David Pleasance on why the Amiga's mascot is still missing in action

Nintendo had Mario, SEGA had Sonic. Would a designated mascot have buoyed the Amiga's profile? Why did Commodore never settle upon such a representative?

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If RoboCod had a hammer...

Thanks to Paul Driscoll's purchase and scanning of the lesser-known multi-system gaming magazine, Games-X, we learn that at some point in its development, RoboCod was to be equipped with a hammer weapon. Not quite representing the magazine's legacy in its entirety, it does denote that there's plenty of exclusive information to be gleaned from this seemingly poor relation in the Amiga magazine fraternity.

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Game Assets that Weren't

Games, much like movies have 'cutting room floors' where discarded audio, visuals or narrative ends up, never intended to be seen by the public. Often these remnants are captured within the data without actually being called at any point by the programme so are potentially open to being unearthed with a bit of code-digging. I explore some of the most interesting examples from my favourite gaming era; the '80s and '90s. Especially ones that revolve around the Amiga.

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There's Something About Calamari

Chasing the mass appeal of Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario in the '90s, some game developers devised blatant clones, whilst others assimilated the best elements of each, expanding upon the concepts that make them so engaging. Vectordean's contribution was the lovably ubiquitous James Pond 2: RoboCod. It takes Sonic's foot-blurring velocity, seamlessly blending it with the platforming antics of Mario. What RoboCod delivers over and above homage is his telescopic torso manoeuvre, platform-underside-gripping shimmying, endearing enemies you can't decide whether to pet or kill, charming wit, in large part courtesy of the unrelenting James Bond/RoboCop parodies, nostalgic throwbacks to the inaugural James Pond game that fans of the series will recognise and appreciate, and more artistic variety than Sonic and Mario mushed together. Of course, they all feature fantastic music, finely-tuned, responsive controls and addictive gameplay too.

My enduring affection for RoboCod no doubt contributed greatly to my lack of interest in SEGA and Nintendo consoles at the time. A controversial stance that explains Roger Moore's raised eyebrows. In what must be the most comprehensive article ever written about RoboCod, I explore the abounding reasons our fi5hy friend left such a lasting impression on my psyche and was sufficiently well-regarded to break free from the niche of Amiga gaming to earn a license to gill on almost every game and computer system worth its sea salt.

In a separate article, I discuss with Chris Sorrell - RoboCod's creator - the curious inclusion of Bertie Bassett in the original title and many of its subsequent ports.

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DIY Amiga game box craft shenanigans

Ask any random person on the street what's missing from the internet and in 99.9% of cases they'll tell you they'd like to see freely downloadable, paper craft, miniature box recreations for the Amiga games Robocod and The Addams Family. I guarantee it.

As I'm in the business of making strangers' wildest dreams come true, here are the links to miniature, paper craft box recreations for the Amiga games Robocod and The Addams Family. Enjoy!

To make the panels slot together nicely I'd recommend trimming the corners from the flaps. You only need to glue the largest sides together and then tuck the other flaps into place.

Feel free to post your pictures of the finished article.

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