Epyx (1984)

Source: K-Power - Issue Number 8 - November/December 1984

While only a distant memory now, Epyx was once a powerhouse among game developers. Epyx first published for Atari computers and then the Commodore 64 when it came along. By 1984, the Commodore 64 was much more popular and Epyx did the bulk of their business on that platform. While shareware wasn't really popular yet, companies were already finding ways to let you try before you buy. This ad shows one such attempt by Epyx.

While you may not remember the Epyx name, you should remember some of the games, at least if you were playing games then. Included on this disk are Summer Games, Impossible Mission, Breakdance, The World's Greatest Baseball Games, Silicon Warrior, and PuzzlePanic. I never had this disk and it isn't clear to me whether these are playable or non-interactive demos. My guess is there is probably some of each. At any rate, a refundable $3.00 which included shipping isn't a bad deal to get to see and/or play these games before shelling out $20-$40 for something you might not end up liking. Epyx tended to make pretty good games though. Summer Games and Impossible Mission are my favorites from this batch.

Epyx later went on to play a large role in the development of the Atari Lynx but as we all know, that system didn't do so well in the long run and that was pretty much the end of Epyx.

The above ad is from the November 1984 issue of K-Power.

Sub Battle Simulator

Sub Battle Simulator was released by Epyx for various home computer systems in 1987. This particular ad from the March 1987 issue of Compute! mentions the Commodore 64, Apple II, Apple IIgs, Atari ST, Macintosh and DOS. You could get a demo disk for any of those systems for $1.50 each. According to Wikipedia, it was also available for the Amiga and Tandy Color Computer 3.

_{Commodore 64}

Sub Battle Simulator recieved somewhat mixed reviews. Most reviewers agreed that it was a fun game (despite some lengthy periods of inactivity) but there some complaints about lack of realism. In Sub Battle Simulator you can captain various types of submarines on a variety of missions for both the the Germans and the U.S. during World War II. If you were just looking for a submarine combat game you could just pick up and play then this one wasn't a bad choice but if you were looking for a more accurate and detailed simulation then there were better options. I guess submarine games were more popular back in the 80s.

_{Apple IIgs}

If you do want to give it a try, there are a number of versions to choose from. I'm not really sure what the best one is. My guess is that the Atari ST, Amiga and Apple IIgs versions are the best but Epyx usually did an excellent job with the Commodore 64 versions of its games so I wouldn't count that one out. There aren't any re-releases or sequels to this game. Whichever version you choose to try you'll have to track down some original disks and the right equipment or use emulation.

Epyx – Seawolf II/Gun Fight, Star Fire/Fire One

Source: Computer Fun - April 1984

Epyx is probably best known for the games they released on the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit line of computers though they also released some games for the PC, Atari video game systems and others as well as developed the Atari Lynx. Generally speaking, their games were very good and some of the most fun, particularly the 8-bit computer games.

This particular ad is for some early arcade conversions they did. In my opinion these aren't the best examples of their work. It's not that they aren't decent conversions, it's just that these were very simplistic games to begin with. The ad is for four separate games: Seawolf II, Star Fire, Gun Fight, and Fire One. They were released in packs of two with Sea Wolf II and Gun Fight being in one pack and Star Fire and Fire One being in the other. Sea Wolf II and Gun Fight were available only for Atari computers (Atari 400/800) while Star Fire and Fire One were available for both the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers.

This ad is from the April 1984 issue of Computer Fun though I believe these games were released in late 1983. They were released early enough that they were available on cassette and disk. I don't think cassette games were very common much later than this, at least in the U.S.