Wild Streets
(Titus, 1990)

The head of the CIA, John Steven, has been kidnapped, and you have been sent to rescue him. You also have a companion in the form of a panther called Black Virgin - although as you'll find out, he (she?) is of almost no use! There are five levels, each one filled with gang members to beat up, but you can simply jump over them to the next screen without having to fight them. The only criminals you will need to kill are those on the last screen of the level, and you can use your gun to dispose of them easily. Once you've rescued Mr. Steven, you must retrace your steps. The graphics and music are both of a high standard, but it's far too easy to complete. As for the cartridge version, the choice of colours is better and the game is a bit faster, but it's not much of an improvement and is just as easy to complete.

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5

Seymour is starring in his second movie, but once again, the film has been sabotaged by a man called El Bandeeto, and all of the studio team's equipment has gone astray! You have to find all of it and then travel across America to shoot the rest of the film. Unfortunately, many of the objects have rather obvious uses and the puzzles aren't exactly taxing, although there is one crafty trick in Act 3! The inclusion of the Game Genie only makes things even easier, and the tunes are extremely grating to listen to. It is a reasonable game, though; it's just that bit too easy.

See also: Sergeant Seymour Robotcop, Seymour at the Movies, Stuntman Seymour, Super Seymour Saves the Planet.

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Can Chang find his way to the Mandarin's palace and flee with the beautiful princess, Koong-Shee, or will he killed by the many samurai warriors within the maze? This is a nice, simple little maze exploration game which involves wandering through a maze which is decorated with Oriental scenery, eventually reaching the palace. There are a lot of swords scattered throughout the maze, but it's better to coax the samurai warriors into throwing their swords at you, getting out of their way, and collecting their sword. There is a little sub-game which involves jumping over stepping stones which disrupts the flow a bit, but this is a minor annoyance. The graphics are very colourful indeed and there's some Oriental music as well. Overall, this is a wonderful game.

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8

Willy Wino is clearing all the bottles away after a massive booze-up. Having recovered from a hangover, he sets about gathering the bottles and avoiding aliens and spikes. You don't actually have to collect all the bottles, although you might need to collect all the bottles on a screen to open some doors. It's a simple and colourful platform game that is really rather enjoyable at first, and the sound effects are jolly, too. Once you reach the second level, this enjoyment disappears as you discover that it's too difficult.

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6

Imagine a very simple flight simulator with the graphic appearance of a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up, and you have Wings of Fury. The game seemed quite appealing at first, as the simulation touch made me expect an original game. Besides, the action takes place during World War II, which is always a good thing, at least for me. After a few tries, I took off and found that this game, being a sort of toy simulator, lacks the action other games have (just take a look at P-47: The Freedom Fighter), but doesn't offer anything really interesting in return. As a result, Wings of Fury is simply a curious game with rather dull gameplay.

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5

Winter Games
(US Gold/Epyx, 1986)

You're an athlete in the 1988 Winter Olympics, which took place in Calgary in Canada. You and up to three other players can compete in seven events - hot dog aerials, the biathlon (cross-country skiing and rifle shooting), speed skating, figure skating, the ski jump, free skating, and the bobsled. Understandably, everyone will find some events to be more appealing to them than others. I didn't like the figure skating or free skating events at all, but the other five events are great fun to play as you try to perfect them and beat the records. The graphics are a mixture of low- and medium-resolution, but in the four events where the high-colour, low-resolution mode is used, they are absolutely stunning - some of the best you'll see on a CPC.

See also: California Games, Summer Games.

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8

Your nasty boss, Mr. Crisp, has asked you to deliver an envelope to the Magick Shoppe in the village of Festeron. But the woman who runs the shop has had her cat kidnapped by The Evil One, and she wants you to find the cat - but when you walk out of the shop again, Festeron has become a totally different place... A glow-in-the-dark stone (Wishbringer itself) was included with the game - very cool! - and you can use Wishbringer with other objects to make up to seven wishes. However, the aim is ultimately to try to complete the game without using any of them. This is intended to be an introductory adventure and experienced players will not find it very taxing, but it's still a very good, and rather surreal, adventure.

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8

Wizard's Lair
(Bubble Bus, 1985)

Pothole Pete was exploring when he came across the mysterious Wizard's Lair - but in order to escape, he has to find the four pieces of the Golden Lion, and reach the top level of the lair. His task is made harder by the many monsters lurking in all the rooms. The range of objects to be found and collected is almost as enormous as the lair itself, and it's easy to miss a section which might contain part of the Golden Lion. The graphics are good with some very clever use of colour mixing, and the sound effects are average. There's so much to discover in this game, though, and that's what I like so much about it. It's a game you can really keep coming back to.

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9

Surely a contender for Game With the Most Unintentionally Funny Title, Wizard Willy has you in the role of a young trainee wizard who sets out to rid the land of demons. The game itself is a traditional side-scrolling platformer-cum-shoot-'em-up, and the graphics are great - very detailed and colourful. The sound effects are spot on too (lots of lovely explosions!) but with graphics and sound on such a high level, something's got to give. And that something is the ridiculous slowdown that occurs when too many bad guys are on screen. Add to that the mind-blowing difficulty of the game (it's hard even by Amstrad standards!), and the fact that despite its nice visuals, it's actually really boring, and you have a pretty dire game.

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3

Wizball
(Ocean, 1987)

The wizard Zark has eliminated all colour from Wizworld and left it grey. As Wizball, you and your faithful sidekick Catelite have come to restore colour to the nine levels of Wizworld. This is done by shooting red, green and blue bubbles and collecting the droplets from them and obtaining enough of each to make the right colours. You also have to collect green pearls and use them to give Wizball more power. There are only three types of monster, and it's extremely frustrating when you get stuck in the scenery and can't get out. Still, it's an original concept for a game and one which is hugely enjoyable.

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