NEIL Android
(Alternative Software, 1988)
The spaceship EPIC has been infected by an alien lifeform, and the crew have sent an android called NEIL to clean the ship of aliens. Each room contains ten green aliens to be destroyed. There are also robots which leave cells behind them when they are shot; collecting them allows you to replenish your air supply or ammunition, which you will need to do frequently, or use a smart bomb which kills all the aliens in the room. The graphics are very good, but there’s very little sound and no music, and the game is quite slow and slightly too difficult.
A shoot-’em-up that shares certain similarities with Salamander, you must save your planet from the evil Bacterions by piloting your spaceship at high velocity, shooting everything in its path. Wiping out groups of enemy fighters enables you to enhance your destructive capabilities by collecting the power-up icons left, which allow you to choose the type of upgrade from a menu. A visually simple looking game as befits the nature of it; your ship moves along at break-neck speed, which makes this somewhat of a challenge as enemy craft and defences frequently put you in a do or die situation. A competent conversion of a classic arcade game.
See also: Salamander.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by: ChinnyVision.
Based on a story from the cult comic 2000 AD, this game sees you playing the heroic warlock, Nemesis. Tired of your land suffering under the tyrannical rule of the evil Torquemada, you set out on a journey to the heart of his evil empire to overthrow him once and for all. Using your trusty sword Excessus or – if there is ammunition lying around – your gun, you must destroy a set number of Torquemada’s Terminators on each screen, sometimes using their dead bodies as platforms, then find the exit (which can be anywhere) before you progress to the next level, of which there are 24 in total. Despite it being mercilessly difficult, I liked this game. The graphics are good (though slightly jerky), the spooky music is absolutely brilliant, and most importantly it’s very addictive – I often find myself going back for one more go.
Something of a rarity on the Amstrad CPC – a real-time strategy game. It’s played from an isometric 3D perspective. The game has you creating a robot army, capturing bases and battling other robots. There are two really neat things that stand out. One is the different robot permutations. The other is that you can directly control your robot as well as give it orders and rely on the AI. Graphically it’s nicely detailed with adequate scrolling and an OK tune plays on the title screen. It’s good to see this sort of game represented on the CPC.
In this game you are trapped in the Netherworld. Your only exit from this hellish place is by collecting crystals that open up the next zone. Your ship moves around a four-way scrolling area, where it encounters all kinds of devious creatures. A time limit is set for each zone, but thankfully, shooting the creatures reveals power-ups that will help you. The graphics move smoothly and are colourful, and the audio is good too.
The NeverEnding Story
(Ocean, 1985)
Based on the very well known book and film of the same name, this illustrated three-part text adventure sees you in the role of Atreyu, who must save the land of Fantasia from the Nothing that is destroying it. The screen layout is quite different from most other adventures; there’s a graphical display in the top section of the screen showing a small picture and the objects you are carrying, with the text occupying the rest of the screen. It certainly looks very good, but the parser is very limited indeed, you can’t examine any objects, and there is almost no character interaction! The scrolling and the speed at which the text is written to the screen is frustratingly slow as well, but despite all of these problems, it’s actually not that bad, albeit not particularly challenging.
It’s the year 2014 and an evil cult is brainwashing the people of New York, turning them into psychotic criminals. Only a brave duo remain on the path of law and order – the Warriors! And as if life wasn’t bad enough being the only good guys in town, some rogue has planted a nuclear bomb at the top of the World Trade Center, and it’s your job to deactivate it (which, bizarrely, you do by shooting at it!). There isn’t really much to recommend this game, not forgetting the terrible events of 11th September 2001 when the World Trade Center was destroyed; it’s fun for a while but the difficulty level means you won’t be getting far without cheating. Also, the slowing down that occurs is pretty bad, especially in two-player mode. On the plus side, the graphics are reasonable – blocky but detailed – but it’s not enough to save this game.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by: ChinnyVision, Xyphoe.
Some evil walrus (!) has stolen a whole bunch of kiwis – those flightless birds which are one of New Zealand’s national emblems. However, they missed one, and now it’s payback time as this kiwi grabs a bow and arrow and heads off for revenge, rescuing his kiwi buddies in the process. You control the lone survivor, jumping and waddling around the place, leaping from platform to platform as he journeys on a quest to rescue his fellow feathered folk. Each level is split into three stages; to complete a stage you need to find a caged kiwi and rescue it. At the end of the third stage, it’s time to fight a giant boss before you can progress to the next level. It’s a cute-looking game that’s well worth playing.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by: Axelino, ChinnyVision, jgonza.
NEXOR
(Design Design, 1986)
In the war between Andromeda and Earth, a top secret weapon named NEXOR, after the planet it was developed on, is to be deployed by Earth’s forces. However, the Andromedans have infiltrated the base and killed all of its workers – except you. You have three hours to find the ten pieces of the weapon and the blueprints, and send them to Earth using the matter transference beam – but you’ll need to fix it first. This is an exploration game which is viewed in an isometric perspective. The complex has many floors and rooms, each containing hazards such as bombs, mines, and Andromedan robots. There’s not a lot to make this game different from all the other isometric games that exist, although it’s not that bad if you’re a fan of the genre.
This is an interesting game that nearly works out but doesn’t quite make it. Plus points include funky music which ties into the theme of the game quite well, a cool James Bond-style jet ski riding intro, some nice animation with a variety of moves for your character, and even digitised pictures of the characters you meet, so no lack of effort has been made. It’s just that the infiltration mission, which involves mass searching of rooms, isn’t very exciting. When starting the game it’s tempting to unleash the martial arts moves straight away but it isn’t that sort of game and requires a more measured approach. Still, there is no lack of ambition on show here.