The Best Spectrum Game as Rated by the Best Spectrum Magazines

Рет қаралды 11,755

Күн бұрын

Only 52 games received the top award from all the top Spectrum magazines, Sinclair User, Your Sinclair and Crash Magazine. Taking their average rating on all the reviews and re-reviews, we have ourselves a chart; although you won't believe what made it to number one!!!!
original forum post by Peter Podge :
spectrumcomputing.co.uk/forum...
0:00 Intro
2:02 Top 43
16:10 Top 30
27:52 Top 20
38:54 Top 10
54:53 Top 3

Пікірлер: 124

@stancooper5436 3 ай бұрын

3 Weeks in Paradise?! That came out of left field.

@SebsPlaceYT 3 ай бұрын

😁

@bigmikebamber 5 ай бұрын

There were big rumours that the magazines took bribes for favourable reviews at the time. This countdown seems to support that.

@newsbender 2 ай бұрын

I never twigged at the time but yeah - listening to the reviews now, they read like full-on promotional material! A bit devious really...

@brendanjudge577 2 ай бұрын

No it doesn't

@newsbender 2 ай бұрын

@@brendanjudge577 it defo does

@drxym 2 ай бұрын

If so it would be no different than today. It's not a direct bribe and more of a "oh we're running a big ad campaign on your website and it would be a shame if something were to change our minds", or "we have a lavish press junket lined up in Las Vegas for our next game launch and all our favourite reviewers will be invited".

@leethompson2260 9 ай бұрын

Great video! I was a regular reader of all three of these magazines, but I haven't even heard of the top 2 games, and I was playing Spectrum games from 1982, all the way up until I got a Megadrive in 1991!

@SebsPlaceYT 9 ай бұрын

Same as me pretty much, although I had a SNES and then a MD later on. Thanks for the comment. Appreciate it.

@dennyhaynes3 Жыл бұрын

Great idea for a video mate. Nice new angle on a top 50 video. The top 3 did surprise me though 😮

@SebsPlaceYT Жыл бұрын

Me too 😆 cheers Denny

@davidrobertson5700 3 ай бұрын

Tim Tregear was the writer of the original Driller game from Macmillan software. He was my teacher at Gossops Green Junior school and we had to test it, he also wrote survival and helped on Mercenary, please show Mercenary it was cool Signed Dave

@SebsPlaceYT 3 ай бұрын

Love it, nice story, cheers. I'll take a look thanks!

@davidrobertson5700 3 ай бұрын

@@SebsPlaceYT Tim Tregear died in a car accident in his Spitfire, big guy tall, voice like thunder , clever as you like. He refined my science antics into something far safer. Sad end to a clever guy

@BleughBleugh 9 ай бұрын

Thankyou! Spent a little too long sat on the loo hiding from the wife and kids perusing this upload. I’ll put some quality time in some point soon! You’ve gained a subscriber

@SebsPlaceYT 9 ай бұрын

Haha, that made me smile on a miserable Monday morning. Love it! Thank you, very kind!

@damoncleall3315 Жыл бұрын

Excellent video! Probably the best ‘ best of’ speccy vids I’ve seen(take note Kim justice) couldn’t help but chuckle at the voice overs of the different magazine reviews! Good stuff. 👌👍

@SebsPlaceYT Жыл бұрын

Thanks Damon, really appreciate the kind feedback.

@lunarjetwoman6580 5 ай бұрын

Seconded ☺️

@lucasoheyze4597 4 ай бұрын

Kim Justice is spoiling ZX Spectrum nostalgia, for sure.

@doctorcrankyflaps1724 8 күн бұрын

@@lucasoheyze4597 Why is Kim spoiling nostalgia?

@adrianpage-mitchell7489 9 ай бұрын

Interestingly, Crash did not score Turbo Esprit a Smash on its launch for Durell, it got 88%, but quite rightly scored the re-release on Encore 90%

@ElectronicazMusic 9 ай бұрын

Excellent vid. I remember loads of these!

@SebsPlaceYT 9 ай бұрын

Thank you, very kind!

@adw147 2 ай бұрын

Great Video and a good way to show some half forgotten titles for a change

@SebsPlaceYT 2 ай бұрын

Thank you! 😊

@retrorobbins Жыл бұрын

great video ,enjoy it .keep up the video .thanks

@SebsPlaceYT Жыл бұрын

too kind, thank you!

@anthonychapman5835 8 ай бұрын

Couldn't agree more with the top spot. I loved TWIP at the time and still occasionally go back to it

@SebsPlaceYT 8 ай бұрын

Nice! I'm gonna do a video about the series soon, so make sure you're subbed! 😉 cheers for the comment.

@kristianTV1974 9 ай бұрын

Had no idea the atmosphere was 90% helium in the 80's and 90's, and I was there. Maybe Aled Jones explains a lot.

