TIM CHANEY
US Gold marketing manager
The 64 is still the best machine to play games on. Here we have the task of converting 64 games onto the Spectrum, and believe me, it's like drinking champagne and then drinking house wine afterwards. The 64's capabilities are far superior -- in sound, handling of colour, scrolling, everything.
I don't expect any immediate cut in the price of the '64. Commodore aren't panicking. They're not responding to the price moves around them. They're bigger than all their competitors. They should lead, not follow.
The company's management is still very strong despite the departure of Jack Tramiel (Commodore's former managing director) to Atari. His philosophy is 'business is war' and Commodore still believe it. They're a very tough company to do business with.

ONE Off, ZZAP!64, May 1985

IAN STEWART
Gremlin Graphics director
In terms of its hardware the 64 is clearly superior to the Spectrum, but I think the Atari machines have the edge on the Commodore. The problem for Atari in the UK is that it didn't get the support of software houses.
On the 64 there've been some very exciting pieces of software and I think there's more to come. The machine has already been stretched to its limits, but I don't think the imagination of the software writers has been.
So far as we're concerned, the machine does have a good life expectancy, and we shall be supporting it with games, but only those which come up to the standard set by the American software now being released.
So far the Americans have been coming up with much more original games -- we have to compete with that.

ONE Off, ZZAP!64, May 1985

With the disk version of Paragon's The Amazing Spiderman. This loads an option screen before the main gamefile, and the player starts in a different screen than the commonly-circulating tape version.

John Vallender and myself (James) were lucky enough to attend the Back In Time Live event in Birmingham on Wednesday, May 16th 2001. I donned my retro-gamebase t-shirt and hopped along with my girlfriend Kate to join a host of other C64 fans in meeting some of our friends and some notable C64 celebrities!

(more)...and a photographic gallery!

DAVID TOMKINS
Commodore retail products manager
Commodore is 100 per cent committed to the 64 and will remain so for a long time into the future. It's a first class machine and offers first class value for money. The vast majority of people who buy it use it to run pre-programmed software -- and no one can beat the vast range available for it, either in terms of quantity or quality.
The version of Basic on the machine has been widely criticised, but it has a few supporters as well. The Poke commands you need to use graphics and sound are more closely allied to machine code, which means that you inevitably learn a lot more about the machine itself than you would with other Basics.
Of course if people want to learn an easier version of Basic, they can always buy our Simon's Basic program. We couldn't change the machine's Basic at this stage because it would make the existing software incompatible.

ONE Off, ZZAP!64, May 1985

DAVID TOMKINS
Commodore retail products manager (cont)
It's interesting to compare the 64's success with that of the Atari machines -- they haven't sold nearly as well despite having a very similar technical specification. It's partly to do with the Commodore name. Following the success of the Vic 20, we had an extremely high reputation in the home computer market. This immediately gave the '64 massive software support which the Atari never had.
This is going to continue. The new Commodore 128 is compatible with the 64. And with more than half a million 64 owners in Britain alone, I don't think software houses are going to suddenly stop writing games for it.
Price cuts on the 64? No, there aren't going to be any in the forseeable future. It's selling very well as it is.

ONE Off, ZZAP!64, May 1985

Entries in database: 12800 (+142)
Unchecked: 299 (-208)
Missing: 26 (-)
Not 100% working: 75 (+1)

Another thought-lost C64 Gem has been uncovered: The English version of Kingsoft's Hagar the Horrible!

For this you have to thank the very game's programmer, Rasmus Wernersson, who did not decline our pleas when contacted! Thank you so much Rasmus!

Read all about it in the Forever Lost? section...

Lords of Midnight 64
The original massive epic arrives on the 64. We review it, and map it.

ZZAP!64, Contents, May 1985

64: World's Greatest Games Machine!
Some people say the keyboard is tacky. Some people can't stand the Basic. Some people find the colour of the plastic makes them ill. Some people are just plain jealous. But what do key people in the micro industry say? Is the 64 really the world's greatest games machine? And does it have a future? Chris Anderson asked the questions.

FACT: The 64 is the world's best selling computer.
FACT: There are 64s in more than half a million British homes.
FACT: More games are being written for the 64 than for any other micro.

ONE Off, ZZAP!64, May 1985

With the Trillium version of Telarium's Dragonworld, containing a 5th disk with arcade sequences! Many thanks to Jeremy [mjKapp] for sharing this rare version with the Commodore community!

