Screenshot of Braxx Bluff

Braxx Bluff

(Amsoft, 1985)

Three explorers went to the planet of Prolon, but their rover vehicle has run out of power and is stranded in Braxx Bluff, and its life support systems are failing slowly. Your mission is to find and rescue them. The gameplay consists of several stages, all of which are presented in 3D, with fairly crude graphics to represent the landscape. On some stages, you will hear a signal which indicates if you are heading in the right direction. Some stages also see you fending off Krittas, who will attack you or drain the rover of power. The sound effects are very basic and the graphics are very crudely drawn, yet in spite of this, the 3D effect works rather well. However, the major annoyances with this game are that if you make a mistake, the game usually ends instantly instead of giving you another chance, and the final stage is also extremely difficult to complete.

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Screenshot of BreakThru

BreakThru

(US Gold, 1986)

Reviewed by Pug

You’re on a mission – drive like mad through enemy territory and reclaim technology that has fallen into the wrong hands. What you get is a small game area that block-scrolls, with plain-looking visuals. This coin-op conversion is a rushed effort of dodging, shooting or jumping over whatever approaches, combined with grubby-looking graphics. Collision detection is also in question at times which results in a very frustrating game experience and a lot of “game overs”. Not US Gold’s finest hour.

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Screenshot of Brian Bloodaxe

Brian Bloodaxe

(The Edge, 1985)

Brian Bloodaxe is a Viking who one day decided he would invade Britain. Having landed on its shores, you now have to guide Brian around 127 screens in his search for the Crown Jewels. Once you have found them, you must then find the Throne, and Brian will have conquered Britain! Unfortunately, this is an extremely difficult task. The collision detection is very unforgiving, and even a moderate fall from a platform can cost you one of your four lives. The layout of the rooms is quite confusing as well; several rooms have exits that don’t take you back to the place from where you entered the room! Although there is a weird and wonderful variety of enemies, the graphics are poor and the gameplay is so frustrating that most people will quickly give up.

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Screenshot of The Brick

The Brick

(Delta Software, 1989)

Of the many Breakout clones I have played, this ranks as one of the worst. Twenty levels are there to be played, but after a few minutes of playing the second level, you’ll switch off and play something else. It’s that old favourite, the indestructible brick, and on the second level, the other bricks are enclosed inside three walls of them so that it’s very difficult to reach them. In addition, the ball moves too slowly and the aliens that move about the screen get in the way. It would probably take hours to complete the second level! The graphics are terrible, too, and your bat is very difficult to see.

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Screenshot of Brick Breaker

Brick Breaker

(Dro Soft, 1987)

Reviewed by Pug

Another Breakout clone for the CPC. This offering is a very crude effort with nothing to hold your attention for very long. Single-coloured, bland-looking visuals mixed with the jerky movement of the bat and ball soon ruin all hope for this one. Collision detection is another issue, not to mention poor presentation and only one sound effect. Even the few power-ups on offer can’t save this one. It does have a high score table, though, but I doubt you’ll want to add your name to it.

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Screenshot of Brick Rick

Brick Rick

(Juan José Martínez, 2020)

Brick Rick thought it would be another normal day at work on the construction site, but instead it’s been invaded by aliens! Rick must stun all the aliens on each of the 50 stages, either by throwing bricks at them, or by pushing an alien that has already been stunned into them. There are several different types of alien; the walkers you’ll meet on the first few levels are fairly harmless, but you’ll soon encounter shooters, who are armed with laser blasters, and aliens flying around the screen in UFOs. You’re also up against the clock, and if you run out of time, a monster will appear and follow you around! This is a really nice little platform game with cute, colourful graphics and some very jolly tunes and jingles, and it’s great fun to play as well.

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Screenshot of Bride of Frankenstein

Bride of Frankenstein

(39 Steps, 1987)

Reviewed by John Beckett

It’s obvious at first glance who was behind this game – Viz Design, creators of the identical-looking Werewolves of London. In this similarly-themed game (which was later re-released by Code Masters as Frankenstein Jnr.), you play as Frankie’s fiancée and must search around the castle and its grounds, looking for your future husband’s brain, lungs and other organs which have somehow become scattered. Unlike the enjoyable Werewolves of London, you have no form of attack and must simply flee from the ghosts and skeletons which pursue you. And if they catch you, you’re screwed; you often can’t escape until you’re dead. Basically, the game is a boring maze, where you’re either fleeing or swapping keys around to open doors – yawn. Nice, colourful, cartoony graphics, though.

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Screenshot of Bridge-It

Bridge-It

(Amsoft, 1984)

Once you’ve seen this game, you’ll reckon it is one of the worst CPC games ever – it certainly isn’t anywhere close to being the best! There’s a walkway connecting two houses together, and you have to get as many of the little men as you can to walk from one house to the other by linking the walkways together at the right time. It is an extremely slow and boring game which is made all the worse by the terrible, irritating music (which mercifully can be switched off) and the horrible graphics.

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Screenshot of British Super League

British Super League

(Cult, 1990)

This is a football management game in which you are the manager of one of 16 teams competing in the British Super League, which consists of a mixture of teams from the English and Scottish leagues. It quickly becomes clear that it’s yet another poor game from Cult. There are no graphics worthy of the name; in the match highlights, the players are represented by asterisks, and big black boxes flash on the screen to show where the ball is being passed to. There are no detailed statistics for each player, so you can’t tell how good they are, and it’s not possible to find out how good players from other teams are, either. It is actually written in machine code, but it gives the impression that it’s written in BASIC, and as a result, it’s best that you avoid it.

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Screenshot of Bronx

Bronx

(MCM Software, 1989)

Reviewed by Javier Sáez

Manny Lopez, leader of the Sharks, is going to fight against other gang bosses for the title of King of the Bronx. To help you in this task, you’ll start each stage wearing armour and carrying different kinds of weapons. Bronx has big and colourful graphics, including a great loading screen, a good background story (that is, in the game inlay) and a sense of humour. Maybe you’ve seen some of your opponents before. Nevertheless the game is a bit slow, due to the size of the sprites, and once you manage to combine offensive and defensive moves, it’s a bit too easy.

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