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[elfinke]

Many great games, but one I'll mention that I don't think has been so far: Shirley Muldowney's Topfuel Challenge:

Burnouts (warm tyres), hi/lo gears, correct staging, blown engines, upgrades, tournament rankings, seasons, careers... Man I loved this game.

There's plenty of others I have fond memories of (the Star Wars games, Cyberzone, Time Tunnel, Ramparts), but that is an outlier amongst the common choices.

 

[Lord Error]

Commando (was better than the arcade version IMO as it was somehow more lively to play and had far better music)

Creatures 1 & 2 (2 was the best animated 8bit game I can think of)

Cybernoid 1 & 2 (probably the best chiptunes ever created)

 

[Occam]

The first that come to mind: Katakis, Giana Sisters, Paradroid

 

[codswallop]

So many great games. Or, at the very least, games with great memories.

The Last Ninja
International Karate
* Games (Summer Games, Winter Games, World Games, California Games)
Pirates!
Quo Vadis
Lords of Midnight
Bruce Lee
Ghostbusters
Impossible Mission
Action Biker
Phantasie
Gold Box series (e.g. Pool of Radiance, Champions of Krynn, etc)
Skate or Die

 

[Optimus Prime]

Project Firestart and The Last Ninja floored me, but Skate or Die was definitely my favorite. Loved Summer Games and California Games, and played the heck out of the Accolade sports games like Hardball and 4th and Inches. And who could forget Test Drive? I had Test Drive II with the California expansion pack, and I remember cruising down the highway listening to pop music on my radio. Good times.

Have to give a shout out to an unsung platformer that should be fun to this day: Ultimate Wizard. May seem like a Jumpman clone, but it was developed at the same time, had more going on, and packed a level editor.

 

[Hambone]

The dude who posted the Pool of Radiance decoder wheel just put me in a time machine, and blew my mind. I loved that game, and sunk many hours into it, but if I had to choose an all-time favorite game for the Commodore 64 it would be ELITE. That's where my love for open world games started.

 

[DCharlie]

Commando (was better than the arcade version IMO as it was somehow more lively to play and had far better music)

the gameplay was tight but it had half the levels of the arcade version

but that music.... good lord, i used to avoid shooting people at the end of the levels just so i could hear it in all it's glory.

 

[Shane]

Pool of Radiance on the Amiga (with decoding wheel brilliance) was great. Sat and watched my Dad complete that back in't day.

Looking through some lists I've realised there are plenty of games that I missed out on. I don't want to emulate them as it really isn't the same. Will have to figure something out and binge on C64 for a while.

 

[DavidBoring]

there are so many great games and many of them have already been mentioned here.

i think one of the best c64 games is M.U.L.E.

another great game from dani bunten is heart of africa

although the map is not generated procedurally, i think it shares a lot of aspects with modern survival sims like don't starve for example

 

[Hibiki Rush]

Agent USA

 

[El_Cinefilo]

Probably because it was the only one I had on cartridge but Terminator 2 for me

 

[executor]

Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders for me......
I invested a full summer to finish that game..

 

[Jezbollah]

Lets see. Shit!

Frogger 64 (the very first game I ever played)
Scramble
Crazy Kong
Hunchback
Matrix
Blue Max
California Games
Spy vs Spy trilogy
the Dizzy games
Project Stealth Fighter
Gunship
C.r.e.a.t.u.r.e.s
Turrican & Turrican 2
Daily Thompson's Decathlon
Midnight Resistance
Rick Dangerous 1 & 2
Last Ninja trilogy
Ghostbusters
Hypersports
Who Dares Wins
Gauntlet
ACE & ACE 2
Microprose Soccer
Elite

 

[ranmafan]

Many great games, but one I'll mention that I don't think has been so far: Shirley Muldowney's Topfuel Challenge

Oh that was an awesome game! Spent a lot of time with that when I was young. Wish I had my c64 right now with me as I would play that now if I did.

 

[ranmafan]

I already said the summer games series before but I gotta add some more games as favs:

Hacker
Hacker 2
Bellow The Root
Apollo 18
Dr j vs bird one on one
Alice in wonderland
Zork
Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy
Goonies
Hardball
Leaderboard

And tons more. It really was a fantastic system.

