I also like Atlantis Software, they released budget titles and are perhaps slightly more obscure, they didn't have many (if any) big hits.
I liked Tank Command, Heartbroken and The Last Vampire.
Ultimate and Gremlin. They made some of the most technically impressive games ever on the Speccy. Durell is another great. And Mervyn Estcourt. Did he ever surface around here?
Kinda funny how no one pointed out how old this thread is when it got dredged back up.
Let's stay on topic then, shall we. If you can name only one software house then it's gonna be really difficult, I'm torn between Ocean, Ultimate, Hewson and Gremlin ... so I'll not make any choice.
I also like Atlantis Software, they released budget titles and are perhaps slightly more obscure, they didn't have many (if any) big hits.
I liked Tank Command, Heartbroken and The Last Vampire.
Yep, a very interesting company, I also like Tank Command and Hearthbroken. And I would add The Colditz Story and Gunfighter.
I think 'GO!' did a few good titles - Bionic Commando and and Trantor as far as I remember.. LED Storm as well?
It's not really the software house, or the game, it's the memories it dredges up.
I remember going over to my mate's place and playing Bionic Commando and Robocop on his +3
It's the memory of those evenings that makes the games and the software houses special... And I assume it's similar but different reasons for everyone, not so much the aesthetic value of the game.
I think it stems from when you got your speccie. In 1982 I loved Silversoft because of Orbiter and Ground Attack - Imagine because of Arcadia and Jumping Jack (and therefore loyalty told me to TRY to like Schizoids).
Also loved Melbourne House for Horace and Penetrator.
Later on, we all knew deep down Ultimate were amazing - but they would not let me post games back for other ones due to (ahem) faults - so I don't have the same soft spot!
I also like Atlantis Software, they released budget titles and are perhaps slightly more obscure, they didn't have many (if any) big hits.
I liked Tank Command, Heartbroken and The Last Vampire.
Yeah, Atlantis were pretty decent. Sceptre of Bagdad and Survivors are both good games. I liked the cover artwork on quite a few Atlantis titles too. Quite distinctive.
I also liked Alternative Software, they did release a lot of cack but there was a few decent titles too such as the Rocky Horror show, Back to School and Soccer Boss.
I think it stems from when you got your speccie. In 1982 I loved Silversoft because of Orbiter and Ground Attack - Imagine because of Arcadia and Jumping Jack (and therefore loyalty told me to TRY to like Schizoids).
Also loved Melbourne House for Horace and Penetrator.
Later on, we all knew deep down Ultimate were amazing - but they would not let me post games back for other ones due to (ahem) faults - so I don't have the same soft spot!
Happy happy days! x
The first games I ever played on a speccy were Orbiter, Horace goes skiing and Schizoids. Along with Escape. This was all at a mates one Saturday. It is hard to imagine now that we spent all day playing those, along with a bit of simple BASIC coding.
Weird how Melbourne House was such a 'brand' during my speccy childhood but I never thought of it as being Australian. 'Melbourne' was just an abstract name.
Weird how Melbourne House was such a 'brand' during my speccy childhood but I never thought of it as being Australian. 'Melbourne' was just an abstract name.
Ocean / Imagine,...why?!,...because of Renegade and Target Renegade of course, oh and BC BIll,...very funny.
Crappest?!....U.S. Gold,....why?!....for endlessly churning out complete fuckin' **** conversions and breaking kids hearts after spending their pocket & paperboy / girl money,...again F**K you U.S. Gold and Tiertex!!!
Ocean / Imagine,...why?!,...because of Renegade and Target Renegade of course, oh and BC BIll,...very funny.
Crappest?!....U.S. Gold,....why?!....for endlessly churning out complete fuckin' **** conversions and breaking kids hearts after spending their pocket & paperboy / girl money,...again F**K you U.S. Gold and Tiertex!!!
Quality rant Zeus!
