Spelunky - PC

I've spent most of the evening playing Spelunky on PC. It's a fusion of ZX Spectrum classic Fred and a Roguelike. The aim is to try and pilfer as much treasure as you can, while making progress though the subterranean levels.

It's full of neat touches - I picked up a golden idol, which resulted in the ground shaking before a huge boulder chased after me in an Indiana Jones style. Unlike Indy, however, I didn't survive.

You have access to ropes and bombs to help you through the mines, while shops are scattered throughout the levels selling extra bombs and weapons.

In typical Roguelike style, there are many fun ways to die, and as the levels are randomly generated, you never have the same game twice.

It's free to play and can be downloaded from here

It's also coming out on Xbox Live Arcade in the future.

Heavy on the Magick - ZX Spectrum

I wrote last month that I had bought a pristine copy of Knight Lore on the ZX Spectrum. Well, my love of all things Sinclair made it hard to resist when I recently saw a copy of Gargoyle's brilliant 1986 release, Heavy on the Magick.

Probably better know for their excellent Tir Na Nog and Dun Darach games, Gargoyle Games produced many wonderful titles in the Eighties, but it was Heavy on the Magick which really captured my imagination.

Taking control of the mysterious and hooded Axil the Able, the player starts the adventure as a lowly Neophyte - a low-ranking wizard who has been banished to the depths of a dank dungeon. It's up to you to guide Axil out of this dire situation, and it's not going to be easy.

The game plays very much like text adventures of old, with the player punching in commands such as 'Examine Object', 'Pick Up Book', 'Go North' etc. However, what separates Heavy on the Magick from classic Level 9 adventures such as Red Moon and Emerald Isle is the game's wonderful graphical style.

These games from the mid-Eighties used simple static screens to illustrate the player's surroundings. But Heavy on the Magick pushed the boat out to include full animation.

In fact, the animation and visuals throughout are still impressive - the wind occasionally tugs at Axil's cloak as he ponders his next move, while larger than life characters, such as the gormless looking Apex the Ogre, still exude charm and personality.

Stats are fairly basic, with only Skill, Stamina and Luck to worry about, but care must be taken as hindering Axil on his journey are lots of wandering foes, such as gargoyles and trolls. Combat is purely magic based and being a game from the mid-Eighties, Heavy on the Magick is incredibly tough, and often you'll be wiped out in a matter of seconds.

Heavy on the Magick is cumbersome by today's standards, and the game is unnecessarily complex at times, but it remains a classic in my eyes. It has a great atmosphere, still looks wonderful and is one of my favourite titles on the humble Spectrum.

Knight Lore - ZX Spectrum

Now for something a little bit different. I've just managed to get my hands on a pristine copy of Knight Lore on the ZX Spectrum. Yes, I still have a working Spectrum in case you were wondering.

It was one of the first games I ever played on my humble Spectrum back in the Eighties and Ultimate: Play the Game's title has a very special place in my heart.

In 1984, Knight Lore's graphics were considered state of the art, and even today I think they look great. The technique used was called Filmation, and although isometric adventure 3D Ant Attack had appeared before it, Knight Lore's graphics had a solidity to them that hadn't been seen before.

Knight Lore featured Sabreman, Ultimate's hero from other ZX Spectrum classics such as Sabre Wulf and Underwurlde. Unfortunately, Sabreman had picked up a nasty curse on his adventures, which turned him into a werewolf at night.

The player had to explore the castle of the great wizard Melkhior, collecting objects such as bottles, gems and old boots. In the middle of the castle, Melkhior's cauldron bubbled away, and by dropping the relevant object into the cauldron, Sabreman would be one step nearer a cure for his lycanthropy.

As if gingerly picking your way through the castle wasn't a tough enough challenge, the player was also up against a tight time limit to complete the quest. If all the ingredients hadn't been found by the end of 40 days and nights, it would be curtains for Sabreman.

In his werewolf form, some rooms were deadly for Sabreman, which added a nice, if slightly frustrating, touch. Objects in your inventory could also be used as blocks, enabling you to get over previously impassable obstacles.

The castle was filled with deadly traps, spikes, bouncing bubbles, knights and ghosts, and every room was an individual puzzle.

Knight Lore might look crude by today's high standards, but it was incredibly influential, and games such as Ocean's classics Batman and Head Over Heels, Gargoyle's excellent Sweevo's World and the Solstice series - which appeared on the NES and Super Nintendo - would never have appeared if it wasn't for Ultimate's groundbreaking title.

Of course, Ultimate: Play the Game went on to become Rare, who have released other great games in recent years, such as Banjo Kazooie, Jet Force Gemini and Viva Pinata.

So while people gear up to play Killzone 2 and Street Fighter 4, I'm off to explore Melkhior's devious castle once again in the hope of finally completing a quest I started roughly 25 years ago.