NGOTM: Teodoro no sabe volar (Retroworks, 2010)

Designed for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computers by Fco. Javier Velasco (Pagantipaco)

SPECTRUM CREDITS: Programming, graphics and music by Fco. Javier Velasco. Additional programming by Jaime Tejedor and Javier Peña. Sound engine by Jonathan Smith. Music engine by Beepola. Translation by Jaime Tejedor and Yuri Potapov. Testing by José Juan Rodenas, Javier Ortiz, Iván Sánchez and Sandro Mestre.

MSX CREDITS: Original idea, design and graphics by Fco. Javier Velasco. Programming and additional graphics by José Vila Cuadrillero. Sound engine, music and sound effects by José Vicente Masó.

AMSTRAD CREDITS: Original idea and design by Fco. Javier Velasco. Programming by José Vila Cuadrillero. Graphics, Screen and Loader by David Donaire Sánchez. Sound engine, music and sound effects by José Vicente Masó.

MSX & AMSTRAD: Translation by Jaime Tejedor. Testing by David Donaire, José Juan Rodenas, Javier Peña, Jaime Tejedor, Manuel Pazos and Fran.

Released originally for the ZX Spectrum 48k and 128k in 2010 as English and Spanish versions.
Russian translation for the ZX Spectrum released in 2011.
The Amstrad and MSX versions released in 2012.

---

INTRODUCTION & GAME REVIEW

It's time to take another more recent game under inspection, and this time we've got one that hasn't got a C64 version (holey moley, that's the second non-C64 entry in a row!), at least not yet, nor does it have an official English title, so that's a first one. Also, this is a game that has sort of escaped my noticed so far, for some reason, so the first time I will be playing this one will be for the blog.

Alley Cat (Synapse Software, 1983)

Original concept by John Harris. Written by Bill Williams for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1983.
Converted for the IBM-PC compatibles by Bill Williams, and published by IBM in 1984.

Also converted for the NEC PC-8801, and published by Kotobuki-Raison in 1985. Further credits are unknown.

---

GAME STATUS

This came out as a suggestion a while back, but since the bulk of the blog's readership is mostly C64 and Spectrum-based, for a long time I thought it wouldn't serve much purpose in doing a comparison about a game that wasn't released for either of those, nor even the Amstrad. But Alley Cat has a curious status of being one of the most widespread DOS games, at least in Finland, but I suspect it's probably so all around the world, and most of retrogamers know it through that connection, even if most of their gaming history is related to some other computer. So, while all of the machines included in this comparison are often featured on the blog, this is the first time ever, that the Atari 8-bit or IBM-PC's are not put against their arch nemesis - or is that nemesi in plural? Anyway, this one goes out to that certain anonymous reader who suggested the game in a comment a few months ago, as well as all you others who have Alley Cat somehow included in your gaming history. (And sorry about the cover picture - I couldn't find a scan of the original anywhere.)

Scumball (Mastertronic/Bulldog Software, 1988)

Produced for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 by Software Creations.

Written by Peter Gough for the ZX Spectrum.

Converted for the Commodore 64 by Martin Howarth, with graphics by Tiny and music by Tim Follin.

---

GAME STATUS

For RESET magazine's sixth issue's Format Wars article, I had chosen to write about budget game publisher Mastertronic's final release under the Bulldog sub-label - Scumball. At least in my mind, it has to be one of the most memorable budget titles of all time, and I'm sure it is so to many others as well. Although clearly a cousin to Ultimate's Underwurlde from 1984 and Bubble Bus' Starquake from 1985, Scumball was more accessible due to the initially much lighter price tag and a more easily memorizable map. At the time of release, Crash gave the Spectrum version a very respectable 81%, and shortly after, Zzap!64 gave the C64 version 79%, so that alone should make you expect a rather tight comparison.

Unique Games! - Part 7

It's been well over three months since I did the previous proper entry in this series, so it's about time I did another one. This time, the list will be featuring mostly familiar items for many, but some surprises, some properly strange titles and a new machine to introduce to the UG hall of fame - a machine that celebrated its 20th anniversary just last year, and for some reason, the occasion went by unnoticed for many. But let's save that one for the last, now let's get on with some more exclusive and sometimes even actually unique games!

O'Riley's Mine (Datasoft, 1983)

Written by Mark Riley for the Atari 8-bit computers.
Converted for the Commodore 64 by Al Rubin with additional graphics by Kelly Day.
Converted for the Apple ][ by Larry Lewis.
All three versions published in 1983 by Datasoft.

Converted for the Commodore 16/Plus4 by Doug Turner for British Software, and published by Mastertronic in 1986 as "Prospector Pete".

---

INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS

While trying to decide for something light and easy to start April with, my decision was set due to two things. First and foremost, the World of Spectrum forums are still offline, so I can't advertise anything Spectrum-oriented at the moment. Secondly, the letter 'O' looked a bit boring with only two games, one of which is officially useless. So, let's start this month with another Datasoft title, a company I haven't revisited since last September.