1st February 1987We're always sounding off about the games we like. So two months ago, we gave you the opportunity of voting for the games that did the most for you in 1986. Thousands of you sent in entries and we've used our massive computing power, a C16, to collate the results. So here they are - what was hot and what was not in 1986 - according to you, the Commodore User readers.
Your Fave Games Of 1986
Commodore 64
International Karate: Best Beat-'Em-Up
A clear winner this one. Looks as though you all prefer to do your kicking and punching against international backdrops. Fist II (what else?) made second place with flying kicks to spare over Yie Ar Kung Fu.
Uridium: Best Shoot-'Em-Up
The Braybrook classic shoots the rest out of sight. Both Sanxion and Green Beret made a good showing but couldn't live up to the charisma of the Dreadnought-zapping Manta. Honourable mention for Warhawk, probably the best value blast per pound around.
Kentilla: Best Adventure On Tape
This one surprised us a little as it appeared nowhere in last month's Superstars supplement. Kentilla is a veteran adventure and its appearance last year as a Mastertronic cheapo must have done a lot to make it more popular than The Pawn. Other major contenders with The Price Of Magik and Bored Of The Rings. The Boggit tried hard but just missed out on the placings.
The Pawn: Best Adventure On Disk
It didn't make the tape section but there was no stopping The Pawn winning the best adventure on disk. It scooped the honours with the rest of the field nowhere in sight. Lord Of The Rings just managed a decent showing.
Vietnam: Best Strategy
Those American masters of simulation, Strategic Simulations International, came up trumps with Vietnam, a game that dealt sensitively with a major chunk of American history. It seems that you liked the approach - no other strategy got anywhere near it. A long way behind, The Fourth Protocol stole second place spot from They Stole A Million.
World Games: Best Sports Sim
No matter what the game, it had to be Epyx. But it looks as though you all preferred weird sports like barrel rolling and tossing the caber to more conventional pursuits. Needless to say, Winter Games made it to the tape second, and Go For Gold lived up to its name and got the bronze [Some mistake here? - Ed].
Ace Of Aces: Best Flight Sim
You lot just can't do without your daily dose of zapping, can you? Faced with the choice of delivering mail or fighting the invaders during the Blitz, most of you went for the latter, leaving Solo Flight II in a respectable second place. Of course, we gave Ace Of Aces a Screen Star in December. That's not bragging, is it?
Dan Dare: Best Arcade Adventure
We're all much too young to remember the Dan Dare comic strip but we loved the game; that's why it got a much-coveted Screen Star. So did you it seems, because it got more votes than the other leading contenders, Antiriad and Ghosts 'N Goblins. Digby tells us he was very pleased - over and out.
Andrew Braybrook: Best Programmer
With Uridium and Alleykat under his belt in '86, it's no wonder Andrew Braybrook won this category hands down. Not much competition was to be had from joint second place Jeff Minter (hary hardy perrenial) and Chris Butler (Ghosts 'N Goblins supremo).
Elite: Best Software House
It had to be Elite, didn't it? The Walsall Wonders started the arcade boom and converted more coin-ops than anybody else. They saved me a fortune on Paper Boy, not to mention Ghosts 'N Goblins [You mentioned it - Ed]
Winter Games: Best Artwork
You all got a little confused about this one, whether to vote for a particular game or a software house. Gremlin and Mastertronic got a lot of mentions but we really wanted a particular game. And the clear winner was Winter Games - the insert could have been a scene from Ski Sunday.
Jeff Minter: Wally Of The Year
Mike Pattenden had to put a brave face on it, he only managed joint second place with a certain Gary Penn. Poor old Jeff was streets ahead as the outright winner. It seems you either love him or hate him, take him or leave him, etc. Our own vote went to the Wally who nominated Ferdy Hamilton as Best Programmer. Ferdy's idea of good programming is EastEnders.
Ninja Master: Worst Game
You were all really undecided on this one, a whole load of games crept into this slot. Honourable mentions went to World Cup Carnival and Knight Rider, with Max Headroom and Sam Fox Strip Poker not too far behind (or should I say in front?). We were in no doubt as to the actual winner - Ninja Master is the only game we've ever reviewed that got an overall mark of zero.
Commodore 16
Frank Bruno's Boxing: Best Beat-'Em-Up
Nobody beats 'em up better than Frank (cheers, Harry) Bruno, so it's no wonder you voted Elite's boxing game a clear winner. Elite got in again with second place Ghosts 'N Goblins, followed by International Karate in third place.
Reach For The Sky: Best Shoot-'Em-Up
Gremlin's rip-off of 1942 cruised into the top spot and revitalised our interest in vertical scrolling zappers. Terra Cognita shared second place with the graphically excellent Xcellor8 (shame about the name). Hyperforce was sufficiently weird and wacky to grab a good fistful of votes.
Savage Island: Best Adventure
Disappointing, this section. It seems that adventures and C16 owners don't mix very well. Still, out of the small number of entries received, Classic Adventure made it to second place.
Gremlin Graphics: Best Software House
Definitely a two-horse race, this one, between Gremlin and Anco. We'd have been satisfied to let them share the honours, but you decided, by a single vote, to give it to Gremlin. We say well done both of you for keeping the C16 well stocked with games last year.
Ken McMahon: Wally Of The Year
You get your own back on the man who's written the nastiest reviews of 1986. Ken was real pleased and says he's sharpening his poison pen (actually, he writes with a poison C64). Joint runners up were Fikret Ciftki and Mike Pattenden. Ugly scenes in the CU office as Hotshots Mike tries to snatch Ken's award.
Mount Vesuvius: Worst Game
One of the early Tynesoft efforts that would have been better off staying in a locked cupboard. Still, there was a huge list of fellow competitors, led by the likes of Slippery Sid, Auriga, Suicide Run and Death Race 16. Most of that lot should have had a health warning printed on them.
Finders Keepers: Best Strategy
The Mastertronic cheapo stands the test of time. Originally converted from the Spectrum, it's proved to be a good game for both platform and puzzle freaks. Oblido, another Mastertronic cheapo, got squeezed into second place, and original and colourful game that would do well to be converted for the C64. How about it, MasterT?
Winter Events: Best Simulation
Anco's brilliant piece of graphic programming makes a ski jump to the top slot, a worthy C16 alternative to all those Epyx programs for the C64. No other game even got close - that's what a CU Screen Star does for you.
ACE: Best Flight Sim
You must have been spoilt for choice in this category - ACE, number one in a field of one. But it's still a pretty good flight sim.
Monty On The Run: Best Arcade Adventure
Good old Monty, that lovable little mole has burrowed his way up to the top, fending off fierce competition from Sword Of Destiny, also from Gremlin. Reviewer Ken McMahon bestowed a Screen Star on Monty On The Run last October, thereby endowing him with an eternity of stardom.
Udo Gertz: Best Programmer
Don't tell us you've never heard of Udo Gertz? Pin back your lugholes, because Udo's the man responsible for Winter Events and Tom Thumb, and that's good enough for us. A few of you also mentioned Tony Takoushi - but we don't know why!
