Pang (Amstrad GX4000 review)

Developer: Ocean
Publisher: Ocean
Released: 1990

Pang is an action game that was also released on the Amstrad CPC (1991).

+ Gameplay is highly addictive and you'll always want to return to tough levels to test out a slightly different method.

+ Clever use of environmental hazards and enemies to spice up the level design as you progress.

+ You can choose the stage order, which is a great idea that allows less skilled gamers to see further ahead.

+ The two-player simultaneous mode is exceptional and the graphics shine with stunningly detailed backdrops.

+ Controls are rock solid and the fun power-ups (such as the rapid fire gun) give you plenty of ways to tackle the stages.

- Collision detection isn't always consistent and you'll sometimes die despite an enemy sprite being a few pixels away.

- Lack of continues can be dispiriting and it seems incredibly stingy not to at least include a password system.

Burnin' Rubber (Amstrad GX4000 review)

Developer: Ocean
Publisher: Ocean
Released: 1990

Burnin' Rubber is a racing game that was packed-in with the Amstrad GX4000 console.

+ The sense of speed is decent and the frame-rate holds up reasonably well, even when several cars litter the track.

+ The day/night system as you complete each lap is impressive and makes the journey feel grander in scale.

+ Graphics are superb with detailed car sprites and some excellent animation, particularly the waving flags prior to each race.

- Only one mode offering a rather bare-bones package that lacks any real replay value once you've completed the short GP.

- No meaningful scenic variety and the minor shifts in roadside objects aren't enough to make the locales feel distinctive.

- Controls are stiff and attempting swift manoeuvres is pot-luck due to your heavy vehicle and lack of steering animation.

- Fellow drivers have a maddening tendency to move their vehicle into your lane, just as you're about to pass them.

Tintin on the Moon (Amstrad GX4000 review)

Developer: David Perry, Nick Bruty

Publisher: Infogrames

Released: 1990

 

Tintin on the Moon is an action game that was also released on the Amstrad CPC (1989).

 

Your mission is to launch a rocket from the Atomic Research Centre and land safely on the Moon. The first stage is the Journey Through Space where you dodge meterorites while collecting eight red spheres; yellow spheres can also be obtained to top-up your energy metre which acts as health. It reminds me of the opening stage in Zaxxon 3D (1988, Master System), as there's some excellent sprite scaling but tricky depth perception that causes issues with judging spatial distance. It's also absurdly easy as you have a healthy amount of energy and plenty of opportunities to grab red spheres. Once you've collected enough you move onto the timed In the Rocket stage; here you navigate various rooms to disarm bombs, collect extinguishers to put out fires, free your companions and capture the evil Colonel Boris. If Boris shoots you you'll be temporarily stunned while he starts more fires. What's most interesting is that you can switch gravity with the B button which is great for reaching extinguishers and quickly avoiding attacks! It's fun multitasking and this could easily be a full game in its own right if there was more variance in the level design. After successfully completing both stages five times you take part in the final Moon Landing sequence. This involves regulating the auxiliary engine by braking for a smooth landing; your remaining energy is then added to your final score. It's somewhat reminiscent of Lunar Lander (1979, Arcades) but you have barely any input here, and the fact that you have no directional movement makes it stupidly simple to focus on small thrusts for a smooth landing. Overall, the game is far too easy and does nothing to improve on the Amstrad CPC original.

  

Tintin on the Moon has some great ideas and while it's clearly aimed at kids there's a real charm to its simplicity and multiple gameplay styles. However, the lack of content and challenge is disappointing, and I'm surprised the developers didn't expand on their innovative core ideas, or at least add difficulty settings to satisfy all skill levels.

 

 

 

Random trivia: 16-bit computer ports were also released on the Amiga (1989) and Atari ST (1989).

Wild Streets (Amstrad GX4000 review)

Developer: Titus

Publisher: Titus

Released: 1990

 

Wild Streets is a beat-em-up that was also released on numerous home computers including the Amstrad CPC (1989).

 

There's five levels and your job is to take down the organised crime gangs and rescue John Steven, head of the C.I.A. Button 1 in conjunction with a d-pad direction allows for various attacks (such as kicks, punches and head butts), whereas Button 2 shoots your 357 Magnum gun (six bullets per level). By your side is a panther called Black Virgin that works independently to fight against enemies. While the multi-use d-pad attacks work in a similar fashion to Ninja (1986, Atari 8-bit) the attacks here do little damage and your inputs are frequently ignored. Your panther is pretty much useless, as it only attacks enemies at random times, regardless of whether you're taking a beating. Enemy A.I. is atrocious though and they occasionally prefer to punch thin air or stare into space! Due to the dodgy combat and constant respawning foes the best method is to exit the right-hand-side of the screen as quickly as possible...this leads to the game's major flaw as you can almost avoid combat entirely by jumping over enemies and then swiftly leaving the other side of the screen. It's cheap but there's really no benefit in hanging around! At the tenth screen of every level you'll face a boss (with the same sprite as the rest of the bad guys!) who must be defeated to progress. Each one is a breeze as you can simply use your unused gun to quickly mow them down. Once you've rescued John Steven (who has no walking animation!) you must then protect him by heading back through every screen in the game until you reach the beginning; this amounts to holding Left on the d-pad (as you'll pass straight through enemies and John's energy bar is too high to deplete) for the longest three minutes of your life!

