The Way Of The Exploding Fist - Commodore 64 - 1985

Ah, a fighting game from simpler times.  Times before health bars, fatalities, combos, special moves and umpteen buttons.  The Way Of The Exploding Fist is unashamedly based on the 1984 arcade game Karate Champ but makes do with a joystick and a single fire button.  The game was released in 1985 for various 8-bit computers with the Commodore 64 version being the best.  I used to play it on the Spectrum a lot with my brother until he discovered there is no defence against the leg sweep.

The Way Of The Exploding Fist is a 2D fighting game using a side on view.  There are a total of 18 different moves available including blocks, kicks, punches and somersaults. Although there are a lot of moves the controls are very intuitive. Kicks are achieved by pressing the fire button and moving the joystick in the appropriate direction, giving 8 kicks. All other moves just require you to move the joystick.  Some manoeuvres require two moves of the joystick - to perform the low punch, for example, you need to pull back on the joystick to crouch then move it the direction you're facing to punch.

Rather than a health bar each bout is fought for points (like a real Karate tournament).  If you hit your opponent with a perfectly executed move you will score one full point.  You can still down your opponent with a less that perfect hit but will only obtain a half point.  Points are represented by yin-yang symbols at the top of the screen and the first person to gain two full symbols wins the round.

The game can be played as single player against the computer where you progress from Novice to Tenth Dan by beating progressively tougher adversaries. Apparently there is a bonus round where you have to take down a bull with a single punch but I've yet to see that.  Where the game really comes into its own is when played against a human opponent.  The game is not so fast that button mashing works and games can become quite tactical against an evenly matched player.

As I said, the Commodore 64 boasts the best version of the game.  Although the graphics are blockier, the game runs a tad faster than on the Spectrum or the Amstrad.  The sound is also better comprising a suitably oriental tune and some (very) primitive digitised spot effects.  It’s still a fun game when played against another person and can prove a tough challenge in the single player mode.

Super Pipeline 2 - Commodore 64 - 1985

Super Pipeline 2 is the sequel to the excellent Commodore 64 game Super Pipeline.  Your task is to once again keep the pipes flowing long enough to fill barrels at the bottom of the screen.  Various tools such as drills, hammers and sink plungers have run amok and are out to scupper your plans, along with the bugs and lobster from the first game.  These enemies run along the pipes and try to put holes in them.  You are armed with a gun to shoot the enemies but you can only shoot left or right.  To repair the pipes you need to use your endless supply of repairmen.  At all times there are two repairmen roaming the pipework which must be collected and guided to the leak.  The leaks need to be fixed quickly as there is only a finite supply of liquid supplied by a tank at the top of the screen.  If the tank is emptied before the barrels are full, your score is rapidly depleted until they are.

The lobster from the first game makes another appearance.  It can only be killed from behind.

Super Pipeline 2 is a brilliant arcade game that has enough changes to make it better than the first game.  Once again the blocky graphics suit the game though lack a little of the character they had in Super Pipeline.  There is some decent music and sound effects to accompany the game.  The game also features inter-level cut scenes which are played out at the bottom of the play area. 

A short cut scene plays after each level.

Super Mario Bros. - NES - 1985

I’ve played a lot of platform games so far for this blog.  Of these I’ve added my favourites.  Super Mario Bros. is the first one I’ve come across that still looks and feels ‘modern’.  Most of the platform games I’ve tried until now are flick screen affairs with plain backgrounds and simple sprites.  Super Mario Bros. was a breath of fresh air gave the genre a much needed kick up the jacksie.  

Jet Set Willy II vs Super Mario Bros.  Both 1985.

In this game you take control of Mario (or Luigi in two-player mode) and have to make your way through the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil Bowser (justified or not, I can where Nintendo got their ‘kiddy games’ tag from).  Mushroom Kingdom is made up of 8 worlds with each split into 4 stages.  You have to complete each stage within a set time limit, avoiding or defeating Bowser’s minions on your way. Mario’s main form of dispatching the enemies is by jumping on top of them.  If there are enemies on a platform he can jump into it from below and knock them off their perch.

Jumping from below into blocks marked ‘?’ will reveal coins or occasional power ups.  Collecting 100 coins provides you with an extra life.  Power ups include the Magic Mushroom which makes Mario grow to twice his size and allows him to break bricks above him.  If he is hit by an enemy he reverts to his normal size. When Mario picks up the Fire Flower he can shoot fireballs to make short work of the enemies.  Picking up the Starman makes Mario invincible for a short while enabling him to run into enemies with impunity.

