Label: System 3
Author: In House
Price: £8.95
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various
Reviewer: Jim Douglas
Oh yes. This is the stuff that makes fab games. A sweeping epic taking place through different eras and continents. A chronicle of one man's struggle against astounding odds. Phew! What a scorcher.
It sounds like the intro to a million mediocre adventure games, doesn't it? Thankfully, Myth has got more action per second than any sweeping epics I've ever seen. Myth is a joy to look at. The tiny graphics are so well animated it's almost like watching a little cartoon. It makes a welcome relief from the flickering megasprites of most exploration affairs of late.
Probably the most important aspect of "big game" feel is that the environment you find yourself exploring feels MASSIVE. There's not much mystery when you know that the whole game world is only two screens by three deep.
That's where Myth beats others of its type hands down. It can be a real challenge simply getting from one side of the screen to the other.
The object of the game is to bounce yourself through different ages (Greek mythology, Norse etc) righting all the dodgy business that went on. If you're successful, you'll end up with a much happier future world. If you goof, well, it hardly bears thinking about.
First stop on the trip is Hell (good to start on an up-note, eh?) You stand in the ruddy, dusty passages of a subworld littered with swinging skeletons and broken bodies. No time to waste. Best check out the surroundings.
Hell is a pretty depressing place actually, on top of the skeletons hanging from the ceilings, Ray Harryhausen style fighting bone-men leap out of the ground and attack you. This is the stuff! Laying into them with fists and feet (the control of your character is fab - more in a sec), the skeletons recoil with each blow, and eventually their heads pop off and their ribs collapse.
The controls offer a great deal of freedom; you can jump up, hop, squat, punch, kick etc. Also, you can pick up any objects that are lying on the deck. Virtually everything can be used at some stage in the game.
The most common items you'll discover in the first level are fireballs. These can be used to knock down the teleport icons. When you've got enough, you'll be beamed to the next time zone.
My favourite stage is the blue section, populated by horrible gargoyles and the Medusa. Here nasty green drops of slime fall from the cavernous roofs. Armed with your trusty sword and shield, you've got to jump across yawning chasms from pillar to pillar, making slow but steady progress towards the ghastly grimmy herself. With every step closer you get, she'll spit more venom at you, and you've got to perfectly time your moves of jumping and raising the shield in order to survive.
Each level comprises a major feat that must be achieved, too. There are huge monsters that need killing, a medusa that needs beheading and Greek gods that need a stern talking to.
The graphics are fantastic throughout. The animation is simply superb. Because the figures are small, they can glide around the screens and each character can have a decent set of animations. When you jump, it really looks like a jump, and when you hit the ground, your legs bend.
These are the touches that really make Myth stand out from the crowd.
Label: Kixx
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £3.99 Tape
Reviewer: Garth Sumpter
Some games are a bit hit and miss but, put simply, this game is hit and myth - Aggh, enough of these rubbish jokes Garfy, get on with the review.
History is a really messy place and it's your job to clean it up - if you want to make it safely to your future world end goal that is. There are a lot of different ancient worlds to travel through in this epic (if not necessarily true to history) beat 'em up including Hell (aggh!) ancient Greece, Norse etc. And you'll never get bored, although you might get burned, with simply tons of skeletons, Greek gods, ghosts and Medusas to sort out.
Control is excellent. Although the main sprite is quite small he does pack an amazing punch and his range of movements are impressive. Jump, hop, punch, kick, squat and pick up as many objects as you can find to help you your merry way. At times it's more like a violent aerobics class than a computer game but it still it has lots of atmosphere.
You start out mauling the enemy with fists and feet but can pick up swords, shields and various power-ups such as fireballs along the way. Us these against enemies and collect icons by shooting at them. At the end of a level, once you've collected enough teleportation icons you'll get transported to the next level and the next scenario, then the fun begins all over again.
Myth is a spectacular trip through time with the toast of the school athletics team. Your sprite is fast, fit and fully equipped so don't let anyone get in his way.
ALAN:
Well, well this game does manage to cover ground. Although the action remains basically the same throughout, the number of scenarios and good playability make Myth a classic game.
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