Worra hero! Rippling biceps, super strength, mean, tough and fearless. His name - Blade, Joe Blade. Licenced to thrill and kill a bit. If you have a problem, send for this man.
    The world governments have a bit of a problem: a gang of crazed terrorists are holding six world leaders to ransom somewhere in the massive fortified HQ belonging to the infamous Crax Bloodfinger. Send for Blade, and his trusty tommy gun. If anyone can do the job it's this man.
    You control Blade in this great little arcade adventure from Players. Your mission is to rescue the captives and activate six booby-trapped bombs, then get the hell outta there. The game is a cross between Dan Dare, Jack The Nipper, with a little Ranarama thrown in for good measure. The graphics and backgrounds are well detailed and remind me of that Gremlin classic, but the plot is pure Dan Dareish. It's a flip screen affair with a maze of interconnected rooms and passageways filled with bad guys and the occasional useful object. You will stumble across bombs from time to time, which instantly transfer you to the defuse screen. Here you are confronted with a series of letters that have to be rearranged into alphabetical order (a la Ranarama!) within a time limit, or it's goodbye cruel world. Map-making is essential, so is the correct use of the limited supply of cell keys, so be warned!
    The animation is first class and the sound (on the 128K version at least) is great, with a nice tune on start up, and decent FX throughout. Joe Blade is very easy to get into, and not so hard to play. It should give Players a top ten hit. The game is easily worth more, so get out there, buy your copy, and get liberating now.

Ratings given by other magazines

8/10      8/10    Crash Review ---

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