Previous Next

On the strange, alien world Phantis, Arkos, hero of the original game, has been imprisoned by the evil Gremla's heirs. As Major Locke you have assumed the risky task of rescuing him.

But this is no simple 'blow the wall down with dynamite' job. No, first you must venture through ten levels of some of the most demanding gameplay we've seen in a long time. As in Game Over (Issue 44, 55%) which is actually included in the package free, the game consists of two sections, each loaded separately. The second of these can only be played by inputting the correct access code obtained from completing the first.

Your mission begins with you approaching the planet Phantis in a spaceship. Unfortunately the enemy are aware of your presence and send hordes of kamikaze ships to destroy you. Should you manage to get past them, then it's on to the planet's volcanic surface where there's yet more enemy ships, as well as lethal rockfalls. Your destination is the underground cavern which leads to the swamps. Once Locke has landed there, he can mount a creature much like those at the start of The Empire Strikes Back (i.e. two-legged llama-type things?!). With luck, it should carry him through the swamp.

The second section of the game involves exploring an underground forest and a lake infested with both dinosaurs and piranhas. Get past that to the prison, and you still have to kill the devils guarding it to complete the mission.

Colour is used liberally, and carelessly, on all levels resulting in a great deal of clash. Similarly disappointing is the sound, with a squeaky title tune and pathetic effects throughout the whole game.

Actual gameplay is shallow and, though you get a great quantity of levels for your money, the quality is mostly substandard.

1. On the second section, find the gun and power pack as quickly as possible.
2. Pick up pulsating hearts, as these reward you with extra lives.
3. Collect medallions to proceed to the next sector.
4. Watch the heart in the status box, the smaller it becomes, and the weaker it beats, warns you that you're near to death.

Wow, Game Over and Game Over II in the same package, that would be great value if the games were any good. But sadly Game Over II is little better than the original. Admittedly, the slightly blobby sprites are reasonable, but the hideous white splodge of colour clash whch follows our hero around is terrible!

The game itself is little more than a basic shoot-'em-up, and sadly to me mind, not really worth the asking price.

I'm sorry but it's a case of nice packaging, shame about the game.

You would have thought that the programmers at Dinamic might have got "the message" after the Game Over review in issue 44. The main complaint was colour clash, and guess what this sequel suffers from?!

Any small improvement that there is in the sequel is mainly due to the backgrounds being less detailed.

Unlike Phil, I quite liked the tunes [Our resident disc jockey speaks! - Ed], however, and sound effects are average for a shoot-'em-up/arcade game.

With so much content here, in effect four games if you include the two parts of the original as well, I think it's really good value. In addition, the sequel is, in my opinion, a great improvement over the original... making this a very attractive package and well worth getting.

Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: Colour clash city
Sound: Squeaky title tune with unchanging effects throughout the game
Options: Definable keys. Play Part One or Two (with access code)
General Rating: A flashy box conceals mediocre contents