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The Fall Guy

Last updated: by fgasking

1983/84 Fox Video Games

Platforms: Atari 2600 and ColecoVision

Our next entry is nothing to do with the Elite licence that came later on the Commodore 64, though that too had an unreleased version of some kind that you can read about here. No, this is an entry which covers two cancelled editions of the game that were being done for the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision, and released under a 20th Century Fox label.

fall guy the 1983 0000

At the time, Sirius were working on a new game called Squish ‘Em on the Atari 2600, when Fox Video Games made a deal with them to take a number of their games and tie in various TV shows or just release in their original form. Squish ‘Em was to become The Fall Guy, on the Atari 2600 at least. Continue reading →

Posted in: Atari 2600 / Atari VCS, ColecoVision, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

O.F.A Adventures

Last updated: by fgasking

1985 O.F.A

Platform: Atari 400/800 series

A short collective entry for a series of Atari 400/800 adventures that are currently missing and were advertised for a long period of time in Computer Shopper magazine in 1986. Flagged up by Bertrand / Atari Frog.

These were three all new adventure-survival games with a twist and were called:

  • The Island
  • Nuclear Blast
  • The Jungle

The twist was that if you made it to the end, you will find a secret number – which you could send to O.F.A and they will issue a verified survival certificate. Did anyone order them and can you help us preserve the titles.

Commodore 64 editions are also missing, which we are separately posted about.

With thanks to Bertrand / Atari Frog for highlighting and archive.org for the scan.

Gallery

Posted in: Atari 400/800, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Mountain Valley Software unreleased C64 games

Last updated: by fgasking

A bonus post to finish the week. Recently Fabrizio Bartoloni flagged up someone called BloodyCactus looking at an unreleased C64 adventure game called The Mermaid and the Crown.

Whilst looking into details to try and add entries onto the site, via the CASA Solution Archive we found that there were about 5 other adventure titles by Mountain Valley Software that were also never completed and released.

So, here are entries for all six of the titles overall, in case you hadn’t seen them before:

With thanks to Fabrizio Bartoloni, BloodyCactus and CASA Solution Archive.

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Fatal Mission

Last updated: by fgasking

1993 Ola Zandelin and Robert Hennings

Platform: Commodore Amiga

As the archive continues to grow, so does the sadness to see that there have been so many games started and never finished over the decades of the games industry. Here is yet another tragic loss, with this neat action game that was due back in 1993 for the Commodore Amiga.

fatal mission6

Fatal Mission was an ambitious title that was being created by Ola Zandelin and Robert Hennings, where they wanted to create a new cinematic style adventure that would take cues from the classic Another World. Continue reading →

Posted in: Amiga, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Thrust

Last updated: by fgasking

1988 Firebird Software

Platform: PC DOS

Thrust was a brilliant budget title from the mind of the late Jeremy Smith back in 1986, developed first for the BBC Micro (released via Superior Software), then converted to a large number of platforms by Firebird Software to great acclaim from all magazines.

Oddly (as a side note), according to Richard Hewison who worked at TelecomSoft, the Firebird C64 version got released before the BBC version by a matter of months. Although it looked very simple, the game was an extremely playable gravity-based title, and still holds up very well today!

thrustpage 1

The game even later saw an unofficial conversion to the Atari 2600 in later years. However, PC users were lacking a conversion for their platform … or were they? Continue reading →

Posted in: PC, Reviews | Tagged: | 6 Comments

Riftwar Saga

Last updated: by fgasking

1992 Kid’s Source

Platform: PC Engine

A short entry for now on a currently missing PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 title called Riftwar Saga, which was a 1/2-player hack and slash title that was due for release in 1992 from a company called Kid’s Source.

The game was an action adventure title which was set in a fantasy world of Midkemia (the fantasy world of Raymond E. Feist, a very well known fantasy author – thanks Alex and Dane!), and EGM magazine’s brief preview of the game promised non-stop action combined with a strong storyline and creative problem solving.

rift1

Overall the game would consist of around nine levels in total, with bosses at the end of each level to defeat. Sadly, the game disappeared without a trace and would become a game of mystery to many, including ParanoiaDragon, who first highlighted the title to us via Twitter.

Later in 1993, Betrayal at Krondor was released on the PC, an RPG title which shows that the brand was clearly trying its best to get into the computer game realm at the time.

Continue reading →

Posted in: PC Engine, Reviews | Tagged: | 6 Comments

Kontakt

Last updated: by fgasking

1999 No publisher

Platform: Commodore Amiga

Kontakt was a new adventure game being written for the Commodore Amiga sometime in 1999, where you would control a reporter called Albert Faser, who suspects someone of carrying out illegal transactions.

kontakt3

When given a tip-off, he leaves the editor of his newspaper (also a trusted colleague) with a floppy disk containing a message about his intentions. When he gets caught, he wakes up on a hard and uncomfortable bed. In a room with no doors, windows or other openings – you now have to figure out what to do next. Continue reading →

Posted in: Amiga, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

GTW64 August 2023 updates

Last updated: by fgasking

As summer starts to near the end, we continue to squeeze out more updates for the C64 archive – which seems to have no end in sight! Check out the following updates for August:

Early Karl Hörnell game found

puzzlemania2

Karl Hörnell’s early title Puzzle Mania has been found and preserved by Genesis Project. Check out some of Karl’s earliest work.

Puzzle Mania

19 Boot Camp – Part 2 graphics found

19load mpic

A big recovery has been made by GTW64 on a series of assets for the adventure version of 19 Boot Camp – Part 2. Check them out below if you missed the recent update.

19 Boot Camp – Part 2

Also … 5 new entries added

Anty Up, Connections, Funfair Inc, Matterhorn, 1990

And … 19 other updates added

Arthema, Bomb, Chess, Crystal Castles V1, Denny’s Quest 2, Devious Designs, Footloose, Joust, Messiah 3, Phoenix Lair, Prince Of Persia, Quo Vadis V2, Rockus, Shear Panic, Switchblade, Typhoon Thompson, Victory Road (UK version), Worron

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The Connoiseur and other Atari prototypes

Last updated: by fgasking

Our friends at Atarimania.com have informed us of a recent discovery of an unreleased text adventure for the Atari called The Connoiseur. A game that was intended for release by Synapse Software in 1984.

the connoiseur 2

The game was archived by the National Videogame Museum, and added into the atarimania archives in August 2023.  You can find more details and a download here:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-connoiseur-_41655.html

Additionally, we were informed of prototypes that were preserved thanks to John Hardie, with a number of titles:

More details about the recoveries can also be read about on these two AtariAge forum posts. Forum post 1 and Forum post 2.

Posted in: Atari 400/800, Prototype, Reviews | Leave a comment