Rollaround (Amstrad CPC review)

Developer: Mr Chip Software

Publisher: Mastertronic

Released: 1988

Rollaround is an isometric action-puzzler that was also released on the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.

 

The object is to acquire crosses while avoiding aliens, death traps and the ever-decreasing time limit. These crosses come in different colours and you must only obtain the correct amount in each level, the requirements of which are displayed at the top of the screen. Controlling the ball requires precision, as a slight misstep will push it over the edge, squandering one of your ten lives. The aliens have unique abilities, including some that home in on your direction, and others that create holes in the floor. To help, you have the ability to jump which comes in handy for quick escapes. Being used to Marble Madness (1984, Arcades), the controls here are finicky, mainly because your movements are 'block-by-block' based rather than relying on rolling momentum; therefore, it's easy to accidentally overshoot a platform and fall to your death. It's possible to adjust after extended play but rarely was I comfortable due to constant overthinking. The game can be cheap and it's possible to legitimately die by touching an enemy, only to repeatedly respawn on top of them until all your lives are depleted. It's infuriating, especially in the later levels where you're desperately trying to conserve balls. I also didn't like that some levels offer you no grace period when they begin, meaning enemies swarm in while you're trying to see which coloured crosses are required. However, it has a maddeningly addictive quality and the short level lengths result in a 'just one more go' mentality that provides the main hook for the player. Completing a level is satisfying and the fact that new enemies and mechanics are slowly introduced keeps you motivated.

 

With a few tweaks to the controls and gameplay options Rollaround could have been a real gem in the Amstrad CPC library. It's certainly addictive, but ends up being too punishing for its own good, and the constant need to wrestle with the inputs dampens any initial enthusiasm you might have.

 

 

 

Random trivia: In 1988, Mr Chip Software changed its company name to Magnetic Fields (Software Design) Ltd.

Ninja (Amstrad CPC review)

Developer: Icon Design

Publisher: Entertainment USA

Released: 1987

 

Ninja is a multi-screen action game that was released on various 8 and 16-bit home computers.

 

Your mission is to travel through the Palace of Death, collect the seven idols and return to the opening screen. The door to the seventh idol only opens when you have the first six and their locations vary on each play-through, which enhances replayability. By pressing anywhere on the d-pad while holding fire your ninja can execute attacks such as punches and flying kicks. When you start the game, you're equipped with a Samurai sword, but you can pick up spinning death-stars and throwing daggers along the way (up to three of any combination at once). Being familiar with the other ports of Ninja, I was immediately struck by the weird frame-rate issues, as your ninja moves way too fast when not engaged in combat, and then slows down rapidly when an enemy appears. During combat, the collision detection is spotty to say the least, and your sprite pretty much needs to be overlapping your opponent to even register a hit; this makes it pot-luck as to whether you make contact or take damage, and there's no consistency to the outcome. I also didn't like how throwing all three death-stars rarely results in your opponent's life-bar being completely drained (unlike other 8-bit ports), meaning using the hit-and-miss close range attacks is unavoidable. To top it off, the death-stars and daggers sometimes appear at the very edge of the screen, making them impossible to collect due to your character exiting to the next scene! All of these technical issues result in a game that's much harder than the other 8-bit computer ports, for all the wrong reasons. There's also no music during gameplay so the action has little atmosphere compared to the Atari 8-bit version. The only real competent part of the game is the decent looking sprite animation.

 

Ninja on the Amstrad CPC is full of programming errors and the fact that it doesn't always follow the original source material is weak. Playing this port will give you the wrong impression of the game so do yourself a massive favour and stick to the superior Atari 8-bit version (developed by Sculptured Software instead).

 

 

 

Random trivia: An Arcade version of the game was released in 1987 under the title Ninja Mission.

180 (Atari 8-bit review)

Developer: David Forward, Steve Pickford, Jason C. Brooke
Publisher: Mastertronic
Released: 1986

180 is a darts game that was released on various home computers including the Commodore 64 and MSX.

There are three modes on offer, the first being Tune Up. This challenges you to hit every number on the board from high to low within 99 seconds. It's tough due to the short time limit but it's a great way to get accustomed to the controls. Next up is One Player and here you must beat three opponents on your way to the title. You start off in the Quarter Finals and play in a best of three sets. To win a set you need to score a total of 501 before your opponent does. Your last shot has to be a double so a bit of strategy is involved once you've whittled down your starting score. The on-screen cursor moves around in a diagonal pattern and once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy to throw the dart to your chosen location. If you manage to hit three treble 20s in a row you'll hear a short speech sample of the referee shouting: "180!" While the audio quality isn't great it's cool to hear this in an Atari 8-bit game. When your competitor takes his turn to throw the action changes to a side-on view and the scenery looks great with a detailed bar in the background. Each character has an amusing name such as Beer Belly Bill or Del Boy Desmond and their sprites look excellent while representing their stereotype well! There are eight characters to see in total and the game randomises which ones you see during your three matches. The first two rounds are easy but the final against Jammy Jim is difficult; the only way to win is to have a perfect game and master the art of getting treble 20s. The last mode is Two Player and it consists of a single match. It's addictive and can get very competitive if your friend is halfway decent at the game!

While 180 doesn't have much replay value it's incredibly playable and controls perfectly. It has lots of personality and charm and I love that it doesn't take itself too seriously like many other games in the genre.

Random trivia: The Atari version is missing a funny animation that occurs during play as a dog usually appears and urinates against the bar!

Gun Law (Atari 8-bit review)

Developer: English Software
Publisher: Mastertronic
Released: 1986

Gun Law is a run 'n' gun game that takes inspiration from the Arcade hit Commando (1985).

