ZX Computing
1st October 1986Buccaneer
I wondered when this one would make its appearance! I reviewed three games from a company called Insight some months ago and since then two of the three have been repackaged and marketed by Firebird. Now this completes the set.
Described as a challenging arcade game in the classic style, it means just that. A game on the lines of the classic Space Invaders-type, wave after wave of nasties to be shot at while they try to shoot or crash into you. The action is different in that you are supposedly flying a Buccaneer aircraft and the aliens attack horizontally on an earth-based scrolling background.
Just the kind of game I love to finish off a night of mind-stretching arcventure reviewing. Sit down and zap away mindlessly. There are some extra features to alleviate the mind numbing effect, a docking sequence and a dodging sequence, but in the main it's a good old fashioned kill-'em-all game.
At the original price of over seven points it was not worth having, but at the new £1.99 price it is the kind of program everyone should have, if only to compare how far the latest programs have progressed from the good old days.
Sophistication is out, but great fast and furious action survives with Buccaneer. Graphics and animation are average for this kind of game and sound bluzzes away merrily while colours clash cheerfully and death and destruction abound. Not one for pacifists.
You have five aircraft, or lives, and have to keep an eye on fuel and shield levels. Controls are simply up, down and fire. board identification and a full range of joystick options are included.
It's no good. I know I should have this gate and be all arty and snobbish but there is somethng about it which appeals to my inborn sense of mayhem. A no-nonsense, out and out warmongering program to appeal to all our more basic instincts.