Commodore Force
Encyclopedia
Commodore Force was a computer games magazine
covering games for the Commodore 64
. It was published in the UK by Europress Impact
. Its predecessor was Zzap!64
.
, N-Force, Amiga Force
, but to distance itself away from the old Zzap! 64 style.
The editorial team included Steve Shields (managing editor), Phil King (deputy editor), Chris Hayward, Ian Osborne and James Price; all staff writers. Issue 1 had the cover date of January 1993. Regular editorial content included What’s Happening (news), Reel Action (2x cover tapes), Lloyd Mangram’s Mail Bag (letters), The Tipster, Public Sector (PD column), Bash Yer Brains (Adventure section) and The Mighty Brian (a technical section). First Samurai receives the first new Commodore Force "Hurricane Hit" accolade with a 97% overall rating.
Issue 2 and Phil King had gone; replacing his vacant Deputy Editor position Ian Osborne. Miles Guttery joins as staff writer to replace James Price who is also gone.
Issue 4 and publishers Europress Impact change their name to Impact Magazines. Controversy as Emlyn Hughes International Soccer
is released on budget and, harshly, reviewed by Chris Hayward and Miles Guttery, giving ratings of 46% and 70% respectively. Needless to say countless Emlyn Hughes International Soccer fans bombarded the magazine with complaints. The magazine would later retract the rating in a games round up in issue 10 and awarded it a middle-of-the-road 75%.
Issue 10 and Zzap! 64, or Commodore Force (incorporating Zzap! 64), reaches 100 issues. A pull out Zzap!64 100th issue special featuring all the Gold Medal games in the magazines history. Steve Shields has left, to go to Sega Force Mega / Sega Master Force, leaving the Editor’s position to James Price, who had previously returned in issue 6. Ian Osborne had also left, going over to Amiga Force.
Issue 11 and Commodore Force lists its Top 100 Commodore 64 games of all time. Top three games listed included Head over Heels, runner up Laser Squad
and top spot goes to Frankie Goes To Hollywood
. Chris Hayward also leaves during this time.
A triple whammy of Hurricanes reviewed in issue 12. The long awaited Mayhem In Monsterland
and Lemmings both receive an overall rating of 97%, while Alien 3 gets a 93% rating.
The readers get their chance to have a top 100 Commodore 64 game of all time list. Creatures
comes out on top, followed by The Blues Brothers, Creatures 2
, Turrican 2
and Bubble Bobble
.
A readers awards of 1993 is listed in issue 15. Main awards included Beat ‘em up for Barbarian 2, best sport game was Emlyn Hughes International Soccer. The Blues Brothers won best movie tie-in, while the main best game overall went to Mayhem In Monsterland
.
Issue 16’s next month page announces that the next issue will feature the CF teams favourite game. "Issue 17 – on sale, March 10", though it never did go on sale due to Impact Magazines closing down. Issue 16 also did not contain any new game reviews, with much space taken up by re-printing old cheats and tips.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
covering games for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
. It was published in the UK by Europress Impact
Europress
Europress was a British magazine and software publisher. Their magazine publishing business was previously known as Database Publications.-History:...
. Its predecessor was Zzap!64
Zzap!64
Zzap!64 was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 . It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact....
.
Background
Commodore Force was launched primarily because Zzap!64 had changed drastically since the early days and the publishers had decided to re-launch the magazine completely with a new name and design. The name change was not only in line with the, then, current Europress Impact titles, Sega ForceSega Force
Sega Force was an early 1990s publication that covered the Sega console range .-History:...
, N-Force, Amiga Force
Amiga Force
Amiga Force was a video games magazine launched towards the end of 1992 by Europress Impact. It lasted for 16 issues before going down with its publishers. The first issue of Amiga Force went on sale around September 1992. The magazine would switch to monthly release soon after. Amiga Force showed...
, but to distance itself away from the old Zzap! 64 style.
The editorial team included Steve Shields (managing editor), Phil King (deputy editor), Chris Hayward, Ian Osborne and James Price; all staff writers. Issue 1 had the cover date of January 1993. Regular editorial content included What’s Happening (news), Reel Action (2x cover tapes), Lloyd Mangram’s Mail Bag (letters), The Tipster, Public Sector (PD column), Bash Yer Brains (Adventure section) and The Mighty Brian (a technical section). First Samurai receives the first new Commodore Force "Hurricane Hit" accolade with a 97% overall rating.
Issue 2 and Phil King had gone; replacing his vacant Deputy Editor position Ian Osborne. Miles Guttery joins as staff writer to replace James Price who is also gone.
