16 Spectrum Games in One
| Written by: Etali |
| Date: 2006-06-12 |
Ever wanted to load 16 games at once? Well, now you can. ZX Spectrum enthusiasts have 16 more reasons to use their old rubber-keyed micro thanks to Cronosofts latest offering. Gamex The Games Exchange packs in the playability as 16 mini-games are neatly fitted into a single load on a ZX Spectrum. Programmer Jonathan Cauldwell explains: Squeezing 16 separate games into the Spectrum's 40K or so of usable memory isnt as easy as it might sound, especially as I was aiming for variety of gameplay to cater for all retro gaming fans. Cauldwell was striving for the best overall product he could get, as he continues: Six months in development, Gamex is the most ambitious game I have yet attempted for the rubber-keyed box of tricks. Trading games are nothing new of course, but to my knowledge no one has ever designed a game where the player trades shares in games, and then plays them to receive a dividend. An idea like this will only work is if there is a good selection of games to play, and you would normally expect to see this as a disc-based affair for a more sophisticated computer, where games can be loaded into memory at will. I am very satisfied with the final outcome, and feel that this is technically my best Spectrum game yet. The evaluation copy sent out has already picked up fans, with retro writer Martyn Carroll saying: If the thought of wheeling and dealing leaves you cold then don't despair; the sheer number of classic arcade clones on offer will warm your heart right up. And it certainly isn't a case of quantity over quality as at least 10 of the games could easily pass as standalone releases. Gamex is a box of tricks that's packed with playability and good old-fashioned fun. Overall it's another amazing achievement from Speccy scene-stealer Jonathan Cauldwell. Gamex has picked up a 9 out of 10 rating from Micro Mart magazine and warm praise from the Oldschool-Gaming.com web portal. Jason Kelk, webmaster of Oldschool Gaming, said: Unlike other attempts to meld multiple games together this isn't just a case of a group of disparate titles and a little glue to hold them in place and the stock trading adds a whole new element; is it worth risking the purchase of shares in a game the player isn't keen on playing, is the upward trend in a title going fast enough that some stock can be purchased and then sold on before the dividend on that title is due, even how much stock to buy? |