Picking up Star Man bestows invincibility.

As mentioned there are 8 levels split into 4 stages.  The last stage of each level is always set underground and leads to Bowser who must be passed to complete the level.  Some of these stages can be quite infuriating as unless you take the correct route the stage can go on indefinitely which does take some of the shine off the game.  On checking a walkthrough stage 8-4 involves a pipe maze which looked very confusing.  Players who completed this game without a guide must have been almost superhuman.

Bowser appears at the end of each world - get to the axe and he falls into the lava.

Controlling Mario can take a little getting used to.  You control how fast he runs and how high or far he jumps.  You can also make slight adjustments to his jumping mid air.  The difficulty comes with his inertia which can make it tricky landing on single blocks. It’s not a major point – it just takes a bit of practice.

Super Mario Bros. is a prime example of 2D platform gaming and helped set the template from that point on.  The scrolling and animation are smooth.  The graphics and sprites are bold and bright.  The music and sound effects are good. The learning curve is just about perfect.  And, after a little practice, the controls are spot on.  Overall it’s a highly polished game and difficult to criticise without being picky.  The only criticisms I can make is that the tunes get a bit repetitive after a while and, in my opinion, the underwater levels didn’t quite gel with the rest of the game.  

For me, the underwater levels felt out of place.

Starquake - Sinclair Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 (1985) & Atari ST (1988)

[Commodore 64] The pick of the 8-bits

Starquake is an addictive and very slick arcade adventure with platforming elements.  It was released for a host of 8-bit machines in 1985 and for the Atari ST three years later in 1988. Your goal is to repair the unstable core of a planet that has appeared from a black hole before it destroys the Universe.  

You control a character called BLOB (Bio-Logically Operated Being) and your first task is to search for the planet’s core.  The core is made up of a number of objects that must then be located by searching the 512 screens that make up the planet.  The objects then need to be returned to the core to make it stable.

There are various aliens that inhabit the planet that can be dispatched with your laser.  Most of the aliens will drain your energy but there is one that can kill you immediately.  You can also build short-lived platforms beneath you to reach higher places as you are unable to jump. BLOB has a limited supply of ammunition and platforms, and his energy supply constantly depletes though further supplies of each can be picked up.  There is also a generous scattering of extra lives in the form of joysticks (remember them?).

While on foot BLOB can only move left and right (and fall down) so there are a number of other ways to navigate the planet.  The most useful form of transport is a hover pad.  These can only be boarded and dropped off in particular places but can fly in any direction. The major disadvantage of a hover pad is that you can’t pick up any core objects while on board. Teleports are another quick way of getting around.  Each teleport has its own unique code and one is handily located quite close the core.  In some areas there are also vacuum tubes which can suck BLOB up to higher levels.

[Amstrad CPC] BLOB about to pick up the most useful item in the game.

The most useful object that can be found is the Access card.  Numbered chips can be picked up to get you through security doors and to gain access to the Cheops pyramid.  An Access card can replace all these chips.  The security doors allow you to explore further areas of the planet and the Cheops pyramid can be used to trade one of your objects for another (usually one needed to repair the core).

[Spectrum] The Cheops pyramid allows you to trade unwanted items for something more useful

I had Starquake for the Spectrum back in the 80’s and completed it again with my old map.  I achieved an adventure score of 58% which is roughly the percentage of the map I used so I’m guessing you need to visit every screen to get 100%.

The game is very polished and would be worthy of being published by Ultimate.  Of the versions I played, none of them stand out aurally with the sound mostly consisting of effects.  The Commodore 64 has the best visuals of the 8-bits.  The graphics are colourful and forego the chunky sprites the C64 is normally known for.  The Spectrum version, as usual, is brightly coloured but has monochrome sprites.  In contrast the Amstrad version has rather subdued graphics which puts it in last place.  All games play the about the same which is the important thing.

Coming 3 years later and with more power behind it, the Atari ST unsurprisingly boasts the best looking version although it is hardly stretching the hardware with a game such as this.

[Atari ST] As expected the ST version has the best graphics of all.

