Bug's Quest 2 - A challenging platformer from YB Software for the Amstrad CPC

This year has already seen a few nice titles released for the Amstrad CPC, but here is a lovely colourful homage to the Jet Set Willy/Chuckie Egg style of game, featuring the creators very own character, Novabug. Guide his likeness across many different screens to raise enough money for the "BIG C'" research while trying not to be damaged by many of the weird creatures spread throughout the game.

Puzzle Bobble on the Amstrad CPC - Novabug gives us an exclusive Video review as a release is due today!

Teased back on February on this very site, the much awaited Amstrad CPC arcade port of Puzzle Bobble will not only be released at some point today, but to get you excited prior to the BIG release thanks to Crazy Piri who sent us the game, I have an exclusive review video to show you which can be viewed below in glorious 8bit. Puzzle games on the Amstrad are sort of a specialty for the system, it can really shine with these types of games.

AmtixCPC Micro Action Issue 1 Released!

Retro Fusion Books, publishers of the reborn Crash and ZZAP64!, as well as their original publication Fusion gaming Magazine, have dipped their toes into the Amstrad CPC scene and given new life to the classic Amtix magazine in the form of this new bi-monthly publication, AmtixCPC Micro Action.

Spearheaded by Chris Wilkins and Colin Bell, an ensemble of writers from the Amstrad retro community including Al 'Xyphoe' White, Zoe Kirt-Robinson and myself, Novabug will bring you reviews of new and classic games, featured articles about the machines and software, news from the existing CPC scene and loads more. It's terrific to have once again, a dedicated magazine in print for the Amstrad CPC, the too often discarded system of the classic 80's 8-bit micro trio.

Top 11 Amstrad CPC Games of 2019

Another year has passed, and another year of excellent offerings for the humble Amstrad CPC. Whilst the quantity was down slightly from that of 2018, the quality was of a high standard as expected. CPCRetroDev didn't let us down with a good selection, but the highlights were a near-perfect arcade conversion of a classic shoot em up, and a game, originally on the Amiga, which may be one of the best 8-bit micro games ever. But, you'll have to see my selected Top 11 to find out what these games are....

Exclusive Toki GGP on Amstrad CPC Preview!

Christmas has come early for Amstrad CPC fans! Once in development for the GX4000 console and Plus series back in the ninties, but Ocean refused to release it, platform shoot em' up Toki makes a come back in the form of Toki GGP on the Amstrad CPC. Developed by Amstrad GGP, Toki is in the process of creation, but the first level of the TAD Crop arcade conversion is complete. Here, I exclusively review a beta copy of the game in my typical format.

30 Years of Golden Axe!

It's been 30 years since Sega unleashed the fantasy slash em up Golden Axe in the arcades, and it hasn't lost any of its charm. It's a series which received several sequels and a 2008 reboot which all never matched up to the original story of vengeance and rescue with the evil antagonist Death Adder. The Mega Drive home port was hailed as a very faithful re-creation of the coin-op, but it also graced many of the other home systems courtesy of Virgin and Probe Software.

Pinball Dreams on the Amstrad CPC - An EXCLUSIVE First Look!

Released originally in 1992 on the Amiga, Pinball Dreams, the game which claimed to be a 'real pinball simulator' became somewhat of a fan-favourite and cult classic. Released on many different system over the years including the likes of the Super Nintendo, the Amstrad CPC never saw a port as the humble 8 bit system was pretty much out of the video gaming picture by '92. None of the home micros received a port in fact. The Commodore 64 got a preview version in 2006, but was never fully completed into a full game despite the C64 fanbase begging for a full version. But surprisingly, in 2016 the Batman Group who specialize in creating amazing demos for the classic computers, released a preview of an Amstrad version of the Digital Illusions masterpiece. Now, in early 2019, we have a full completed game which will dazzle CPC fans and 8 bit gamers as a whole.

Top 11 Amstrad CPC Games of 2018

Even though it's 35 years old as of 2019, the Amstrad CPC still has a passionate fan-base and a prominent following in the programming community. This is exemplified in the quantity AND quality of the games released last year, most in downloadable form but some even in physical hard copy editions. It's been a glorious year in terms of new games for the CPC, so it's only right I choose my personal top 11. From slash 'em ups to dungeon crawlers to puzzle battles, many genre's and tastes were catered for in 2018. So here is the tasty cream of the very large crop.

Double Review - Retro Gaming Books The A to Z of Amstrad CPC Games Vol 1 & Retro Tech

It's always nice to kick back sometimes with several printed pages of interesting subjects. Away from the glare of the screen and the noise of the blasters but still wanting to keep that retro gaming fix in the blood. Well there is a plethora of video gaming books out there, and two recently came into my possession, both written by popular retro gaming Youtubers.

