Silent Hill

There were a number of chess titles released for the Sinclair ZX81 computer (perhaps bettern known as the Timex Sinclair 1000 in America) in the very early Eighties. Perhaps the most impressive was 1K ZX Chess by David Horne and originally released by Artic (later re-released by Sinclair Research). Apparently the code only uses 672 bytes of RAM. More details can be found on Simon Holdsworth's superlative ZX81 site... http://www.zx81stuff...ess(Artic).html

Just to repeat the obvious here, I'm afraid they are clearly fakes. There are four notable differences in the labels. 1. The most obvious is the use of a different font for ‘Wizard Video Games’ at the bottom. 2. Both 'Halloween' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' should have 'TM' listed next to their titles on both the front and end labels. 3. The original printed labels by Wizard were actually quite badly done. They were printed on white paper and the separate black and red/orange prints are usually slightly offset ~ often leaving a white or red/orange edge to one side of the label. 4. The red/orange background is not usually seen as one smooth colour now. For whatever reason ~ possibly the passing of time ~ the red/orange background often has a mottled look to it these days. 　 Original Reproduction

Hi Syd, I just wanted to also convey my gratitude for what you’ve done with this discovery. My game arrived to these sunless shores of England this very morning and I couldn’t be happier with the whole package. It really has been the perfect way to share the sheer enjoyment of uncovering this game with everyone and is frankly an object lesson in how such discoveries can be handled, celebrated and enjoyed with a world-wide community of people sharing a similar enthusiasm and all for a very worthy cause too. The entire project, from conception to production and distribution has been handled with great care and consideration from start to finish and I certainly appreciate the ‘quality and value for money’ and indeed the sheer amount of time you must have put into this operation. It clearly has been a labour of love and one that I thank you for sharing. I certainly wish you and everyone at the Personal Computer Museum all the best and if anyone is fortunate enough to ever unearth any more rare discoveries, they certainly know where to come. Not sure how that other game got there though… 　 　

Payment sent! (no.73). Thank you very much for the bonus DVD too ~ can't wait to get some alien contraband landing round these parts.

Ah yes, good old Micro Value. I believe they also published one of Harry S. Price's games... if you can call his games 'his' games. Software Projects were never shy about allowing Jet Set Willy to pop up now and again in various compilations. Still, you don't come across the Atari compilations very often ~ nice find.

It's not often that I quote Smokey Robinson, but... I second that emotion. It looks absolutely stunning, great job!

It's arguably the most famous 8-bit game of all time in the UK! I've only come across the Atari disc version a couple of times, once in England and once in Germany. The Atari cassette version does pop up now and again, but I actually found it to be the hardest tape version to find. It's just strange that it was released in America on the C64 (though admittedly, seemingly as an afterthought to go with Saboteur ~ if the game's cover is anything to go by). Mind you it was one of only 8 games to appear on Bee Card format for the MSX Bee Pack in Japan ~ and I have no idea what the story is behind that!

I know that Tynesoft released Jet Set Willy for the 8-bit Atari computers on both disc and cassette, but I've found them surprisingly difficult to come by in the UK. Was the game ever released for the Atari in America? I know that it was released for the Commodore 64 (together with Saboteur) on disc in the US and Canada, but off hand that's the only iteration I'm aware of. Unless someone knows different? http://www.elitomlin..._Canada_Release I don't think it's a very well known game outside of the UK, but it was certainly one of (if not the most) popular game of it's era over here.

Super Mario Bros 3 took a far larger innovative leap than Super Mario World and for that reason it made a far bigger impression on me when it was released. I first played it in a pub near the art college I was attending at the time and it became the reason I eventually bought a NES. I remember being disctinctly underwhelmed when I saw the graphics for Super Mario World when it later came out, it didn't exactly seem to show of the hardware the way the former title did. Super Mario World probably is the more polished game, but it stands on the larger shoulders of SMB 3 ~ which is why the earlier iteration definitely gets my vote. If the question was simply which game do you think was more influential, then I think it's a no brainer!

I have seen some strange looking boxed Colecovision games from Australia, they seem to come in video cases with a rounded spine? I'd say the main thing to be wary of when buying a console is the controllers ~ of the four I've obtained only two work, they seem to be prone to damage over time so I would ensure that you ask any seller that they've tested the jostick component in all directions and BOTH fire buttons as some games actually require that both fire buttons work (Looping for example). Best of luck!

Tron would be stunning, if only just to hear the arcade sounds coming from the Colecovision. I must admit, I've always had a soft spot for Satan's Hollow too and Bomb Jack would be great ~ though it would be interesting to see if the console could handle any detailed backgrounds. Of course, if anyone could find the original Pepper 1...

I have a PAL CBS Colecovision and have a healthy mix of releases from America, Canada, Europe and the UK and they all play perfectly for me I must say.

PM Sent! Any number will do, thank you very much for taking the time and trouble Syd! I'll wish you all the best and hope you can raise a decent amount of funds for the Personal Computer Museum ~ it sounds like a very worthy cause.