The basic premise is that aliens (who look like soldiers!) have infested your town. Armed with a single gun it's up to you to wipe them out as you travel across five levels. It doesn't quite adopt a top-down approach and instead features a pseudo 3D angle. This looks cool but it causes problems with the gameplay mainly due to the dodgy collision detection. You'll frequently die from enemy bullets that look like they're well behind you or hit an electric fence when you thought you'd timed it perfectly. There's no consistency with any of this so whether you succeed is down to pure luck. The gameplay is incredibly tough for all the wrong reasons, partly because the developers decided not to include diagonal movement or fire. There's too many obstacles littered around the play area and it seems like you're always wrestling with the controls as you get stuck on yet another rock! If you lose a life you're sent right back to the last checkpoint and they're not particularly well spaced out so frustration quickly sets in. The most annoying part of the game is that even when you kill an enemy they can still fire for a brief moment; this leads to many lost lives and it just feels very cheap. Enemies are at least twice as fast as you so it's difficult to come up with an effective strategy against them. After a while you'll realise that it's pointless even trying to kill them as if you do another one will quickly take its place and you'll be overwhelmed by stray bullets again. As a result the best strategy is to simply run through the level and only fire when absolutely necessary. This obviously takes away the main point of the game but the poor coding leaves you with little choice.

Gun Law could have been a good run 'n' gun game but it has many technical issues to the point where it's almost unplayable. It's really not worth your time and if you want to see this genre done well on Atari 8-bit computers check out Los Angeles SWAT (1986) instead.

Random trivia: English Software only developed two other games for Atari 8-bit computers which were Linkword German (1983) and Linkword Italian (unknown).

Los Angeles SWAT (Atari 8-bit review)

Developer: Sculptured Software
Publisher: Mastertronic
Released: 1986

Los Angeles SWAT is a slow-paced vertical scrolling shoot-em-up that's set in the year 1999.

Terrorists have taken over the west-side of L.A. and it's your job clear the streets and rescue the hostages being held at the end of each level. This won't be an easy task as you'll face rooftop snipers, roadblocks and grenade-throwing thugs who can overwhelm you in numbers. You have three squad members (that act as lives) although you can only control one of them at a time. If a thug gets too close to you he will repeatedly bash you over the head with his bat until you disappear into the ground! Occasionally an innocent civilian will walk down the street and if you accidentally shoot them you'll lose points.

As you work your way up the screen you'll eventually reach a 4-way junction where the gang leader is holding a hostage - he'll quickly move from side-to-side but if you manage to shoot him the hostage will be released and you'll move on to the next level.

The game appears to have infinite levels as I've never seen an ending screen. You just keep mowing down bad guys until you run out of lives. Los Angeles SWAT doesn't have much variety and can get somewhat repetitive, but I find myself occasionally booting the game up for a quick 15 minute blast. Yet another great Atari 8-bit game on the Mastertronic label!

Random trivia: 1986 was a very good year for the Sculptured Software / Mastertronic partnership. Alongside Los Angeles SWAT, they also released games such as Kikstart and Ninja which were very well received critically and commercially.

Henry's House (Atari 8-bit review)

Developer: Chris Murray
Publisher: Mastertronic
Released: 1987

Henry's House is an eight level platform game that was originally released on the C64 and then ported to Atari 8-bit machines.

You play as Little Henry who has shrunk to only six inches tall after playing around in his Father's laboratory. Worse still, he's managed to lock himself in the clothes cupboard, as you do! To get Little Henry back to full size you have to collect all the objects in each level, pick up the key that appears and then head for the exit. The eight levels are varied ranging from kitchens, bathrooms, basements and toy rooms. The main thing that sets this game apart is the imagination from programmer Chris Murray. For example, once you collect the key in the bathroom level you might think it's an easy stroll to the exit. However, out comes a killer toothbrush that blocks your path by brushing up and down against a pair of false teeth!

The game has lots of nice touches like this to keep things interesting for the player. You only have three lives but once you've lost them all you can return to the last level you were on by pressing the fire button.

The Atari port is better than the C64 version as it has more precise controls (especially when going up and down ladders) and a more fleshed out musical theme in the intro. Either version is a blast to play through though and Henry's House still holds up as one of the finest games to be released in the 8-bit computer era.

Random trivia: According to programmer Chris Murray, "Henry's House was originally called Home Sweet Home. The publisher (English Software) of the C64 version wanted to take advantage of the fact Charles and Di had just had Prince Harry so they renamed it."

Ninja (C64 review)

Developer: Sculptured Software
Publisher: Mastertronic
Released: 1986

I've already covered the Atari 8-bit version of Ninja here, and in my opinion it's the superior version when pitted against the C64 game.

Your mission in Ninja is to work your way through the Palace of Death, collect the seven idols and return to the opening screen in one piece. A range of thugs and evil ninjas await you in every screen but luckily you have a large move-set available to you including punches, jump kicks, sword slashes and spinning death stars. The main problem with the C64 version is that it's far too easy! There are very few evil ninjas scattered across the rooms (they're the most powerful enemies in the game) so you'll only be facing weak thugs who can quickly be dispatched with a jump kick or by throwing three spinning death stars. As you advance nearer the top floor of the Atari version you'll normally be greeted by an increasing amount of evil ninjas (sometimes 2-3 at once) who can kill you with one hit. Rarely did I see any in the C64 game so there was very little challenge in getting all seven idols. The music in this version is slightly distorted and not as pleasant to listen to compared to the Atari 8-bit version. The loading times between each screen seem to be a little bit longer too, although I admit I haven't actually sat down and timed it.

Despite its flaws, Ninja is still a great game. It has beautiful graphics, controls well, and is perfect for a quick gaming session.

Random trivia: The C64 version of the game has a bug which means you can walk through walls by ducking next to them! Check out the full thread on the Lemon 64 forums here.