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Commodore 64: a visual compendium

5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
204 Reviews
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Commodore 64: a visual compendium celebrates one the most popular home computers of all time, taking you on a journey through the C64’s varied and colourful gaming library, starting in 1982, with early releases like Jupiter Lander and Beach Head, and travelling forward through the decades.

The 1980s saw an array of amazing C64 titles: think DropzoneImpossible Mission, Elite, Mercenary, Uridium, The Last NinjaThese and others represented an incredible variety of genres, from shoot ’em ups to puzzlers, racing games to arcade adventures, plus games that still defy categorisation The Sentinel, anyone? By the time the 1990s rolled around, talented coders were making the machine do things the original hardware designers didn’t think were possible; games like Turrican, Creatures and Lemmings showed that there was life left in the old CPU yet. Even when Commodore went bust, and the computer was no longer being manufactured, the games still kept coming.

So, this book pays homage not only to the seminal games of the C64’s official lifespan, but also to the developers that kept the system alive, featuring games that were completed and released a decade after the last boxed C64 left the high street.

Commodore 64: a visual compendium features well over a hundred titles, represented by beautiful in-game shots or loading screens, plus a gallery of artwork by legendary Zzap!64 artist Oliver Frey. Also included is a series of features, including profiles of key Britsoft developers, interviews with famous C64 artists, a look back at the demo scene, plus a showcase of unreleased titles and the new games being released more than 20 years after the last machine rolled off Commodore’s production line.

Presented in full colour throughout, printed on high quality paper and complete with a spot-varnished protective dust cover, this unique title is a treat for anyone who grew up playing games or learning their craft on this most ubiquitous of home computers.

Includes contributions from:
Mat Allen, Pete Baron, Andrew Braybrook, Steve Brown, Stoo Cambridge, Gary Carr, David Crane, Stephen Crow, Andrew Davie, Ivan Davies, Karen Davies-Downey, Steven Day, Mevlut Dinc, Paul Docherty, Andy Dyer, Andreas Escher, Brian Fargo, Simon Forrester, Oliver Frey, Kevin Furry, Martin Galway, Ron Gilbert, Dave Golder, Matt Gray, Michael Haire, Jon Hare, Andrew Hewson, Robin Hogg, Paul Hughes, Andy Hutchinson, Robert Jaeger, Steve Jarratt, Mark Jones, Roger Kean, Mark W.J. Kelly, Kevin Kieller, Phil King, Paul Koller, John F. Kutcher, Ned Langman, James Leach, Robin Levy, Peter Liepa, Oliver Lindau, Richard Löwenstein, Steinar Lund, Archer MacLean, Sean Masterson, Jordan Mechner, Alan Miller, Jeff Minter, Andrew Morris, Paul Norman, Michal Okowicki, Philip Oliver, The Oliver Twins, Gary Penn, Jason Perkins, Simon Phipps, Julian ‘Jaz’ Rignall, Hugh Riley, Stephen Robertson, Andy Roberts, John Rowlands, Stephen Ruddy, Chris Shrigley, Jonathan Smyth Temples, Steve Snake, Mat Sneap, Chuck Sommerville, Audun Sorlie, Bob Stevenson, Trevor Storey, Stephen Ian Thomson, Mikael Tillander, Jacco Van’t Riet, Bob Wakelin, Martin Walker, Trenton Webb, Matt Wilsher, Gary Winnick and Stuart Wynne.

Book Specifications

500 pages. 170mm × 230mm. Edge-to-edge high quality lithographic print. Hardback. Sewn binding for enduring quality and the ability to lay flat for ideal double-page image viewing. Spot-varnished cover and dust jacket that highlight key elements against a matte background. Two coloured bookmark ribbons. Shrink-wrapped. Free PDF for viewing on the go. Volumetric weight: 2.5kg.

