Phantomas III The Return of Brok, Commodore 64

Phantomas 2 is an arcade platformer, originally released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and MSX computers way back in 1986.

Crash Issue 35, Dec 1986
For many years now the Planet Earth and it's surrounding space stations have been terrorised by Count Oracular. The appearance of this gothic character in the space age year of 2987 is strange enough for a start, but Oracular has not come alone. By chewing at the necks of earth's inhabitants, he has recruited his own army of vampires, these are in turn feeding off the people of Earth.

Armed with only a poem about Vampires to help him, our hero - Brok - sets off to tackle the vampires. His aim, to find the stake, the hammer and the cross which will dispatch the blood- lusting count and his nasty adversaries.

Brok only has one life in the game and this is represented by an energy chart at the bottom of the screen. Brok's energy decreases every time he brushes against one of the Count's minions. When this chart reaches zero the game is over.

Fans of Phantomas 2 will be pleased to find out that a third version of the game is in the making, specifically for the Commodore 64. Currently there is a demo version with ten screens to try out, and it's looking promising. Some sprites and intro music are not final, so you may see some significant changes as the games coding matures.

Head over to srhead.itch.io to download Version 0.52 of the demo.

Huck On The Mississippi, Commodore 64

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884, and in the United States in February 1885. Huck on the Mississippi is a new Commodore 64 game by Frank Abbing which is loosely based on the original novel.

Info:
After a break of 35 years, I have finished programming this game for the Commodore 64. There are ten levels with a final boss, after which the game will be completed. I think both are motivating. There are probably people who will play through the game in a few minutes, and others who will lose all hope at the increasingly difficult levels and try again and again. Use the joystick in Port 2 to control your player on a log. Move up/down and left/right to pick up objects from the water and collect points. Avoid contact with wild ducks, crocodiles and other dangerous animals.

Download: Huck on the Mississippi.zip
Source: archive.org

Super GP 64, Commodore 64

Super GP 64 is a racing game for the Commodore 64. It's a simple arcade style racer, inspired by games like Pitstop and Pitstop 2. It's a port and reworking of Super Monza GP 2 for the VIC 20. The game now features the Bahrain circuit, as well as the four circuits from SMGP2 (Monza, Monaco, Spa and Interlagos). An in-game circuit map with location indicator has been added. Colliding with cars results in damage, which can be repaired by entering the pits during the race. More damage equals slower maximum speed.

Compete in a single race on any of the five circuits. Alternatively, play them all in sequence in the Championship mode, where you have to complete every race with a podium finish in order to continue. Choice of three difficulty levels, which are determined by starting position and race length.

Download: SGP64.zip

Datahits Rewound, 1980's C64 remixes now available as a Free Download!

Datahits Rewound is a 2023 remake of a 1980s music cassette containing remixes of the themes from five popular Commodore 64 games, made in the interests of preservation, documentation and nostalgia. Although a digital version of this tape can be found online, the only available source was the retail compact cassette and despite remastering efforts, the quality of any recordings is poor. The aim of this project was to reproduce each track as closely to the original as possible, with the highest quality audio possible. The project leverages the SID Effects library, which provides very high quality recordings from real SID chips in stereo. Mixing, production and cover art by Dan Tootill.

Download: Datahits_Rewound_(FLAC).zip

1982 Namco Dig Dug Arcade Commodore 64 Port

Here's a very cool Commodore 64 port of Dig Dug, originally an Arcade game developed by Namco way back in 1982.

This version includes all the levels from the original Arcade game. There are 15 different levels of which the last 4 are repeated until reaching level 256 (the kill screen). If, however, you are interested in a less repetitive and therefore more stimulating version of the game, try Dig Dug Revival, where the levels are procedurally generated and are always different from each other and from game to game. You can download the Revival version here: https://lowcarb.itch.io/dig-dug-revival-c64.

Download: digdug.d64

OneLoad64 Games Collection v5 Released

StatMat recently released Version 5 of his OneLoad64 Games collection. This is a collection of over 2000 Commodore 64 games all in .crt format. Instant loading, and still keeping the fantastic loading music and familiar title screens. No cracks, intros, or trainers in this collection, just pure quick load gaming! Here's a few words from StatMat.

OneLoad64 v5 has finally been shared with the subscribers of my YouTube channel and I will share more widely next weekend.

You can always get earlier access by subscribing if you wish (https://www.youtube.com/StatMatsVidz). It costs nothing and helps with me grow my little channel and help show your appreciation. I plan to be releasing some new content covering the process of adding games to OneLoad64 soon.

Thanks for everyone's support and understanding on the slight delay this year. The original plan had been to release at Christmas, but having discovered a few last minute issues, we thought it was best to hold off until they were resolved.

Happy New-Year to you all and here's to a great 2024 (including OL64 v6 of course!).

Download: OneLoad64-Games-Collection-v5.7z

Yeti Mountain, A New Game from Protovision for your Commodore 64!

