Wednesday 30 April 2014

Z - Zoids: The Battle Begins! Robot Dinosaurs kick off...

Ending this years blog challenge with a bit of an usual game, fittingly right at the end. Part strategy, part shoot em up, Zoids: The Battle Begins borrows it's theme from the toyline and later a comic book series, but make for a surprising game to say the least. For an early attempt to see the world as it is, from the perspective of the Spiderzoid you inhabit. Using it's control instruments you have to navigate the world, track down provisions and destroy enemies. Hard to work out at times, and not easy with the audio, Zoids is an oddity for sure and memorable all the same. Ambitious, but the model kits remain far better.

Honourable Mentions - Z, and not much else....

Amstrad Coverart - Disc Version



Bug...'Out!

Tuesday 29 April 2014

Y - Yie Ar Kung-Fu! Wild West Martial Arts...

This was one of the those titles which found it's way into my tape deck by complete accident. I was searching for an Amstrad conversion of Kung-Fu Master, and in my small child mind thought this may be the same game. So, I bought it, got home and.... nope, different. After the initial disappointment, I settled into this which turned out to be a no bad. Technically my first one-on-one beat em up, and quick static moves, and ridiculous jumps and hardness had me coming back for more. Soon afterwards, I discovered an actual port of Kung-Fu Master, and not this day cannot decide which of these hand-chopping titles is better.

Honourable Mentions - For Y?? Nope...

Amstrad Coverart - Tape Version



Bug...'Out!



Monday 28 April 2014

X - X-Out! Not Influenced by R-Type at all...

Rainbow Arts had a good time during the late nineties with all the home computers, 8 and 16 bit, and one of the most memorable is due to it's kinship with previous and famous scrolling shoot em ups. X-Out, sometimes known as Cross-Out, is a colourful, compact, imaginative and nifty game which draws big cues from Cybernoid, Xenon and of course, R-Type. In an underwater setting, enemies are mostly biological but it doesn't take a genius to see where the inspirations came from. Even the cover art as a giant baddie who looks very similar to R-Type's first end of the level boss. Is plays more like Cybernoid however due to the water locale, and is a fine game outright. Difficult, as all old skool shooters are, the title is one that is remembered among the home computer generation.

Honourable Mentions - Xanagrams, Xybots, Xenon.

X-Out Promo Poster


Bug...'Out!

Saturday 26 April 2014

W - WEC Le Mans! 24 hours later...

It's not often that I went back to an older title I missed due to a game based around the same idea. WEC Le Mans is one such game. In 1990, I was avidly playing Burnin' Rubber on the GX4000, and soon realised that to game was designed from the guts that were a previous CPC title. WEC Le Mans has many of the same traits as the aforementioned racer, but with less colours and pizzazz. As a 2D racer however, it's corker with lengthy sessions of racing and a brilliant crash sequence. Gameplay is excellently fluid for the time, as is the scaling and speed sensations. Honestly, I was underwhelmed due to playing it's superior clone due soon grew to appreciate the game as it was when it was released. Top racing action and one of the best speedsters on the CPC. 

Honerable Mentions - Welltris, Way of the Tiger, Winter Games

Amstrad Coverart - Disc Version



Bug...'Out!



Friday 25 April 2014

V - Vindicators! Veni Vidi Vici...

Right, I'll come clean instantly. I actually never played this, so I'll get around to it soon. In fact, I can't think of a game which began with V that I did play on the CPC. But, here is the Spanish cover art for your gaze plus the promo poster. It involves tanks, war and such like and it was made be Tengen, released in 1988. Lazy entry I know, but what ya gonna do? 

Honourable Mentions - Erm......

Amstrad Coverart - Disc Version


Promo Poster - Multiple Formats



Bug...'Out!

Thursday 24 April 2014

U - (The) Untouchables! - It's Gonna get Nessy...