 

[Elvin Atombender]

There are too many. I would have to list like 100 games.

It's amazing how much fun you could have with games back in those days even when they were so hard you didn't even get close to finishing them.

 

[Freak]

So many good games on the C64, and the machine soley responsible for shaping a good part of who i am today (im listening to SID remixes as i type this)

But this game... man, talk about oozing atmosphere. Incredible.

Dead Space64 aka Project Firestart.

 

[cacildo]

We had a spectrum in my house when i was a kid. I mean, it was the brasilian version of the Spectrum. It was called TK90X

I never had any contact with the "Commodore 64", but it seems close to Spectrum, same games, they look a lot alike... why is that?

 

[Vazduh]

What about Batman: The Caped Crusader?

I still love the main theme. The game was quite hard for me, though

Spoiler

, I always used trainers.

 

[ymgve]

I couldn't afford to buy games, so these dudes were my heroes.

 

[mclem]

We had a spectrum in my house when i was a kid. I mean, it was the brasilian version of the Spectrum. It was called TK90X

I never had any contact with the "Commodore 64", but it seems close to Spectrum, same games, they look a lot alike... why is that?

I'd say they look markedly different! Now if you want games that look similar to the Spectrum, compare some Amstrad CPC titles.

But why they broadly had the same games: a successful game would get ported, much like today. Not necessarily without differences: The C64 had the edge with sprite hardware, colours and music, while the Spectrum was significantly better at vector graphics and higher-resolution stuff. One thing I recall pointing out a while back, for instance, is Amaurote:

Amaurote on the ZX Spectrum:

Amaurote on the Atari 800

Amaurote on the Amstrad CPC

Amaurote on the MSX

Amaurote on the C64

Hey, kids, can you spot the odd one out?

Another example from earlier in the thread of a game that's markedly different between the platforms is Clumsy Colin Action Biker. These were actually different games that happened to share the same name, though, and both are fun in their own way.

 

[Hanmik]

I couldn't afford to buy games, so these dudes were my heroes.

first I thought ... Hey I remember those games by these dudes.. then it hit me .. lol

 

[AkIRA_22]

I played the ever-loving shit out of Lode Runner back in the day. It's pretty amazing how much replay value they managed to squeeze out of such a simple game.

Still the best. I'm playing it on Android.

 

[Gianni Merryman]

Super Pipeline II

Yeah, I loved that, completely forgot about it!

Strip poker

I must admit I played that more than I should have...

Also, it just sprang to mind another title:

Strangeloop, I remember back in the day it was regarded as one of the best Commodore 64 games.

 

[ChryZ]

Paradroid, never stopped playing that game.

 

[Nyx]

There’s too many to list and a lot of games are already mentioned.

One that probably hasn’t been mentioned yet or not enough :

Red Storm Rising

Such an amazing game, I spent countless hours playing this and every new game was just as exciting.

 

[Hanmik]

btw.. if you love the C64.. then this book might be for you

http://www.funstock.co.uk/commodore-64-a-visual-commpendium-c64-book

it is a really well made book that got kickstarted. The guy behind it is making a Amiga one as we speak (it got funded in no time)...

 

[Santar]

I still remember struggling to get the second island (or maybe it was the third?) of Rainbow Islands to load.
I couldn't figure out that you had to turn over and rewind the tape and then just let it go.
In addition the game was super picky and refused to load the second island on anything but my old worn out cassette player.
The things you had to deal with back then

 

[Klarax]

 

[Gianni Merryman]

I still remember struggling to get the second island of Rainbow Islands to load.
I couldn't figure out that you had to turn over and rewind the tape and then just let it go.
In addition the game was super picky and refused to load the second island on anything but my old worn out cassette player.
The things you had to deal with back then

.

 

[lighthouse777]

Marble Madness
M.U.L.E.
Crush, Crumble and Chomp!

and of course, my favorites
Zork I
Zork II - The Wizard of Frobozz
Zork III - The Dungeon Master
Zork: The Undiscovered Underground

 

[samwyse]

Sid Meier's Pirates! Still the best version around: clean graphics, good sound and a scrolling map that many of the conversions lacked.

