What are your favourite games with graphics and sound that are average or worse?

Megalomaniac · 19 February 2023, 14:19

The Amiga's graphics and sound technology was ahead of its time, essentially combining the strengths of the C64 and the ST, going beyond either in terms of both the colour palette and what it could display at once. It was years until anything else really caught up. A lot of the games we fondly hark back to (Lionheart, Shadow of the Beast, Defender of the Crown) were the most stunning looking and sounding games on any system at their time.

And then there's those games which didn't stand out in terms of graphics or sound, but held our attention with gameplay. Magazines and the public sometimes overlooked them in favour of prettier games, with Amiga Power the only regular exception (look at how they eulogised over Dynablaster, Exile and Gravity Force 2, for example - although text-heavy games rarely appealed to them). At least on the action side, the technically stunning Amiga games are often the ones people focus on, with a few exceptions like Bubble Bobble, IK+ and Stunt Car Racer. Is this fair? I'd throw in Plutos, Poing (quite a few PD games, in general), Buggy Boy and Rodland as others which play a lot better than they look.

How much do people feel that the techncial side matters with Amiga games? Did it matter more in 1987 than 1993, or in 1993 than now?

Snoopy1234 · 19 February 2023, 14:53

It mattered that 16 bit games in 1987 were a way out of home. And now a way back to social contact or at least simulated contact like our young brains would experience it.

Re simple gfx/sfx, Black Lamp, Baron Baldric, Ice Palace and Skrull are all terrible but they're so different to everyday stereotypes that they're interesting.

khph_re · 19 February 2023, 22:35

Chaos on the zx spectrum, or warlords on the amiga.

Both great strategy games ugly as sin, and sound like arse - chaos in particular.

TCD · 20 February 2023, 06:37

Warlords is indeed pretty 'ugly' for an Amiga game, but I played it over and over again because the formula that made HOMM so popular is very addictive. I personally don't care too much how a game looks if it is fun to play. For example I played a lot of 'Die Drachen Von Laas' on the Amiga which is a text-adventure with still pics. I can still start the game and get back into it even today, so there is that

Paulee_Alex_Bow · 20 February 2023, 13:46

Mega Twins is kinda plain compared to the Arcade & Mega Drive versions, but I still absolutely love the game, especially in two player!

gimbal · 20 February 2023, 14:54

Chip's Challenge, for sure. It sounds slightly better than the Lynx original (but still 8 bit quality) but somehow they managed to make the graphics worse even with bigger sprites and it has the audacity to slow down every now and then. Don't care though, loved it despite its many flaws.

All the Sierra adventure games, up to the point where they just became too slow to stomach.

Wonderboy in Monsterland. I don't understand the graphics that this game has, compared to the arcade version it looks like a letterbox format stretched out to widescreen. Really weird. Not the greatest game by far, but... yeah it was a platformer with minor RPG elements. There were not many games like it.

What else. I didn't really play all that many games I would consider ugly or average looking to be honest. Usually when a game looked drab, it was also not fun.

JanciB · 20 February 2023, 15:07

Skyblaster

Reynolds · 20 February 2023, 15:18

Dogfight, the 4 player PD game and Wet Beaver Games.

chip · 20 February 2023, 15:24

Prince Of Persia ?

gimbal · 20 February 2023, 16:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by chip

Prince Of Persia ?

... no that game looks and sounds fantastic.

ImmortalA1000 · 21 February 2023, 14:19

Shit graphics AND sound, it better be a free PD game then, that's all I have to say. I suppose underwhelming coding goes into that package too, in which case you might as well have bought a much cheaper computer if you are happy with that sort of thing

Legerdemain · 21 February 2023, 14:45

Like I mentioned in the Now Playing thread... Kid Gloves looks rather shit, but actually plays really well.

grond · 21 February 2023, 16:08

Once of the dullest looking games of the 80s is a classic: "Thrust". I played it a lot on the C64 and still believe that games with just a few colours and basic shapes have a place if the gameplay is good. And if the gameplay isn't good, graphics can't cut it either. I believe Thrust never got ported to the Amiga.

alkis21 · 21 February 2023, 16:21

Manhunter: New York & Manhunter 2: San Francisco.

Despite the horrible graphics and even worse colour palette, not to mention the countless of crappy action sequences, the atmosphere of these games was phenomenal.

Paulee_Alex_Bow · 21 February 2023, 16:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by alkis21

Manhunter: New York & Manhunter 2: San Francisco.

