A-Z of Amstrad CPC Games , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Kieren Hawken

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111 pages

English

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Description

The A-Z of Amstrad CPC Games: Volume 2 features reviews of three different games for each letter of the alphabet. The games range from the very earliest releases at the start of the eighties to the modern homebrew games of today. This book shows you just how diverse the library of titles is for the Amstrad CPC and how it became one of the most popular European computers.

Sujets

Indoor games and sports

Informations

Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	01 août 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781789821475
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

The A–Z of
Amstrad CPC
Games
Volume 2

Kieren Hawken

Published in 2019 by
AG Books
www.agbooks.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
Copyright © 2019 Kieren Hawken
The right of Kieren Hawken to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AG Books or Andrews UK Limited.
Game screenshots are included in this publication legally under applicable fair use law which allows such material for the explicit purposes of commentary and criticism.

Introduction
Over the years there have been very few British entrepreneurs who have made such an impact as Sir Alan Sugar (hence the knighthood!). Originally founded way back in 1968 as an importer of consumer electronics, it wasn’t long before the company started creating its own products that regularly undercut its Japanese rivals while still maintaining a good level of quality and features. In 1984 Amstrad looked towards the booming home computer market and created the popular CPC range. Starting with the tape-based 464 and being followed by the disk-based 664 and 6128 (with the last 2/3 digits also referencing the amount of memory) these computers had two big selling points over their rivals. Firstly you had a built in cassette recorder or disk drive and secondly they also came bundled with either a green screen or colour monitor - giving customers an all in one package. Based on a Z80 CPU the same as its biggest rival the ZX Spectrum, the Amstrad CPC range soon started to take off, with all major European software houses supporting it. The computer proved particularly popular in France, as the vast games catalogue proves, and was also sold in Germany, Austria and Switzerland under the Schneider brand. An enhanced range of CPC+ machines were launched alongside a CPC based games console, called the GX4000, in 1990 but these failed to keep the brand alive and it was officially discontinued less than a year later. Despite this the CPC still retains a strong user base and an incredibly vibrant homebrew scene to this very day.
In this second book in the series I once again take you through the life of the Amstrad CPC range looking at a varied cross section of the 6000+ games available with a small review and screenshot of each one. This is not a list of the best games, a list of the worst or indeed a complete guide to what’s available. The A-Z of Amstrad CPC Games: Volume 1 is just that, the second volume of my look at a selection of CPC games in alphabetical order from A to Z. There are three games featured for each letter and these range from the earliest ones released back in 1984, to modern homebrews and even unreleased prototypes. Hopefully this book gives you some inspiration to try games you’ve never played before, bulk up your personal collection or just replay some of those all-time classics. You might even find that it brings back happy memories of unwrapping Christmas and birthday presents or inviting your friends round after school for a bit of multi-player madness. Most of all though I hope you enjoy reading it and remember what makes the Amstrad CPC range of computers so great.
Kieren Hawken
Author

A
Arkanoid
Imagine - 1987

While Atari’s Breakout , programmed by Apple founders Jobs and Wozniak no less, was the very first bat and ball brick breaker it was Taito’s Arkanoid was the game that revolutionised the genre. It took the basic gameplay of Breakout and added a host of new features like enemies, different formations, multi-hit bricks and of course power-ups! Collecting these coloured icons allows you to do stuff like shoot the bricks with a laser, aim the ball where you want, expand your bat and even skip a level. The new level formations are interesting too with some even based on other popular Taito arcade games such as Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble ! There are also different types of bricks including ones that require numerous hits to destroy and others that can’t be removed at all. All these features added so much more to the game and made it much more than just another Breakout clone. In fact Arkanoid has since been cloned hundreds of times itself and can still be seen in some shape or form in many games of today. Arkanoid is not about graphics or sound, although both are very good here actually, it’s just pure playability, and there is loads of it here. I have always been a real sucker for these types of games and this is no exception, Arkanoid remains one of my most played video games over the years. It’s also worth checking out the equally excellent sequel Arkanoid 2: Revenge of Doh too.
9/10
Agent X II
Mastertronic - 1987

We all know that Mastertronic released many fantastic budget games for the Amstrad CPC but Agent X II is universally ranked as one of the very best, and it’s easy to see why. The game itself is split up into three very distinct parts, giving some nice variation in gameplay. The first section of Agent X II is a pretty standard horizontally scrolling shoot ‘em up where you shoot down the enemies and try not to get hit. The second part is a platform-style arcade adventure where you are jumping around avoiding enemies and trying to hack some computers. The third and final episode plays out much like the Atari arcade classic Breakout . Each section requires different skills and makes the game more challenging for it. On the negative side though, I would say that the three parts decrease in quality as they go on, with the shooting level being by far the most enjoyable. Graphically Agent X II is very colourful and looks excellent, especially the first level. The audio is even better with some of the best music you will hear in any Amstrad CPC game, not a just a budget one. It’s safe to say that back in the day Agent X II offered tremendous value for money and it’s still well worth a play even today, even if it isn’t quite as great as the sum of its parts. I am still very surprised that Mastertronic didn’t follow up this one up with more games featuring the mystery agent though, he very much could have become their mascot.
8/10
Alien Syndrome
Ace - 1988

Hot on the heels of Atari’s hugely popular maze-based dungeon crawler Gauntlet came another similar arcade game in Sega’s Alien Syndrome, which many people at the time described as Gauntlet in space. It’s not an unfair comparison in all honesty, but there is a little more to this game that. The levels are smaller and more linear than Gauntlet , being much less maze like in nature. Before you can go into the exit you must also rescue all the hostages too. There are also end of level bosses to be defeated in this game as well as weapon upgrades, making the combat a bit more advanced than Atari’s game. Like Gauntlet though, this can be played by more than one player. In this case two of you can team up to battle the xenomorphic hoards and save the day. Visually the Amstrad CPC port is awful with bland Mode 1 graphics, a tiny play area and slow jerky scrolling. The sound is also pretty pathetic though with droning music and poor effects. Alien Syndrome was a pretty good arcade game but this CPC conversion is horrendous. It’s only saving grace is the two-player mode, which slows the game down even more. It’s also worth noting that this game has, somewhat surprisingly I might add, been resurrected fairly recently by Sega themselves for modern machines in glorious 3D. I would suggest checking out those versions or the original arcade game on MAME rather than this mess.
4/10

B
Badlands
Domark - 1990

Originally released in its huge multi-player cabinet form (complete with three steering wheels) just a year before, this conversion of the very last game in Atari’s classic Sprint series was released as part of Domark’s popular Tengen label and is a highly enjoyable affair indeed. Unlike its more famous predecessor Super Sprint this game only allows two players to compete at once but does add several new gameplay features, which more than make up for it as I will explain. The most notable addition is the weapons that can be used to take out your opponents in the most violent fashion! Other racer’s projectiles aren’t the only thing to worry about though, there are also obstacles on the track which are just as lethal including boulders, road blocks and huge oil slicks. In a feature more like the previous games you can collect spanners from the track and by winning races. These can be traded in for upgrades after each race is completed. Among the improvements at your disposal are shields, turbo boosts, special tires and upgraded missiles! Graphically this CPC port is absolutely terrible with awfully re-coloured images from the ZX Spectrum. The title music is very good however. Badlands is kind of the forgotten game in the classic Sprint series and if you can look past the horrible visuals and slightly slow gameplay then there is some fun to be had here, could have been much better though.
6/10
Bubble Bobble
Firebird - 1987

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