| Ghetto Blaster | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | Tony Gibson Mark Harrison [2] |
| Platform(s) | Commodore 64 [1] |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action [1] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
"Ghetto Blaster" is a computer game that was released for the Commodore 64 in 1985. It was developed by two former employees of Taskset, a software house, Tony Gibson and Mark Harrison. [3] [4]
Rockin' Rodney is the player character and protagonist of the game, [5] and has been employed as a courier for the fictional record company Interdisc. The player must find and collect batteries for their ghetto blaster and afterwards locate ten cassette tape demos of dance music. When this is done, the player must get people to dance to the tape demos by listening to them on their boombox. The main aim of the game is to deliver the tapes to Interdisc [6] by navigating through a maze of streets, alleyways, and cul-de-sacs, which are laid out and populated by various characters.
The street names are named after famous songs (e.g. "Blackberry Way", "Desolation Row"). A map is provided in the cassette inlay, [6] and some of the characters reference others.
Zzap!64 praised the game's music and gameplay, but criticized its repetitive nature and lack of a real scoring system, which removes any potential replay value. [6]
A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered through an amplifier and two or more integrated loudspeakers. A boombox is a device typically capable of receiving radio stations and playing recorded music. Many models are also capable of recording onto cassette tapes from radio and other sources. In the 1990s, some boomboxes were available with MiniDisc recorders and players. Designed for portability, boomboxes can be powered by batteries as well as by line current. The boombox was introduced to the American market during the late 1970s. The desire for louder and heavier bass led to bigger and heavier boxes; by the 1980s, some boomboxes had reached the size of a suitcase. Some larger boomboxes even contained vertically mounted record turntables. Most boomboxes were battery-operated, leading to extremely heavy, bulky boxes.
Little Computer People, also called House-on-a-Disk, is a social simulation game released in 1985 by Activision for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and Apple II. An Amiga version was released in 1987. Two Japanese versions were also released in 1987, a Family Computer Disk System version, published in Japan by DOG, and a PC-8801 version.
Crash, stylized as CRASH, is a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer, primarily focused on games. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress. It was relaunched as a quarterly A5 magazine in December 2020 with the backing of the original founders.
Thalamus Ltd was a British computer game developer that published titles for a number of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood is a computer game that was developed by Denton Designs and published by Ocean Software Ltd in 1985 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum home computers. The game is based on the music of UK band Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Racing Destruction Set is a racing video game published in 1985 for the Commodore 64 by Electronic Arts. It was advertised as being Commodore 128 compatible. A version for Atari 8-bit computers, programmed by Rebecca Heineman of Interplay, was released in 1986 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. The game allows players to design and race on tracks with a variety of vehicles. It is part of the Construction Set series along with Pinball Construction Set, Music Construction Set, and Adventure Construction Set.
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.
The Heroes of Karn is a 1983 adventure game written by Ian Gray. It was released by Interceptor Micros for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. Music was written by Chris Cox. The Spectrum and Amstrad versions were adapted by David M. Banner with graphics by Terry Greer. A sequel, Empire of Karn, was released in 1985 on the Commodore 64.
Super Pipeline is a puzzle game written by Andy Walker for the Commodore 64 published by Taskset in 1983. The objective is to keep a series of pipes unblocked so that water may flow through them. It was followed by Super Pipeline II by the same author in 1985.
Confuzion is a puzzle game developed and published by Incentive Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, BBC Micro, and Acorn Electron. The object is to guide a spark along a fuse wire. It is similar to the 1982 arcade game Loco-Motion.Confuzion was written by Paul Shirley who later wrote Spindizzy.
Spy's Demise is an action game written by Alan Zeldin for the Apple II and published by Penguin Software in 1982. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, TI-99/4A, and Vector-06c. The game contains a puzzle which at the time of release could be solved for a Spy's Demise T-shirt. According to Antic magazine in June 1984, only four people had solved it. The game was followed by a 1983 sequel, The Spy Strikes Back.
Entombed is an action-adventure video game published by Ultimate Play the Game for the Commodore 64 in 1985. It is the second instalment of the Pendragon series and is a sequel to The Staff of Karnath. The game features series protagonist and aristocrat adventurer, Sir Arthur Pendragon, as he attempts to escape an ancient Egyptian tomb before all oxygen runs out. As with its predecessor, Entombed is presented in an isometric format.
Everyone's a Wally is a British video game released in 1985 by Mikro-Gen for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Commodore 64. The sequel to Pyjamarama, it features the same hero character, Wally Week, and uses an upgraded version of the same game engine.
The ZX Spectrum's software library was very diverse. While the majority of the software produced for the system was video games, others included programming language implementations, Sinclair BASIC extensions, databases, word processors, spread sheets, drawing and painting tools, and 3D modelling tools.
Saboteur II: Avenging Angel, also known as Saboteur 2, is an action-adventure game created by Clive Townsend and released by Durell Software in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS compatible operating systems. A sequel to 1985's Saboteur, the player controls a sister of Ninja from the first game on a mission to avenge his death. Saboteur II was one of the first action-adventure games with a female protagonist and was well received by critics.
Captain America in: The Doom Tube of Dr. Megalomann, also known as Captain America Defies The Doom Tube, is a video game based on a comic book series of the same name. It was published in 1987 by U.S. Gold on their Go! label for computers including the Amstrad CPC and the Commodore 64 and was published a year later on the ZX Spectrum. Reviews were mixed, with the graphics and audio generally seen as poor. It is the first video game to feature Captain America.
Shadowfire is a video game for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 and later the Amstrad CPC. It was developed by British developer Denton Designs and published by Beyond Software in 1985. The player must direct the Enigma Force to rescue Ambassador Kryxix from the traitor Zoff's flagship before the timer runs out and secret plans for a new type of starship are discovered. Shadowfire was one of the first games to use a menu-and-icon-driven interface. It was well received by reviewers of the time, and followed by a sequel, Enigma Force.
Miami Vice is an action video game developed by Canvas and published by Ocean Software. It was first released in the United Kingdom for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum in 1986. It was later re-released in Germany and Italy for the Commodore 64 in 1989. The game is based on the television series of the same name and follows the two central characters, James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, as they attempt to derail a Miami drug ring which is led by series antagonist "Mr J".
Hercules is a platform video game written by Steve Bak for the Commodore 64 and published by Interdisc in 1984. It was reissued in 1986 by Alpha Omega and ported to the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 16, Plus/4, and ZX Spectrum. Alpha Omega changed its name to The Power House shortly after publishing the game.
Who Dares Wins II is a run and gun video game developed and published by Alligata Software and released in late 1985 for the Commodore 64, as well as the Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit computers, BBC Micro, Commodore 16, Plus/4, MSX, and ZX Spectrum.
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