 

Wild Streets is a horrid game from start to finish with broken combat mechanics and glitches galore that either show a complete lack of play-testing or inept technical proficiency. It requires little skill to beat and despite a slightly higher frame-rate than the CPC version it does nothing to take advantage of the GX4000's power.

  

 

 

Random trivia: The ending omits the CPC's celebration screen and instead just plays a short jingle before kicking you back to the main menu...charming!

Dick Tracy (Amstrad GX4000 review)

Developer: Touchstone

Publisher: Titus

Released: 1991

 

Dick Tracy is an action game that was also released on the Amstrad CPC (1990).

 

There's six stages and your mission is to investigate the disappearance of Lips Manlis, an underworld boss and owner of The Ritz nightclub. Your primary attack is a punch, but ammo can be picked up for either a Pistol or Machine Gun. The gameplay involves walking from left-to-right mowing down enemies but a few strange bugs are present; for instance, you can't be shot while crouching, making the otherwise tough window snipers a breeze! Likewise, you can use the same tactic on incoming enemies as they'll walk straight past you when you're kneeling. The easiest way to succeed is to slowly inch your way forward; armed foes are clearly visible from a distance but they all seem to be short-sighted, leaving you free to attack from range! Despite the game's shortcomings there's something delightfully dumb about it; learning enemy patterns and executing your attacks is strangely enjoyable, mainly down to the precise timing and weapon management that's required. The latter is one of the best mechanics as the lack of ammo forces you to think about how you're going to tackle what lies ahead. I also like the shift in level design towards the end of the game; the brilliant Level 4 takes place on the rooftops and requires tricky jumps and care to avoid being shot off a building. Likewise, Level 5 has enemies that appear on different platform levels where you need to jump and fire to attack. The bosses are a let-down though as they all stand motionless and can easily be defeated with a quick barrage of gunfire. Compared to the CPC version, this port has better graphics and animation, smooth scrolling and the choice of either music or SFX.

 

Dick Tracy isn't anything to write home about but it does feature some fun arcade-like action and plenty of twitch-based gameplay. Undoubtedly it has some flaws (or mainly in this case, quirks!) but if you can look past them there's a mildly enjoyable game here that's great for a quick 15 minute play-through.

 

 

 

Random trivia: The game has the worst ending ever as it refuses to recognise your accomplishments and immediately dumps you back to Level 1 instead!

Copter 271 (Amstrad GX4000 review)

Developer: Christophe Delmaere, Ivan Gridon, Olivier Richez, Michel Winogradoff

Publisher: Loriciel

Released: 1991

 

Copter 271 is a vertically-scrolling shooter and the last commercially released game for the GX4000.

 

It supports 1-2 players (simultaneously) and your job is to stop an army of Martians from attacking Earth. Your helicopter's main weapon is a turret gun, but icons can be collected to upgrade to more powerful rockets and bombs. Similar to Sidewinder (1988, Amiga), the playfield can be expanded to show additional real estate by moving towards the extreme left or right. Unfortunately, the action is pretty much non-existent with repetitive level design and constant kamikaze-style enemies that move too fast for you to dodge with any consistency. Your vehicle is sluggish and unresponsive, and manoeuvring with any level of precision is a challenge. Annoyingly, it also has a tendency to drift along for a few seconds after you've stopped hitting the d-pad. The game box hilariously boasts: 'You will be dazzled by (the game's) speed...', despite the action crawling along and the fact that there's copious amounts of slowdown (an even bigger problem in two-player mode). The scrolling is jerky, the collision detection is spotty, and I also experienced a few glitches, the biggest of which saw my Up commands being ignored until I lost a life! The 11 missions take forever to beat (around 15 minutes each), yet the scenery pretty much looks the same throughout. I frequently found myself daydreaming while mindlessly shooting everything in sight and at no point did I ever feel engrossed. The ability to scroll the screen to the left or right has no bearing on the gameplay whatsoever and instead of being a cool feature it seemingly exists just because someone learnt how to code it into the GX4000! There's one jingle which is of acceptable quality but the noise of your helicopter's blades resembles tinnitus!

 

I've played some bad shooters in my time (notably 1943 - One Year After on the Commodore 64) but Copter 271 is probably the worst. It feels like a cheap shareware demo and while the two-player co-op mode is a good idea I find it astonishing that Loriciel chose to release the game in a barely playable state.
 

 

 

Random trivia: Loriciel also released Panza Kick Boxing (1991), Super Pinball Magic (1991) and Tennis Cup 2 (1990) on the Amstrad GX4000.