**SPOILERS**  [Spectrum] Completing the game....

Skool Daze - Sinclair Spectrum - 1985

Skool Daze is a quintessentially English game which takes a comic book view of school life.  You take control of a schoolboy called Eric, although you can change his and the names of the other main characters at the beginning of the game.  Armed with your trusty catapult, your task is to steal your report card from the safe in the school staff room.  You must do this whilst attending classes and trying to stay out of trouble.  For each misdemeanour you are given lines and are expelled if you collect 10,000.

The game instructions give steps which must be taken in order to reach your goal.  The first aim is to hit all the shields scattered around the school, either with your catapult or fists, in order to make them flash.  Many of the shields are out of reach so you will need to think of ways to hit them (e.g. you can punch a fellow pupil and use his prone body as a useful step to jump higher).  Once all the shields are flashing you have to shoot each of the teachers with your catapult and they will reveal their part of the combination to the safe.  The exception is the history teacher who is too old to remember his number so has had it hypnotically planted into his brain.  He will reveal his part of the combination if he sees the year of his birth written on a blackboard.

Once you have the combination you have to write it on a blackboard in the correct order to open the safe.  After retrieving your report you then need to hit all the shields again to prevent the teachers becoming aware of your deeds.

Skool Daze was an early example of a sandbox game and whatever you got up to all the other characters would follow their own routines.  The graphics are good, the sound fine and there is plenty of humour.  It’s a great game and can be just as much fun following the quest as it is running around getting up to mischief.

A sloppy conversion of Skool Daze was available on the Commodore 64. There was also a follow up available later in the year called Back to Skool.  In my opinion the quest in that game was too convoluted and lost the simple charm of the original.

The date of birth of the history teacher is revealed when the swot says what event happened in that year (normally a medieval battle).

Paradroid - Commodore 64 - 1985

Static screen shots do not inspire you to play the game.

Having not had much exposure to the Commodore 64 in the 80s, Paradroid is another one of those classics I'd heard about but never had the chance (or desire) to try.  Like Impossible Mission, it is one of those games the does not look much from the screenshots but really comes into its own when you start to play.

The game is based on a fleet of spaceships that has been overtaken by errant robots.  It is too dangerous to board each ship so an 'influence device' has been sent down to destroy all the droids.  The influence device is a helmet-like contraption that attaches to the hostile robots and allows the player to take control of them.  It is also armed with a rather puny laser.  Each spaceship is made up of 20 decks.  You know when you have cleared a deck as the lights power down. Once you clear a ship you are moved onto the next.

One deck cleared, nineteen to go.

The ship is viewed from a top-down perspective and uses line-of-sight mechanic so you can't see enemies around corners or through closed doors.  The play area, which is rather small, scrolls as you move about the ship.  You initially control the rather weedy influence device which is depicted as a white sphere numbered '001'.  The other droids are also depicted as numbered white spheres with the first digit denoting their power (1 is the weakest, 9 is the strongest).  You can destroy enemy robots by either ramming (only works against weaker enemies), shooting or temporarily taking control of them.  If the influence device is destroyed it's game over.

Each droid has a unique portrait though in-game they appear as white spheres.

Starting off with such a weak machine you will want to take control of a stronger robot as soon as possible. Attempting to transfer to another droid brings up a mini game where you play against the computer in an attempt to take over the enemys circuit board.  You firstly choose which side to work from and then, playing against a time limit, have to change at least 7 of the 12 rectangles in the centre of the screen to your colour by 'firing' down the connecting wires.  The more powerful the robot, the more 'shots' are available.  If the mini game ends in a draw you play again.  If you lose while already controlling a robot, the robot is destroyed and you return to controlling the influence device.  If you fail while controlling the influence device the game ends.  Once you take control of an enemy droid you can use it against its former comrades.  It will also start to lose power and will eventually burn out unless you transfer to yet another droid.  

Preparing to take over another droid.  The number of available 'shots' are shown down the side.

Also dotted around each level are lifts, energisers and consoles.  The lifts can carry you between the decks on the starship.  The energisers can be used to restore energy lost due to laser damage.  When accessing the console you can view a plan of your current level, a side view of the starship showing the decks and can access a database showing data for robots of a lower class than your host.

A plan of the current deck as viewed through the console

Overall Paradroid is an excellent game.  The bas-relief graphics are extremely effective and the scrolling is silky smooth.  The sound effects are nothing to write home about but are suitable for the game.  The blend of strategy and shooting is set just about right and there is quite a complex scoring mechanism.  I've still got a few years of Commodore 64 games to play but I'd be amazed if I come across (m)any games better than this one.

