Motörhead

Bambi

I was a kid the first time I heard Motorhead, thanks to watching The Young Ones. That sound blew me away as I'd never heard anything like it and I've been a fan since. It's superb to see Lemmy (RIP†) making his way onto the Atari ST thanks to Virgin Games in 1992. Yet this isn't an Atari ST game I remember playing.

The story doesn't matter for a game like this, but Motorhead band members have been captured and imprisoned. As Lemmy, we must clobber loads of enemies before attempting a rescue. Typically, they're all trapped in different musical locations, the first being Rapland. Well, if you think rap is actually music...

Anyhow, Motorhead is a beat 'em up not unlike Golden Axe. Richard Costello's name appears in the credits to explain that mystery. Additionally, the credits also show Colin Dooley, aka Fungus T. Bogeyman. He programmed two other Atari ST games I thoroughly enjoy - Masters of the Universe and H.A.T.E. Nevertheless, I remember him for very different reasons: Star Wars/Rap. An ancient demo that blew my socks off!!

In light of that personal revelation, we need a bunch of screenshots from Rapland...

Nothing better than smashing in someone's teeth!

At the end of each level, a captured friend requires rescuing.

Each level ends with us racing down the road to collect goodies!

Before the subsequent level begins, we have a (different) bonus round.

Hit 'em all, hard!

Motorhead starts with Lemmy walking onto the stage to blast out guitar riffs YM2149-style. At first, I was disappointed because I expected a short loop of Ace Of Spades! However, that works well. It's weird, the speed of this chiptune is fast and aggressive. Very much in the spirit of speed metal and I love it to bits!!

As the game begins with the bad guys walking into play, you instantly notice how great it looks. Our life's energy is displayed along the top of the screen with the number of remaining Lemmys shown as spades on your belt. To the left is the score and, to the right is the magic level (more on that later).

This beat 'em up is (cough) similar to Golden Axe because it uses the same engine. That means movements, actions, scrolling, etc feel just the same. So when the baddies walk onto the screen, you know instantly what to do and how to do it. And this means hardly any learning curve, which I like a bunch.

Six horizontally scrolling levels are much the same albeit with a different background and enemies...

Level 1 - Rapland - posers and idiots in baseball caps need leathering metal style!!

Level 2 - Nashville - my favourite level with Tex, Dolli, and an inbred mong!

Level 3 - Karaokeville - we're clobbering Japanese singers, businessmen, and sumos!

Level 4 - Scrapyard - Yet another stage of hitting bad guys.

Level 5 - Cathedral - Quite possibly the best-looking level by a mile.

Level 6 - Rave On - The worst level and the hardest. Zebedee makes an appearance!

Each level ends with a joyride that provides an opportunity to collect bonuses and recover energy and magic. Before the next level, there is another bonus round (which is always different). After level one, we have a beer-guzzler that resembles Tapper. Level 2/3 is weird and made me wish I had read the manual! Level 4 is superb because we trash a motel room! The fifth level has us toppling over stones to crush angels.

Okay, let's pause the reading to see a couple of screenshots...

This is from Nashville level 2 - checkout the inbred mong on the right lol

Karaokeville is level three and we're bashing Japanese dudes!

Joystick magic

Controlling Lemmy is fast and responsive plus it's dead easy to learn thanks to the limitations of the joystick's one button. Is that a good thing? Anyhow, movement and actions are centred around that button (whether pressed or not) whilst using a specific direction. That sounds odd? No, it's quite simple...

Without pressing - Left/Right walks Lemmy in that direction (twice to run). Pushing up/pulling down guides him vertically away/closer. Finally, the spacebar will invoke a magical spell.

Whilst pressing - Up will perform a leap (with left/right movement). Down will throw an object/spit, depending on what you have collected. Left/Right (your facing direction) is used to hit/punch. Doing the same, in reverse, Lemmy shoots a guitar cord (to vaporize enemies using magic).

Your movements around the screens are fluent without lag. You can even use parts of the scenery to avoid pitfalls, like caverns. Enemies will attack in packs of 3-5 but aren't the most rapid movers. That gives us plenty of time to run around picking our own battles. I found myself using the same attack pattern - face them/fire. It works well but I would have liked to jump-kick or something else for extra variety.

Opponents suffer a knockback with each hit but only die after being clobbered a few times. I found it best to hit/knockback and turn around to do the same on the next guy before repeating these sexy moves on the first. After a few beatings, they perish leaving behind a bonus - coins (points), Motorheads (magic for guitar cord and magic spells), beer (energy), a jar of cockles, and whiskey (powers a belch aka a superpower).

