L'Aigle d'Or: Le Retour
(Loriciel, 1992)

The Golden Eagle has been stolen again, this time by Nahmur, the grand priest of a sinister cult. However, he does not know how to master its powers, so he has broken it into several pieces. Not surprisingly, your mission is to recover all the pieces of the Golden Eagle. This is an arcade adventure which is set in the future. You can access information kiosks which allow you to read e-mails and news, and there are also weapons stores where you can exchange your weapon. If you find any safes, you might be able to open them; just listen very carefully as you turn the dial! The graphics and animation are both stunning, especially if you have a Plus machine; contrary to what some might say, this was the first non-cartridge game to utilise the Plus' extra colours. It's an intriguing game which mixes action and adventure elements well.

See also: L'Aigle d'Or.

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You've got to rescue five hostages held in an underground base somewhere in the Arizona desert, and you have to destroy some defence boxes as well. However, you have to do all of this in a very expensive helicopter - no, I can't work that one out either. The graphics are nothing special and the only sound effects are the constant drone of your helicopter blades, although a good tune plays throughout. The game is far too difficult, though; I mean, how on Earth do you fly a helicopter through such tight confines?

See also: Airwolf II.

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2

The programmers surely wanted to do something very different from Airwolf. And indeed, they managed to do so. But the result is still far from amazing. This game is a shoot-'em-up (which curiously scrolls from left to right), looking like Salamander or R-Type. But it's much less fun, as the playing window is very small and the graphics are Spectrum-like. You just have to blast your way through a bunch of aliens, guns and blocks that stand in front of you. Well, that's an average game, which can be rather enjoyable for a (short) while.

See also: Airwolf.

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6

A wizard has trapped Aladdin in a network of caves, and he must find his way out again. This is a platform game consisting of 16 screens, and in most of them, there are one or more objects to be collected. If you collect all of the objects in a room, you may be able to gain new powers, allowing you to transform into other creatures, such as a monkey, a bird or a genie - but although it is necessary to use these powers to complete the game, you can only use them in certain screens! This is a rather old game, so the graphics and sound effects are rather basic. However, the music is absolutely awful, although thankfully, it can be turned off, leaving you with a simple but enjoyable platform game.

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7

You and a friend can see how you fare at pool with this game - there doesn't seem to be an option to play against the computer, which is unfortunate - but at least you'll save money by not playing pool down the pub. You take shots by aiming a cursor and then selecting the force and spin. It's quite a well-implemented version of pool, and the game claims that it conforms to the rules of 8-ball pool, but the music on the title screen is rubbish!

See also: Alex Higgins World Snooker.

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7

Like Alex Higgins World Pool, you can't play snooker against the computer, which again is a bit of a shame, and you also take shots by aiming a cursor and selecting the force and spin. You can choose to play either 6-ball, 10-ball or 15-ball snooker if you want a shorter game. I like the score bar at the top of the screen - it's just like the real thing! However, actually putting the balls in the pockets is difficult and you're unlikely to score large breaks here - and once again, the music is awful!

See also: Alex Higgins World Pool.

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6

An alien is lurking somewhere within the spaceship Nostromo. The alien has hatched from the body of one of the seven crew members on board, but can the other six crew members kill it in time, before the ship returns to Earth or their oxygen supply runs out? This is a strategy game, and there is more than one way to complete the game. You can kill the alien using the weapons scattered throughout the ship, which is rather tricky; you can try to entice it to enter one of the airlocks and then hurl it into outer space; or you can rescue the ship's cat, Jones, set the auto-destruct sequence, get at least three crew members into the lifeboat, the Narcissus, and escape. The choice is yours. Thankfully, there's a short, easy scenario to let you learn the mechanics of the game. It's one of those games that takes time to learn, but the effort is worth it.

See also: Aliens, Aliens: US Version.

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7

A ship is heading towards a distant planet and its inhabitants, the Cryonaughts, have been frozen during the journey. You have to find 24 valves and the cryogenic chambers that they are to be plugged into before the ship reaches its destination. The ship contains lots of rooms, often filled with hazards and obstacles that you have to negotiate, and you might need a valve to climb over some walls. There are also several types of enemy, such as Dalek-like mice and clockwork mice, that you must avoid too! This is an old game, but it has stood the test of time well and is just as good today. The difficulty level might put people off, but perseverance will be rewarded in the end.

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Alien Highway
(Vortex, 1986)
Reviewed by Chris Lennard

Defeat the aliens again in this sequel to Highway Encounter. Once again you must guide the Vorton and its precious weapon; this time the Terratron, through 30 zones in an attempt to destroy the extraterrestrials' industrial complex. Avoiding the electrified edge of the road at all costs, you must get past the cunningly placed obstacles, whilst shooting the Zebs and any passing kamikaze aliens. Along the way you are also required to arm the bomb by picking up seven regeneration stations or otherwise it will fail to detonate. However what is a good, hard game is let down by MODE 1 graphics and poor sound.

See also: Highway Encounter.

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6

Nothing has been heard from the colony of LV-426 for some time, so Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley sends a team of five Colonial Marines to investigate - and her fears are well-founded, as the colony is now home to an army of aliens. Your aim is to find your way through the labyrinth of 255 rooms and kill the alien queen. The game (which is based on the highly successful film of the same name) mixes arcade and strategy elements - you'll be blasting a lot of aliens, but you need to work out a way of reaching the alien queen's chamber, and there are other rooms to explore as well. If you're not careful, one or more of your team might be captured or impregnated! It takes time to understand how the game is meant to be played, but you'll enjoy it once you do. The background music makes the atmosphere much more tense and eerie as well!

See also: Alien, Aliens: US Version.

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