Introducing Others to Commodore 64 Gaming Part 3: First Games
After screening dozens of games from the GB64 collection for the critieria I set out in Part 1, I've come up with a short list of some great games to get C64 beginners familiar with gaming on the (emulated) Commodore 64. While I wouldn't call these the absolute "best" games ever released for the C64, they are fun, easy to learn, and don't demand much in the way of keyboard interaction. I heartily recommend downloading all of them and putting them together in a folder of their own somewhere easy to find, like your Windows desktop or a USB thumb drive (with a copy of VICE!).
Even if you're an experienced C64 gamer with no friends or kids around to introduce these to, then give them a try if you haven't already, they're worth playing!
To download these games, click the titles of each, and choose "Latif" under "Download Servers" at the bottom right of each page.
Blueprint
The concept of this early (1983) C64 game is simple, but the gameplay is smooth, addictive and challenging! The player "J.J." needs to go into each of the small houses and obtain a part for a machine that is assembled at the bottom of the screen. There are obstacles to this, however, including the fact that some houses contain bombs, not parts, and those bombs must be tossed into the "bomb pit" at the lower right of the screen. All the while, a monster is chasing your girl at the top of the screen, getting closer by the second. You can hold down the fire button for brief spurts of speed. Once the machine is assembled, hit the "start" button and use it to shoot the baddy! Don't think it will be so easy, though, other tricks and traps await!
CJ
CJ is a much newer game, and a typical platform scroller type that most modern gamers will instantly pick up. Shoot from CJ's trunk with the fire button, and hurl little pumpkin looking bombs by pulling down on the joystick/gamepad. It's a fun game, with some of the hardest parts right near the start, including a tricky downwards diagonal jump over water that may take you a couple of tries to get the hang of. It's worth playing as far along as you can, the game is detailed and rewarding.
Dizzy - Prince of the Yolkfolk!
The Dizzy series was long-running and very popular in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. At first glance Dizzy - Prince of the Yolkfolk! appears to be a platformer like CJ, but is actually deeper than that. An inventory system that is easy to manage, objects that can be used, and puzzles to be solved by "talking" to various characters throughout the game make it much more than just a platform game. At the same time, skill at jumping and navigating your way through many screens of physical challenges stops the game from becoming a dull item quest. Of all of the games in this list, this Dizzy game may prove to be the "hook" that gets a new player interested in C64 gaming. I chose this particular game having never played it until screening it for this list. It proved to be more intuitive and easier to play than some of the other earlier Dizzy games. And for people who enjoy this one, there are many more! A tip: pick up and use the items in the first room you're trapped in to burn down the door.
Mayhem in Monsterland
This game is one of the slickest action games I've seen on the Commodore 64, period. Released a full decade after the C64 was introduced, it is a great example of how games improved over the years and how programmers learned to squeeze the full power out of the 64 kilobytes through creative coding (something of a lost art on the PC today, where games demand better and better hardware every year).
Gameplay is essentially like Super Mario World.
Note: The file may start with a prompt for "Intro or Game" so remember to hit the first letter on your keyboard when prompted like this if you have a "cracked" version, hit "G" to start the game.
Omidar
Omidar is a remake of an early 1980's game called Amidar. Many clones of this game appeared over the years, but Omidar is one of the better ones. The main character, an ape (or a paint roller), must collect "coconuts" while clearing sections of the screen in rectangles. Whenever a rectangular portion of the board is cleared (either by collecting all surrounding coconuts, or painting all surrounding edges), the rectangle is colored in, and bonus points are awarded. Clear the entire screen, and you can move on to the next level. There is an addictive quality to this game similar to Pac Man and Qix.
PP Digger
One of the very common types of games made for the Commodore 64, perhaps due to the relative ease of programming them, were puzzle games like Boulder Dash. In these games, the player must "dig" around the screen and can only exit after collecting all of the "diamonds" in the game. That sounds much easier than it actually is, since the diamonds are surrounded by boulders that fall if you dig around or under them. It is possible to dig in such a way that the boulders make it impossible to exit, even if you have all of the diamonds. PP Digger is different in that you have moving enemies, like ghosts, who wait for you to set them free in your Diamond quest. Drop boulders onto them strategically, but be careful where you drop them!
Smash Out
Smash Out is like air hockey, or Pong, but with nice graphics and interesting little twists thrown in to boost the gameplay fun. This is a game where you can either play against the computer, or pick up 2 game pads and challenge your friend. Might be a good way to "break the ice" and toss an unknowing friend into the world of C64 gaming! Later you can challenge him or her to a game of Archon...
Zynaps
Zynaps is a left to right scrolling shoot-em-up game. Destroy all of the enemies in a group, and pick up a bonus. Avoid hitting walls, dodge enemy attacks, and get to the end of each level. If you've ever played "R-Type" you'll be familiar with the often challenging, but simplistic gameplay.
Also See:
Introducing Friends and Kids to Commodore 64 Gaming Part 1: Controls
Introducing Friends and Kids to Commodore 64 Gaming Part 2: Obstacles to Instant Fun
Even if you're an experienced C64 gamer with no friends or kids around to introduce these to, then give them a try if you haven't already, they're worth playing!
To download these games, click the titles of each, and choose "Latif" under "Download Servers" at the bottom right of each page.
