Game Review: Bram Stoker's Dracula (Master System)

Game: Bram Stoker's Dracula
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Probe Entertainment
Release Date: 1993

It's always difficult to know quite what to expect from movie tie-in games, and especially those based on fairly well known books. Bram Stoker's Dracula was highly successful as a film in 1993, and as such a video game adaptation was almost inevitable. Despite the game being released on at least 9 systems, I decided to check out the Master System version of it.

Players take control of Jonathan Harker who is attempting to escape from capture in Dracula's Castle, and explore 3 levels, each of which have a night and day stage. Gameplay is in the form of a platformer; players can jump and shoot with each of the buttons on the controller, as well as moving with the d-pad. Weapons, health and bonus score coins can be collected from item boxes on the floor of levels.

Each of the weapons available has a different method of use; the sword (which is the default weapon) can only be used at close range, the hatchet is thrown in an arc from a distance, and fireballs and other projectiles fire straight forwards . The levels are fairly well designed if a little short at times, but are hindered most by the rapidly increasing difficulty. At times the game will present almost impossible combinations of enemies and obstacles which is likely to put some players off.

There are bosses at the end of each level, the first of which is pretty easy as long as players have some sort of projectile weapon, and the second of which is almost impossible due to the small space which players are given to fight in. This disparity in boss difficulty, added to the increase in level difficulty makes for a short game where players are almost certain to get stuck at some point.

Graphically Bram Stoker's Dracula is certainly acceptable in terms of the Master System library. Both indoor and outdoor locations are pleasing to the eye, and player/enemy sprites are fairly detailed and well animated. The music featured in the game is nothing special and isn't particularly memorable, but at times contributes to the horror theme nicely.

Overall this isn't the worst game that could have come from a Dracula movie tie-in, though it doesn't seem to follow the plot of the film particularly. Controlwise the gameplay is very responsive and with a greater number of more detailed levels, and a difficulty adjustment there's no reason that this game couldn't have been a classic for the Master System. Unfortunately it fell short of that mark and is decidedly mediocre.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D

Followup Review: Road Rash (MS) and Road Rash II

Game: Road Rash
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Electronic Arts
Release Date: 1990

Most of the time, Master System versions of games on the Mega Drive are scaled down graphically, musically and most of all in terms of gameplay. Certain features and effects may be taken away, and overall it tends to leave the game experience feeling lacking. This is not the case for Road Rash however; it seems that this conversion somehow left most, if not all of the fun factor in the game.

Gameplaywise it's pretty much the same as its Mega Drive counterpart; players race against AI opponents in order to win races, and move up in level. Placing 3rd or better effectively 'clears' the race, and once all races are cleared players can move up a level. New bikes can be purchased once enough cash has been earned from placing in races, and these have various handling and speed characteristics.

Compared to games like Hang-On and Outrun, the scrolling effect of the levels is fairly impressive as there are elevation changes as well as changes of direction. In both the Mega Drive and Master System versions the frame rate is noticeably low though this doesn't seem to make it any more difficult to drive.

The only real change I noted between the two versions of the game that I've played is that hitting obstacles on the side of the track in the Master System version doesn't tend to knock the player off their bike very often when compared to the Mega Drive version. This is only a slight change however, as players aren't usually on the sides of the track anyway, and doesn't affect gameplay in any real way.

Graphically the game doesn't seem too different to its Mega Drive counterpart. Of course it's 8-bit instead of 16, but the original version didn't really make too much use of the console's capabilities and thus the Master System does a good job of recreating the scenery. The only area of the game which falls noticeably short of expectations is the music. While there's some interesting scaled down versions of the in-game tracks, it's not really the same.

Overall though Road Rash for the Master System is a brilliant conversion, and one of the most enjoyable racing games for the system. The tracks, scrolling and ability to hit other players places it above titles such as Hang-On and Outrun, and although the game is still limited by the shortcomings of the Mega Drive version, it also has the same fun factor.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

Game: Road Rash II
Console: Sega Mega Drive
Developer: Electronic Arts
Release Date: 22nd July 1993

Producing a sequel to a game like Road Rash is not an easy task; there's a certain formula and identity to the games that must be continued, but making something too similar to the original means that there's no real reason for the sequel to exist. Unfortunately Road Rash II is just that; today perhaps it'd be a set of DLC tracks based on locations in America.

