Cracktro Tuesday #1 - Exploring the very latest releases from the C64 Scene

Welcome to a new series of articles where I pluck a selection of C64 programs from Commodore Scene Database (CSDB), play them live on my Twitch stream on real C64 hardware, and write up the highlights here on Indie Retro News. Whether it's artwork, demos, music, classic games revisited in the form of trained cracks or the very latest games - we've got it covered!

Pacman Preview - A possible work in progress C64 Arcade Conversion?

Throughout the years there have been many Pac-Man games mentioned on Indie Retro News, from the Pac-Man Xtreme romhack, to Jr. Pac-Man on the Intellivision and even a Pac-Man game on the Pico-8, which all vary in style to the 1980's hit classic that can still be found today sitting as a port beside an Atari 2600 ( or if you're lucky an original Arcade machine ). Well C64 owners are about to get in on the action *hopefully* as Laxity have teased a Pacman Preview, which is being worked on by Andy Walker.

Handheld Brick Racer is coming to the ZX Spectrum!

As many of you are aware by now going by our write up today, the Internet Archive has added many new handheld games to their playable line up going right back to the early 80's such as Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and even Q*Bert! Well it looks as if another handheld has made an appearance as Dave Clarke has contacted us regarding his in development Brick Racer for the ZX Spectrum!

Handheld History launched via The Internet Archive!

A long time ago in New York in a local store on my way to eating a lovely Pecan Pie it was the very first time I ever saw a 1980's Nintendo Game and Watch with a little guy that had to put out a fire. Sadly I was never able to buy one of them and it wasn't until now that I heard many of those famous LCD style games had been re-released via The Internet Archive that are playable online via your browser and MAME.

Pac-Mad - The final version of a great Pac-Man clone for the Atari XL/XE

One of the many different variants of the 1980's Pacman has appeared on the Atari XL/XE, and this one is an updated homebrew called ' Pac-Mad  ' programmed by BOCiANU with music by LiSU. In the original classic you took control of Pac-Man through a maze, eating all the pac-dots, avoiding ghosts or eating them with a special pick up and moving on to the next stage. Pac-Mad however is very similar but instead has a scrolling screen, fast moving enemies with fast moving music, and large dots that can slow down musical time and make the ghosts edible!

Crumbs! - Pac-Man on the Atari Jaguar? Well sort of!

Throughout the years there have been many Pac-Man games mentioned on Indie Retro News, from the Pac-Man Xtreme romhack, to Jr. Pac-Man on the Intellivision and even a Pac-Man game on the Pico-8, which all vary in style to the 1980's hit classic that can still be found today sitting as a port beside an Atari 2600 ( or if you're lucky an original Arcade machine ). Now this latest news isn't just a Pac-Man inspired game but it takes the original game and turns it on its head, as at some point soon if you have an Atari Jaguar you'll be able to play this inspiration but in first person!

Globus - Unreleased ZX Spectrum game from 1987 finally appears!

It's time to spread the news far and wide for the ZX Spectrum, as Paco Lafuente has announced the release of his 1987 game ' Globus ', which has never seen the light of day until now. Developed as a Pac-Man variant and made in Z80 machine code, this game turns the original on its head and instead of having dots to eat, you must spend energy on one side of the maze and get to the other until your energy tank is completely filled. Also unlike Pac-Man, there are ghosts in this game as robots but they can only be dealt with by a swift use of an electrical discharge.

GPAC Dementia Defender +3CD - A Pac-Man nutritional clone on the C64, reviewed!

Throughout the years there have been many Pac-Man games mentioned on Indie Retro News, from the Pac-Man Xtreme romhack, to Jr. Pac-Man on the Intellivision and even a Pac-Man game on the Pico-8. Each of these vary in style from the 1980's hit classic, but GPAC Dementia Defender +3CD released recently on the C64 by Laxity with development by GRay Defender, features a far more nutritional scope to the original game.

Jr. Pac-Man - Bally Midway's Arcade game is coming to the Intellivision

Lots of gaming news to get through today and the first one is a well known classic Arcade game called ' Jr.Pac-Man ', which is coming to the Intellivision this year by the publishers Intellivision Revolution. This game was first released by Bally Midway way back in 1983 and is based on a child like version of Pac-Man that also has to eat dots in a maze style gaming screen while also avoiding the ghosts. The similarities end there however, as the game features side-scrolling mazes, a lack of exits, and moving prizes that not only destroy energisers but also create large dots that slow the players' movement.

CyberMania - Rescuing humans in a new Maze ZX Spectrum game

New ZX Spectrum games are coming thick and fast this week, as after already mentioning two previously, another one has come out to play, and it's Payndz's first attempt at writing a ZX Spectrum game in AGD, ' Cyber Mania '. Regarded as a cross between Robotron, Berzerk and Pac-Man, you play as what looks like an alien of some kind and must rescue humans before they are killed by the increasingly dangerous robotic enemies moving at speed around the maze.

Crazy Otto - Pac-Man style antics from Extend Mode - Gets a Steam Greenlight campaign!

We were recently given the heads up from one of our twitter followers, of a new game that's currently aiming for a Steam Greenlight success, that looks very similar to Pac-Man but with more than just your usual scattered pellets. In fact, ' Crazy Otto ' as the game is called, is actually a 2016 conversion of the Arcade game of the same name but developed by Extend Mode. Unlike that 1980's title though, this one adds an extra twenty four levels, eight simultaneous players, full support for vertical monitors and what I think sounds really awesome in ' Crazy Otto ', is the ability to play as either the good guys or the bad guys, and battle it out with your friends.

PacMan - A different take on the 1980's classic

Pac-Man, what a game that was! A game originally from the 1980's which had you controlling Pac-Man through a maze, eating all the pac-dots, avoiding ghosts and moving on to the next stage. It is still loved to this day with many different remakes available each with their own idea of what Pac-Man should be like. However this version takes a completely different approach, one that keeps you on your toes more so than the original.

Pac-Man - An all time classic Arcade game, but with a difference!

Game Genre : Arcade
Developer : pj_crozza
Game Info : I'll start this by saying "Wakka Wakka", yep it's Pac-Man, The Ghosts Revenge! But this is no ordinary Pac-Man game, as it comes with a difference. As the developer states : This comes with a new game element! Inky has grabbed the power pills and carry's them around. Can you grab the pills from him to finish a level?. Its not as easy as it sounds, because if you collide with inky, you will still lose a life. So you will have to sneak up behind him to get at those pills
Release : Now, Free
Systems : PC