Stonkers

Last updated
Stonkers
Stonkers - Imagine.jpg
Developer(s) Imagine Software
Publisher(s) Imagine Software
Designer(s) John Gibson
Artist(s) Paul Lindale
Platform(s) ZX Spectrum
Release 1983
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player

Stonkers is a strategy video game for the ZX Spectrum published by Imagine Software in 1983. It was written by John Gibson with graphics by Paul Lindale. In 2013, TechRadar called it an early example of a real-time strategy game. [1]

Contents

Gameplay

Stonkers is controlled either using keyboard or joystick. In the game, the player controls infantry, artillery, tank, and supply-truck units. Combat units consume supplies over time and the player must use the supply units to replenish them. Supply units are unloaded while a ship docks at the player's port. Information about ongoing events is displayed in a ticker tape on the bottom of the screen.

Reception

It was awarded the title "Best Wargame" by CRASH in 1984. [2]

Related Research Articles

Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to play. The term "real-time strategy" was coined by Brett Sperry to market Dune II in the early 1990s.

<i>Sabre Wulf</i> 1984 video game

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.

<i>Ikari Warriors</i> 1986 video game

Ikari Warriors, known as Ikari in Japan, is a vertically-scrolling, run-and-gun shooter arcade game developed and released by SNK in 1986, and released in North America by Tradewest. The game was released at the time when there were many Commando clones on the market. What distinguished Ikari Warriors were rotary joysticks and a two-player mode. The rotary joystick controls were in turn based on SNK's earlier TNK III (1985). Ikari was originally intended it to be an official licensed adaptation of the film Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), but SNK were initially unable to acquire the rights to the film.

<i>Smash TV</i> 1990 video game

Smash TV is a 1990 arcade game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a dual-stick shooter in the same vein as 1982's Robotron: 2084. The Super NES, Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear versions were titled Super Smash TV.

<i>Lords of Chaos</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Lords of Chaos is a turn-based tactics tactical role-playing game published by Blade Software in 1990. It is the sequel to Chaos and an ancestor of the popular X-COM series of games, also written by Julian Gollop. In Lords of Chaos each player controls a wizard who can cast various magic spells. The spells have various effects, for example summoning other creatures, or damaging opposing creatures and wizards. The game can be played against a computer-controlled opponent or by up to four human players.

<i>The Lords of Midnight</i> 1984 video game

The Lords of Midnight is an epic fantasy video game combining aspects of wargames and graphic adventures, written by Mike Singleton and originally released in 1984 for the ZX Spectrum. Very well received from the beginning, it was soon converted for the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64. The game featured an innovative 3-D effect that Singleton called landscaping, which served to bring the player into the game much more than usual. The Lords of Midnight is often named with Elite as among the top role-playing games of the 1980s.

<i>Theatre Europe</i> 1986 video game

Theatre Europe is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services. It was first released in the United Kingdom for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Atari 8-bit family home computers in 1985. It was later released in France by ERE Informatique in 1986, and was released in the United States by Datasoft later that year. A port for the Tatung Einstein was released in 1989, in the UK. It is the fifth installment of the Strategic Wargames series.

<i>Rebelstar</i> 1984 video game

The Rebelstar games are a series of turn-based tactics video games designed by Julian Gollop. Rebelstar Raiders was published in 1984 by Red Shift for the ZX Spectrum. It was reworked in machine code as Rebelstar, published by Firebird in 1986. A sequel, Rebelstar II, was published in 1988 by Silverbird. Rebelstar, but not its sequel, was also adapted for the Amstrad CPC home computer.

<i>Carrier Command</i> 1988 video game

Carrier Command is a 1988 video game published by Rainbird for the Amiga, Atari ST, IBM PC compatibles, ZX Spectrum, Macintosh, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. Carrier Command is a cross between a vehicle simulation game and a real-time strategy game where players control a robotic aircraft carrier.

<i>Arcticfox</i> 1986 video game

Arcticfox is a science fiction tank simulation video game developed by Dynamix and published by Electronic Arts in 1986. It was published in Europe by Ariolasoft. A sequel to Dynamix's Stellar 7, Arcticfox was developed for the Amiga as one of the platform's first titles but was quickly ported to other platforms including the Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MS-DOS and Apple II. A third game was released in the series in 1991 titled Nova 9: The Return of Gir Draxon.

<i>Quazatron</i> 1986 video game

Quazatron is an action game developed by Graftgold, and released in 1986 by Hewson Consultants. It was designed by Steve Turner for the ZX Spectrum.

<i>Dark Sceptre</i> 1987 video game

Dark Sceptre is a strategy adventure video game by Mike Singleton's design team Maelstrom Games, for Beyond Software. It was published by Firebird Software for the ZX Spectrum in 1987 and for the Amstrad CPC in 1988.

<i>Codename MAT</i> 1984 video game

Codename MAT is a space combat simulator published in 1984 by Micromega for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. It was written by Derek Brewster. The game is similar to Atari, Inc.'s Star Raiders. Both games include the ability to switch 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.

A strategy video game is a video game genre that focuses on skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. It emphasizes strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistical challenges. Many games also offer economic challenges and exploration. They are generally categorized into four sub-types, depending on whether the game is turn-based or real-time, and whether the game focuses on strategy or tactics.

<i>Falklands 82</i> 1986 video game

Falklands '82 is a 1986 turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. It is the fifth instalment of the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the 1982 Falklands War and revolves around the Argentine occupation and subsequent British re-capture of the Falkland Islands. The player controls the British Task Force as they must either defeat all Argentine forces on the archipelago or re-capture every settlement.

<i>Battlefield Germany</i> 1987 video game

Battlefield Germany is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services for the Commodore 64 released in April 1987. It was also ported to the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum later that year. It is the eighth instalment to the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during a fictional scenario in which the powers of NATO and the Warsaw Pact engage in a conventional war throughout Europe, mostly centring in West and East Germany.

<i>Iwo Jima</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Iwo Jima is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1986. It is the second instalment to the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II and revolves around the United States Marine Corps' objective to secure the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army.

<i>Tobruk</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Tobruk: The Clash of Armour is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Data Design Systems and published by Personal Software Services. It was exclusively released in the United Kingdom for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC in 1987. It is the eleventh instalment of the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the 1941 Siege of Tobruk of the Western Desert Campaign in World War II and revolves around the Allied forces attempts to overthrow German field marshal Erwin Rommel from the city.

<i>The Battle For Midway</i> 1984 video game

The Battle For Midway is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services. It was first released in the United Kingdom and France for the MSX in 1984, and was re-released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1985. It is the second instalment of the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the Battle of Midway in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II and revolves around the United States Navy attacking a large Imperial Japanese fleet stationed at Midway Atoll, in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

<i>Pegasus Bridge</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Pegasus Bridge is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services. It was released exclusively in the United Kingdom for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 in 1987. It is the ninth installment of the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the landings in Normandy on D-Day in the Second World War and revolves around the British 6th Airborne Division's attempts to secure a bridge over the Caen Canal.

References

  1. "Loved Command and Conquer? You'll love these iOS games". 12 January 2013.
  2. CRASH Issue 12, Readers Awards