Three more classic games for you to play, although they're not as good as the ones in the previous volume. There's a racing game where you just drive for as long as you can, avoiding the other cars – not exciting at all. Then there's a cute Pengo clone where you have to push bricks around in order to squash some fluffy monsters, while trying to push the three diamonds together so they touch each other. It would be the best of the bunch if it wasn't so stupidly difficult. The third game sees you as a snake eating pills in a maze; as you grow longer, you must be careful not to trap yourself. This is probably the best game of the three, but it's too easy and quickly becomes boring. So, one OK game and two mediocre ones. Oh, dear.

See also: Classiques Volume 1.

More information on CPCSOFTS

5

Your girlfriend has been captured by a huge monkey and you must rescue her. It will come as no surprise to learn that this game is a clone of Donkey Kong. The graphics are very crudely drawn; the 'monkey' doesn't resemble anything close to a monkey! The animation is very jerky, and the way the hero jumps means that while jumping over barrels on the first level isn't too much of a problem, avoiding enemies and jumping on to moving platforms is frustratingly difficult on subsequent levels. The sound and collision detection are also poor. Overall, this is a terrible game!

More information on CPCSOFTS

2

Based upon a great manga comic strip, famous among French teenagers in the 1980s, this game is unfortunately far from the original. You control Cobra and his cyber friend Armanoid, and you must save a young girl (girls were the main reason for the success of that comic...) from the Evil Salamandar. As soon as the action starts, you know that you're in front of a bad game. The sound effects are exactly the same as in Flash, another game from the same authors, and the gameplay is exactly the same too! Well, they changed the backgrounds and the characters... All you have to do is shoot everything around you. The screen scrolls in every direction but you don't know where to go because enemies come from everywhere and the buildings around you are always the same. Boring and disappointing – you'd better watch the original manga instead.

More information on CPCSOFTS

4

Based around the little known film of the same name, Cobra is one of the most bizarre film licence games ever! Similiarities between the film and the game are that you must shoot a lot of people, and you must rescue beautiful Ingrid from the evil Night Slasher. But that's where the similarities end. You see, in the game, you must eat burgers to get better weapons (knife, gun and machine gun) and are constantly under attack by dive-bombing ducks, for some reason! Each of the platform-filled levels are pretty much the same (OK, they're identical, but with harder bad guys) and I reckon you'll be bored long before you get to the Night Slasher. Graphics are nothing special (though there's a wicked picture of Stallone on the loading screen), the sound is virtually non-existent, and the whole thing is just so average, it hurts. The movie was a stinker, and the game is little better!

More information on CPCSOFTS

5

Fly an AH-1W Super Cobra through four levels of shoot-'em-up action. Your helicopter is equipped with a machine gun and a limited supply of missiles which you'll need to use to destroy the guns that are scattered across each level. You can obtain more missiles or some extra firepower by shooting certain aliens and collecting the bonus icon that appears. You also have a small number of 'enemy blockers' which freeze the aliens and guns for a short time. The aim in each level is to destroy all the guns and collect all the pods, and you'll then face two giant helicopters which must be shot in order to progress to the next level. The graphics are nice and colourful and the difficulty level is set just right to make this a fine, action-packed game.

More information on CPCSOFTS

8

This is Cobra Soft's attempt at simulating a pinball machine on your CPC. From the moment the game loads up, you're presented with a very odd-looking display. Visually, the tiny table looks crude, dated and not at all entertaining. After entering some credits and selecting the number of players, this uninspiring game begins. A few beeps and bangs fill your ears as a small, flickery ball is sent on its way. Because of the very tight play area you'll struggle to keep the ball in play and soon you'll lose interest.

More information on CPCSOFTS

1

Zen is a cute little creature who must use his magical abilities to collapse 96 different structures. Each structure is made from light blue sticks and bridges which are connected to each other. Zen must paint all the sections dark blue, and then use his magic Rotix stick to collapse the structure. However, there are two monsters on each screen who will reduce the amount of time available, although you can collect diamonds to gain some time. It takes some practice to get used to the controls. Zen can switch between two modes which indicate whether or not he is using magic, and some actions can only be performed in one mode but not the other. Even once you've mastered the controls, this is still a frustrating game; more time is spent trying to dodge monsters and collect diamonds than attempting to collapse the structures.

More information on CPCSOFTS

4

Based on the original Adventure by Will Crowther and Don Woods, Level 9's take on the game still has your nameless protagonist on an underground search for treasures, but has expanded the game world significantly. Retrospectively branded the first in the Middle Earth trilogy, Colossal Adventure was originally a text-only adventure but was later re-released with added graphics as part of the Jewels of Darkness compilation. There's a reason the original Adventure took off and it's all in the gameplay. Clear and well thought out puzzles with a built-in transportation system that's light years ahead of its time, Colossal Adventure is a faithful retelling of a landmark game. It won't win prizes for originality, but the atmosphere and feel of the game hold up to this day. While a few software houses tried to bring Adventure to the CPC, this is the best version.

See also: Adventure Quest, Dungeon Adventure.

More information on CPCSOFTS

9

Of all the versions of Will Crowther and Don Woods' Adventure on the CPC, this is probably the poorest. From a plot point of view, the game is top notch, following closely to the seminal template. However, where Colossal Cave Adventure lets itself down is in its dreadful response speed and presentation. The game takes a virtual ice age to respond to each of your commands, and although having no graphics doesn't hinder the gameplay, the choice to have red text superimposed on a yellow box against the CPC's regular blue background is really ugly. The game is also written entirely in unprotected BASIC. The sloppy execution would be bad enough in normal circumstances, but when you compare it to the much slicker versions released around the same time or even earlier, it makes Duckworth's interpretation seem all the poorer.

More information on CPCSOFTS

4

Benurio is a soldier who has been accused of treason and disloyalty to the Roman Empire. To prove his loyalty, he must take part in a chariot race – but the other contestants are set on killing him! As Benurio, your aim is not to win each of the four races, but simply to survive. Each race consists of eight laps, and each course contains obstacles that you must avoid. You can choose to fight your opponents, and if you win, you can obtain their weapon, or alternatively, you can try to force them into one of the obstacles on the course. The graphics and animation are of a high standard, and a suitably imperial tune plays on the menu, although in-game sound effects are limited to the galloping of your horse. However, the races are too long and the gameplay soon becomes quite repetitive.

More information on CPCSOFTS

5