Magic can also conjure three spells activated by pressing the Spacebar... 1) a dolly bird appears to distract the enemies. 2) the Motorhead logo emerges to damage the bad guys. 3) instantly kill everyone on screen.

We should have a peep at two screenshots showing some of this magical use...

Level 4 takes place in a scrapyard and here I've invoked magic (level 1)

Level 5 is within a stunning Cathedral and I'm hitting out a power cord!!

Aesthetics

Motorhead's visuals are outstanding and make this a sexy beat'em up thanks to the talent of Jason Wilson who might be familiar - HeroQuest and Horror Zombies From The Crypt. All landscapes and backgrounds are vibrant and highly detailed. Character animation is good but superbly drawn - I love that "inbred" from Nashville!! The scrolling isn't really scrolling as it's used to segment each attack wave, as in Golden Axe.

The audio is equal to the visuals in every respect. From the intro, when the chip rendition of "speed metal" began, I knew this would ROCK YM2149-style (pun intended). Each chiptune suits the action without drowning out the sound effects. Thank you Ben Daglish (RIP†) for your amazing musical talent.

Hey, do you fancy a couple more screenshots? Of course, you do...

Zebedee turns up for the final stage, Rave On.

This bonus round is brilliant and tons of fun!

The CryptO'pinion?

To say I've enjoyed this beat'em up would be an understatement. I've relished repeatedly hitting individuals in the craziest places. However, a cynic might suggest it's just Golden Axe with different graphics? Well, I'm not sure about that negativity. Many games borrow ideas or use the same engine to drive the gameplay.

So what did I appreciate about Motorhead? Easy, I appreciated how simple it is to jump straight in and begin thrashing the enemies until they're dead meat. It's amusing zipping around the screen looking to clobber people. The controls are easy to master without feeling sluggish or unresponsive. This is a no-frills game of hitting everyone and it's brilliant fun!!

Ironically, what I didn't like was that simplicity. The repetitive gameplay backfired by the fourth level. I started to tire because I wanted something more but it failed to provide any. It tried with the two bonus rounds (after each level) but more was needed. Furthermore, Lemmy needed a few more attack moves - like a kick or something more accessible without resorting to magic.

It may not have broken the mould but I've not enjoyed a beat'em up this much since Double Dragon 3. This might shock many but I thoroughly enjoyed playing through to the end (except for the final level).

So I might surprise a few people here but my rating is a golden axe hack of 85%.

D-Bug has the hard disk version, and Atari Legend has the floppies (I used Gravatics #88)

Level 2 is brilliant and I can even shout at young girls!

Level 3 got a little weird once my mother-in-law turned up!

Level 4's bike ride looks so gorgeous with that dark sky.

Level 5 is stunning. Truly gorgeous pixel art, just look at those goths and skeletons.

I played through and rescued everyone. I wonder why I'm still collecting bonuses?

The ending is Motorhead banging away on stage. Still no sampled sounds though ;)

Street Fighter

A disgruntled gamer

Back in the summer of 1988, I was the only guy in college with a ZX Spectrum. Don't get me wrong, I loved my old Speccy but I had grown out of it and spent much of that year dreaming of Atari's new supercomputer. It was tough seeing magazine game reviews because the Atari ST games appeared to have graphics lightyears ahead of the current competition.

However, I will always remember the advert for Street Fighter because it featured screenshots taken from various systems, the Atari ST being one. It was a jaw-dropping moment seeing such amazing details and bright colours (the image above). In reality, the advert was a lie because that image was actually taken from the arcade version!!

Not that it mattered because this beat'em up was something of a shambles thanks to Tiertex chimps randomly hitting their keyboards until they thought it was ready for release. I honestly don't know how they got away with this product - it's not only the jerky scrolling and laughable animations but the control system is sluggish and vastly unresponsive.

Of course, after months of yearning for the Atari ST, I finally got one at Christmas. Ignoring Street Fighter, this slab of grey power lived up to all my hopes and desires and you can imagine the joy on my face when I first got to boot up Xenon, Buggy Boy or Beyond The Ice Palace. Magical moments in my history. (Atari STFM Super Pack)

If you're still interested in playing Street Fighter then you are obviously insane, but here are the links...

