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Were Imagine games any good?

VampyreVampyre
edited December 2004 in Games
After watching THE documentary for the first time and having played (well attempted to play) their games over the last twenty years (plus viewing the hype from the mags at the time) I have to ask does any else think that Imagine games ranged in a backwards scale from average to bloody awful!

Back in 1983/84 none of the Speccy people I knew rated let alone owned a single Imagine game apart from Zzoom.

Yet these guys seemed to have been treated and paid like Rock Stars. Please someone explain why because I think they were awful (and I've thought this since 1984 when I had Ah Diddums bought for me!)
Post edited by Vampyre on
ZXSR - Speccy Mags Reviews
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Comments

  • DavidBDavidB
    edited November 2004
    Arcadia was ok - as was Alchemist.

    They did a few very good games, and a few completely poo poo ones!
    No one important.
  • WhizzBangWhizzBang
    edited November 2004
    Stonkers, Hyper Sports, Green Beret and Movie were all good, and the World Series games seemed good at the time.
  • DavidBDavidB
    edited November 2004
    Only Stonkers was real imagine - the others where ocean
    No one important.
  • VampyreVampyre
    edited November 2004
    On 2004-11-27 00:35, WhizzBang wrote:
    Stonkers, Hyper Sports, Green Beret and Movie were all good, and the World Series games seemed good at the time.

    I should have said the original Imagine software (thought that was clear in mentioning the documentary), not the stuff released by the Ocean subsidiary circa 1985.
    ZXSR - Speccy Mags Reviews
  • FrankieFrankie
    edited November 2004
    I think that Jumping Jack, Alchemist and Molar Maul was good. The rest of the early ones was not really my cup of tea :)
  • NickHNickH
    edited November 2004
    On 2004-11-27 00:42, daveykins wrote:
    Only Stonkers was real imagine - the others where ocean

    Although you could see WS Baseball being developed in the Commercial Breaks documentary.

    Looks like they had some talent in there, as well as crap management.
  • MartinUKMartinUK
    edited November 2004
    Zzoom was superb, and Alchemist and Jumping Jack have their merits. Then again, there is one other good game they did - it's definitely Stonkers.
  • MartinUKMartinUK
    edited November 2004
    Come to think of it, cosndiering that the big deal about Imagien was that their teenage programmers got paid so much, it's a little ironic that 3 of their best games came from the 30-something John Gibson, who had spent much fo the previosu decade as a self-employed plasterer.
  • ArjunArjun
    edited November 2004
    John Gibson is rather good. Denton Designs, of which he went on to become a part of (co-founder I think) produced some rather nice games - definitely much better than anything Imagine churned out.
    Zero - A modern Spectrum emulator for Windows.
    Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
  • Steve BSteve B
    edited November 2004
    When I was bought my first Spectrum (1985) it came with an almost complete set of Imagine games, so I know them all well. I think they're a mixed bag really. I really like Jumping Jack, Zzoom and Cosmic Cruiser.

    I don't mind Arcadia and Pedro

    I don't like Ah Diddums and Molar Maul

    I could never understand Stonkers and Alchemist

    And I F***in' hate Zip Zap!
  • mel the bellmel the bell
    edited November 2004
    i quite liked arcadia, jumping jack, pedro, zzoom and the alchemist.
    i quite like ah diddums in a sado masochist sense occasionly sometimes too....but tbh i can happily live without imagine games.

    im not really into the ocean / imagine games either really
    Professional Mel-the-Bell Simulator................"So realistic, I found myself reaching for the Kleenex King-Size!" - Richard Darling
  • ADJBADJB
    edited November 2004
    Interesting way this discussion has gone.

    Arcadia - The first fast and colourfull shoot-em-up you could buy - remember its 16K

    Schizoids - The first spectrum game to use vector graphics (not good I admit) and a have decent game idea - remember its 16K

    So the invention and radical programming was there in the early days.

    What wen't wrong after that is a different question.....

    ADJB
  • TMRTMR
    edited November 2004
    i'd just like to throw in that Wacky Waiters and a couple of others on the VIC were pretty good fun an' all... and i just had a thought (make the most of it, it's very rare! =-) There was an episode of Tell The Truth with Eugene Evans, i wonder if anyone still has that footage...?
  • LeeTLeeT
    edited November 2004
    I did like BC BILL on the C64 - Though I haven't played it for a long time, so I am not sure how it stands up today!
  • FX23FX23
    edited November 2004
    Green Beret is one of the best action games on the spectrum.
  • LeeTLeeT
    edited November 2004
    On 2004-11-27 23:49, FX23 wrote:
    Green Beret is one of the best action games on the spectrum.

    Thats another title from the ocean 'Imagine' days - Good game though!
  • DunnyDunny
    edited November 2004
    On 2004-11-27 23:49, FX23 wrote:
    Green Beret is one of the best action games on the spectrum.

