Thalamus's success as one of the best C64 software houses ever is something of a marvel really. There have been no movie licences or coin-op conversions, there hasn't even been a substantial in-house development team.

Thalamus has instead tended to act like an old-style publisher, concerned with supporting programmers developing their own concepts into saleable products, rather than hiring programmers to develop products to their specification.

All the games were released without the support of Speccy or Amiga conversions, allowing concepts to be tailored perfectly to the C64 rather than simplified so they work even on a ZX81. This has enabled Thalamus to regularly show up mega-budget movie/coin-op conversions in playability, graphics, excitement - the lot!

Creatures is the stand out example of this, a completely original title oozing playability and the sort of graphical attention to detail which conversions rarely display. Just look at the four layers of parallax scrolling in the river!

For those of you who don't know, Creatures is a horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up with Clyde Radcliffe stomping through six monster-packed levels to rescue his mates. There's platforms to leap between, bonus items to collect (for extra lives and special weapons) and end-level mega-monasters. What makes it special are those beautiful graphics and such imaginative touches as waterfalls, riding along on leaves propelled by a hair dryer and flying a broomstick! There's also three Torture Screens, hilarious sub-games wherein Clyde must rescue one of his friends from a fiendishly horrible end. These arcade puzzles worked so well Creatures II will have more than ten of them!

In Issue 68 Creatures got 96%, was subsequently voted the best game of 1990 by our readers and can't be missed.

Prior to that, the Apex programming team had done one other title for Thalamus, their first full-price title. Retrograde was the name, shooting most definitely the game. There's seven huge levels where the flying hero must conquer by first finding the planetbusters on the horizontally scrolling section, then activate them by dropping down into a vertically scrolling platforms-and-ladders section.

Needless to say, at the end of each level there's a big monster, only these are absolutely massive and brilliantly done. One of the most spectacular shoot-'em-ups ever, Retrograde was slightly marred by the need to repetitively shoot hundreds of baddies for cash to buy yet more weapons (there's loads) but it remains one of the most impressive in the genre. 94% in Issue 57 was reckoned by some to be low!

Possibly the most controversial of the Thalamus marks was for Rob Steven's Snare, an overhead-view, multi-directionally scrolling arcade puzzle game. Turns flipped the screen 90 degrees and although there's plenty of shooting; it's just as much a test of tactical thinking as reactions.

Robin wanted to give it a Sizzler, and many readers subsequently agreed, but 88% was the mark in Issue 57. While Snare won't appeal to everyone, for those with the arrogance to think they can beat it, this is a superlative challenge, completely original and superbly executed.

John Ferrari was another programmer making his full-price debut with Thalamus, and like Rob didn't believe in making things easy for players. Summer Camp is a relatively conventional flick-screen platforms-and-ladders game - but each screen is virtually a puzzle in itself. There's four varied levels, a neat interlevel sub-game and it got 80% in Issue 70. It is tough, but the graphics are great, genuinely cartoonesque, and getting to later levels (such as the rubbery moon!) is compelling.

And finally, we have Heat Seeker from Paul O'Malley, an original and innovative game in which you control a robot consisting of a leg and detachable ball! The basic idea is to master the odd control system, then map out the maze to find the flames where vital energy can be obtained. It's the follow-up to the Sizzling Arac and while very odd, it isn't bad filler (75%, Issue 65).

Brilliant value for money with all the games being multi-loads offering lots of levels - especially Creatures and Retrograde.