 

[MisterM]

Paperboy.

 

[SmokedMeat]

What about Batman: The Caped Crusader?

I still love the main theme. The game was quite hard for me, though

Spoiler

, I always used trainers.

I remember checking this out at the Electronics Boutique. Wasn't the Commodore 128 version much nicer looking?

 

[Sweep14]

Oh ! I nearly forgot: The one and only SKYFOX !

 

[goonergaz]

There's too many to name.

this

 

[Hanmik]

Ohh some games I forgot.,

PP Hammer

Supremacy

Lotus Esprite Turbo Challenge

Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday

Time Machine

 

[mclem]

Zork: The Undiscovered Underground

Heh. I'd argue that that's not a C64 game, just a game that runs on C64. The joy of the Z-Machine!

 

[Siegmeyer]

We got a C64 for xmas when I was about 8. The novelty soon wore off for my brother and sister so it lived in my room and I played the living shit out of it. This thread is bringing back so many glorious childhood memories, I love you all.

So many great games but I think I give it to Skate or Die as well. It's close though and maybe my love of skating is making me remember it as a better game than it was.

Slightly off-topic but this thread led to some Youtube hopping and I was reminded how great some of the music was during loading screens. Had to link my favourite as the nostalgia wave probably hit me harder than actually playing the games would. Ocean had amazing music, it made those hours of load screens much more bearable.


Ocean Loader v5

 

[spekkeh]

It was the mid to late eighties, I was 4-8 years old, and the only thing cooler than Arnold Schwarzenegger were Turtles and Ninjas. And by extension Karate. So my favorite games at that time were, quite predictably,

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

2. The Last Ninja 3

3. IK+

4. Karateka (more for what it did than how fun it was, game was too difficult)

oh and also

5. Myth History in the making (seriously how awesome was cutting off Medusa's head to shoot at the Hydra)

6. Mr Do's Castle (I dunno there was something enchanting about this shitty game)

 

[bj00rn_]

IK+ by far for me

I still feel the flow of nostalgia through my veins looking at that screenshot (well, perhaps this is the amiga version..?)

Edit:

 

[Vazduh]

I remember checking this out at the Electronics Boutique. Wasn't the Commodore 128 version much nicer looking?

I don't think there was a Commodore 128 version (just googled it and in the manual it is stated that the 64 version works on both 64/128), but there was an Amiga version which looked great.

 

[Jezbollah]

Oh shit I forgot Myth. That game is right up there with Turrican as bat-shit crazy in terms of what was produced graphically (and sound-wise) out of that machine.

 

[Shane]

btw.. if you love the C64.. then this book might be for you

http://www.funstock.co.uk/commodore-64-a-visual-commpendium-c64-book

it is a really well made book that got kickstarted. The guy behind it is making a Amiga one as we speak (it got funded in no time)...

Thanks, I'd forgotten about that. I shall add to my letter to Father Christmas.

 

[MegamanPoweredUP]

Bobble bobble. I had only 2 games and the other one was Tnmnt (yes, the lame one).

 

[shanafan]

Love this topic.

My all-time favorite C64 game is Little Computer People. This is like an early Sims game. You can tell the person to feed his cat, or play cards with him. You even hear him flush the toilet! I played when I was a little kid, so I really thought he was inside the computer

 

[shanafan]

Sorry for double posting, but this intro screams my early childhood playing computer games

http://youtu.be/vdXbpVn_zfQ?t=6s

Winter Games!

 

[Santar]

Love this topic.

My all-time favorite C64 game is Little Computer People. This is like an early Sims game. You can tell the person to feed his cat, or play cards with him. You even hear him flush the toilet! I played when I was a little kid, so I really thought he was inside the computer

That is an Amiga screenshot

This is the C64 version

 

[Shane]

"Remasters" certainly aren't a new idea in the industry. Actually happens way less now in retrospect.

 

[mclem]

Oh shit I forgot Myth. That game is right up there with Turrican as bat-shit crazy in terms of what was produced graphically (and sound-wise) out of that machine.

Myth also deserves a nod for being the first game where I really noticed the animation.