![Batman: The Caped Crusader Longplay (Amiga) [QHD] @AL82RetrogamingLongplays](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w_sdayKbIbc/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Game Info
---------------------------------------------------
Developer: Special FX
Publisher: Ocean Software
Year of Release: 1988
Game Review & Impressions
---------------------------------------------------
I'm intimately familiar with the C64 version of the game, having owned it back at release, and longplayed it for this channel on at least two occasions. Despite some flaws, I always felt it was one of Ocean's better games based on a license. It's based on the actual comic book incarnation of Dark Knight, rather than the subsequent movie adaption -- which received its own video game -- and is an original concept.
As with the C64 version, The Caped Crusader features two separate adventures for Batman to get his Batarang into. These focus on the most iconic of his adversaries, Penguin and Joker, each involving the collecting of seemingly random items from various locations, then figuring out where to use them. To beat the Penguin, Batman needs to gain access to the villain's luxury mansion and install a virus on the central computer, while beating his arch-nemesis Joker involves disarming a plethora of bombs which threaten to destroy Gotham, then rescue Robin, who's held captive at the top of a rollercoaster at the local amusement park.
The real challenge is solving the puzzles without Batman's health running out. Armed henchmen patrol the streets and dark alleyways, while mechanical penguins with machine guns and disease-ridden rats scurry about at ankle height, making damned nuisances of themselves. Batman can see off these foes off with a few well-placed punches and kicks, but with these encounters taking their inevitable toll on his health, the need to restore health is one of the biggest concerns throughout the game. Food which completely restores health can be found in certain screens, but unlike the C64 version, enemies actually leave behind snacks when defeated; this is a profound difference, one which makes the game far more manageable than its 8-bit counterpart.
However, there's a nuance (limitation) in how the game tracks food items which have dropped, with only a single instance of them able to exist at at a given moment. Although I was already aware of the limitation in its basic form, it wasn't until the Joker campaign I discovered only a single instance can exist across the entire game map. A rogue toffee apple had dropped on a screen without me noticing, and because I hadn't collected it, it's existence prevented enemies dropping subsequent instances of the sugary delicacy. It means you can run dangerously close to running out of energy if you weren't to realise this, because having plenty of food in reserve is crucial to beating the game.
As with other cross-platform games from this era, I find that, despite the obvious graphical improvements, I still enjoyed the C64 version of Batman more than this. The character art and animation is good, but I find the limitations imposed by the C64 have an inexplicable "less-is-more" effect. It's certainly true of the in-game music, which is barely more than a couple of loops on repeat; Fred Gray's SID composition for the C64 version definitely has the edge over this. In fact, it wasn't until I re-watched the C64 longplay that I realised it actually has more enemies, a better user interface, and provides a written description of every item Batman collects. The Riddler and Catwoman also make an appearance on C64, but not the Amiga. The sprites might have more detail, but everything else has been paired back.
On reflection, I'd be inclined to award the Amiga version of Batman: The Caped Crusader something in the region of 6.5 out of 10. It's reasonably polished, but it just feels a bit dull. Some more music and less dependency on munching snack food might have resulted in something a little more engaging, and it should have had feature parity with the C64.
Related Longplays & Videos
---------------------------------------------------
youtube.com/watch?v=znxvgkd0e6w
Chapters
---------------------------------------------------
00:00 Adventure A: A Bird in Hand
31:08 Adventure B: A Fete Worse than Death
Game Info
---------------------------------------------------
Developer: Special FX
Publisher: Ocean Software
Year of Release: 1988
Game Review & Impressions
---------------------------------------------------
I'm intimately familiar with the C64 version of the game, having owned it back at release, and longplayed it for this channel on at least two occasions. Despite some flaws, I always felt it was one of Ocean's better games based on a license. It's based on the actual comic book incarnation of Dark Knight, rather than the subsequent movie adaption -- which received its own video game -- and is an original concept.
As with the C64 version, The Caped Crusader features two separate adventures for Batman to get his Batarang into. These focus on the most iconic of his adversaries, Penguin and Joker, each involving the collecting of seemingly random items from various locations, then figuring out where to use them. To beat the Penguin, Batman needs to gain access to the villain's luxury mansion and install a virus on the central computer, while beating his arch-nemesis Joker involves disarming a plethora of bombs which threaten to destroy Gotham, then rescue Robin, who's held captive at the top of a rollercoaster at the local amusement park.
