The Amstrad CPC 464, an 8-bit computer popular in Europe, was released 40 years ago today. A user-friendly monitor-included setup with no bells and whistles (Amstrad was a consumer electronics company pouncing on a crashed market) the system benefited from strong first-party support and distinguished itself with early 3D games and graphic adventures, mostly French. Shame about all the terrible speccy ports….
Here's a solid tour of games:
The game Xyphoe's Fantasy is a good illustration of the system's advantages (27 colors, see my ramps above!) and disadvantages (a single Zilog Z80 has to do everything except sing)
Batman Forever is a now-classic demo released in 2011:
3D + gate array gone wild:
Though my favorite is Isometrikum, a procedural landscape demo (jump 2:21 in for the magic):
Previously: Remembering the Amstrad CPC, a superior 8-bit computer
