Tag Archives: broadsheet games review

What you may need to know.

1. The Commodore 64 was first released in 1982 and went on to earn the Guinness Book of Records world record as the highest-selling computer of all time. It also held the record for the longest time for games to load, probably.

2. In 2018 the C64 Mini was released. Half the size of the original, it came preloaded with 64 classic games and plugged straight into the telly but it had a fake keyboard. If you wanted to practice your Basic programming skills you had to plug in a USB keyboard.

3. Now a full size replica of the original is available with working keyboard and an improved joystick. It’s a lovingly created facsimile, right down to the font and PETSCII characters on the keys.

4. Some of the preloaded games have been copied over from the C64 Mini and some new ones have been added, but most are obscure titles. If you want to play The Last Ninja, Bubble Bobble, Maniac Mansion, Emlyn Hughes International Soccer, Ghostbusters or Barry McGuigan World Championship Boxing you’ll have to download and install them the old school way (LOAD”*” ,8,1).

5. And that’s the problem. If you want to play old school games, just add an emulator to your PC, Android or even a Raspberry Pi. There’s no reason to plug a large, plastic, mostly empty box into your TV beyond a nostalgic pining for 8-bit games.

Kieran’s verdict: Emotional attachment to the games from your childhood, much like the Commodore 64, is something best left broken and gathering dust in your mam’s attic.