So, the sequel to the popular Airwolf arrived for the ZX Spectrum in 1987. It was a change from the previous game and focused more on classic arcade action, borrowing heavily from the likes of Nemesis.
Anwyay, this game actually came bundled with a couple of others; the bizzarely named 'Great Gurianos' and 'Trio'.
Anyway, like the first game in the series, it had little to do with the actual show, apart from the fact that you were gaming with a helicopter.
The whole premise of the game was that you (as Stringfellow Hawke - I always chortled at that name) had been given a mission to destroy an alien craft which was threatening civilisation! This just would not do.
By collecting and using sophisticated new weaponry you had to overcome the many
perils facing you along the route, ultimately destroying the craft and sending those aliens back across the cosmos with their alien tails between their alien legs.
In true classic arcade fashion it was a horizontal scrolling shoot em up (from left to right) with nasties to shoot and powerups to collect.
All of the usual arcade game suspects were in there, such as shields, double fire, smart bombs yada yada yada. Gun emplacements would take pot shots at you, aliens would sneak up behind you and there were destructable walls which had to be blasted away brick by brick.
The game also 'boasted' some fine features such as:
- REALISTIC HELICOPTER FLIGHT CONTROL
- FRANTIC "BATTLE ACTION" WITH ALIEN STAR SHIPS
- COMPULSIVE GAME PLAY
- MULTIPLE SCROLLING LEVELS
These could not really be counted as fantastic features - surely they are all major requirements of the game? All in all this was a bog standard arcade game that offered nothing over others.
On Release:
This game was met with a lukewarm reception. There were plenty of better arcade games on the Speccy that offered better gameplay, graphics, sound and overall polish. Not bad as part of a trio but folks knew it had little longevity. There was still no sign of the famous theme tune either! Sh*te hawks!
The Test Of Time:
This game is pretty basic. It is by no means total crap, but let's say it has nothing special to offer over other titles. There are plenty of better to play such as Uridium, Cybernoid, Zynaps and even budget game Chronos has some neat cheat codes and easter eggs.
We recommend getting hold of the real Sinclair Hardware but if not them download other shoot em ups for a ZX Spectrum emulator. Alternatively you could try and play it online.
Please see our other ZX Spectrum game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.
GENRE: Scrolling arcade game
RELEASE DATE: 1987
RELEASED BY: Hit Pak
DEVELOPER(S): Neil Latarche
PRICE: £9.95 (as a 3 pack of games) - UK
Classic Arcade Action:
Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games
7 comments:
I remember this pack. Airwolf 2 was okay although it felt odd because it scrolled to the left.
Great Gurianos was a nifty coin-op conversion, albeit with a sting in the tail. They made the final boss unbeatable because they ran out of memory.
The last game was actually 3DC. A fantastic isometric puzzler. I generally hate those (including all the Ultimate games and Head Over Heels) but 3DC was really good.
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