Gauntlet II
(US Gold, 1988)

The game that follows on from the original has much the same layout, although some new features have been added. There are health-draining force fields and new monsters such as sorcerers, blobs of acid, and a black monster that homes in on you and saps your health. The levels also start changing randomly after level 5. Less important is the ability to choose what colour you want your character to be, and if you're playing with a friend, it's now possible for both of you to choose the same character. The graphics and sound effects are just as good and the game is as good as, if not better than, the original.

See also: Gauntlet, Gauntlet III.

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The third instalment of the Gauntlet series is quite different from the previous two games. The game takes place on the island of Capra, which is divided into eight sections. The Devil has come from hell and unleashed his evil monsters, and you must kill them and return the Devil to where he belongs. The most obvious change is that the game is viewed in isometric 3D. However, it's also a Spectrum port, albeit one with very detailed graphics. Could we not have some more colour? You also have a choice of eight characters instead of four, and instead of dozens of small levels, there are now eight very large levels. There's a lot of walking involved, as each level is essentially a treasure hunt, but it's still a good game – if you're a Gauntlet fan, that is.

See also: Gauntlet, Gauntlet II.

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Gazza's Super Soccer
(Empire, 1989)

Gazza may be a has-been now, but there was a time long ago when he was a rather skilful footballer. Unfortunately, this game (known as Bodo Illgner's Super Soccer in Germany) is utter tosh. You can choose to play in either a league or a cup tournament, or just have a friendly match. The players can be renamed and their statistics adjusted. All this detail sounds impressive; it's when you come to play the match that you start to scream. The scrolling is extremely jerky, and it's difficult to control your player. In fact, it's difficult to see which player you are trying to control. And is that noise supposed to be the crowd cheering, or is it interference?

See also: Gazza II.

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Gazza II
(Empire, 1990)

This is a really nice football game, although it doesn't allow you to play in a league or a knockout tournament. The difficulty of the game depends on who you choose to play against – Albania are the weakest team, Brazil the strongest. Alternatively, you can play with a friend, although there's an annoying bug where the two teams swap colours at half time. Two nice features are the boot-o-meter, allowing you to control the strength of your kicks by holding down the fire button, and a radar screen which shows where the ball and all the players are. The game is very easy to get into, and with an amazingly cool tune on the menu screen, it's a winner.

See also: Gazza's Super Soccer.

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In 1930s America, air races used to be held in which 'planes and their pilots would race around an open-air course which would usually be marked on the ground with pylons or other markers, and they proved to be very popular with the public. This game sees you taking part in such a race, except that there are sixteen courses to fly, and that instead of racing against other 'planes, you have to complete the course within a set time limit. However, you do have to dodge 'planes coming in the opposite direction! The music on the menu screen is nice, but the game is rather boring, the sound effects are poor, and the graphics are rather garish.

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Gemini Wing
(Virgin, 1989)

"DIE ALIEN MUTANT SCUM!," screamed the headline of the Soonday Spirit. Of course, the aliens took great offence to that, and now the entire galaxy has declared war against Earth. You've been sent out to stop them in the new Gemini Wing fighter. As well as the standard firepower, you can also collect power-ups in the form of gumballs which hang on to the tail of your craft, and they can be unleashed one at a time. To be honest, I don't like the game much. The graphics are nice, but the sound effects are pathetic and the collision detection is dodgy at the best of times.

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La Geste d'Artillac
(Infogrames, 1986)
Reviewed by Guillaume Chalard

Your father has been kidnapped and his house burnt to the ground. You pick a few items and try to find him in a strange and deserted land. This is the start of a good text adventure game, featuring nice MODE 1 graphics. Unfortunately, the plot is very, very linear and the game too short. All you can do is choose between two or three actions that appear in a window – and making the wrong choice often means death! There is no music, except at the very beginning (but it is rather bad anyway). However, it is an interesting game, where you always want to explore further.

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Let's put it in a few words: this game (known as Crafton et Xunk to French readers) is one of the very best for the CPC. You're Crafton, an android who tries to escape from an experimental project. You must obtain a code to open the door to the outside. In the building, there are eight scientists, each of whom has a part of the code. You'll be helped by Xunk, a podocephalus (i.e. a foot with a brain on top of it!), who calls you when he has found something interesting, and occasionally helps you to jump over obstacles (and aliens). There are too many great and hilarious things in this game for me to detail here. The graphics are colourful and well designed, and the sounds fit the action perfectly. It's funny, clever, and great!

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Save New York and the entire world from a disaster of biblical proportions in this spin-off from the hit film. Ghosts are converging on the evil Temple of Zuul, and the only way to stop them is by forming your own ghostbusting franchise with which you must make more money than you started with. Only after this and much ghost killing can you reach the final confrontation at the top of the temple. This is quite a poor game with crude graphics and annoying gameplay, and although the music (including speech) is good, it is nothing more than an excuse to cash in on the film.

See also: Ghostbusters II, The Real Ghostbusters.

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Pretty closely based on the movie of the same name, Ghostbusters II has some of the best graphics and sound you'll ever see or hear on the CPC. From the intro screen to the digitised scenes straight from the movie to the gorgeous levels, the graphics are simply awesome, and the spooky sound effects and spot-on version of the Ghostbusters theme tune complement the graphics nicely. There are only three levels, which is disappointing, but the sheer difficulty of the first level, which sees you descending down a manhole to investigate a river of slime, means you'll have to be a gaming god to see the other two levels – which are awesome. All in all, a great game in all respects except the stupid difficulty of the first level!

See also: Ghostbusters, The Real Ghostbusters.

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