Amstrad CPC has received some criticism over the games it developed, but forgetting all the Spectrum ports, you would notice that they have quite a lot of awesome games. So let’s go on this ride to discover what ten games are a must-have for any Amstrad owner.
North & South
Release Year: 1991
We love North & South because it represents the potential CPC has when it’s not just making Spectrum ports. We do not expect this classic title to be a visual match for the 16 bit version, but we were impressed with the likeness of this game to the French comic that inspired it (Les Tuniques Bleues). We love the fact that the gameplay is just as stunning as the visuals and you will find yourself trying to claim your adversary’s land in the midst of war. And yes, there are explosions. We love it.
The Guild of Thieves
Release Year : 1987
You have a lot of text adventures on CPC’s database but Guild of Thieves keeps calling us back. We love just hoe intricately this story was crafted with its circuitous puzzles and wonderfully drawn locations. It is the epitome of all what Magnetic Scrolls stands for. You have a box set with a lot of wonderful gifts (just like in The Pawn). The gifts could be a ‘What Burglar’ mag or even a Bank of Kerovnia credit card. And yes, the setting is Kerovnia. It is much more tough than the game before it but we love it’s superiority. It is a great and challenging game.
Spindizzy
Release Year: 1986
You know sometimes simplicity is the key. And we love just how this phrase is showcased in the really straightforward but good Spindizzy. What do you have to do in this game? Engineer your spinning top round the three hundred and eighth six isometric screens so as to find jewels. It doesn’t sound hard right? It’s not but that is what makes it good. You would find the first jewels quite easily but then you’d need to start thinking ingeniously so as to find the other jewels as their locations are places you’d never imagine. Some of the jewels can be found only when you flick switches, you jump deep chasms, use elevators, not counting the extremely precarious arena that makes it quite difficult for you to progress. Oops, we forgot to mention that all the jewels need to be found in a certain time range…
Gryzor
Release Year : 1987
It is quite a depressing fact but a lot of the Amstrad conversions cane third to the Commodore and Spectrum ports, and these were most times superior. But once in a while, you had a game that came and was mind-blowing. Gryzor is an example of this kind of game. The visuals of this game are just great (they are similar to Ocean hit Renegade by Mark Jones) and the gameplay is fascinating as well. You have responsive controls and we love thst this game features just the amount of difficulty needed. Yes, there are a couple of discrepancies (and the aesthetics are not quite a stunning) but we are quite impressed by the fact that it is a close replica of the original game. And quite awesome for an 8-bit game.
Total Eclipse
Release Year: 1988
In 1988 when Total Eclipse was released, two titles (Freescape) were already under Incentive, the developer’s belt. Of course Darkside or Driller were perfectly okay with thrir sci-fi themes, but Total Eclipse, with its Thirties Egypt inspired theme, was much more relatable. Also, its technical proficiency is better, the puzzles are more intricate and the overall creepy tone is a great addition when you are going through the dark pyramid. You had the introduction of some play mechanics. A time frame of two hours was given to go through all the missions. This time would have been just right if only navigating the pyramid wasn’t that confusing.
Prince of Persia
Release Year: 1990
There is no doubt that this game is one of the most remarkable ones to have appeared on the 8-bit Alan Sugar computer. Its release date is 1990 and through it, we see just how much CPC can accomplish when it has the right push. Each level is one of its kind and quite stunning. But what we love most is the Prince’s animation. The gameplay is good and the Prince is very responsive. We never do know but we think that if CPC had released more games like Prince of Persia (and not Bridge It), a lot of things might have been different.
Fantasy World Dizzy
Release Year: 1989
You cannot talk about top ten Amstrad games without making mention of a Dizzy game. So we took the decisoon to make mention of the game where this hero goes through the Fantasy World to find Daisy, his girlfriend. But Fantasy World isn’t a smalk place and to meet his lost love, he has to go through a number of things (like solving intricate puzzles anf fighting off beastly opponents). We love that Fantasy World is not as difficult as Treasure Island Dizzy where you had just one life. Fantasy World is superior in game play, quality, puzzles and visuals. We are not surprised by the amount of love it received and still receives.
Head Over Heels
Release Year: 1986
This game is one of the best isometric adventures that Amstrad (and a lot of other machines to be honest) has featured and we love how ageless it is. The design of each level is just mind-blowing and every interaction between the characters is stunning. We love how Drummond with just a few pixels, creates characters that have more life than a lot of today’s games. This is hands down one of the best adventure games to have been created.
Get Dexter
Release Year: 1986
Get Dexter has as producer ERE Informatique, a French company. CPC really got it good with this game mixing humour and adding a touch of uniqueness into a beautiful isometric adventurous game. Honestly, we think it beats anything released on the CPC by Ultimate. The visuals of Get Dexter are colourful, beautiful and mind-blowing. It is fun to see your character’s interaction with practically everything on your screen. We love that they managed to reach that balance between difficulty and fun. A real classic, Get Dexter is truly a superior game.
Chase HQ
Release Year: 1989
You will not find the popular line said by your partner on the unexpanded CPC 464 version (“Let’s Go, Mr Driver”). In spite of this, this conversion is one of the best. The only thing that we could find to bemoan is that this game had your adrenaline on a high, giving you sweaty palms as you watched the clock going faster and faster while you tried to get to your opponent. Don’t forget all the smoke from your tires. We love the graphics of this came, colourful and beautiful. Also, we love how responsive it is, as the speed was incredibly fast. This game is unmatched both in pace and action. It is definitely a game that we would go back to.