A-Z of MSX Games , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Kieren Hawken

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112 pages

English

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Description

The A-Z of MSX Games: Volume 1 features reviews of three different games for each letter of the alphabet. The games range from the very earliest releases at the start of the eighties to the modern homebrew games of today. This book shows you just how diverse the library of titles is for the MSX and how it helped revolutionise the home computer market in Japan and parts of Europe.

Sujets

Indoor games and sports

Informations

Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	27 février 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781789820591
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

The A–Z of
MSX Games
Volume 1

Kieren Hawken

Published in 2019 by
AG Books
www.agbooks.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
Copyright © 2019 Kieren Hawken
The right of Kieren Hawken to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AG Books or Andrews UK Limited.
Game screenshots are included in this publication legally under applicable fair use law which allows such material for the explicit purposes of commentary and criticism.

Introduction
Among all the 8-bit computers released in the early eighties the MSX is totally unique. This is because the machine wasn’t produced a single manufacturer. What became known as the “MSX standard” was actually conceived by one Kazuhiko Nishi, who was then vice-president at Microsoft Japan and a director at ASCII Corporation. Nishi conceived the project as an attempt to create unified standards among various hardware makers of the period. Basically this was an early attempt to create a “PC standard” long before the IBM PC compatible did it. Microsoft finally revealed the finished version of the hardware in 1983 after early versions of the hardware had been used in both the Sega SG-1000 and ColecoVision consoles. It was based on a 8-bit Zilog Z80 CPU with a Yamaha PSG sound chip, Texas Instruments VDP and either 32k or 64k of memory. Subsequent upgrades of the hardware, including the MSX2 and MSX Turbo R, would improve various aspects of this while still remaining backwards compatible. A huge range of different manufacturers produced their own versions of the MSX including such notable names as Goldstar, Casio, Sony, Philips, Spectravideo, Sanyo, Yamaha, Pioneer, Canon and Panasonic. The computer was hugely successful in Japan but also saw a large market share in both The Netherlands (thanks to Philips) and Spain.

In this first book in the series I take you through the life of the MSX range looking at a varied cross section of the 4000+ games available with a small review and screenshot of each one. This is not a list of the best games, a list of the worst or indeed a complete guide to what’s available. The A–Z of MSX Games: Volume 1 is just that, the first volume of my look at a selection of MSX computer games in alphabetical order from A to Z. There are three games featured for each letter and these range from the earliest titles released in Japan back in 1983, to European obscurities and even unreleased prototypes. Hopefully this book gives you some inspiration to try games you’ve never played before, bulk up your personal collection or just replay some of those all-time classics. You might even find that it brings back happy memories of unwrapping Christmas and birthday presents or inviting your friends round after school for a bit of multi-player madness. Most of all though I hope you enjoy reading it and remember what makes the MSX range of computers so great.
Kieren Hawken
Author

A
Arkanoid
Taito - 1986

While Atari’s Breakout , programmed by Apple founders Jobs and Wozniak no less, was the very first bat and ball brick breaker it was Taito’s Arkanoid was the game that revolutionised the genre. It took the basic gameplay of Breakout and added a host of new features like enemies, different formations, multi-hit bricks and of course power-ups! Collecting these coloured icons allows you to do stuff like shoot the bricks with a laser, aim the ball where you want, expand your bat and even skip a level. The new level formations are interesting too with some even based on other popular Taito arcade games such as Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble ! There are also different types of bricks including ones that require numerous hits to destroy and others that can’t be removed at all. All these features added so much more to the game and made it much more than just another Breakout clone. In fact Arkanoid has since been cloned hundreds of times itself and can still be seen in some shape or form in many games of today. Arkanoid is not about graphics or sound, although both are very good here actually, it’s just pure playability, and there is loads of it here. I have always been a real sucker for these types of games and this is no exception, Arkanoid remains one of my most played video games over the years. It’s also worth checking out the equally excellent sequel Arkanoid 2: Revenge of Doh too.
9/10
Alien 8
Ultimate Play The Game - 1985

