Alessandro Grussu
9th January 2022Categories: Review: Software
Author: Alessandro Grussu
Published in Al's Spectrum Annual 2021
The Power Up! Action Pack project was started in 2019 by the Play On Retro group, with the aim of reviving the era of computer game compilations of the 1980s. Instead of cassettes or floppy disks, Power Up! Action Pack is distributed on a rather peculiar medium: the Dandanator Mini.
Power Up! Action Pack
It is a cartridge with a storage capacity of 512 Kbytes, which must be inserted into the multi-purpose edge connector on the back of the Spectrum to instantly load files in SNA, Z80 or TAP format through a special menu that appears upon connection. There are no jumpers or switches to configure: the Dandanator Mini is "plug and play" and fully compatible with all historical Spectrums, the Next and even with several clones, such as the Microdigital TK90 and 95, the CZ Spectrum, the Timex Sinclair 2048 and 2068, the Didaktik M and the Harlequin series. In addition, the Dandanator Mini is also available in a version for the Amstrad CPC range and is a free project: the schematics and the list of necessary components can be downloaded from the official website: www.dandare.es
Back to the Power Up! Action Pack, this is the list of games: Black & White, Booty Black Edition (a retouched version of Booty The Remake), Car Wars, Cómeme El Chip, Funky Fungus Reloaded (made by me specifically for this project and covered in this Annual in the feature Behind The Scenes), Manic Pietro, Ninjakul II, Old Tower, Red Planet. This is a truly remarkable selection in terms of quality and quantity, which will offer hours of fun to fans who want to run games on their real machines, but by using a contemporary device.
The compilation's packaging is made with plasticized cardboard, like those of the past, and includes, in addition to the cartridge, a rich set of items: a full-colour user manual with the instructions for the games and the presentations of the project by Iván Sanchez and Felipe Monge; a postcard bearing a hologram; an audio CD of music composed by Beyker (Sergio Vaquer Montez) for various Spectrum games released between 2006 and 2019; finally, a little witch in polymer clay.
For any other information, you can contact Play On Retro through their official website: www.playonretro.com