![\"Blue](\"https:\/\/media.wired.com\/photos\/6951918247cd923307848ad7\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/Commodore-64-Ultimate-menu-Reviewer-Photo-SOURCE-Matt-Kamen.jpg\"\/)
<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\nPhotograph: Matt Kamen<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n Boot up the C64U, and you\u2019re greeted by a re-creation of the C64\u2019s menu. Here, you can type in operation commands just as you would back in the day, using the BASIC<\/a> programming language. Problem: I don\u2019t have the first clue about BASIC. However, in what is possibly the greatest throwback of all, the C64U comes with a spiral-bound, 273-page user guide<\/a>. It is an absolute tome<\/em>. Somewhat surprisingly, it\u2019s not a reprint of anything that came with the original, but rather a tailored guide to what the C64U does, where it differs from the C64, and how to get to grips with the computer\u2019s capabilities. Equal parts history book and instruction manual, it starts out teaching you some simple commands and builds up to teaching you how to code. I\u2019m still very much working my way through it, but that tactile approach\u2014referring to the book, trying something out on the computer, back and forth\u2014is a great touch.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t fancy having to do homework, the C64U\u2019s own default menu, accessed at any time with a flick of the multifunction power button on the right-hand side of the unit, is a simple list of options and settings. Hit RETURN to go into any section\u2014say, \u201cVideo Setup\u201d to adjust whether the C64U outputs in original resolution, in PAL or NTSC modes (surprisingly important, given some games will only work with one display standard or the other), or a crystal clear 1080p with scanlines removed\u2014and back out to save any changes to the system\u2019s flash memory. It\u2019s still a minimalist approach, but feels fairly intuitive.<\/p>\n This is also where you can start playing around with some of the other modern touches of the C64U, like how to leverage its far greater power. Well, \u201cgreater\u201d in comparison to 1982. Spec-wise, this isn\u2019t going to threaten any more modern machine, but running on an AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA chip and packing 128-MB DDR2 RAM\u2014compared to the 64 KB of the C64\u2014it blows its inspiration out of the water. While at baseline it replicates the performance of the 1982 hardware, meaning it operates as if there\u2019s only the original 64 KB were there, you can menu-dive to activate a virtualized RAM Expansion Unit, or activate a \u201cTurbo Boost\u201d to accelerate the clock speed to a lightning-fast (in this particular context) 64 MHz.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nHidden Upgrades<\/h2>\n