1983
8-bit hero Horace is often considered the unofficial mascot of the ZX Spectrum. His first game saw him go hungry, in his third he battled spiders… but 1982’s Horace Goes Skiing saw the instantly recognisable character don his skis and hit the slopes. Your first task is to cross a busy road that lies between you and the ski shop – not such an easy task considering the volume of traffic you’ll encounter. Dangerously large trucks, crazy speeding ambulances and short-sighted drivers all add to the fun. Having made it across alive, you can pick up your skis… and now you’re going to have to cross back over. Which idiot built the shop there in the first place? The second stage sees Horace pelting his way through a flagged course; stay within the race zone and you’ll score plenty of points, but watch out for bumps in the course that’ll send you zinging off in the wrong direction. Finish the race and you get the best news of all: you get to do it all over again. But watch out for Horace’s nemesis – you never quite know when he’s going to appear! Despite its apparent simplicity, Horace Goes Skiing cemented its place in gaming history with its mix of simplicity, arcade-action gameplay and a unique graphical style that many retro fans still hold a candle for to this day. According to the original instructions: Horace Goes Skiing is a sequel to the very successful Hungry Horace. The Horace series pioneers the idea of inter-active cartoons. Help Horace to slalom down the mountain course between the flags and avoiding the trees - but first he must cross the busy roads to get to the ski slopes. A complex, colourful and outstanding computer game. Before Horace can get to the ski-slopes he must fetch his skis from a hut on the other side of the busy road. Horace will move in one of four directions: Up, Left, Down and Right. At the beginning of the game, Horace has $40 to spend. If he is knocked down it will cost him $10 in ambulance fees. After Horace has successfully crossed the road, guide him into the door of the hut where he will fetch his skis. The charge for ski hire is $10. Horace should not enter the ski hut unless he can afford the hire charge. If Horace has spent all his money on ambulance fees, then he can accumulate points and money by crossing the road repeatedly, as at every 1000-point boundary, Horace receives a $10 bonus. Horace should not linger on the road longer than necessary, since the traffic becomes progressively more congested. After fetching his skis Horace must return across the road to the ski slopes. In the second part of the game Horace must ski down the Hannekon run, avoiding the trees and slaloming between the red and blue pairs of flags. If Horace fails to pass between the flags a warning note is sounded and Horace will lose points. Horace can parallel left or right using the chosen control method. Horace increases his points by passing between the flags and he can also receive a 100-point bonus by passing through the finish barrier. As in the highway section, there is a $10 bonus at every 1000-point boundary. If Horace should hit a tree then he can continue on the slope provided that his skis do not break. If his skis do break then Horace must again cross the road for a new set of skis and then return across the road to the ski slopes. If Horace successfully completes the course with his skis intact then he must cross the road once with his skis to the next slope.
In the third Horace game, released in 1983 for the ZX Spectrum, help Horace climb a mountain while jumping over the spiders that scuttle towards him, then swing across the spider bridge on dangling threads. Finally, enter the spiders' lair, tear holes in their web and stamp on the spiders when they come to mend it. Originally released in 1983 by Sinclair Research, written by William Tang of Beam Software. This Wavedash version is the ZX Spectrum release from Pixel Games UK.
1980s · 2D · Platformer
One of the earliest games in the platformer genre, Jumpman sees you take on the role of an intrepid agent tasked with collecting and disarming deadly bombs laid by the evil Alienators. Traverse the 30 challenging levels of Jupiter headquarters, running, climbing and jumping from platform to platform - but watch out! A single misstep will send you tumbling to the ground! Originally released in 1983, Jumpman became the first big hit for developer Epyx, and remains an icon of the platformer genre. Features 30 different levels 5 different modes (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Grand Loop and Randomizer) Play with up to 4 players in a round-robin fashion