZX81. In 1983, it published Manic Miner, considered to be one of the most influential platform games of all time. The company went into liquidation in 1985 but their name and logo were purchased by Argus Press PLC for use as a budget software label.
Sanxion is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Stavros Fasoulas for the Commodore 64 and published in 1986 by Thalamus Ltd. It was the first game released by Thalamus. A ZX Spectrum port followed in 1989. Fasoulas also wrote Delta and Quedex.
Crystal Computing, later renamed Design Design, was a British video game developer founded in 1982 by Chris Clarke and Ian Stamp while students at the University of Manchester. Graham Stafford, Neil Mottershead, Simon Brattel and Martin Horsley, joined the company as it expanded. The company's first software release was a compilation of games for the Sinclair ZX81, though it was with the ZX Spectrum that Crystal found its greatest success. A deal with the machine's manufacturer Sinclair to distribute Crystal's Zeus Assembler gave the company sufficient funds for a major marketing campaign for their next product, Halls of the Things, an arcade adventure game that became their most successful title.
Maziacs is an action adventure maze game published by DK'Tronics in 1983 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and MSX.
Chequered Flag is a racing video game developed by Psion Software and published by Sinclair Research in 1983. It was the first driving game published for the ZX Spectrum and one of the first computer car simulators.
Codename MAT is a space combat simulator published in 1984 by Micromega for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC written by Derek Brewster. The game is similar to Atari, Inc.'s Star Raiders from 1979. Both games allow switching between front and aft-facing views and have strategic chart and scan modes. While Star Raiders has the player fighting Zylons, in Codename MAT the enemies are Myons.
Movie is a video game written by Duško Dimitrijević for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC and was published by Imagine Software in 1986.
Battle of Britain is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services for the Commodore 64 in 1985. It was also ported to the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum the next year. It is the seventh instalment to the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the Battle of Britain campaign of the Second World War and revolves around Britain's defence and prevention against a Nazi invasion. In the game, the player commands the Royal Air Force as they must defend key cities against the Luftwaffe.
Light Force is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter designed by Greg Follis and Roy Carter, developed by their company Gargoyle Games, and published under their Faster Than Light imprint. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms.
Agent Orange is a horizontally scrolling shooter released by A&F Software in January 1987 for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Zeus Assembler is an assembler development tool for the Z80 originally written by Neil Mottershead for the Nascom 2 and then ported to the ZX Spectrum by Neil Mottershead and Simon Brattel in 1983. It was published by Crystal Computing. The program was designed to make Z80 machine code programming easier, with full symbolic instructions, and an editing style similar to the Spectrum's built-in BASIC.
Mined-Out is a maze video game created by Ian Andrew originally for the ZX Spectrum home computer in 1983. The objective is to carefully navigate a series of grid-shaped minefields by moving from the bottom to the top of the screen. The number of invisible mines in spaces adjacent to the player's current position is shown but not their precise location, requiring deduction to advance past them and avoid getting blown up. Additional challenges are introduced in later stages.
Ace is a combat flight simulator video game published for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Plus/4 in 1985 by Cascade Games. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Amiga, and ZX Spectrum.
Ashkeron! is an interactive fiction video game developed by Dorset-based Texgate Computers and published by Mirrorsoft for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum in 1985.