THEC64 Collection 1 for the Evercade

C64 gaming on the Evercade, finally...

I purchased an Evercade Handheld shortly after release, and whilst this console is pretty good, there hasn't been much for me personally. I do like the Atari 2600 and Lynx collections, though many of the 2600 games have been repackaged in various iterations over the years, and all of the good games still worth playing are available on several devices I own already. The only other enticing cartridge was the Oliver Twins collection, however the games featured seem to be from the Nintendo Entertainment System, a console that I never really owned nor have much time for. I would have preferred original ZX Spectrum games especially for those Dizzy titles, but I guess the graphics wouldn't have looked as good as those from Nintendo versions. An issue with games from 8-bit computers being played on consoles is that some of those will require reworking to accommodate the lack of a keyboard on the host hardware, which is why THEC64 Mini has a way of mapping keyboard inputs to a multi-button joystick, and an on-screen keyboard. These features have persisted though to later THEC64 classic models even though the classic edition has a properly mapped keyboard.

It perked my interest when I heard about THEC64 collection 1 pending release for the Evercade Handheld. This was announced just after the 40th anniversary of the original Commodore C64's launch to retail (it was launched in January 1982 in the same sense that the ZX Spectrum was launched in April 1982, though no one could buy either 8-bit computer at that time). At least it's retail launch in North America; most European consumers had to wait until 1983 to get their hands on Commodore's mainstay 8-bit machine.

Included in the 14 titles of this release are some well remembered classics, although when you have a back catalogue of at least 5,000 commercial titles, and many thousands of public domain releases, you'll never please everybody. And of course, with the C64 lasting so long commercially - 10 years in the UK if you count it's [UK] launch date - there are, to my mind, several eras for the technology during the 1980s and 1990s and people will remember those games by the releases around the time they first owned the C64. No one would forget their first game on such a machine, even if it wasn't very good.

Briefly, the games included on THEC64 Collection 1 for the Evercade are as follows:

1. Alleykey, by Hewson, published in 1986;
2. Battle Valley, by Rack It/Hewson in 1988;
3. "Lee", by Datasoft, 1984 (more on this later);
4. Gateway to Apshai, by Epyx, 1983;
5. Impossible Mission, by Expy, 1984;
6. Iridis Alpha, by Llamasoft, 1986;
7. Jumpman, by Expy, 1983;
8. Marauder, by Hewson, 1988;
9. The Monster Movie Game, by Epyx, 1986;
10. Street Sports Baseball, by Epyx, 1987;
11. Stormlord, by Hewson, 1989;
12. Subterranea, by Hewson, 1988;
13. Summer Games, by Epyx, 1984, and
14. Winter Games, by Epyx, 1985.

It's fair to say then that there's a good mix of early and mid-era C64 games from its first commercial era, before 16-bit platforms like the Commodore Amiga became established (at least in the UK and Germany anyway, North American users may have a different experience), and way before everyone wanted a games console for their main home entertainment system (again, this may differ for North American readers) rather than a personal or home computer. Early adopters of the C64 may well be drawn to Jumpman, or Lee (Bruce Lee), and even those who first got their Commodore later in the 1980s will recognise either Winter or Summer games. Hewson made its name with Paradroid, Uridium and Nebulus though sadly none of these classics are included. And Lee is interesting. Whilst this is version 2 of Bruce Lee, the rights to use the Bruce Lee name would have been either not possible, or prohibitively expensive, and may have made this sub-£20 cartridge well over £25, so it's credited to Psytronik Software and Code Digital, at least on the game art on the Evercade's carousel. It's definitely version 2 of Bruce Lee by Datasoft, something that you can discover by using the onscreen keyboard during play. I suspect Code Digital own the game code, and Psytronik Software did the cover art, and maybe made some code changes to the title screen so it reads "Lee" rather than "Bruce Lee™" - this, along with Impossible Mission and Gateway to Apshai are my favourites of the collection.

I mentioned the onscreen keyboard, this is available in any of the included games by pressing the Select button in game. And although the keyboard covers the game screen, it's not too distracting as it is either semi-opaque or completely opaque at your control. But it does mean that any future releases in this range will need to be carefully chosen, or require work to map any in-game key presses to the various buttons on the Evercade. But that does make me wonder what's happening in terms of the emulation. Is it using the same bespoke version of Vice that THEC64 range uses? If so, mapping the controller buttons is as easy as a simple text file - or a "Commodore Joystick Map" (CJM) in THEC64 speak.

The games in breif

Alleykat is a pacey vertically scrolling racer and shoot-em up which oozes Andrew Braybrook's class and pedigree, although I do find this game quite difficult and can never get very far into it. I'm sure with practise it can be beaten, and it's not a bad addition. My score: 7/10. Lemon 64 rating: 7.3/10

Alleykat Trivia: when run on the Commodore C128 in C64 mode, the game utilises some of the additional processing power available during the screen blanking, making for a faster game (it's difficult enough already though).