Games featured

10th Frame / Action Biker / Apollo 18: Mission to the Moon / Archon: The Light and the Dark / Argus / Arkanoid / Armalyte / Attack of the Mutant Camels / ATV Simulator / Aztec Challenge / Ballblazer / Bangkok Knights / Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior / The Bard’s Tale / Batman The Movie / Beach-Head / Beach-Head II / The Bear Essentials / Beyond the Forbidden Forest / Blue Max / The Blues Brothers / Bomberland / Bop ’n Rumble / Boulder Dash / Bounder / Bounty Bob Strikes Back! / Bruce Lee / Bubble Bobble / Buggy Boy / C64anabalt / Cabal / California Games / Caren and the Tangled Tentacles / Cauldron / Chase HQ II / Citadel / CJ’s Elephant Antics / Combat School / Commando / Creatures / Creatures II / Cybernoid / Death Knights of Krynn / Deathwish 3 / Defender of the Crown / Delta / Denaris / Dominator / Donkey Kong Jr. / Dragon Wars / Driller / Dropzone / The Eidolon / Elite / Entombed / Exile / Fantasy World Dizzy / Ferrari Formula One / First Samurai / Flimbo’s Quest / Forbidden Forest / Fort Apocalypse / Frankie Goes to Hollywood / Gauntlet / Ghostbusters / Ghosts ’n Goblins / Ghouls ’n Ghosts / Golden Axe / Grand Prix Simulator / The Great Giana Sisters / Green Beret / Gribbly’s Day Out / Gunship / Gyruss / Hammerfist / Hawkeye / Head over Heels / Hover Bovver / Hunter’s Moon / Hunter’s Moon Remastered / Hyper Sports / IK+ / Impossible Mission / Impossible Mission II / Infiltrator / International Soccer / Invade-a-Load / Jack Attack / James Pond 2: RoboCod / Jupiter Lander / Karateka / Katakis / Keystone Kapers / Kikstart / Kikstart II / Knight ’n’ Grail / Koronis Rift / Krakout / The Last Ninja / Last Ninja 2 / Last Ninja 3 / The Last V8 / Law of the West / Lazy Jones / Leaderboard / Lemmings / Lions of the Universe / Little Computer People / Lode Runner / LuftrauserZ / M.U.L.E. / Magicland Dizzy / Maniac Mansion / Mayhem in Monsterland / Mega Apocalypse / Mercenary / Micro Hexagon / MicroProse Soccer / Midnight Resistance / Miner 2049er / Montezuma’s Revenge / Monty on the Run / Murder! / Myth: History in the Making / Navy SEALs / Nebulus / Neuromancer / Nobby the Aardvark / North & South / Operation Thunderbolt / Paradroid / Parallax / Park Patrol / The Pawn / Pirates! / Pitstop II / Planet Golf / Platoon / Pogo Joe / Prince of Persia / Professional BMX Simulator / Professional Snooker Simulator / Project Firestart / Quedex / Racing Destruction Set / Raid on Bungeling Bay / Raid Over Moscow / Rainbow Islands / Rally Speedway / Rambo: First Blood Part II / Retrograde / Revs / Rick Dangerous / RoboCop / Rocky Memphis / Rodland / The Sacred Armour of Antiriad / Salamander / Sam’s Journey / Samurai Warrior / Sanxion / Scarabaeus / The Sentinel / Shinobi / Shoot-’Em-Up Construction Kit / Skate or Die! / Slicks / Smash TV / Soulless / Space Gun / Space Rogue / Space Taxi / Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe / Spindizzy / Spy Hunter / Spy vs. Spy / Starquake / Strip Poker / Stunt Car Racer / Summer Games / Summer Games 2 / Super Bread Box / Super Cycle / Super Pipeline II / Super Scramble Simulator / Supremacy / Terra Cresta / Theatre Europe / Thing on a Spring / Thrust / Time Tunnel / Total Recall / Turbo Charge / Turbo Outrun / Turrican / Turrican II / The Untouchables / Up ’n Down / Uridium / Vendetta / Warhawk / The Way of the Exploding Fist / WEC Le Mans / Winter Games / Wizardry / Wizball / World Class Leaderboard / World Games / X-Out / Zak McKracken / Zaxxon and Zoids

Shipping

At Bitmap we want our packaging to protect your books to the extreme, while also being affordable, memorable and sustainable. Equally, we want shipping that’s reliable, fast and economical. More details can be found here.

