Banshee

Banshee is a very difficult game. There are always plenty of horrible ways to die, and you won't be able to let your concentration lapse for a moment. Not that you would really want to, as it is fiendishly addictive. With all the playability of a classic game of old, Banshee is one AGA title that no self-respecting 1200 owner should be without.

This is a real shoot-em-ups' shoot-em-up. Banshee tells it like it is: you kill things. Full stop. Just boot up and shoot up. What more could you ask for?

Banshee looks superb, the graphics are incredibly detailed and include some gory touches such as bloodied soldiers running in panic from destroyed tanks, it sounds great and plays great, Let's face it, Banshee is blummin' great!

A shoot-em-up that wears its special pants with pride, and comes with two extra levels in this CD32 incarnation. Peculiarly, the hilariously gruesome civilian death animations have been cut, because apparently only men with guns get killed in wars. Right, kids?

Banshee is simply about blowing things away over four massive levels and tackling the odd horrible boss. The graphics are as pretty as a picture – there are some very sweet rotating ray-traced enemies – but you are so busy shooting folk you do not get a great deal of time to admire the surroundings, although the excellent two-player mode offers a little more respite. Banshee is one of the loveliest and most playable shoot-em-ups around.

Well I do like this game and the weirdest bit is, I've never been a fan of shoot-'em-ups! They usually bore me to bits, but Banshee has that elusive quality that drags you in. Each level reveals new challenges which are genuinely demanding, and the learning curve is just right. You get plenty of power ups at the start and then things slowly but surely start to get more and more frenetic, until you're literally gasping for breath.

Cleverly thought-out, and genuinely funny in parts. Hard, smooth, great to look at and NO MUSIC to detract from the gunfire and moans of the dying. The absence of crappy music is worth at least 10%. As with any shoot-em-up, the gameplay is repetitive, but if you are thinking of buying this, you will already know what to expect. Well, it is certainly no mental challenge, but frankly that is half the fun. Banshee is just a good, honest, rip-roaring, barnstorming powerhouse of a blast-em-up, which is all it ever tries to be. Take out your brain and put it to one side. Tweak your reaction glands to maximum response, and just get shooting.

This is a terrific title loaded with atmosphere, packed full of objectives to complete and millions of baddies to kill. Sound effects add realism and all the bombing going off left, right and centre makes for a real feast of pure shoot-'em-up heaven.

As far as out and out shoot 'em-ups go you could do a lot worse than Banshee. Superbly detailed and atmospheric graphics help to create a scene which duplicates the storyline perfectly, and the smooth vertical and horizontal scrolling ensures the action never lets up for a second. It may be little more than a souped-up version of 1942, but that doesn't stop it from being a damn fine game.

Banshee easily climbs the throne of vertical shooters mainly due to its low potential for frustration. Ever changing levels and imaginative bosses are adding to that and they keep motivation up to the end.

Aber das zu beurteilen ist Sache der BPS, wir beurteilen jetzt lieber noch den Sound. Und der ist gut, selbst wenn es Musik nur im Titelscreen gibt. Noch besser sind die Steuerung (Stick oder Pad), der wohldosierte Schwierigkeitsgrad und das taktisch angehauchte Extrawaffensystem. Und damit ist Banshee ein Highlight des Genres, dessen CD-Version später sogar mit zusätzlichen Full Motion-Videosequenzen aufwarten wird.

Det här spelet kräver att man är elitskövlare för att komma någonstans, gröngölingar göre sig icke besvär.

Alla som har haft C64 minns säkert det gamla kultspelet 1942 där man flög med ett flygplan och skulle skjuta ner andra plan. Detta är ett liknande spel men med förbättrat ljud och grafik samt fler banor.