The Single Button Joystick

Ever just buy a game from the shelf, without knowing anything about it beforehand?

In sharp contrast to my practices of today, I used to just buy games without any prior research. It didn’t always work out so well and I’d often end up disappointed with my new purchase. Some notable examples of these purchases are, Spirit of Excalibur, Battle Master, Tusker and The Adventures of Robin Hood. All of them are Amiga games bought from a period of 1991-1993. Being 10-12 I wasn’t made of money, but at the same time I didn’t want to solely play pirated stuff. The above games rate between five and seven out of ten, so I can’t say they were flat-out disasters and I did spend many hours on all of them.

My Dad, in sharp contrast to my mediocre un-researched purchases, would bring home absolute gems completely by accident! For my 9th birthday (I think) I got Rainbow Islands, along with a compilation that had Wings, Carrier Command and Silent Service! Then in a bargain bin he spotted the New Zealand story. Arcade classics with excellent Amiga versions were certainly appreciated by myself, even if they were difficult and frustrating at times.

Pinball Fantasies was one of the few games purchased by my mum.

Another find by my father was a limited edition Dungeons and Dragons gold box collection, apparently limited in number to only 5000 (it came with a stamped sheet indicating a number from 1-5000). What was strange about this purchase that it was in Harris Scarfe, a department store not known for its video game selection.

Feel free to comment with some of your most loved and also disappointing random purchases!

Carrier Command 1988