Super Cycle
(Epyx, 1987)
Get on a motorbike and race around twelve tracks, and reach the chequered flag before your time runs out. The first few tracks are relatively easy, but on later tracks, you’ll encounter obstacles which you must dodge. Watch out for the other riders, who have a nasty tendency to try to bump you off the road or crash into you! Three of the tracks contain flags which you can collect to gain bonus points. This is a very enjoyable game indeed. The graphics are colourful, and you really get a feeling of speed as you fly past the scenery and the other riders. There are also three difficulty levels, although the lowest one is much too easy! Thankfully that’s not the case with the other two difficulty levels.
The idea of Super Flippard is to make the player experience what it’s like to be a ball in a pinball machine. The problem is you’re not in a pinball machine; you’re actually on a conveyor belt in what seems to be a factory. Perhaps this is how pinballs are put to the test? Who knows? You manoeuvre your ball left and right avoiding holes, water and mines. You can also fall off the edge of the conveyor. You can collect certain items to increase your score, and the further you go the more kilometres are covered. Flippers can push you forward and knock you back, and bumpers are present as well. It’s a colourful game but it chugs along and the sound of the conveyor becomes draining. Chasing a high score is fun in short bursts though.
Based on a 1980s children’s TV series, this offering sees you playing the mighty Super Gran – an elderly lady with super powers! Sadly, this game doesn’t quite portray her too well. Some very large and crude graphics flicker along as you sit in your single-coloured flying bike taking out clones. If you play this any further, you no longer need this bike and see Super Gran in all her glory – a large, flickery sprite. The TV soundtrack plays during the game and even this is laughable. I feel sorry for anyone who owned this!
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
ChinnyVision,
Xyphoe.
Super Hang-On
(Electric Dreams, 1988)
Race across four continents, each divided into several stages, and make it to the final stage before your time runs out. You can choose which of the four races to compete in. Each one is located on a different continent, with Africa being the easiest course and Europe the hardest. Your motorbike has a turbo booster which you can only use when it has reached its normal maximum speed of 280km/h – you’d better hang on when you use it! Unfortunately it’s not a good game. The graphics are ugly and colour is used poorly. The music which briefly accompanies each race is tinny, and the time limits are so tight that if you make the slightest mistake, you have very little chance of reaching the next checkpoint. This is not one of the better motorbike racing games.
Super Hero
(Code Masters, 1988)
It’s not easy being a god, and to prove your worthiness, your fellow gods have set you a challenge. The aim is to defeat five Guardians roaming inside a large labyrinth – but you do this by destroying their spirits, and they aren’t located in the same rooms as the Guardians. Before looking for the Guardians, it’s necessary to find four items – a pair of shoes, a bag, a hammer and a helmet – which enable certain actions such as jumping and carrying objects. It’s an isometric exploration game, and if you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll instantly recognise the inspiration for this game. The graphics are very detailed, although the size of the screen is a bit small. However, although it’s good, it seems to lack something in comparison with other games like it.
Super Monaco GP
(US Gold, 1991)
Another coin-op conversion makes its way on to the CPC. You’re racing around the Grand Prix circuits of the world, but first you must qualify, and then you must reach a certain position after three laps if you want to go on to the next race. In addition, the track may also be wet, making things trickier for you. The graphics are good, especially the digitised pictures, and the girl in the yellow swimsuit! However, the scrolling is too slow and it doesn’t feel as if you’re doing 200mph at all.
Watch a YouTube video of this game by:
ChinnyVision.
This is another Pac-Man clone for the CPC; eat all the dots while avoiding the ghosts... The maze is large and the level of difficulty can be adjusted to make the game easy or hard. Sadly, the maze layout never changes between levels, so boredom will soon kick in. The Mode 1 visuals are adequate, with smooth sprites and a few chirpy sound effects.
Super Pipeline II
(Amsoft/Taskset, 1985)
This is a rather surreal game where tools are running amok and causing pipes to leak, and you have to fix them by getting your two trusty helpers to do it. On each level there is a tank, and a certain number of barrels have to be filled with water, and if the tank runs out, your score will start to decrease. The helpers can also be used as shields, and if they die, you can collect another one. The graphics are brilliant and the sheer fun of the game is complemented by the catchy music; once you listen to it, you won’t forget it easily!
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
Amstrad CPC World,
ChinnyVision.
A very early game by the now legendary Oliver Twins, the aim of this game is to search the huge castle of the Sheriff of Nottingham and find all the hearts scattered around, and then to free Maid Marian and kill the Sheriff. Of course, out to stop you are the Sheriff’s men, armed with bows and swords, but these can be picked off with your trusty arrows. The graphics are quite impressive considering when it was released, and very detailed – Robin fires his bow very realistically – and the sound is great. This is the first game I ever played which had real speech (“Help me Robin!”) and this impressed me a lot back in the day. Overall, a good novel twist on a fairly well used idea, which is a fair bit easier than others of its kind, and as a result of this, it is a lot more fun.
See also: Robin Hood: Legend Quest.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
Axelino,
ChinnyVision,
The Oliver Twins.
Sam Short is out to capture the notorious Boris – a slippery character indeed. Hiding somewhere within the fortress, you roam from room to room collecting parts of a cage – the only thing that will contain him. Nasty creatures pace around which deplete your energy, unless you can find a syringe. Finding this object turns you into Super Sam and makes you invulnerable for a short time. Be careful not to fall down the manholes, and look out for booby-trapped rooms! The graphics are very basic with some flicker and colour clash. A cheerful tune is available, although it can be turned off to allow the game to be played with sound effects only.
See also: Short’s Fuse.