Stormlord
(Hewson, 1989)

Rescue the fairies on each of the four levels before the night comes in. It's a tricky little game and no mistake – in fact, it's much too tricky, and completing the first level is an enormous feat in itself. It's colourful, and the fairies are rather sexy (and Amstrad Action laughably censored them when it appeared on their covertape). The wolf-whistles you hear when you walk past the large fairies are amusing, too. The music is also extremely good (although it doesn't play during the game itself), but even though you've got nine lives, the game is still too difficult, and a tight time limit only makes things worse.

See also: Deliverance.

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The evil Witch Queen has summoned a huge thunderstorm which is set to last for a hundred years and wreak havoc upon the kingdom. But as usual, only one person can stop her; the Prince of the Kingdom, who you control in this platform game. You must travel through the land and enter the Witch Queen's castle, and stop the Witch Queen from carrying out her plans. Throughout your travels, you encounter warriors with swords, and you have to fight them. For some reason, the number of hits it takes for you to kill them with your sword is entirely random! The graphics are beautiful, although the hardware techniques used may cause a few problems, and all the warriors look just like you; there are no other types of enemy other than a few gargoyles.

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Can you help Moosh to close the bridge between his world and the world that the evil Tsych inhabits, thus saving his people from doom? This is a puzzle game consisting of 32 deviously designed levels made up of tiles, most of which will disappear after Moosh moves to another tile. The aim is to guide Moosh from his starting position to the purple tile that marks the exit, and to remove all the tiles that can be removed. The first few levels are fairly easy, but it becomes quite difficult surprisingly quickly, although you are given passwords which enable you to skip earlier levels. This is the first totally new game on the CPC to see a commercial release for at least ten years, and I certainly welcome it. Although there is very little sound, the graphics are colourful and the game as a whole is very challenging.

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You're in a shopping centre with no clothes on (yes!), and have to find all your clothes before you can leave again. However, there are thieves about who will steal your clothes and other objects you're carrying, although you can prevent this by giving them the correct object. You'll need also need to sneak into some of the shops when they're closed. This is a strange game, but when you try and play it, you will scream. The game is slower than an arthritic tortoise, the graphics are worse than terrible, and what sound there is is rubbish. It really is an absolutely useless game!

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The West Siders have threatened to take over Joe's gym, so Joe hires six men to see if they can beat the stuffing out of them. Before they can set out on to the streets, the six men have to undergo training to see if they're up to standard. The first part is a joystick-waggling session where you must get your men to qualify by punching the bag as much as they can within eight seconds. The second part is where you fight the West Siders, although there's not much you can do to prevent them slaughtering you, and the moves are limited. The tune is quite good, although the graphics are much better on the first part than the second; it's a shame that there's not much of a game in there.

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4

Play a rough and tough five-a-side game of football in the street. Each team selects five players (although it doesn't make any difference as to which faces you choose), and then it's time to kick off. This game is really nothing to get excited about. The graphics are ugly and monochrome, and although there is some mediocre music on the main menu, there are no sound effects at all during the actual game. Worst of all is that it is ludicrously easy to beat the computer; grabbing the ball of an opponent is really simple to do, and you'll quickly find a way to score goals again and again. In fact, I won my first game 25-3! The players move quite slowly as well. In summary, it's an awful game.

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Street Fighter
(US Gold, 1988)
Reviewed by Chris Lennard

This little known beat-'em-up pales into comparison to its sequel – remember all the fuss that Amstrad Action made over Street Fighter II, which was ultimately never released on the CPC? No choice of player, though; you are left with the diminutive Ryu to travel the globe in a series of bouts to determine who is the 'world warrior'. You and your opponent face each other in front of a luscious landscape while you proceed to knock the crap out of him/her using the variety of moves available to you. A health bar at the top of the screen indicates your progress or lack of it. Good large sprites, but rather garish colours. It's also too easy up to the final confrontation with Saigat, who is way too difficult.

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5

Another beat-'em-up that has you playing the usual cool customer out to beat up various gangs. Basically, the back of the box tells the whole story; "Kick and punch your way through New York City's violent crime-ridden streets". But despite its lack of originality, theres something I like about this game. The graphics are quite colourful and cartoony, and are a breath of fresh air from the usual seriousness of this type of game. The hero actually looks quite geeky, and the villains come in all sorts of interesting guises. Another nice touch is an end-of-level bonus stage where you open one of three bins for the chance to win an extra life – and they are much needed, because this game is pretty tough! Overall, not the best game of its type, but fairly enjoyable nonetheless.

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5

A football game with a difference – it's played in your own back yard! Two gangs have gathered for a fun game of football, but there aren't many rules, and if either side scores a goal, the two gangs may start a fight with each other. This involves lots of silly remarks filling up the screen – "Goal!", "No it wasn't", "Yes it was", "Not even near", "Wanna fight about it?", etc. It's not so much the tricky controls as the fact that this game takes itself too seriously. It does have some really kicking music, though.

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4

This is a driving game viewed from above, where you race your rally car around a track in the shortest time. The course takes you through towns and countryside, and forests and lakes. The car can be difficult to control, particularly on the second and third stages where you'll be driving in rain and snow respectively. Eventually your car will break down and you have a minute to fix your car; if any part of the car has more than 80% damage, you won't be allowed to continue. It takes a while to learn how to control the car, but it's really not a bad game at all, and the graphics, while fairly simple, are still colourful – and the lightning effect on the second stage is nice, too!

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