Just as with MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 games, the folks at Archive.org have once again put their rescue skills to work to preserve more titles. This time, it's 500 classics compatible with the Apple II computer, one of the most popular products in Cupertino's history, which remained on the market for 16 years thanks to its variants.
A Brief History of the Apple II
The Apple II computer was originally launched in June 1977, and the fact that it remained on the market until 1993 (production of the Apple IIe ended in November of that year) is strong proof of its popularity. Anyone who decides to review historical episodes of Computer Chronicles will see the Apple II family on more than one occasion, even with dedicated shows. The original hardware wasn't cheap ($1,300 in 1977), but over the years several clones emerged (about 200 are estimated worldwide), which allowed its software repertoire to multiply. That's how we arrive at "The 4 a.m. Collection", a relatively obscure section on Archive.org that contains 500 classic Apple II games, cracked by someone we only know as "4 a.m.".
The Games
At first glance we can already spot truly unforgettable names: Battlezone, Defender, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, Lode Runner, Pac-Man, Galaxian, Frogger… the list goes on. Then there are some titles based on movies of the time, like Gremlins, Aliens and Conan. The process to run them is always the same: Click on the title, and if the power symbol appears over the image, click on it to load the emulator. Controlling the games can be harder than it seems, but with a little trial and error you'll learn all the commands.
Preservation vs. Playability
Unfortunately, 'preserving' and 'playing' are two different things. There are many games in The 4 a.m. Collection that cannot be emulated (only a couple of images and info about the original crack are available), while others display very poor performance, despite having been designed for a system more than 30 years old. During my tests, Firefox 45 threw several errors, so I recommend using the latest stable build of Chrome this time.