Another skier missing on yeti mountain! It’s been happening a lot lately, but this last disappearance is different, at least to me. Chris Piriah is my friend. He was a ski instructor and in excellent physical condition. He knows his way around mountain ranges. This doesn’t sound right. I need to head on over to Yeti Lodge Resort and find out what has happened to him.

Yeti Mountain is a multi-genre interactive adventure game developed by a talented team headed by Russell Mills. Spread out across three distinct episodes as you set out to Yeti Lodge Resort to investigate the suspicious disappearance of your best friend Chris.

Follow this link for more info and to grab the download.

Delve Deeper, a heretical roguelike dungeon crawler for the Commodore 64

The world is at peace, and evil has been vanquished... Necromancers grow medicinal herbs and dark knights have opened weapon shops. But for the ones crazy or bored enough of this idylliac lifestyle, there is one place to really feel alive again: the Chasm of Evil, the last evil stronghold in the world. It's a magical labyrinth of ever-changing rooms that spawn deep underground, which promise excitement, riches... and death to the daring. Will YOU emerge victorious from its depth?

Featuring:
- Exciting old-school 8-bit gameplay and hires C64 graphics!
- Randomly selected rooms: no run is like the next
- Selectable depth
- 3 difficulty levels
- More than 20 different enemies
- Multiple boss monsters
- Mini quests, shops, and helpers
- Event rooms
- New Game plus features with increased difficulty
- More than 120 sprites!

Download: DelveDeeper 1.2.zip

The Chaos Engine on the Commodore 64? New Video!

A while back we shared some interesting News regarding a work in progress demo of The Chaos Engine for the Commodore 64. To be honest though, this could be just proof of what is possible on the humble Commodore 64. The coder (Marv) so far, has never mentioned that it will ever become a full game, but we can only hope! Marv recently shared his latest video showing shooting recoil effects, just like the original game! It's certainly an impressive achievement so far, let's hope there's more to come!

Added some shooting recoil to player one, just like in the real versions :) #c64 pic.twitter.com/enagg0k3mw

— Marv (@MoreC64) December 21, 2023

Fragile Gamebert, Commodore 64

Get ready for the upcoming Gamebert Awards! The Gamebert trophy is made of fine glass and needs to be transported from the factory to the ceremony venue before it starts. Time is running out, and we need someone reliable to handle this task. Are you up for it? Join us in ensuring the safe delivery of the Gamebert trophies to the ceremony!

Head over to frodewin.itch.io for more info.
Download: fragilegamebert.prg

 

Santa's Troubles, Commodore 64

I hope you all had a great Christmas this year, received all the presents you hoped for and spent some quality time with your friends and family. I'm currently catching up on the Commodore News after a couple of weeks of bad flu. This game may be late to CommodoreBlog, but I still think it deserves a mention, as some of us are still enjoying the festivities, turning our holiday into a long Christmas. At least that's what I do. Anyway here's a Commodore 64 Christmas game called 'Santa's Troubles' by lowcarb that I have enjoyed playing these last couple of days.

Story
A few days before Christmas, the toys to be distributed to all the children of the world have now been packaged in Santa's workshop. Unfortunately, a gang of criminals decided to steal part of the gift packages to resell them on the black market. The criminals then went to the North Pole and entered the workshop stealing as many packages as possible and, after loading their truck, fled. Shortly afterwards, one of the village elves noticed what had happened and immediately raised the alarm. Santa Claus then hastily prepared the sleigh complete with reindeer and following the tracks left by the fugitives in the snow he reached the nearest town, where the criminals had set up their den and where they had unloaded the loot. Now Santa Claus will have to work hard to recover the stolen goods.

Download: santa'stroubles.d64

SPRITEtris, A Tetris Game Using Only Sprites! Commodore 64

SPRITEtris is a Commodore 64 game which uses only sprites. It was created for the CSDb Only Sprites Compo 2023. Download: spritetris.prg Website: ko-ko74.itch.io CSDb: csdb.dk

Stranded Cats, A New Multiplayer Adventure Game for the Commodore 64

Siegfried Croes the developer of the upcoming Stranded Cats, a multiplayer (split-screen) adventure game for the Commodorew 64, has kindly released a demo version to the public. Currently the game  is missing audio and might have a few graphical glitches here and there. It will be turned into a full game in the future. The game can be played on real hardware or on modern computers. See the included Readme.pdf for more info.

Download the demo here: Stranded Cats (Demo).zip

Binary Battle, Commodore 64

You have just woken up to find out your floppy disk is full of viruses! Unfortunately, it contains the only copy source code of the game you have been working on in the past months...

Recover the source code before the disk is damaged beyond repair! Luckily, you have an excellent anti-virus program, Binary Battle, at your disposal. Use it to destroy all the viruses before it is too late!