Blueprint
The concept of this early (1983) C64 game is simple, but the gameplay is smooth, addictive and challenging! The player "J.J." needs to go into each of the small houses and obtain a part for a machine that is assembled at the bottom of the screen. There are obstacles to this, however, including the fact that some houses contain bombs, not parts, and those bombs must be tossed into the "bomb pit" at the lower right of the screen. All the while, a monster is chasing your girl at the top of the screen, getting closer by the second. You can hold down the fire button for brief spurts of speed. Once the machine is assembled, hit the "start" button and use it to shoot the baddy! Don't think it will be so easy, though, other tricks and traps await!
CJ
CJ is a much newer game, and a typical platform scroller type that most modern gamers will instantly pick up. Shoot from CJ's trunk with the fire button, and hurl little pumpkin looking bombs by pulling down on the joystick/gamepad. It's a fun game, with some of the hardest parts right near the start, including a tricky downwards diagonal jump over water that may take you a couple of tries to get the hang of. It's worth playing as far along as you can, the game is detailed and rewarding.
Dizzy - Prince of the Yolkfolk!
The Dizzy series was long-running and very popular in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. At first glance Dizzy - Prince of the Yolkfolk! appears to be a platformer like CJ, but is actually deeper than that. An inventory system that is easy to manage, objects that can be used, and puzzles to be solved by "talking" to various characters throughout the game make it much more than just a platform game. At the same time, skill at jumping and navigating your way through many screens of physical challenges stops the game from becoming a dull item quest. Of all of the games in this list, this Dizzy game may prove to be the "hook" that gets a new player interested in C64 gaming. I chose this particular game having never played it until screening it for this list. It proved to be more intuitive and easier to play than some of the other earlier Dizzy games. And for people who enjoy this one, there are many more! A tip: pick up and use the items in the first room you're trapped in to burn down the door.
Mayhem in Monsterland
This game is one of the slickest action games I've seen on the Commodore 64, period. Released a full decade after the C64 was introduced, it is a great example of how games improved over the years and how programmers learned to squeeze the full power out of the 64 kilobytes through creative coding (something of a lost art on the PC today, where games demand better and better hardware every year).
Gameplay is essentially like Super Mario World.
Note: The file may start with a prompt for "Intro or Game" so remember to hit the first letter on your keyboard when prompted like this if you have a "cracked" version, hit "G" to start the game.
Omidar
Omidar is a remake of an early 1980's game called Amidar. Many clones of this game appeared over the years, but Omidar is one of the better ones. The main character, an ape (or a paint roller), must collect "coconuts" while clearing sections of the screen in rectangles. Whenever a rectangular portion of the board is cleared (either by collecting all surrounding coconuts, or painting all surrounding edges), the rectangle is colored in, and bonus points are awarded. Clear the entire screen, and you can move on to the next level. There is an addictive quality to this game similar to Pac Man and Qix.
PP Digger
One of the very common types of games made for the Commodore 64, perhaps due to the relative ease of programming them, were puzzle games like Boulder Dash. In these games, the player must "dig" around the screen and can only exit after collecting all of the "diamonds" in the game. That sounds much easier than it actually is, since the diamonds are surrounded by boulders that fall if you dig around or under them. It is possible to dig in such a way that the boulders make it impossible to exit, even if you have all of the diamonds. PP Digger is different in that you have moving enemies, like ghosts, who wait for you to set them free in your Diamond quest. Drop boulders onto them strategically, but be careful where you drop them!
Smash Out
Smash Out is like air hockey, or Pong, but with nice graphics and interesting little twists thrown in to boost the gameplay fun. This is a game where you can either play against the computer, or pick up 2 game pads and challenge your friend. Might be a good way to "break the ice" and toss an unknowing friend into the world of C64 gaming! Later you can challenge him or her to a game of Archon...
Zynaps
Zynaps is a left to right scrolling shoot-em-up game. Destroy all of the enemies in a group, and pick up a bonus. Avoid hitting walls, dodge enemy attacks, and get to the end of each level. If you've ever played "R-Type" you'll be familiar with the often challenging, but simplistic gameplay.
Also See:
Introducing Friends and Kids to Commodore 64 Gaming Part 1: Controls
Introducing Friends and Kids to Commodore 64 Gaming Part 2: Obstacles to Instant Fun
Another great article
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I've only played 3 of the games on the list. Dizzy - Prince of The Yolkfolk I played (and completed). Pretty awesome and a good introduction, a lot of the other Dizzy games are rock solid - Treasure Island Dizzy for one.
Though it still isn't the easiest. That honour goes to Spellbound Dizzy, but for a completely easy game for a C64 newbie to play, search for a game called Slightly Magic, it was similar, but a cakewalk.
CJ was rather fun as well, though the later two games - Elephant Antics and CJ in the USA I preferred.
Finally Mayhem In Monsterland. What a game! Easily the best game on the system, and as you said accessible to many people familiar with 8 bit games. The "Sad" side of the game is tricky though!
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Oh those were the good times, I used to spend hours on those games. Mayhem in Monsterland is my favourite.
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Though it still isn't the easiest. That honour goes to Spellbound Dizzy, but for a completely easy game for a C64 newbie to play, search for a game called Slightly Magic, it was similar, but a cakewalk.
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