My Top Ten Sinclair Spectrum games: Treasure Island Dizzy & Ghostbusters

So I am back once again to talk about my Top Ten Spectrum games, so far I have coverd 6 games already so that will make the games I am going to cover today game 7 and game 8, they are not in order though as well I just find it too hard to do that, so without further ado lets get going.

Treasure Island Dizzy
 
Now for those not in the Know Treasure Island Dizzy is the second game in a series of games featuring a hero called Dizzy and often his friends and family who are referd to as the Yolkfolk. The main series consists of Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy, Fantasy World Dizzy, Magicland Dizzy, Spellbound Dizzy, Dizzy, Prince of the YolkFolk, Crystal Kingdom Dizzy with several spin off games as well including Fast Food, Kwik Snax and Dizzy Down the Rapids. As a Spectrum owner you got so used to seeing Dizzy and playing Dizzy games that he kind of felt like a mascot, he might have started out on the spectrum though but he was also ported to the Amstrad, Commodore 64, NES, Amiga, Atari ST and other platforms.

The story for the game is pretty brief Dizzy is on an island and has to find a way to get back home, its as simple as that, but the Island is a large and fantastic place for a spectrum game, and Dizzy himself just feels like a brilliant character to be playing with. Yes he is simple but he is kind of simple and iconic in the same way a character like Mario is, there might not be much to him but what there is is instantly appealing and recognisable. The game is pretty much a puzzle platformer sort of adventure game, basically you go around from screen to screen as Dizzy you have no energy bar and only one life so you need to avoid anything that might kill you but you also have to pick up items you see laying around and then take them to other places to use them to solve a puzzle that will let you progress. Yes it is harsh when you die as everything you have done is lost and you have to start again but you just know that with each time you play it the knowledge you have gained will see you get just that little bit further.

I think that if you want to take on the best the Spectrum has to offer then you need to look at the Dizzy series, now some may find my choice of series entry an issue as its an early and a hard one in relation to the others but I also find it incredably rewarding, stick with it and just jump right in to the world of Dizzy and get your grey cells working figuring out what to use where and trust me when you start to get things right you will feel like your on top of the world

Ghost Busters

Who You Gonna Call? Ok I know its a movie license but its a movie license I enjoyed so very much, you see to me the perfect movie licensed game should make you feel like your in the universe thats presented in the film, this doesnt mean every single thing that happens in the film needs to be turned into a level in the game no it just needs to understand the universe of the film and represent this. Ghost Busters on the spectrum starts in a wonderful way it tells you what the ghostbusters are and then tells you that if youd like to start a franchise you have to input your name, from there you get a bank loan which you use to buy a car and relevent ghost busting gear. You drive to diffrent locations, and use your proton beams to push ghosts where you need them to be  and then you activate the trap and try to catch them.  Yes the graphics are basic with people pretty much being stick men and ghosts being little floating blobs but the music although being a simple loop and the general presentation really pull you in. I spent absolutly hours and hours playing this as a kid it hooked me in and in honesty it worked as the perfect game license, id watch the film and want to play the game and then play the game and want to watch the film the two fed my need for the franchise in general. I also think that this game goes to show what the spectrum had going for it overall and thats the fact that with a little bit of effort despite all of the machines limitations and lack of power you could still get a cracking good experiance out of it.

Why its wrong when the female GhostBusters get insulted for visiting a children's hospital.

I wrote on my previous blog about my fears/issues with the new Female Ghostbusters film. To sum it up I was very worried that with the casting choices they had made it would be full of awful jokes and stereotypes. I did however say that I hoped that I was wrong.

I did not intend to write about this subject again for a long time, I basically thought I would see the film at some stage and would either end up eating humble pie and saying that the movie was different or worst case scenario I would be doing a quick sort of ''I told you so'' post.

However recently children at a Boston hospital posted a sign asking “Who ya gonna call?” In response to this the cast of the upcoming “Ghostbusters” remake visited the children at Tufts Medical Centre. Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones showed up in costume and spent time with the children.

Now like or dislike the idea of this film this is famous actresses turning up to put a little bit of sunshine in to the lives of ill children, even if you wished the film wasn't being made it would be a hard to insult people over visiting ill children wouldn't it?

Apparently not as some used the visit as another excuse to criticize the film and its female cast on the hospital’s Facebook page. Moderators of the Facebook page had to warn people against using profanity and also had to remove sexist, racist and otherwise unsuitable comments.

Look I am not going to tell anyone that they don't have the right to criticise the decisions made in regards to a film they feel a connection to. Lots of people have a lot of deep feelings in regards to the films they grew up with and we all get tired of the constant stream of remakes that seem to come up but there is a time and a place. There are plenty of discussion forums on which you can discuss your thoughts and feelings without having to publicly criticise people for doing a charitable deed. You might even argue that they were trying to do this for the publicity and well it could be true but again why do you need to bring this hate to the site of a hospital? If you like the old GhostBusters film then great so do most of us, I personally love it but if you like that film and you like the people involved with it then show them a little bit of respect. Do you really think that Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis or Ernie Hudson would really want people disrespecting those involved in the new film on a hospitals facebook page or throwing around racist and sexist insults on there account?

Surly we can leave criticism of the film and these actress to the relevant places for it and do so in a dignified manner. I will leave the final words to the mother of one of the children in the hospital.

"The visit from these ladies was an uplifting treat. It also wasn't just a promo photo op. They asked about him and chatted with us. No matter how you feel about the movie remake, you should do well to remember that this visit meant a lot to the people receiving it."