The real challenge is solving the puzzles without Batman's health running out. Armed henchmen patrol the streets and dark alleyways, while mechanical penguins with machine guns and disease-ridden rats scurry about at ankle height, making damned nuisances of themselves. Batman can see off these foes off with a few well-placed punches and kicks, but with these encounters taking their inevitable toll on his health, the need to restore health is one of the biggest concerns throughout the game. Food which completely restores health can be found in certain screens, but unlike the C64 version, enemies actually leave behind snacks when defeated; this is a profound difference, one which makes the game far more manageable than its 8-bit counterpart.
However, there's a nuance (limitation) in how the game tracks food items which have dropped, with only a single instance of them able to exist at at a given moment. Although I was already aware of the limitation in its basic form, it wasn't until the Joker campaign I discovered only a single instance can exist across the entire game map. A rogue toffee apple had dropped on a screen without me noticing, and because I hadn't collected it, it's existence prevented enemies dropping subsequent instances of the sugary delicacy. It means you can run dangerously close to running out of energy if you weren't to realise this, because having plenty of food in reserve is crucial to beating the game.
As with other cross-platform games from this era, I find that, despite the obvious graphical improvements, I still enjoyed the C64 version of Batman more than this. The character art and animation is good, but I find the limitations imposed by the C64 have an inexplicable "less-is-more" effect. It's certainly true of the in-game music, which is barely more than a couple of loops on repeat; Fred Gray's SID composition for the C64 version definitely has the edge over this. In fact, it wasn't until I re-watched the C64 longplay that I realised it actually has more enemies, a better user interface, and provides a written description of every item Batman collects. The Riddler and Catwoman also make an appearance on C64, but not the Amiga. The sprites might have more detail, but everything else has been paired back.
On reflection, I'd be inclined to award the Amiga version of Batman: The Caped Crusader something in the region of 6.5 out of 10. It's reasonably polished, but it just feels a bit dull. Some more music and less dependency on munching snack food might have resulted in something a little more engaging, and it should have had feature parity with the C64.
Related Longplays & Videos
---------------------------------------------------
youtube.com/watch?v=znxvgkd0e6w
Chapters
---------------------------------------------------
00:00 Adventure A: A Bird in Hand
31:08 Adventure B: A Fete Worse than Death
![Batman: The Caped Crusader Longplay (Amiga) [QHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w_sdayKbIbc/mqdefault.jpg "Batman: The Caped Crusader Longplay (Amiga) [QHD]
Game Info
Developer: Special FX
Publisher: Ocean Software
Year of Release: 1988
Game Review & Impressions
Im intimately familiar with the C64 version of the game, having owned it back at release, and longplayed it for this channel on at least two occasions. Despite some flaws, I always felt it was one of Oceans better games based on a license. Its based on the actual comic book incarnation of Dark Knight, rather than the subsequent movie adaption which received its own video game and is an original concept.
As with the C64 version, The Caped Crusader features two separate adventures for Batman to get his Batarang into. These focus on the most iconic of his adversaries, Penguin and Joker, each involving the collecting of seemingly random items from various locations, then figuring out where to use them. To beat the Penguin, Batman needs to gain access to the villains luxury mansion and install a virus on the central computer, while beating his arch-nemesis Joker involves disarming a plethora of bombs which threaten to destroy Gotham, then rescue Robin, whos held captive at the top of a rollercoaster at the local amusement park.
The real challenge is solving the puzzles without Batmans health running out. Armed henchmen patrol the streets and dark alleyways, while mechanical penguins with machine guns and disease-ridden rats scurry about at ankle height, making damned nuisances of themselves. Batman can see off these foes off with a few well-placed punches and kicks, but with these encounters taking their inevitable toll on his health, the need to restore health is one of the biggest concerns throughout the game. Food which completely restores health can be found in certain screens, but unlike the C64 version, enemies actually leave behind snacks when defeated; this is a profound difference, one which makes the game far more manageable than its 8-bit counterpart.
However, theres a nuance (limitation) in how the game tracks food items which have dropped, with only a single instance of them able to exist at at a given moment. Although I was already aware of the limitation in its basic form, it wasnt until the Joker campaign I discovered only a single instance can exist across the entire game map. A rogue toffee apple had dropped on a screen without me noticing, and because I hadnt collected it, its existence prevented enemies dropping subsequent instances of the sugary delicacy. It means you can run dangerously close to running out of energy if you werent to realise this, because having plenty of food in reserve is crucial to beating the game.
As with other cross-platform games from this era, I find that, despite the obvious graphical improvements, I still enjoyed the C64 version of Batman more than this. The character art and animation is good, but I find the limitations imposed by the C64 have an inexplicable less-is-more effect. Its certainly true of the in-game music, which is barely more than a couple of loops on repeat; Fred Grays SID composition for the C64 version definitely has the edge over this. In fact, it wasnt until I re-watched the C64 longplay that I realised it actually has more enemies, a better user interface, and provides a written description of every item Batman collects. The Riddler and Catwoman also make an appearance on C64, but not the Amiga. The sprites might have more detail, but everything else has been paired back.