Games 101 - Epic Retro Game Compilations

I while back, I produced a video celebration of the Amstrad CPC called The 464 Project. It was a popular video and so I have adapted the long-view format to suit a whole range of video gaming genres and topics. Games 101 is that series, and the first show looks at the long history of arcade shoot 'em ups. 101 games in 101 minutes. Enjoy.

The Brief History of.... Paperboy

Atari Games brought us a memorable arcade back in 1985, which had handlebars as a controller and the aim of the game was to.... deliver newspapers. Yes, newspapers were this type of paper media publication years back where we used to get our news about the world, before the internet took over. They still exist, but are increasingly irrelevant. I digress. Paperboy was the game in question and by golly it became a bit of a success. Many of the then current systems received ports of the suicidal newsboy, to various degrees of quality. In my latest episode of Brief History, we look at all 30 of the ported games, including it's underwhelming N64 reboot, and it's home only sequel.

Top 11: Amstrad Horror Games

Halloween for 2018 is done and dusted, and hopefully a good and safe time had by all. Horror is a genre which feeds into many media albeit movies, books or video games. In fact, some of the best selling games over the years have been Horror based. The 8 bit system's didn't miss out this these types of games either, and often produced some of the very best titles on the platform. The Amstrad is case-in-point, with at least 4 of the games in the following list considered to be some of the finest work made on the system. Influenced by reviews and personal experience, here is my Top 11 Amstrad Horror Games.

Top 11: ZX Spectrum to Amstrad CPC Ports

During the 8-bit home computer heyday of the eighties, Amstrad fans noticed a phenomenon that continued all the way up until the CPC's discontinuation. Many games were released that didn't appear to be optimized for the system's strengths and thus lots of lackluster games came to the party. This was eventually explained to the common user that the games, were ported from a rival machine... the ZX Spectrum.

Rampaging for over 30 Years

Yet another video game to movie attempt, and a rather surprising one. Rampage actually turns into a pretty decent throwaway flick. But it all started with the games, and here is the story in pictures of said games, right from the original arcade to the final games. Maybe the movie with spawn a spin-off? Who knows....

The A to Z of Games Consoles & Home Computers

All the systems! Here is my attempt to make the ultimate 'almost' complete video list of Game Consoles and Home computers released over the years since the early seventies. I have tried to make this list as comprehensive as possible but a few rare systems and oddities maY be missing.

Top 11 Games for the Amstrad CPC in 2017

2017 was yet again another fine year for homebrew and indie releases for the humble CPC, again boosted by CPCretroDev's yearly competition, but many more games made their way onto the Amstrad from some very talented programmers. Shining, Keith Sear, Naverro, McKlain, 4mhz and more were very busy indeed. The quality of the games has rose to amazing standards, so choosing a Top 11 was tricky to say the least.

Amstrad CPC Vs Amstrad GX4000 - Port Comparison!

With the recent additions to the retroscene showcasing the Amstrad GX4000 console with the 'Eerie Forest' and 'CRTC3' demos, it's a perfect time to re-present my series of videos showing the often touted 'CPC shoveled' games and the differences between the versions. 15 of the 26 games released for the GX4000 on cartridge were ports of existing CPC tape or disk games. It's commonly thought these ports are identical to the CPC originals and therefore not worth the higher price tag and majorly contributed to the failure of the system.

Top 11: Terrible Amstrad CPC Games... A Fan's List.

Back in the days of the 8-bit wars, quality control was not a stringent as it is now, and many games were developed under restrictive conditions or tight deadlines, or the wrong programmer was chosen. Whatever the reasons, many games released were, to put it bluntly, total garbage. Honest fans of their respective systems will fondly look back on these mess of bytes, so here I give you my Top 11 Terrible Amstrad CPC Games. This list is a combination of my personal preference, magazine reviews and polls conducted in the Amstrad forums, and features a host of Youtube CPC fans including Xyphoe, Chinnyvision and Zoe Kirk-Robinson. Will Count Duckula 2 get the number one spot? Watch and find out...

Book review: Let's go Dizzy - The Story of The Oliver Twins

Something which is proving popular with retro gamers in recent years are the hardback books featuring a past gaming theme, popular genre or famous developer, and one of the best released in late 2016 was Let's Go Dizzy! The Story of The Oliver Twins. Written by the duo of Chris Wilkins and Roger M Kean, this beautiful book looks into the past of the legendary UK game developers Andrew and Philip Oliver. Predominately featuring the brothers most famous creation, the fantasy eggy hero Dizzy.

The 464 Project 128k Expansion - 128 MORE Games on the Amstrad CPC464

About 18 months ago, I made The 464 Project; a compilation video to mark the 31st anniversary of the Amstrad CPC464. Since then, people in the retro community have been in touch about a follow up video, and mentioned memorable games that I missed the first time around. So, here is the expansion... 128 more games on the CPC464 featuring favourites like The Addams Family, Maruader, Spindizzy, Sub Hunter and many more. If demand continues, I may even create a 3rd video with the many games I still haven't shown. Until then, Enjoy this slice of Amstrad action.