Guillermo Tell
(Opera Soft, 1989)
Guillermo Tell (or William Tell in English) was a Swiss hero from the 14th century, who famously shot an apple perched on top of his son’s head using his crossbow. In this game, Guillermo Tell must traverse the Swiss mountains to rescue the beautiful lady Brunegilda, who has been captured by the evil Sir Rudolph. However, his many henchmen are ready and waiting to ambush Guillermo throughout his journey. This game requires MHT’s Gunstick; unfortunately, it cannot be played using the keyboard or joystick. The graphics are beautiful and full of colour, but the game is let down by being frustratingly difficult. Your ammunition is very limited, and there are so many enemies and missiles on the screen that you are overwhelmed.
This colourful-looking game involves shooting ducks as they fly by. The hunters take it in turns to aim at the ducks; a direct hit allows you another shot at them. If your shooting skills are spot on, you control your loyal pet dog and collect the bird and take it to the basket. Sometimes the bird may fall on the other side of the river which means your poor mutt must brave the water and obstacles. The game ends when the timer runs out and the hunter with the most kills wins. An old game, with basic sound and graphics, that is fun for a while.
This is a really impressive game on the PC – but this is the CPC version and it can be filed in the drawer marked “too ambitious and needed more care”. It’s one of those games that wishes to simulate being part of a crew aboard a military vessel – in this case, the aforementioned gunboat. You can pilot the boat (which isn’t that fun) or you can shoot things (but please be careful not to cause collateral damage). There are various campaigns to take part in as you progress and practise options. The very small display is by design as the game wants you to feel the claustrophobic atmosphere of being on board such a small boat, but it makes play awkward. The bobbing effect is good and so too are the graphics representing your guns and pilot’s helm, but not the outside world. Whether you’re piloting or shooting, the game can feel a little awkward, which is a shame because there is a good game in here somewhere.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
XeNoMoRPH.
Gunboat
(Piranha, 1987)
Penetrate the enemy waterways in your gunboat and find and destroy four naval bases. The waterways are very heavily fortified and you will be subject to a barrage of hostile fire from warships, helicopters and gun turrets, and you must also watch out for mines. Your gunboat is equipped with a cannon, missiles, torpedoes and depth charges, and you’ll need to know which weapon to use against particular enemies. You won’t get many chances to use them, though, because your gunboat is bombarbed by so much enemy firepower that you’ll be lucky to survive for more than a couple of minutes! The gunboat is also very difficult to control properly, and with so many enemies attacking you simultaneously, slowing down to position yourself to fire at an enemy is almost inevitably lethal. It’s a terrible and immensely frustrating game to play.
You’re the Sheriff, and your town has fallen under attack from outlaws who have gained the deeds to several buildings. You must take out these criminals in the only way they respect – gun fights. There’s reward money, too, which can be gambled with or used to gain an extra life. Be careful with your gun, though, as you only have six bullets – your office has fresh supplies. I found this a simple yet acceptable game with simple graphics and sound. It can get a little repetitive, though, and there isn’t a horse in sight!
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Xyphoe.
Gunfright
(Ultimate Play the Game, 1986)
Sheriff Quickdraw has come into town to clear it of the gunslingers that are roaming about – and earn a lot of money as well. Each one has to be found first, though, and this Wild West town is rather big. You must avoid bumping into any of the townfolk, although some of them may be able to point in the direction of the criminal and help you in locating him. When you have found him, you must shoot at him to grab his attention, before taking part in a showdown, in true Wild West fashion. Make sure your gun is fully loaded, though! This is a very good game with lots of excitement and some great sound effects, although it would be better if you had more than three lives.
Gunship sees you taking command of an Apache AH-64 helicopter. At the start of the game there are many options to choose from, including the ability to save/load, train, select a mission, and the ability to alter various difficulty settings for flying, landing and weather, which is a really good feature to make the game more accessible. You are given intelligence and a briefing and then you start your selected mission. The 3D graphics are OK with some good topography, and I like the wireframe pictures of enemy tanks that appear on your cockpit display. There is no music, but the helicopter, gun and explosion sounds are good. This is an accessible flight simulation for those new to the genre.
Gunsmoke
(Topo Soft/US Gold, 1987)
Angel Face and four of his henchmen have entered a Wild West town, and as the sheriff of the town, you’ve got to track them down and shoot them. This is a vertically scrolling shoot-’em-up in which you simply shoot all the cowboys and Mexicans which come towards you. However, the odds are stacked against you; you can’t turn around or move backwards, so if there are any enemies behind you, it’s usually difficult to avoid them and their bullets. You can also collect stars which give you extra lives or points – or a bomb! This Spanish game (which is known as Desperado over there) has colourful graphics and great music and presentation – the loading screen and the end credits when you complete the game are brilliant – but the gameplay isn’t as good.
See also: Desperado 2.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
Retro Danuart (Desperado),
Xyphoe (Gunsmoke).
Gunstar
(Firebird, 1987)
Another below average space shoot-’em-up. In this one, there are five stages, seeing you controlling one of three Gunstar pilots and blasting aliens large and small, and flying through asteroid fields. It’s all in a day’s work when you’re a Gunstar. On the fifth and final stage, you must dock with your mothership, and if you succeed in doing that, you go back to the first stage to do it all over again! The game itself is pretty difficult; if you lose a life, you must restart on the first stage. While the graphics are nicely done, both the scrolling and animation are a bit slow, and alien bullets are often too easy to miss in all the chaos. There’s nothing original at all and there are much better games like it.
Gutter
(Ere Informatique, 1985)
Control a ball running along a gutter, and move it left and right to hit the kings, queens and jesters, while avoiding the axemen and monks. You’ll lose one of your three lives if you touch an axeman, while touching a monk sends you all the way back to the start of the gutter, which is not funny when you’ve progressed so far. There’s a guide on the right of the screen which shows you how far along the gutter you are. The concept is really simple, but despite the colourful graphics and jolly tune, the game soon becomes very repetitive.