Zapped to the Past

In the month of August1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode sixty of Zapped to the Past, we continue our look at some of those games, including the delightful Defender of the Crown, the fearful Frankenstein, and the maudlin Mag Max and wonder when up is down and left is backwards, how the hell do you navigate a boring brown maze?  Games covered in this episode: Defender of...

As it’s the Easter Holidays there is a very strong chance we will be consuming many eggs. In light of this, we are taking a mini-break from the regular podcast and giving you some Easter treats. Firstly, you will already have noticed our C16 Easter Special. That’s right! 16 games on the C16 on the 16th of the 4th month at 4am…now THAT is a creamy egg! In addition to that glorious treat, here is th...

As we steam through Issue 28 - August 1987 - of ZZAP magazine - we noticed it featured an eight page Commodore C16 special pullout. Eight pages of C16 games? Hmnnn… So we thought we would take a ZTTP look at sixteen C16 games in time for the 16th of April. We have chosen sixteen original C16 games at random and put them under the Zapped to the Past magnifying glass... will Kung Fu Kid, Street Olym...

In the month of August 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty-nine of Zapped to the Past, we look at some of those games, including the stunning Last Ninja, the springy Thing Bounces Back and the stupid Milk Race and wonder why level 1 swimming is not a part of basic ninja training? Games covered in this episode: The Last Ninja Wiz Force One Kat Trap Video Meanies Mil...

In the month of July1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty-eight of Zapped to the Past, we conclude our look at some of those games, including the brutal Barbarian, the apocalyptically hard Army Moves, and the flaccid Frost Byte, and wonder why anyone would kit out their spaceship in wood paneling… Games covered in this episode: Killed Until Dead Frost Byte On-Field F...

In the month of July 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty-seven of Zapped to the Past, we continue our look at some of those games, including the wonderful World Class Leaderboard, the Endoscopic Enduro Racer and the sideburn hating Sydney Affair and wonder, how many pointless options screens can you fit into one game?  Games covered in this episode: World Class Lea...

In the month of July1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty-six of Zapped to the Past, we look at some of those games, including the wondrous Wizball, the crabby Strike and the ingenious I,Ball and wonder just how many balls are too many balls…? Games covered in this episode: Wizball Strike Gunstar Sport of Kings IQ Deathscape Super Bowl Sunday Mario Bros UFO I, Ball F...

In the month of June 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty-five of Zapped to the Past, we conclude our look at some of those games, including the incomprehensible Jumpin' Jimmy, the old school River Raid and the exceptional H.E.R.O and wonder if bells ring and milkshakes are tasty, and are baby kangaroos indeed grateful? And what are gravy points? Games covered in th...

In the month of June 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty-Four of Zapped to the Past, we look at some of those games, including the homunculus Masters of the Universe, the eye wrecking Romulus and the somewhat lonely Cyborg and wonder what were the strange things they imported at the Wing Kong Exchange… Games covered in this episode: Zenji Masters of the Universe Bi...

In the month of May 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty-three of Zapped to the Past, we conclude our  look at some of those games, including the snappy Sun Star, the excruciating Elevator Action and the speedy Shockway Rider and wonder if the presence of demons and aliens should be in the buyer’s pack for new homeowners…? Games covered in this episode: Shockway Rid...

In the month of May 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty-two of Zapped to the Past, we look at some of those games, including infiltrating Into the Eagle’s Nest, the ribbiting Ranarama, and the shoddy Shao-Lin’s Road and wonder if monorail based rescue simulation games are an all new killer genre? Games covered in this episode: Into the Eagles Nest Grange Hill The E...

In the month of April 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty-one of Zapped to the Past, we conclude our look at some of those games, including the dextrous Delta, the expansive Explorer, and the mystical Magic Madness and wonder why would NASA design a darts game in this day and age? Games covered in this episode: Aliens Delta Explorer Indoor Sports Prodigy Krakout Vo...

In the month of April 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode fifty of Zapped to the Past, we look at some of those games, including the freaky Fifth Axis, the wild West Bank and the floaty Firetrack and wonder just what damage a bunny could do to a military death robot? Games covered in this episode: Gunship Short Circuit Zone Ranger Jail Break The Big Deal Fifth Axis Firet...

