Future Publishing
17th August 2008
Categories: Review: Software
Publisher: Richard Wilson
Machine: Amstrad CPC464
Published in Amstrad Action 118
A CPC conversion of an old 1983 Spectrum game? Get outta here. What? You're serious? Okay if you must.
Death Chase
Deathchase is a Spectrum game from way back in 1983. One of the first examples of first person perspective games. It was well received from the gaming magazines at the time; leading Spectrum magazine, Your Sinclair, even named it as the number one game of all time.
Taking place over eight stages, the game involves you controlling a motorcycle as you chase down other motorists through a forest, gaining points for destroying them. Tanks and helicopters also appear in the distance and can be destroyed for points.
Richard Wilson, a.k.a. The Executioner, is well known in the CPC scene with software ranging from ParaDOS to the arcade CPC+ conversion of Frogger. Here he took it upon himself to convert this classic Speccy game over to the CPC, as it was, without any extra time spent on it. That is what he has done, and well I might add. It's a perfect conversion of the source product.
As you would expect for a 1983 game, the graphics are monochromatic and simplistic, sound is barely existent, and the gameplay looks aged. Maybe it was a game of its time. There's no denying that this is a spot-on conversion, but the aged gameplay has been converted across as well.
Second Opinion
There's no doubt that this is a fine programming achievement, but whether it's a gaming achievement remains doubtful.
First Day Target Score
Defeat one opponent.
Verdict
Graphics 34%
N. Blocky monochrome sprites.
P. They move well enough though!
Sound 27%
N. Sparse effects.
Grab Factor 61%
P. A famous Speccy game.
Staying Power 49%
N. Okay game, but with an old concept.
Overall 56%
A great Speccy game arriving 20 years too late on the CPC.