Commodore 64
For the purposes of my computer game commentary I refer to the Commodore 64 of 1982 as a Western computer game machine. The C64 can also be referred to as the C=64 or CBM64.
The Commodore 64 debuted in August of 1982 in the U.S.A. and retailed for $595, but the Commodore 1541 disk drive of 1982 retailed for $399, bringing the total to $994. Three years later the infinitely more capable Amiga 1000 debuted in the U.S.A. for $1750, but with color monitor and disk drive.
The Commodore 64 is powered by an 8-bit MOS Tech 6510/8500 clocked at 1 MHz. RAM on the C64/C128 officially ranges from 64K to 512K.
Everyone knows of Bob Yannes' unparalleled 6581 SID 3-voice audio, but the C64 also features hardware scrolling, hardware sprites and a color palette that can display spartan and gritty color schemes as well as rainbow color-cycling and stroboscopic effects that predicted Amiga plasmas.
On top of that, coders, graphicians and musicians delved deeply into the C64's coinop-lite capacities and became grandmasters at coding, drawing and composing for the C64. cf. Super-scrollers.
C64 graphics come from Al Charpentier's Video Interface Chip aka VIC-II, which displays graphics in 16-color 160x200 resolution. Complaints about the C64's "washed-out" or "muddy" color palette come from those devoid of aesthetic palate.
That said, the C64 should have had a color look-up table (CLUT). And while the Amstrad CPC did have a CLUT, its scrolling capabilities were poor. I'd take hardware scrolling over the CPC palette any day of the week. The Atari 8 bits also had a CLUT.
Most C64 games displayed in lores 16-color 160x200 aka Mode 0. The C64 also features a hires 320x200 mode, but there are color-spacing restrictions.
The C64 can display 8 multiplexed sprites (MOBs) per scanline. I have counted over 30 non-flickering on-screen and collision-capable objects in some C64 games.
C64 games were distributed on 60K data cassette tapes (Datasette drive, U.K.) and 5.25" 170-360K DS/DD floppy disks (1541 drive, U.S. & U.K.).
"Datasettes" are just enhanced cassette tape recorders that read from and write to audio cassettes. In mid-1983 the 1530 Datasette retailed for US$70 whereas the 1541 disk drive retailed for US$340.
- The Commodore 1541/-C/-2 of 1982-88 was a 5.25" GCR 170K single-sided external disk drive with a 400 bytes/second transfer rate. The 1541 had 16K on-board ROM and 2K on-board RAM.
- The Commodore 1571 of 1985 was a 5.25" GCR/MFM 339K double-sided external disk drive that motored at 300 RPM, had a burst-mode transfer rate of 5200 characters per second and performed MFM writes at a rate of 250-308K bits per second.
- The Commodore 1581 of 1987 was a 3.5" GCR/MFM 800K double-sided double-density external disk drive with burst-mode.
From 1982-84 many C64 games were distributed on 16K cartridges. Some C64 games were single-load, others multi-load. Fast Loaders increased tape-game loading by up to 10x. Sanxion of 1986 was the first C64 game to employ the CyberLoad fast-loader.
Best Commodore 64 Game
In my estimation the best Commodore 64 game is Andrew Braybrook's Paradroid of 1985. Paradroid furnishes an early example of arcade-game technical mastery coupled with advanced menu systems and interpretable stats. By arcade-game technical mastery, I am referring to Paradroid's smooth 8-way scrolling, smooth sprite-shifting and tactical 8-way firing and ramming.
Dan Phillips' Armalyte of 1988 and Manfred Trenz's Katakis of 1988 and Turrican of 1990 are three of the most technically impressive 2D Commodore 64 games.
The most technically advanced 3D C64 games are MicroProse's Gunship of 1986 and Project Stealth Fighter of 1987. Why? Flat-shaded 3D on the 8-bit C64.
