As well as Fusion & Toy Polloi and Zzap!, Santa also delivered Crash and Amtix! CPC annuals under my Christmas tree this year. We all know Christmas isn’t Christmas unless it includes some 8-bit micro action.
Crash Annual 2023
Just like last year, this year’s annual is a collection of the very best content taken from the past twelve months of the magazine, with around 30 pages of brand-new content. There are features on the Spectrum’s Portuguese revolution and Portugal’s ZX Spectrum museum, why the SAM Coupe could not save the speccy, and Paul Davies gives a personal story of the Sinclair in his life.
A truckload of reviews includes some outstanding titles – Bombjack, Doompit, Nothing, Hakkenkast, Angels, TCQ, Nosy, and Rubinho Cucaracha. There’s also a whole bunch of gaming mysteries to be investigated, including the Giana Sisters, Nemesis, Barbarian 3, and Scooby Doo!
Amtix! CPC Annual 2023
The inaugural Amtix! CPC annual is a compilation of all issues to date, again with around 30 pages of new content. To start with, there are some smashing reviews that include Puzzle Bobble, Bruniloa, Invasion of the Zombie Monsters, Red Sunset, Pinball Dreams, R-Type, and The Mandarin.
Features in the annual comprise of guides to CPC Shmups and Christmas games, and a look at Hewson’s Christmas Collection. There’s a look at the top 10 CPC pop tunes, speech synthesisers, the launch of the Amstrad CPC, the Magnum Force light phaser, and a fresh look at Cassette 50. Rounding out the annual are the usual regulars, plus interviews with Mananuk, Crazy Piri, and Juan J Martinez.
The 2023 annuals are still available from the Fusion Retro Books website.
