Hydrofool
(FTL, 1987)
Sweevo has been called upon to clean up the planetary aquarium of Deathbowl, by removing four plugs and draining all the water away – but each of the plugs can only be removed if you find the correct objects. Furthermore, the plugs have to be removed in the correct order! Therefore, Sweevo has to explore the maze that is Deathbowl in search of the objects, while avoiding all the aquatic creatures that will drain his energy on contact. Most of them can be killed, but you will need to find the correct weapon, and the range of weapons is quite bizarre, as is the rest of the game! The graphics and animation are both wonderful, the music is a delight to listen to, and exploring Deathbowl is fun as well as challenging.
See also: Sweevo’s World.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
ChinnyVision.
Here’s a great arcade conversion and one of the best sports games for the CPC. You have to win six events – swimming, clay pigeon shooting, vault, archery, triple jump and weight lifting. Though it’s relatively easy to qualify for the early events, the game becomes more and more difficult as you progress. The graphics are really cute and the overall realisation of the game is flawless. The different events are varied and require much timing, but the difficulty level is just perfect. Unlike other sports games, it isn’t only about joystick waggling, even if your wrists are often aching...
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Xyphoe.
Hyperbowl
(Mastertronic, 1986)
If you’ve ever played one of those air hockey machines that you find in amusement arcades, then the format of this game will be familiar to you. You control a hover which you can use to move the puck, either by pushing it or shooting at it. You can also choose to play with a friend, or take on the computer in a tournament – and the computer is rather good! There’s not all that much to say about the graphics, but the high-energy music on the menu is absolutely marvellous.
Hyperdrive
(Juan José Martínez, 2022)
There are plenty of scrolling space shoot-’em-ups for the Amstrad CPC. This one attempts something different in the way that power-ups are obtained. Shooting an enemy spacecraft adds one to a counter called a chain, and if the chain reaches nine, a power-up or a smart bomb appears. However, if you don’t shoot an enemy quickly enough, or you use a smart bomb, the chain resets to zero. It’s an innovative approach, but you have only about two seconds to shoot an enemy before the chain resets, and in my opinion, it’s a major flaw. It’s not a problem on the first level, but on subsequent levels, I found it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain power-ups. It’s a shame, because the graphics and sound are of a high standard, but if you don’t have the ability to increase your firepower, then it feels like another run-of-the-mill shoot-’em-up.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
Amstrad CPC World,
Saberman,
XeNoMoRPH.
Hypsys is a top down, scrolling shooter split into two parts. The first part involves you piloting a hovercraft with one weapon – a gun turret located to the right of the craft – while in the second part, you pilot a helicopter. The scrolling flows smoothly but it slows down when there’s a lot going on screen-wise. Energy and ammo power-ups spring up occasionally but nothing else. Some good colour mixing in places makes you think that the CPC has suddenly developed a larger palette; this game is very colourful. However, there is no sound at all.