I never had a Commodore 64 computer. Instead I hopped across the road to my friend’s house to play it now and again. I remember being mesmerised by the annoying tape sounds and the alternating screen colours that played whilst the computer ‘loaded’ the game. But the utter joy of being able to race a car around a track or arse around with the Space Taxi game, or play Boulder Dash, goodness me it did keep me and my friend entertained for hours.
If you’d like to revisit those days — and you’re a C64 purist — then this is the app for you. It is, coincidentally, free to download today. At all other times it’s £3 a go. You get 8 free games included and have the option to buy a whole load more from the integrated shop. As I say, this is for the purist. At the App Store, there are a few comments from annoyed users who — for example — complain that the controls are too sensitive. They obviously don’t seem to remember the rather binary joystick that was either pointing or not. You couldn’t do it ‘a little bit’. It was 1 or 0. Good old binary. Analogue joysticks that measured the pressure you were exerting and gradually told the game to ‘go left a little bit’ came a long a lot later. In this app, the joystick and paddle is replaced by an equivalent on screen. I found it pretty easy to use.
So, revisit your youth today. A tip of the hat to developers, Manomio (“in retro we trust“). Nice work!
(iTunes link, free today, £3/other times)
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