A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
In this very faithful version of the hit ultra-violent arcade game by Williams, you play as tough anti-drugs officer Max Force (with - in two-player mode - his buddy Hit Man... nice name) and, using your twin machine guns and rocket launchers, you set out to destroy the cities leading criminals and shut down the drugs empire KRAK once and for all. There are seven levels in the game, with you taking out a different criminal mastermind in each, culminating in a huge shoot-out with Mr. Big himself. I quite enjoyed this game. The graphics are good, the levels are varied (you can even hop into a Porsche on the third level to mow down the bad guys!), it's not too hard and it has a great two-player mode. On the down side, however, it plays rather slowly and there's absolutely no in-game sound at all, which is a great shame.
An enemy submarine has been sighted off the coast, and you've been sent in alone to capture it. The game comes in two parts; the first one sees you in a dinghy, jumping over mines to reach the submarine, and the second one sees you in the submarine, on the lookout for four officers who hold the codes to the submarine's computer. You're armed with a gun and a flamethrower and have to shoot soldiers on sight, and then search them for extra ammo or lives. Sadly, this is a typical Dinamic game; it's well-presented, but the first part is impossible to play. Thankfully that's not the case for the second part.
See also: Army Moves.
A helicopter crew of Navy SEALs, an élite American commando unit, has been kidnapped in Beirut by terrorists. A group of five of their comrades has been sent out to infiltrate the terrorists' headquarters, rescue the hostages and destroy their stockpile of Stinger missiles. This is a platform game which involves brains as well as brawn. The terrorists are heavily armed, and one shot from them will kill you - so you have to sneak up on them, make sure they haven't seen you, then shoot them before they do the same to you. This game was only released on cartridge, but it uses the Plus' extra facilities to good effect and is well worth playing, although be warned that it is very difficult; if it was a bit easier, I would give it a higher rating.
Several towers have popped up on the ocean planet Nebulus, and our hero has to reach the top of each one, starting from the bottom. Each tower is surrounded by staircases and lifts which you have to use. You also have to avoid the various monsters; running into one sees you tumbling to the bottom, usually into the ocean. The graphics are colourful and well animated, and there's a really nice tune to listen to as well. The game is a bit tough, but it's worth sticking with it.
Orbiting above Earth is the Necris-Dome, a graveyard for the dead now that there is no room for them to be buried on Earth. It is ruled by the Arch-Mandroid and his servants who have taken it over. You have been sent in a coffin along with the latest batch of arrivals and have to destroy the Arch-Mandroid and the Dome itself. This is a text adventure created using GAC and the accompanying pictures are OK, especially the picture of the Mandroid, but there is hardly any description of the rooms and experienced adventure fans might find it a little bit easy.
You are Kothar the mercenary, and your friend Balthar the Red has written a letter asking you for help. You decide to travel to the town of Stragla to find out what is going on - and it's very sinister indeed. A necromancer has brought terror to Stragla, and his hordes of lizard-men patrol the streets, bringing death and destruction to the town. This is one of those multiple choice text adventures, in which rather than entering commands and trying to guess the right ones, you choose one option from two or three. This makes it very easy to play (well, if you can read French), although the game is by no means easy to complete. The prose is well written and atmospheric, and it's one of those games in which you really want to explore further.
The spaceship EPIC has been infected by an alien lifeform, and the crew have sent an android called NEIL to clean the ship of aliens. Each room contains ten green aliens to be destroyed. There are also robots which leave cells behind them when they are shot; collecting them allows you to replenish your air supply or ammunition, which you will need to do frequently, or use a smart bomb which kills all the aliens in the room. The graphics are very good, but there's very little sound and no music, and the game is quite slow and slightly too difficult.
A shoot-'em-up that shares certain similarities with Salamander, you must save your planet from the evil Bacterions by piloting your spaceship at high velocity, shooting everything in its path. Wiping out groups of enemy fighters enables you to enhance your destructive capabilities by collecting the power-up icons left, which allow you to choose the type of upgrade from a menu. A visually simple looking game as befits the nature of it; your ship moves along at break-neck speed, which makes this somewhat of a challenge as enemy craft and defences frequently put you in a do or die situation. A competent conversion of a classic arcade game.
See also: Salamander.
