C&VG


Aaargh!

Publisher: Melbourne House
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #95

Aaargh!

In Melbourne House's conversion of the Arcadia coin-op, your goal - as an 18-foot scaly green lizard or a one-horned ogre with bad breath - is to capture the mythical Roc's golden egg.

This isn't as easy as it sounds. You're on an island with ten different cities (the packaging says twelve), populated by humans who'll do anything to sap your energy. There's also the local insect population, who like to feed on monster energy. Against this background of opposition, you've got to knock down buildings until the whole community is devastated and you find a white egg. Once this is gained, you fight your opposite number for the right to keep it.

All of the latest version of Aargh!, unlike the Amiga game, are now over a year old and have a two-player option. This means that pillaging whole communities, plundering their food and eating their menfolk was a lot more fun, and fighting each other after each round is more competitive and enjoyable.

Aaargh!

But the big problem with the game is that it's incredibly easy. You can go through the whole game with little practice, and consequently the game rapidly becomes repetitive.

With two-players the game isn't so bad, because you've got each other to bash up, but solo players might find themselves getting bored after a while, especially as the computer opponent can easily be beaten with the same move.

Spectrum

Much the same as the C64 version; what the monsters make up for in detail, the backgrounds lose in variety. Eating people and destroying their homes should be a lot more fun than this.

C64

Aaargh!

Bland graphics and poor animation coupled with some miserable sound effects means that C64 Aaargh! is unattractive to start with. Fewer moves than the Atari ST version, a poor control method and no map just makes things worse.

Atari ST

ST Aaargh! is easily the most enjoyable of all the versions currently available, but it's far too easy to complete on your own.

An in-game tune wouldn't have gone amiss, but otherwise the sound effects and graphics are nice.