The aim and layout of the game remains much the same, with only 5 repeating tracks to race per level; Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Tennessee and Vermont. While the tracks do vary slightly it's not really enough to keep interest in the locations, and there's no defining scenery or track features to be seen either.

The layout of the HUD has changed a little from the first instalment of the series, though it shows basically the exact same information. The stylised rev counter is a nice touch, and it's slightly easier to check on your race position but apart from this there's no real improvements. Graphically the game does look slightly better than Road Rash, but the frame rate remains fairly low and choppy despite not impacting gameplay in any significant way. Musically the game is mixed, featuring a few enjoyable songs, amongst others which stand out as honestly bad.

Overall Road Rash II is more of the same in all but the graphics, which haven't improved enough to warrant a new instalment of the game. If this is your first Road Rash game, or you're a big fan of the series, then you're in for a treat with an enjoyable and fast paced racing game, with violent elements. However if you've played the first game, you may feel as if you've already experienced Road Rash II whilst playing.

Rating: 70/100
Grade: C

Amstrad CPC Quadruple Header: Pipeline 2, Side Arms, Bridge-It and Skate Rock

Game: Super Pipeline 2
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Taskset
Release Date: 1985

As Mario seemed to have no intention of doing much plumbing in 1985, Foreman Fred came to the rescue, braving the depths of the sewers to ensure that Sheik Aleg's barrels are filled. Unfortunately for him, the tools from the workshop seem to have gone bezerk and are attacking both the pipes and Fred himself. Contact with the tools will cause the player to lose a life and any pipes that are attacked will spring a leak, which will need to be fixed by Fred's assistant, Will who needs to be guided to the leak in order to start fixing it.

Players can travel both on top of and up and down the pipe which carries water, and it's usually best to try and get a good line of sight on the attacking tools, and enemies. While most tools are defeated when shot once, there's a scorpion which can only be defeated by a shot from behind or sacrificing Will, and a screwdriver which seems to be invincible and can only be defeated by sacrificing Will.

Graphically the game has a cartoon style of sorts, and the characters featured are colourful and easily recognisible, although when enemies and tools are positioned behind a pipe, it's near impossible to tell and tends to result in many frustrating deaths. The music of the game is pretty good for the era, and accompanies the game well. The sound effects are basic, but work decently towards giving the player audial feedback.

Overall Super Pipeline 2 seems to be a decent concept which wasn't all that well executed because of the standard of hardware in 1985. Perhaps on the Mega Drive or Super Nintendo, the game might have had some sort of enemy indication through the pipes, but as there isn't one, it makes the game far harder to play. If you're into fairly difficult puzzle/platforming games then this might be an afternoon's entertainment though.

Rating: 22/100
Grade: F

Game: Side Arms
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: 1987

Once before in a review, I played the arcade version of Side Arms, and gave it a score of 45/100 due to its extreme difficulty. A year later than its arcade release, Side Arms came out on home console and the Amstrad CPC was lucky enough to get a port. While the game is vastly different from its arcade counterpart there are some redeeming features, and compared to other games on the CPC it's pretty enjoyable.

In this version of Side Arms, you play as an astronaut on their way through space, taking potshots at various enemies that come your way. There's not a lot of them around, though and often it's a little boring to just drift though space until the next one comes. A variety of weapons and powerups are included such as a spreader gun, laser shooters which rotate around the player and a laser weapon.

There are various levels to the game although it's pretty hard to get much further than the second. Depending on what powerups you currently have, the game can be pretty easy, but without them it's pretty difficult not to get hit. Graphically the game looks pretty good for the Amstrad CPC, although it was later on in the console's lifespan, so you might expect that. Musically the game is very good and the soundtrack is probably my favourite part, although its a shame that you can't hear it over the shooting sound effect most of the time. Overall this is pretty fun to play, although its not really up to the standard of space shooters on the NES.