Based on a story from the cult comic 2000AD, this game sees you playing the heroic warlock, Nemesis. Tired of your land suffering under the tyrannical rule of the evil Torquemada, you set out on a journey to the heart of his evil empire to overthrow him once and for all. Using your trusty sword Excessus or - if there is ammunition lying around - your gun, you must destroy a set number of Torquemada's Terminators on each screen, sometimes using their dead bodies as platforms, then find the exit (which can be anywhere) before you progress to the next level, of which there are 24 in total. Despite it being mercilessly difficult, I liked this game. The graphics are good (though slightly jerky), the spooky music is absolutely brilliant, and most importantly it's very addictive - I often find myself going back for one more go.
Based on the very well known book and film of the same name, this illustrated three-part text adventure sees you in the role of Atreyu, who must save the land of Fantasia from the Nothing that is destroying it. The screen layout is quite different from most other adventures; there's a graphical display in the top section of the screen showing a small picture and the objects you are carrying, with the text occupying the rest of the screen. It certainly looks very good, but the parser is very limited indeed, you can't examine any objects, and there is almost no character interaction! The scrolling and the speed at which the text is written to the screen is frustratingly slow as well, but despite all of these problems, it's actually not that bad, ableit not particularly challenging.
It's the year 2014 and an evil cult is brainwashing the people of New York, turning them into psychotic criminals. Only a brave duo remain on the path of law and order - the Warriors! And as if life wasn't bad enough being the only good guys in town, some rogue has planted a nuclear bomb at the top of the World Trade Centre, and it's your job to deactivate it (which, bizarrely, you do by shooting at it!). There isn't really much to recommend this game, not forgetting the terrible events of 11th September 2001 when the World Trade Centre was destroyed; it's fun for a while but the difficulty level means you won't be getting far without cheating. Also, the slowing down that occurs is pretty bad, especially in two-player mode. On the plus side, the graphics are reasonable - blocky but detailed - but it's not enough to save this game.
Some evil walrus (!) has stolen a whole bunch of kiwis - those flightless birds which are one of New Zealand's national emblems. However, they missed one, and now it's payback time as this kiwi grabs a bow and arrow and heads off for revenge, rescuing his kiwi buddies in the process. You control the lone survivor, jumping and waddling around the place, leaping from platform to platform as he journeys on a quest to rescue his fellow feathered folk. Each level is split into three stages; to complete a stage you need to find a caged kiwi and rescue it. At the end of the third stage, it's time to fight a giant boss before you can progress to the next level. It's a cute-looking game that's well worth playing.
In the war between Andromeda and Earth, a top secret weapon named NEXOR, after the planet it was developed on, is to be deployed by Earth's forces. However, the Andromedans have infiltrated the base and killed all of its workers - except you. You have three hours to find the ten pieces of the weapon and the blueprints, and send them to Earth using the matter transference beam - but you'll need to fix it first. This is an exploration game which is viewed in an isometric perspective. The complex has many floors and rooms, each containing hazards such as bombs, mines, and Andromedan robots. There's not a lot to make this game different from all the other isometric games that exist, although it's not that bad if you're a fan of the genre.
This is a Tron clone where you can play against either a friend or the computer. Like all games of its kind, the aim is to stay alive for as long as possible without crashing into the walls or the trails left behind by you and your opponent. Each player has four lives and losing a round means that you lose one of them. Eventually, someone will lose all their lives first, and the other player then wins. The graphics and sound effects are minimal in the extreme, and it'll keep you occupied for about five minutes - but no more than that; it's too easy to beat the computer.
Dracula is being hunted by Von Helsing, and on each of the ten levels, you, as Dracula, have to collect five keys and three parchments. You also have the ability to metamorphose into a werewolf, which allows you to jump over traps in the floor and on platforms, and a vampire bat, which allows you to fly over water and reach other areas of the level quickly. You will need to replenish your blood supply often by grabbing people and biting their necks, and on later levels, watch out for certain people who can kill you instantly with their weapons! This is a great platform game with some of the most beautiful and detailed graphics on the CPC, although some of the traps on platforms can be hard to spot, which can be annoying. Even so, it's still a really enjoyable game.
I don't know enough history to tell if these facts did really happen, but this is what the game's inlay says. Around 1941, Hitler's battleship Bismarck ruled the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, the allies created a torpedo bomber called Grumman Avenger. It carried a crew of three consisting of a pilot, an engineer and a tailgunner. Although the control panels are very detailed and realistic, the graphics are quite simple (you are supposed to be flying over the sea at night), and so is the sound. Due to things like these, I've never been too keen on flight simulators. Nevertheless, I must admit this one is quite good, as you take the place of all the crew members, and you can also choose among a lot of training and combat missions that will prepare you to confront the Bismarck and its escort.
