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My Favourite C64 Platformers No.17
Jet Set Willy
Software Projects 1984
This early free-roaming platformer was also one of the first 64 games I played. Like the Speccy original, it's rather buggy, but good fun. Surreal, amusing, & yet oddly melancholic, it's certainly unique.
My Favourite C64 Platformers No.18
Booga-Boo The Flea
Quicksilva 1984
Another innovative game that involved lots of jumping, BB is a cool little title that I’ve always had a soft spot for as it was one of the first games I played on the C64. Simple but addictive and good fun.
My Favourite C64 Platformers No.20
Creatures 1/2 & Mayhem in Monsterland
Let me explain. These are clearly 3 of the 64's best platformers, but I never played them BITD. They’re all amazing, so I couldn’t not mention them, & if I'd had a 64 in the 90s, they’d all be top 5.
My favourite C64 Shoot ‘em ups – No.2
Wizball
Ocean 1987
Sensible blew the competition out of the water with this incredible mix of bouncing, blasting & co-op colouring in. Original, humorous, psychedelic & graphically & sonically brilliant, it’s a unique gaming experience.
My favourite C64 Shoot ‘em ups – No.6
Choplifter!
Broderbund 1982
One of the first-ever C64 shoot 'em ups, Choplifter! is a cracking port of the Apple original. Atmospheric, tense, and with simple but superbly animated graphics, it’s supremely playable and loads of fun.
My favourite C64 Shoot ‘em ups – No.7
Who Dares Wins 2
Alligata 1986
I’m doing a separate list for run & gun games (as there’s loads of them), but I had to include this here as it is one of my favourite C64 shoot ‘em ups (or shoot ‘em downs as they were sometimes called BITD).
My favourite C64 Shoot ‘em ups – No.8
Pastfinder
Activision 1984
An innovative vertically scrolling shoot 'em up with exploration, mapping and strategy elements, Pastfinder is a very well-designed, extremely playable and much-underrated game. An unsung beauty.
My favourite C64 Shoot ‘em ups – No.14
Cybernoid 1 & 2
Hewson 1988
The Cybernoid games are tough-but-worth-it flick-screen shooters. Graphics are fantastic, music is stunning & the games themselves are brilliantly designed & immensely playable. Another ace blaster from Hewson.
My favourite C64 Shoot ‘em ups – No.15
Sanxion
Thalamus 1986
The first Thalamus release was a serious statement. Ace Oli Frey artwork, superb Rob Hubbard loading music, brilliant graphics & stunningly executed by legend to be Stavros Fasoulas. A very slick package.
My favourite C64 Shoot ‘em ups – No.20
IO
Firebird 1988
Thanks to @DCharlieUK1 for the reminder about this. Gorgeous graphics from the incredibly talented Bob Stevenson elevate this well-crafted but dead hard shooter above the crowd of horizontally scrolling C64 blasters.