Previous Next

Meow! Woof! Baa! Moo! - ever felt like an ainmal? Well, you should, as a human (we're assuming Zzap! isn't read by two-headed aliens from the planet Zlod!) you *are* technically an animal! But seriously, everyone must have wondered what it would be like to be a fire-snorting dragon or a bear without a sore head.

Well, let me tell you, it's not what it's cracked up to be. The mighty Zeus has decided to reincarnate a Roman Centurion (you) to rescue the beautiful Athena (didn't she have a game of her own?!) from the clutches of the evil Nelf, Lord of the Underworld. To help you in your quest, Zeus has given you the power to transform into various superpowered animals.

One or two players can take on Nelf's nasties on five horizontally scrolling levels in this conversion of a Sega coin-op. Starting off a a mere mortal, you must punch and kick the baddies which range from men to hopping and flying demons.

Occasionally, a wolf will appear - when killed it leaves behind a 'spirit ball' (two on the Amiga) - collect three (six - Amiga) of these and you will metamorphose into, depending on the level, a Werewolf, Dragon, Bear, WereTiger, or Golden Wolfman. Each of these creatures has special weapons; for instance the dragon snorts fire while the bear kills with its bad breath!

At the end of each level there's a huge monster. Beat this and you will be transported to next level, though to make it harder you are first changed back into a man.

I've played Altered Beast in the arcades, on the Megadrive and now on the two Commodores, but none of them really shine. On the C64, gameplay is a bit sluggish, but otherwise this is a fine version.

By contrast, the Amiga is so fast all the baddies can get overwhelming and the end-of-level monsters seem to take ages to destroy. Also, the identical sprites in two-player mode is a classic mistake.

Still, a fine effort from Activision for a repetitive coin-op.

I can't understand how Activision could have made such a stupid mistake with the Amiga conversion. Unlike the coin-op, and the C64 version, the two players are absolutely indentical, making two-player games totally confusing!

Otherwise, on both machines, the graphics are fine although never really spectacular. The kick and punch gameplay is fun, but except for defeating the large nasties, that's basically all there is to it.

I found the C64 game to be marginally the more playable of the two (especially for two players), making better use of the machine, although the multi-load is a pain.

Presentation 80% Great, Amiga-like intro sequence and inter-level screens, but at the cost of heavy multi-load.

Graphics 78% Excellent scrolling backdrops, but sprites a bit blocky.

Sound 68% Martin Walker intro music but dull in-game effects.

Hookability 76% The two-player mode increases initial interest.

Lastability 70% The desire to see the next level/supercreature is strong, although basic kick and punch gameplay becomes repetitive.

Overall 73% A decent conversion of a so-so coin-op.

Presentation 64% Adequate, but C64 version shows more panache.

Graphics 72% Effective recreation of arcade game, but the identical player sprites cause much confusion!

Sound 70% Okay soundtrack and atmospheric 'roaring' sample during transformation.

Hookability 67% Easy to get into, although two-player games are frustrating

Lastability 64% A big challenge, but it gets repetitive.

Overall 68% A good conversion of a mediocre coin-op.