Computer + Video Games - Commodore Is Awesome

'EV ottill
El I
SUPER NES FAS
BY KOMI
I I
I ance and Bill Gryzor are the hard-
L—est duo in the Universe. They like
guns - really big guns. They like
bombs too. And knives and grenades
and flame throwers. Lance and Bill
are total psychos, which is why the
US Government has sent them on a
suicidal mission. Aliens have invaded
and virtually destroyed the
Earth and it's up to our unhinged heroes
to invade the enemy fortress
and kill the evil alien emperor. This
Isn't quite as easy as it sounds the
only way to reach this fortress is to
battle through hordes and hordes of
twisted alien space fiends, all armed
to the teeth and all hungry for blood.
Thankfully Lance and Bill are
equipped with some quite stupidly
powerful weapons and they're awesomely
strong to boot. A stroke of
luck, that - cos you don't want some
weedy wimpo trying to stomp alien
heads, do you?
I I /
Super Contra was one of
my favourite arcaders
and this is a brilliant sequel.
It borrows elements
from the previous
games in the series and
turns them into something
very special. Plat-
( 1 form action is the bige
gest ingredient looking
like a cross between Strider and Midnight
Resistance the game gives you 360 degree
control of your gun as well as some incredibly
athletic climbing powers. Graphically
this game is excellent - most Super Nintendo
games look impressive, but this is
usually down to good use of special effects.
This time round the sprites and backgrounds
are beautifully designed and quite
awesome to see - and the use of scaling
and rotation in Contra isn't lust a gimmick.
It's an intrinsic part of the gameplay. The
top-down sections are a frantic race
against time and add a lair bit of tension to
the proceedings, but the music really
makes this something special with a combination
of orchestral pieces and driving
rock music thrown in! Sampled screams
and beefy explosions all enhance the atmosphere
and it's a case of turning the
volume up, the autofire on and your brain
off. The best game of its type on the Fammy
so far.
FRANK O'CONNOR
038
p.
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•411
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A t t
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GEEZERS!
Contra Spirit is a sequel of sods
to the arcade games Gryzor and
Super Contra The platform action
of Gryzor has been tweaked,
giving the game more than a hint
of Strider, and the top-down sections
from Super Contra have
been enhanced using the scaling
and rotation abilities to spectacular
effect.
There are all the usual shooty features, like extra weapons,
shields and smart bombs. There's also a feast of guns available
and you can carry two at once, switching between them as and
when you wish!
COR! WHAT A A s you run around the various levels
wasting baddies and caus-
BEEFY WEAPON ing all sorts of mischief, weapons
pods will be flying about. Shoot
them and they drop an extra weapon
on your head. These include
lour-way spread fire, flamethrower,
homing missiles and
rockets. The saddest weapon of
the lot though, is the laser gun.
which is about as much use as a •
one-legged man in a botty kicking
contest. You can switch between
weapons, but die and you
lose the one you were using. Boo!
The grooviest thing about Contra
Spirit is the top-notch two player
action. You can both run about at
the same time, blowing away
baddies and helping each other
out. The top-down section takes
place in a split screen, so you
can explore the terrain independently.
Sadly though. on the
vertically scrolling sections if
you're too slow you get killed.
People with dubious friends
might find their mate deliberately
bumping them off. This lust serves
to improve the gameplay and
gives this title that competitive
edge. Mind you, it's harder in one
player mode!
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