On reflection, Id be inclined to award the Amiga version of Batman: The Caped Crusader something in the region of 6.5 out of 10. Its reasonably polished, but it just feels a bit dull. Some more music and less dependency on munching snack food might have resulted in something a little more engaging, and it should have had feature parity with the C64.
Related Longplays & Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znxvgkd0e6w
Chapters
00:00 Adventure A: A Bird in Hand
31:08 Adventure B: A Fete Worse than Death")
![Skidz Longplay (Amiga) [QHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wowgBUKp9_A/mqdefault.jpg "Skidz Longplay (Amiga) [QHD]
Game Info
Developer: Core Design
Publisher: Gremlin Graphics
Year of Release: 1990
Game Review & Impressions
Skater culture and BMX were really popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, and various video games tried to cash in on their popularity. Skidz is a far cry from the likes of Tony Hawks Pro Skater, and much more limited in what it tries to achieve, but it turns urban centres into a playground of sorts, where you get to execute tricks, kicks and flips, cleaning up the city one level at a time.
Choosing either skateboard or bike, the main purpose of each stage is to collect pieces of trash, then depositing them in a nearby bin. You can only carry a limited amount of trash at any given point, so you need to trek back and forth between parts of the level to get them all cleaned up. Your task is made all the more difficult by environmental hazards, potholes and other obstacles along the way. You also need to earn sufficient cash to keep bike, board and rider in working shape, else you wont progress much beyond the opening level. Floating bills might occasionally be spotted in the wild, and can also be spawned by performing a flip or trick, and performing a full 360 degree spin mid-air when launched from a ramp earn a nice bonus, but executing these moves are actually really difficult, and youll lost health if you fail to land them perfectly. Any cash you do earn can be spent in the shop between stages, tuning up your ride and restoring lost health, before repeating the whole process in the next level.
Its worth mentioning that each stage also has a hidden objective that earns you bonus points when complete. These involve collecting an item and taking it to a specific part of the level, touching a part of the scenery in order to fulfil the task. An example would be delivering an item of mail or parcel to certain building and posting it through a mail box, or taking a newspaper to a port-a-loo on a building site. Its never that obvious exactly where to take said items when you find them, and I suspect youll complete these mostly by accident, if at all.
The underlying concept of the game isnt bad, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The thing which wrecked the game for me was the controls, which make moving about and performing tricks far more difficult than it needs to be. Building speed is achieved by tapping the fire button, but since this also causes you to jump when the speedometer is at the top of the bar, youll find yourself bunny hopping constantly, even when you dont want to. Unless you have an especially refined sense of timing, not to mention a great deal of patience, youll find yourself falling flat on your face most of the time, and probably getting a nasty case of gravel rash into the bargain. Mounting pavements and sidewalks is also really tricky because of this, but its something youll need to overcome, due to the fact trash and bonus items are usually placed there.
Ultimately, Skidz is one of those games which might have sounded like a fun idea on paper, but fails to nail the landing in practice. The awkward controls and repetitive levels mean its really just a dull and uninspiring affair. The only thing of any real note is the soundtrack, a thumping and sample-heavy affair by the late Ben Daglish. Even that lacks variety, but its the only positive memory I really have of the game. The magazine scores, averaging 80%, seem overly generous in retrospect, and Id probably only give this 55% at best.
Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
00:36 Stage 1 - Street
04:34 Stage 2 - Park
09:11 Stage 3 - Building Site
13:52 Stage 4 - Chinatown
19:16 Stage 5 - Canal
25:18 Stage 6 - Boardwalk
29:42 Stage 7 - Race")
![Max Payne Longplay (Game Boy Advance) [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xXDfFw_d5v4/mqdefault.jpg "Max Payne Longplay (Game Boy Advance) [4K]
Game Info
Developer: Mobius Entertainment
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Year of Release: 2003
Game Review & Impressions
The original Max Payne released for PC in 2001 was a technically ground-breaking third person shooter, iconic for its use of Bullet Time slow-motion mechanics and balletic gunplay, letting players live out their John Woo fantasises within the confines of an ever-so-slightly tongue-in-cheek neo noir detective story. Max is the titular hard-boiled cop whose wife and infant child become unwitting victims as Aesir Corporation plans to unleash a new designer drug on the streets of New York City. The bereaved Payne transfers to the DEA in an effort to penetrate the mob underworld in a bid to find the source of Valkyr, with his sanity, moral compass, not to mention his reflexes, tested to the very limits.
