Blitz – Commodore VIC-20 - 1981

Gaming doesn't get simpler than this

First up is Blitz, one of the games I got with the VIC-20. This game has to have the simplest controls ever – the only key used is the space bar.  There were many clones of this on other computers, but most other computers have better games, not so much the VIC. 

Your aim is to flatten all the buildings in a randomly generated city by dropping bombs from a plane flying from left to right across the screen.  You don’t control the plane, so just concentrate on when the bombs are dropped.  The bombs will take out a set number of blocks of the building when they hit; taller buildings requiring more hits.  When the plane reaches the right side of the screen it appears back on left slightly lower.  The game ends when the plane either successfully lands on the flattened landscape or crashes into one of the buildings.

Why the plane can’t land at an airport or fly around the buildings, rather than destroying a city is beyond me.  Why didn’t I question ridiculous plots when I was young?  I must be getting cynical in my old age.

Anyway, the sound is basic, the graphics are basic and the controls (control rather) are basic but it does have that all important ‘one more go’ quality.  That’s enough to get it on my list.

'Yeah, I've flattened a city just so I can land my plane'

Oops