Commodore 64 Games - ranked by preference

Release Date: 1985 (NA)
Publisher: Hewson
Developer: Graftgold
Genre: Shooter - Third-Person

Paradroid really is a game that does not come across as being as great as it is until you figure out what you're doing...And then it feels like it was ahead of its time. Paradroid is a multi-directional shooter...But one major design element really makes it stand out in comparison to games of its day - you can gain control of any enemy robot that you encounter by holding the fire button, ramming into the robot, and completing a mini game...In a sense, half of the strategy in the game is to hunt down more powerful robots so you can steal their body and use it as your own. Playing the game as a simple shooter is fun on its own. Hacking into other robots to use their weaponry just takes this game to a different level.

Release Date: 1982 (NA)
Publisher: Commodore
Developer: Commodore
Genre: Action

Kickman is such an odd title, but it's also extremely frantic and fun. You control a clown on a unicycle riding beneath balloons that drop down you goal is to make sure that none of these balloons hit the ground. You have the ability to kick your legs out, hence the title, to knock the balloons back into the air and have them bounce around the screen, Breakout-style. As you're trying to keep these balloons in the air, more continue to drop, making it an enjoyable and hectic game to play. This game was an absolute blast for its time and if you're into Atari 2600-era games, I really can't recommend this one enough.

Release Date: 1983 (NA)
Publisher: Screenplay
Developer: Screenplay
Genre: Action

Pogo Joe is kind of like a Q*Bert clone...Except instead of an orange, cursing turkey baster with legs jumping around, it's a big-headed dude on a pogo stick jumping around. The goal is to jump from platform to platform and make all platforms the same color. Balloons will pop up from time to time and the goal is to pop these immediately. Wait too long, and monsters will pop out and hop after you. Land on a platform that's green, however, and all enemies on the screen blow up. These little differences from Q*Bert help make it more than just a Q*Bert clone and make it a worthy game to play for any fan of the vulgar, orange mascot.

Release Date: 1987 (NA)
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Pacific Dataworks
Genre: Sports - Hockey

Hat Trick was probably the first sports game that I fell in love with. It has a Pong-like simplicity that's easy to pick up and fun to play. In Hat Trick, you control two hockey players at once. You control the main hockey player, who you move around the ice to grab and shoot the puck, but at the same time, you're also controlling your own goalie. This can lead to some decision making, like do you go after the puck when it's near your goal or do you forget the puck and focus on the goalie's defense to prevent your opponent from scoring? It's fun by yourself and an absolute blast if you can play it with a friend.

Release Date: 1991 (NA)
Publisher: Ocean
Developer: Ocean
Genre: Shooter - Third-Person

Pang is a unique game that involves a giant ball of goo. Your goal is to shoot it...The catch is that each time you shoot it, it splits into smaller balls...And you get touched by any of them and you're dead. So, Pang becomes a shooter with strategy, as you've got to time your shots and movements so that you're not hit by any of the hopping blobs on screen. That concept alone is kind of fun, but toss in various power-ups and weaponry to pick up along the way, and you've got quite the entertaining game. For those wondering, Hudson and Capcom later brought the Pang series to North America under the names "Buster Bros." and "Super Buster Bros." The Pang name has remained in Europe and Japan, though.

Release Date: 1983 (NA)
Publisher: Llamasoft
Developer: Llamasoft
Genre: Shooter - Third-Person

There are two games on the Commodore 64 that sport the name "Attack of the Mutant Camels." This one, the one created by Llamasoft, is the prettier one, but also the inferior one in terms of gameplay. In this game, you're basically a tiny ship on a task to destroy a group of very large, very dangerous mutant camels that fire bullets of spit (I don't know, I'm trying to find logic here...camels are known for spitting) at you and try to knock you out of the sky. The game itself can be fun...But it's also kind of clunky. It's worth playing for the name of the game alone, but aside from that, there's really not much here for me to recommend.

Release Date: 1985 (NA)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Electronic Arts
Genre: Racing

Racing Destruction Set has promise, but just falls short of being decent, in my opinion. The game plays as a split-screen isometric racer. The split-screen is kind of neat as it lets you always be aware of where your opponent is on the track...But at the same time, a full screen would be nice when you're not playing with a friend. That said, expect to crash....a lot. Even the computer crashes all the time, so I'm guessing it's part of the game design....But I just found it frustrating to play. I like the ideas here...Don't like the execution.

Release Date: 1991 (EU)
Publisher: Ocean
Developer: Ocean
Genre: Fighting - Wrestling

WWF Wrestlemania leaves you wanting more. You only have the option to choose between Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, and the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith...But when playing the game, other wrestlers like Mr. Perfect and Sgt. Slaughter make appearances as your opponents. It would have been neat to have the option to play as them, too. That said, this is the basic, "kind of fun if you're a wrestling fan/not fun at all if you're not" wrestling game that most WWF games of the time were like. If you're a wrestling fan and familiar with the grapplers, you'll moderately enjoy this...If you're not, you'll probably think this is pretty bad.

Release Date: 1987 (NA)
Publisher: Data East
Developer: Data East
Genre: Fighting - Wrestling

This version of Tag Team Wrestling is a bit better than the NES version. It controls better and it looks better...But it's still the same, repetitive and boring game that the NES version is...Just slightly better. It's quite lame when you successfully fight your way through Japan, beat the champions there, then go to Europe...and the two opponents look like the two guys you just repeatedly beat in Japan. But anyway, it's the same poorly-made wrestling game that you saw on the NES...But with a few minor upsides that the game on Nintendo's console doesn't have. Neither one is a winner...It's like a double count-out.

Release Date: 1985 (NA)
Publisher: Domark
Developer: Domark
Genre: Adventure

I prefer the NES version of Friday the 13th by quite a large margin. The Commodore 64 version is totally different and really has no sense of danger...When "Farmer in the Dell" plays in the background as you try to hunt Jason Vorhees down, something is terribly wrong. It's also bad when you are the one doing the hunting in this lame game of hide and seek. I beat Jason to death with a stick without any troubles, so not only do you have to hunt him down, but killing this supposedly intimidating murderer is a breeze. If you don't like the NES Friday the 13th, play this game and you'll gain a new appreciation for it.

Release Date: 1985 (EU)
Publisher: Landisoft
Developer: Landisoft
Genre: Action

Sex Games is, like most adult-oriented video games, a total waste of time. Hey, there's nude people on my screen having intercourse. Look at the pixels on that woman. I bet they're fake. Anyway, Sex Games can be beaten in roughly twenty-five seconds...And then you're done. The whole premise is moving your joystick (the controller, fellas, not the thingamabob between your legs) back and forth according to the images that pop up on screen. Do it enough, and you'll satisfy your partner and a "?" box will open up with a new position...Each box lasts about 5 seconds, essentially making this about as pointless of a game as you could play. The only reason the score isn't lower is because the controls work well...But that's honestly the only compliment I can really give it.