8BitChip has the download for hard drive/ultrasatan installation.
Floppy disks can be found using Old Games Finger (Automation #41)
Wasabim has recorded a fantastic YouTube video!
Type "STREETCHEAT" on the title screen and you can hit the Help key to skip levels.
Maybe you're curious how Street Fighter would have performed on the Atari STe? (unfinished)
Hey, why not check out our Beat'em Up section, go on and click the links! 

Even though a trainer was enabled, I endured much pain to get these screenshots! I wanted to play through until the end, but it seemed to go on forever so I was thoroughly braindead and gave up. Anyhow, we're here for the (static) pixel art so I'll stop moaning about that advert and game. Dare I ask if there are fans of the ST beat'em up out there!

I hope you enjoyed this silly little post by a disgruntled gamer remembering US Gold's misleading advert? O_o

Look at him trying to punch me even though I've jerkily leapt 15ft in the air.

Look at the magazine advert and then try and tell me that it's the same as the ST game!

Look at the size of this bad boy. Hmm, let's punch him in the nuts - that'll work!

Another giant dude to fight, so I decided to cower in front of Ian Dury's little car heh.

You'll see something like this at the end of each stage. Great, uh?

Look at all those strange faces watching. Quite scary!

Another clipping of the advert (enhanced using online tools, hence the weird text)

Aaargh!

Aaargh?

Sometimes, I don't want to play a life-sucking adventure or learn the ins and outs of some RPG. Sometimes, I just wanna smash up stuff and then feast on many annoying human beings. Well, today I loaded up Aaargh! by Melbourne House which is basically Rampage and we can be a giant ogre or a fire-breathing dragon.

Destroy buildings, kill attacking critters, eat stupid humans and then collect an egg trophy. Watch out for the angry yocals and various dangerous critters so conserve energy by eating what you find - or those tasty humans!! Once you have the egg, it's time for a (terrible) battle with a beastie opponent before plundering the next village.

The controls are a little clumsy because our beastie must be facing in the right direction to pick up items and perform specific attack moves. Sadly, we can be knocked to the ground far too easily which is very frustrating when waiting for him to get up - and that gives other nasties more than enough time to creep up on you once again...

It's not Rampage, but it's still fun for an hour and who doesn't enjoy burning homes before eating the angry villagers? Aaargh! might be utter rubbish but I actually enjoyed it. Of course, I'm mad but it's great fun being mad!

I found this screen pretty awkward to walk around.


This is a great level and nothing is better than killing the native peasants!!


Oh no, this looks scary. Love that face in the rock!

Hong Kong Phooey

A story about a mild-mannered janitor

Once again, I've been plodding through my YouTube channel and found another old video, Hi-Tec's Hong Kong Phooey. This is a scrolling beat 'em up that begins with a cool intro based on the 70s cartoon I watched as a kid - this certainly brought a smile to my face!! After Spot releases the unappreciated janitor from the filing cabinet, we begin our adventure searching for Baron Von Bankjob who has just escaped from jail.

Watch out for the thugs wandering back and forth who want to stop us from capturing the villainous Baron. Thankfully, we are an expert in kung fu which is very handy. The joystick controls are superb and we can punch and kick our foe in many different ways: pushing up (whilst walking) performs a killer Van Damme flying manoeuvre. To reach higher platforms requires a bigger jump and that means also hitting the fire button which is a little cumbersome.

For those old enough to remember this fantastic cartoon, check this out...

I love the title sequence. It's short 'n sweet but I feel like a kid watching it!

The moves are easy to learn but lots of fun. "Yee-ah that, sucka!" (say this in a Mr T voice!!!)

Hanna-Barbera magic?

The graphics are pretty nice and cartoony with an oldskool style that might not appeal to many looking for that gorgeous 16-Bit sex appeal. I must say, the scrolling is smooth but it's at the expense of screen size which has been reduced by a largely pointless status panel. Gotta love the crude character sprites and their pathetic animations but the worst of all is when we jump - it's more of a float through the air! Totally ludicrous, but who cares?

Musically, there are nice tunes which I loved and that are accompanied by sound effects for jumping and so on. Okay, they're just about good enough so it's the background music I enjoyed the most.

Yep, all pretty good but not great. Let's not let that stop a couple more screenshots from appearing...

Learning kung fu certainly didn't help this janitor to jump grace. More like floating!


One gets kicked into the air and then Flash Gordon turns up!

The CryptO'pinion?

I remembered making this video recording along with a lukewarm feeling afterwards - basically because I kept on getting lost. Perhaps I should have checked out the map first? Anyhow, back then, I wasn't sure if the game captured the heart of the TV show or not. And I must admit, I'm still not exactly sure now.

