Amstrad Action


Combat School

Author: GBH
Publisher: Ocean
Machine: Amstrad CPC464

 
Published in Amstrad Action #28

Combat School

Uncle Sam needs you. Join the US army and go through the rigorous training needed to become a captain. Another arcade conversion, and one which involves a lot of good old fashioned joystick waggling. One or two players can play but, unlike the arcade version, only one player is on screen at a time.

There are seven events to compete in: the assault course, iron man race, arm wrestling, three firing ranges and the fight with your drill instructor. The assault course is first and, in this, you waggle like mad as you run along the course jumping over hurdles of varying heights. After the hurdles is the monkey bars in which you must again waggle your way along to the end, then a short sprint to the finish line.

In this event, as in all others, you must complete the objective within a time limit. If you fail by a jot then the game ends, but if you only just fail to qualify then you have to do chin-ups as a punishment. If you succeed in the chin-ups then you continue the game, otherwise it's game over. Chin-ups are difficult and involve a lot of waggling, but that's the punishment for failure.

Combat School

Firing ranges appear as the second, fourth and sixth events. The first range involves targets which appear out of the ground and you move the sight over them and fire. On the second range you shoot at tractors which appear in a variety of different formations. The final range has targets that appear out of the ground, only this time there are some targets that you should not shoot because they freeze the sight for a time. On each firing range, you need to score the necessary number of hits within the time limit to progress to the next event.

In the third event, the iron man race, you have to waggle again and jump over rocks, pools and mines that lie in your path. Eventually there's a river where you have to swim to a canoe and then row to the other side. Another sprint and you cross the finishing line.

Arm wrestling is the fifth event and here you and your opponent sit on either side of a table. You must then waggle like mad in order to force your opponents hand down in a contest of pure muscle. Win this and you are one more step closer to the final confrontation with your drill instructor. The last stage of the game involves a one on one battle with your instructor. If you defeat him then you have achieved your objective of attaining the rank of captain.

Combat School

Graphics are varied and colourful in all of the events. The animation of the soldier is smooth and the action is at a fast pace. There are no tunes, but the spot effects are clear and well programmed.

This is one of the best waggling games to come out for a long time. Other events have less waggling, but the action is still fast and furious. Seven events and chin-ups as a punishment makes this a difficult game to master and a simple one to play.

Second Opinion

It's nice to see a decent waggling game again. It all got a bit predictable when software houses only used waggling in athletic events, but this sort of variation is great. The events are all well put together and quite tough, the multi-load making better graphics and more stages possible.

Combat School

I think you'll tire of it eventually, but there's a lot of waggling and sweating to be done before that happens.

First Day Target Score

25,000 points.

Green Screen View

Waggle in green with no problems.

Verdict

Combat School

Graphics 78%
P. Smooth animation and scrolling.
P. Great use of colour.

Sonics 43%
P. Good explosions.

Grab Factor 88%
P. Waggle away to your heart's content.
N. Frustrating having to do chin-ups.

Staying Power 81%
P. Seven events to master.
N. Will become repetitive after a while.

Overall 84%
Not much thought, but a lot of fun.

GBH

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