Commodore 64's hidden gems

[scooterb23]

Let's get a thread going for all those great Commodore games that flew under the radar for whatever reason. I know I discovered a lot in the early days of Electronics Boutique, because I believed in buying quantity, not quality. So whenever I had $20...I would walk out with 18 new games. And I found a lot of crap, but also a few extremely great games. So what are your C64 hidden gems?

A few of mine:

Eliminator- A combination maze / shooter. Kind of reminds me of the early DOS game Skyroads, only with a little bit more going on.

SkateRock - May be my favorite C64 game (seriously) a 10 level collect the flags skateboarding game. Doesn't have great graphics, but dang it this game is fun!

Stunt Car Racer - A wonderful race game over crazy tracks. Cars take damage, and fly off the track. It's a really challenging and fun game.

[Kid Ice]

Zorro was a terrific puzzly platformer that doesn't seem to get mentioned much these days.

[old_skoolin_jim]

Rootin' Tootin'. It was a pretty obscure, cartridge-based Pac-Man clone, but it was damn addictive. You played as a trumpet and you'd "toot" musical notes across the screen at the enemies in each maze. Good stuff!

[le geek]

Lazy Jones, is a fun collection of games within a game, but may be semi-famous for it's bitchin' electric violin music, that was later sampled by Zombie Nation, and later still featured in the film Shaun of the Dead...

[Gapporin]

Law Of The West: I know that it's pretty well known, but it has to be one of my Top 5 favorite C64 games ever. The mix of graphic adventure and interactive fiction came years before Maniac Mansion and its ilk. Plus, the ability to shoot first and ask questions later gave it a perverse charm.

Proof Of Destruction: The twitch gamer's twitch shooter, Proof Of Destruction never lets up from the word "go". While waves and waves of ships are nothing new, the idea behind Proof Of Destruction twists the gameplay around and gives it a fresh yet frantic take. Also referred to as P.O.D.

Trashman: Originally a ZX Spectrum game, the C64 port gives it more color while still retaining its quirky British humour and unique gameplay. For those who like their comedy served droll, this is the game for you.

I'll think of more once I get home.

Eliminator- A combination maze / shooter. Kind of reminds me of the early DOS game Skyroads, only with a little bit more going on.

You had me at "hello". Well, actually, you had me at "Skyroads", but it's close enough. I've gotta try this.

[rsiddall]

A few of my favorites:
Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back
Pogo Joe
Moondust
Dino Eggs

And one more that I can't remember the name of...it was a pseudo 3d adventure game that had decent graphics and took place inside a castle. I want to say the title is one word and had packaging like EA's album games.

[tom]

Hillsfar (quite a good trainer game)
Project Firestart (a EA classic)
Portal (THE (IMO) best C64 game ever)
Breakers (late electronic novel title)
The Magic Candle (one of THE best RPGs on C64)
Knights of Legend (big engrossing RGP from Origin)

[Tempest]

Rootin' Tootin'. It was a pretty obscure, cartridge-based Pac-Man clone, but it was damn addictive. You played as a trumpet and you'd "toot" musical notes across the screen at the enemies in each maze. Good stuff!

Yeah I was playing this on my DECO cab last week, I didn't know it actually had a home release.

A little off topic, but is there an SIO2PC type adapter for the C64 like there is for the Atari? I have a nice C-64 setup, but I only have about 10 games for it.

Tempest

[scooterb23]

This is what I love about the C64. I've owned one since 1984, and out of all the games other people have mentioned...I've only even heard of one of them. I have a lot of digging to do.

[98PaceCar]

Yeah I was playing this on my DECO cab last week, I didn't know it actually had a home release.

A little off topic, but is there an SIO2PC type adapter for the C64 like there is for the Atari? I have a nice C-64 setup, but I only have about 10 games for it.

Tempest

http://www.1541ultimate.net/content/index.php

Basically, an entire 1541 implementation that works from an SD card. Very compatible, even with multi load games. Supports some extra hardware as well (various speed up carts, Jiffy Dos, REU, Ramboard). Well worth the money!

[Tempest]

http://www.1541ultimate.net/content/index.php

Basically, an entire 1541 implementation that works from an SD card. Very compatible, even with multi load games. Supports some extra hardware as well (various speed up carts, Jiffy Dos, REU, Ramboard). Well worth the money!

Nice! A bit pricey, but nice. I might have to look into getting one of these when he starts making more.

Tempest

[FOnewearl]

Donald Duck's Playground - You have to do different mini games to collect money much like The Three Stooges on the NES

I was really young when the C64 was out so I remember games I have fond memories of that can't remember the name of, a few of the games mentioned here gave me some deja vu and sure enough I remember them from way back when after looking them up on youtube.

[Mayhem]

Stunt Car Racer is a well known classic this side of the pond, though that's probably because it was created by Geoff Crammond, also famous for his F1 games and "The Sentinel" (known as "The Sentry" in the US).

