Micro Sapiens
(Ere Informatique, 1985)
Knowledge of French is required in order to play this game properly.
Test your knowledge of French vocabulary in this game for up to four players. In each round, one player moves an alien around the screen collecting letters, while being chased by a tentacled monster. Each letter is worth a certain number of points, just like the Scrabble board game. Once eight letters are collected, or the monster eats the alien, the letters are presented and all the players have a limited amount of time to combine them to form a word. When the time runs out, each player enters their word, and the player with the highest scoring word earns points. The game is written mostly in BASIC and it shows, particularly during the section in which you collect letters. The graphics and sound effects are very primitive, and the computer’s vocabulary seems quite limited and doesn’t recognise many common French words.
Microball
(Alternative Software, 1988)
Here’s a colourful, exciting and fun pinball game. Up to four players can play and see who gets the highest score. As with all pinball tables, it’s got the usual bells and whistles, and it’s got that crucial factor; it’s fast and furious. The disadvantages are that there’s only one table and you can’t tilt the table, but in my opinion, these are minor drawbacks. The graphics, while relatively simple, suit the game well, and the sound effects are good too. In short, it’s good.
This is the ideal game for adventure fans seeking their latest little big adventure, as it’s set in the land of the giants. Puns out of the way, this game is inspired by classic sci-fi – the type where an experiment goes awry leaving the hero to deal with the consequences. In this case you’ve been brought down to size – literally. All of a sudden, the mundane and familiar becomes a puzzle to overcome. The game contains graphics which are simply drawn but still nicely done, and the situations you find yourself in can be quite funny. The difficulty level is reasonable and the original setting for a game of this type makes it a winner.
Barring the small screen size and poor Spectrum-like colour scheme, sprites and graphics, MicroProse Soccer has all the elements of a fun football game. There are plenty of options such as whether to play a 6-a-side or 11-a-side tournament or take part in the World Cup. Some nice tunes play on the menu screens on 128K machines, but unfortunately there are only a few beeps during the game. A really well laid out and presented set of menus and tables adds to the enjoyment as you watch how all the teams are progressing. MicroProse Soccer has a lot of fun elements, such as the adjustable banana curve meter allowing you to score miraculous goals, and you can change the length of each game and add weather such as rain; the lightning effect is pretty cool. I found myself playing this over and over again.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Xyphoe.
An enemy group has kidnapped your entire family in order to blackmail you so that you can be coerced to their whim. However you decide to arm yourself to the teeth, commando-style, and with a friend’s attempt to rescue them from their captors in this action shoot-’em-up. You guide our intrepid hero through side scrolling screens of pretty much shooting anything or anyone that stands in your way. Special weapon upgrades can be bought from shops via the tokens collected from your dead enemies. These prove most useful, as your defences are limited to one hit only. Graphics are detailed, but are of Spectrum quality. However, they don’t detract from a faithful arcade conversion with bags of gameplay.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Xyphoe.
MiG 29 Soviet Fighter
(Code Masters, 1989)
The MiG-29 is a Russian-built single-seater fighter aircraft, and you’re flying on a series of missions to bomb tanks and shoot enemy fighters and helicopters – although it’s unclear who the enemy is. You’ve got four types of weapons at your disposal, and after the second mission, you can collect an H-bomb and use it – wow! It’s a shame that the controls are a bit awkward, as you have to cycle through the list of weapons to get the one you want, while at the same time trying to dodge enemy fire. The graphics are mediocre and the music and sound effects are poor, too.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
ChinnyVision,
Xyphoe.
MiG Busters
(Players, 1990)
Take to the skies in your F-16 Fighting Falcon and shoot down Russian MiG fighters. This is a fairly easy shoot-’em-up, but I rather like it, actually. You view the back of the plane as it flies ‘into’ the screen, shooting away at the planes and helicopters as they fly towards you. You’ll need to replenish your ammunition regularly by flying into the boxes on the ground – hmmm! After each of the six levels, your plane is upgraded, and you do notice the difference. The graphics are reasonable, even if the scenery is rather lacking, and the sound effects are reasonable. As I’ve already said, it is easy but enjoyable.
Mike Gunner
(Dinamic, 1988)
Mike Gunner is the best detective in the country. His latest assignment sees him in the city of Robbland, which has been taken over by armed criminals. This is a target shooting game which can be only played using MHT’s Gunstick; it cannot be played using the keyboard or joystick, which is a shame. The game consists of just two levels. The first level takes place in Central Park, while the second level is set in Killing Street – nice name! On each level, you must gain 25,000 points by shooting the criminals, while not shooting at policemen or innocent civilians. The first level is fairly relaxed – in fact, it’s a bit too relaxed – but the second level is much more hectic and a lot more fun. The graphics are excellent, and despite the problems with the first level, this is arguably one of the best games for the Gunstick.
Mike Read’s Computer Pop Quiz
(Elite, 1988)
Mike Read was a household name in the UK for many years, presenting many radio and TV programmes. One of these was Pop Quiz, in which two teams containing pop stars took part in a quiz answering questions related to music. This game is based on the quiz and can be played against the computer or a friend. Each team selects three pop stars, each of whom has their own specialist type of music, and you simply answer questions in each of the rounds. The digitised graphics are pretty good, but even if you’re a big fan of 1980s music, you’ll probably find sitting through endless questions a bit tedious.
Mike the Guitar is an old-fashioned platform game where you control Mike, a guitar that has to collect eight plectrums. The whole scenery takes place on a musical sheet. It is a rather basic but nevertheless amusing little game that will transport you into the pre-1985 gaming era. There are no levels and everything is basic, from the graphics to the gameplay. It is not the easiest game, though, but it definitely offers the player some enjoyable time. I found it quite amusing and I also liked the concept. Overall, it is an original idea that deserves some attention.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
Saberman.