All of the games in today's review sold over one million copies; whether that means they're actually good however, is for me to decide.
Game: Sabre Wulf
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Ultimate
Release Date: 1985
Sabre Wulf is an adventure maze game where players attempt to collect the 4 pieces of an amulet and enter "the cave", whilst under constant attack from enemies inside of the maze. A sword is received at the beginning of the game, and used to kill most enemies and fend off the largest ones. Along the way there are powerups given by flowers such as invicibility and faster travel (which also gives the player invincibility due to the difficulty of avoiding enemies at high speed).
The controls used for the game are simple; the d-pad on a controller is used for movement, and one button for using the sword which can be constantly depressed to autofire, although players must still position themselves correctly to defeat the enemy with autofire on. The maze is of a terrific size for the time of the game's release; over 20 screens length in width and probably just as much high (though I wasn't able to test that theory). It reminded me of the original Metroid in its scope.
Graphically the game is incredibly colourful with plants and scenery given lots of different shades. There's a little tune which occurs when players walk, but unless you're invincible you're more likely to hear the sword sound effect constantly. The location of the amulet changes with each console reset, and enemies seem to spawn randomly, giving the game a good amount of replayability.
Overall Sabre Wulf is a fun maze style game with a good amount of challenge, solid controls and nice visuals. It's easy to see why the game got a couple of remakes on various consoles and remains to be a favourite of ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC owners everywhere. The only real improvements that could be made to this version of the game are the use of a soundtrack, a little more in-game explanation of the story, and perhaps some hints as to the location of the amulet within the maze.
Rating: 62/100
Grade: C
Game: Jet Set Willy
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Topo Soft
Release Date: 1985
Jet Set Willy is a surreal platforming game, and the second in the Manic Miner series. The plot (which isn't explained in-game) is that upon returning from his mining exploits, Miner Willy must tidy his mansion to appease his housekeeper, Maria and gain access to the bedroom for some much needed sleep. The player starts in the bathroom and must work their way around the house collecting items. Jet Set Willy is an early example of an non-linear game, as player may explore the mansion at their own leisure.
While there is a great deal of challenge to the game, the variety of platforming tasks is vast and nice to see for such an early title. Various jumps, conveyor belts, ropes and stairs must be navigated without touching enemies or falling too far, both of which result in death. Unfortunately, the game is able to reset players to risky spots in the levels, and there's no period of invulnerability after being hit, leading to catastrophically fast loss of lives in some situations, which can be rather annoying.
Graphically the game is pretty basic, with more of a home computer style 8 bit look than the classic NES style 8 bit visuals. It's one of the first CPC games I've played to have a soundtrack behind the gameplay, as well as sound effects; the music is enjoyable and fits the game well. The controls are good though jumps are a specific distance, so precision jumping is difficult.
Overall Jet Set Willy represents an obvious advancement in platform gaming (though not as much as Mario Bros. or anything of that sort), and can be enjoyable despite some of its more frustrating aspects. It's easy to see why the game was popular with gamers of the time, and I think with a few more hours dedicated to mastering the controls and timing of my jumps, I may be able to complete the game.
Rating: 55/100
Grade: D
Game: Beach-Head
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Access Software
Release Date: 1985
Beach-Head is one of the most enjoyable games I've played so far on the Amstrad CPC. It's a military game where players take control of ships and tanks in an effort to defeat the enemy in various types of battle. Firstly players must steer a ship through a course of moving enemy ships toward a goal area, carefully avoiding all of them so as not to be sent back to the start. Next players take control of the ship's guns to shoot down attacking enemy aircraft which is possibly the most fun part of the game. The angle and position of the guns is adjustable and the explosions are particularly satisfying.
The third and penultimate style of play has players controlling the ship's guns once again, but this time attempting to sink other ships by moving the guns and adjusting their angle to get a direct hit, based on onscreen feedback. Lastly there's a tank section where tanks are driven through an obstacle course littered with enemy guns and things to avoid before reaching a boss which must be shot at in specific places.
Graphically the game is simple but impressive in places, for its time. The section where you're asked to shoot down planes feels very smooth and the explosions and gunfire work very well, however the tank section's scrolling effect is choppy and feels much less impressive. Soundwise there's no music to accompany the game, but the sound effects aren't bad on their own.
Overall Beach-Head provides at least 2 enjoyable sections of gameplay, and the sheer variety of modes on offer is a huge plus for a game on this console. While a couple of the elements are a little clunky, overall each mission fits nicely into the game as a whole, and other publishers of the time would easily have released each part seperately, so Access Software get bonus points for this almost compilation like release.
Rating: 66/100
Grade: C
Game: Daley Thompson's Decathlon
Console: Amstrad CPC 464
Developer: Choice
Release Date: 1984
Voted game of the year in 1984 by Crash Magazine, and based on Konami's Track and Field, Daley Thompson's Decathlon was an incredibly popular Amstrad CPC game. It features 10 different track/field events including 100m, high jump, long jump, shot put, javelin and more. Players must reach a certain target time/distance/height in each event in order to progress without losing a life.
All of the games feature some form of wiggling the joystick from left to right as fast as possible, which depending on the joystick you're using can be quite difficult. The speed of joystick wiggling determines the speed that Daley Thompson will run, and a button press confirms where he throws/jumps from, with a second used for the angle of throw/jump.
Graphically the game isn't hugely impressive, despite its good standard for 1984. In game sounds are kept to a minimum and are usually fairly basic. I didn't enjoy the game hugely since I had very little success using any of my controllers/joysticks. When the runner's speed is determined by how fast you can alternate between two buttons, then it's lost most of its skill, as far as I'm concerned.
Overall Daley Thompson's Decathlon was probably a far better game in 1984 than it is today. What now seems simple and difficult to use at times may well have been cutting edge. I had far less fun with this title than any of the others in this "They Sold A Million" review, and it's the only one which I think didn't really deserve to sell all of those copies.
Rating: 23/100
Grade: F
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