Rating: 46/100
Grade: E

Game: Bridge-It
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Epicsoft
Release Date: 1984

There's really not a lot to say about Bridge-It. The game was one of the first games released for the Amstrad CPC and is easily one of the worst. Players are first met with an options screen asking how they'd like to define the controls, or use a joystick, the level of play and how many lives they'd like. Once these have been decided, the game's main screen flashes up and play begins almost instantaneously (which leaves players with very little time to react).

The object of the game is to guide all of your men to a building on the other side of the river, over 4 bridges which are usually in the up position. Players must lower bridges for the men to walk over before they get to them, so that they don't fall into the water. No more than 2 bridges can be lowered at once, and once one bridge is down, the other will come back up very quickly, meaning that it's almost impossible, if not absolutely impossible to guide all of the troops back to the other side.

Graphically the game seems fairly poor, almost resembling an Atari 2600 or Intellivision game from the previous generation. There's almost no detail, and the men seem to fall before they even get to the bridges. The soundtrack seems to be the game's worst feature though, with out of tune versions of songs such as Jingle Bells being your only accompaniment to the mass bridge jumping exercise.

Overall this game is almost unplayable; there's very little to do or control, the bridges are unresponsive and difficult to move in the correct way, the graphics and soundtrack are incredibly poor, and there's no hope of getting even half the men across the bridge, not that it matters, since there's no targets or clear levels to the game.

Rating: 2/100
Grade: F

Game: Skate Rock
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Bubble Bus Software
Release Date: 1987

Released in the same year as Side Arms, and far less exciting; Skate Rock is comparable to Paperboy in its gameplay. The goal is to pass through checkpoints while skating through the streets under a time limit. It also controls a little like Paperboy; the up button raises the player's speed, right and left turn, and down slows the player. Strangely though the skater travels sideways most of the time, so everything feels 90 degrees away from what it should be. Aside from this the controls are fairly responsive, even if the skating action feels painfully slow sometimes.

Jumping is programmed strangely; instead of an ollie, the skater will jump straight upwards, which can cause problems if players are not expecting that sort of motion. Checkpoints are dotted about the streets; sometimes in the road, sometimes on the pavement, and there are various obstacles that must be avoided such as pedestrians. Some of these have rather random patterns in later levels, making them hard to avoid, but the speed of the game is slow enough to be able to deal with them.

Graphically the game isn't much better than an Atari 2600 game, or something on the Commodore Plus/4; it doesn't look bad, but it's not revolutionary either. The theme tune which plays on the game's menu is enjoyable to a degree, but there's no ingame music which is a shame. Overall this is a fairly boring skating title which doesn't have a lot to do, even for the time of its release.

Rating: 26/100
Grade: F

Review Double Header: Road Rash and Road Rash 3D

Game: Road Rash
Console: Sega Mega Drive
Developer: Electronic Arts
Release Date: 19th November 1992

Building on concepts from Super Hang-On and Outrun, Road Rash is a thrillingly violent motorcycle racing game where players attempt to progress through the ranks of 5 race series, upgrading their bikes and winning races as they go. In contrast to other racing games, it's possible to kick, punch or hit your opponent with a club to decrease their stamina and possibly knock them off their bike.

The first area in which the game really shines is in its courses and the handling of its bikes; unlike Hang-On and Outrun where players remain on the same horizontal plane, the roads in Road Rash have gradients and height changes which can launch players into the air for a more extreme experience. Bikes also feel looser and more able to be steered quickly by players at high speeds than in other Mega Drive games.

There are 15 competitors in each race, and players must place 4th or better in all 5 races to advance to the next race series. Unfortunately each race series contains the same tracks, with longer versions after each advancement, so there's only a small range of locations. Winning races can be a little challenging, especially in later series but advancing through the levels of the game is generally pretty easy.

On each track players have to contend not only with other racers, but also with traffic and obstacles at the side of the road. Hitting a car, sign, cow or other obstruction will usually result in players flying off their bike at high speeds and being made to run back and collect it. Skilled players shouldn't have too much trouble avoiding crashes though, as the controls are responsive and intuitive.

Graphically the game looks better than it's counterparts with more detail than Super Hang-On or Turbo Outrun. Although the game is made up of 2D sprites, players can almost get a sense of a 3D racing experience. The music which plays behind races is lively and interesting, although I wish there was a little more selection as each song plays quite a few times even in a short playthrough.

