Screenshot of Superman: The Game

Superman: The Game

(Telecomsoft, 1986)

Reviewed by Pug

Darkseid, a powerful supervillain, has invented the deadly Omega Beam and aims to use it on the population of Metropolis. As people walk around, Darkseid tries to lure them into his underground mines, while Superman tries to prevent this. This maze-like game is a tricky one where you affect barriers along the streets to guide the citizens to safety. Power gems are also required to allow Superman access to these other screens where even more people wander around. The graphics are nothing special but move smoothly, with only a few sound effects added too.

See also: Superman: The Man of Steel.

More information on CPCSOFTS

5

Screenshot of Superman: The Man of Steel

Superman: The Man of Steel

(Tynesoft, 1989)

Reviewed by Pug

Darkseid is back, and this time, he’s brought a friend – Lex Luthor. Together they are planning the destruction of all mankind! To make matters worse, Lois Lane is being held hostage by the same mad duo. The first stage places you in a slow and sluggish 3D shoot-’em-up, followed by a vertical scroller where you defend a Space Shuttle (which is better). The next stage sees you inside the satellite that is controlled by Lex. Throughout the game, Superman can make use of his various powers, but they all have limits. Pleasing and colourful graphics make this one an eye-catcher – but where’s the famous soundtrack?

See also: Superman: The Game.

More information on CPCSOFTS

7

Screenshot of Supernudge 2000

Supernudge 2000

(Mastertronic, 1989)

While you can’t win or lose any money on computer-based fruit machine games, they should at least be able to capture most of the excitement of gambling your shiny coins away. This game does not do that. The three reels scroll at a snail’s pace so that you have to wait ages before they come to a stop, and on top of that, there aren’t many bonus features on the fruit machine to make things a bit more exciting. Having said that, it seems to be easier to win money in comparison with other fruit machine games, but it’s not worth the effort or the wait.

More information on CPCSOFTS

4

Screenshot of Supersports

Supersports

(Gremlin Graphics, 1988)

Five very mixed events make up the Super Sports Olympic Challenge – target shooting, daredevil diving into a small pool of water, tile smashing karate-style, and swimming through a lake filled with hazards such as jellyfish and even mines! Up to four players can play, and you can also practice any of the events. Gilbert the commentator is also on hand throughout the events to offer encouragement or criticism of your efforts. The graphics are colourful and very nicely drawn, and each event also has a short piece of music which plays before the start of the event. Overall, it’s an enjoyable game to play, especially if you can find someone else to compete against.

More information on CPCSOFTS

8

Screenshot of SuperTed

SuperTed

(Alternative Software, 1990)

SuperTed’s friend Spot has been kidnapped by Texas Pete. Spot is bundled into Pete’s car, and Pete drives off with him in the back. The bear with the red suit and super strength must chase the car and avoid the many hazards left by Pete. At the end of the first level, he faces Skeleton, and then he flies into outer space where there are more hazards, as well as Texas Pete himself. There are quite a lot of hazards to avoid, even on the easy level, and children (who are the intended audience for this game) will find it too difficult. The graphics are nice and colourful, but the sound effects are poor, and there are only two levels – and I don’t mean the difficulty levels.

More information on CPCSOFTS

6

Screenshot of Surprise Surprise

Surprise Surprise

(Central Solutions, 1986)

You have been invited to a party within a large house, but first of all, you must search the house and find five letters which make up a code. The house has one hundred rooms, and there are dangers lurking in most of them. This is an absolutely terrible game – that much is obvious from the moment you load it. From the loading screen consisting of random lines and flashing colours, to the extremely crude graphics, to the extremely irritating random beeps which play throughout the game, to the snail-like movement of your character, this game has ‘awful’ written all over it. Even then, I might have felt generous enough to give it at least one mark out of ten, but alas, no – you only have one life! And did I mention that it only works properly on a CPC464 and not on the other models?

More information on CPCSOFTS

0

Screenshot of The Survivor

The Survivor

(Anirog, 1984)

Reviewed by Pug

You are stuck in a maze-like arena full of endlessly generating robots and monsters. Your mission is to collect all of the treasures scattered around. All contact with the nasties drains your energy bar, but there are potions that boost this. This game shows its age; it was one of the first to be released for the CPC464. An aged game idea with primitive methods of gameplay, simple, blocky graphics and basic effects.

More information on CPCSOFTS

3

Screenshot of Survivor

Survivor

(Topo Soft/US Gold, 1987)

On board a spaceship, you are the sole remaining example of a creature that has evolved over one million years. Your aim is to ensure the survival of your race by placing ten pods in the incubators that can be found around the spaceship. Of course, there are other inhabitants and machines on board who will drain your energy, although it can be replenished when you place a pod, or by chasing and eating one of the tiny engineers that wander around – which is both gruesome and hilarious to watch! The graphics are very colourful indeed, and while the game can occasionally be awkward – jumping correctly from platform to platform is often frustrating – there is a wide enough variety of locations to keep fans of exploration games interested for some time.

More information on CPCSOFTS

7

Screenshot of Survivors

Survivors

(Atlantis, 1988)

Nuclear war has taken place, but the occupants of seven bunkers are trapped inside them, and three droids have been sent to rescue them. This game is quite similar to Boulder Dash, but the difference is that each droid performs different functions – the blue one can dig the earth, the yellow one can rescue the inhabitants, and the red one can push boulders. You must use each droid carefully or you’ll be stuck! Despite the simple graphics, this is a great game if you have the ability to think laterally, but the levels are too big for most people to complete.

More information on CPCSOFTS

6

Screenshot of Survivre

Survivre

(Lankhor, 1992)

  • Knowledge of French is required in order to play this game properly.

You’re a lion cub, roaming the savannah. One morning, you realise that your mother has disappeared, and now you have to face life without her... This is a multiple choice adventure game where you must choose one of several possible actions, but many of them will take you down false paths. Along the way, you’ll encounter many different types of animal – a hippopotamus, a hyena, an antelope, and even a jackal who can play chess (yes!). This game wasn’t released on its own and was only available on one of Lankhor’s Black Soft compilations. Excellent full-screen graphics accompany each location, and there are lots of suitably atmospheric tunes as well. Overall, it’s a nice adventure (although all the text is in French), and at times you feel sorry for the poor lion cub as you’re playing the game.

More information on CPCSOFTS

8