The good old days?
Back in the 90s, Christoph Zwerschke developed a Sinclair ZX81 emulator for the Atari ST. Believe it or not but I've never actually owned or even used this old Sinclair computer before! From what I know, this computer is mute and cannot make a sound! Plus the graphics are actually made up of monochrome blocks rather than colourful pixels. Yikes!
This might all sound rather lame but there is a certain charm to the itsy-bitsy computer with less processing power than your average kettle. So I powered on this quirky computer and even took a stab at programming... Well...
The good news is that even the stock Atari ST should be able to run any of its games perfectly fine - from either a floppy or (better still) a hard drive device. However, if you feel that the ZX81 is running in overdrive, then hit the UNDO key and adjust the speed limiter. I needed to do this for Pac-Man which was otherwise insanely too fast!
10 PRINT "ATARICRYPT ROCKS YOUR ST WORLD"
20 GOTO 10
RUN L
The good news is that even the stock Atari ST should be able to run any of its games perfectly fine - from either a floppy or (better still) a hard drive device. However, if you feel that the ZX81 is running in overdrive, then hit the UNDO key and adjust the speed limiter. I needed to do this for Pac-Man which was otherwise insanely too fast!
Yep, I might never have owned a ZX81 but I was shocked to discover many games that are surprisingly very playable. Albeit without sound or pixels... For starters, 3D Monster Maze by Malcolm Evans is a great example and is highly regarded as one of the best reasons why people many adore this old paperweight. Truly, this game is way ahead of its time and perhaps even the first survival horror game using a first-person perspective? (check out Retro Resolution for a review!).
The CryptO'pinion?
This is a fantastic emulator and one that feels complete and robust. It provides an opportunity to play games from an era when fancy graphics and 3D sounds weren't necessary. A time when only gameplay mattered (tell that to today's millennials). Give it a whirl and boot up this fantastic emulator to flip your Atari ST into a Sinclair ZX81.
This is a fantastic emulator and one that feels complete and robust. It provides an opportunity to play games from an era when fancy graphics and 3D sounds weren't necessary. A time when only gameplay mattered (tell that to today's millennials). Give it a whirl and boot up this fantastic emulator to flip your Atari ST into a Sinclair ZX81.
Party like it's 1981 and have tons of fun. Win, Win!! :^) Scroll down for more ZX81 games that I really liked...
Castle Of Carmain is just downright awesome fun!!
The mighty 3D Labyrinth is thrilling.
I was also equally impressed by the simplicity of Galaxians.
Castle Of Carmain is just downright awesome fun!!
The mighty 3D Labyrinth is thrilling.
when i see those games i nearly start to cry, thinking how much i miss those days
ReplyDeleteYa big jessie!!
DeleteI agree, and times where simpler for us being younger n all that. Still, kids and wives are good. Right? ;)
From what I recall Christoph's emulator was pretty good - the ZX81 had no sound and could only display monochrome block graphics.
ReplyDeleteyet here we are in 2018 playing 3D Monster Maze :D
Deletehow do i get the maze game?
ReplyDeleteJust use Old Games Finder: http://www.oldgamesfinder.com/?q=&m=-34
Delete