I have to say though I really enjoyed Beach Head, Raid Over Moscow, Bruce Lee, Tapper and Winter Games.
So, I find that I actually quite like them :-)
It's a tough one, but I think I'd go with Hewson. For consistently producing solid and original games that both played well in the home (instead of the kill-me-quick arcade style) and made skilled use of each and every hardware platform they published on.
Quite a few great software houses to pick from; Hewson, Gargoyle, Odin/Thor, Microsphere, Gremlin, Level 9, Mikro-Gen, Vortex, The Edge, even Ocean/Imagine are in the running despite the duds, alongside Elite & Software Projects.. quite a list really, but for me, Ultimate will always be the first Software House that springs to mind when thinking of the Spectrum so that must say something about which software house was my favourite - Knight Lore, Alien 8, Sabrewulf, Underwurlde, Gunfright, Lunar Jetman, Jetpac, Atic Atac... a great list and nearly every release a classic.
Second to Ultimate, would most likely be Hewson as they consistently kept up the quality from almost day one and well into the later years of the Spectrum, unlike Ultimate.
Thinking about it now - I did spend a lot of hours playing KnightLore and SabreWulf - prolly as much as I did JSW and Wanted: Monty Mole - so I should give Ultimate their dues...
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I liked Tank Command, Heartbroken and The Last Vampire.
Let's stay on topic then, shall we. If you can name only one software house then it's gonna be really difficult, I'm torn between Ocean, Ultimate, Hewson and Gremlin ... so I'll not make any choice.
Yep, a very interesting company, I also like Tank Command and Hearthbroken. And I would add The Colditz Story and Gunfighter.
That was me doing the dredging up! :P I was perusing older threads, and thought this was a good one, worth revisiting (despite it's age).
It's not really the software house, or the game, it's the memories it dredges up.
I remember going over to my mate's place and playing Bionic Commando and Robocop on his +3
It's the memory of those evenings that makes the games and the software houses special... And I assume it's similar but different reasons for everyone, not so much the aesthetic value of the game.
So, remember and enjoy, guys.. :)
Also loved Melbourne House for Horace and Penetrator.
Later on, we all knew deep down Ultimate were amazing - but they would not let me post games back for other ones due to (ahem) faults - so I don't have the same soft spot!
Happy happy days! x
The first games I ever played on a speccy were Orbiter, Horace goes skiing and Schizoids. Along with Escape. This was all at a mates one Saturday. It is hard to imagine now that we spent all day playing those, along with a bit of simple BASIC coding.
@luny@mstdn.games
https://www.luny.co.uk
Horace and Penetrator rule!
As do Starion and The Hobbit.
Wasn't Horace by Psion, though?
Honorable mention to Astros due to Dragonia, NATO Assault and Solarfire.
Don Priestley created some amazing graphics - Popeye, Flunky, the two Trapdoor games and Gregory Loses His Clock are all great games.
Palace Software – Cauldron II, Barbarian, Barbarian II
Microsphere – Skool Daze, Back to Skool, Contact Sam Cruise
Crappest?!....U.S. Gold,....why?!....for endlessly churning out complete fuckin' **** conversions and breaking kids hearts after spending their pocket & paperboy / girl money,...again F**K you U.S. Gold and Tiertex!!!
Quality rant Zeus!
I have to say though I really enjoyed Beach Head, Raid Over Moscow, Bruce Lee, Tapper and Winter Games.
So, I find that I actually quite like them :-)
- IONIAN-GAMES.com -
Second to Ultimate, would most likely be Hewson as they consistently kept up the quality from almost day one and well into the later years of the Spectrum, unlike Ultimate.
Thinking about it now - I did spend a lot of hours playing KnightLore and SabreWulf - prolly as much as I did JSW and Wanted: Monty Mole - so I should give Ultimate their dues...
There were loads of great software houses delivering great games for the spectrum but Ultimate were just head and shoulders above them all.