Kung Fu - NES - 1985

Kung Fu is a conversion of the Kung-Fu Master arcade game released by Irem in 1984.  The game is a simple side scrolling beat ‘em up in which you have to rescue your kidnapped girlfriend. I was in two minds on whether to include this as why have arcade conversions when the real thing is so much better?  I thought I’d give it a chance anyway and gave it a go.  Then another.  Then another.  It had me hooked so I had to add it to my list.

Not the most original plot.

The game is set over 5 levels, each ending with a boss.  The first level hosts only two types of enemies but more are added as you progress.  Your character only has a limited number of moves – he can crouch, jump, punch and kick. The punch attack scores more points than the kick but has a shorter range.  You have a limited time in which to complete each level and bonus points are added to your score depending on the remaining time and any energy left.

I’m not a massive fan of the Street Fighter style games that require 6+ buttons and memorising special moves so Kung Fu appealed to me due to its simplicity.  The graphics are obviously not as good as the arcade machine and neither is the animation; however I find the sound to be better.  Overall, Kung Fu is a great, addictive little title.  It is a bit repetitive though this is to be expected in a game such as this.

I felt bad beating on these little fellas.

Highway Encounter - Sinclair Spectrum & Amstrad CPC - 1985

[Spectrum]  The graphics on both Amstrad and Spectrum versions are more or less identical.

Highway Encounter is another isometric game from 1985.  It was programmed by Costa Panayi, the man behind TLL and Cyclone.  In this game you control a droid that has to escort a ‘Lasertron’ device from one end of a straight road that leads conveniently to an alien base at the other end.  Once the device has been pushed to the end of the road it destroys the alien base.  You then start over after a nice animated sequence.

The game begins with you controlling one robot that has to clear the way for the Lasertron. Ingeniously your extra lives are lined up behind the Lasertron and are programmed to automatically push it along the road until it meets an obstruction.  If the robot you are controlling is destroyed, one of the other robots becomes available.  If you get down to your last droid you must use it to clear the way and also push the weapon.

The highway is made up of 30 screens and contains various obstacles that must be cleared out of the way.  Among the obstacles are simple barrels that bar the route or indestructible moving mines that need to be made safe.  This can be achieved moving objects in front of the mines to stop them moving across the centre of the road.  These objects can be moved by pushing or shooting them with your laser.  Your laser fires three shots in quick succession then you must wait a second or so for it to recharge.  You will also need your laser to shoot the aliens which patrol some areas.

Highway Encounter is a very good game but if anything is too easy.  Clearing the obstacles requires very little head scratching and the enemy aliens are quite easy to destroy.  The main challenge comes from the time limit which can get a little tight if you are slow at clearing a path through the obstacles.

[Amstrad] The two versions only really differ in sound effects.  Neither is better.

On a side note, in early 2010 a previously unreleased Atari ST version of Highway Encounter came to light.  I haven't had a proper chance to play the game but it has a different road layout to the 8-bit versions and is noticeably harder.  Costa Panayi kindly gave permission for the game to be freely distributed…

Fairlight - Sinclair Spectrum - 1985

The obligatory 'pile everything up to reach the treasure' puzzle.

Fairlight was one of the first and one of the best of the isometric perspective games that started appearing in the wake of Ultimate’s filmation series.  It was a 1985 release for the Sinclair Spectrum and came out in 1986 on the Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC.  I don’t remember much about the game though I do remember falling to my death within sight of the Book of Light.  Apart from some of the rooms the only other thing I really remember are the pygmy type guards which when killed leave behind their helmets.  They regenerate when you leave the room but the helmets can be picked up and disposed of in a safe area.  The Spectrum really struggled when there were around a dozen of these guards wandering around on the same screen.

There is a lot of waffle in the instruction booklet about the history of the land of Fairlight. All you really need to know is that you play a character called Isvar tasked with finding the Book of Light in Castle Avars and returning it to a wizard. 

To this end you have to explore the castle while avoiding or killing enemies.  The enemies variously range from whirlwinds and bubbles to monks and man-eating plants. A lot of the enemies can’t be killed while combat just involves hitting the attack key.  You start off with 99 health points and lose some if falling too far or coming into contact with the enemies.  Food and drink can be found which replenish 10 health points at a time.  A discovery I made this time is that if a whirlwind touches an item it permanently disappears – this is a good way of getting rid of the guard helms.

