C&VG


Cliff Hanger

Publisher: New Generation
Machine: Commodore 64

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #39

Cliff Hanger

It's Christmas and the silly season is with us again. This latest release from those masters of computer graphics is set on various mountain passes.

In front of you the road snakes away into the distance, where lurks a sneaky bandit. Sometimes you'll be able to see him coming towards you but, when there's a twist in the road, you'll have to work out his position from the sound of his footsteps and the crack of his revolver.

You are perched on a cliff and are equipped with various contraptions to catch El Bandido unawares as he rounds the corner. The Faraday screen is all about magnets. Pick it up and it will attract a large anvil on the opposite cliff, falling to the ground below. Getting your own back is all about boomerangs. When the bandit rounds the corner, throw the boomerang at him. If you're lucky, it'll hit him. If not, it does a superb spin and returns to your hand.

Cliff Hanger

Like many games at the moment, there are parodied versions of other classics in here as well. Chuckie Bomb has you throwing bombs at the enemy while Boulder Dash involves rolling large rocks down the cliff.

If you manage to hit the sharp shooter, your character does a cute little dance on the screen. If you don't, he'll either scratch his head or knock himself into the ground by hitting his head with a mallet!

The music is some of the best I've heard on the C64 - very Italian-like with lots of twiddly bits.

The game works with joystick or keyboard. My only complaint is that there's not much for the player to do except position himself on the cliff and press the button.

But there are lots of screens and this will certainly liven up your Christmas party. As long as someone's remembered to buy you a C64, that is.