Head over to https://h4plo.itch.io/binary-battle for more info.
Download: binary-battle.zip

The Secret of Monkey Island, Commodore 64

In The Secret of Monkey Island, you play the role of Guybrush Threepwood, a young man who has just hit the shores of Mélée Island (somewhere in the Caribbean). Our naive hero’s travels have led him to Mélée Island in a quest to fulfill his life’s ambition...to become a fierce, swashbuckling, bloodthirsty Pirate. Unbeknown to Guybrush, however, there have been some strange happenings in the area surrounding Mélée Island and the more mysterious Monkey Island. As he walks into this maelstrom of mystery, Guybrush will soon be very aware that things are not what they appear to be, that even bloodthirsty pirates can be scared, and that there’s more to being a pirate than swinging a sword and drinking grog!

Although you may have played other Lucasfilm games, there are a few differences in the C64 Version of The Secret of Monkey Island that you should be aware of. The interface of this game is not a SCUMM interface. So there are no animations in the game and the verb and objects are used slightly different than you might know from SCUMM games. Nevertheless, you do not need to “double-click” on objects to use or activate them. A single click of the controller button should be used consistently throughout the game.

Download: The Secret of Monkey Island.zip
Source: CSDb

A China Miner Christmas! New Remake by Arlasoft for the Commodore 64

Miner Wally returns in this Christmas-themed revamp of the infamously difficult C64 single-screen platformer from 1984. But a bit of snow and a Santa costume isn't the only thing that's changed, Wally has now developed his athletic abilities beyond recognition to give you the player a fighting chance of actually completing a level and hopefully having a lot more fun along the way..

The entire game has been re-written from the ground up complete with 'modern' controls and physics together with fairer collision detection to allow your character to nimbly traverse around the screen in a more contemporary fashion, whilst retaining the THIRTY fiendish level designs from the original that 99.99% of players never managed to reach, due to the bizarre control scheme and need for split-second timing.

Download: cminerx_100.d64

Retro Rewind: Deathflood Dungeon of Doom, Commodore 64

Hidden deep in the mountains, the abandoned stronghold rises before you. Once owned by an evil necromancer, who died during a dark ritual. You’ve heard of tales about incredible riches, but no one has told you about the vicious trap to repel intruders. Will the Deathflood swallow you up or can you escape with enough loot to change your fate?

In this game you are locked deep down in a dark dungeon full of evil creatures, traps and a constantly rising flood. Your main goal is quite simple: To escape this hostile place…alive. At second glance, your quest might not be as easy as expected. There are additional objectives, hidden secrets, some nasty pitfalls and several choices to make.

-Three worlds with unique graphics, foes, gameplay and soundtracks
-19 very individual levels, most with several paths to finish
-Choose between two heroes with different strengths
-Multiple game goals and game endings
-PAL/NTSC support
-Protopad support
Download the game here: deathflood_dod_build_2023_04_27.d64

Roguebot, Commodore 64

In the early sixties, NASA scientists detected a strange celestial body, that was slowly heading towards Earth, and they calculated a certain impact 60 years into their future. Based on intercepted radio transmissions from this asteroid-like body, they determined, that it was purposely guided. To avoid global panic, they decided to keep this find a secret, and sent an armed robot to intercept the body and exterminate the evil entities on board, smirkingly called the seven wizards.

Now over 60 years later, the probe with the robot has landed on the asteroid, but there is not a single scientist alive from the original crew. Scattered documents found in a mouldy box in a NASA basement is all that is left. Apparently, the robot has to be controlled using punch cards, and due to the asteroid’s rotation, there is only a small period of time for sending the list of punch cards to execute during the next rotation.

Roguebot is a deck builder rogue-like dungeon crawler game for the C64.
-More than 50 different cards
-Sixteen different enemy classes
-Random generated dungeons
-Autosave at each level start
Download the game here: roguebot.d64

Learn the art of developing a C64 game with POLAR BEAR IN SPACE!

Fans of the modern day C64 title POLAR BEAR IN SPACE! might be interested to know that coder Silvan Reinhold has published a book providing retrospective insights to his coding experience on the game project.

Titled The Art and Development of 8-Bit games with POLAR BEAR IN SPACE!, Silvan lifts the veil on the behind the scenes creative process and is a great read to those interested in writing their own games or to those who are curious about the inner workings of development projects.

The Art and Development of 8-Bit games with POLAR BEAR IN SPACE! is available now from Amazon in three different formats - Hardcover, Paperback, and Kindle Edition.

Links:
Amazon UK
Amazon USA
Amazon Australia

Tetris Recoded by RetroBytes, Commodore 64

Tetris is a puzzle video game created in 1985 by Alexey Pajitnov, a Soviet software engineer. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appropriation of the rights in the late 1980s. After a significant period of publication by Nintendo, the rights reverted to Pajitnov in 1996, who co-founded the Tetris Company with Henk Rogers to manage licensing.

I’m not going to waste time describing how to play Tetris. I’m pretty sure this is one of the most worldwide known games, along with Mario Bros. and Sonic. However I do have some good News to share today. RetroBytes group recently released a new Tetris clone for the Commodore 64 which came first place at LuheCon³ Demo Party in the mixed game category. Download it here: TETRIS recoded.d64