Back in the day, my Commodore Format magazine used to have an ‘Early Warning Scanner’ with games that were coming soon for the C64. On there for a while was Sooty and Sweep 2, but it never really moved and nothing more was shown in magazines. I assumed it was vapourware.
Roughly around 2009, Dean Hickingbottom got in touch to reveal that Clockwize were the team working on both Sooty 2 and Thomas 2 for Alternative. Neither got released due to a dispute with Alternative, even though bizarrely they were both finished for C64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad and Atari. Inlays were even produced too. Continue reading →
It is that time of the year again, and it has been one with many ups and downs. We finish the year as we always aim to, with a set of new releases and recoveries for you to enjoy. Hopefully you will enjoy what we have in store for you:
‘Sooty and Sweep 2’ – full games recovered (two versions!)
Out of the blue and straight off the bat, we have the complete version of Sooty and Sweep 2 which was due for release by Alternative Software in 1991/92. But not one version, but two! A completely different build was made, and we have that here for you as well to check out:
‘Thomas the Tank Engine 2: The Race’ – full game recovered!
Putting to bed yet another lost Alternative Software game, we also have Thomas The Tank Engine 2 that was due out at the same time. I once thought this was vapourware after seeing it for so long on Commodore Format’s Early Warning scanner – but its here, and complete!
We also have a big surprise (and something we weren’t expecting) with a fully playable and advanced preview of Sales Curve’s unreleased and incomplete Paddle Mania conversion. Written by Mark Greenshields and which was looking pretty solid. Now you can see the promise for yourself:
‘Rooster Booster’ – What became ‘Bombo’, special prototype recovered!
Whilst preserving Mark Greenshield’s disks, we were asked to look out for ‘Rooster Booster’ – the original game which eventually became ‘Bombo’. Thankfully we found a playable build which is mostly complete, but just lacking music. There’s different sprites and titles and possibly map differences for you to check out:
‘Spindizzy’ prototype – recovery of a very early prototype
Another surprise lurking within Mark Greenshield’s disks, marked “Spindizzy Preview”, this is a very early build of the game with unfinished score panels, missing sprites, missing colour schemes and unrefined controls. There could be some unused screens waiting to be discovered:
‘Kick Off 2’ prototype – very early look at Anco’s football game
Again, within Mark’s disks was another early build – this time for Kick Off 2, showcasing very different graphical menus compared to the disk version (tape was plain text) and a different score panel:
Then right at the death, Csaba Virag got in touch to say that he had preserved a lost Hungarian SEUCK effort called Cyborg Mission – so we’ve added it to the update just in time for you:
Finally, 20 existing entries have been updated with various scans, new information and more. Check out the history tab for each title for details of what has been added.
And with that, apart from an update this afternoon and tomorrow for other platforms – this is it on the Commodore 64 side of things until next year. We wish you all a great holiday break and thank you everyone for your kind support and input in 2025!
As a bonus Christmas update, we first up have the very rare ZX81 edition of Mugsy, which many of you will remember as a popular release from Melbourne House. This is the original idea and design which Melbourne House would base their game off, created by Collins Computing.
The game has been out there for sometime, though this is a newly preserved version by Steve Brown of the TZXVault, complete with inlay and tape scans (which are currently missing on Spectrum Computing/World of Spectrum). If you want to see more rare releases, be sure to check out TZXVault and their new Patreon. Continue reading →
Platforms: Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 (GTW64 entry)
Hill 19 was to be a strategic action-shooter game, very similar to Ikari Warriors/Commando, but with more strategy involved. The player would control a team of characters (believed to be about 3), including Radio and Gunner. Sadly it was never to be though!
You would move turn-based through a vertically scrolling environment (progressing “up the hill”), with foxholes, trenches and terrain that would offer cover and tactical options. Each person would also have a special ability. For example, the Radio Operator could call in airstrikes or medics.
Che Guevara John would mainly work on the Commodore 64 version, whilst Lance Abson would work on the Amstrad CPC edition. Someone called “Cooky” would work on the graphics for both versions. Continue reading →
Things have mostly paused with updates and preservation work for Games That Weren’t due to the recent loss of my mum. Today though, I’m finally able to share some positive news: a Polish edition of the Games That Weren’t book is now available for pre-order: https://gknb.pl/
When I was told this was happening, I was genuinely blown away. Never in a million years did I imagine seeing a translated edition of my work. It must have taken an incredible amount of effort, and I can’t wait to see a copy in the flesh.
A smaller update this month, with a new entry on a cancelled Rocky Memphis game and then updates on 5 pre-existing entries in the archive. We should have a lot more C64 content for you very soon – including some big findings!
Recovery work today for the Commodore 64 with a long lost Gremlin Graphics game named ‘Hill 19’ (Later known as Shell Shock). Sadly nothing playable, but plenty of assets recovered. Also – we have recovered lost graphics for the unreleased Piranha game ‘Coven’:
Thanks to Dr. Doom / Rad / Ons, a very slightly different version of Children’s Trivia by Cybal Software has been preserved for the Commodore 64. A version of the game already exists in Gamebase64, but this has a few very minor differences (and may have been an updated version).
It’s not an unreleased game, so we’re just sharing the preservation here for posterity and for other archives to pick up:
A huge Commodore 64 surprise to kick off the week with Games That Weren’t adding the sadly cancelled playable prototype of the Indiana Jones 3 adventure. An unofficial conversion of the great Lucasfilm Games title with bags of promise, but wasn’t to be. Check it out here:
2025 is going past in a flash as we enter into August, and GTW64 is continuing to evolve and grow too. This month we have added 6 new entries, including the great looking Indy 3 adventure game homebrew that sadly was cancelled, an early development of Skateball and lots more.
We then have 9 updates for you, which includes the recent recovery of Bryan Robson’s Super League, not only for the C64, but ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. See you all next month!
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