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Warren Beatty's extravagant film version of the comic strip legend featured Madonna, Al Pacino and some spectacular cinematography. Unfortunately, however good Dick Tracy looked, the plot was a bit limp - a basic 'bad guys trying to take over New York' effort.

The computer game represents the bit in the film where Tracy's sweetheart, Tess Trueheart, has been kidnapped and Dick comes to the rescue. The action takes the form of a flick-screen shoot-'em-up with five levels of a dozen or so screen each.

Initially unarmed, Tracy can pick up guns and grenades from hoods who he punches to the ground. As the game progresses, the hoods get sneakier, sniping from windows and throwing petrol bombs from speeding cars.

Look, I know this is meant to be a period piece, but did that have to extend to prehistoric programming?!

It's not just bad. It's astonishingly bad.

Both versions suffer from feature-length multi-loads and pathetic gameplay: keep running along, shooting any baddies in your way.

The Amiga version is ridiculously easy: even the end-of-level gangsters are total wimps - just shoot at them for a couple of seconds and they surrender! It also features an ear-wrenching soundtrack and primitive animation.

On the C64 the backdrops are so blocky it looks like the villains have already been set in concrete!

Tracy is an even worse game than the film, with incredibly simplistic gameplay consisting simply of walking right and shooting the baddies.

The execution of this idea is abominable with flick-screen scrolling on both versions and some very poor animation. The C64 suffers atrocious graphics, but all the Amiga's fancy presentation screen just mean its multi-loading is almost as irritating as the C64. Warren should sue.

Presentation 48%
Lots of fancy presentation screens, but multi-loading can get irritating when you die.

Graphics 34%
Reasonable sprites and backgrounds, but poor animation and flick-screen scrolling.

Sound 27%
Dire FX and a poor tune.

Hookability 22%
Dull and boring.

Lastability 17%
Repetitive.

Overall 16%
Pointless.

Presentation 28%
Mediocre intro and poor multi-loading, reloading level one if you die there. Two continue-plays.

Graphics 11%
Awful.

Sound 24%
Okay intro tune, but poor in-game soundtrack.

Hookability 10%
Overly difficult and incredibly unoriginal.

Lastability 12%
More of the same repetitive action.

Overall 11%
Agh!