Reprint Updates

In this latest reprint of Commodore 64: a visual compendium, we’ve added 24 pages of new material, including: an updated foreword from Stoo Cambridge; the inclusion of The Last V8, Revs, Vendetta, Operation Wolf and Green Beret; additional contributions from Martin Galway and Matt Gray; an updated Thalamus Games profile; additional text on certain games, as seen in other Bitmap Books visual compendium titles; the addition of several recent homebrew titles, plus written contributions from their authors; and a short section on PESCII art.

5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
Based on 204 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 199 Total 4 star reviews: 4 Total 3 star reviews: 1 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
100%would recommend this product
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204 reviews
  • DW
    Darran W.
    Flag of United Kingdom
    Verified Buyer
    9 months ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Com-Adore this book !

    Another excellent book from Bitmap.

    Same heavy paper stock and glorious print detail.

    Looks great aside my other two precious purchases.

  • AJ
    Adrian J.
    Flag of Poland
    Verified Buyer
    1 year ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Impressive piece of an art!

    I`m so amazed about everything from the very beginning! My first impression is regarding the packaging, it`s creme de la creme on top of it. I was struggling with the decision - should I actually open it? It was like ruining the very expensive art, it was so well packed - well done, impressive! Then it`s going even better. The book looks fantastic and the finish, all pages, paper, and cover it`s an opus magnum of a book. That is how it should look, and you are forced to read it carefully with a sentiment because it`s so elegant and artistic. The final impression is the content, only the best pieces are chosen and you know that it was done by true heart passionates, just like us! Thank you very much for the possibility of having that piece of art on my shelf. I can't wait for other books. It`s gorgeous!

  • MC
    Manuele Cesarini o.
    Flag of Italy
    Verified Buyer
    1 year ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    "Commodore 64: a visual compendium! The ultimate book for nerds."

    "Commodore 64: a visual compendium" di Bitmap Books è un'opera straordinaria che merita di essere elogiata per la sua qualità e precisione. Il libro, recensito da OVERNEXT e compilato da Bitmap Books, è frutto di una ricerca approfondita e accurata, con una raccolta di informazioni dettagliate che consentono ai lettori di comprendere appieno l'importanza del Commodore 64 nell'evoluzione della tecnologia informatica.

    Inoltre, la qualità della grafica è davvero notevole: le immagini sono nitide e dettagliate, e il design del libro è curato fin nei minimi dettagli. I colori brillanti e vivaci contribuiscono a rendere il libro un'esperienza visiva coinvolgente e appagante.

    In sintesi, "Commodore 64: a visual compendium" è un libro che si rivolge agli appassionati di retrocomputing e retrogaming, ma che può anche essere apprezzato da coloro che cercano di capire meglio la storia dell'informatica. OVERNEXT consiglia vivamente questo libro a tutti coloro che sono interessati a conoscere la storia e la tecnologia del Commodore 64.

    "Commodore 64: a visual compendium" by Bitmap Books is an extraordinary work that deserves praise for its quality and precision. The book, co-reviewed by OVERNEXT and compiled by Bitmap Books, is the result of thorough and accurate research, with a collection of detailed information that allows readers to fully understand the importance of the Commodore 64 in the evolution of computer technology.

    Furthermore, the quality of the graphics is truly…

  • KG
    Kaj Goth A.
    Flag of Denmark
    Verified Buyer
    1 year ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Must have book 🤩👍👏👏👍

    Super good book ❤️ a look back at the c64 timeline I love pixel concept art 🤩👾

    Thanks to the creators of the book series Amiga and C64 and all other books from

    the golden milestone in gaming history ...keep up the brilliant work 👍👍👏👏👏

    ❤️🙌

  • SP
    Steven P.
    Flag of United Kingdom
    Verified Buyer
    2 years ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Excellent Book

    This is another great book from bitmap, very comprehensive looks at the history of the Commodore 64 system and all it's great games. The book is printed on quality paper and again comes in excellent packaging to prevent any damage.

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