Producer: Elite
Retail Price: £8.99 cassette, £12.99 disk
Author: David Shea
A band of revolutionaries have stormed the jungle HQ of General Alexander Bonn, and are holding him hostage. Unknown to the guerrillas, however, he managed to send a mayday message before being captured. On hearing of this the Ikari Warriors are rushed to the scene to attempt a daring rescue.
Unfortunately the warriors' plane crashlands some distance from the planned lz and the two surviving warriors are faced with a trek through dense jungle in order to rescue the General. From here, the mission may be undertaken as a solo venture or with the help of a friend controlling the second mercenary.
As the intrepid soldiers yomp through the vertically scrolling landscape, they are attacked by squads of enemy marksmen and combateers. Equipped with a limited supply of ammunition, grenades and only six lives each, they go about cutting a swathe through the enemy ranks. As the baddies are decimated, the occasional bonus tile appears, bestowing such goodies as additional ammo, extra grenades and fuel for the enemy tanks that are to be found at certain locations.
Boarding these tanks allow the players to provide themselves with some protection and, more importantly, extra firepower. Enemy soldiers who get in the way are squashed and the large gun emplacements - which can also be removed by a well placed grenade - are despatched with relative ease. However, land mines and grenades are more dangerous: contact with these sees the tank bursts into flame along with its passenger.
The Ikari Warriors' mission ends only when their last life has faded away, or when the HQ is breached and the General escorted to safety.
COMMENTS
Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: the constant scrolling keeps the action coming thick and fast
Sound: rough and tough tune, but feeble effects
Options: Kempston mouse, one or two players
The release of Ikari Warriors has been eagerly awaited by the games playing fraternity for quite a while, and the question is, 'Is it any good?'. The answer: Well I like it, at least! There have been a lot of examples of this vertically scrolling 'massacre the enemy'style of game since the release of the classic Commando a couple of years ago but Ikari Warriors carries on the tradition in fine style. Graphically the game is good, with some very Ramboesque main sprites charging around causing widespread carnage. I particularly liked the tanks which our warmongering friends can use to explosive effect. Overall, a great game in the classic Commando mould.
MIKE
Yes it's Ikari Warriors, the game that seems to have been years in the making. is it really just a full priced U.C.M? Well the graphics are close, the layout is similar and the idea is almost identical, so the answer must undoubtedly be 'Yes'. It seems that this game has suffered in the same way as games like Knight Rider and Scooby Doo did. They have just taken so long to write that the initial expectation wears off by the time they appear. Ikari Warriors has a nice tune at the beginning and there are a few nicely detailed screens further up the scrolling landscape but that's about it. There are problems with colour, as per usual, but they can't helped . It may be worth buying this just in curiosity but I can't recommend it.
NICK
The long awaited, much anticipated Ikari Warriors has finally negotiated the conversion from the arcades. Graphically it has survived the inevitable loss of colour content and detail: the landscape is well defined and retains the boldly contrasting features of the original. Crashing fiercely through the undergrowth, dodging bullets, hijacking tanks and hurling grenades are mercenary pleasures which never seem to pale. Failed missions are sufficiently frustrating to keep hardened guerilla fighters charging back for more. A minor drawback is the inadvertent camouflage of some of the enemy fighters; being zapped in the back by what looks like a harmless piece of vegetation can be infuriating at moments of strategic tension. Vigilant warriors are unlikely to be troubled by this and who cares when you've got the crucial elements of an arcade game in the comfort of your own home.
KATI
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