Overall Road Rash is a well executed game with a great concept, good controls and graphics and a decent sense of progression. I would have liked to have seen more than 5 tracks on offer, and perhaps some more bike upgrade options, but on the whole the game is fast and fun. It's a shame there's no 2 player mode though, as it seems like the sort of game that would be a lot of fun against a friend.

Rating: 74/100
Grade: B

Game: Road Rash 3D
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Electronic Arts
Release Date: 31st May 1998

Road Rash's journey into the third dimension went almost as predictably as you could expect for a late 90's Playstation game. The first thing players will notice upon loading the game is the "attitude" that's been injected into proceedings. Angry punk-style music accompanies short videos of biker dudes and chicks "playing it cool" before players are given the choice of "Thrash" or "Big Game" modes, which equate to quick race and career mode respectively.

Progression through the game is much the same as the Mega Drive version in career mode; players can move up a level once they've placed 3rd or better in each race. This time though there's a different selection of races for each level of play. The locations and scenery in the races isn't particularly varied across the game, and often it feels like the levels are repeating in all but name.

Controlwise the game is far worse than previous instalments, as anything more than a slight steering input will cause the bike to slide. Whenever there's more than a slight turn, the bike tends to end up bouncing from side to side until the rider falls off or manages to correct their course. Upgrading the bikes doesn't make a huge amount of difference to the handling, but can give players a huge adv
antage until the next level up, if bought soon enough. 

As far as weapons go, there's a couple more than the original game but overall there's far less focus on knocking other riders off their bikes. It's hard to get alongside other racers, and even when you can, they take a good 3 or 4 hits to dislodge. With less violent moments, Road Rash 3D feels far more like a standard motorbike racing game, without any of the tight handling or finesse. 

Graphically the bikes and racers take on a polygonal look, with a lack of real detail. This is shared by the fairly blurry and uninteresting landscapes and locations. The screen layout and HUD isn't too different to the original game, and conveys enough information to help players. The soundtrack consists of licensed music which fits with the general "attitude" theme. It's not unenjoyable, but I would have liked to have seen some remixes of classic tracks, or even some original songs to race to.

Overall Road Rash 3D seems to be a step back from predecessors with poor handling, graphics, progression, tracks and overall gameplay. It's not unplayable by any means but there's far less fun to be had than there could have been with a few small changes. This is the sort of game that can be defined as mediocre.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game Review: Me & My Katamari

Game: Me & My Katamari
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 21st March 2006

For the Katamari games, being a game series without any parallels has its advantages; there's no competition for market share of the "stuff rolling" genre, and being quirky means that there's no need for a deep plot as such. There are also disadvantages to being such a unique series; following in the footsteps of two incredibly well received instalments on a handheld is one of these. There are decisions to be made on what needs to be scaled down, if anything and how similar gameplay will be to previous instalments; too similar and there's no need to for it to exist, too different and it's hardly an entry in the series.

Me & My Katamari sees the Prince of the Cosmos taking a much needed holiday from rolling a katamari around, though before too long he must fulfil requests from many different animals for islands which fulfil certain criteria. These include requests for a soft island, a warm island, and a heavy island, each of which are judged on what has been rolled up during play. Players must also be sure to exceed certain size targets within the time limit to complete levels.

Every now and then animals will make a request which doesn't involve fulfilling a size requirement, such as treasure hunting in the desert for a maximum value, or launching a rocket, but these levels are few and far between. General gameplay is pretty standard for the Katamari series and tasks players will rolling up progressively bigger objects, but the controls are a little different to the home console versions owing to the buttons on the PSP. In place of the PS2's dual analog sticks, the face buttons and d-pad of the PSP are used. While this can take a little getting used to for fans of the series, it's basically the same idea.

Initially players will be asked to reach their katamari's target size in a single area, sometimes with an additional unlockable part once a certain size is reached. Later in the game though, players progress through several areas, continuing to increase the size of their katamari while still on the same "level" of the game. By the end of the game, there's 4 or 5 areas per level, which tend to be the same locations for each, with many similar objects to roll up from level to level. In a lot of ways this feels lazy as it's asking players to essentially replay stages to progress.

