Juliet Software – a name that is not normally a sign of quality. Unfortunately Antares is a good example of why their games tend to be best avoided. There are plus points – just about. The background graphics recall Uridium. It allows you to alter your altitude and game speed. The problem is that judging your altitude when viewed in 2D from above isn’t handled well and causes many a frustrating death. It also scrolls from right to left. Some won’t mind, but there’s a good reason why most shoot-’em-ups do it the other way around. The graphics are poor, and the scrolling, ship design and lack of colour offer a low quality experience, along with bargain basement sound. Play something like P47 Thunderbolt instead.
APB
(Domark, 1989)
Officer Bob has to get into his police car and catch litterbugs, drunks and speeders, as well as arresting criminals. Each day, you’re given a quota of offenders you have to catch, and every other day, there’s a criminal for you to look out for. You can also buy improvements to your car and collect doughnuts to give you extra time, and there are bags of money lying around, too – although they may be booby-trapped! The graphics are all right, and the sound effects are reasonable enough, but it’s a brilliant game; chasing cars is great fun! Unfortunately, there are a few annoying bugs.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
ChinnyVision.
In this very, very dull Sorcery-style adventure, you play the role of a wizard who must collect items and give them to other wizards in order to get a certain amount of silver rings. You fly so slowly across the screens that you could think you are crawling. The places you visit are inhabited by sundry creatures stupidly pacing up and down, and which come back when you have killed them anyway. If you happen to enter a room at the place where a monster is generated, you will lose all your lives at once. The graphics are not too bad, but that does not mean they are good either. The sole positive point is that you never really get annoyed by all the flaws in the game, because its slowness and its lulling tune soon make you sleep, and when you wake up, your time has run out and the game is over!
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
ChinnyVision.
The story of this game is original; a bubble begins its quest from the bottom of the ocean, and you need to guide it through the dangers of deep water to the liberty of the surface! The controls are rather simple and easy to learn. You should try not to touch the surrounding rocks and sea creatures because the bubble will lose energy. The graphics are cute and colourful and happy tunes that remind us of old songs play during the game, although you can also turn them off. The grab factor is high. The quest of the bubble and the adventures you can experience through it can make you want to try again and again to succeed in reaching the surface. Overall, this is a pleasant game based on an original idea and is well executed by CEZ Games Studio.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Metr81.
A pleasing and easy to get into maze game, similar to Pac-Man, with an underwater setting. Before playing, you can set the number of nasties and also the speed of play. Simply collect the dots (big ones double your score) while avoiding the sea life that is searching for its meal. There are swinging doors that alter the maze layout as you move around, adding some variety. Simple but colourful graphics and cheerful effects and tunes complete a fun (if dated-looking) little game.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Amstrad CPC World.
A colourful-looking game in which you dive into the depths of the ocean in search of adventure. Starting in your boat, you collect your air canister before jumping into the sea. A new screen loads which displays a bland-looking ocean with lethal fishing hooks that trap you and drain your energy. Reaching the bottom of this screen leads to a series of screens in which you dodge the sea life – one touch leads to game over. Reaching the sea bed leads to more variety in terms of visuals, which adds a little more interest. Sadly, you accidentally hit a fish and have to start all over again. A frustrating game that soon becomes boring.
Arachnophobia
(Disney, 1991)
A highly aggressive spider from South America has mated with local spiders, and the local town is infested with them! In each of the seven affected suburbs, there are fifteen houses that are literally crawling with these deadly spiders. Starting in any of the houses, you must locate and destroy the nest and use your ‘bugometer’ to find the house that contains the queen spider. Destroying it is much easier if you have the flamethrower, but you’ll need to find the right pieces first... The graphics are unbelievable and everything is superbly presented, although the difficulty level is high; if you’re bitten just four times, the game is over, although you can restart on the same level you died.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Xyphoe.
Arcade Flight Simulator
(Code Masters, 1989)
Code Masters certainly took things too far by tacking the word ‘simulator’ on to this game! It’s a very straightforward arcade game with three levels based on the three world wars, with varying scenery and planes for each level. You have to shoot down a certain number of enemy planes and bomb their base to progress to the next level. The graphics are actually very good and there’s some nice music on the menu, although the sound effects aren’t up to much. The game itself is pretty average and there’s little to do in it other than shoot planes.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
ChinnyVision,
Xyphoe.
Arcade Fruit Machine
(Zeppelin Games, 1990)
Fruit machines – you love them or you hate them, with all their flashing lights and reels. Of the few fruit machine games on the CPC, this one is actually one of the best, with lots of options to win (or much more likely, lose) some money. You start with 50p and insert 2p coins to get some credits and spin those reels. If you can light all nine letters, you can play one of six extra games where you can use your skill or luck. The graphics are very colourful and well drawn and the sound effects are really good, too – lots of lovely pinging noises.
Arcade Trivia Quiz
(Zeppelin Games, 1989)
If you’re a pub quiz regular, you might like this game. You and up to two other players can join in for several rounds of trivia questions, starting with £1 and hoping to win some money. Each round consists of five questions taken from five categories, and if you answer them all correctly, there’s a cash run where you can earn up to £5. Some of the questions may also reveal joker cards, although this is a more risky way of winning money. There are four question files to keep you going, but there’s not that much variety, and the many atrocious spelling mistakes spoil the game a lot for me. (The answer to the question in the screenshot is “newtonium”, by the way.)