The Best C64 Games Ever Made
- Arcade
- January 28, 2019
1. Lode Runner
The concept of this game was simple, but still fun and challenging and it entailed running around the levels, climbing ladders as well as moving across poles with the primary objective being to collect all the gold. Furthermore, you can dig holes in the grounds to either or make a hasty escape trap guards as they try and obstruct you from finishing your level. However, you should never let the guards come to close to you since they will deter your efforts and consequently you will lose a life. Therefore, this game is 8-bit gaming at its best, and we are forever grateful to its creator, Douglas E. Smith.
2. Archon
Archon, Dark vs. Light is a quite like a chess game and with the goal being you either taking control of the five ‘power square’ on the board or destroying the opposing side. Thus, a fight starts when two pieces ‘meet’ on the same square and only piece comes out alive, with every piece having its characteristics. Moreover, some pieces are much stronger in comparison to others, thus making their available a different combination of fights.
3. Impossible Mission
In this game, you play as Agent 4125 who is sent to crack Elvin Atombender’s secret code who has plans to destroy the world. Therefore, your mandate is guiding Agent 4125 down the elevator shafts into rooms, searching for clues and finally using all the clues collected to create the code word. Additionally, its gameplay is amazingly smooth and was among the first 8-bit games which provided you with a decent digitized speech.
4. Boulder Dash
In this game, you will be guiding ‘Rockford’ through a maze-like Cave, dodging and pushing boulders, digging dirt and evading different adversaries. Moreover, while you are doing this, you still need to be collecting the needed amount of diamonds required to open the doors to the next level before running out of time, with this game being another classic.
5. Into The Eagles Nest
Preceding First-Person Shooting games such as Wolfenstein and Doom was Into The Eagles Nest, which was played like Gauntlet, that is, from a top-down perspective. In this game, your goal was to rescue three hostages who got captured during the WWII and are being held hostage in Eagle’s Nest, which was a German fortress. Therefore, your mission is to destroy the fortress after you have rescued all the hostages, and because this game is fast and, in some cases, frustrating, ensure you make use of your keys.
6. Wizball
Wizard Wiz, along with his cat Nifta set out on a mission to restore the world’s color after Zark deprived The World all its colors. Nevertheless, The World, which is made up from layers through which you move via craters and tubes has foes who are trying to halt your efforts to save The World. Therefore, to ensure that color is restored, the wizard must shoot drops which then the cat subsequently collects, with these drops in some cases necessitating to be mixed to create the correct color. The trouble usually is that you begin by first controlling the Wizball which you can only bounce and spin since there is no cat to collect the colors. However, after shooting, the enemies leave the powerups behind thus allowing you to upgrade and eventually make use of the cat. Thus, this game is unique and challenging.
7. Curse of the Azure Bonds
In this game, you construct a team of up to six players and making use of different skills and ‘races,’ for instance, Dwarf Fighter, Elf Mage and Human Cleric. Consequently, you need to guide these players through the Forgotten Realms looking for the magical bonds, and if you have played this game, you must remember the Black Dragons, the Drow in the Castle and the Bits O’ Moander. It is an exciting and addictive RPG game.
8. World Class Leaderboard
Despite the original Leaderboard only comprising of greens, fairways and water hazards, it was quite enjoyable. The addition of bunkers, trees and rough and the ability to play few real-life gold courses makes this game even more interesting. To this day, play-ability of most golf games are still based on these Leaderboard games with this game still fun and approachable to play.
9. Microprose Soccer
It is the forerunner to other excellent football game Sensible Soccer and changed the way in which football games were seen and to this day still stands up well. Also, it incorporated features which have never been seen before in football games during those times. Some of these features include ‘aftertouch’ which allowed you to swerve the ball just after kicking it, allow you to plan passing moves, a bird’s eye view of the field view. Lastly, it was the first football game to have lousy weather included in the game.
10. Hardball!
Due to its decent graphics and is easy to play, this game was fun even for individuals who did not quite understand baseball, while providing you with a view behind the pitcher view just like on TV. To pitch, you push in the direction specified to choose the kind of pitch, push the fire button, then the position of the aim of the pitch above the plate. By pushing right or pressing the fire button, the batter tries to hit the pitch as well as pressing fire to bunt. Additionally, fielding is simple, and you do this by just moving towards the ball and pushing in the direction of the base you wish to throw to while you are pressing fire to throw that specific base.
If you’re interested in reading more about the C64, check out this article about the history of the C64.
