We got to relive the 80’s with the classic games on the new C64 Mini!
In 1982 a revolution occurred… The Commodore 64 launched and computers were in black and white and silent no longer! Suddenly we had a whopping 64k of RAM, 32 colour graphics and rather fab 80’s synthesizer sound!
And now, 35 years later The C64 Mini brings us a 50% scale fully working replica of the worlds best-selling home computer – but with USB and HDMI so you can plug it straight into your modern TV for high definition nostalgic gameplay! The system comes with 64 built-in games (we see what they did there) and the ability to load more on via USB stick or code your own by plugging in a keyboard and writing in good old BASIC!
The system features classics such as Boulder Dash, Impossible Mission, Uridium, Paradroid, Hawkeye, Nebulus and Monty Mole to name just a few. And, as well as a whole wealth of classic games out there which you can add via .D64 disk images there is also a growing homebrew scene of game developers writing brand new games for classic computers and consoles like this – so many more games to discover as well.
We got to try out the system and have a go at reliving the 80s (but dying way more than we remember the first time around… seriously… have the games nowadays got much easier or have we just lost IQ points here in our old age?) and the verdict is in. The C64 Mini is really rather adorable. It’s also a nice way to play old games without needing a complex setup as it’s just plug and play – plus there are no loading times as it’s all based on emulation.
As well as getting an easy way to relive your long lost youth (or introduce a new generation to the joys of Galactic Causeway or Boulder Dash) the C64 Mini also lets you have up to 4 save slots per game. This means you can save your progress and have other family members playing the same game as well. It’s a really good mix of nostalgia and modern convenience. The only downsides are that you have to buy the second joystick separately for two-player games, although we have been told a modern Playstation controller works just fine as well, and that you can currently only load one additional game on via USB at a time. There are a few workarounds for using the 4 save slots for 4 different games off USB (just load game and save immediately then swap what is on the USB a further 3 times) effectively giving you 4 games with one save slot each and another where you can compile multiple games into one file for the more tech savvy… although the team over at Retro Games Limited have promised a firmware update which will address this and allow many more games to be loaded at once and added to the home screen game carousel menu as well. It’s a shame it didn’t have this functionality out the box, but it’s the first of these retro mini’s I’ve seen that let you add games at all so still a plus overall.
If you want to try out some classic Commodore games this is an easy way to do so and, as we said, it’s is a rather adorable machine which looks nice on the shelf as well! To find out more you can head over to their website www.TheC64.com to see the full list of games and retailers where you can get your hands on one of these mini classics!
