FREEZE64 – Issue 73 – Phantoms

RELEASED: January 2025
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LOAD “ISSUE 73”,8,1
# The Phantom of the Opera is there…. inside my mind #

FOUND ISSUE 73
“Nothing would survive, not even bacteria.”

COVER FEATURE: PHANTOMS OF THE ASTEROID
The Phantoms return! We take a retrospective look at Mastertronic’s fab arcade adventure, Phantoms of the Asteroid. But wait! Haven’t we already covered this game in FREEZE64 issue 6? Yes, but we have more to reveal, and the full story begins on page 4 of this very issue.

ANDREW BRAYBROOK: LOOKING BACK…
Andrew Braybrook reflects on his top C64 games and delves into the reasons behind revisiting and enhancing them. Weren’t they perfect already? It makes for a fascinating read.

A MOMENT WITH… JOHN ROWLANDS
Once again we meet up for a cuppa with Commodore 64 programmer extraordinaire, John Rowlands, who continues our chat regarding the lack of payment from Thalamus for his games Retrograde, and Creatures 1 and 2. Intriguing stuff!

JULIAN RIGNALL’S CCRAPBACK!
Our Julian sifts through the rancid pile of poop containing the worst scoring games from ZZAP!64 issue 14, June 1986. They include V – The Computer Game, Bomb Jack, and The Comet Game. They definitely caused a stink!

SECRET SQUIRREL INVESTIGATES
By sheer coincidence, our intrepid fluffy agent stumbled upon hidden elements in two breast-baring C64 games Neptune’s Daughter and Samantha Fox Strip Poker. How’s *that* for a twist of fate!!

THE DEVELOPERS’ DEN: MARTIN ELLIS
After years of searching for Martin Ellis, he finally reached out to us! We now have the pleasure of discussing the development of his Mastertronic hits: Munch Mania, Hektik, and our cover feature game, Phantoms of the Asteroid.

WE DON’T DO REVIEWS!
We check out ICON64’s latest C64 offering in the form of an arcade adventure by the name of AVALAN. It’s already giving me Willow Pattern vibes.

LET’S HACK… AVALAN
We’ve provided a mini review of the game, and now it’s time to hack it with a few exclusive cheats!

OUT OF THE ‘MOULDY CUPBOARD’
Once again I venture into the cupboard to retrieve another one of my old Commodore 64 games from yesteryear. But this time was a bit different. I picked out a game I had noticed a few months back because I was almost certain the cover art was my own handiwork — you’ll know what I mean when you see it. Needless to say, that I don’t actually remember the game… WHO YOU GONNA CALL? Definitely *NOT * Ice Busters!

DIARY OF A GAME – OPERATION VOSTOKA
Our second instalment of our new game development diary for Operation Vostoka, which is being programmed by Chris Stanley of Megastyle. This time around, Chris starts planning out the structural screen design and solutions to displaying it.

A beautifully printed A5 Commodore 64 fanzine delivered straight to your front door.