Martin Smith @NwodafoMetsys
Reviews
Rise of the Robots (Amiga)
Rubbish in every way but one
The Good
The graphics were excellent for their time, with digit\ed robots and stunning backdrops. Even on the A500 it looked better than many PC games of the day.
The Bad
At all but the hardest difficulty level, you could beat the opponents by using the same move repeatedly. In a two player game, the guy on the left won whenever he used that move.
In one-player mode you could only play as one of the robots, which is explained by the plot, but seems like an excuse not to write the playing routines properly.
Worst of all, you can't jump over your opponents, meaning that you spend the whole game facing in the same direction. In 1984 that would've been laughed at - in 1994 it beggared belief.
There was virtually no in-game sound to speak of, and the guitar music in the intro could've been played by anyone.
The Bottom Line
Style sells over substance every time, and this is a depressing example. It was hyped to excess, many magazines gave it great reviews, but everyone who played it saw through it within hours, if not minutes.
By Martin Smith on November 10, 2003
Dune 2000 (Windows)
Money For Old Rope
The Good
It's an improvement on Dune 2, no question. The graphics and sound are much better, and it adds some cutscenes.
The Bad
It does nothing that Command & Conquer didn't do 3 years earlier - in fact, it's essentially less. Like Dune 2, it only has one ground surface, making for bland looking levels and a lack of gameplay variety, and not many units by modern standards. It's clear that it's been aimed as a cash-in and time-filler, something Westwood would never have done in the old days.
The Bottom Line
Not a sequel to Dune 2, but essentially a remake using the technology at the time. And it was showing it's age. Only buy it if you can get it cheaper than Dune 2, or you don't have a DOS-capable PC. Dune 2 has more charm, and a genuine place in history.
You can't take a 1950s music system, change the casing, add fancy speakers, and expect it to match a current model. This is the same situation.
By Martin Smith on November 8, 2003
Serf City: Life is Feudal (DOS)
A breath of fresh air - strategic and innovative yet humourous and surprising
The Good
The graphics are luscious, with an amazing amount of attention to detail as each of the professionals go about their business. I especially loved the animations of the fisherman and the miners.
The depth of the economic system in which every resource has its uses and must be correctly allocated, is staggering. The raw materials are chopped down, grown, mined or cut up, then transformed and assigned. When you run out of something, it's always your fault, and can be overcome thanks to the emergency program.
Constructing the road system takes practice, but allows for a myriad of routes ensuring no clogs.
Positioning your initial castle, and the guard huts and watchtowers to expand, is always a compromise, and, as ever, a small decision can have huge effects later. Make sure to get yourself as much mine land as possible, plus some smooth ground, and ideally waters for the fishing, as this is the easiest way to produce the food.
Another thing I love is the combat, both on attack and defence. The cutesy look conceals great depth and strategy, with the chance to target a specific hut so as to cut off or burn down a crucial part of their production chain - of course, they can do this to you as well.
The Bad
It's a little too easy to make costly mistakes early on whose full repercussions are unpredictable, and don't unleash themselves for several hours' play, which is frustrating.
The Bottom Line
The introduction sequence sets the scene perfectly - making it clear that this is no dry functional strategy game. The basic concept of controlling a society by allocating resources to produce food, tools and weapons, via farming, mining, forestry and milling amongst others, and attacking the enemies to conquer the whole area. It's been done many times, before and since, but this series stands alone for many reasons
By Martin Smith on November 8, 2003
Gyruss (Commodore 64)
The kind of straightforward but thrilling action game we miss now
The Good
You didn't have to pore over a manual for hours to get into it. The gameplay was unique, with the positioning taking skill and timing, and the extra-point baddies being a nice touch. The progressive difficulty meant that you'd usually get that little bit further (and a few more points) each time. The graphics and sound were fine for the day.
The Bad
Compared with other games of the time, nothing, other than the possible anti-Russian sentiment of the name of the enemies. Post Cold-War, a lot of games and films of the time seem ignorant and outdated in that way. Still, the game didn't remind you of the plot at all.
The Bottom Line
Nothing complex, just old-style lives - levels - points action.
By Martin Smith on November 8, 2003
World Circuit (Amiga)
Possibly the finest Amiga game ever
The Good
The graphics were truly mind-blowing at the time, although ironically the plainly-filled polygons don't look as pretty as some of the sprite-based racers. The speed was impressive as well, especially considering everything else that was going on. The engine, tyre and contact noises were just right as well.
Every little detail about F1 cars was recreated. The computer cars behaved realistically, and the difficulty levels and driving aids allowed anyone to have a level they could play competitively at.
Car setup was a new feature for F1 racing, with minute control over gears, brakes and wings, which made a very clear and well-defined difference to the handling.
Unlike GP2, wet weather racing was recreated, impressively on a technical basis, and the wet races created suitably unpredictable action.
Races and qualifying sessions could be realistic lengths, in which case tyre choice and strategy came into play, or just short sprints for those of us without a long attention span.
Most importantly, the handling was spot on and felt exactly like the real thing.
The Bad
This was a very different genre to arcade racers of the time, such as the Lotus series. You had to race strategically and carefully, using the brakes frequently, thinking about car set-ups (often using a lot of trial and error practice laps), learn the tracks, and couldn't just smash everyone out of the way. If you weren't into motor racing, this may've been too much.
The damage model was a little unrealistic as well, with the cars being too strong in all areas except wings. This meant that pileups often resulted in a bunch of cars limping to the pits, often having to queue behind their team-mates
The Bottom Line
Magnificent. It's hard to imagine how to better recreate F1 on the hardware of the day. No wonder it got so many massive review scores.
By Martin Smith on November 8, 2003