Platform: Commodore 64
Region: PAL
Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Developer(s): Various
Publishers(s): Cascade Games
ReleaseDate: 1983-01-01
Players: 2
Co-op: No
Cassette 50 (released in Spain as Galaxy 50 - 50 Excitantes Juegos) is a compilation of games published by Cascade Games Ltd in 1983, and is an early example of shovelware - computer software marketed primarily on the basis of its sheer quantity rather than other factors such as quality or playability. The compilation was available for many of the microcomputer platforms of the time due to being entirely coded in BASIC. The compilation was heavily advertised in home computer magazines, with buyers also receiving a Timex digital calculator watch with each purchase. According to the instructions, "the games will provide many hours of entertainment for all the family at a fraction of the cost of other computer games". In an interview, Matthew Lewis, the author of Galaxy Defence, said he wrote the game when he was 14 and submitted it in response to a small, anonymous ad in a local newspaper. He was paid £10 for his game, but he had to give up all rights to it. Galaxy Defence took 12 hours to code and the graphics were done by his father, Ernest Lewis.
ESRB Rating: E - Everyone
Genre(s): Family