Despite the horrible graphics and even worse colour palette, not to mention the countless of crappy action sequences, the atmosphere of these games was phenomenal.

Agree, amazing oppressive atmosphere.

Kagesan · 21 February 2023, 17:53

Generally speaking, games that valued style over substance were much more prevalent on the Amiga than the opposite.

If we count PD games, Roboter deserves a mention. It had the crudest of graphics, even by PD standards, but was tremendous fun in multiplayer.

Among commercially released games, Impact (also known as Blockbuster) comes to mind. It looks as basic as it gets, but it plays brilliantly. In a genius move, it replaces Arkanoid's random powerups with generic tokens that fuel a Gradius-style powerup system, thus turning an element of luck into one of skill and strategy.

http://hol.abime.net/2616

Megalomaniac · 21 February 2023, 19:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImmortalA1000

Shit graphics AND sound, it better be a free PD game then, that's all I have to say. I suppose underwhelming coding goes into that package too, in which case you might as well have bought a much cheaper computer if you are happy with that sort of thing

Why? Games are entertainment first and foremost. It doesn't matter how good a game looks and sounds if it has fundamental gameplay flaws, you'll still only load it a few times. Is every Amiga game better than every C64 game, despite the leap in hardware power? If it's purely about graphics and sound, why would anyone play PS4 games (let alone PS3 or earlier) now that the PS5 is out?

Fiery Phoenix · 21 February 2023, 22:06

Thrust (C64 - still one of my fave games of all time and a cheapo title too)

Amiga wise - Gravity Force, Kick Off 2, Tanx, Zany Golf

gimbal · 21 February 2023, 23:05

Oh yeah, Mean 18! Don't like golf games, but somehow Mean 18 did it for me. But oof did it look like ass.

A500 · 23 February 2023, 21:01

I thought Thrust looked really cool (and still do)

I still give it a go sometimes. Great game.

On the Amiga, three favourites that didn't win prizes for graphics:

Moria
Empire
Campaign

All of these also crashed randomly every now and then, but it didn't stop me playing the heck out of them!

19 February 2023, 14:19	#1
Megalomaniac Registered User Join Date: Sep 2022 Location: Eastbourne Posts: 1,014	What are your favourite games with graphics and sound that are average or worse? The Amiga's graphics and sound technology was ahead of its time, essentially combining the strengths of the C64 and the ST, going beyond either in terms of both the colour palette and what it could display at once. It was years until anything else really caught up. A lot of the games we fondly hark back to (Lionheart, Shadow of the Beast, Defender of the Crown) were the most stunning looking and sounding games on any system at their time. And then there's those games which didn't stand out in terms of graphics or sound, but held our attention with gameplay. Magazines and the public sometimes overlooked them in favour of prettier games, with Amiga Power the only regular exception (look at how they eulogised over Dynablaster, Exile and Gravity Force 2, for example - although text-heavy games rarely appealed to them). At least on the action side, the technically stunning Amiga games are often the ones people focus on, with a few exceptions like Bubble Bobble, IK+ and Stunt Car Racer. Is this fair? I'd throw in Plutos, Poing (quite a few PD games, in general), Buggy Boy and Rodland as others which play a lot better than they look. How much do people feel that the techncial side matters with Amiga games? Did it matter more in 1987 than 1993, or in 1993 than now?

19 February 2023, 14:53	#2
Snoopy1234 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2022 Location: Australia Age: 52 Posts: 844	It mattered that 16 bit games in 1987 were a way out of home. And now a way back to social contact or at least simulated contact like our young brains would experience it. Re simple gfx/sfx, Black Lamp, Baron Baldric, Ice Palace and Skrull are all terrible but they're so different to everyday stereotypes that they're interesting. Last edited by Snoopy1234; 19 February 2023 at 14:53. Reason: missing letter

21 February 2023, 16:21	#14
alkis21 Zone Friend Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Athens, Greece Age: 49 Posts: 1,408	Manhunter: New York & Manhunter 2: San Francisco. Despite the horrible graphics and even worse colour palette, not to mention the countless of crappy action sequences, the atmosphere of these games was phenomenal. Attached Thumbnails

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19 February 2023, 22:35	#3
khph_re Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Northampton/UK Posts: 525	Chaos on the zx spectrum, or warlords on the amiga. Both great strategy games ugly as sin, and sound like arse - chaos in particular.

