The good old Commodore 64, the gaming computer that fans love too much to let die. There are a few hardcore fans that are creating new adventures for other fans of the C64. For instance, Age of Heroes is one of the latest releases, one that I first discovered late last year. Fans of 2D fantasy action games would do well to pick this one up (links after the jump).
A little history
The team behind Age of Heroes are not new to the Commodore 64. They have at least one more title under their belt, Organism. That game was a 3/4 side view adventure not unlike Metroid by Nintendo for the NES, featuring huge levels with many paths around the game world (a ship in this case). Age of Heroes is very different from Organism though.
What to expect
Age of Heroes is a fantasy game featuring traditional right to left levels filled with varied enemies and some bosses to give you some zest in your adventure.
Graphical tricks improve image
One thing that you will notice in Age of Heroes is the shading. Through liberal use of dithering and the color black, the developers have achieved a level of detail that is impressive for the hardware. This is a simple effect that is capable of delivering great results when used correctly.
What is Age of Heroes
For those that have no clue about Age of Heroes, it is a 2D side scrolling action adventure title. As with most fantasy games that means the enemy selection is varied and the levels are often straight forward (this is not Castlevania Symphony of the Night).
Enemies are the standard fantasy fair, flying creatures, snakes, green bipedal monstrosities, skeletons, etc. Nothing wrong with the enemy choices, certainly not knocking them, just letting you know what to expect.
Where it get your copy
If you are interested in grabbing a copy of Age of Heroes the developers have done something really cool, similar to Piko’s physical and digital releases. You can grab a digital copy of the fantasy adventure on Itch.io as well as purchase your choice of physical copy (tape, disk, collectors edition, etc) from Binary Zone.