Another issue with the game is its overall difficulty; generally speaking, the smaller the items you're collecting, the harder it is to fulfil the size requirement. On the levels where players start at a 10m size, it's easy enough to roll up houses, trees and other large objects to increase size, but for levels which begin at 10cm, there's much less to roll up and easily gain mass. This presents an almost reversed difficulty curve as early areas are difficult to progress past, and later areas are pretty easy.

Alongside all of the rollable items in the game there are cousins, who can be collected to play as, and different accessories to wear whilst you roll. These collectibles keep the game a little more fresh, and it can be fun to discover all the different playable cousins. There's also a camera mode where players can take pictures of things they find, or their katamari if they wish to.

Graphically Me & My Katamari follows the style of preceding games in the series, and doesn't seem to have been scaled down much in this respect. When the Katamari's size levels up, it can be a little hard to see what's going on, but this could have been exacerbated by the PSP3000's interlacing issue. Musically the game features many songs from other Katamari games as well as a few new tunes, all of which are of a high quality and give the game an enjoyable and fun loving mood.

Overall this is an enjoyable game, especially for players who have never experienced the series. For those that have played We Love Katamari, this instalment may come across as a tad repetitive, with slightly backwards progression of difficulty thanks to the way areas follow on from eachother. Other than this though, the game hasn't been particularly been scaled down for play on a handheld, and it remains an interesting PSP title.

Rating: 75/100
Grade: B

Simple Series Quality Test: Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 vs Rollercoaster World

Game: Rollercoaster Tycoon 3
Console: PC
Developer: Frontier Developments
Release Date: 26th October 2004

As one of my enduring favourites in the 'tycoon' series of games, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 has many fun features and enjoyable aspects, whereas games which attempt to imitate its success without even putting in half as much effort do not. In this double header review I'll first take a look at RCT3 and what makes it fun, and then assess whether or not Rollercoaster World, published by Midas Interactive quite lives up to the same standard.

In Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, players attempt to either build a successful theme park within a specific scenario with cash, theme and time limitations, or  play in sandbox mode where money is no object, and players can go about building anything they like. There are many preset buildings and park features that can be selected and placed, such as gift stands, thrill rides, scenery, preset rollercoasters and even smaller items such as bins, plants and themed items. In addition to this, rollercoasters and park transit rides can be custom designed by players, to pretty much any specification they'd like.

The game screen may seem a little cluttered with options on first glance, but there's a lot of options which need to be accessible when designing parks. At the top of the screen, information is displayed about the time of day, general mood of guests, the current financial situation and speed of the game. The options at the side allow players to check the park's finances, staff, rides and other stats, as well as build new coasters, rides, attractions or park features. Each of these menus has various submenus for themeing and different kinds of options.

The bubble in the bottom left appears when players are placing paths or building a new rollercoaster, and allows various options to be changed. Guests will generally only walk in areas where paths are laid, allowing players to direct them through the park in a sense. In the bottom right bubble, options for the selected ride are available such as opening or closing it, pricing information, the colour of its cars and track, stats and break down information. There's a lot of detail featured in the game, but it serves to allow players to make better decisions in scenario modes.

The scenarios featured in the game are interesting, and worth a try if that's your sort of thing. Personally I prefer to play in sandbox mode and create whatever I can think up, both in terms of parks and rollercoasters. Players are given a huge area to build their park in, and although there are height limits, they're pretty extreme and you're not likely to hit them unless you're trying to. There's several types of coasters to choose from, and almost anything is possible with the creation tool.

The business simulation aspects of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 are also enjoyable; better parks attract more guests, and advertising campaign or getting awards also contribute to the number of people passing through. Players are able to click on any guest they wish to see their thoughts about the park and rides they've been on. The hiring and firing of staff for the park is another aspect of gameplay (especially in scenario mode); entertainers or park officials who are in a bad mood may have a negative influence on guest moods also.

One of the best and most charming aspects of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 is the ability to ride the rollercoasters you've created in a first person view. There's some fun to be had in attempting to copy a real world coaster and then seeing how well it matches up. The build mode is well balanced; it's not so freeform that building a functional rollercoaster is difficult, but it's not so rigid that every creation seems to be similar either.

