Game: Ghouls
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Micro Power
Release Date: 1985
Usually with games released around 1985, if it looks like Pac-man, and it sounds like Pac-man, it's pretty much Pac-man. Ghouls breaks this rule somewhat, as despite its main character sharing an awful lot of similarities with Pac-man (being yellow, the same death animation, eating pills and power pills to kill ghosts), it's actually more of a Mario-esque feeling platform game. The goal is to get past all of the obstacles and to the top of the screen.
Unfortunately Ghouls has one huge flaw which makes it nearly unplayable; every move has to be pixel perfect to avoid death. The controls are incredibly specific when it comes to inputs, so much so that in 20 attempts, I couldn't beat the first level despite topping the high score table of the game. The issue seems to be that even jumps which seem to land on the edge of a platform can phase through them, and the main character cannot fall very far at all without dying.
Graphically the game is pretty simple; though the main character is Pac-man with legs, the rest of the onscreen sprites are a little more original and I suppose that deserves some credit. Musically there's some menu music, and Game Over music but nothing save for sound effects in the game itself. These sound effects are reminiscent of Pac-man, and I ended up wondering why the developers didn't go for a more direct clone, as it's clear they were influenced by the Namco title.
Overall Ghouls is one to avoid; it's controls just aren't good enough to get a feel for the main character's movement. 9 times out of 10 I snagged the red plant on the first platform, resulting in a death, and the few times I didn't the balloon ghost came to get me, or the awfully tricky moving platform enemy that you can stand on some parts of but not others ended my turn.
Rating: 9/100
Grade: F
Game: Defend or Die
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Alligata Software
Release Date: 1985
Defend or Die can easily be described as a wave based space shooter. Players control a ship and are rewarded for shooting aliens which inhabit the level. There are 6 different types of aliens which can be seen above, and players must shoot a certain number of them before moving onto the next level. The player's spaceship speed is incredibly fast, and much of the navigation must be done using the radar on-screen.
The initial enemies aren't too hard to take out with the ship's built in guns, but by the time it comes to the Mutants and Bombers of wave 2, it's almost impossible not to get hit. The Mutants can move at the same speed as the ship, making its maximum speed seem stationary and thus creating a difficult situation for players to manoeuvre out of .The bombers spread bullets when they are destroyed and so are equally dangerous.
Graphically the game is pretty basic, with sprites reminiscent of Space Invaders from a few years earlier, and much of the screen filled with simply black background. While the game loaded to a musical melody, there are only shooting sounds to accompany gameplay, and these are pretty much white noise.
Overall the ship moves far too quickly compared to the landscape and the enemies become rather powerful too quickly to let players have much fun. The game seems to play decently other than these issues though, so it's a shame it wasn't a tad slower, with some initial enemies to train players in how later levels would work, rather than being thrown in at the deep end.
Rating: 30/100
Grade: E
Game: The Covenant
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: PSS
Release Date: 1985
With easily the best title screen I've seen for it's French release (the UK just got a blue screen with the title) The Covenant is a space exploration game, not entirely dissimilar to Metroid. There's a large sprawling map with lots of chambers and places to explore which scrolls as players explore and unlock new parts of it. In each chamber there's a monster which must be subdued whilst outside of the player ship and then captured inside of it. Once all the current area's monsters have been caught, a piece of the covenant is unlocked on the pause screen and players can move on.
The feel of movement in the game is very floaty; both the ship and the player character fall very slowly through the air. The exploration gameplay is slow and calculated, and although much of the terrain looks similar, there's a real sense of exploration and adventure with the game feeling far bigger than the majority of CPC titles.
Graphically the colours featured in the game remind me of Sabre Wulf for Commodore Plus/4; the bright shades evoking tropical plants. It's interesting to note how large the player's sprite is on the screen as a whole - this can make avoiding enemies and other types of damage fairly difficult, though there is a life gauge refill point situated in each part of the map. Though there's no music, there are other sound effects and the dominant feel is one of wonder at the scope of the game, for the era.
Overall Covenant is a very interesting game, and perhaps one of the most content rich of the Amstrad CPC line up. While the game does get a little harder later on, there's the possibility of saving (very impressive for the era), and uncovering the pieces of the covenant gives players an idea of how far along in the game they are. The obvious parallels with Metroid are impressive, especially on an inferior system to the NES.
Rating: 66/100
Grade: C
Game: Jack and the Beanstalk
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Thor Software
Release Date: 1985
With some of the worst menu music I've ever heard, Jack and the Beanstalk didn't give a great first impression. It's a simple platformer with various screens which tell the story as Jack climbs the beanstalk and makes his way to the giant's house. Unfortunately it's also very clunky with a poorly implemented control scheme which sees jump and shoot mapped to the same key.
Enemies are tricky to avoid, and shooting them with the gun is somewhat of a waste of ammo, as Jack has a limited number of bullets. The second screen has a 3D effect going on which is really weird and the entire game seems fairly hastily put together based on a fairytale. Constricted by the events of the story, but feeling no need to depict them in particular accuracy, the game fails to be fun, or an accurate retelling of the story.
Graphically the game looks almost cartoon like, with a visually pleasing 8-bit style. It's a shame that the movement within the game is difficult to get used to and the controls must be relearned with each level change as different ideas are attempted. Aside from the awful menu music, there are sounds here and there which also assault the ears. Whoever was responsible for the sound design in the game did a terrible job.
Overall Jack and the Beanstalk isn't a game that I'd be willing to play based on it's concept, gameplay, music, or controls. The graphics are okay, but also vary from level to level. The control issues that plague the game and lack of tangible platforming enjoyment make this hard to persevere with once players start losing lives.
Rating: 26/100
Grade: F
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