20 February 2023, 06:37	#4
TCD HOL/FTP busy bee Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Germany Age: 46 Posts: 31,606	Warlords is indeed pretty 'ugly' for an Amiga game, but I played it over and over again because the formula that made HOMM so popular is very addictive. I personally don't care too much how a game looks if it is fun to play. For example I played a lot of 'Die Drachen Von Laas' on the Amiga which is a text-adventure with still pics. I can still start the game and get back into it even today, so there is that

20 February 2023, 13:46	#5
Paulee_Alex_Bow Registered User Join Date: Mar 2022 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 149	Mega Twins is kinda plain compared to the Arcade & Mega Drive versions, but I still absolutely love the game, especially in two player!

20 February 2023, 14:54	#6
gimbal cheeky scoundrel Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Spijkenisse/Netherlands Age: 42 Posts: 6,918	Chip's Challenge, for sure. It sounds slightly better than the Lynx original (but still 8 bit quality) but somehow they managed to make the graphics worse even with bigger sprites and it has the audacity to slow down every now and then. Don't care though, loved it despite its many flaws. All the Sierra adventure games, up to the point where they just became too slow to stomach. Wonderboy in Monsterland. I don't understand the graphics that this game has, compared to the arcade version it looks like a letterbox format stretched out to widescreen. Really weird. Not the greatest game by far, but... yeah it was a platformer with minor RPG elements. There were not many games like it. What else. I didn't really play all that many games I would consider ugly or average looking to be honest. Usually when a game looked drab, it was also not fun.

20 February 2023, 15:07	#7
JanciB Registered User Join Date: May 2013 Location: Bratislava / Slovakia Age: 47 Posts: 241	Skyblaster

20 February 2023, 15:18	#8
Reynolds Alien Breeder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Szigetszentmiklos / Hungary Age: 46 Posts: 1,096	Dogfight, the 4 player PD game and Wet Beaver Games.

20 February 2023, 15:24	#9
chip Registered User Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Italy Age: 49 Posts: 2,942	Prince Of Persia ?

21 February 2023, 14:19	#11
ImmortalA1000 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: london/england Posts: 1,347	Shit graphics AND sound, it better be a free PD game then, that's all I have to say. I suppose underwhelming coding goes into that package too, in which case you might as well have bought a much cheaper computer if you are happy with that sort of thing

21 February 2023, 14:45	#12
Legerdemain Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Skåne / Sweden Posts: 259	Like I mentioned in the Now Playing thread... Kid Gloves looks rather shit, but actually plays really well.

21 February 2023, 16:08	#13
grond Registered User Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Germany Posts: 1,918	Once of the dullest looking games of the 80s is a classic: "Thrust". I played it a lot on the C64 and still believe that games with just a few colours and basic shapes have a place if the gameplay is good. And if the gameplay isn't good, graphics can't cut it either. I believe Thrust never got ported to the Amiga.

21 February 2023, 17:53	#16
Kagesan Registered User Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Hamburg / Germany Posts: 15	Generally speaking, games that valued style over substance were much more prevalent on the Amiga than the opposite. If we count PD games, Roboter deserves a mention. It had the crudest of graphics, even by PD standards, but was tremendous fun in multiplayer. Among commercially released games, Impact (also known as Blockbuster) comes to mind. It looks as basic as it gets, but it plays brilliantly. In a genius move, it replaces Arkanoid's random powerups with generic tokens that fuel a Gradius-style powerup system, thus turning an element of luck into one of skill and strategy. http://hol.abime.net/2616

21 February 2023, 22:06	#18
Fiery Phoenix Registered User Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Bury, Lancs Age: 47 Posts: 664	Thrust (C64 - still one of my fave games of all time and a cheapo title too) Amiga wise - Gravity Force, Kick Off 2, Tanx, Zany Golf

21 February 2023, 23:05	#19
gimbal cheeky scoundrel Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Spijkenisse/Netherlands Age: 42 Posts: 6,918	Oh yeah, Mean 18! Don't like golf games, but somehow Mean 18 did it for me. But oof did it look like ass.

23 February 2023, 21:01	#20
A500 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Finland Posts: 362	I thought Thrust looked really cool (and still do) I still give it a go sometimes. Great game. On the Amiga, three favourites that didn't win prizes for graphics: Moria Empire Campaign All of these also crashed randomly every now and then, but it didn't stop me playing the heck out of them!

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