In related news, the existance of C64 Shadowkeep has been confirmed, and we are currently in the proccess of locating a copy...

Wanna join the club?
US Gold have started a membership club called (amazingly) the US Gold Club. For the membership fee of £10.74 (inc p and p) a member will receive a sweatshirt, badge, poster, membership card, and discounts on various U.S. Gold games. Also included in the price is a regular newsletter offering news and views on U.S. Gold titles.
So far US Gold haven't spelt out too much details on the discounts available to club members, so I don't think I'll join just yet. Nice sweatshirt, though.

N.E.W.S.f.l.a.s.h, ZZAP!64, May 1985

And in a little bit fresher developents, Inge Hoie Pedersen ripped the The Dark Tower's SID tune which is now available for download (and aural delight) within the relevant ZZAP!64 review...

Why you need a Y
At last I can use my monitor and Currah Speech unit together. Welwyn Systems have produced a Y cable adaptor to allow frustrated monitor owners like me to use the Currah, which they also produce, at the same time.
The cable is available mail order at £3.99 from Welwyn Systems, Bedlington, Northumberland NE2 7AA.

N.E.W.S.f.l.a.s.h, ZZAP!64, May 1985

James Scoular dies
Those who enjoy playing Elite 64, this month's gold medal game, will be sad to hear of the death of the man responsible for bringing it onto the 64. James Scoular, publisher of Firebird games, died in March of a heart attack.
It was he who obtained the rights for the game from the programmers. Before joining Firebird he worked for VNU Publications and was the publisher of Personal Computer Games. James was known and much liked by several people on Zzap. We'll miss him a lot.

N.E.W.S.f.l.a.s.h, ZZAP!64, May 1985

And while on the subject, you'll be sad to hear that Douglas Adams, aged 49, author of Infocom's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Bureaucracy, died suddenly on Friday morning, 11 May 2001, in Santa Barbara, California, following a heart attack. He will be missed.

Beyond's stunning Shadowfire
The first 'icon-driven' adventure. Superb graphics. It's a sizzler.

ZZAP!64, Contents, May 1985

With Konami's Gradius, the US version of Nemesis.

Entries in database: 12658 (+108)
Unchecked: 507 (-6)
Missing: 26 (-7)
Not 100% working: 74 (-)

The £150 64
Commodore tell me they still have no plans to cut the price of the 64, despite the fact that Boots are selling it for £150, £80 below the recommended price.
The Boots move followed Commodore's decision to slash the price of the Plus 4 to well below that of the 64. Boots appear to have concluded that the 64 would not sell unless it were brought into line.
Commodore's David Tomkins confirmed to me that Boots cannot be making any real profit on the 64 at that price. But he doubted Boots would no longer stock the 64 once their present supply runs out. 'If they sell home computers, they have to sell the 64, it's as simple as that,' he said.

N.E.W.S.f.l.a.s.h, ZZAP!64, May 1985

Tramiel Attack
I was intrigued by the scenario in the new Commodore game Jack Attack reviewed in this issue. It features a guy called Jack going around getting pleasure out of squashing people's heads. That wouldn't by any chance be a reference to big tough Jack Tramiel, the former Commodore boss who deserted them for Atari, would it...? You naughty boys!

N.E.W.S.f.l.a.s.h, ZZAP!64, May 1985

Last update had two ZZAP!64 adventure reviews, so it is only fair to have two action games reviews this time (reports that this has to do with the non-existence of any more adventure reviews in ZZAP! issue one are greatly exaggerated! ;)

What's THAT doing under there?
Visitors to the LET show in London during February may have been impressed with Firebird's demonstration of their new masterpiece Elite only a matter of weeks after they had secured rights to the game.
What they may not have known is that the version on show was loaded into the 64 from a BBC! This was made possible by the Firebird Special Cables department.
Purchasers of the finished version will be relieved to know the game now loads in direct. But take care next time you go to a computer show -- you never know what might be hiding under the table.

N.E.W.S.f.l.a.s.h, ZZAP!64, May 1985

SSI's Dungeon Masters Assistant - Volume II: Characters & Treasures gets into the spotlight...

This mid-week both Games of the Week are adventures! The one to blame, though, is the double ZZAP! review of both similarly-styled Activision/Interplay adventure games...