In the month of March 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode forty-nine of Zapped to the Past, we conclude our look at some of those games, including the chaotic Chameleon, the bloodless Blood ‘n Guts and the dimensional Double Take and wonder how much middle-of-the-road mediocre meh can you fit into the month of March? Games covered in this episode: Repton 3 Blood ‘N’ Guts...

In the month of March 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode forty-eight of Zapped to the Past, we continue our look at some of those games, including the abject Agent Orange, the lyrical Labyrinth and the dreadful Dandy and wonder if you met a vampire in real life, what would be the signs that gave it away? Games covered in this episode: Erebus Olli and Lissa Terror of the...

In the month of March 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode forty-seven of Zapped to the Past, we look at some of those games, including the mesmerising Mutants, the rotational Raid 2000 and the fiery Falcon Patrol 2 and wonder how many toilets were ruined doing the research for Tracker… Games covered in this episode: Mutants Star Soldier Future Knight The Double  Tracker ...

In the month of February 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode forty-six of Zapped to the Past, we conclude our look at some of those games, including the catastrophic Cobra, the tidy Terra Cresta and the exciting Escape from Singe’s Castle and wonder if a ‘Three Fin Thruster’ is also the name of a painful and instant match winning wrestling move…  Games covered in this ep...

In the month of February 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode forty-five of Zapped to the Past, we continue our look at some of those games, including the horrific Howard the Duck, the scabrous Scooby Doo, and the technical Tenth Frame and wonder why something that looks like a duck and quacks like a duck drowns in water… Games covered in this episode: Park Patrol Howard...

In the month of February 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode forty-four of Zapped to the Past, we look at some of those games, including the greedy Gauntlet, the hessian Highlander and the wholesome Heartland and wonder why so many games starting with the letter H appeared in one month! Games covered in this episode: Gauntlet  Highlander  Harvey Headbanger  Hypaball Sky...

In the month of January 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode forty-three of Zapped to the Past, we look at some of those games, including the bounder-alike Bulldog, the bewildering Bazooka Bill, and the craptacular Captured, and wonder…at what point did developers decide that normal jumping just wasn’t enough any more… Games covered in this episode: Super Huey 2 Captured...

In the month of January 1987 many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode forty-two of Zapped to the Past, we look at some of those games, including the futuristic Flash Gordon, the calamitous Camelot Warriors and the peculiar Panther, and wonder… should there be more tinned meat shoot 'em ups in the world? Games covered in this episode: Flash Gordon  Assault Machine Camelot Warriors ...

As a final farewell to 1986, we look back over the year and the games from the issues of Zzap from January to December 1986, selecting some of the titles we have played for our prestigious Zapped to the Past awards. Which game will be heralded as having the ‘Best Visuals’ or win the ‘Best Music’ or the ‘Sunday Best Award?’ There is only one way to find out! The running order of the awards: Introdu...

In the month of December 1986, many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode forty of Zapped to the Past, we conclude our look at some of those games, including the foreboding Fist II: The Legend Continues, the diabolical Dante’s Inferno and the twitch-speed Trailblazer, and wonder… How far would your beard reach by the time you completed all 10,000 levels of The Sentinel? Games covere...

In the month of December 1986, many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode thirty-nine of Zapped to the Past, we explore some of those games, including the unmistakable Uchi Mata, the eye rolling Bobby Bearing and the sumptuous Sacred Armour of Antiriad, and wonder... where can you get to play a decent game of Bagatelle these days?    Games covered in this episode: Boulderdash Constr...

In the month of November 1986, many games were released for the Commodore 64. In episode thirty-eight of Zapped to the Past, we conclude our look at some of those games, including the shooty Sanxion, the jumpy Jeep Command, and the alluring AlleyKat, and wonder…Where is my Ninja? Where is that Ninja friend of mine? Games covered in this episode: Sanxion Ninja Nomad Jeep Command (It’s) Clean Up Tim...