This week, the editor of Aussie C64 mag Reset, Kevin Tilley, remembers the Commodore things that matter the most to him.

After reading the brief (somebody actually read the brief! – Ed), I’ve decided to do something a little different with this piece (oh. – Ed). Instead of talking about my favourite games, I thought I’d list a few of my favourite gaming memories. Almost all of my favourite gaming memories are playing games with other people – and the quality of the game doesn’t really matter because some of them have been completely naff!

Growing up with a C64 in the house meant sharing the computer with the rest of the family. Having my own time on the Commodore was a rare event, but it was probably for the better. I have some fantastic memories playing games with family members and friends.

For my 7th or 8th birthday (circa 1986ish) I got the ECP Blue Ribbon Games Pack, an Australia only disk games compilation, for my birthday. It was probably one of the best gifts I was ever given as a kid (not counting Armatron and Castle Grayskull). Amongst a few others, the compilation included Summer Games II, Winter Games and World Games. It feels like we didn’t play anything else for years. I think we pretty much mastered all of the events (except figure skating…. Always freaking hated figure skating) and the original world records are still on the disks. There’s no way I’d beat them today. Not a hope. Also amongst the records are a few from old primary school mates. Good times!

“I’VE BEEN PLAYING DAD AT WORLD CLASS LEADERBOARD FOR THIRTY ODD YEARS NOW”

I had a fierce gaming rivalry with my brother, but we also enjoyed playing co-op too. Double Dragon is a game that stands out. Never really paying attention to how crap the game actually was, we’d battle through, kicking the crap out of each other as well along the way. We enjoyed E-Swat (another rubbish game but was a fun two player) and also, a bit later on, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, which I owned in the Chart Attack games compilation. Dad and I were members of a local Commodore Club, and one month we were able to take the club’s Amiga home. My brother and I played Lotus non-stop for that entire month, nothing else. It was bloody amazing and I yearned for an Amiga after that (never actually got one until a few years ago too). A bit later, as soon as I got the C64 game, we were back on it big time. It didn’t matter that the C64 version was a bit of a downgrade, we just had fun racing each other and the game played really well. Great, great times!

I’ve been playing Dad at World Class Leader Board for 30 odd years now. We’re evenly matched and we’ve played all the courses, but we keep coming back to Cypress Creek. Still rubbish at it, hooking when I want to slice and vice versa. We still sit down and play it today. Yep, in 2021 Dad and I still sit and play the C64 together. Got to win back the bragging rights.

As for modern memories, getting together with the Australian Reset crew (Ant, Cam, Rob, Raj and a few others) to play through a few modern 4 player games using the Protovision adapter. Lots of laughs, and waggling. One game stands out amongst the others – Team Patrol. Sure, Bomb Mania and the others were heaps of fun, but Team Patrol provided the most laughs for sure. Those controls… if you’ve played the game, you’ll know what I mean! That was a really good day. Love those guys!

Sometimes I watch my kids play on the consoles together, playing games like Minecraft, Mario Kart, and some of the other modern Mario games. They laugh, argue, fight, scream out in excitement and carry on a treat. They’re forming the exact same bonds and connections that I did when I was a kid, making memories. I love it!

Yeah, I have other favourite games, there are games that are better, but I don’t think I have better gaming memories than these, spending time with other people and enjoying one of my favourite hobbies at the same time. The range of emotions that playing games with others evokes. Priceless! CF