@~This issue's 'Something Different' looks at PD/shareware Amiga @~arcade games. All copies were supplied by Zenobi Software, @~26 Spotland Tops, Cutgate, Lancs, OL12 7NX and cost œ1.49 each. @~or œ1.00 per disk when they come on more than 1 disk. There is @~NO P&P charge. Some of the games were reviewed by Phil Darke, @~the rest by Phil Richmond. So it's over to Phil ... and Phil ... Something Different ... 1. SIX AMIGA GAMES FROM ZENOBI SOFTWARE Review By Phil Darke. When Sue asked me to review these games I was a little unsure whether or not I could do them justice as my interest is mainly in adventures. I'm absolutely useless with a joystick and usually manage to get killed within the first 30 seconds or so of any shoot 'em ups. So if I can play them they must either be dead easy or have something to keep me interested. Anyway here goes. OVERLANDER This game is shareware and involves controlling a vehicle horizontally and avoiding obstacles such as craters and rocks while at the same time shooting the flying saucers which attack you. The graphics are well drawn and scroll very smoothly. Control is by joystick, right accelerates, left brakes and up jumps, the fire button fires missiles forwards and upwards. When you hit an obstacle the vehicle bursts into very realistic flames. Scrolling text as the game loads informs you that the game is based on the coin-op Moon Buggy and is closest to a Dragon game called Lunar Rover Patrol. One nice feature is that you get a choice of 3 tunes to play during the game. A nice game, easily the best of the 6. WIPEOUT Another shareware game in which you have to control a craft over a plan view of the game and shoot at other craft. Control is by joystick, up moves forward, down brakes, and left and right rotate the craft, the fire button fires forward. This means that when you see another craft, in order to shoot at it you must first stop then change direction and then move off in the new direction since merely rotating the craft simply causes it to turn round, you still carry on in the same direction. Far too complicated for me, though I dare say that with practice you could get used to this method of control I just haven't got the patience. A radar screen at the bottom of the screen shows your position and the position of other craft in relation to it. Not much help as by the time you get lined up with them they have moved off somewhere else. Sound is restricted to an opening tune and a few sound effects. Not very impressed, there are many, far better games of this type easily available from any PD library. KELLOG EXPRESS This is quite a nice little shareware game in which you control a train and move it over the tracks to pick up various articles. The game is joystick controlled. Left and right move you in the direction you want to move while pressing the fire button transfers control to a funny little insect who flies around the train and switches the points for you. The graphics are well drawn and a strange tune plays during the game. There is some text during the game but in a language that I did not recognise (Finnish I think). Overall not bad but could not hold my attention for long. KELLOGLAND A hacked version of "Tony And Friends". This is a platform game in which Tony (the Kellog's Tiger) has to find his friends and free them. Pick up cornflakes along the way for extra points, which if you collect enough will give you an extra life. Also scattered around are question marks, hit one of these and you will receive hints. The graphics are very good and there is quite a nice tune playing during the game. All in all apart from being a blatant advert for Kellogs quite good, and would probably amuse your kids for hours. SUPER BLUE KID A platform game which involves moving around screens which are made of coloured blocks, chests and trains. The game is joystick controlled and movement is quite easy but although I spent a good half hour playing I still couldn't figure out what to do. There is a complete lack of any instructions and this game seems to be a complete waste of time to me. BLACK DAWN II A shareware Space exploration/conquest type of game. When you first load it you get a menu giving a choice of SELECT MISSION, START NEW GAME, LOAD, SAVE, INSTRUCTIONS, HOW TO REGISTER, QUIT. INSTRUCTIONS simply gives you the story so far, which is basically that you have been unjustly imprisoned and have been given the task of ridding The Dawn System of hostile life forms and you have a pistol and a radio to help you in your quest. START NEW GAME did not do anything so I chose SELECT NEW MISSION. A screen appeared with a lot of red circles with names beneath them plus two green ones, WIBBLET and TERRAN. I chose WIBBLET. The game screen consists of a central area showing your surroundings. To the right are 3 columns labelled E, S and R. The bottom of the screen showed movement icons and some others which I did not recognise and some more icons were to the left. At this point the game crashed and despite several attempts I could get no further. A pity about this as it looks quite interesting. More comprehensive instructions explaining the various icons would also have been helpful. