Previous Next

A & F Software built up something of a cult following for two of its previous games, Cylon Attack and Chuckie Egg, so a new release from it should be very entertaining.

One of the first things you notice on loading this game is the attention paid to the presentation of the program.

Although the initial header screen is a fairly straightforward teletext composition, the same can't be said of the interrupt-driven music which accompanies the loading of the game. It's a well-arranged piece of baroque-inspired Musak which nicely whiles away the minutes before you start.

The instruction sheets, control display and start of each game screen involve some clever manipulation of screen control registers to produce the effect of unrolling the screen from left to right. Should you reach the high score table at the end of the game, you're treated to a burst of fireworks.

The game is a lot less original than either of A&F's recent hits, and involves picking up little men from the sea, while avoiding ballistic missiles launched from patrolling submarines, guided missiles dropped from passing Zeppelins and an enemy helicopter which shadows your moves.

Landing your copter on the pad on the left-hand side of the screen takes a bit of getting used to, since it will register a landing only when set down from a certain height. Should you be unfortunate enough to let anything touch you, the helicopter-destroyed sequence is pretty original, although crashing in certain parts of the screen causes peculiar sprite anomalies.

Every two screens successfully completed leads you to a fairly easy bonus game which can earn you a lot of points. A well-executed game, but without the addictive quality of some of A&F's other offerings.