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| Rachael Smith |
A musical note. In a
trio you have the
high, middle and
low instruments to
provide variety to
the music. The same goes for
this collection of three games,
but we wouldn't advise you
to play them all at the same
time. Instead take them one
by one and you'll discover...
yes, highs, lows and the
middle ground. The problem
is deciding which program is
which. We couldn't!
Suddenly somebody had
the bright idea. "Let's throw
them to the dynamic duo." So
we locked Gwyn and Rachael
in the reviewing room to see
what would happen... then,
when we had enough
photographs to blackmail
them, we sat them down in
front of a Spectrum! After all,
two heads are better than
one, even when one belongs
to a gormless tottie and the
other to a crazed strategist.
"Here's the
Trio," we snarled,
"Now let's hear ya sing!"
AIRWOLF II
Rachael Well curdle me
cucumber, mes petits mange
touts, if it ain't ol' Stringbean
Hawk and his chopper. He can
dice my carrot any time he
likes.
Trio takes off with a sequel to
the game that won the award
for the most difficult shoot 'em
up ever when it first appeared.
Gameplay was so well judged
on this that most people never
survived the first screen.
You can understand why
Airwolf II has appeared on a
compilation though. The TV
series is hardly the hot tie-in it
once was - in fact it's more
cold salad than boiled
brussels. The game is much
more a standard horizontal
blaster too - none of that
devilish cavern plot.
But the game's all the better
for that. Because though you'll
have seen scores of scrollers
like this in the past there's
always something addictive
about a good one - and this is
certainly well balanced.
The sprite size is perfect for
the play area, so that there's
lots of room to manoeuvre but
there's still some detail. Also
the aliens follow set patterns,
which lets you learn how to
dodge them as you progress.
But the best thing is the
weaponry feature.
You start the game with a
missile launcher, but it doesn't
take long before you encounter
a throbbing spot! No, it's not a
zit about to burst - it's a
weapon waiting for you to pick
it up. You can increase your
arsenal with smart bombs,
extra speed, double fire power,
a plasma gun, a shield and
who knows what other
goodies? I certainly don't
because once you select your
reserve feature you go back to
the start again.
That means that it may not
be wise to use the smart bomb
every time you get one... it
may be better to dodge then
promote it to double fire.
Dodging plays a big part in this
game - another reason to
learn the attack patterns. You
also have to blow holes in walls
- a throwback to the original,
though it's nowhere near so
impossible this time - and
negotiate pixel thin tunnels.
The monochrome graphics
are satisfactory and though the
sound is rather sparse the
effects are okay. I reckon
Stringbean and his whirlybird
could make me a vegetarian. I
liked it alot-ment.
Gwyn How can I follow a
mush of mash like that?
Perhaps I should join the
Greens, or maybe live in
Scandinavia and become a
Swede. Sorry, I can't keep up
with the punning but for once I
agree with Rachael. An
enjoyable shooter which
wouldn't cut it at full price, but it
certainly gets Trio off the
ground.
GREAT GURIANOS
Gwyn Brill idea to call this
game Great Gwyn-Hughes...
Wha'? Where's me reading
glasses. Whoops! Sorry. It's
Gurianos. Hang on... isn't that
the posh word for bird
doodles? (No, it's not!
Ornithological Ed).
No, it seems that the Great
Gurianos is a warrior
embarking on a deadly quest
armed only with a shield and
razor sharp sword. His
mission? To make it out of the
arcades onto the Spectrum
And he jolly well nearly did it
... but the fact that he
surfaced on this compilation
must suggest that he's not an
all-time high scorer in the
conversion hall of fame.
Great Gury... sorry, do you
mind if I call him G.G.? (Nay.
Ed).( Sorry, do you feel a little
hoarse? Rachael) G.G. walks
left to right while a weird
selection of stars, sparks and
other assorted mystical
missiles fly at him from the
right. They come thick and fast
so it's time for the frantic
joystick shuffle, moving the
sword and shield up and down,.
The secret is to hit flying
shields to strengthen your
shield, smash four swords to
get a super sword and slash
the flying ball for extra armour.
Try to round up as many of
these as possible before you
reach the first warrior.
Suddenly the action turns
into a cut and thrust combat
game and if you thought the
approach was quick you wait
tilt you get into close combat.
You really have to move like
there's twenty-five thousand
volts flowing through you if
you're to kill all your opponents.
It's here that the super sword
comes in - it makes you
invincible.
And that's about it! You walk
and then you scrap and then
you stroll some more. Not the
most inspiring of plots, and
though it all moves
unbelievably fast and the
characters are big and
colourful it's not overly
playable.
Rachael Disappointing
Gurianos might have been, a
better title. It's just lacklustre,
so unless you were into the
coin-op original you may find
you give this one the big E.
3DC
Rachael Round three and it's
under the sea! But there's
something decidedly wet about
this Ultimate-style game...
particularly when it's seen in
the light of Hydrofool. It
certainly sinks compared with
Sweevo's submarine
adventures.
All the usual features are
here, such as the cryptic
objects which you collect as
you wander around the maze
of soggy screens, the six
pockets in your diving suit, and
the time limit which is linked to
the amount of oxygen you use.
But there isn't enough to
dodge in this arcade adventure
to get the blood pounding
through your veins... instead
it merely trickles. I'm sure
you're not supposed to doze off
when you're five fathoms down
but I reckon I'd rather drown.
This is definitely Davy Jones-ville!
For a start there are some
clever landscapes to keep you
guessing. Then there's Eric the
Eel, who can be collected then
used to reach into areas that
your portly frogman can't get
into. And let's not forget the
octopus, which appears
whenever you dawdle and robs
you of your oxygen tanks,
which will leave you gasping.
I liked the way that jumping
also shortens your life, to make
you think about what you're
doing, but it's a pity that your
diver can't swim - that could
have livened things up no end.
I'm sure that it won't take
forever to solve this but I've
seen far worse games. Not bad
considering you can have two
copies for an ill octopus... or
should that be a sick squid?
Gwyn Hey, hang on a minute
frog-face... err, sorry,
frogwoman! I reckon Rachael
doesn't like 3DC because
there's nothing that she can
shoot in it. Sure, I have to
agree that the ocean bed is a
bit bare, but it's no place to nod
off.
Trio is the eternal triangle
... it's got something for the
shoot 'em up sure-shot, the
hand-to-hand melee
merchant and the arcade
adventurer with webbed feet.
But do these three parts add
up to a satisfactory three
course meal?
Both Gwyn and Rachael felt
that
Airwolf was a lot of fun
and were disappointed by
Great Gurianos, but opinions
differed on
3DC. It was a
classic case of best of three
falls. In the end Rachael
decided to be generous,
mumbling something about
how the pack should please
anyone who's just bought a
Spectrum. So the final scores
are... 8/10
| Ratings given by other magazines |
| |
7/10
| |
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| Info supplied by the SPOT*ON database |
| YS Cross-references |
| |  | Great Gurianos/Encore | YS67 | 35 |
