Personal Computer Games


Smash And Grab

Author: Rob Patrick
Publisher: Superior
Machine: BBC Model B

 
Published in Personal Computer Games #12

Smash And Grab

Smash And Grab is yet another ladders and platforms game, but this time with something of a twist. You are a bank robber and, having smashed the window of your local branch of the Midwest, it is your task to collect the bags of money as they fall. The bank is at the top of the screen and you must move along a network of platforms catching the bags as they fall.

To make your job even more difficult, the local bobby is out to get you. He's a pretty fleet-footed soul and when he does catch you he can be surprisingly brutal - he'll push you into the river without so much as a second thought!

On top of this, you also have to watch out for the flying police cones which move across the screen at alarming speed and are completely fatal. It's possible to kick the cones and destroy them but this is not recommended as they tend to come in flocks and one mis-kick could mean curtains for you.

Smash And Grab

Graphics are good and chunky and there are some nice touches in the game, like the way the policeman sometimes lies down on the level above you and gives you a thump with his truncheon.

Overall, this is a pleasant game with no obvious bugs. It is hard, maybe too hard, but very enjoyable.

Shingo Sugiura

When loading this game, regular arcade goers should immediately recognise that it is a rip-off of Popeye, which was so popular last summer. The original characters Olive, Popeye, Brutus and the hearts have been replaced by a bank robber, policeman and floating gold bags but the concept is still the same.

The game features reasonable graphics and animation but the background music that made the original so much fun has gone which leaves me thinking, if you're gonna rip off a game, why not do it properly? And another thing. Why is the robber so slow, and the policeman so fast?

Chris Anderson

Another very slick copy by Superior. The burglar is very nicely animated and the screen is bright and colourful. The game's enjoyable because there's a lot to do: collect gold, kick parking cones, avoid policemen and then turn the tables on the cops by reaching a flashing police box. I must admit, it was fun knocking the policeman into the water. Sorry about that, officer.

Rob Patrick

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