Battle Valley is a horizontally scrolling shoot-em up in which you take control of either an all-terrain tank or helicopter to destroy all enemy military installations and stop the launch of intermediate range nuclear missiles. It has some very nice graphics and excellent parallax scrolling effects. My score: 6.5/10. Lemon 64 rating: 7.1/10

"Lee" (Bruce Lee) is a game in which you must guide our hero through multiple locations in a screen-by-screen platformer with elements of a beat-em up, as you face two protagonists, the Green Yamo and a nifty Ninja. Collecting lanterns unlocks other areas of the game, which leads to a secret fortress protected by a powerful wizard. Once complete, the game loops and becomes more difficult, but it never becomes tiresome. A true classic in every sense. My score: 9/10. Lemon 64 rating: 8.7/10

Gateway to Aphsai is a multi-directional dungeon exploration game in which you must guide our hero to riches, find armaments and eliminate any roaming nasties found in those dank and eerie caverns, and if you get stuck, you may simply move onto the next level though sometimes at a cost, although the exploration of this game really is engrossing and skipping to the next level should generally be a last resort (for instance, when you have run out of keys to unlock other parts of the map). My score: 9.5/10. Lemon 64 rating: 8.2/10

If the C64 ever had a killer app then Impossible Mission would be a strong candidate. The infamous speech "Another visitor... stay a while. STAY FOREVER!" greets you, and from there, you must stop the Professor Elvin Atombender from obtaining US military secrets by infiltrating Atombender's underground silo in a screen-by-screen platform and puzzle game. There are multiple rooms to access and search, all connected by various elevators. Crack the puzzle and stop Atombenders malevolent plot for world annihilation! My score: 9.5/10. Lemon 64 rating: 8.7/10

Impossible Mission Trivia: In a review from a popular Commodore magazine, issue May 1987, it is stated that this game was originally released in 1983, whilst most sources state 1984. Side note: I always wondered why an evil genius would have candy machines in a secret underground bunker populated by robots.

Iridis Alpha is a well presented and somewhat psychedelic horizontally scrolling shoot-em up with two playing areas as each level has a mirror world. This game takes a while to learn and appreciate, so it's one where I recommend reading the game instructions, something that I never did as a child C64 owner. It may be off-putting to a new player, at least initially. But don't dismiss this too quickly, as some patients and a bit of background reading will help. My score: 7/10. Lemon 64 rating: 7.3/10

Another early C64 favourite is Jumpman which is a multi-level platform game with each level contained in a single screen. Simply traverse the ladders, platforms and ropes to collect tokens which affect certain aspects of the level as you go. To make things interesting, there are projectiles and other in-game objects such as robots to avoid. A note that this game requires the onscreen keyboard to start and to enter your name into the high score table. My score: 7/10. Lemon 64 rating: 8.4/10

Marauder is a well presented scrolling arcade shoot-em up in which you may fire lethal projectiles from your mobile battle car in one of eight directions. Your task is to infiltrate enemy territories, each well protected by various armaments and other leethal defences. My score: 7/10. Lemon 64 rating: 7.3/10

The Monster Movie Game does exactly what it says on the tin: you play an on-screen Monster in one of six Cities and various scenarios to enact for the viewing pleasure of the cinema audience. My score: 6.5/10. Lemon 64 rating: 7.3/10

Street Sport Baseball is a binary version of one of the most popular sports in North America, although it's simple enough for a non-Baseball fan to understand the rules of play, the computer player doesn't necessarily always provide the strongest of opponents. My score: 7/10. Lemon 64 rating: 7.3/10

Another polished and fun platform game in this collection is Stormlord, although I find this game very difficult. Explore the levels, find the keys, use the teleports and save the fairies. My score: 7.5/10. Lemon 64 rating: 7.3/10

Subterranea is a horizontally scrolling blaster with detailed graphics and silky smooth scrolling, though this is probably the weakest game of the collection. My rating: 5.5/10. Lemon 64 rating: 6.1/10

Summer Games is a mutliplayer sports simulator with a total of up to eight events to compete in, or each event may be practised until perfected. Although these events by themselves aren't at all bad, I find that the D-Pad controller on the Evercade does not allow for fluid play, especially on the joystick-busting events like the 100m Dash, although there's a mix of events where a D-Pad is just as well suited as a joystick. All events not being playable does reflect on my rating. My score: 6.5/10. Lemon 64 rating: 7.7/10

Unlike Summer Games, some of the events in Winter Games requires more precise and rhythmical joystick waggling, and the D-Pad is perfectly good for that. There are seven events to compete in, or to practise, my favourite being the Biathlon which has some beautiful Nordic-esque backdrops. My score: 7/10. Lemon 64 rating: 7.3/10

Overall, I think this first THEC64 cartridge is a very good value package with three real gems in the collection. Hopefully, this won't be the only release with C64 games for the Evercade, and with it being branded THEC64, and as I mentioned to earlier, I do wonder if this is running the bespoke Vice version found in THEC64 and Mini. I also hope that there will be a "THEVIC20" collection too? If there is to be a second release (no doubt Retro Games Ltd and those people paid royalties for their wares being included in this package will be keeping a keen eye on sales) then I hope it will include at least one or more recent C64 game such as anything from the Metal Warrior series. Now that would be awesome!