ZX Spectrum games
Remember the good old days when computer games were loaded from cassette tape? Well, unfortunately I played a part in all that and my contributions to the plethora of platform games for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum were Castle Quest and Frank N Stein.
Spectrum games look very basic now compared to what we are used to seeing on systems like the Xbox and PS3, but programmers managed to make the most of the limitations then as they do now.
Over the years, graphics systems have improved enormously and some of the game characters produced have become household names.SONY have Lara Croft, NINTENDO have Mario and SEGA have Sonic.
Well the Spectrum had it's classics too, such as Jetman, Willy and of course Frank.
But do the graphics of yesteryear stand up against a classic of today?
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Here you will see a modern character (Sonic) and a character from yesteryear (Frank), but which is best?
There's only one way to find out...FIGHT!
There's only one way to find out...FIGHT!
But what would Frank look like today? Well I reckon something like this.
The next couple of articles look at my two games in more detail, including screen shots of the game running on the Spectrum and game downloads to run on your favorite Spectrum emulator. And as if that wasn't enough, you can actually play the games in your WEB browser!
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When's Dracula coming out?
In fact, since the 'updated' Frank N Stein character bears a striking resemblance to Bergerac's cousin from Shields, I think 'Dracula' could also be based on a character from this site. The existing poll is getting a bit long in the tooth, so why not organize a new poll to select Dracula?
Body Building...
Hey, Wile E., thanks for reminding me about Frankie! We went to the same body-bulding classes and even entered a few body-building competitions but Frankie got a little disillusioned when Arnold Schwarzenegger kept winning so he went off to do his own thing.
A new poll would be a good idea, though; everyone knows that teeth are made from English Oak. I made my own set from a piece of oak I picked up at Mackay's in Frederick Street and they've lasted for many a good year. A coat of polyurethane every few years has kept them as good as new.
Dracula is on it's way!
I'm glad you reminded me about Dracula Wyle, the much awaited follow-up to Frank N Stein. Well as everyone knows, Dracula was never finished and I think that's a real pity. Well I have some good news. I have dug out my old ZX Spectrum kit and found the mincrodrive cartridge (it you don't know what a microdrive cartridge is then you might as well stop reading now) containing the lost Dracula files. As a double bonus, it also contains missing levels and features that didn't make the Frank N Stein release 27 years ago! And as a tripple bonus it contains another lost game called The Goblin Caves that I'd completely forgotten about and is also unfinished.
So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to finish off Dracula and I'm going to release a new version of Frank N Stein that includes the lost features! If that wasn't enough, I'm also going to attempt to finish The Goblin Caves, what a treat!
Just as well you mentioned this stuff Wyle, if you hadn't, it may have been lost forever!
New poll
I completely agree with Wyle and Witchie that the current poll is long in the tooth and everyone knew anyway that oak is the best material for false teeth. So I'm closing that poll and opening a new one, based on Wyle's suggestion. Enjoy...