Some background info split into three sections, Spoilered as its identical in each topic to save the same questions being asked, perhaps please read have a skim read once.
Preamble
Spoiler
None of this is in any way attempting to downgrade these games on other platforms, someone will love them elsewhere regardless of which we are all here for our retro computing experiences because we enjoy it. I sometimes enjoy titles (which are not tested here) on other platforms too!
This was initially planned to be about 10 "of the well known" but the list started to grow to 20 then 30... I had to be sensible so it is now only 21 games, otherwise it could of grown to about 100 or more.
I'm aware there are some perhaps 'better' candidates for this and also that some of the games I played do actually exist on platforms I have not tested. The reason for this is as I worked with what I "had to hand" already plus what I could find easily and actually loaded without too much difficulty.
For example I did have a couple more Oric Atmos games and some more MSX versions too, however as I was unable to get them to load I had to discount them which was a bit of a shame unfortunately but I did not want to waste too much time hunting more versions down. In general, if the version I had to hand did not work and one or two attempts (say a tape and a disc version) obtained from elsewhere did not function despite adjusting emulation machine type settings etc then I ignored that game on that machine.
Its not really a group review as such, perhaps in some ways it could be considered 'mini comments' about each game as I saw them, errors and omissions excepted! I'm also purposely not covering our versions of these games here. I do point out some differences between versions where I noticed them but this is merely for reference such as playing speed and controls etc.
This was initially planned to be about 10 "of the well known" but the list started to grow to 20 then 30... I had to be sensible so it is now only 21 games, otherwise it could of grown to about 100 or more.
I'm aware there are some perhaps 'better' candidates for this and also that some of the games I played do actually exist on platforms I have not tested. The reason for this is as I worked with what I "had to hand" already plus what I could find easily and actually loaded without too much difficulty.
For example I did have a couple more Oric Atmos games and some more MSX versions too, however as I was unable to get them to load I had to discount them which was a bit of a shame unfortunately but I did not want to waste too much time hunting more versions down. In general, if the version I had to hand did not work and one or two attempts (say a tape and a disc version) obtained from elsewhere did not function despite adjusting emulation machine type settings etc then I ignored that game on that machine.
Its not really a group review as such, perhaps in some ways it could be considered 'mini comments' about each game as I saw them, errors and omissions excepted! I'm also purposely not covering our versions of these games here. I do point out some differences between versions where I noticed them but this is merely for reference such as playing speed and controls etc.
Emulation stuff
Spoiler
The chosen machines being emulated along with their respective emulators I used for this are:
Amstrad CPC464 and CPC6128 via the CPCE95 and WinApe emulators
BBC Micro Model B and Master 128 via the B-Em and BeebEm emulators
Commodore Plus4 and C64 via the Hoxs and Vice emulators
MSX and MSX2 via the BlueMSX emulator
Oric Atmos via the Oricutron emulator
Amstrad CPC464 and CPC6128 via the CPCE95 and WinApe emulators
BBC Micro Model B and Master 128 via the B-Em and BeebEm emulators
Commodore Plus4 and C64 via the Hoxs and Vice emulators
MSX and MSX2 via the BlueMSX emulator
Oric Atmos via the Oricutron emulator
Spoiler
How I did this:
I did not run one emulator then each game in turn and play, as I'd likely forget anything specific about it between each variant! Instead I did it the harder way. One game tested on each platform in turn, taking a few screenshots and making very brief notes as I played. No real attempt was made to play them too hard or for too long, merely enough to get a feel for them in their different environment and how they were. Had I played with one emulator and each game, I may of lost thoughts about some of them when it came to using a different emulator for the next round, so although it was a lot more work I think it was worth it.
The comments on each version are not always in alphabetical order in each topic, this is by machine playing order rather than design as I used one text file per game for all machines and it does not reflect any form of rating, that being because a machine is first or last in the topic does not make its version of the game any better or worse.
I did not run one emulator then each game in turn and play, as I'd likely forget anything specific about it between each variant! Instead I did it the harder way. One game tested on each platform in turn, taking a few screenshots and making very brief notes as I played. No real attempt was made to play them too hard or for too long, merely enough to get a feel for them in their different environment and how they were. Had I played with one emulator and each game, I may of lost thoughts about some of them when it came to using a different emulator for the next round, so although it was a lot more work I think it was worth it.
The comments on each version are not always in alphabetical order in each topic, this is by machine playing order rather than design as I used one text file per game for all machines and it does not reflect any form of rating, that being because a machine is first or last in the topic does not make its version of the game any better or worse.
Spoiler
Its fair to say it took me ages and ages to do this over a couple of weeks as I had available free time, inclination and energy but it is something I had planned on doing quite a few months ago.
If you get half as much enjoyment from viewing the screenshots and reading my short comments on how I found each variant to be and perhaps posting a reply or two I'm happy.
Please enjoy!
If you get half as much enjoyment from viewing the screenshots and reading my short comments on how I found each variant to be and perhaps posting a reply or two I'm happy.
Please enjoy!
Emulator: VICE64
The gameplay is much the same on all platforms. The colours are well used and closely mirror the ZX version.
The loading screen is simple but effective.
Sound on the title screen is the later theme tune and it plays via the SID chip. During a demonstration, the title screen tune is played. There are usual item collection and collision effects during play and their volume is sanely set low.
The demo script path appears identical to other versions too, as do the game over and menu screens. The graphics appear quite nicely drawn and not pixelated.
The controls are quite responsive, the game speed is fractionally faster than the ZX version and its good to see a keyboard option offered as well as joysticks, as I've noted some CBM games do not have a keyboard option.
AMSTRAD CPC
Emulator: CPCE95
As with the CBM and ZX versions, this is pretty much identical in map and colours. The title screen tune is the same as the later ZX versions played via the AY chip. It sounds quite pleasant generally. Again during a demo mode, the title screen tune is played.
In game, the sound effects are relatively loud but mirror reasonably well the ZX version. There is no option to define keys and they appear set at alternating left/right on the top row QWERTY etc as well as the cursor keys and joystick.
The in game graphics are quite pixelated due to the screen resolution used however good use of bright colours was made in compensation for this.
The game speed is a bit slower than the other versions however the controls are quite responsive and its very playable.
At game over, mirroring the other platforms a note is shown and the following page shows the percentage complete and the number of steps Wally has taken.
