Moritz the Striker
(Team Moritz, 2021)
Moritz the dog has travelled to Anfield stadium to do his bit to help Liverpool Football Club win matches. On each level, Moritz must retrieve a football and aim it into the net and score a goal. However, you may have to perform one or two other tasks first, and there are various characters and objects moving around the screen to be avoided; if you touch any of them, you’ll receive a yellow card. Receive eight yellow cards (eight?) and you’ll get a red card and the game ends. There are some beautiful screens displayed before the game loads, but the in-game graphics, while colourful, aren’t of the same standard, although there is a nice rendition of the “Here We Go” tune. Gameplay is what matters, though, and this is a nice, simple platform game that is much more entertaining to play than the official Liverpool football game for the CPC!
See also: Moritz on the Autobahn, Pink Pills: Manic Moritz and the Meds.
Morris Meets the Bikers
(Automata UK, 1984)
Morris the car is in a multi-storey car park and has to get out – but the Phantom, Phreaky, Phearsome Kamikaze Bikers from the constellation of Morris Minor are driving manically around the car park! Honestly, this is the actual scenario of the game! You have to use the lifts to collect ten coins, while warding off the Bikers with your horn, and avoiding the parking fees (represented by pink boxes) and other hazards. Because of the year the game was released, the graphics and sound effects are primitive, and the gameplay is very simple. It’s OK, but all the screens are the same, so it becomes repetitive.
Mortadelo y Filemón II
(Dro Soft, 1989)
One of Professor Bacterio’s experiments has gone wrong and the offices of TIA have been overrun with chickens! It’s up to the bungling duo of Mortadelo and Filemón (also known as Clever and Smart) to get rid of the chickens. In the first part of this wacky game, you control Filemón, and you must run around the building collecting chickens and bringing them to the roof, where Mortadelo will cook them. You have to avoid touching the flying eggs that the chickens lay and watch out for pigs who will knock you down. In the second part, Mortadelo is being chased by his boss, El Súper, and you must use your powers of disguise to transform into a variety of creatures (a ghost, a frog and a snake) to avoid walls, cars and flying objects. The first part is dull and plodding, and it takes place in total silence, but the second part is much better, with gorgeous, colourful graphics, a really pleasant tune, and entertaining gameplay.
See also: Clever and Smart.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
jgonza (part 1),
jgonza (part 2),
Retro Danuart.
Mot
(Opera Soft, 1989)
Mot is a monster who lives with a boy called Leo, and he has the ability to teleport to other worlds. This game consists of three parts, the first of which sees you as Leo in his house, attempting to lead Mot around the house to the portal that will take you and him to Mot’s world while trying not to annoy Leo’s parents too much. In the second and third parts, you control Mot in a vertically scrolling beat-’em-up where you must fend off all sorts of weird and wonderful enemies. The graphics are beautifully drawn and very well animated; the reactions of Leo’s parents in the first part are particularly amusing! Unfortunately the first part is quite frustrating to play, although thankfully the other two parts can be played without having to complete the first one.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
jgonza (introduction),
jgonza (part 1),
jgonza (part 2),
jgonza (part 3).
Moto Driver
(Loriciels, 1985)
You’re cruising around town on a motorbike and the police are pursuing you. This is actually a Pac-Man-style game in which you must wander around the town collecting dots and pearls while avoiding enemies, and of course, police officers who attempt to close in on you and your motorbike on each screen. It’s a really simple game with colourful but basic graphics, and if you’re playing it on anything other than a CPC464, there is only silence during the game. That said, it’s still decent enough to play, and you can configure the speed of the enemies, police officers and your motorbike to adjust the difficulty, but I’m surprised that Loriciels published it when you compare it with many of their other CPC releases from around the same time.
Moto X Simulator
(Code Masters, 1989)
Fancy testing your skills on an off-road scramble bike? Then try this. On each level there’s an obstacle course where you jump over logs, rocks and chasms, and a time trial section where you have to complete the course within a time limit. The graphics are all right, although the colours used are horrible, and the music is OK too. The sound effects are limited to the humming of your engine, and in fact, it looks like you’re doing about 10mph on the obstacle courses! It is let down by the game not being at all easy to get into – just getting your bike over the first obstacle can be a feat in itself.
Motor Massacre
(Gremlin Graphics, 1988)
Dr A. Noid has turned the Earth’s inhabitants into zombies by feeding them with the addictive food substitute Slu. A reward has been offered to stop him, so you decide to stop him. You must drive around three cities in your All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and explore buildings to find food, ammunition, extras for your ATV, and ultimately, a pass to enter the arena, where you participate in an all-out demolition derby and knock cars out of the arena. Survive this, and you can go to the next city. The graphics aren’t up to much, and for some reason, there are no sound effects on 64K machines (although there is a tune). There’s also quite a contrast in the difficulty; the city sections are easy, but the arena is quite tough, and making a single mistake in the arena can often mean the end of the game.
Motorbike Madness
(Mastertronic, 1988)
This game’s all about time trials, as you negotiate your dirt bike through an obstacle course within four minutes. Among the obstacles to be cleared are ramps, ladders, planks, rough ground, steep hills, and the odd Volkswagen Beetle as well, and there are seven courses. However, getting off the first course is impossible – your bike is difficult to control, and some of the obstacles require a ridiculous degree of precision. The isometric graphics are nice, and there’s a picture of your bike falling apart as you keep crashing, but the game is so difficult that it’s not worth bothering with.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
ChinnyVision.
Motos
(Mastertronic, 1987)
This is a game where you must bounce all the enemies off the platforms on each level, but they’ll also try to bounce you off! On later levels, you can collect power parts and jump parts to make things a little easier, and if your time gets short, holes will start appearing in the platform as you are shot at! The graphics are fairly colourful but still garish, and there’s a cool tune to go along with it. The range of enemies is also quite satisfactory, and all in all, it’s quite a lot of fun to play.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Amstrad CPC World.
Mountain Bike 500
(Code Masters, 1991)
Take to the mountainous terrain as you try to complete several gruelling courses within the time limit. Your mountain bike has all the latest technology, including an ultra-tough frame – and you’ll need it, as mastering the courses (and the controls) takes some time. The graphics are extremely detailed, although they’re in Spectrum-like monochrome, and the tune is irritating. It’s not a bad game by any means, but you do need a lot of perseverance if you’re going to see what the other courses are like.