ST Format


Bully's Sporting Darts

Author: Rob Mead
Publisher: Alternative
Machine: Atari ST

 
Published in ST Format #49

Bully's Sporting Darts

Know what your right arm's for? Then pack it in and have a game of darts instead. Jim Bowen's only friend arrives on your ST, dragging loads of fabby darts games behind him.

Bully's Sporting Darts enables you and a pal to pit your arrow-throwing wits in six different tests of skill, tactics and beer-guy wobbling ability. The games - 501, Clock, Football, Tennis, Golf and Cricket all take place on a series of standard or custom dartboards with Bully chastising or praising you all the way. 501 and Clock are the kind of games you can play with any pub team, but the others need you to suspend your disbelief while you aim your darts at a section of the board and pretend you're playing for Aston Villa or something. Great, eh?

You know you're in for a laugh as soon as you boot this game up - your ST's sound chip starts blasting out Down at the Old Bull and Bush and the graphics appear on-screen in all their crappy day-glo glory. But as soon as you delve into the first game of 501 you're hooked.

Bully's Sporting Darts

A dart-wielding hand appears on-screen which you control with either your joystick or ST's keyboard. As soon as you've lined up the dart for a shot, pressing Fire sends it winging into the cork.

Get a high score after you've released your darts and you're rewarded with a congratulatory "moo" from Bully. Of the "non darts" games the footy and the golf are the best as you try to lodge darts in their half of the "pitch" or try to score a hole-in-one.

However, the snooker game is the pits - it's over-complicated and very dull. The game presents you with nine increasingly hard-to-beat computer opponents. To brighten things up a bit, there's also a two-player option so you and a pal can play against each other.

Bully's Sporting Darts

Graphically, the game's a bit of a disaster area - there's nothing here which wouldn't disgrace an 8-bit and the sound effects consist largely of the aforementioned chip music and the sound of Bully mooing constipatedly.

Verdict

You're not going to believe this, but Bully's Sporting Darts is actually a lot of fun to play, especially in two-player mode. It doesn't use any of your ST's capabilities, the music is going to drive you bonkers, but you're going to be playing this until the Bullies come home.

Highs

Addictive, knockabout fun with Jim Bowen's only chum.

Lows

The graphics are really crap, frankly, but who cares?

Rob Mead

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