Zzap


Action Fighter

Publisher: Firebird
Machine: Amiga 500

 
Published in Zzap #56

Action Fighter

This must be the most obscure Sega coin-op since Halls Of Kairos, AKA Desolator. It lands you with the responsibility of completing five different missions for the President. To help you defeat the relentless enemy attack you have the world's most advanced transforming vehicle.

You start off with it in motorbike mode, collect the A, B, C and D icons which float down the screen and you can transform into a car. Pressing Space allows you to flip between them as necessary.

The bike is fast, and can jump gaps in the road which would destroy the car, but then the car isn't blown up by the slighest touch from other vehicles.

Action Fighter

Collect E and F and it's jet-car time, flying off into the clouds to blast the swirling enemy aircraft waves. Here you have a mission objective which must be bombed or shot.

While zooming along in any of the vehicle's forms you may bump into a Sega van with add-on weapons such as double fire-power, missiles, reverse firing and limited invulnerability.

Stu

Brilliant. The mean, laser-sharp contours of the artwork's car are really good. Of course, the artwork has been used for at least one other game before, so no bonus points for that.

Action Fighter

Which is a pity, because the sensible idea of doing an updated Spy Hunter has otherwise been fairly disastrous. On both versions, graphic and sonic presentation is banal, while playability is frustrating and unrewarding.

Robin

We're really beginning to scrape the barrel now in terms of coin-ops to convert (have *you* seen an Action Fighter coin-op around?). The C64 version is a fairly mediocre Spy Hunter derivative with some neat cars, a great bike to car transformation scene and that's about all (the sound is instantly forgettable).

Anything that is worth merit on the C64 is lost on the Amiga game with graphics nowhere near an average Amiga standard, likewise sound effects and a far too tough skill level.

Amiga

Action Fighter

Presentation 57%
Free poster on reverse side of instructions, but in-game presentation mediocre.

Graphics 38%
Are you sure this isn't an Amstrad CPC port-across?

Sound 35%
Are you *really* sure this isn't an Amstrad port-across?

Hookability 60%
Spy Hunter-type gameplay is easy to get into...

Lastability 37%
...but the appeal soon wears off.

Overall 35%
Not even Amstrad owners would be happy with this one.

C64

Presentation 57%
Same as the Amiga.

Graphics 41%
Fast scrolling, but mediocre graphics and poor colour.

Sound 30%
Inane tune and banal spot FX.

Hookability 62%
A bit easier than the Amiga one...

Lastability 32%
...but gameplay seems no less monotonous.

Overall 39%
No wonder the coin-op never left Japan!