RoboCop 3 (Commodore Amiga review)

Developer: Digital Image Design
Publisher: Ocean
Released: 1992

RoboCop 3 is a first-person action game that's based on the 1993 movie of the same name.

As RoboCop, your mission is to seek out the criminals responsible for murdering Detroit police officer Murphy. The opening driving sequence offers a smooth frame-rate and convincing 3D visuals. While the stage doesn't do a great job of signposting you towards your destination, there is at least a map to stop you wandering around in circles. However, the toughest and most infuriating part of the game is the controls. While they're twitchy and overly sensitive in the driving sections it is possible to adjust by taking things slowly. In contrast, the first-person shooting levels are an absolute nightmare as it's impossible to strafe meaning you'll have to slowly turn 90° to see if any bad guys are around the corner, all the while being shot and losing precious life. It's puzzling why it wasn't included, and if it wasn't doable then perhaps this whole gameplay element would have benefited from being an on-rails shooter. What also induces rage is that enemies are seemingly capable of shooting through walls and despite their location being completely out of your field-of-view you'll still take damage until you rush forward with reckless abandon and no regard for stealth tactics. It's a real shame, as these levels look absolutely stunning with their 3D polygons and gritty art style. The frame-rate is solid too and the music provides ample tension that fits the series to a tee. Similarly, the SFX are top notch and the sound of your machine gun blasting away is extremely satisfying! Tying everything together are lots of cut-scenes and news reports, but they outstay their welcome and tend to drag on for too long.

RoboCop 3 screams of wasted potential, as it does so many things right from its astounding graphics, captivating world and gameplay variety, yet it shoots itself in the foot by including some seriously wonky controls. A basic strafe ability would have done wonders, but without it you're bound to an experience filled with cheap hits.

Random trivia: The game included an anti-piracy dongle that was quickly cracked by hackers.

Superfrog (Commodore Amiga review)

Developer: Team17
Publisher: Team17
Released: 1993

Superfrog is a platformer that was remastered in HD in 2013 (various platforms including the PlayStation 3 and Steam).

The game's objective is to rescue the Princess from the old witch and turn yourself back from a frog to a Prince. To do this, you must collect a set number of coins in each level, and while you can bounce on top of enemies to defeat them a green blob can be obtained to fire at them from distance. The exploratory nature of the level design is the game's best feature, as there's many secret passages that keep the excitement of discovery alive. Where things falter is in the control department, as Superfrog's movements are very slippery and trying to precisely line-up a head stomp will occasionally result in you overshooting your target and taking damage. To add to the frustration, World 2 introduces far too many disappearing platforms that force you to waste time climbing back up sections of the level you've already conquered. To give it its dues, the game does run at a smooth frame-rate and the action is incredibly fast; in fact, World 3's suction pipes are very reminiscent of the similar mechanic found in Chemical Plant Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992, Sega Genesis). Also, after World 5 you're transported into space for a side-scrolling shooter level that adds some much needed variety. The world themes are intriguing too, but while you'll find yourself battling in settings such as ancient pyramids and the fun park, the level design is indistinguishable throughout and never plays to these themes to create some unique challenges. Shamefully, there's only one boss which takes place at the end of the game and it's a huge let-down due to the old witch having a simple attack pattern that's insultingly easy to learn.

Superfrog has its technical merits, but its controls are sub-par and a constant source of annoyance. What's most disappointing is that its world themes are basically window dressing for what is repeated level design throughout the entire game and as such the more you play the less exciting the monotonous adventure becomes.

Random trivia: The HD remaster was delisted in 2016 due to low sales and poor reviews.

Ruff 'n' Tumble (Amiga review)

Developer: Wunderkind
Publisher: Renegade
Released: 1994

Ruff 'n' Tumble is an action game that's exclusive to the Commodore Amiga.