So, Hong Kong Phooey brings nothing new to the table. However, the lame Chuck Norris kicks are crudely entertaining and I enjoyed exploring a technicolour world. If you have a cat called Spot, and a cabinet to get changed in, then I suggest you boot it up. A good game but, there are better platformers available for the Atari ST.

Download the floppy or hard disk version.

Fred

Let's get medieval

Ubi Soft's Sir Fred (aka Fred) was released in 1989 and is a platform/beat 'em up. It was programmed by Tuan Do Cao and Philippe Villain and I feel they were inspired by many older games I played back in my Spectrum days.

Our adventure begins with a fantastic intro animation depicting our fearless knight tragically zapped into a midget by an angry dwarf. Shocked by this, he shakes his fists at his foe but, they cannot help themselves and burst out laughing. Then, adding salt to Fred's wounds is a little gnome who completes Fred's ridicule. What a brilliant opening intro!!

That's the basis of the game, we need to heal our wounds. Wanna see some screenshots? I know you do...

Now come on, who would have ever expected rude gnomes to be our enemy?

Hang on, these are armed. They might be little but they're evil little b4s@£@s!

A garden centre platformer?

Beginning our life as a miniature warrior, we first explore the spooky forest to battle those cute garden gnomes. Other beasts lurk in the woods and castle grounds - skeletons, snakes, headless axemen, and ghosts. Everything wants you dead! So kill them with your arrows - these will even reach the baddies off-screen, which is kinda cool.

Fred is a nimble chap with the ability to walk, leap and roll his way through his quest. However, these controls often got me into trouble: turning around reminded me of Black Lamp feeling laborious and lethargic. This cumbersome method of turning around spoils the action somewhat because our ability to react is hampered by that speed.

The graphics are interesting beyond their looks, using a multi-layer arrangement. This effect is used to climb steps and bypass obstacles like rocks or trees, representing a 3D feel. At first, this will feel weird when you are too high/low (behind/in front of objects). It's a good idea but awkward in battles because both parties need to be on the same level.

Energy levels are indicated by three apples and, once they're gone, you're dead as a dodo. These don't last long but, your death produces a hilarious effect as our hero drops his sword in agony. This is just one more aspect of the visuals that is brilliant. There are lots of new and cool ideas in Fred, I just think some weren't needed for this game?

What was it with developers, didn't they play their own games? I know one thing, it's screenshot time...

I absolutely love the details and the murky palette which is perfect for the creepy scenario.

Check out that headless axeman and the gnome's facial details are astounding.

Aesthetics

Jean-Marc Torroella and Jerome Guerry should be forever proud of what they created. This is one of the best-looking games for the Atari ST using unique and colour landscapes with stunning attention to detail. The palette is eerie as it is comical with the cute sprites. The characters are animated perfectly, even the rude ones who stick out their tongues!!

The audio is (almost) as good as the visuals with a crunchy sampled tune playing on the title screen and intro. Charles Callet did great but, I'm more of a chiptune guy. In-game sound effects are sampled and I love these. From the firing of arrows, and clanging of swords to the silly screams of your enemies. Hardly high in quality but very enjoyable.

We've just enough time left to see a couple more screenshots. Keep on scrolling...

Those darn gnomes are a pest even the rude ones lol

Oh no, is that a skeleton or a zombie? Whatever it is, I should run away!

The CryptO'pinion?

Fred is a good game but it's too difficult thanks to the fudgy controls that needed to be quicker. Also, I feel more checkpoints were required to prevent restarting from the beginning. That is so annoying. Don't get me wrong, this is a good game but it looks better than it is. Am I right? Let me know in the comments below what you guys think.

Grab a sword and boot this up on floppy disk or for your hard drive.

Deathbringer

It's Hercules!

Deathbringer is a horizontally scrolling hack and slasher that reminds me of a bunch of different Atari ST games like Barbarian II, Golden Axe and, dare I say it, Shadow Of The Beast. You are Karn, a warrior who must kill an evil wizard using a sword possessed by a blood-hungry spirit called Abaddon. Our world is viewed side-on and can be travelled in either direction through a variety of landscapes but the gameplay remains much the same which means wielding your huge sword whenever you see anything nasty. I'm liking the sound of this slasher already!!

Karn can run and jump using three attack moves: fire + left/right for a jab that is handy against skeletons but useless for others. Push up for an overhead swing - great for flying enemies. Pull down for an underhanded swing that works well for the goblins and other peculiar nasties like rocks. Yep, rocks.