Although I entirely missed the release of the 1987 film starring Costner, Connery and such like, the game of the same name hit my CPC's 64k the moment I read the review in Amstrad Action magazine. I remember most notably of the alleyway shoot-out level, because it was exciting but damn hard thus replaying it was frequent. Rendered in mode 1, the graphics were finely detailed and mirrored the mood of the movie perfectly using blues, blacks and greens. In a way, this game made me more interested in the Hollywood movie scene afterwards, and although I never beat it, it spent a good deal of time sitting in the datacorder for many weeks. They don't make film licences like this anymore.

Honourable Mentions - U.N. Squadron.... (?)

Promo Poster - Multiple Formats



Bug...'Out!


Wednesday 23 April 2014

T - Treasure Island Dizzy! Egg-citing Island Capers...

The first Dizzy game was a big hit, so it was no shock that a sequel appeared quickly and thus spawned the long running series. In Treasure Island Dizzy we see our hero stuck on an desert island, and to escape has to solve the many puzzles that gain access to the boat and collect all the coins scattered around the island. Even though the first game was hard, this is actually a lot harder, due to the fact that you only have one life and finding all the coins is near-impossible. However, it has all the hallmarks of a lovable game, with signature graphics, enjoyable gameplay and a suburb catchy soundtrack. It showed the direction the series was heading in, and was the precursor to highlights in the series such as Prince of the Yolkfolk. Right, I'm off for a lie down, feeling a bit Dizzy.

Honourable Mentions - Total Eclipse, Total Recall, Turrican 2

Amstrad Coverart - Tape Version



Bug...'Out!

Tuesday 22 April 2014

S - Spindizzy! Spinning Around, Move outta my way...

Isometric puzzlers and adventure titles were not uncommon to the 8-bot home computers, and Spindizzy is one such game which typifies the style. Fans of Marble Madness will instantly see the similarities, but it's far more refined and forgiving then that. Players take command of GERALD, a mapping probe tasked to explore a 3D world collecting jewels and fuel as you go. Sounds simple, but the placement of tricky puzzles and quick-reaction segments is balanced nicely to make for a very enthralling game. Detailed environments are produced at the expense of a wide colour range, but this is a game which is all about gameplay, and it pulls that off to a high standard. An all time classic in my book, I was joyus when GERALD re-appeared on the Super Nintendo in Spindizzy Worlds several years later. Yay!

Atari 800/Amstrad Coverart - Disc Version



Bug...'Out!



Monday 21 April 2014

R - Roland on the Ropes! He's the Prince of the Swingers...

Amsoft's attempt to create their very own mascot saw the emergence of the ever-changing Roland, in which over the course of several games became an expert at space exploration, caves diving and tomb raiding. Roland on the Ropes see's him in a more human and appropriate form, dodging the ghosts, rats and spooks to find the treasure and escape the rope laden tomb. With sound instantly recognisable SFX and colourful if a little flickering of the graphics, playing this 1984 adventure is a good laugh. Hard as hell in places, with seemingly endless mazes and tunnels and ropes, and ghosts which true to folklore appear out of the walls in an instant. Squeaky rope amusement ol' rollie-boy!

Honourable Mentions - Rampage, R-Type, Rastan.

Amstrad Coverart - Tape Version



Bug...'Out!


Saturday 19 April 2014

Q - Quartet! Four is NOT the Magic Number...

This Sega arcade platform shooter was a storming hit back in 1986, and made a very nice transfer the Sega's own 8-bit console. The Amstrad version, much like it's rivals suffered from a rushed port, dodgy graphics and jerky gameplay. I note it chiefly because is was one of the very titles I bought with my pocket money, because it looked awesome on the box. It's disappointing to play now, and ruins my good memories of it. Still, despite being a bit of a CPC turkey, the original is a classic game.

Honourable Mentions - Erm..... Q*Bert? No, that didn't come to amstrad!

Amstrad Coverart - Tape Version



Bug...'Out!


Friday 18 April 2014

P - Power Drift! I've Got the Power...