You play as a boy named Ruff who's attempting to reclaim his prized marbles from the evil Doctor Destiny. Armed with a machine gun, your objective in each level is to collect a certain number of coloured marbles to open the exit door. The game is challenging from the get-go and you'll quickly realise that rushing in all-guns-blazing is the wrong tactic to survive; instead, it's better to take a more methodical approach and pick off enemies from a distance or higher platform. What also makes things tough are the enemies that respawn from pods; at least they eventually stop doing so after a certain number of bad guys have appeared from them, but they're usually still bullet sponges. The saving grace from the brutal gameplay is that most enemies stay defeated on your next retry and even bosses keep any damage that you've already inflicted. There's also passwords for each world (although not for each sub-level unfortunately) that eases some frustration. There's no denying how terrific the level design is though, as it seems to defy all convention and has you exploring horizontally and vertically throughout. There's a nice mixture of environments too from its opening scenes full of greenery, to more creepy, claustrophobic caverns. However,  the issue with having Up mapped to jump is that you'll often try pressing that direction and the fire button simultaneously to shoot an enemy above you, but instead the game will only register your leap, leading to an immediate cheap hit. The graphics are simply outstanding with some detailed texture work and nicely animated sprites, but the jerky scrolling is a little off-putting.

Ruff 'n' Tumble might initially appear to be a run 'n' gun title, but in actuality it's more of a tactical shooter that rewards patient gamers with its solid gameplay. Once you adjust to its difficulty and take a slower approach you'll have a great time outsmarting enemies and exploring the glorious, sprawling environments.

Random trivia: The game was coded by Jason Perkins who also developed the adventure title Time Machine (1990, Commodore Amiga).

Graham Gooch World Class Cricket (Amiga review)

Developer: Gary James Gray
Publisher: Audiogenic
Released: 1993

Graham Gooch World Class Cricket is a sports simulation that was also released on the Atari ST and IBM PC.

There's ten international teams but you can make your own and save them. Unfortunately only single matches can be played but you do have lots of control over your squad by selecting their Batting Style, Bowling Style and Average Runs. Match settings are also available including Period (between 1-5 days), Innings (1-2 per match) and Overs (20-90 or unlimited). Bowling is simple as you move the cursor to your desired location and waggle the joystick to build up speed. Different types of bowlers are here such as Off Spinners, Swingers and Fast Bowlers and some allow you to change the path of the ball. Unfortunately the constant joystick waggling can be tiring and playing the minimum 20 overs is very taxing on the arm. Fielding is automatic and the computer doesn't always select the best player to chase after the ball; on top of this, better positioned teammates sometimes stand still! You also have no control over which side of the protected area you want to throw to and players make ridiculous dives when they're nowhere near the ball! Batting is intuitive and involves moving the batsmen's feet to lie up with the ball before hitting the fire button to swing the bat. At the same time you can hold the joystick in one of eight directions which correlates to the type of shot you want to perform (i.e. Hooks, Straight Drives, Leg Glance). It works well and it's enjoyable lining up your shots and using timing to counteract the strength and spin of your opponent's bowl. The SFX are disappointing as they mainly consist of muffled yelps from the crowd that sound like a toilet bowl flushing! There's also no ambient noise so the atmosphere feels a bit flat.

Graham Gooch World Class Cricket plays well enough but it's unremarkable and comes across as a rather bland simulation of the sport. It's just a bit too stuffy and in my opinion realism was clearly the developer's main focus rather than outright fun.

Random trivia: Two updates were also released on the Amiga; Graham Gooch's Second Innings and Graham Gooch World Class Cricket - Test Match Special Edition.

Alcatraz (Amiga review)

Developer: 221B Software Productions
Publisher: Infogrames
Released: 1992

Alcatraz is a stealth-action game that was also released on MS-DOS and the Atari ST.

You play the role of an American soldier who must enter the high risk Alcatraz prison and capture Miguel Tardiez, public enemy no.1. Scrolling from left to right, you start off with only a knife. Once you kill an enemy they'll drop more powerful weapons including guns, flamethrowers and grenades. Switching between them is odd though as you can only do so by holding Up to go into cover; only certain parts of the level allow you to hide and it's not always obvious. After you've entered the Barracks Building the game suddenly switches to first person mode where you need to use your map to shoot guards and locate a document. You'll eventually have to scale the walls and enter the cellhouse via the roof before abseiling back down and rushing to reach your helicopter. The game is very difficult due to the limited visibility of the cropped screen, the fact that you only have three lives and that the time limit for a successful mission is just two in-game hours. It's still a lot of fun in co-op mode though and once you're familiar with the levels it becomes more bearable and you'll learn to share weapons equally amongst each player. The main problem comes in single player mode as the screen is still split in two, with the bottom half reserved for what appears to be a non-functional player. However, you're actually expected to control both players and switch between them by pressing the Return key! The game is hard enough with just one person, let alone trying to multitask and I have no idea why the developers didn't add in a CPU partner.