Another great feature of the game is the ability to plan events such as fireworks displays, at a certain time of the day in any part of your park. Coupled with the themed rides, objects and scenery, this makes for a good way to personalise your park. Each time I've played the game, I've been able to explore different ideas, layouts and ride possibilities, which is hugely important to replayability.

Graphically the game looks very nice, with a mix between cartoon styles up close and a more realistic look when zoomed out. The menus are clearly laid out and although sometimes it can take a bit of digging to find the required options, this is only due to the large amount of variables. The day/night cycle is a nice touch, especially for players wanting to emulate "Fright Nights" with a horror theme. Musically the game features an upbeat accompaniment to park building and overseeing events while allowing players to experience the atmosphere when zoomed in. These combine to provide a general feeling of excitement.

Overall Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 has all the content, options and design tools to give players a huge amount of control over how their theme park turns out. Whether playing to the limitations of scenario mode in an attempt to run a successful park or just building the park of your dreams, the game has all of the tools needed to shape a unique and personal experience. There's not much more you could ask for from a theme park building simulation game.

Rating: 78/100
Grade: B

Game: Rollercoaster World
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Bimboosoft
Release Date: 21st May 2004

And so to Rollercoaster World; surely even a simplified version of RCT3 would be the best game I've played in the Simple Series so far. Well, just like Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 there are 2 main modes; Challenge Mode and Management Mode. They're somewhat different to Scenario and Sandbox mode, however. Challenge Mode has players designing different types of rollercoasters to meet certain speed, thrill and safety ratings, in a sort of grid based view, while Management mode is a little more like RCT3, though not a lot.

There are 5 challenges in total in Challenge Mode, each with its own type of rollercoaster to construct. Players must stay within certain height and turn angle restrictions while building in a strange quadruple view; showing the coaster from above, beside, onboard and another view which I couldn't quite get my head around. Once the track reaches the station players may test their creation, and if the car gets back to the station they're then scored against the target ratings to see if the level has been passed.

Needless to say, this mode is pretty shallow with only 5 challenges, as well as being restrictive in terms of what can be built, and not a lot of fun. After quite a few tries, I wasn't able to get past the second challenge and so decided to give "Management Mode" a go. After a fairly long and boring tutorial (there's one for Challenge mode, but it's shorter), players are allowed to place attractions and custom rollercoasters in a style vaguely resembling RCT3, but there's no real depth to anything as the burger stands, restrooms, arcades and other attractions cannot be interacted with by guests.

Even guests themselves can't be viewed from the overhead mode and require players to change to "Free Walk" view to be seen. It's not worth the effort though as in this mode, despite being able to walk around the park as you please, everything is a low resolution 2D picture. Attractions, scenery, facilities and guests alike are blurred, immobile and generally unimpressive. There's some element of being able to earn money for guests entering your park in Management Mode, but it's really not worth it when you can't see, hear or get feedback from them.

The only thing the game does seem to have going for it is the ability to ride the rollercoasters you've created, just like in RCT3. It's just a shame that the camera is far shakier and the action far less exciting. Graphically, nearly everything else is a low resolution 2D image and even the few things that aren't could have been rendered on the original Playstation. The music featured in the game is annoying and repetitive.

Overall Rollercoaster World can hardly even be called a Rollercoaster Tycoon clone, due to the gap in quality. Neither Challenge Mode nor Management Mode has any hint of excitement, and the "Quickride" Modes where players can see the sort of coasters they can make almost seems to be taunting me with the type of creations it claims are possible. Yet again a Simple Series game fails miserably at something which should have been easy to emulate.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E

Amstrad CPC Multiplat Triple Header: Bionic Commando, Double Dragon and Turbo Outrun

Game: Bionic Commando
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Software Creations
Release Date: 1988

Bionic Commando is the only game in this series of reviews which I haven't been able to play on another console. As such I've nothing to compare it to, but that doesn't matter too much as you'll see. Players control a Bionic Commando with one limb able to shoot and another able to project a telescopic grabbing arm, to aid with platforming. This is a good concept and allows players to reach platforms in any of the 8 joystick directions, as well as shoot enemies who are in their way.

