Ten Commodore 64 Games that Need to Come to the Virtual Console

If you lived during the 80's you probably know that the Commodore 64 was a popular computer/video game console that dominated the market, outselling IBM clones, Apple, and Atari--yes, Atari at one time made computers. The vast majority of Commodore 64s have since gone the way of all old technology and are collecting dust in basements, adorning landfills, or sitting next to that Betamax video recorder in the homes of those who say, "I'm not buying something new until they improve on what I already have."

If you're in that last category or just enjoy the simplicity and fun of much of the video games of the 80's, you should be advised that a few Commodore 64 games have made it onto the Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii (nine games as of this writing). But in my opinion, none of them are worth the 500 Wii Points (or $5) that they cost.

Having played many of the games of the Commodore 64, I have decided to offer up a list of 10 of the best that would be worth the 500 Wii Points (or more in some cases!) and make a welcome addition to the Virtual Console.

10. Bosconian 87. This is the Commodore 64 version of the popular coin-op title Bosconian. This is a simple outer space shoot 'em up that has you attacking various space stations(which look sort of like odd teething rings). The space stations each have six cannons surrounding the ship's core. To defeat the enemies, you must shoot each of the cannons and then the core. You must also collect fuel for ship, as it is slowly depleted during the game, and you can upgrade your firepower.

9. Time Pilot. Also a coin-op title, Time Pilot lets you shoot enemy aircraft from a variety of time periods beginning in 1910 with biplanes and progressing all the way to the year 2001, in which you battle UFOs. A frantic pace and swarms of enemies make this game exciting and fun and the bosses(which appear after shooting down around 50 of the smaller aircraft) are a blast to destroy.

8. The Lurking Horror. I included this game as an homage to the legendary computer game maker Infocom. Before spectacular graphics and sound effects came to be, Infocom ruled computer games. Their games were text-based adventures that were loaded with plot and description and required a lot of thought and planning. The Zork series is easily the most well-known from Infocom, but is severely difficult by today's standards. The Lurking Horror, however, received the company's "standard" difficulty level and draws its inspiration from writers like H.P. Lovecraft and Arthur Machen. It is a great experience and a look at what an "immersive storyline" looked like when the storyline was the entirety of the game.

7. Karateka. An early precursor to the popular "brawler" game genre, Karateka boasted cutting edge graphics and a fun but challenging fighting system. The game consists of progressing past a series of martial arts experts that you must defeat(one at a time) in a battle of karate. At the end of the game you must fight a trained eagle before battling its owner, Akuma. The game is one requiring good timing and rhythm in the fights, as well as a lot of luck to beat the eagle and final boss.

6. Ultima I-VI. I have included all the Ultima series that were available on the Commodore 64, since with today's technology they ought to be bundled into one Virtual Console purchase. Ultima is the granddaddy of the modern computer RPG (role-playing game). You could choose your character's class (wizard, cleric, thief, or fighter) and had to consider things such as food(your character could starve to death) and what race to choose (human, elf, dwarf or bobbit). With each sequel in the series more depth was added to the gameplay, including things like party-based questing (Ultima III), "moral considerations" (Ultima IV), and even riding a magic carpet (Ultima V). Involving and detailed, these games will keep RPG fans enthralled for many, many hours.

5. Moon Patrol. This side-scrolling, car-based shooter is based on the coin-op game of the same name. Your car has two guns that fire lasers, one a short distance in front of you and the other straight up. These lasers are used to clear obstacles on the ground like boulders and shoot down enemy spaceships that drop bombs from above. Your car can also jump, which is vital for getting over holes in the ground, mines, and occasionally over boulders if you don't have time to shoot them. This game requires quick reflexes and a little strategy and will provide a lot of fun.

4. Gyruss. An interesting combination of the two games Galaga and Tempest, Gyruss lets you control a spaceship that spins in a circle(similar to Tempest) as you battle waves of descending alien spacecraft (as in Galaga). Gyruss has 24 levels that take you from Pluto all the way to the earth before starting over again and is unlike almost any other game ever made in the way it feels to move your ship in a circle(and only in a circle). It differs from Tempest, in that Tempest used a sort of stereo volume knob to let you spin your "ship" around an illustrated 3-D tube, whereas Gyruss lets you control your ship via a joystick. In Gyruss, there are no visible lanes, allowing your enemies to come at you in randomly swirling patterns. A blast to play, Gyruss contains a lively score from J.S. Bach.

3. Congo Bongo. Think of this as "Donkey Kong in 3D". Congo Bongo has an ape throwing objects(coconuts) at your character as you attempt to scale a mountain. The other three areas(sadly only two of the games four levels are included in the Commodore 64 version) have you battling various jungle-themed enemies to reach a designated point on the screen. With today's technology, I would hope the Virtual Console people could figure out a way to add in the two levels that are lacking in the Commodore 64 version. Doing so would make this game a worthy addition.

2. Dark Castle. This game was originally made for the Macintosh computer but was ported to the Commodore 64 in 1989. Easily one of the best computer games of its generation, Dark Castle has your character journey through a castle, one 2D room at a time, to gather weapons and defenses that you will need to defeat the beer (or some other unknown beverage)-swigging Dark Knight. The controls are precise and the graphics sharp. There are three difficulty levels to Dark Castle, with the hardest level offering up insanely challenging gameplay. If you ever get a chance to play this game, take it.

1. Alternate Reality The City/The Dungeon. As with the Ultima series, I am including the two games of the short-lived Alternate Reality series as one. These games represented the state of the art for RPGs of their time. You played with a first-person perspective(long before Wolfenstein popularized this mode) as you wandered through either the city of Xebec's Demise or the four levels of the dungeon beneath it. The need for food, water, and sleep were rare for games of the time and added heavily to the sense of realism. There was a moral component as well, as the guilds of the dungeon area were either good or evil and your behavior determined which ones you could join. I could write an entire article just about these amazing games, but suffice to say they need to be on the virtual console more than any Commodore 64 game out there.

Here's hoping somebody from Nintendo reads this list and realizes that there are still plenty of gamers out there that remember some of the awesome computer games of the 80's and would love to see them resurrected for the Virtual Console.