@SebsPlaceYT 9 ай бұрын

😄😄

@paulphillips546 7 ай бұрын

Great vid, I didn’t mind the squeaky voices, thought it was amusing. Some surprises both in inclusion and exclusion from this list. Subscribe button clicked, thanks.

@SebsPlaceYT 7 ай бұрын

Thank you Paul. Appreciate the feedback and the sub!

@Bob_Beaky Жыл бұрын

Never in a month of Sundays would I have guessed that top 3! Not a usual suspect in there. Still, Revolution is a bit of a nice surprise. :)

@SebsPlaceYT Жыл бұрын

Hi - Yeah, not the usual suspects but all great games. It's got me interested in the Wally games too, quite a cool set of games although it's a stretch to say that is the best Speccy game :-)

@RoqueFortStu 9 ай бұрын

9:37 Thundera was the Thundercats' home planet that was destroyed in the first episode. It's pronounced thund-air-a

@SebsPlaceYT 9 ай бұрын

Thanks - I think it was plain to see I was struggling with that somewhat!!

@retrobloke Ай бұрын

Great idea for a video - Fab!

@SebsPlaceYT Ай бұрын

Glad you liked it! Cheers!

@retrobloke Ай бұрын

@@SebsPlaceYT I really did, Revolution was the big surprise for me, it looked so good!

@frankowalker4662 4 ай бұрын

The only game on that list I've spent significant time on is Fairlight. I still load it sometimes just for the intro music.

@balorprice 8 сағат бұрын

Wow some real surprises there! No Dizzies at all, no Don Priestley, no Monty Moles, no Jack the Nipper, no Deathchase (maybe that was too early). I thought Saboteur might make an appearance too. Oh, and no one heard of a little game called Elite? Ah well, we all know Rock Star Ate My Hamster was the best anyway

@neilthomas6042 Жыл бұрын

Interesting video, never owned or played a Spectrum, so it’s a mystery why I’m so interested in the computer. Don’t play games now, so not likely to play them. The distorted voices of the review quotes annoyed a bit.

@SebsPlaceYT Жыл бұрын

Appreciate the feedback. I wasn't sure what to do with the reviews as wanted a different voice to mine to separate them but couldn't convince anyone to read them for me :-)

@Zirus_Blackheart 2 ай бұрын

Surprised Jack the Nipper didn't make the cut, same with Trap Door. Loved those games :-)

@SebsPlaceYT 2 ай бұрын

Agreed, both excellent!

@wondrinminstrel 2 ай бұрын

I'm surprised Starquake didn't make the list. Great vid though mate!

@SebsPlaceYT 2 ай бұрын

Yeah, if Your Sinclair reviewed it, it defo would have been. Thanks for the kind words 😊

@markwrightrf 6 ай бұрын

Disappointed that my all-time favourite Speccy game, Crash Smash and Crash cover stars The Great Giana Sisters is missing. Highly regarded by SU and YS also. They even published readers' hints and tips for the game. What a classic. (Aside: what a swizz.)

@SebsPlaceYT 6 ай бұрын

😂😂 Yeah....moral of the story..... don't mess with Nintendo! Maybe one day someone will unearth a review copy somewhere........ would love to play it (if it did actually exist.....)

@Zirus_Blackheart 2 ай бұрын

There's a PS4 spiritul successor to Uridium and I wish I could remember the name because it's excellent!

@alistermunro7090 3 ай бұрын

Quazatron, Ultima games, Elite, Heavy on the Magic and Marsport all have fond memories. I notice Marsport didn't make the list?

@SebsPlaceYT 3 ай бұрын

Your Sinclair didn't review it. Did well in the other two, but Sinclair User didn't give it an award despite tip marks which sometimes happened.

@gperch 2 ай бұрын

Three Weeks was a great game, especially considering how many licences and arcade ports are in the list. The Speccy games that are still playable today are the original ones.

@SebsPlaceYT 2 ай бұрын

Totally agree 👍

@vidarlystadjohansen9829 3 ай бұрын

great video

@SebsPlaceYT 3 ай бұрын

Thank you 😊

@mingmerci6103 5 ай бұрын

They live! One of my favourite films plus it has the longest fight scene in a film.... well it did at the time

@SebsPlaceYT 5 ай бұрын

Classic 🤩

@jakeebeling9158 5 ай бұрын

A really eclectic mix in here, the top 3 are quite surprising. Strange that Elite isn't in the list at all as I remember it being the game everybody wanted and all the magazines rated it highly.

@SebsPlaceYT 5 ай бұрын

Elite came out just too early for Your Sinclair, so they only ever reviewed it as part of a compilation. Otherwise, yeah, it would have made it for sure.

@dreadhead170 3 ай бұрын

I was a early Speccy user.

