The Elite Collection

Crash

Dominic Handy

CHRISTMAS COLLECTIONS Dominic Handy reviews compilations. Whether you're still looking for last-minute presents or someone's cheque is burning a hole in your pocket, you're bound to find something to light your candle in the Christmas season's spate of compilations. They come from software houses large and small, specialised and general; they range from £4.99 to £14.95; they come in all shapes and sizes, from boxes a foot long to laminated video-size boxes down to the (now) ordinary double-cassette boxes (for which we still have no racks!). You may not have anywhere to put all these different sizes, but they sure look pretty on the retailer's shelf. But some small independent retailers have great problems with the big, bold packaging of compilations, and when space is tight they usually end up at the bottom of the pile. And some compilations aren't even available in independent shops this Christmas - not because of the packaging, but because they're distributed on limited exclusive deals with high-street multiples. For instance, Gremlin Graphics' Ten Great Games is currently only available from chains like WH Smith and Menzies. It's strange the indies are treated this way when they account for 75% of all software sales... Elite gives its old hits a new lease of life on the compilation label Hit Pak. The latest compilation is The Elite Collection, a strong two-cassette assembly of well-known Elite classics. They're all very playable, ranging from the very old Bombjack and innovative Frank Bruno's Boxing to recent successes such as Paperboy and Ghosts 'N Goblins. And on the second cassette is a previously unreleased Elite game, Battleships - yes, a Spectrum version of the pencil and-paper classic. But to buy it all at £14.95 you'd have to be a dedicated Elitist. Paxman Promotions, a subsidiary of the Prism Leisure Corporation, has released two 'theme' compilations - which Paul Sumner predicted in issue 45 would be the things of the future, after the success of Ocean's Game Set And Match. At £4.99 each Paxman's Thriller Pack and Sports Pack represent good value, but sadly the games aren't that attractive. The six loosely-related games on The Thriller Pack, all previously released, are more memorable for their hype than as actual games. And The Sports Pack is a poor man's Game Set And Match. US Gold's recent compilation Summer Gold is now partnered by Solid Gold - probably the house's greatest compilation yet! Every game is very playable, and the collection covers a wide range from flight simulators like Infiltrator and Ace Of Aces to the CRASH Smashes Winter Games and Gauntle. Sadly Leaderboard didn't hit it off with the Spectrum like the others did, but it still fits in the package well. Hewson is eschewing the more-is-better theory of many compilations and putting just four Smash hits on a tape entitled exactly that. Four Smash Hits includes two of this years top shoot-'em-ups - Exolon and Zynaps - as well as Ranarama and (like Beau Jolly's Five Star Games Vol. 3) Uridium Plus. It's available on +3 disk as well as cassette. Ocean's compilations always provide value for money. In October Game Set And Match sent Spectrum sportsmen crazy, in November the shoot-'em-up collection Live Ammo arrived and now Ocean looks set to have a happy Christmas and a VERY prosperous New Year with the final 1987 release, The Magnificent 7. And guess how many games are on it... eight! If you thought Ocean's previous compilations were hot stuff, wait till The Magnificent 7 melts the snow with Ocean's greatest hits - like the mind-blowing Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Head Over Heels, arcade adventures such as The Great Escape and Short Circuit, leaders in their class like the mindless Cobra, and bat and ball with Arkanoid. And the most interesting addition