Outpost (lost Commodore 64 tactical strategy game; 1989)

Screenshot of the game ripped from the ACE magazine preview.

Status: Lost

Outpost is a tactical strategy game that was being developed by Frontier Games for the Commodore 64 in 1989. In this game, players would have to move 4 marine units, and infiltrate an enemy outpost that's highly guarded. The game also promised 6 interlocked missions per game, detailed character descriptions, alongside colorful graphics as shown. The player would first make out a strategy on how to deal with the next enemy, polish up the tactics that can be used, make the very moves, and then sit back, and watch the outcome of the situation through an arcade-like sequence.

Afterwards, the game disappeared alongside the company, with no other magazine at the time covering it. The game is not known to have been played by anyone outside of the ACE magazine, and it's most likely that they played a preview of the game, & not the final version. Fred Gasking, owner of Games That Weren't tried to search for more about it, but it didn't really lead anywhere on the game at all, assuming that ACE might've been the only one to have heard of it.

One theory suggests that the game was released in limited quantities as that has been the case for several games of the time, Atlus being one of the more infamous cases. It's highly possible that it might've been only bought through mail order, or through a shopping channel that existed in the UK. It's also possible, though less likely that it was sold in store shelves, but with not many copies being around for sale at the time. Perhaps it was exclusive to a few stores, or just one before being pulled off sometime later.

Another theory suggests that the game never got released. This is due to the fact that it's the only time the game is ever heard of, and since it is common for games to get cancelled, it seems to be the more likely theory. The reason as to why it got cancelled is currently up for debate however, either due to Frontier Games going bankrupt, a lawsuit happening, or they were simply moving on after seeing how it didn't turn out as planned.