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. ZENOBI SOFTWARE AMIGA PD REVIEWS -------------------------------- Reviewed by: Philip Richmond TOP HAT WILLY ------------- The title says all. This is a very good 'Jet Set Willy' clone. The program loads with a very nice ray traced picture of a top hat and cane and a catchy music track. Starting with 9 lives you use the joystick to guide Willy through the various 'rooms' collecting all the flashing items and avoiding the many creatures/nasties just like in the original. Controls are Left, Right and Jump (fire button) There are LOADS of rooms to visit and each room has its own puzzles to negotiate. Highly addictive and hours of fun for all ages. I loved it! Recommended platformer. ROCKETZ ------- This is a Shareware release coded by some guys from Estonia. 'Rocketz' is described as a multi-directional scrolling split-screen shoot 'em up racing game. 1 or 2 players. It's a bit like 'Thrust' or 'Star Woids'. Looks very commercial with great GFX and Music and fast routines. You control a superbly animated rocket ship through 2 levels, The Wastelands and The Refinery, blasting at things and racing against the clock. When your mission is over, or you get killed, there are loads of stats on how well you did, Best Scores, and Hall Of Fame. You can then restart, re-equip or replay that level. Pilot records can be saved to disk. The full registered version features more levels, new ships and more weaponry. It took me ages to get the hang of controlling the ship properly (there is gravity to contend with) but then I'm useless at these kinds of games anyway. Others will love it. Very Good Indeed. NANO FLY -------- In this game you pilot a small but powerful Nano fly ship through the dangerous sections of the Nano Tech Production Tower. Your mission is to locate and destroy the many floppy disks which are hidden there, for these contain info on how to construct the ultimate invisible super weapon which, if built, would seriously threaten the planet. You have 3 lives. Using the joystick you move the fly around the levels of the Tower. Left/Right/Up/Down and Fire. Each level is a sort of scrolling maze. You drop bombs to destroy the disks, pick up bonuses, regenerate your energy levels and navigate through obstacles. It's all been done before, of course, but I found it very likeable and extremely playable. The graphics are splendid and the fly is easy to control. Amiga 1200 users may need to slow the game down a tad using the key. Great fun! CAPTAIN BONUS ------------- Another Shareware game by Simon Read (written using AMOS) The disk autoboots with a short intro sequence explaining the background to the game, how you came to be transported from your ship to a nearby planet's surface. Then you are shown the joystick controls for your character. These are: Left, Right, Duck/Crouch/PickUp, Standing Jump, Jump Left, Jump Right. You can also do Running Jumps and grab hold of ledges (like in 'Prince of Persia'). Very short steps can also be taken in either direction. The Character you control is quite large and nicely animated (looks a bit like Bruce Lee) and the game plays and feels a bit like 'Flashback'. It's a sort of arcade/adventure where you have to find objects and use them to open doors, operate mechanisms, and deactivate machinery. I've not got very far in it due to my inability with the joystick, but I was very impressed with this. An excellent effort by the programmer and, for the measly price of a PD disk, is most definitely worth a look. Recommended. TIMERUNNER 2 ------------ The hero and central character of this game is called Max. He has been sent back through history to find a Space Stone, which will unlock the time gates. Unfortunately he has been captured by robots called 'skunks' and imprisoned in their base. Max must effect an escape, exit the complex, and travel to the other side of a forest in the outside alien environment. You start off in the prison... There are short animated sequences where you must use the mouse, keyboard or joystick to select phrases, words or objects by highlighting them with the left mouse button, and also arcade action scenes where you move, jump, fight and pick up objects and score points/increase energy. Defeating the nasties and avoiding the pitfalls is not too hard. You can save/load games, pause, and view the game map. The artwork is nice and Max's animation quite good. You start with 3 lives, but if you die you have the option to continue where you left off. I travelled through various screens, eliminating opponents and eventually got stuck facing a pterodactyl type creature who obviously required a fish in order to let me pass. In some ways similar to 'Captain Bonus' the game is slightly let down by the waiting time for each new scene to load in. PHIL'S COMMENTS --------------- There was much to like about all five of these games. There were some good ideas and it was a nice change to play something other than adventures for a change. My favourites were 'Top Hat Willy' and 'Captain Bonus'. They are all good quality, high standard PD and well worth the asking price of œ1.49 (includes postage) Contact Zenobi for their full list of Amiga PD titles. - o -