is Wizball. Reviewed in CRASH issue 45 just a few months ago, it gained a Smashing 92%, and here it is already on an action-packed compilation. Ocean is backing the +3 with a disk version of The Magnificent 7. Gremlin Graphics are the ones to call if you're looking for ten great games... and Gremlins Ten Great Games compilation gets the CRASH award for Hope-Raising Packaging Of The Month! The box measures 38cm x 20cm and looks tremendous, but it holds a measly two cassettes, There's a whole range of Gremlin goodies in those two tapes, though: the attractive Monty On The Run, the gun-toting West Bank and even the original Jack The Nipper. And for those of you who prefer playing with balls they've also included Bounder, Trailblazer, Footballer Of The Year and Krakout. At just a pound per game this little (or should that be massive?) package is great value for money - and it fills the stocking up! Beau Jolly is back on the compilation wagon, and the nouveau Beau Jolly is launching a two-pronged attack on the Christmas market with two collections and a £100,000 TV ad campaign for them. The fourth in the series of 10 Computer Hits includes the Marble Madness clone Spin Dizzy and the Gauntlet clone Dandy. But pick of the bunch is either Pyracurse or Contact Sam Cruise, both CRASH Smashes. And Though Five Star Games Vol. 3 has fewer games than 10 Computer Hits, its probably the better package, it's hard to choose between such greats as Strike Force Harrier, Tau Ceti, Firelord, Aliens, The Way Of The Exploding Fist and Uridium Plus (an improved version of the issue 35 Smash). CRASH Overall percentages and review issue numbers are given after each game. N/R denotes 'not reviewed'. THE ELITE COLLECTION Hit Pak Bombjack - 92% Issue 27 Bombjack II - 71% Issue 39 Frank Bruno's Boxing - 86% Issue 19 Commando - 94% Issue 24 Airwolf - 90% Issue 13 Battleships - N/R Paperboy - 88% Issue 33 Ghosts 'N Goblins - 95% Issue 30 £14.95 THE THRILLER PACK Paxman Promotions A View To A Kill - 76% Issue 18 Friday The 13th - 32% Issue 29 Code Name Mat II - 81% Issue 20 Pyramid - 83% Issue 2 Test Match Cricket - N/R Beaky And THe Egg Snatchers - 75% Issue 7 £4.99 10 GREAT GAMES Gremlin Graphics Avenger - 85% Issue 36 Future Knight - 76% Issue 36 Krakout - 46% Issue 40 Bounder - 90% Issue 29 Footballer Of The Year - 68% Issue 37 Trailblazer - 88% Issue 34 Highway Encounter - 95% Issue 20 Monty On The Run - 94% Issue 20 West Bank - 84% Issue 25 Jack The Nipper - 93% Issue 30 £9.95 THE MAGNIFICENT 7 Ocean Head Over Heels - 97% Issue 39 Cobra - 93% Issue 35 Short Circuit - 71% Issue 40 Frankie Goes To Hollywood - 94% Issue 19 Arkanoid - 59% Issue 39 Wizball - 92% Issue 42 The Great Escape - 96% Issue 35 Yie Ar Kung Fu - 92% Issue 25 cassette £9.95 THE SPORTS PACK Paxman Productions Snooker - N/R On The Oche - N/R World Cup Football - 71% Issue 7 Olympics - 45% Issue 5 St Andrew's Golf - N/R Derby Day - N/R £4.99 SOLID GOLD US Gold Gauntlet - 92% Issue 37 Ace of Aces - 62% Issue 38 Leaderboard - 80% Issue 39 Winter Games - 93% Issue 26 Infiltrator - 72% Issue 35 £9.99 FOUR SMASH HITS Hewson Exolon - 90% Issue 43 Zynaps - 91% Issue 42 Ranarama - 90% Issue 38 Uridium Plus - 90% Issue 35 cassette £9.95 +3 disk £14.95 10 COMPUTER HITS VOL. 4 Beau Jolly Bride Of Frankenstein - 59% Issue 43 Contact Sam Cruise - 93% Issue 36 Spindizzy - 93% Issue 29 Uchi Mata - 36% Issue 39 City Slicker - 65% Issue 35 Sacred Armour Of Antiriad - 89% Issue 35 Deactivators - 85% Issue 34 Starquake - 96% Issue 22 Pyracurse - 90% Issue 31 Pulsator - 66% Issue 42 Revolution - 91% Issue 33 Dandy - 84% Issue 35 £9.95 FIVE STAR HITS VOL. 3 Beau Jolly Uridium Plus - 90% Issue 35 Trapdoor - 88% Issue 33 Tau Ceti - 94% Issue 23 Firelord - 91% Issue 35 Aliens - 84% Issue 37 The Way Of The Exploding Fist - 92% Issue 21 Strike Force Harrier - 83% Issue 33 £9.95

ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment)

Graeme Kidd

C16, £14.95cs C64/128, £14.95cs, £19.95dk Spectrum, £14.95cs Amstrad, £14.95cs, £19.95dk An eight-game collection that leads on coin-op conversions and includes a title that was held back from solo release - Battleships. VOLUME I Bombjack A competent conversion of Tehkan's five-screen platform romp that sets a caped crusader on the track of fizzling bombs The action is fairly straightforward - sproing around each successive screen gathering up the bombs, and gather them in the correct order for maximum points. There's no depth of plot or involved scenario to baffle the brain, pattern-learning and skilful control are all you need. Commodore owners might be a little less impressed than their Amstrad and Spectrum owning colleagues. Frank Bruno's Boxing Effectively a version of the arcade scrapping game, Punch Out, this was Elite's contender in the boxing simulation stakes nearly two years ago. Eight boxers stand between you and the World Heavyweight Championship, each with their own particular fighting style. Viewing the action from behind your fighter, the aim is to reduce your opponent's stamina and then knock him down. Three knockouts leads to a convincing defeat and an access code is given which allows the next fighter in line to be challenged And no, Joe Bugner isn't one of the eight bruisers ranged before you in this playable sports simulation. Commando Capcom provided the licence and the battlefield action is fast and furious in this one-man mission of mayhem and destruction. Romping, or should that be yomping across the vertically scrolling landscape the aim is to knock out four enemy fortresses. The enemy, quite naturally takes exception to such displays of heroism and a host of soldiers armed with single shot rifles, grenades, bazookas and mortars queue up to put an end to your ambition. Fortunately your sub machine gun never runs out of ammo and there are boxes of grenades lying around the terrain to replenish your supplies. The going gets tougher the further into the game you get - should keep kill-crazy joystick wielders happy until their trigger fingers bleed. Airwolf Assuming the role of Vietnam veteran Stringlellow Hawke your mission at the controls of a helicopter is to rescue five scientists held prisoner in a network of caverns. Before you can get to the imprisoned boffins the complex defence system that adorns the caves has to be shot out, element by element and there's always the risk of crashing into the rock walls. A golden oldie this, dragged from the mists of time when Elite was but a fledgeling software house - still stands up as a shoot-em-up, not least because mastering the controls of the helicopter takes a while. VOLUME II Paperboy This year's all-time chart hit according to the figures published by Gallup - it proved almost impossible to dislodge from the Number One slot. Pedalling round suburbia as the representative of the local rag, the aim is to deliver papers to subscribers while avoiding pedestrians and kamikaze vehicles. Rather than place the newspapers in letterboxes you have to hurl them - miss, and you run the risk of breaking windows. At the end of the round bonus points cue collected by riding over a BMX course and indulging in a bit of target practice. Annoy too many subscribers and you're taken off the round - build up the round and the points potential increases. Not Elite's best effort at converting from the arcades, but sales levels made it a clear winner... Ghosts n' Goblins A fair maiden is captured by an evil demon, so the knight has no choice - the demon horde and the forces of the supernatural have to be overcome on a scrolling quest to the demon's lair where the lady may be rescued. Probably Elite's best arcade effort so far - true to the original and lots of fun to play Need more be scud? Battleships The game they dare not release! All credit to Elite for realising late in the day that this computerised emulation of the age-old pencil and paper game couldn't really stand up as a full-price release. There's nothing borrowed or blue in The Elite Collection, and this game slots in as "the new". An interesting diversion, but never likely to become a cult classic. .. Bombjack II Better than the original. For once, untrammelled by the constrictions of producing a faithful version of an arcade game, Elite had some fun. The caped crusader made famous by Tehkan abandons bombs (too dangerous) and collects bags of gold (more lucrative). Another platform/collecting game, the sequel boasts many more screens and includes mutating monsters that get smarter the longer you dally. The little baddies can be biffed, but that uses up energy and when the hero gets tired out he dies. Lots of fun. Verdict: A good, solid collection of games that offers plenty of variety at a reasonable price.