See also: 1943.
This game is based on the Battle of Midway, which as all World War II historians will know, happened in 1942... but it would be a bit silly to release a sequel to 1942 which was called 1942, wouldn't it? Ah, well! This game sees you (and a friend if you want) in your P38 Lightning aircraft, taking on the might of the Japanese air force and navy on your own. The graphics and sound effects are better this time but I don't like the music very much. The biggest let-down, though, is that there are only four levels - after that, they just start repeating.
See also: 1942.
Princess Di-Di has been captured and held in the Palace of Pearls, and you're a ninja who is out to rescue her - but you will be confronted with an array of thugs, karate fighters and evil ninjas, and you have to collect idols as well. In each room you will encounter some enemies, and as you progress to higher floors of the building, you have to deal with more enemies in each room. Unfortunately, you only have one life and not a lot of energy to kill all the enemies. Collecting an idol restores your energy, but there's never one around when you really need it! The graphics are rather poor and there are few sound effects. It lacks variety as well and quickly becomes dull.
Take control of a ninja commando as you battle your way through eight horizontally scrolling levels, killing other ninjas with flying kicks, and leaping across platforms and chasms. While most enemy ninjas are unarmed like you, some of them have guns and other weapons. However, the game is too difficult. Killing enemy ninjas requires a ridiculous amount of precision; get your kicks even slightly wrong and you lose one of your five lives and are sent some way back along the level to start again. The graphics are not that bad, but it's a dull, run-of-the-mill beat-'em-up that everyone has seen before.
Ninja Hamster has returned to the village where he was born after many years away, but a gang of nasty creatures has overrun it, so he must take them on. The creatures have silly names like Sinister Rat, the Lizard of Death, Barmy Bee and Loony Lobster - great! Unfortunately, underneath all of this wackiness is a bland, repetitive single-screen beat-'em-up. On each level, you must battle against one of these mutant creatures, and you must knock him out six times before you can take on another opponent. The graphics are awful, and even hardened beat-'em-up fans will find this game quite disappointing - although the Oriental-themed music on the menu is worth listening to.
Amstrad Action's Adam Waring was responsible for this rather average maze game. You're a ninja and in each level, you have to find the exit, but you'll have to find keys and eat fruit to restore your energy that is constantly taken away from you by the armies of monsters attacking you. The graphics are reasonable and the music is quite good, and while the game is startlingly unoriginal (it's a blatant Gauntlet clone), it's OK if you want a quick game of something. There are also passwords for every five levels to help you.
Ever wondered how ninjas actually become those masked assassins we all know and love? Well, according to this game, they take part in a kind of Ninja Olympics to gain the title of Master Ninja. There are four events - punching and kicking arrows out of the air, breaking blocks of wood, deflecting shurikens with your sword and using your blowpipe to shoot darts into cans that fly past you. Progress through these and you start again but with a higher score to qualify. There's not much to it; you can only use the keyboard to play, and the graphics and sound are absolutely terrible, but it's still quite fun (for a while), and at least it tries something a bit different. Oh, and you'll need lightning reflexes to get past the third stage!
Ever wondered what it's like to ride on a Ninja Scooter? If so, then this is the simulator for you! Anyway, onto the review... and really there's not much to say. You control a ninja on a scooter, and must travel down the road, from left to right, avoiding obstacles and performing stunts, and then do the same, but this time from right to left. So this is what ninjas do in their spare time! The levels get progressively harder, but are never a real challenge, and you'll soon see the same levels cycling over and over, as you rack up a huge score. Graphics and sound are about average, but - here's the surprise - the game is actually a lot of fun and is unbelievably addictive! It's nothing ground-breaking and it's not a classic, but I like it anyway!
In the near future, the city is controlled by the evil dictator Bangler. Unable to live under his corrupt rule any longer, the people band together and build two robotic ninjas to go against Bangler's empire and bring it crashing down. As the blue Ninja Warrior (and the red one, if you've got a friend), you must traverse the six horizontally scrolling levels and dispose of any bad guy that comes your way using your twin blades and your limited supply of shurikens, and ultimately destroy Bangler in his lair. Despite good, colourful graphics and a nice title screen tune, this Vigilante clone is let down by being far too difficult. On top of that, it's quite monotonous, as all the levels are very long, look the same, and scroll very slowly. A disappointing ninja game.