    I am inclined to disagree - for full on hardcore gaming action, you're hard pushed to beat "Explorer".

    D.
  • NickHNickH
    edited November 2004
    On 2004-11-27 23:49, FX23 wrote:
    Green Beret is one of the best action games on the spectrum.

    Hrm, too repetitive for my liking - I got bored rather quickly.
  • chaosmongerschaosmongers
    edited November 2004
    BC Bill was a great game.

    I agree, some of the Vic 20 stuff was pretty good too, with most (if not all) of them being for the unexpanded machine.

    I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I've got a copy of MEGA VAULT for the Vic 20 by Imagine.

    This is one I've not heard of before... is it one of the last Imagine titles?




  • Technician-TedTechnician-Ted
    edited November 2004
    I thought their games were pretty good back then..I think Alchemist and Jumping Jack were 2 of my most played games back in the early 80's..Games like Zzoom and Stonkers were also very good..I remember playing Arcadia a lot as well.

    I did check Ah Diddums out not too long ago, it was another game i quite enjoyed back then, but it's got to be said it's a bit crap nowadays.

    Alchemist though is probably one of my most nostalgic games from back then.
  • Dave_CDave_C
    edited November 2004
    Stonkers was my favourite, perhaps the first-ever RTS game?? This one founded my interest in strategy/wargames. Pity there was nothing else as good on the market for at-least a year afterwards.

    I also thought Zzoom was a great game.

    Alchemist was enjoyable but quite short. This was the first computer game I ever completed (without cheating!) ;)

    Arcadia was OK but had terrible flicker on the graphics. Probably understandable since it was written relatively early on in the life of the Spectrum.

    I?m afraid I didn?t rate the other Imagine games at-all. :(
  • psj3809psj3809
    edited November 2004
    Not sure why everyone is anti Stonkers !!

    Back then in the early years Alchemist and Stonkers i thought were very good, some of their other early titles i wasnt keen on at all.

    As for acting like rock stars etc as they were at the beginning of the huge software explosion on the Speccy i can imagine they made a ton despite their games not being the best. I think their advertising and marketing was decent at the time.

    I much much prefer their games when Ocean took over as they were oozing of quality then but some of those early titles werent bad considering it was the very early years of the Speccy. Just presume a ton of money was to be made back then
  • CollieCollie
    edited November 2004
    Does every thread now require at least one mention of the game "Stonkers"?

    At least this time it's relevant.
  • darkmandarkman
    edited November 2004
    On 2004-11-30 21:10, Collie wrote:
    Does every thread now require at least one mention of the game "Stonkers"?
    I think you're allowed to forego it if you mention sheds instead!
  • mel the bellmel the bell
    edited November 2004
    *shouts* rubbish


    *then legs it out of the thread quicktime*
    Professional Mel-the-Bell Simulator................"So realistic, I found myself reaching for the Kleenex King-Size!" - Richard Darling
  • CKayCKay
    edited November 2004
    Clever avoidance of mentioning either Stonkers or Sheds by using the :-

    "Ohh -er Missus, whatcha doin`... oh-err... that can`t can`t be right - Ooooherrrr... oh-errr... :) "

    Get out claus...

    Some of their early stuff is too basic for me, especially without the sentamentality of playing them in the early eighies... the later stuff `allied` with Ocean though I absoulutely LOVE, and the name itself always made me wanna buy it.

    Molar Maul or whatever... weird little game...

  • mel the bellmel the bell
    edited November 2004
    On 2004-11-30 23:00, CKay wrote:
    Get out claus...

    is he a distant relation of santa clauses
    Professional Mel-the-Bell Simulator................"So realistic, I found myself reaching for the Kleenex King-Size!" - Richard Darling
  • chaosmongerschaosmongers
    edited December 2004
    On 2004-11-30 22:50, mel the bell wrote:
    *shouts* rubbish


    *then legs it out of the thread quicktime*


    Imagine were the greatest. Ultimate's games in comparison were pathetic. They could learn a thing or two from Imagine, like gameplay, and addictiveness

    *hides under a bridge waiting for three billy goat's gruff to cross*
  • HedegaardHedegaard
    edited December 2004
    Hmmm, Ultimate had that alluring "magic" to their games, although some of that magic dissipitated due to filmation being overly used, so it became more technical than something "new". However despite this, you can't compare Imagine to Ultimate, like comparing a car to an aeroplane.....(Ultimate being the better naturally)
  • psj3809psj3809
    edited December 2004
    I think Chaosmonger is joking.

    Imagine after Ocean got involved released a lot of good games, Hyper Sports was excellent and very polished.

    Ultimate were just the best, dont blame them for overdoing a fair few games with Filmation, never remember when i first saw Knight Lore, couldnt believe those graphics
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