There are many items to be found and the puzzles mainly involve discovering their uses.  You have 5 inventory slots in which to carry items but, unusually for the time, each item had a given weight so the heavier the item the less you could carry.

The Commodore 64 version looked and sounded good but played too slow.  On the right is one of the less garish Amstrad CPC screenshots.

It’s not difficult to distinguish the best version but they all have issues.  My vote goes for the Spectrum version. It has the best graphics in my opinion though they are monochromatic. During the game it plays a tune that can get annoying after a while and you don’t get choice of effects or the music.  The tune cuts out between screens too which makes it more annoying.  The Commodore 64 has the best sound and a choice of playing the tune, footstep sounds or silence during the game.  The graphics are virtually the same as Fairlight on the Spectrum though the game plays at a much slower pace.  Although the Amstrad version runs at a fair lick the footstep sounds would soon drive me mad (there is no way to play music in game).  It also has the same bizarre colour choices (only more so) that afflict Ultimates isometric CPC games. The Amstrad can display yellow and red so why have dark blue torch flames?  Weird.

The caves contains a hidden door that leads to the Book of Light

Dun Darach - Amstrad CPC and Sinclair Spectrum - 1985

Dun Darach is an adventure game that was released in 1985 for the Sinclair Spectrum and Amstrad CPC.  It is a follow up to a critically acclaimed 1984 game call Tir Na Nog. This game uses the same engine, gameplay and character graphics as the earlier title.  I didn’t include Tir Na Nog on my list as I just seemed to wander around aimlessly with no obvious quest path.  The game was also quite confusing to navigate as it is viewed side on and can be viewed from either side of the character. You have to walk along each path twice viewing from each side to avoid missing anything.  Also annoying were these creatures roaming around which, if touched, would make your character lose his items and transport him somewhere else on the map. This was unavoidable if one of them followed you up a dead end.

Tir Na Nog - Same game engine, not enough game.

I approached Dun Darach with some trepidation as both games were highly praised when they were released and I wasn’t looking forward to more traipsing around getting nowhere.  I needn’t have worried as Dun Darach improves on these areas.  Firstly, it is set in a city rather than the countryside and each street has a name making it much easier to navigate. Secondly, there are more obvious things to do – within the first few minutes I found a (locked) secret door, came across someone who wanted to exchange a map for fur, and then had all my money stolen by a pickpocket.  Dun Darach was already looking more promising…

In this game you play a character called Cuchullain.  The aim of your quest is to find your friend Loeg who was captured by a sorceress called Skar in revenge for killing her ally Prince Amhair of the Connachta tribe in battle.  Your search leads you to the city of Dun Darach where you start the game with 2000 iridi (the local currency) and no clue on what to do.

I restarted after downloading a map which saved several hours as travelling around the city is quite slow (even using the portals located in each district). As you need money to make any progress I immediately deposited my iridi in a bank where it would earn interest while I explored the city.  Scattered around the city are shops, galleries, deposit houses, portals, temples, gambling houses, banks and a thieves guild.  The shops sell all manner of objects some of which I had to google to find out what they were.  Who off the top of their head knows what rue is? Or philtres? Or lasts from a cobbler and piles from a herald? A lot of these objects need to be bought and placed in the four galleries in accordance to the cryptic clues in the pictures – for example one gallery contains a picture showing +z meaning you would drop an adze on the table. Once all the puzzles in a gallery have been completed another object appears to help you continue your quest. Apart from navigation the only commands are pick/drop and offer so the tasks are limited to ‘find out what item goes where’ type quests.

This gallery was easy: lead, last, sting, hemlock....

....this one not so.  I think the the one on the right will be a broadaxe but the others will be trial and error.

Of the other buildings you can store items in deposit houses (for a fee) as you can only carry three objects at once.  I did notice each deposit house has a letter associated with it which may (or may not) provide a clue.   Each of the temples has a place to drop objects but I haven’t figured out what yet. The gambling houses provide the quickest way to make (or lose) money.  I used one of these to obtain the 10,000 iridi needed to buy licence from the thieves guild so you will no longer be troubled by pickpockets.

I am not a great fan of adventure games (mainly because I’m crap at them) so the fact Dun Darach is on my list in the first place must mean something.  It is a game I think I’ll persevere with, but can see it taking many hours to finish.

