C64 zx spectrum Vs

How the C64 original and Steve Turner’s Spectrum port compare

commodore 64

Even while it’s loading Andrew

Braybrook’s original impresses with an animated tutorial detailing how it works and how many points you get for dispatching the various stages of its evolving aliens. Thanks to Andrew clocking the game at 50 frames per second, Intensity on the C64 plays at a consistently speedy rate. His Commodore original also boasts some nice synth rock intro music and arcade-authentic in-game sound effects produced by his Graftgold partner Steve Turner. Intensity uses the C64’s colour palette sparingly, but to good effect, with the end result being visually distinct stages rendered in pleasing colour combinations that contrast with the hues chosen for the game’s skimmer, drone and mutating aliens. The C64 original’s animated completion sequence is another nice little touch.

ZX spectrum

Given the audio and colour-related hardware deficiencies of the 48K

Spectrum, Steve Turner’s Z80 Intensity does a pretty good job of replicating the pregame tune and the space station colour combinations used in Andrew Braybrook’s

Commodore 64 original. Intensity on the Spectrum also plays much like its inspiration, although there is a slight slowdown when too much is happening on the screen at the same time. In terms of gameplay, the ZX Intensity is a faithful adaptation of its C64 inspiration, with the main exception being that it’s more forgiving – its aliens are slower to attack. This is reasonable, however, given that the Spectrum version’s sprites tend to blend into the game’s backgrounds. The Z80 conversion’s other concessions are static loading and completion screens.