Commodore 64 Games

[Mr. DS]

I started to think about some games I used to play on my old Commodore 64...a few came to mind.  Maybe some of you can add or reminisce about the games. 

Taskmaster - Basically you are a person in medieval times trying to win the hand of a princess.  The king sets you out on 7 tasks (taking on zombies and whatnot) to prove yourself.

Maniac Mansion - Classic game which many will recall.  A bunch of kids head in to a house to rescue the main character's girlfriend.  You get to choose from several different kids to accompany you. The best one was the nerd Bernard because he could fix things.  Anyone know how to use the chainsaw in the game?

Strip Poker - Revel in the filthiness as you slowly undress your choice of two different girls.  I think both girls had four layers of clothing you had to peel off.  They asked if you'd bet your shirt too. 

Airwolf - Based on the show...played it mainly to hear the theme song.  Couldn't remember much of the game otherwise. 

[Andrew]

Pool of Radiance
Turn-based AD&D game and one of my favorite computer RPGs.  Since it was turn based, you could easily control a large party and not get stomped.

Raid on Bungling Bay
You are a helicopter, based on a carrier.  Your mission is to destroy the factories of the Bungling Empire by bombing them!  This mission is based around an island chain, like Hawaii.  The enemy builds a battleship.  You could bomb the battleship to keep it under constant construction or let them build it and then sink it (dangerous - it had homing missiles and could kill your carrier too).  There were also, if I remember correctly, anti-aircraft emplacements and enemy fighters.

Questron
This was my favorite of them all.  It was a turn based RPG.  You start as a serf and have to kill monsters, gather gold, improve your stats, and eventually journey to the evil lands of Mantor.  There you went into caves and dungeons, which were actually rendered as "3D" by a system of slowly changing 2D images.  Some monsters were vulnerable to certain weapons.  It always took forever to kill a fire dragon.  Mesron, the good magician, would bring you back to life whenever you died.

Forbidden Forest
You are an archer and must kill all the nasty things that infest the forest.  The snake spit acid, giant frogs would land on your head and splat you, and whenever you defeated a level your little archer dude would dance while this crazy music played.  This title was on my mind, because I had mentioned it in an upcoming review.  Here is a website about the game:
http://www.monroeworld.com/forbiddenforest/index.htm

[Viktorcrayon]

I was a kid when the C64 came out. I still remember it fondly tho. Maniac Mansion.... i remember i actually used to be a bit scared of that game. I found it very disturbing and stressfull, the way the characters could get caught by the evil ones.

I remember this side scrolling beat-em-up game, that looked a bit like IK+. My brother had gone really far in it, and asked me to turn on the lights in the room, but then i accidently turned of the C64! Embarresing.

[Shadow]

I loved some of the old RPG's, like Might & Magic, The Bard's Tale and the aforementioned Pool of Radiance. I played all of those to death. I was also addicted to a game called Castles of Doctor Creep.

I still have my old Commodore 128, which was compatible with the 64, and a large box full of old floppies. There must be a couple thousand games in there.

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

My favorites:
Shamus- a sort of adventure type game. 
Attack of the Mutant Camels- Defender with giant Camels
Mail Order Monsters- Build a monster and fight 'em. for cash and upgrades. 


Until the early 90's I made regular attempts to play Planetfall (an Infocom text game),  my bootleg copy would not save.  So I had one attempt to win.  To this day I never was able to finish.  Always got killed afte releasing the poison gas to kill the mutants.  Either forgot to put on the gas mask or got ripped to shreds.  Sad to say, I have every step up to that point pretty much memorized.
-Ed

[Gerry]

One I liked a lot was SUPER HUEY, which was a helicopter flight simulator that let you shoot at tanks etc on the ground.  It was tough to just keep it in the air.

Another one I remember fondly was a chess game with monster pieces that would fight it out.  Can't remember the name though.

[Andrew]

Failed to mention that I also remember the "Strip Poker" game.  I also remember that, even though I was at the right age (13 or so), I gave up on that thing.

Gerry, I think you might be remembering "Archon."  The evil side had a snake for a queen, which was quite powerful, while the light side had a pheonix that was a chump.  You also had these little pawns that often did little more than try to soften up some of the other guy's pieces.  Here is the Wiki for it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Archon_%28Computer_Game%29

I thought I had "Might and Magic," but it appears I have games crossed.  Could never figure out how to win the game I am thinking of.  Frustrating, to say the least.  That was the one where you were in a slowly revealing cave and there were monsters that would chase you?

Here is one I solved, after much effort:  "Zork."  Man, it took me forever to figure out who to get rid of the cyclops.  Also, the thief was annoying.  I liked the old Infocom games, played a lot of "Leather Goddesses of Phobos" too.

[Gerry]

Archon - yeah, I'm sure that's the one I'm thinking of, but I remember it being better than those screen shots show it.  Gilded memories, I guess.

I liked Zork too, but could never get very far in it.  I always got lost in the maze.  You can download it and play it again here, and I wasted a bunch of time a year ago or so playing it at work.  The map of the maze helped a lot, but I still ended up giving up before I beat it.

[clockworkcanary]

I played a throng of games on the C64.  My favs include the infocom games.  Zork was the first one I beat and it did take awhile.  Funny thing is, it's considered average difficulty! A few of the detective games are pretty advanced.  Here's a link to a list of infocom games you don't even have to download:

http://www.the-wildwest.com/Queeg/Infocom/

I also played some of the Bard's Tale games, Pools of Radiance was kick ass, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Ultima V, Ikari Warriors, and I remember Strip Poker. 

And Zork III was a b***h! lol

[Gerry]

Ultima was good.  I spent a lot of hours playing one of those (can't remember which one).  I do remember the one I played had a whirlpool that would suck down your ship and take you to another world though.

[Famous Mortimer]

Might you be thinking of "Battle Chess"? I liked it when the Queen took another piece, she'd do a sexy dance then blast them with lightning.

Respect to the text adventures, my favourite was "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy". I finally completed it about a year ago (there's a special version of the game on the BBC's website). But I did love Leather Goddesses of Phobos, I might have to try and track it down and give it another go.

All-time favourite C64 games were probably Elite and Mercenary. Two games about space but very different and equally brilliant in their own way.

[Gerry]

Might you be thinking of "Battle Chess"?

Nah, I'm pretty sure it was Archon, but I'm thinking it was Archon 2 or another version that was a bit more graphic intensive than the original Archon.

[Andrew]

Gerry,

I fixed the link in my post up there.  The Wiki article does list a couple of tie-ins. Honestly, I remember the graphics being better than what the article shows.  On the other hand, I thought the dragon was a snake...

[Gerry]

Yeah the graphic in the Wiki article doesn't do justice to my memory anyway.

[odinn7]

You guys were so lucky! I had (still do actually) the Vic-20 which was fun but I had always wanted the super computer...the C64! Sadly, my dreams were never realized and I have lived my life without the C64...