Alcatraz is a great co-op game that mixes action, stealth and strategy and bundles it with a handful of interesting gameplay styles. It's just a shame that the single player mode is such a let-down as the lack of a CPU partner ruins the experience completely.

Random trivia: If you're finding the game a bit too tough type in the word 'cokebusters' during the mission briefing screen. You'll see a quick flash which means that you now have unlimited lives!

Shinobi (Amiga review)

Developer: Binary Design Ltd
Publisher: Virgin Games
Released: 1989

This port of the Arcade classic Shinobi was handled by Binary Design Ltd who also coded the 8-bit Amstrad CPC version.

Unlike the Master System port which gave you a life-bar, this version stays true to the Arcade original in which there are one-hit kills. Unfortunately the play area has been severely cropped and it's difficult to see your surroundings and what lies ahead. This results in many unfair deaths as ninjas fly through the air off-screen and suddenly attack you. In the second Mandara stage you need to travel vertically at times and you'll die many times from projectiles that you couldn't even see. The controls are unresponsive and it's tricky to make split-second reactions as your character sometimes refuses to turn around quickly enough! You do have one magic item you can use per level which causes massive damage to enemies but it's mapped to the Space bar; the developers didn't have much choice here due to the one-button layout of the Amiga but it does highlight the main flaw with the system itself as you have to take your hand off the controller to activate it. To its credit, the game does includes all of the stages unlike the PC Engine port. The first-person Bonus Stage is also present but it's so slow and it takes forever to move your character. The final boss only has one attack pattern instead of his usual three and it's almost as if the developers couldn't be bothered! The graphics don't look much better than the 8-bit Amstrad CPC version as they have little detail, poor animation and a low framerate. Most of the Arcade's voice samples have been included but the music is horrendous with tinny, scaled back tracks that manage to sound off-key!

This Amiga port of Shinobi is a complete shambles and an embarrassment to the franchise. If you're looking for a decent home version I'd recommend sticking to either the Master System or PC Engine ports as they do a much better job of conveying the fluid action that the series is known for.

Random trivia: Binary Design also developed a few other games for the Amiga, most notably Fued (1987), Double Dragon II: The Revenge (1989) and Steve Davis World Snooker (1989).

Yogi's Great Escape (Amiga review)

Developer: PAL Developments
Publisher: Hi-Tec Software
Released: 1990

Yogi's Great Escape is a side-scrolling platform game where your mission is to save Jellystone Park from its impending closure.

It consists of six levels which take place in Jellystone Park, The Forest, Wild West, Mumbo Jumbo Marsh, The Funfair and New York City. Most of these are your standard platforming fare where you need to make tricky jumps and avoid a wide range of enemies. However, the themed stages do help to keep things interesting. There are many objects scattered around and although they aren't necessary to complete the level collecting all of them will add a Special Bonus to your point total. The final level sees you piloting a hot air balloon and it's probably the best stage in the game - in fact, it reminds me of Up, Up and Away (1983, Atari 8-bit) as you need to carefully manoeuvre your vehicle while dodging incoming birds and instant death traps. The main problem with this port of Yogi's Great Escape is that it doesn't include anything that wasn't already seen on the various 8-bit computer versions. It would have been nice to have slightly longer levels or more stages to make this a true 16-bit game; instead it only has six very short stages and the whole game can be beaten in around ten minutes if you're good at platformers. Even the A.I. hasn't been reworked and enemies still frequently walk off the edge of a platform to their death! The graphics feature some nice parallax scrolling and the backgrounds do a good job of conveying the different themed levels. There's only one music track that's repeated in each level and although it's decent it doesn't fit in this style of game at all!

Yogi's Great Escape is a fun platform game but it's simply too short and doesn't take advantage of what the Amiga can do. It's certainly a lot smoother than it's 8-bit counterparts but it failed to include any extra content that it desperately needed to help set it apart.

Random trivia: This port was coded by Gary Antcliffe who also programmed the Amiga versions of Bomb Fusion (1989) and Blazing Thunder (1991).