This is more like it. A game with a
realistic storyline we can all relate
to (man). Yaemon, Grandmaster
of Flame, (light my fire baby) has
bumped off Naijishi (not the car manufacturer),
your foster father, and stolen the
Scrolls of Kettsuin (no dead easy scrolls
these) which you have sworn to the Great
God Kwon you will recover. To that end,
you now stand outside the Quench Heart.
Keep ready to slay all who stand in your
way, including Yaemon's henchmen,
Manse the death mage and Honoric,
keeper of the magic sword. Eat your heart
out, Eastenders.
Of course, you've guessed by now that
we're in for another bout of judo what. And
guess whose martial parts are on the line!
But if you're one of those people who have
to order your kung fu moves according to
the numbers down the side of the menu,
then
Avenger's just your cup of China tea.
It lets you batter your opponents' prawn
balls without first mastering a Kama Sutra
full of joystick positions. Usually one chop
sticks, thought you will find other weapons
like shuriken and an iron fist as you
explore. But is this a game to take-away?
Well, like all Oriental fare, it left me feeling
full at first but hungry for another go ten
minutes later. So as Confucius say, let's
take a wok on the wild side.
King Kung
Dumped outside the Great Keep, your first
task is to locate the keys so you aren't kept
out any longer. Once inside, your next job
appears as a message on the screen, a
sort of celestial teletype from the great
god, Kwon. But you're just as likely to miss
it on your first few goes, what with fighting
off the fiends and mapping the maze of
the castle. I shouldn't worry - you've
probably dropped your remaining keys
down one of the holes or forgotten to
replenish your energy by now. This task is
done by calling on Kwon as soon as your
inner force fades. He'll then recharge your
kung fuel. Of course, I could say that he
adds a new move to the Kung Fu
repertoire - the Kwon tum leap. But I
won't.
The castle corridors are patrolled by a
proper assortment of shady characters
but except for the big nobs, they'll all
succumb to a spot of reasoned argument
- provided your fist's on the other end of
it. But worst of all, the game's full of bugs
- huge black spiders that appear from
the holes to harry you. (Fortunately, there
are no lice, flied or otherwise.)
Run the Gauntlet
Okay, I heard you at the back. Yes, it looks
like Gauntlet. Yes, it scrolls and yes, it's
set in a multi-level castle full of nasties.
And yes, the action's viewed from above.
But really the similarity ends there. It just
shows that the programmers can spot a
good idea when they see one and know
how to adapt if for an equally good but
very different game. Avenger isn't just
about fighting off hordes of horrors to
reach the final screen. You don't complete
it by following a particular path - you can
wander at will all over the castle. Plus it
has a strong plot that'll take some working
out before you kill off the terrible trio and
collect the Scrolls. And anyway, it's a one
player game so you can tell your mates to
push off!
But it is big. 298 screens that scroll
rather strangely. The map is split up into
nine screen units that character scroll very
smoothly and very quickly. But when you
reach the edge of a nine screen block you
jump into the next one. At first it seems
odd but you soon grow accustomed to it.
All in all, I reckon Tiger II burns as
brightly as ever.
| Ratings given by other magazines |
| |
8/10
|
|
9/10
| |
|
| Info supplied by the SPOT*ON database |
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