CRL Group plc is a defunct

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

development and publishing company. Originally CRL stood for "Computer Rentals Limited". It was based in King's Yard, London and run by Clem Chambers. at

World of Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colo ...

They released a number of notable adventure games based on horror stories. '' Dracula'' and ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

'' were rated 15 certificate by the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national clas ...

for their graphics depicting bloody scenes; Dracula was the first game to be rated by the BBFC. ''

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

'' was the first game to receive an 18 certificate, ''

Wolfman In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely o ...

'' also gained an 18 certificate. CRL-published games that achieved critical success include ''

Tau Ceti Tau Ceti, Latinized from τ Ceti, is a single star in the constellation Cetus that is spectrally similar to the Sun, although it has only about 78% of the Sun's mass. At a distance of just under from the Solar System, it is a rela ...

'' and ''

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

''. The 1984 game of the series ''

Terrahawks ''Gerry Anderson & Christopher Burr's Terrahawks'', usually referred to simply as ''Terrahawks'', is a 1980s British science fiction television series produced by Anderson Burr Pictures for London Weekend Television and created by the product ...

'' was one of the first video games based on a TV show.

Games

1982

* ''Rescue''

1983

*''3D Desert Patrol'' *''Alien Maze'' *''Bomber'' *''Caveman'' *''Crawler'' *''Derby Day'' *''Draughts'' *''Escape from Manhattan'' *''Galactic Patrol'' *''Grand National'' *''Jackpot'' *''

Lunar Rescue ''Lunar Rescue'' (ルーナー・レスキユー Runā Resukyū) is an arcade game released by Taito in November 1979. The gameplay has some resemblance to both Taito's own 1978 hit ''Space Invaders'' and Atari, Inc.'s ''Lunar Lander'' (release ...

'' *''One Day Cricket'' *''Pandemonia'' *''Test Match'' *''The Omega Run'' *''The Orb'' *''Space Mission'' *''Zaraks''

1984

*''£.s.d.'' *''Ahhh!!'' *''Cricket 64'' *''Glug Glug'' *''Handicap Golf'' *''Handy Andy'' *''Incredible Adventure'' *''Olympics'' *''Orpheus in the Underworld'' *''Show Jumping'' *''

'' *''The Great Detective'' *''The Magic Roundabout'' *''Tritz'' *''Whirlybird'' *''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' *''The Warlock's Treasure'' *''The Woods of Winter''

1985

*''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

'' *''

Bored of the Rings ''Bored of the Rings'' is a 1969 parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. This short novel was written by Henry Beard and Douglas Kenney, who later founded '' National Lampoon''. It was published in 1969 by Signet for the ''Har ...

'' *''Endurance'' *''

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

'' *''Juggernaut'' *''Space Doubt'' *''

'' *''The Causes of Chaos'' *''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

1986

*''

'' *'' Bugsy'' *''Doctor What!'' *'' Dracula'' *''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

'' *''

Pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

'' *'' Robin of Sherlock'' *''Room Ten'' *''Samurai'' *''

The Boggit ''The Boggit: Bored Too'' is a text adventure game by Delta 4 released in 1986 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum home computers. The game is a parody of the J. R. R. Tolkien novel ''The Hobbit'' and of the earlier game based upo ...

'' *''The Very Big Cave Adventure''

1987

*''Ball Breaker'' *''Book of the Dead'' *''Cyborg'' *''

Death or Glory Death or Glory may refer to: Music *"Death or Glory", an 1895 military march (also known as "Tenth Regiment March") written by Robert Browne Hall *Death or Glory (song), "Death or Glory" (song), a 1979 song by the Clash from the album ''London Call ...

'' *''Federation'' *''

'' *''From Darkness into Light'' *''I-Alien'' *''IQ'' *''

'' *''Jet-Boys'' *''Last Mohican'' *''Lifeforce'' *''Loads of Midnight'' *''Mandroid'' *'' Murder off Miami'' *''

Ninja Hamster ''Ninja Hamster'' is a 2D computer graphics, 2D fighting video game published by CRL Group, CRL for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. Gameplay ''Ninja Hamster'' plays like other fighting games. The player-controlled hamster is on o ...

'' *''Oink!'' *''Outcast'' *''Plasmatron'' *''Sun Star'' *''They Call Me Trooper'' *''Traxxion'' *''Vengeance''

1988

*''Ball Breaker II'' *''CounterForce'' *''Cyberknights'' *''Discovery'' *''

International Soccer ''International Soccer'', also known as ''International Football'' is a sports video game written by Andrew Spencer for the Commodore 64 and published by Commodore International in 1983. Originally only available on cartridge, CRL re-released the ...

'' *''Kellogg's Tour 1988'' *''NATO Assault Course'' *''Purple Heart'' *''Road Warrior'' *''Sophistry'' *'' Thunder Cross'' *''Time Fighter'' *'' To Hell and Back'' *''Trigger Happy'' *''

1989

*''Inner Space'' *''Lancaster'' *''Professional Soccer'' *''

Search for the Titanic ''Search for the Titanic'' is a graphic adventure developed by Codesmiths and IntraCorp and published by its subsidiary Capstone Software in 1989. It was released for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, then ported to the Commodore 64. Version ...

1990

*''Hellhole''

Unreleased

*''Enchantress'' *''Spearhead'' *''The Blues Brothers'' *''The Malinsay Massacre''

Software

*''Fifth'' (1983) *''Stargazer Secrets'' (1983) *''Highway Code'' (1984) *''3D Game Maker'' (1987) *''2D Game Maker'' (1988) *''Hi-Rise Scaffold Construction Set'' (Unreleased)

Platforms

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/ home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...

Amstrad PCW The Amstrad PCW series is a range of personal computers produced by British company Amstrad from 1985 to 1998, and also sold under licence in Europe as the "Joyce" by the German electronics company Schneider in the early years of the series' life. ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Commodore Plus/4 The Commodore Plus/4 is a home computer released by Commodore International in 1984. The "Plus/4" name refers to the four-application ROM resident office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, database, and graphing); it was billed as "the produ ...

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

Oric-1 Oric was the name used by UK-based Tangerine Computer Systems for a series of 6502-based home computers sold in the 1980s, primarily in Europe. With the success of the ZX Spectrum from Sinclair Research, Tangerine's backers suggested a ...

/ Atmos *

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

Notes

''Hercules'' was originally released in 1984 by Interdisc
''Bored of the Rings'' and ''Robin of Sherlock'' were originally released in 1985 by Delta 4
''Federation'' was originally released as ''Quann Tulla'' in 1985 by 8th Day Software
''International Soccer'' was originally only released on cartridge in 1983 by

Commodore International Commodore International (other names include Commodore International Limited) was an American home computer and electronics manufacturer founded by Jack Tramiel. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Mach ...

References

External links

*
The story behind the worst game ever made
{{CRL Group Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Video game development companies Video game publishers