Airborne Ranger Commodore 64 1987
Another advanced C64-first from MicroProse is Airborne Ranger of 1987. Airborne Ranger was designed by Lawrence Schick and programmed by Scott Spanburg. During terrain reconnaissance a Ranger is dropped behind enemy lines via F-22 Osprey. The Ranger must fulfill mission objectives within a certain timeframe while negotiating enemy soldiers, bunkers, foxholes and mines. Airborne Ranger features 8-way scrolling, height-mapped terrain, 360° firing and cover mechanics.
System 3's The Last Ninja (1987-1991) is the most well-presented series of C64 games. However, TLN games are not as innovative as some C64-only gamers think. Why? Because System 3 were influenced by the flip-screen games of the ZX Spectrum; everyone was. That said, TLN games are advanced for the time and deserve to be held in high regard.
In 1983 the first Pitstop racing game was ported to C64 from the original Atari 8-bits version, but in 1984 Pitstop 2 was ported to the Atari 8-bits from the original Commodore 64 version, which was superior.
Best Commodore 64 Port
The best Commodore 64 port is a toss-up between Simon Pick's Gradius of 1987 and Peter Baron's Salamander of 1988. These two ports set high expectations for future C64 ports. And ST and Amiga would never get Gradius or Salamander. Ever. And the PC didn't get Gradius until one decade had passed, making PC Gradius a mere footnote in comparison to C64 Gradius.
Consider also...
Colin Porch's port of Operation Wolf of 1988:
Robbie Tinman's Midnight Resistance of 1990:
E&E's Lemmings of 1994:
Commodore 64 Domination
From 1985-90 the C64 of 1982 was the best computer-game machine on the planet in terms of quality and quantity of its game-catalogue. The 16-bit M68K micros of 1985 were not in the same league as the C64 until 1988: the C64 utterly destroyed the IBM PC, Atari ST and Amiga from 1985 to 1987 because the C64 was established and grandmaster-coders were pushing it to its limits, whereas other platforms were emerging and their coders were still getting to grips with them.
- C64 dominated shoot 'em ups from the mid-to-late 80s. This is HUGE all by itself because the shoot 'em up genre dominated computer games for two decades, from 1976-1996. There are many C64-first and C64-exclusive shoot 'em ups.
- C64 hosted some of the first modern flat-shaded 3D flight sims such as Gunship of 1986 and Project Stealth Fighter of 1987. Hugely influential flight sims.
- C64 hosted Silent Service of 1985 and Red Storm Rising of 1988 first, which are the greatest submarine games ever made.
- C64 hosted the first SCUMM-engine games via Maniac Mansion of 1987 and Zak McKracken of 1988. Hugely influential adventure games. However, Labyrinth of 1986 is a precursor to SCUMM. And yes, Labyrinth is also a C64-first. LucasFilm adventure games were far superior to Sierra's scribble slop spam on the IBM PC. cf. History of Graphics Adventure Games.
- C64 hosted Impossible Mission of 1984 first. One of the most advanced games of the early 80s.
- C64 hosted Little Computer People of 1985 first, a precursor to "The Sims".
- C64 hosted The Last Ninja of 1987 first.
- C64 hosted Sid Meier's Pirates of 1987 first.
- SimCity of 1989 was developed for the C64 first (SimCity origin is C64 Micropolis of 1985).
- C64 hosted Kampfgruppe of 1985 two years before MS-DOS and three years before the Amiga.
- C64 coinop conversions were often superior to 16-bit ST/Amiga coinop conversions. They may not have always looked as colorful, but they often played better.
- As late as 1992 the C64 was getting C64-exclusive games that the ST could never handle in its wildest dreams, even with 8x more speed and 8x more RAM.
- C64 Turrican is Amiga Turrican's equal. cf. Turrican Games.
- C64 games were made by some of the best designers, coders, graphicians and composers of the 80s and 90s. If I named one I'd have to name 100. The SID and VIC-II were pushed to their limits whereas 16-bit coding too-often halted at the halfway mark of its potential. For example, it wasn't until 1988 that the Amiga began flexing.
cf. 1987 Computer Games for a tabled comparison of C64 and ST/Amiga game catalogues.
Overall, the C64 is The Undisputed King of Computer-game Machines. The C64 was never dethroned and no single person could ever conquer its colossal game-catalogue.
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