@Mantakev 7 ай бұрын

Great list. Head over heels should be number one. Wally? WTF. 😬

@billybollockhead5628 5 ай бұрын

Spoilers!

@VampireJack10 2 ай бұрын

It just seems so wrong that Atic Atac, Manic Miner, Chuckie Egg, Jet Set Willy weren't included - yes, I know it's down to the year of release, but still.....

@stephenjames3561 7 ай бұрын

No Saboteur II I loved that game.

@SebsPlaceYT 7 ай бұрын

Sadly not. Only got Your Sinclair mega game, 83% Crash, 3/5 Sinclair User

@stephenjames3561 7 ай бұрын

Wow a response from the man himself! I did not expect that @SebsPlaceYT . Thank you very much and I loved that fact you gave Target Renegade and Skool Daze special mentions. Skool Daze is my favourite ever Spectrum game despite never completing it. I also remember saving my pocket money to buy Target Renegade when back then £8.99 (If I remember correctly) was a lot of dosh. I loved the video so many memories. My rule back then was if I couldn't figure out a game in under five minutes it was rubbish so was never a fan of text adventures or isometric games. I think the magazines missed a trick with Renegade. Amazing work well done.

@SebsPlaceYT 7 ай бұрын

Thanks Stephen, you picked some great games there mate. I think Target Renegade is my all time favourite. Such a great game and not bettered on any other system!

@MultiVeeta 3 ай бұрын

Didnt see my childhood top games, Elite and Gunship both got 92% in Crash.

@SebsPlaceYT 3 ай бұрын

Elite never got a review on its own in Your Sinclair and Gunship should have been included but even though it got top marks, Sinclair User didn't give it an award (which sometimes happenned) so it missed out. Both games deserve to be there though 100%

@SmallFox74 5 ай бұрын

Loved 3WIP! deserved a top ten appearance but surprised it took top spot! Why no Jack the Nipper in there?

@SebsPlaceYT 5 ай бұрын

100% agree for Jack the Nipper, but sometimes games got top marks but weren't awarded mega game, crash smash etc. Jack the Nipper got 5/5 in Sinclair User but no award. If you scroll down two pages. Pyracurse also got 5/5 and the Sinclair User Classic award. It often made no sense. Check it out here: archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-053/page/n36/mode/1up?view=theater

@juststatedtheobvious9633 Жыл бұрын

Finally! A list that admits the best games weren't always the ones that you'd want to show off to jaded audiences 30 plus years later. As someone who didn't even know the Spectrum existed until Retro Gamer threw in a free CD, it's easy to be misled by cautiously cultivated lists that tell the same few feel good stories over and over, until it feels more like just another console library. It was so much more than that. It was a taste of everything gaming could be, sometimes decades ahead of the rest of the world.

@SebsPlaceYT Жыл бұрын

Thank you, great comment. I agree, it's hard to do something a little different that shows off some good games that people may have missed. Glad you enjoyed this one.

@marcraygun6290 5 ай бұрын

I had forgotten that back in the eighties we spoke with weird high pitched voices ......a golden age

@SebsPlaceYT 5 ай бұрын

Indeed we did! We also experimented with different ideas to use in KZfaq videos that didn't quite work and will never be used again.

@marcraygun6290 5 ай бұрын

@@SebsPlaceYT lol love this video and love this channel just excellent

@SebsPlaceYT 5 ай бұрын

Thank you 😊

@Etcher 3 ай бұрын

No Myth by Sysyem 3? Criminal!

@SebsPlaceYT 3 ай бұрын

Outrageous!

@Redster930 3 ай бұрын

Wait, no elite? no stunt car racer?

@SebsPlaceYT 3 ай бұрын

Hi - Elite really should be, but Your Sinclair never reviewed it. Only later as part of a compilation. Stunt car racer didn't review high enough.

@gnamp 6 ай бұрын

That "criticism" in the Crash review of Dan Dare is peculiar- that is to say it's strange they called it such- leading me to think the editor didn't actually know the meaning of the word.

@marcraygun6290 5 ай бұрын

One mistake in robocop reveiw the sampled speech clearly say "Applecart"

@SebsPlaceYT 5 ай бұрын

😁😁

@gnamp 6 ай бұрын

My guess(es): Head over Heels or Treasure Island Dizzy.

@SebsPlaceYT 6 ай бұрын

Waaay more random than that 😁

@gnamp 6 ай бұрын

@@SebsPlaceYT It sure was. No spoiler alerts here- but I wasn't a million miles off, eh?... I'm off to play it now :)

@paulmorphy6187 9 ай бұрын

I just started the video and I think the top will be 'R-Type' lets see...lets see if I am a speccy game nerd

@SebsPlaceYT 9 ай бұрын

Haha. Nice. I've never had a preemptive comment before 😀

@johndd9140 7 ай бұрын

I thought it would be Driller

@StargliderGaming Жыл бұрын

A flawed list. Starglider is one of the highest rated games of all time (and although I'm biased :D ), all the reviews were among the highest across all the magazines, and even won game of the year in Crash. Your Sinclair never reviewed it when it was originally released as they had done a mega-preview the previous month.

