Screenshot of Blood Valley

Blood Valley

(Gremlin Graphics, 1988)

Based on the Duelmaster series of adventure gamebooks, this one- or two-player game takes place in the Valley of Gad, where each year, an event called The Hunt is held. The Valley’s ruler, Archveult, along with his allies, hunt down a freed slave in a pursuit lasting five days. In the one-player option, you play the slave, and your aim is to find the exit. In the two-player option, the second player takes control of the Archveult and his henchmen. This is a poor game that is badly implemented. There is no explanation as to what the various objects you can pick up actually are, and worst of all, you can barely move a few steps without being forced to fight yet another monster, which makes the game very tedious indeed.

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Screenshot of Bloodwych

Bloodwych

(Image Works, 1990)

Reviewed by Javier Sáez

Someone has to find the Crystals of Sanguis to destroy the demon that dwells in the castle of Bloodwych. Any volunteers? In this role-playing game, your first task is to recruit four heroes among wizards, warriors, thieves and adventurers. Each of them has different abilities, attributes, equipment and knowledge of magic. You move your party through three-dimensional dungeons where fighting is not always the best choice, as it is possible to trade and offer things to characters controlled by the computer. It’s precisely when fighting comes that the game isn’t that good, as combat is a bit confusing and it’s difficult to know what’s really happening. On the other hand, this game has a two-player mode with a split-screen view, which is a rare feature in role-playing games.

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Screenshot of Blue Angel 69

Blue Angel 69

(Kevin Thacker, 2010)

Reviewed by Missas

In this board game, the aim is to be the person with the highest score at the end of each round. Each player takes it in turn to choose a number from the grid and when a tile is removed, part of the background picture is revealed. The round finishes when there are no more numbers that can be taken and the person with the highest score wins. After a beautifully drawn loading screen, atmospheric music plays on the menu. Starting the game, the tune changes again with another ambient tune. The gameplay is amusing, pleasant and fast-paced, since there is strong competition from either the computer or a human player. The grab factor is very high; it is a game that one would play repeatedly. Taken as a whole, this is a really great job with awesome graphics and sound, partnered with nice gameplay.

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Screenshot of Blue Star

Blue Star

(Free Game Blot, 1987)

Reviewed by Pug

Blue Star is a shoot-’em-up where your mission is to destroy the alien bases that have appeared within your territory of space. The game starts with your very small ship facing a large base that consists of large tiles with tiny alien ships trying to defend it. After destroying that base you then have to dodge asteroids for around two minutes with no fire button! You then repeat everything again with a different layout of tiles. Visually everything moves and looks crude, with a few blips and bangs for sound.

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Screenshot of Blueberry

Blueberry

(Coktel Vision, 1987)

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

Blueberry is a comic strip which is very well known in France, and dozens of books have been released. This game follows the ageing Blueberry (also known as Mike), and his companion Jimmy MacClure, as they travel across the deserts of Arizona in pursuit of a gold mine. However, they know that the area surrounding the mine is cursed, and a spectre guards the mine. Many pitfalls await them, not least the native Indians and other ambushers... The game plays like a comic strip, while allowing you to make your own choices as to what you want to do next. There is also some arcade action where you must shoot enemies while avoiding being shot yourself – it’s nice at first, but quickly becomes a real chore. The graphics are excellent, as one would expect from Coktel Vision, but the arcade sequences let the game down slightly.

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Screenshot of The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers

(Titus, 1992)

Jake and Elwood are playing a concert tonight, but the town sheriff remembers their previous concert, and has stolen their equipment. Now the Blues Brothers must find their way through five levels of platform action, collecting one item at the end of each level. You’ll find crates which can be used to get rid of any enemies you encounter, and you can collect records as well; if you collect 100 of them, you’ll get an extra life, but collecting a broken record means you’ll lose 50 records. This is a really enjoyable game; the graphics are brilliant, even if the screen is rather small and everything is, well, blue. And of course, there’s plenty of groovy music from the film of the same name to listen to.

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Screenshot of BMX Freestyle

BMX Freestyle

(Code Masters, 1989)

See how good you are at BMX stunts with this test of your skills. Among the six events are wheelie trials, ramp jumps, half and quarter pipes, a “slow race”, and finally, a tricks track where four judges rate your stunts. You’ve only got one shot at each event, and if you don’t qualify, you’ll have to start again. Most of the events can be mastered if you persevere at the game, and as a hint – you’ll need to get a good build-up of speed to succeed at the wheelie trials. Apart from that, the graphics are standard and there’s a really cool tune which suits the whole BMX thing rather well.

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Screenshot of BMX Kidz

BMX Kidz

(Silverbird, 1989)

This game tests how good you are at performing tricks on your BMX. You’re up against three other riders and have to complete each course before your time runs out. After the second course, you’ll also have to perform a set amount of stunts to qualify for the next course. You’ll need to collect spokes and cans of Coke along the way if you’re to make it to the finish. The graphics are colourful and neat, and while there’s no music, the sound effects do the job. However, the game seems to be too difficult – completing the first course is tricky enough, and the second one is almost impossible.

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Screenshot of BMX Ninja

BMX Ninja

(Alternative Software, 1989)

It’s a fight between you and the BMX gangs as you perform bunny hops, wheelies and backflips to shake off the enemy gang members on their BMXs, skateboarders and scooters. A meter at the bottom of the screen shows how far you’ve got to go to reach the next level. It goes back to zero if you’re knocked off your bike by your opponent, which is an all too frequent occurrence – the skateboarders are extremely tough to beat. The graphics are awful and there are hardly any sound effects; it’s a sorry excuse for a game.

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Screenshot of BMX Simulator

BMX Simulator

(Code Masters, 1987)

Take to the BMX track and complete three laps of each track within the time limit to be allowed to tackle the next course. You’re also up against the computer, who is awful on the first course, but very good on the rest of them! A friend can also try to beat the clock with you. Even though I can’t complete the third course (and there are seven of them in total), I still like this game a lot. The action replay feature is a neat touch, the graphics are good, and the music on the menu is stunning.

See also: BMX Simulator 2, Professional BMX Simulator.

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