Monday, November 2, 2009

Commodore Format 1 (October 1990)



Hey guys, I'm gonna start uploading Commodore Format issues again, seeing as the Commodore Format Library went bust. So here's issue number one (click).

It was as late as October 1990 that Zzap64 got a powerful competitor in the form of CF and the soon-to-be mighty Future Publishing. Future meant business, getting together a good team (including many ex Zzapsters) and also quality monthly covertapes, thus forcing Zzap to raise it's game.

This first issue is quite nice. Within it's 100 pages there's reviews of minor classics such as Time Machine, Lords of Chaos and Iron Lord, as well as Murder - the famous game that wasn't. Also of note is the intriguing disk-only adventure Mean Streets. On the features front, there's a presentation of the then brand new console C64GS (basically a C64 without a keyboard, and with only cartridge games), while on the covertape there's at least a classic in Tau Ceti, as well as neat demos of Ivan Stewart's Off Road Racer and St Dragon.

By the way, this issue was kindly contributed by Mort from the Zzuperstore. Mort has scanned an impressive array of retro computer magazines, so pay a visit (click) and see if you're interested in buying something.

5 comments:

Donncha said...

That was a great mag. I gave away almost all my Zzaps years ago but I can't remember if I still have my copies of CF..

Unknown said...

I was very surprised when my Dad brought home the first issue from the newsagents... little did I know that just over four years later I would be writing for it! Issue 1 was very good, with some nice features to go alongside the game reviews.

Jim Slip said...

Yeah, the Steve Jarratt era was the best. Arguably, it was a case where competition brought the best in both magazines, especially when you consider that the 90's were the twilight of the C64's commercial lifetime.

Neil said...

Hello. Thank you very much for uploading CF1. I loved this magazine. I very much hope you'll upload the rest.

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