You need eagle eyes to spot secret doors - only a break in the brickwork gives them away..

Example gameplay [Amstrad CPC]

Doomdark's Revenge - Sinclair Spectrum, Amstrad CPC & Commodore 64 (1985)

Doomdark’s Revenge is the follow up to the seminal The Lords of Midnight and was once again released for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and Sinclair Spectrum.  The playing area is half as big again as the former game making a total of 6,000 locations and 48,000 views.  The Landscaping engine has been given an overhaul with improved graphics and a mist which can rise up to obscure features in the landscape and sap strength from your armies.  There are also underground tunnels though I’m quite sure of the point of them.

I didn't find tunnels useful as you are forced in a certain direction and it's hard to determine where you will end up.

Doomdark’s Revenge is set in the Land of Icemark to the north of the Land of Midnight.  The instructions contain a short story setting the scene for the game which basically says Morkin has been kidnapped by Shareth the Heartstealer in order avenge the death of Doomdark, her father and adversary in the earlier game.

The Land of Icemark has five races: Giants, Barbarians, Dwarves, the Fey and the Icelords.  You start the game controlling three characters this time.  Luxor the Moonprince and Rorthron the Wise start at the Gate of Varenorn – the entrance to Icemark - in the Barbarian Outlands.  Morkin’s betrothed, Tarithel the Fey, starts a little further north near the forest dwelling Fey. Again you need to travel around to persuade Lords to join your cause while Shareth the Heartstealer does the same.  The characters roam about independently this time rather than waiting at their stronghold to be recruited. In Doomdark’s Revenge it’s not usually clear cut who is friendly and who isn’t.  When coming face to face with an opposing force you have two options – Approach and Attack.  If you approach an army and they are unfriendly you are put at a disadvantage in battle (I don’t know how you determine who is friendly and who to attack).

Hmmm... Approach or Attack?

Like The Lords of Midnight various ruins, lakes, temples and other landscape features can reveal clues and objects to help or hinder you on your quest.

The game can be won in several ways with various levels of victory.  All involve Luxor returning safely to the Gate of Varenorn. The most basic victory will be to rescue Morkin with Tarithel the Fey being the main protagonist.  If you also return with Rorthron, any of the Crowns of Icemark and objects of Shareth’s power then the greater the win.  If Morkin dies then the only way to win the game will be the complete destruction of Shareth. The greatest victory can be achieved by destroying Shareth and the safe return of all four main characters.

The only goal for Shareth is the destruction of Luxor the Moonprince - if he should die then the game is lost. 

So, Doomdark’s Revenge is bigger, has more features and is better looking than The Lords of Midnight yet I’m not convinced it is necessarily a better game – it’s basically just more of the same.  It would be unfair to discount a good game just for its unoriginality so it still makes it onto the list.

Thigrand the Fey could do with finding horses, not dragons.

Cyclone - Sinclair Spectrum - 1985

Cyclone, programmed by Costa Panayi, is his follow up to T.L.L.. It makes use of the same skewed top-down view, only this time you pilot a helicopter instead of a Tornado.

Your main mission is to collect five crates of medical supplies which are randomly placed on a series of storm hit islands. The crates are winched aboard the helicopter by hovering low over them.  One difference between Cyclone and T.L.L. is that you can change your viewpoint between North and South to enable you to find crates which would otherwise be hidden by the terrain.  You can collect bonus points by rescuing people from the islands as well as the medical supplies.

The islands can be navigated via a map which can be called up at any time.  The play area is not wraparound this time so you can’t take any short-cuts between the islands.  The map also shows the position of the cyclone which travels randomly around the area.  Getting too close to the cyclone adversely affects the handling of the chopper causing it to crash if you stay in the area too long.  If you can successfully land the helicopter on a flat peace of terrain or a landing pad it is possible to weather out the storm.  The landing pads can also be used to replenish your fuel supply.

Adding to the difficulty is a time limit.  This can pile on the pressure when you are halfway through time limit and haven’t found any crates yet.  Low flying jets also make an appearance and must be avoided – you get a warning when they are in the vicinity.

The graphics are good for the time with smooth scrolling and minimal attribute clash.  The sound is adequate just consisting of the engine noise of the helicopter.  This is another excellent Spectrum game that I find as playable no as it was back in the day. 

The map can be called up at any time.  It show the location of the cyclone and your helicopter.

Your main objective is to pick up the medical supplies.