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Commodore Format
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Author: Keith Woods
Publisher: The Electric Boys
Machine: Commodore 64/128
Published in Commodore Format #50
Cashman Compilation (The Electric Boys)
New from The Electric Boys is this compilation of three short games. It's not a major, top line release, but at only £1.50 you could hardly go wrong, or could you? Let's find out...
Cashman
This title game ain't no great looker, it has to be admitted, but it doesn't actually play all that badly. Loads of guys pour out of the top of the screen. Your job is to kill them and nick their money.
If Codemasters released this game, they'd probably have called it Pro Mugging Simulator. Being a mugger in this game, however, is quite a lot of fun (if not very politically correct). There's always loads of victims on screen, and the game moves at quite a pace. The difficulty level is just right, with victims needing more hits to be killed with every level.
The major drawback with Cashman is that it doesn't have much long-term appeal. It does have a few hours of amusement in it though. 62%
Synopsis
This is a fun puzzler starring a Smiley who bounces around a number of blocks, which automatically disintegrate when he touches them, the aim being to clear the screen. If our grinning friend bounces into an empty space, he dies. Careful thought about the order of destruction is therefore necessary.
Not all squares are the same - some need to be hit twice, others not at all and some force you to go in a certain direction. The trick is to make sure that you don't leave yourself in a position with no block to jump on to.
It might not sound exciting, but if you like your puzzle games, you'll enjoy this. It's a bit slow, but being a puzzler that hardly matters. By my reckoning, Synopsis is the best game of the pack. 80%
Mindmaze
Unfortunately Mindmaze, the second puzzler, isn't nearly as good as Synopsis. It looks okay, but is, frankly, dull.
The aim is to eliminate all blocks from the screen. You do this by choosing a square with your cursor and pressing fire. Extra blocks are then added to four squares around you. However, if there's a block there already the two cancel each other out and you've made some progress.
The time limit is tight and you've got no lives, so progression is difficult. But the game's such little fun that you probably won't bother trying anyway. 40%
Overall
Not surprisingly this is a mixed bag of games, with one good, one average and one bad, but at the paltry £1.50 asking price, it's actually very good value.
Scores
Commodore 64/128 VersionOverall | 72% |