Killing is the name of the game to keep Abaddon happily stuffed with souls - represented in the status bar by the sword's blood. The more baddies you kill, the happier our resident demon is, try not to starve him otherwise he might just get his fix elsewhere. There are many monsters that want to stop you from completing your noble quest: baby dragons, trolls, skeletons, bats, giants, and even birds who drop stinky eggs. A boss screen follows each level but they are rather easy!

I think it's time for some extraordinary screenshots. Breathe. Now, check this out...

Psygnosis eat your heart out!

Deathbringer has fantastic graphics - truly fantastic - and regular visitors will remember I featured the game within our Pixel Art section because of its intro/boss stages and other outstanding artwork. The in-game multilayer parallax scrolling is legendary and proves the power of the Atari ST in the hands of a decent programmer.

Aesthetically, this game makes the lame ST port of Shadow Of The Beast look like Pong!!

The audio is on par with the stunning visuals and a great title tune along with lots of funny in-game sampled sound effects - I love the horrific screaming in the intro!! However, I can't help but be disappointed Empire didn't make use of the Atari STe. Even so, we have sampled effects and smooth parallax scrolling. Eat that Psygnosis!

See what the Atari ST is capable of when in the hands of talent. Well, let's just check out another screenshot...

The CryptO'pinion?

Deathbringer appears to have it all but I've not yet mentioned how this Conan wannabe actually plays. Surely running and hacking at slimeball enemies is guaranteed fun? Well, it should be but this is where disappointment rears its ugly head thanks to the unresponsive controls and that's the last thing you need during the heat of battle!

For example, press fire/up for an overhead swing which actions a split-second later. Other niggles exist like when Karn and a baddie are standing too close - so are unable to hit each other!

Deathbringer's strong points are its beautiful graphics, great sound effects and an incredible array of interesting monsters. Well, I don't think I have ever seen a goblin on a sleigh before! Sadly, I'm left wondering if anyone at Empire actually bothered to play this game before releasing it. Probably not, which is oddly peculiar. With a little tweak here and there...

Ultimately, a very good game but the laggy controls ruin what might have been a tremendous experience.

Stonish has the floppies (Special FX (#53a / #53b)
But I would install it on a hard drive if you can!

The Ultimate Arena

Wax on, wax off...

The Ultimate Arena was released in 1995 by STeam and must rank as one of the last commercial releases. It's a beat'em up and the first thing to do is choose our character: Sandy or Terry. Now we can proceed to the first match against a series of dodgy villains, each of whom has their own skillset and special abilities. Some might say it is Atari Mortal Kombat and, why not because we fight in various arenas against several lunatics whilst watched by a bloodthirsty crowd.

Each arena offers a different environment and I chuckled to myself when I noticed the electrified fence - just one touch and you're crispy burnt toast!! Each warrior has their own trippy personality with a varying degree of speed, talent and special abilities. Watch out for a T800 which I thought was really well done and there is also an Indiana Jones wannabe who is an incredibly tough opponent. Interestingly, your energy bar isn't fully replenished at the start of the following round, thus increasing longevity for determined gamers to figure out all the moves. This is a fun beat'em up!

Now let's check out a couple of screenshots of a Terminator and some silly fighting...

Whether you're Samantha Fox or a Terminator - this game is kick ass!! Love it!!

Showing off some cool moves there? Or is he just defying gravity? You decide.

Don’t forget to breathe, very important!

No beat 'em up would be worth its salt without fast and responsive controls to kick seven bells outta your opponent. The Ultimate Arena has what it takes and I found it easy to learn the various moves along with their special abilities. The two-player mode is great and allows us to play as the other characters (all except the final guy). A turbo mode is optional but I found that pointless so I cannot say I was impressed too much. Blood can also be turned on/off (what... why?)

Like Domark's Pit Fighter, each character is digitised and they try their best to look macho whilst kicking seven bells outta you. It's quite remarkable the amount of detail squeezed into each pixel with smooth animations and the backgrounds are always interesting: like the Terminator watching you on a screen and the crowd with their silly movements. However, I'm not so sure about the colour palette which is too brownish. Okay, I was tempted to let that slide but then I remembered other Atari ST games make better use of colour, ala Black Lamp. Yeah, umm, it is rather too brown!

Let's kick, punch and electrify through a couple more screenshots...

Kick people to death while they're already being electrocuted. It's all allowed!!

Or just pounce from a great height until they are splattered. All good fun!

The CryptO'pinion?

