| Zombie Zombie | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Spaceman Ltd |
| Publisher(s) | Quicksilva |
| Designer(s) | Sandy White Angela Sutherland |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Zombie Zombie is a ZX Spectrum computer game developed by Spaceman Ltd (Sandy White and Angela Sutherland), published in 1984 by Quicksilva. It is a development of Spaceman's previous Ant Attack , and uses an updated "Softsolid 3D" isometric graphics engine. [2]
The player is alone in an ancient partially walled city infested with zombies. They must lure the zombies into following the player and then trick them into falling off the edge of tall structures more than three blocks high. The player must get close enough to the zombies to attract their attention into following them, but not so close as to be overwhelmed and become a zombie themselves. [3] [4]
Zombie Zombie includes a helicopter, which can be piloted and used to alter the architecture by lifting and dropping bricks. [5]
The city is made of blocks which can be rearranged by the player to make the zombie cull easier. As the city walls are incomplete in places, Your Spectrum recommended that the player's first action was to rebuild the wall, preventing zombies from wandering off in to the outer desert and making the game impossible to complete.
Your Spectrum revealed in another tips article that there was a second hidden city accessed by entering a codephrase. [6]
City #1 contains the phrase "© AS" (Angela Sutherland) and City #2 the phrase "SPACEMAN WAS HERE!" made out of blocks. [7]
Zombie Zombie uses two-channel sound, a then unheard-of feat of a computer equipped with only single-channel 1-bit sound from a tiny speaker. Through the use of the Sinclair Interface 1, the game's two-channel melodies could be played back on a MIDI-equipped synthesizer. Although a wiring diagram was supplied with the game, [5] the interfacing code had been tested on a Yamaha DX7 with a ROM containing bugs and the circuit would only work on that particular synthesizer. This came to light when Sandy White attempted to demo the game while connected to an unfamiliar synthesizer.
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. Considered one of the most influential computers ever made, it is also one of the best-selling British computers ever, with over five million units sold. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and around the world in the following years, most notably in Europe, the United States, and Eastern Bloc countries.
The SAM Coupé is an 8-bit British home computer manufactured by Miles Gordon Technology (MGT), based in Swansea in the United Kingdom and released in December 1989.
Jetpac is a shooter video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game and released for the ZX Spectrum and VIC-20 in 1983 and the BBC Micro in 1984. It is the first game to be released by Ultimate Play the Game, the company which later became Rare. The game follows Jetman as he must rebuild his rocket in order to explore different planets, while simultaneously defending against hostile aliens. It was written by Ultimate co-founder Chris Stamper with graphics designed by his brother, Tim Stamper. Reviewers praised Jetpac's presentation and gameplay, and it won "Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards in 1983.
Knight Lore is a 1984 action-adventure game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, and written by company founders Chris and Tim Stamper. The game is known for its use of isometric graphics, which it further popularized in video games. In Knight Lore, the player character Sabreman has forty days to collect objects throughout a castle and brew a cure to his werewolf curse. Each castle room is depicted in monochrome on its own screen and consists of blocks to climb, obstacles to avoid, and puzzles to solve.
Realm of Impossibility is an action game created by Mike Edwards for Atari 8-bit computers and published by Electronic Arts in 1984. It was originally released in 1983 as Zombies by BRAM, a company formed by Edwards and a friend. BRAM previously developed and published Attack at EP-CYG-4.
3D Monster Maze is a survival horror video game developed from an idea by J.K. Greye and programmed by Malcolm Evans and released in 1981 for the ZX81 with the 16 KB memory expansion. The game was initially released by J. K. Greye Software in December 1981 and re-released in 1982 by Evans' own startup, New Generation Software. Rendered using low-resolution character block "graphics", it was one of the first 3D games for a home computer, and one of the first games incorporating typical elements of the genre that would later be termed survival horror.
The ZX Microdrive is a magnetic-tape data storage system launched in July 1983 by Sinclair Research for its ZX Spectrum home computer. It was proposed as a faster-loading alternative to the cassette and cheaper than a floppy disk, but it suffered from poor reliability and lower speed.
Ant Attack is an action game written for the ZX Spectrum by Sandy White and published by Quicksilva in 1983. A Commodore 64 version was released in 1984.
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.
Quicksilva was a British games software publisher active during the early 1980s.
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.
Welltris is a puzzle video game, developed by Doka and licensed to Bullet-Proof Software. It is an official game in the Tetris series. Adaptations were made by Sphere, Inc., for Spectrum HoloByte, and by Infogrames. It was released for MS-DOS compatible operating systems in 1989. Ports for Macintosh, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST followed in 1990, then ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 in 1991.
Action Force: International Heroes is a video game released by Virgin Games in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, and in 1988 for the Amstrad CPC. The game is set in the world of the Action Force toys by Hasbro. The ZX Spectrum version of the game differs notably from the Commodore and Amstrad versions.
SoftAid is a software compilation, released by Quicksilva in March 1985 to support the Famine Relief in Ethiopia. The software was released on cassette for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 home computers. Versions were also planned for the Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro but Rod Cousens, Quicksilva's managing director, was unable to secure enough games from publishers.
Battle of Britain is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services for the Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC in 1985, and the ZX Spectrum the following year. 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.
Glider Rider is an isometric action-adventure game published by Quicksilva in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. The music was composed by David Whittaker.
Yabba Dabba Doo! is a 1986 video game developed by British studio Taskset and published by Quicksilva for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum. It is based on the television series The Flintstones and is the first Flintstones video game.
Strontium Dog: The Killing is an action game developed by Channel 8 Software and published by Quicksilva. The game was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984.
3D Tank Duel is a video game developed by Realtime Games Software for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It is a clone of the arcade game Battlezone, featuring wireframe 3D graphics with color.