Playing video games since 1976. Writing about them since 1983.
Joined May 2010
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25 Aug 2025
A reminder that the second printing of my book is now available at Bitmap Books.
"Highly recommended for the nostalgia trip!" Andrew R
"I really relived my childhood through this one, I love it!" Arjan van der V
"It does not disappoint!" Chris L
bitmapbooks.com/collections/…
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Jun 12
40 years ago, Commodore launched a new C64 nobody asked for with software few cared about. Meanwhile, the World Cup Carnival fallout continued, and at CES, the NES was clearly becoming THE dominant console as the US video game market bounced back from its crash two years earlier.
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Jun 11
I've been posting a fair number of 40-year-old budget reviews this week, because at that point in time they were becoming really big biz. One of these games was an especially huge surprise - Slamball, a very entertaining pinball game that cost a measly three quid. Top stuff.
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Jun 10
35 years ago, when EA hadn't yet become an immense, steaming bag o' corporate shite, they made some great games. Like Ice Hockey, which came hot on the heels of Madden and absolutely blew us away. No NHL license yet, but didn't need it TBH. Absolute stone cold pucking classic.
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Jun 10
Three more budget games from the round-up I posted yesterday. One reasonable Joust clone, and two total duffers. Americana really was shoveling some serious shite.
Jun 9
40 years ago, budget software was becoming big business. The trouble is, you often had no idea what your £2/£3 (£6/£9 quid in today's money) was actually going to buy you - as this ZZAP! budget game round-up attests. Some absolute winners - but also some total stinkers!
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Jun 9
40 years ago, budget software was becoming big business. The trouble is, you often had no idea what your £2/£3 (£6/£9 quid in today's money) was actually going to buy you - as this ZZAP! budget game round-up attests. Some absolute winners - but also some total stinkers!
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Jun 8
40 years ago, Elite was advertising its Ghosts 'n Goblins ports. Complete with cheeky guest appearance of a Super Mario Lava Piranha in the background! Or at least, that's what it looks like. Anyway, in a surprising turn of form for Elite, this actually turned out pretty good! 😁
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Jun 5
40 years ago, Sinclair Research canceled its flat-screen TV tech for its Pandora project (AKA Cambridge Computer Z88). Good move, because it sounded terrible. Meanwhile, Commodore cut its Corby staff by half, essentially axing its UK domestic sales/service/support capabilities.🤡
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Jun 4
35 years ago, Mean Machines published these NES Duck Tales tips. Great use of artwork on these pages along with some really crisp screenshots. Looks good and was genuinely useful too!
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Jun 3
35 years ago, readers were sending their drawings into Mean Machines by the sackful. Some were outstanding, such as this terrific sketch by Matt Lyon. His wonderful detail and superb use of color were so good I featured his creation as the main image on our editorial page!
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Jun 2
Well bloody hell. Me book's got a third printing. Which just goes to show that there's no accounting for taste.
Jun 2
The Games Of A Lifetime
Takes you from Pong through the 8- and 16-bit computer revolutions and the European console renaissance, across the millennium, and all the way to the modern age.
Reprints due 20th July, get a stock alert here: bitmapbooks.com/collections/…
#bitmapbooks #book #retrogaming #gaming #fyp @JazRignall
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Jun 2
Those pretty funny anecdotes include getting frozen for no good reason, hanging out with Radiohead and REM, and spending a year or so getting paid handsomely to just kind of hang out at Bank of America. Also, tons of cool stuff about video games, if that's of interest...
Jun 2
Desert Strike - Featured in our book - The Games Of A Lifetime
Features behind-the-scenes titbits, facts, surprises and some pretty funny anecdotes. But ultimately, this is all about games.
Reprints due 20th July, get a stock alert here: bitmapbooks.com/collections/…
#bitmapbooks #book #retrogaming #gaming #fyp @JazRignall
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Jun 2
35 years ago, I was having a whale of a time with Konami's The Simpsons. The first game based on what was fast becoming a TV phenomenon, this four-player beat 'em up was great fun to play and looked as much like the cartoon as any game could back then. A multiplayer classic!
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Jun 1
35 years ago, I was enjoying another classic Mega Drive Toaplan shooter in the form of Zero Wing. Fun mechanics, excellent audiovisuals, decent music, and a very stiff challenge made this a solid entry in what was a seemingly endless parade of shooters released during this era.
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May 29
40 years ago, despite having the best-selling and the most exciting new computers of the era, Commodore reported losses of £25m. Meanwhile, US Gold was facing a shitstorm over their World Cup Carnival scam, offering feeble excuses for what was a reprehensible and cynical rip-off.
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May 28
Here's the Starquake review from this issue. We used to call games like these arcade adventures. That's because Metroid and Castlevania were not yet around for a portmanteau to be created so they could lend their name to a genre that existed long before they did. 😁
May 28
40 years ago, ZZAP!'s team was featured on its cover. Top reviews: Spindizzy (98%), Cauldron II (94%), Starquake (93%), International Karate (91%), Raise the Titanic (88%), Spellbound (94%), Doomdark's Revenge (95%), and Fairlight (90%). What an incredible month for games!
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May 28
40 years ago, ZZAP!'s team was featured on its cover. Top reviews: Spindizzy (98%), Cauldron II (94%), Starquake (93%), International Karate (91%), Raise the Titanic (88%), Spellbound (94%), Doomdark's Revenge (95%), and Fairlight (90%). What an incredible month for games!
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May 27
40 years ago, Imagine was advertising its 8-bit ports of stab 'n roast platformer Green Beret (AKA Rush 'n Attack). Always liked the aggressive cartoon styling of this art. A classic era advert.
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May 27
40 years ago, this combination of arcade adventure and Marble Madness-style landscapes really wowed us. Spindizzy's ludicrously high difficulty level makes your average modern Soulslike feel like a wet pansy by comparison, but this was par for the course back then. Insanely hard!
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May 26
Here's ZZAP!'s take on this total ripoff POS. Of course, US Gold sent us a review copy weeks after they put the game into retail. Absolutely reprehensible business practices by Geoff Brown and co. We didn't hold back.
May 26
40 years ago, US Gold perpetrated one of the great video game scams of all time, purchasing Artic's crappy two-year-old World Cup Football and repackaging it as the more expensive (and official) World Cup Carnival. An absolutely brazen and cynical theft of kids' pocket money.
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May 26
40 years ago, US Gold perpetrated one of the great video game scams of all time, purchasing Artic's crappy two-year-old World Cup Football and repackaging it as the more expensive (and official) World Cup Carnival. An absolutely brazen and cynical theft of kids' pocket money.
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