In 1988, Sega put out yet another racer to combine the speed out Outrun with a competitive edge and more of the stunt racing feel. Power Drift was the result and became a popular port to many systems of the era. This was my very first full-priced game I received as a gift, with it's card box and posh instructions I was a very excited mini-bug. The punk on the coverart looked hardcore too. The game itself is good, but far from great with a general slow pace and iffy scaling. The rollercoaster style tracks are present however, and make for a bit of a good racing session. More power required to be a true classic, if you get my drift.

Honourable Mentions - Paperboy, Pang, Prehistorik.

Amstrad Coverart - Tape & Disc version



Bug...'Out!

Thursday 17 April 2014

O - Oh Mummy! Treasure maze and monsters...

Maze games were hugely abundant after the success of PacMan, so its no surprise one of the release titles from Amstrad's own software house was going to hang on the coat-tails of Mr Man. A grid layout shown in various colour swaps, Oh Mummy has you running around a room (pyramid) a a digger to find the treasure and escape the mummies by circling the tombs. Endlessly playing to the tune of 'The Streets of Cairo', this is a simple game both graphically and in gameplay, but it is weirdly addictive. One of the best Amsoft titles in all honestly, CPC gamers far and wide have most likely played this into the wee hours until the parents said ' bed time now!' to which the response would have been...'Oh Mummy....'

Honourable Mentions - Operation Wolf, Operation Thunderbolt, Outrun.


Amstrad CPC Coverart - Tape Version



Bug...'Out!

Wednesday 16 April 2014

N - Ninja Scooter Simulator! Shurikens and Scooters...

A game I seem to talk about far to often, the ridiculously titled Ninja Scooter Simulator was a budget game by Silverbird which has a great secret held within. As a game, it's kind of repetitive and in the long run, a tad boring. But it has an 8-bit soundtrack to die for. A few budget titles can boast this, but none more so than a dude, dressed in a bandana riding a scooter pretending to be a ninja. With nice coverart too, this is based off the assault course style game much like Metro-cross or BMX Freestyle, but without the difficulty and variance. Cemented in my memory due to it's catchy theme music, it's a game I fall back for a bit of light nostalgia. I even use this music in my YouTube videos. Funny and mad but memorable stuff.

Honourable Mentions - Navy SEALS, Nemesis, NARC.


Amstrad CPC Coverart - Tape Version





Bug...'Out!




Tuesday 15 April 2014

M - Macadam Bumper! Sexy pinball from France...

Viva La France! 2D pinball shenanigans with a bit of European sauciness chucked it, Macadam Bumper is a game which can take a generous part of your life away. No, it's not to do with the scantily clad lady on the game screen or the pleasing pinball action, but the utterly cool 'create' mode. Using the mode 1 graphic pallate, the boards can be exciting and detailed for the age, and it all moves at a rather decent speed. However, you get the opportunity to make your own table layouts, save and play them! I found this engrossing as this was not a usual thing to put in a game of this type back then. I made some boards which were impossible, but that was the fun of it. Rumor has it a French version was released with the women on the scoreboard naked, but strangely I haven't found a picture of this. Pity. Oh Lala!

French Amstrad CPC Coverart - Tape Version


Bug...'Out!




Monday 14 April 2014

L - Lemmings! Suicide has never been so much fun...

Made by the awesome Psygnosis, Lemmings was released for the Amiga in 1991 was a smash hit. Puzzle/platformer, you are tasked to save the hapless lemming troop from doom by guiding them to the exit. By giving individual lemmings certain abilities, you have to traverse a platformed course to reach said goal. With the amount of tiny sprites, you would think the CPC would struggle to showcase a 16-bit homed game, but it handles it surprisingly well, much like it's Spectrum counterpart did also. By cutting down the amount of lemmings on-screen, the game works just as it should with all the levels and brilliant music intact. A game I have played on many platforms, the Amstrad rendition performs well given the limitations, and still makes it a top, top, top-yourself title. Let's Go!

