Previous Next

The fetid smell of death hangs in the air, and the taste of blood sends you into kill frenzy. But that's only natural because you're an Altered Beast and it's time to hunt.

Raised from the dead to serve an alien god, you've been given the power of metamorphosis and become your master's crushing, vengeful fist. Nelf, your god's sworn enemy, has caused this disturbance and you must make him pay his pound of flesh - plus interest!

Zeus's gift is a terrible and frightening power indeed. The collected spirits of dead foes empower you to assume new and horrible forms. Mutant magical monsters that will slaughter Nelf's hell-spawned armies.

Lightning rents the heavens and you stand ready for battle. A journey into the depths of the underworld will follow, but first you must fight your way to the entrance. You only punch and kick to begin, most of your blows lacking enough power for quick kills. So accurate in-fighting is needed, if you are to survive long enough to collect 'spirit balls' and change into something much more powerful.

Level Two is the entrance to the under-world, and while you became a boulder-throwing wolfman in Part One, here you transform into a flying were-dragon with napalm breath and white hot armoured skin. Each level features a different beast, but it is a form that is taken from you by Nelf at the end of each section. You start every level as a mere mortal. This may sound unfair, but the power you have at your claw tips as a monster is so awesome this restores a sense of balance.

The monsters you have to kill are a pretty sorry bunch. Even when your face flashes and you become a hideous, mutated beast, they still stumble on, oblivious to the fact that you're hungry and they're lunch! Purple zombies fall into piles of rotting carrion, hell hounds disappear as 'spirit balls' and even the end-of-level nasties just plug away until they die in a cloud of grey smoke.

The graphics for Altered Beast are of a quality that is at the same time inspiring and irritating. Warriors are statuesque and golden with a classic look about them. Even in the thick of combat they maintain an athletic poise, swinging a low punch, or tucking as they jump. However it's the intervening points between these poses that gets the goat, as they simply don't exist! The Beasts have a repository of moves that can be counted on a very few fingers, resulting in jerky actions, because when they do move it's slowly.

The scrolling background too suffers from sudden leaps rather than gradual progression. It's complex and colourful scenery that's being moved around, but that's no excuse for a pitiful update rate. The feeling that too much is being done is overwhelming.

Music pumps out of the CPC the like of which even Zeus has never heard before. Punchy and menacing, it temporarily takes your mind off the gameplay - with the help of the great sound effects.

The attempts at arcade accuracy are where the game goes wrong. The main Beast sprite lacks one of the main fighting moves present on the arcade, and in a game where the enemy is beaten into surrender, you need all the moves you can lay your paws on.

Beast is for games what Stonehenge is to powered flight: a novel idea, years ahead of its time and technically excellent in parts - but it'll never get off the ground. Terrific sprites and music aren't enough.

The Greeks who followed Zeus, thought the crime of hubris - thinking oneself on a par with the gods - was fatal. Activision tried to create an Altered Beast and has spawned a beautiful but unruly monster.

Nice music, and the graphics would be great too if they moved properly. Plays, alas, like an absolute dog.

Hard to see sometimes.

Finish Level two.

Graphics 92%
P. Huge sprites.
P. Classical backgrounds.

Sonics 96%
P. Awesome soundtrack.
P. Original fighting effects.

Grab Factor 43%
N. Never really gets going.

Staying Power 21%
N. Jerky' scrolling kills the gameplay.
N. Too slow.

Overall 50%
P. A flawed, but valiant effort.
N. The lack of speed slays the beast.