Game 78: Spy Hunter

Here it is, Spy Hunter, the incredibly successful 1983 arcade game from Midway. Excellent gameplay and perhaps the most popular game theme music ever are largely responsible for its success. This is a direct port from the Nintendo game, the closest to the original arcade version.

I stumbled across a copy of the original manual online, so here's the official mission statement!;

Pilot your vehicle through the track. Seek and destroy enemy agents

who will use every means to wipe you out. You must avoid the road

hazards and protect the friendly pedestrian vehicles. There's terror

at every trun - tire slashers, torpedoes, bomb dropping helicopters -

standing in your way of the most diabolical collection of enemy

agents ever to hit a video screen. You have your skill and reflexes

along with Smoke screens, Oil slicks, and Heat seeking missiles to

outmaneuver your opponents. One mistake and it's all over. So strap

yourself in; no need to check your ammo. You've got more than enough;

and take the challenge. Be: SPY HUNTER (tm)

CONTROLS:

Steer: Arrow Keys Activate Weapons: X

Turbo: UP Arrow Start Mission/Call Weapons Van: ENTER

Brake: DOWN Arrow Weapon Select: CTRL

Machine Guns: Z

Game 73: Frogger

In the year 1981, young people would while away the tedium of living in 1981 by daring each other to run out in front of heavy traffic. It was a global phenomenon. Hundreds of bored feral kids were mown down by articulated lorries and racing cars during the infamous motorway massacres of late '81.

At the same time in a bizarre coincidence, Japanese company Konami created a video game called Frogger. Its basic principle similarly based on roadkill, but this time a frog was dodging the vehicles instead of a small child.

Your goal is to safely guide five frogs across the road and river so that they each in turn reach their lily pad homes. There are many obstacles along the way: if you're not too careful you could be flattened by a car, drowned in the river or eaten by a crocodile. So take it easy on the little froggies.

Game 72: Arkanoid

Just in case you weren't around in the '80s, Arkanoid was an arcade game developed by Taito in '86, based on Atari's Breakout games of the '70s. This authentic remake of the original game is one of the best I've come across, and has entertained me no end! So take control of the good ship "Vaus", and avenge the untimely destruction of your mothership... the Arkanoid. (One of my favourite games EVER!)

Game 3: Puzzle Bobble

Sorry for the lack of new game yesterday... Not a great start really, is it... Anyway, here we go;

This Puzzle Bobble arcade game was in a chippy next to the secondary school I went to, meaning that many a day was spent feeding 20 pence pieces into this machine whilst Mr. Lavelle searched the halls of St. Louis looking for me. Happy days...

Play as Bub and Bob connecting bubbles of the same colour to burst them before time runs out, in this recreation of an arcade classic. 

The graphics are unfortunately quite pixelated, but very playable none the less. A small price to pay to be able to play this childhood favorite again.

Start - Click 'push 1p to start'

Aim - Arrow keys

Fire - Spacebar