C&VG


Looping

Publisher: CBS Electronics
Machine: Coleco Vision Games System

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #30

Looping

If ever you had cause to question the impartiality of Joystick Jury, it may be now, so I will openly declare my interest.

I love this type of game up before the jury - Looping for ColecoVision. It is the type of game where you have to shoot, move and manoeuvre your craft around obstacles and through narrow gaps.

The immense popularity of the scrolling shoot-'em-up originated with the arcade game Scramble. Looping takes the basic fun element of Scramble a stage further. You control a tiny craft which you have to manoeuvre through a cavernous network of blue pipes. To open up the gate to the pipe network you must first blast the ground-to-air rocket sitting on the launch pad.

Looping

In order to get a clear shot, you will have to loop the loop to dodge the balloons floating up towards you from the city below.

What's more, your ship is relatively small, making the pipe network seem like a vast maze. I really enjoyed playing Looping - despite the fact I did not penetrate very deeply into its blue tree of paths.

My only gripe is, as usual, not with the piece of Coleco software but with those darned joysticks - which are at their worst in games like Looping where careful manoeuvring is required. The good news is that Coleco have now developed a new super joystick which will be in the shops this summer at around the £20 mark.

Addictive fun for your Coleco. If you've already got Donkey Kong Junior and Q*Bert, this is worth considering at £29.99.