@SebsPlaceYT Жыл бұрын

Haha - not biased at all :D ! Gotta get an award from all three magazines, so didn't make the list, but yeah a great game indeed ! Kinda crazy that only 52 games amongst all the games these three magazines reviewed were awarded the top award by all three!

@leethompson2260 9 ай бұрын

Yeah I was expecting Starglider to be there.

@SeanONeill-ef5vb 8 ай бұрын

C64 Carrier command was made as a 2d game and lost something. Didn’t get great reviews. The Spectrum version looked awesome.

@dazza1970 3 ай бұрын

Like many 70's kids i er.. had loads of backup copies of games and surprisingly enough the only games in your list i played was robocop, back to school and 3 weeks which i didnt like... great list but not my top 40

@SebsPlaceYT 3 ай бұрын

No.. I agree, some odd ones in there!

@stancooper5436 3 ай бұрын

Ha.. good times. Me and a friend down the road used to *ahem* backup each others games on a 'ghetto blaster,' as they used to be called.

@pip5879 2 ай бұрын

Loved Exolon. If you defined the keys to Z O R B A & then redefine them to how you use the keys, you got infinite lives.

@SebsPlaceYT 2 ай бұрын

Oooh

@stevezm100 19 күн бұрын

yeah target renegade still playable today! prob my best speccy game too, the original renegade just doesnt compare imo

@SebsPlaceYT 19 күн бұрын

Yeah probably my favourite game 😍

@Bill-uf6os 3 ай бұрын

Kevin Toms dislikes this video.

@SebsPlaceYT 3 ай бұрын

Lies....

@gipgap4 7 ай бұрын

I must admit that I don’t trust reviews from 1990 as I thought reviewers often overhyped and overrated any game that was half decent towards the end of the Spectrums life to try to maintain its relevance.

@SebsPlaceYT 7 ай бұрын

There's probably some truth in that

@medes5597 7 ай бұрын

This reminds me of some old retro gaming drama - A few years ago, someone on a retro gaming Facebook group made a list of late era Amiga games that had got unjustified high scores by virtue of being late releases and the magazines needing to hype them. The sort of stuff that was coming out after commodore was dead and Amiga magazines had been forced to go to a direct subscriber model. The list generated a bit of discussion, with most people thinking the majority of the games weren't great but it was understandable 5hst they'd tried to hype what they could. Then, former Amiga Format reviewer Stuart Campbell (a year or so before he lost his mind over politics) came into the group, got *super* angry about the list, told a bunch of people to "f*ck off" over it and then left the group in an angry tantrum. Point is, apparently Stuart is very sensitive.

@marcraygun6290 5 ай бұрын

No chaos?.....the fools

@SebsPlaceYT 5 ай бұрын

It did well in Sinclair User and Crash. Not sure even reviewed by YS.

@NathanJayMusic 9 ай бұрын

Those voices :(

@SebsPlaceYT 9 ай бұрын

Yep, won't do that again.

@Metal_Maxine Ай бұрын

Dynamite Dan looks disturbingly like Matt Smith as Dr Who. ETA: The Target Renegade reviewer: ew, what a letch!

@SebsPlaceYT Ай бұрын

😂😂

@garyhart6421 4 ай бұрын

Top 3 = Never heard of them. Bungs were had --- big time. Distorted voices = very hard to understand.

@SebsPlaceYT 4 ай бұрын

Yep, voice experiment was shorted lived.....

@cygil1 9 ай бұрын

The Sinclair magazine reviews are, alas, completely untrustworthy. They lived off the advertising of the game publishers, after all. Ghosts 'n 'Goblins is pants on the spectrum.

@SebsPlaceYT 9 ай бұрын

Hi - Yep, definitely some truth in that. Just a bit of fun really.

@boomhaueruk 9 ай бұрын

Having given Ghosts and goblins a whirl on the speccy the other day I have to say I dont agree it's rubbish at all. Too hard? Yes, definitely think it's not the best balanced but it's quick and enjoyable enough and quite a feat to get it on there. Why do you think it's bad?

@SweetStevieAaron 8 ай бұрын

I don’t think it’s pants but it’s missing more than half of the arcade game (if you can manage to get that far). As a single load, it’s good, but if you know the coin-op, it’s merely an impression of the first two levels and then kinda does a simplified third one.

@monkeymanbob 7 ай бұрын

TBH the same could be said of Crash and anything Ultimate related. It still grinds my gears I bought Cyberun & Gunfright based on the Crash reviews.