Honourable Mentions - Leaderboard, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, The Light Corridor.

Amstrad CPC Coverart - Disc Version


Bug...'Out!


Saturday 12 April 2014

K - Kane! Once Upon a Time in the West...

A video game imagining of 'High Noon' came to the Commodore 64 in 1986 in the form of wild west jaunt Kane, swiftly followed by Amstrad's conversion which was near identical, if not improved. The jolly & jumpy western theme rolls on during the wonderfully animated horse stages, with the other 2 stages falling into the shooter category providing light amusment. The sound is nice across the board, with some cool samples included too, and while the visuals don't push the CPC, they are more than acceptable. It may be short in terms of longevity, but for what it is it's executed pretty well. Ride 'em cowboy, play that harmonica, grab an oven door...erm... I got me some varmints to kill! 

Honourable Mentions - Klax, Kung-Fu Master, Kwik Snax

Amstrad CPC Coverart - Tape Version


Bug...'Out!



Friday 11 April 2014

J - Jailbreak! Skinhead Clones on Day Release...

One cop with an itchy trigger finger and hundreds of escaped convicts on the streets? Could happen, and it did in the mid-eighties. This run and gun throwaway was most noted for it's early use of sampled speech, with the hostages screaming so loudly that you had to bypass the urge to shoot them. Difficult from the outset, the CPC slowed the game up greatly, and lost the charm of the original with the lack of audio highlights. Still, it was not too bad to play for short stints, it was presented nicely enough, and another title most memorable due to it's arcade father. Them felons were far to quick to move since they were supposed to be manacled to a weight-ball!

Honourable Mentions - Jet Set Willy, Jet Bike Simulator, Jack the Nipper.

Promotional Poster - Multi Platform


Bug...'Out!


Thursday 10 April 2014

I - Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom! - Mola Ram you Heartless Basta...

The most controversial entry of the Indiana Jones film franchise, Temple of Doom transferred to the coin-op really rather excellently without the dark nature of the story dragging it down. Movie tie-ins of this time were not the sheer crap money-grappers they are now. Sigh. Anyway, Indy makes a good-ish whip-swing across to the CPC, with many on the arcades faculties intact, including a friggin' hard as nails mine cart section. Why are mine cart sequences like that in most games that have them? This maybe responsible for setting that rulebook. Nice intro music but too quiet in the action scenes, it played well for the most part and waxed nostalgia effectively of the arcade hit. Indieeeeee!

Honourable Mentions - IK+, Impossimole, International Rugby Simulator.

Amstrad CPC Coverart - Tape Version


Bug...'Out!


Wednesday 9 April 2014

H - Harrier Attack! - Jump Jet Japery...

New CPC owners were often found playing parts of the bundled 8-pack of Amsoft games, and Harrier Attack is one, if not the best one. Yes it's crude, it's shaky, but it's also quite a bit of fun in short sessions. Harrier jump-jets have near impossible maneuverability in reality so putting one in a simple scrolling shooter didn't take much doing. Missiles and bombs ahoy, just get on with the mindless destruction, who cares if the visuals and audio are as basic as they can get. A fondly remembered early title for me, and proof that Amsoft did sometimes have a good un' in their lexicon.

Honourable Mentions -  Head Over Heels, How to be a Complete Bastard, Hard Drivin'

Amstrad CPC Coverart - Tape Version


Bug...'Out!




Tuesday 8 April 2014

G - Gauntlet! If JRR Tolkien did video games...

Atari made headlines with one of the first multi-player top-down adventure games with Gauntlet in 1985, which was soon ported to the major systems of the era. The CPC was on fine form with colourful dungeons, taxing mazes and a many sprites on-screen at once. It was even possible to play four people at a time, which was tricky with with 2 on a single keyboard. The character roaster became a staple for this style of game, and even made the jump to 3D when the Playstation was released in the form of Gauntlet Legends. A classic fantasy romp and one which was always great to return too.