Making their way through levels, players must avoid or kill enemies and find the exit, at which point the next level will begin to load. While the levels aren't difficult, it does take a little bit of effort to figure out where you're meant to be going. There are 5 levels in total, which slowly escalate in terms of difficulty although they never reach a level that's too hard. Controlwise the game works pretty well; it's a little slow like most games on the CPC, but the platforming and shooting concepts are there.

Graphically the game is one of the worst I've ever seen. The player character's sprite is transparent with a black outline, meaning that it easily blends in with anything behind it. At times it's almost impossible to see what's happening onscreen due to the combination of bright clashing backgrounds, and abundance of black outlines. Soundwise there's not a lot to enjoy; the shooting sound effect is pretty standard for the time.

Overall this'd be the classic argument for gameplay mattering more than graphics, if only the graphics didn't get in the way of being able to play the game properly. If you can endure the difficulty of picking out which black line is yours then Bionic Commando has more enjoyable gameplay than some other CPC games, but otherwise I wouldn't bother.

Rating: 27/100
Grade: E

Game: Double Dragon
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Binary Design
Release Date: 1988

There are two versions of Double Dragon on the Amstrad CPC. One of them has rather crude Atari 2600 looking graphics, and moves similar to the arcade version of the game. The other version is the one I have. An early indication that the game might not be too good is the fact the there's only one fire button to assign. This means that there's literally only one attack available, a simple punch in the direction that the player is facing.

What's more, the hit detection on enemies is absolutely awful. As a general rule, any punch that looks like it's going to hit will miss, and vice versa. Players can be standing in the same place as an enemy and still hit them, but when a little less than an arm's length away, punches will miss most of the time. Not only this, but regular enemies take between 5 and 12 hits to defeat, meaning that players have to continually press the attack button whilst waiting for enemies to become un-stunned so that they can be hit again.

Graphically the game is pretty poor and looks as if it could have been made in Microsoft Paint, with the amount of detail that's included. As the hit detection is so faulty, it hardly matters how difficult it is to see what you're doing, because even if you could the game wouldn't allow legitimate punches anyway. Soundwise there's hardly anything to comment on; punches sound weak and any other sound effects are fairly standard for the time.

Overall this version of Double Dragon for the Amstrad CPC is one of the worst ports of a game I've ever played. The controls are slow and unresponsive, meaning that it's almost impossible to progress much further than the first few enemies. Luckily you wouldn't want to thanks to the unimpressive graphics, sound and range of attacks.

Rating: 3/100
Grade: F

Game: Turbo Outrun
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: U.S. Gold
Release Date: 1989

As a big fan of the Outrun series, I thought it'd be interesting to see how the game played on a severely underpowered console. Just like Turbo Outrun on the Sega Mega Drive, the game's checkpoints follow a route through America, from New York to Los Angeles. On the way, players can use the new turbo system to reach higher speeds than normally possible, as well as upgrading their car's engine, grip and turbo system at various points along with way.

Although the framerate is incredibly low (mostly due to the processing power of the console), the game controls fairly well. Steering is relatively easy, and there's no need to worry about most of the other cars on the road as a lot of them can be passed through without any loss of speed. While this could be used as a negative aspect to the game, it'd be extraordinarily difficult to avoid hitting any other vehicles in later stages.

There's not a lot of identifying features to the stages in the game, although they're based in various American cities. Some are blanketed in snow, while others are just bland expanses, only really differing from other locations in colour scheme. Between checkpoints the tape which the game is on must be restarted, and players are told to wait while the next stage loads. This takes about as long as stages themselves, which can be frustrating.

Graphically the game is very pixelated and hardly ever looks good, but it's recognisable as an Outrun game. Musically it's a shame that versions of the original Outrun music couldn't be included, but the song that accompanies gameplay is enjoyable, even if there's no variation between stages.

Overall Turbo Outrun on the Amstrad CPC is an enjoyable game, despite its shortcomings. I managed to complete it on my first playthough, meaning that it's definitely easier than versions of Outrun games on Sega consoles; it's functional however, and that's more than can be said for quite a few Amstrad CPC games. For those who couldn't experience a better version, this is a playable option.

Rating: 54/100
Grade: D