"Project Firestart" is another favourite of mine, as you get to go on your own alien exploration hunt and destroy mission. Survival horror before Capcom even thought of Resident Evil.

It's partly hard for me to think of pertinent suggestions because many games would be common knowledge here and yet perhaps reasonably unknown in the US. But I don't know what ones exactly fit into that category! There's also the fact I don't know if all the games work okay on NTSC...

Any shooter fan has to give "Armalyte" a whirl for starters. You'll probably begin to think "how many sprites on the screen?!" shortly into starting level one. "Turbocharge" is a later release in the vein of SCI, drive and shoot your way through ten stages of road based mayhem. I'm on a shooting roll here, so I'm also going to suggest "Crazy Comets" and "Mega Apocalypse", both based upon Mad Planets.

Yeah I was playing this on my DECO cab last week, I didn't know it actually had a home release.

HES converted a few obscure coin-ops onto cartridge: Rootin' Tootin', Mr TNT, The Pit...

[Arkhan]

HIDDEN gems? So Mayhem in monster land is out since everyone with a C64 knows that game kicks ass.



Id say Legacy of the Ancients, Phantis, and Parallax, are three games you dont hear alot about.

[rsiddall]

And one more that I can't remember the name of...it was a pseudo 3d adventure game that had decent graphics and took place inside a castle. I want to say the title is one word and had packaging like EA's album games.

Had to dig it out...Wizardry (aka: Spell of Destruction) by Mindscape.

[Flack]

Wizardry didn't come in an EA style box. I have the box sitting on the shelf next to me, in fact.

[rsiddall]

Wizardry didn't come in an EA style box. I have the box sitting on the shelf next to me, in fact.

Maybe Wizardry didn't but Spell of Destruction (U.S. title) did. I'm assuming Mindscape bought the rights and changed the name in the states. It even says copyright The Edge (original publisher) on the disk.

[tom]

The UK Wizardry (the Edge) is not the same as the USA Sir-Tech Wizardry RPGs.

Yes, Mindscape and Epyx (and a few more) imported some UK (mostly tape) games and changed titles of said games. They didn't sell very well in USA nevertheless

[scooterb23]

HIDDEN gems? So Mayhem in monster land is out since everyone with a C64 knows that game kicks ass.



Id say Legacy of the Ancients, Phantis, and Parallax, are three games you dont hear alot about.

You know, until I actually learned about the origin of Mayhem's username...I had never heard of Mayhem in Monster Land. And I have to admit, I still have never played it >_> . I'll probably have to download a copy and try it soon.

I've recently stumbled across a mega huge stack of old pirated disks, and the process of going through and testing them out will likely lead to a few hidden gems. At least I hope it will.

[rsiddall]

The UK Wizardry (the Edge) is not the same as the USA Sir-Tech Wizardry RPGs.

Yes, Mindscape and Epyx (and a few more) imported some UK (mostly tape) games and changed titles of said games. They didn't sell very well in USA nevertheless

This is the game in question here.

Different box (perhaps what Flack has) in picture, but the same game as mine.

[tom]

You know, until I actually learned about the origin of Mayhem's username...I had never heard of Mayhem in Monster Land. And I have to admit, I still have never played it >_> . I'll probably have to download a copy and try it soon.
.

As far as I remember it was never released in shops in the end, only available via mail-order (wasn't there a coupon inZZAP! or Commodore Format?). Something like that.

[Game Freak]

Lazy Jones, is a fun collection of games within a game, but may be semi-famous for it's bitchin' electric violin music, that was later sampled by Zombie Nation, and later still featured in the film Shaun of the Dead...

seconded.

[tom]

This is the game in question here.

Different box (perhaps what Flack has) in picture, but the same game as mine.

And these are the USA Sir-Tech ones, they are classics on Apple ][ and C64, here's one:

Anyway, this is the Wizardry Flack is talking about, I'm sure.

[Gapporin]

Now that I've actually had some time to boot up 64HDD, here's a few more selections:

Pinball Spectacular: One of the early titles of the C64, it was released in 1983. Think "Gee Bee" on the Commodore and you're almost there -- in fact, the game was developed by the now famous HAL Laboratories. Despite it's simplistic nature, this is a game I can play for hours, simply just trying to rack up points and break my previous high score.

Nebulus (UK)/Tower Toppler (US): A fantastic puzzle/action game that involves controlling your toady character up the side of a tower, climbing to get to the top. Along the way, you'll deal with moving platforms, floating eyeballs and other baddies. The 2.5D effect the game uses is great, and the gameplay is interesting as well. If you fall off, you don't necessarily die: You can still land on a lower platform, brush yourself off and continue on from that point.

Exolon: A nice platformer that resembles Jetpac in a passing glance, but the gameplay is drastically different. This game often has polarizing opinions: Some people dislike the game's difficulty, while others praise the unique graphic style and gameplay. I am firmly in the latter camp.

Jumpman: 'Nuff said.

[tom]

Talking abou Gee Bee

Gee Bee Air Rally (Activision), now this is a real C64 hidden gem.