Honourable Mentions - Galactic Plague, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Green Beret

Amstrad CPC Coverart - Tape Version


Bug...'Out!

Monday 7 April 2014

F - Final Fight! This Mayor doesn't Fish for Votes...

Capcom's Final Fight was an arcade sensation for me. The introduction, music and fighting moves on display took it away from the Double Dragons and Renegades of this world and shot the genre way up in my estimation. The CPC version impressed graphically at least , using the massive character sprites and intricate environments well. Lack of sound did upset me, and control was a bit clunky, but it could still boost over the Super Nintendo's port: it had all 3 select-able fighters whereas the SNES only had 2. A fine beat 'em up which translated adequately to the faithful 8-bit system when the 16 bits were taking over the world.

Honourable Mentions - Fruit Machine, Fire & Forget, Fantasy Land Dizzy


Amstrad CPC coverart - Disk Version



Bug...'Out!

Friday 4 April 2014

E - Everyone's a Wally! A Nelly or a Nana or A Nerk...

A game that is more famous for it's accompanying Mike Berry song, Mikro-Gen's Everyone's a Wally is a fun little adventure ditty which tasks you to play as various protagonists and achieve a set task in one day in town. Fun of silly humour and zany characters such as Dick the Brick and Harry the Hippie, buyers of all versions got as a bonus a hilarious song on the flip side of the tape, one which you would be humming all day once heard. It was somewhat dull in terms of gameplay once the jokes had worn off, but still a very notable game of the era.

Honorable Mentions - Elite, E-motion, Enduro Racer.

Promotional poster for the 8-bit systems


Bug...'Out!

Thursday 3 April 2014

D - Dizzy! The Yolks on You...

Never before was a true cartoon adventure game fully realised in all it's glory until 1987 with The Oliver Twins' Dizzy:The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure. I originally got this as a demo on a magazine cover tape, and immediately wanted the full game. You control Dizzy, a lovable hero egg as you guide him to defeat the evil wizard Zaks. High challenge, loads of pitfalls, excellent music and a wonderful environment, Dizzy was the closest mascot figure that represented the 8-bit home computer generation, and one to be remembered very fondly. A classic game for the Spectrum and CPC.

Honorable Mentions - Double Dragon, Driller, Daley Thompsons Decathlon.

Amstrad CPC coverart tape version.


Bug...'Out!



Wednesday 2 April 2014

C - Chase HQ! Cops take a Hard-line Approach...

'Let's go Mr Driver!' These were the words that filled your shell-like once the Chase HQ dept was on the case, tracking after another dangerous criminal in a high-speed dog-fight. The blend of speed, vehicle damage and difficulty was perfect, and the translation to the CPC was outstanding. One of the few racers of really high quality to grace the Amstrad machine, I was never more impressed once I'd played it because it was so similar to the arcade. Both in look and feel. Chasing bad guys in expensive sports cars was always a crowd pleaser in 1989 for me, it's a pity the sequel was not only rather dreadful, but stupidly rare also.

Honorable Mentions - Cauldron 2, Cybernoid, Crazy Cars.

Amstrad CPC Coverart, tape and disc version


Bug...'Out!


Tuesday 1 April 2014

B - Bomb Jack! The Original Bomberman...

Tehken (Tecmo) released platform arcade yarn Bomb Jack, which duly led to the CPC's home conversion 2 years later. You take control of the titular cartoon superhero, where you have to rid each stage of bombs by collecting them, avoiding the enemies chasing you in flight. Fast paced and fun, the Amstrad version is extremely well presented with great use of sound and visuals. It's very playable without being too taxing, and led to a sequel which strangely changed the platform format, removing Bomb Jack's ability to fly. This is a game which saw the excited lil' Bug glued to the monitor.

Honorable Mentions - Batman the Movie, Buggy Boy, Barbarian

Amstrad CPC coverart cassette edition.


Bug...'Out!