Ultimate Play The Game (A.K.A Rare) are synonymous with not just the Sinclair Spectrum but also the evolution of the isometric adventure. Games like Knight Lore, Night Shade and Gun Fright are still mentioned among the best games for the machine. Released in 1985, Alien 8 was the follow-up to Knight Lore and was the second game Filmation game to come out. Just like its predecessor Alien 8 is an adventure platformer using high-resolution monochrome graphics with an isometric perspective. You take control of a robot, the titular Alien 8, whose job is to ensure that all of the cryogenically frozen passengers on a spaceship remain alive during the long voyage of a spaceship. During this journey the ship comes under attack and the cryogenic circuits have been damaged. You need to roam the ship to find the parts needed to repair them and keep the passengers alive. This MSX iteration has been ported directly from the Spectrum so remains virtually identical. It uses the the same monochrome graphics, just with a few splashes of colour in the border, but still looks great. The sound has been upgraded somewhat though thankfully as now there are some much improved sound effects and also some small snippets of music. MSX owners are often put off as soon as the words “Spectrum Port” are mentioned but in the case of Alien 8 your concerns are totally unfounded!
8/10
After Burner
Activision - 1988

Originally unleashed on arcade audiences in 1987, After Burner is one of Sega’s most popular and beloved franchises. In the arcades this game relied heavily on its custom super-scaler hardware to wow audiences, which was also seen in games like Galaxy Force and Space Harrier . I am sure I don’t need to tell you that the humble MSX really struggles to replicate this advanced technology. All you actually do in After Burner is fly your F14 Tomcat over the different landscapes through night and day taking out enemy planes with your guns and lock-on missiles and occasionally take part in the now famous mid-air refuelling sequence. There really isn’t that much too it and this is made even more obvious in this low quality port from the ZX Spectrum. The hardware really struggles to keep up with the action and the terrible frame rate and lack of scaling do not help matters at all here. Graphically the game is very poor as, aside from those problems already mentioned, the scenery is also very bland and featureless and a big border has been added around the play window. The iconic music has been created fairly well though and that is without doubt the best part of this lacklustre title. The gameplay is not only tedious but hindered by the indistinct visuals and you will just want to turn it off after a few minutes. Definitely not one of the greatest arcade ports on the MSX that’s for sure.
4/10

B
Boulder Dash
First Star Software - 1985

Originally released for the Atari 8-bit computers way back in 1984, Boulder Dash was an instant hit and soon saw conversion to just about every system under the sun, MSX included. In Boulder Dash you play the role of Rockford, a miner whose goal is to collect diamonds through a set of caves while avoiding the dangers within. Our hero must dig through the soil in the caves whilst avoid the falling rocks or becoming trapped by them. Fireflies, butterflies, slime and strange amoebas await him in these caves, each representing a different challenge. Fireflies move in a clockwise manner and are explosive, capable of killing Rockford on touch, and can be killed by throwing a stone on them causing a big explosion. Butterflies behave similar to fireflies but move counter-clockwise. When they explode they leave behind nine diamonds. Amoebas are not directly dangerous to Rockford but they can trap him or block his way. Thankfully, amoebas make fireflies and butterflies explode, so this can be used to the player’s advantage. Slime affects how boulders move so it’s just best to steer clear where possible. The game starts off easy but gets fiendishly hard pretty quickly so you better be up for a challenge! Despite the many moments of frustration present, Boulder Dash is still a classic game that holds up well to this day and should definitely form part of any serious MSX games collection.
8/10
BMX Simulator
Codemasters - 1986

Programmed by former Mastertronic employee and Codemasters co-founder Richard Darling, BMX Simulator was one of the games that really put the budget software house on the map. Essentially the game is just a rip-off of Atari’s hugely popular Super Sprint arcade