The C64 (Electronic Games)

I'm an old fart who grew up owning and collecting 8-bit computers, but had to grow up. There are emulators, all sorts of gadgets littering the house, and most of them are just fleeting attempts at reliving something long past and frankly, long outclassed.This was too hard to resist though. TheC64Mini was 'meh', no keyboard on a computer that existed with a keyboard - what is this, a C64GS? But TheC64? Full-size, fully beige, real keys with real horrible slow action (this is no gaming keyboard) and a microswitched Competition Pro clone joystick? Yes please!First of all: if you want to give a gift of a retro computer thing to your favourite Gen-Xer, this is probably the best one you will find, period. It's packaged authentically, it's pleasing to hold, but unlike trying to use a Commodore 64 on modern TVs etc. it JUST WORKS. Which really cannot be overstated - this is great.Second: This isn't some locked down, needs to be hacked to get away from the 64 included games system. You can program it. You can load disc, cartridge and tape images. It is as flexible as the Linux-based emulator it's essentially a derivative of.Finally: Yes, it is quite expensive. The joystick is easily worth £20 of this cost - you can buy them separately and they're well worth it for retrogaming on Windows/Mac/Pi etc. - as good as getting a classic joystick, and cheaper than decent USB-to-Atari adaptors. The case - you'd probably pay £30 for a case of this size and quality for your Raspberry Pi, even without a keyboard. Call the keyboard a fiver, but it's really more like £30 for the bespoke C64-style keys. Then you'd need the computer and software.So even if you're a DIY-nutter determined to save money with free software and cheap hardware, TheC64 is very good value.What's it actually like? A Commodore 64 with some modern user-friendly touches. You can boot up into the classic C64 BASIC mode and easily load and save software - it even creates a virtual disk image for your BASIC programs - or you can go into a Carousel mode with preloaded games. Gameplay is more than good enough - I can't compare to a real C64 anymore, but it never feels like there's something wrong even if the sound may be slightly different.The keyboard is quite slow for typing (authentic), but the joystick is great for games. Zynaps is one of my favourites, a proper shoot 'em up like a modest R-Type clone, and the joystick keeps up with rapid firing and movement as well as the real Competiion Pro ever did.HDMI output is easy - the only downside is that unlike some rivals there's no composite out for older TVs, but then the benefits totally outweigh that gripe.Could it have had DB9 joystick ports? Probably. That's my biggest criticism of it really. For comparison an upgraded C64 motherboard is more than twice as much as this, needs a real C64 to install it in, and isn't as easy to use. On a technical level this is basically a Pi clone board running some carefully optimised frontend - instead of getting nerdy about it, just enjoy that it exists and works so well any kid or busy adult can enjoy it immediately.This really is a no-brainer for retrogaming addicts and a great gift for 40+ year old kids remembering the first time they unwrapped a home computer under the tree. And yes, you can plug it into a giant LCD telly - but I find it really nice using an old small HDMI one (a monitor with speakers would do too) so you get the small screen inches-from-your-face reality that we had in the '80s.Even if it is in colour and not mum's old 9-inch black and white telly...

First off a disclaimer: I didn't have a C64 back in the day so I'm not an expert on them.That being said...this is a very well made up-to-date version of the venerable Commodore 64. However, it's primarily aimed at software nostalgists, not hardware ones, as this lacks all of the interfaces of the original. Instead you get four USB ports, a single HDMI port, and a single Micro USB socket for power. So (sadly for some) you won't be plugging in a 1541 disk drive or a Simon's BASIC cartridge with adaptors (even assuming it's possible, which I genuinely don't know).I comes with a very well made joystick with eight (count them, eight!) buttons for controlling the unit. The joystick uses microswitches and feels quite sturdy.It comes pre-loaded with a lot of games software (about 50 from memory), but you can also plug a USB stick into it that contains .d64 disk images of original software, which can then be loaded as you normally would - in the controller software you tell it which .d64 image(s) are loaded and then, when you go back to C64 mode, you can LOAD "$",8,1 to your heart's content. As a bonus this can also run VIC-20 software.Physically the unit is nearly identical to the original (within the realms of regional variations) with two small exceptions - the SHIFT LOCK key is mechanical on real C64's (press it and it stays down, press again to release), and software toggled on The C64. This makes sense as it would be pricey to manufacture an authentic version. The other small difference is the Commodore logo key in the bottom left is labelled 'The C64'. This is due to licensing issues, as I understand it.The controlling OS is simple but comprehensive. It allows you to choose the default switch-on condition of the unit (it can be a Commodore 64 or a VIC-20), to set a few video effects (scanlines, 4:3 etc) and to browse plugged in USB sticks for disk, cassette and cartridge images.While I can't claim to have tested it comprehensively, it has so far run everything I've thrown at it. It has also received at least one firmware update since I bought my unit shortly after Christmas, and there's an active community supporting it.In short, if you have a Commodore 64 itch you'd like to scratch and just downloading VICE doesn't cut it, this is ideal.Now if they could just do the same for the BBC Micro...!