Issue 4 and publishers Europress Impact change their name to Impact Magazines. Controversy as Emlyn Hughes International Soccer
Emlyn Hughes International Soccer
Emlyn Hughes International Soccer is a soccer computer game first released in 1988 by Audiogenic Software Ltd.. The game is named after the popular English footballer Emlyn Hughes...
is released on budget and, harshly, reviewed by Chris Hayward and Miles Guttery, giving ratings of 46% and 70% respectively. Needless to say countless Emlyn Hughes International Soccer fans bombarded the magazine with complaints. The magazine would later retract the rating in a games round up in issue 10 and awarded it a middle-of-the-road 75%.
Issue 10 and Zzap! 64, or Commodore Force (incorporating Zzap! 64), reaches 100 issues. A pull out Zzap!64 100th issue special featuring all the Gold Medal games in the magazines history. Steve Shields has left, to go to Sega Force Mega / Sega Master Force, leaving the Editor’s position to James Price, who had previously returned in issue 6. Ian Osborne had also left, going over to Amiga Force.
Issue 11 and Commodore Force lists its Top 100 Commodore 64 games of all time. Top three games listed included Head over Heels, runner up Laser Squad
Laser Squad
Laser Squad is a turn-based tactics computer game, originally released for the ZX Spectrum and later for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Amiga and Atari ST computers, as well as PC computers. It was designed by Julian Gollop and his team at Target Games and published by Blade Software...
and top spot goes to Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Frankie Goes To Hollywood (game)
Frankie Goes to Hollywood is a computer game that was developed by Denton Designs and published by Ocean Software Ltd in 1985 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum home computers. The game is based on music, imagery and slogans of the UK band Frankie Goes to Hollywood.- Objective :The...
. Chris Hayward also leaves during this time.
A triple whammy of Hurricanes reviewed in issue 12. The long awaited Mayhem In Monsterland
Mayhem in Monsterland
Mayhem in Monsterland, released in 1993, was a game produced for the Commodore 64 home computer. Its titular hero, "Mayhem", was a yellow triceratops blessed with the gift of speed. His goal was to return his world from sad to happy, ridding the world of monsters along the way...
and Lemmings both receive an overall rating of 97%, while Alien 3 gets a 93% rating.
The readers get their chance to have a top 100 Commodore 64 game of all time list. Creatures
Creatures (Commodore 64 game)
Creatures is a platform game for the Commodore 64 computer, released in 1990. It was developed by Apex Computer Productions, the company started by two brothers, John Rowlands and Steve Rowlands...
comes out on top, followed by The Blues Brothers, Creatures 2
Creatures II: Torture Trouble
Creatures II: Torture Trouble is a platform game for the Commodore 64 computer, released in 1992. It was developed by Apex Computer Productions, the company started by two brothers, John Rowlands and Steve Rowlands .It is the sequel to Creatures.-Gameplay:The game is composed of three islands,...
, Turrican 2
Turrican 2
Turrican II: The Final Fight is the second game of the Turrican series. The game by Factor 5 was released in 1991 for the Commodore Amiga. This version was finished before the C64 version, but Manfred Trenz cites the C64 version as the original design...
and Bubble Bobble
Bubble Bobble
is an arcade game by Taito, first released in 1986 and later ported to numerous home computers and game consoles. The game, starring the twin Bubble Dragons and , is an action-platform game in which players travel through one hundred different stages, blowing and bursting bubbles, avoiding...
.
A readers awards of 1993 is listed in issue 15. Main awards included Beat ‘em up for Barbarian 2, best sport game was Emlyn Hughes International Soccer. The Blues Brothers won best movie tie-in, while the main best game overall went to Mayhem In Monsterland
Mayhem in Monsterland
Mayhem in Monsterland, released in 1993, was a game produced for the Commodore 64 home computer. Its titular hero, "Mayhem", was a yellow triceratops blessed with the gift of speed. His goal was to return his world from sad to happy, ridding the world of monsters along the way...
.
Issue 16’s next month page announces that the next issue will feature the CF teams favourite game. "Issue 17 – on sale, March 10", though it never did go on sale due to Impact Magazines closing down. Issue 16 also did not contain any new game reviews, with much space taken up by re-printing old cheats and tips.
Trivia
"The Mighty Brian", also known as Professor Brian Strain, was a dig at rival Commodore Format's "The Mighty Brain" who answered the readers' letters.See also
- Video game journalism
- MagazineMagazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
- Computer and video game industryComputer and video game industryThe video game industry is the economic sector involved with the development, marketing and sales of video games...
- Video game
- ComputerComputerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
- ComputingComputingComputing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
Links
- Zzap! 64 website containing info on Zzap! 64 and Commodore Force