As I've said in the past, I'm no expert when it comes to beat 'em up games. However, I am genuinely shocked at how much fun I've had with this Mortal Kombat wannabe. I half expected it to suck, especially being released long after the gaming side of the ST had died. Surprisingly, even though the STe has no hardware to move the sprites, it's shockingly brisk and lively. A delightful game and a possible replacement for Double Dragon 3 as my favourite game?

Also, I love how it doesn't take itself too seriously and the fact I can try my luck against a Terminator is kinda cool. It's obvious that a lot of hard work and love went into its production - and all during the twilight years which is extra impressive. Beating the hell out of digitised guys is a great way to spend a couple of hours!! Play this.

The floppies can be found via Old Games Finder. (but stay away from the beta downloads as they are rubbish!)

Street Fighter II

Another unfinished game...

The ST world constantly amazes me. Just when you think you've seen it all, a "new" version of Street Fighter pops up and slaps you in the face!! Yep, I had oddly never heard of this before! Where have I been all these years?

Anyhow, this beat'em up was developed for the Atari STe by Patrice Mandin, a guy whom I'm grateful for Doom and more. However, it's incomplete without the full game's content or even colours (although it is running in ST low). As is, it's fast and responsive by making use of the Blitter, hardware scrolling and DMA stereo sounds. It's actually very playable!

Sadly, Patrice stopped development so it's left this project in limbo - waiting for another techie to pick up the gauntlet. Great progress has already been achieved, and the source code is available, so it's sad that nobody has attempted to finish this incredible "beta". I think the potential is huge so download Street Fighter and prepare thy jaw to drop!!

Guardian Angel

Dimamic get Dynamic!

Freddy Hardest is our Guardian Angel for Dinamic's scrolling beat 'em up in the Big Apple, which actually ain't too dissimilar to After The War. Manhattan always seems to be the perfect setting for a grim future with crime and gangs. I don't know why but it's got that Deathwish vibe and setting nailed so perfectly.

I've always had a soft spot for Dinamic and I think it's because I played their Army Moves via disk (instead of tape) back in my Spectrum +3 days (a short-lived machine as it died after a few weeks... sigh).

They've released some good Atari ST games and you can find them by searching at the top of this web page. Anyhow, we begin our Death Wish at the docks and are instantly assaulted by waves of 80s-styled thugs! Some have brought their toys, like baseball bats and knives. Where's Charles Bronson when you need him?

The docks are a great place to go looking for trouble as you can see...

Ahh, nuts! That guy is big and I hear sneaky footsteps behind me!

Yee Aw that sucka!

As a beat 'em up, we get around crime-infested streets using left/right. The fire button performs a punch, which you'll find is good against the weaker Sailors. Pulling down allows us to stomp on rats but offers little benefit against tougher dudes. Pushing up will unleash the fury of your infamous high kick which is your only powerful move. Energy levels will automatically replenish IF you get a chance to stand still for a moment.

Guardian Angel doesn't take itself seriously and has you laughing at the silly antics you see on-screen. I love how the baddies turn into zapped skeletons for a split second when dying - it's like a Tom And Jerry cartoon. Watch out for "Death Star", a forklift trucker called Ricky Chang who is the world's worst driver. However, my favourite is being kicked out of your cute yellow boots when suffering a final death blow. Hilarious stuff.

That's this game to a tea, it's stupid but so entertaining. The kind you play after a bad day at work...

What? You think ganging up is going to scare me away - not on your nelly!!

Aesthetics

The gameplay window is small with much of the screen being -mostly- pointless decor. However, I do like the backgrounds, even if they're too colourful for a bleak city scene! Sprites are large and well-detailed with basic animation but there are some cool scenes - Ricky Chang will always make me laugh. Fantastic!!

Forget the terrible theme tune. Thankfully, all in-game effects are made from good and meaty samples with the chainsaw guy being superb. In fact, I really love the excellent variety of sampled sound effects.

This game has sound and vision that will rock your 16-bit world and I love it all...

Now, this is a proper title screen with outstanding artwork.

The CryptO'pinion?

Guardian Angel sure has good qualities; a bucket load of humour matched by responsive controls, superb sprites, and sound effects. Sadly, it's typically Dinamic with incredibly tough gameplay and having only one decent attack move is insane! However, I have enjoyed it with a trainer enabled - but that's a bad thing, right?

I think you guys need to play this beat 'em up regardless of the trainer. Hilariously fantastic and fun!!

Stonish has Medway Boys #85 Floppy Disk.