Sinclair ZX Spectrum

8-Bit gaming on Sinclair's legendary machine is something to savour...

The ZX Spectrum was an 8-Bit personal home computer released by Sinclair Research Ltd in 1982. It had been referred to during development as the ZX81 Colour and ZX82, before it was finally given the 'ZX Spectrum' moniker. This was an apt name as it highlighted it's colour display, compared to the black and white of its predecessors, the Sinclair ZX80 and ZX81. The Spectrum was initially released in three different models, ranging from the entry level model with 16KB of RAM, to the more popular 48KB model and the ZX Spectrum + (which also had 48KB of RAM).

The machine also fended off competition from the likes of the Vic 20, Dragon 32, Oric 1 and the Oric Atmos, whilst enjoying a fierce rivalry with the Commodore 64. It also left a niche in the market for the BBC Micro and Amstrad CPC 464.

This machine really helped to usher in the era of home computing (especially in the UK), giving rise to the legend of the 'bedroom programmer' and the serious gamer. We fall into both categories, and many many hours of our mis-spent youth are dedicated to this machine.

So for all you Speccy fans out there (and especially Spectrum gamers), join us as nostalgia gets the better of us.

Who can remember The Week family? Did you ever contact Sam Cruise? And why was Airwolf on the Speccy more difficult than flying the real thing? The software houses, the games, the programmers, they are all in here. Take a long, leisurely and teary eyed stroll down memory lane... ZX Spectrum Games

In no particular order....

1: Manic Miner. The granddaddy of all Speccy platformers. Go to ZX Spectrum Manic Miner
2: 3D Starstrike. Super vector graphics and arcade action in a Star Wars stylee. Go to ZX Spectrum 3D Starstrike
3: Way of the Exploding Fist. The first proper beat em up on the Speccy. Go to ZX Spectrum Exploding Fist
4: Raid over Moscow. Great and varied arcade action using the cold war as a backdrop. Go to ZX Spectrum Raid Over Moscow
5: Technician Ted. A Classic and super polished platform game. Go to ZX Spectrum Technician Ted

There are some games that are still talked about to this day such as Manic Miner - and rightly so. But there are others that never got a fair crack of the whip, were never recognised, and are barely remembered. Titles such as these are little known hidden gems in the world of retro gaming on the ZX Spectrum. Missile Defence was an unofficial conversion of the arcade game 'Missile Command', and was in our opinion the best version you could get on the Speccy. It can be played with an emulator and can be got from World Of Spectrum

Please read a review of the game at ZX Spectrum Missile Defence

If you can get the hang of the Spectrum's dreaded cursor keys then you will be laughing. If you can keep going once it reaches level 9 please let us know as you must have superhuman reflexes! :-)

The ZX Spectrum plus (or ZX Spectrum +) was released onto the UK market in October of 1984. This version of the machine was basically the same as the original rubber keyed model except it now had a proper typewriter keyboard complete with a spacebar and and cursor keys!

Pretty much 100% compatibility was assured meaning you could still play any ZX Spectrum Games in your existing library - which is what most of us wanted!

It also had little legs underneath the machine so you could prop it up at an angle if you so desired. On the side was a handy reset button which could be pressed for 'soft resets' - which (in all but the worst cases) saved you from having to disconnect the power cable if the machine crashed.

The plus did pretty well and it was nice to have a decent keyboard, but most Speccy fans remember the rubber keyed model with fondness.

The Spectrum plus was a natural progression....