One night, while riding your bicycle on your way home, you are kidnapped by aliens and you now find yourself on a spaceship, inside a metal room. When you escape from the room, you discover that the spaceship's mission is to collect animal specimens from Earth, but your mission is to return home. I didn't like this GAC text adventure at all. It's very hard to know what puzzles you're supposed to solve, and the game's vocabulary seems to be quite small. Even getting out of the first room is a problem - you are supposed to bash or kick the wall and then get the sunglasses from the man that appears, but hitting the wall doesn't work. The inability to examine any objects is also annoying, and most adventurers will find this game frustrating.
A giant artificial asteroid called Talos, controlled by Cyrus T. Gross, is wreaking havoc across the galaxy, and the Nemesis Organisation has hired a droid to penetrate the asteroid and destroy Gross. The asteroid consists of long, tortuous mazes filled with guns and missiles - a tricky combination, made even more so by the control method used to move your droid; getting it to go where you want is irritating. The graphics are good, but the sound effects are just white noise and the game is too difficult; you need more than three lives.
Becoming a knight has never been an easy task in computer games. In this one, you have to find your way out of a castle packed with monsters, carrying no weapons at all. You character moves through long corridors and rooms, getting to other floors helped by ropes scattered around the castle. The problem is that your character movements are a bit slow and jerky, and the enemies seem to come up from nowhere. Nevertheless, Nonamed has nice and colourful graphics, although a bit simple and small. This means that, although the game is reasonably enjoyable at first, it's too difficult to keep the player interested.
That's a difficult word to spell (it means 'neither of the earth nor the sea'), and the game is even more so. The citizens of the planet Nonterraqueous have sent a robotic seeker to destroy a computer which is currently in control. Getting started requires you to convert your seeker into something that can shoot lasers, and you also have to blow up the a barrier with a bomb to enter the main complex. However, if you touch any of the photon thrusters, you die instantly - and since they're usually tricky to avoid, this ruins the game. The maze is also far too big; I think there are over 500 locations!
See also: Into Oblivion, Soul of a Robot.
If you're French, you might know of a cartoon called Les Tuniques Bleues. This game is based on the cartoon and re-enacts the American Civil War. You can start from any year from 1861 to 1864, and this affects the amount of units and territory you own. The aim is to gain as much territory as possible and to wipe out all the enemy units by going into battle with them, where you and the enemy fight it out with cannons, infantry and horsemen! The graphics are nothing short of excellent and there's a great introduction sequence with an amazingly catchy tune. The fort and train attack sequences are a bit slow but that doesn't stop the rest of the game being fun, especially with a friend.
The North Star project involved building a gigantic food factory, orbiting above Earth and feeding its population. However, just as the project was nearly complete, aliens took over the factory - typical, huh? You have seen sent to the factory to kill the aliens and restore the life support systems. The action takes place over nine horizontally scrolling levels, each filled with platforms and aliens. It's standard fare, really, and the levels are rather short, but the aliens are just too hard to avoid, and the merest contact with any of them costs you one of your four lives. The graphics and music are both unbelievably spectacular, but the difficulty level severely mars what could have been a rather good game.
Earth has been reduced to a barren wasteland, and humans now live in underground cities that are powered by uranium. However, aliens from the planet Taroid have learnt about this and have come to invade Earth in order to steal the uranium. This game is a very simple shoot-'em-up where the aliens move from right to left across the screen, and you must shoot them with your helicopter before any of them reach the left of the screen and hit the barrier. Shoot enough aliens and you enter hyperwarp, where you must dodge the flying debris for a short while. The graphics and sound are very rudimentary indeed, and after a few goes, you'll want to play something else.
An original, if not slightly weird, game in which are a rollerblader who must collect a certain quota of jewels as you traverse the passing scenery in order to get to the next level, while taking care to avoid any passing obstacles and enemies out to harm you. Set out from the same perspective as Space Harrier and Eliminator, it can be quite hard at times as everything is generated randomly, so a fair amount of luck and skill is required - particularly in the later stages when the game is running faster and there are ever more objects on the screen. The music is quite irritating and the graphics are also somewhat limited.