Prepare for a biased review - this is in my top three favourite CPC games ever! There is so much to this game, I can't do it justice in such a small space. You play a special agent whose mission is to deliver the CHAOS weapon (Complete Hostile Alien Obliteration System) to the scientists of a distant planet overrun by hostile aliens. But things aren't that simple and you'll find yourself making many trips to other planets before you eventually deliver the weapon. The game itself is a 3D shoot-'em-up where you must shoot the rapidly approaching alien ships using a set of crosshairs, before they crash into you and drain your shields. The graphics are fairly simple but still good, the sound is excellent (cue the Codemasters trademark sampled speech!) and this game is just brilliant fun!

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3D Starstrike
(Realtime Games, 1985)

Take on the enemy Outsider spaceships in your advanced Starstrike spaceship, and penetrate and destroy their reactors hidden deep beneath the surface of the Outsiders' moons. This 3D space shoot-'em-up features fast and colourful wireframe graphics and non-stop action - whether it's shooting the Outsider spaceships and their plasma bolts, dodging towers as you fly towards the enemy base, or avoiding the catwalks as you zoom along the equatorial ducts leading to the reactors, you'll need to have quick reflexes and a good aim! While the gameplay may ultimately be a little repetitive, it's still great fun to play and an excellent choice if you're looking for a quick session of blasting aliens.

See also: Starstrike II.

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8

With hindsight, it's amazing that people could sell full-price games that were as bad as this. The only thing to do here is trying to jump with your bike over double-decker buses (which proudly bear the inscription 'AMSTRAD'). The problem is that you must start your jump exactly at the right speed, if you don't want to crash either on the buses or on the landing track. And when I say exactly at the right speed, that's exactly! 25mph instead of 23mph won't do. Add to that the impossibility of controlling accurately the speed of your bike, and you obtain an extremely irritating game, even if the graphics are rather good!

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3

Three Weeks in Paradise
(Mikro-Gen, 1986)
Reviewed by Alain Schroetter

To enjoy Three Weeks in Paradise, you must be a fan of 'Dizzy-like' games and be ready to rack your brains over complicated riddles. Your goal is to release your friends who have been caught by a tribe of cannibals. To this purpose, you must collect items and find how to use them. The game has good MODE 0 graphics and nice animation. Unfortunately the sound is a bit weak, and above all the game is very hard. Nonetheless, there is a peculiar compulsion to try and go farther into the game.

See also: Everyone's a Wally.

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7

Boni the skull has been taken away below the trap door and as Berk, you have to rescue him. This time, you can take control of both Berk and Drutt, who have to work together to make progress. Unfortunately, the game isn't as good as The Trap Door; for whatever reason, it's not as much fun. Berk may move faster, and there may be more monsters to encounter, but once you get to the second level, you'll find that things become much too difficult.

See also: The Trap Door.

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5

The resistance has captured some spaceships in preparation for an attack against the Intergalactic Empire. However, they need to collect some Klystron pods for the spaceships to be useful. You control a spaceship and have to enter an underground passageway to collect a Klystron pod on each level, and then fly to the surface again with the pod in tow. However, each passageway contains guns which will fire at you, and the levels quickly become harder, with narrower passageways, more guns, and even reverse gravity and invisible walls. This simple little game is in fact one of the all-time classics. Despite its very retro graphics, it's unbelievably addictive, and if you haven't played it, you haven't lived.

See also: Thrust II.

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9

After collecting all the Klystron pods, the resistance decides to settle on the planet P2112, but there's something wrong with the weather. There's a maze of underground passageways to explore, and you must once again collect sixteen pods and bring them to the surface in order to fix the planet's atmosphere. In other words, it's very similar to the previous game, but the graphics have improved considerably (although the line-based graphics in Thrust had their own appeal), and your spaceship is a lot harder to manoeuvre, especially when you're towing a pod. For this reason, I don't think this game is as good as its predecessor, but it's still a fun and challenging game to play.

See also: Thrust.

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8

You're on a mission to destroy an enemy fortress, but the enemy aren't going to take to that. The mission consists of four sections divided into three sub-sections, which see you flying over cities, deserts and the sea. As well as the enemy's fire, you've also got to dodge skyscrapers when you're in the cities. The game is let down a bit by its silly controls; to accelerate and slow down, you have to hold down the fire button as you press up or down, and you often find yourself slowing down when you want to change height, leaving you exposed to enemy fire. Despite this, it's still possible to progress, but it's not exactly enthralling.

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6

This is a poor 3D shoot-'em-up in which you control a robot that can metamorphose into a fighter 'plane at will. Enemies fly towards you, and you can shoot them or avoid them. If you're flying, you'll also need to avoid the scenery on the ground. You'll also need to collect spheres to maintain your fuel levels. So why is the game poor, then? Your firepower is mediocre and you can only shoot enemies at very close range, and collecting spheres is almost impossible; by the time you realise that there is a sphere nearby, it's too late to collect it, and your fuel runs out very quickly. The graphics are actually very good, although the colour scheme makes the game look dull - and it is a dull game to play.

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4

Thunder, thunder, you known the rest. A blatant cash-in on the cheesy kids' cartoon. As Lion-O, your task is to recover the lost eye of Thundera - the power behind the Sword of Omens from the clutches of Thundercat nemesis the vile Mumm-Ra, "the ever living". A simple hack-'n'-slash platformer; you have to reach the end of every level as fast as possible within the given time limit and in your way are an infinite number of Mumm-Ra's mutants to stop you. As well as picking points to rack up your score, you must rescue your fellow felines along the way. A dull repetitive affair, it looks as bad as it plays. One for fans of the show only.

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