What I wasnt aware of until many years later is that Rockstar published a version of the game for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. Unlike the PC and other console versions, the GBA edition of the game uses an isometric viewpoint to view the world. I cant be entirely sure as to whether the characters within the game are polygonal or sprites, but they look really good, and the fluidity of the animation is excellent. The slow-motion bullet time mechanic has been preserved and works the same as its PC counterpart, including the ability to dive and unload a storm of hot lead simultaneously.
Because you only have a limited field of view, the game tends to alert to you to the presence of enemies with gunfire, which at least gives you a fighting chance. Even on the standard difficulty level, Max doesnt have a huge amount of health; youll be chugging down the pain killers pretty regularly to stay in the fight, but it only takes a few hits before Max is toast. Diving actually seems to make Max invulnerable for duration, so youll want to use it whenever possible. Its possible to shoot in given direction using the D-Pad, although I did find that your bullets sometimes seemed to evaporate into thin air while doing this; enemies right in front of your face occasionally fail to take any damage, which can be quite frustrating.
In addition to the slow-mo gunplay, the comic book narration and voice acting from PC version has been ported over to the Game Boy. However, both the total number of levels in the game and number of cutscenes have been drastically reduced, which not only reduces the overall length of the game, but cuts out much of the character development. For those whove never played the original I dont suppose it matters too much, but interactions between Payne and other characters, such as Vlad or Jim Bravura, the belligerent head of the NYPD, remain on the cutting room floor. These characters are barely mentioned here, and their inclusion makes the general flow of the story feel somewhat disjointed.
A final point about this particular version before I sum up is that some of the levels actually have secret rooms. Shooting parts of the scenery can reveal switches or open doors that lead to rooms containing extra weapons, or even unique guns that you wont find anywhere else. I didnt find all the secret rooms because it wasnt until I found the Jackhammer shotgun I even realised there WERE secrets; the Jackhammer is the main secret of any importance because its the one weapon you cant acquire elsewhere.
For the most part, the GBA version of Max Payne impressed me. Switching from 3D to 2D isometric mostly works, and the bullet time is implemented well. Many of the objects in the game are destructible or display cosmetic damage when shot, which was a nice touch, and despite the grainy visuals, its actually quite a good looking game. Although large parts of the story have been hollowed out to fit within the constraints of the GBA, Mobius managed to keep the core essence of the story in tact. I was impressed with end result, and if youre a fan of the franchise, this portable version is definitely worth playing.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
03:00 Stage 01
15:29 Stage 02
29:06 Stage 03
39:40 Stage 04
47:10 Stage 05
58:53 Stage 06
1:07:23 Stage 07
1:18:50 Stage 08
1:24:57 Stage 09
1:31:52 Stage 10
1:43:54 Ending")
![Exterminator Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xmZvKEoZvDE/mqdefault.jpg "Exterminator Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]
Game Info
Developer: Premier/Gottlieb
Publisher: Gottlieb
Year of Release: 1989
Game Review & Impressions
My only experience with this weird arcade title was the home conversion for the Amiga, but the original coin-op was never a fixture in an the arcades I frequented.
The games premise is youre a pest control guy cleaning out one horribly infested neighbourhood of militant wasps, spiders and rats which have taken up residence in each of the homes. Assuming control of a disembodied hand, you must squash, pound or zap the nasties with your finger-guns as they buzz around the screen. Dead bugs falling on the floor turn as ection of the floor red, and the objective is to run a full strip of the floor read from front to back to progress to the next level.
Naturally, this is more difficult than it sounds. Flying bugs are generally evasive, which makes squashing them difficult, while wasps will spend the entire time trying to sting you, so you have to waft them away constantly. Everything in this game wants you dead, so the quicker you can clear a level, the better.
As concepts go Exterminator is really cool. The use of digitised sprites for the majority of the level backgrounds and enemies is cool, and the changing floor colours adds some strategy to the proceedings. Theres nothing else quite like this, and I would have enjoyed it more if grabbing or zapping critters was so darned difficult.
Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
02:17 House 1
06:52 House 2
12:47 House 3
17:13 House 4
21:35 House 5
26:02 House 6
31:10 House 7
36:01 The Final Battle
37:37 Ending")
![Exosquad Longplay (Sega Genesis) [QHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yAsa_yQ5vJE/mqdefault.jpg "Exosquad Longplay (Sega Genesis) [QHD]
Game Info
Developer: Novotrade Software Kit
Publisher: Playmates Interactive Entertainment
Year of Release: 1995
Game Review & Impressions
The game is based on the animated cartoon series of the same name, first broadcast in the US in 1993. I have no recollection of this series airing on UK television at the time, so the characters, plot and general significance were somewhat lost on me. Info online indicates the series being set in a future where humans have begun colonising and terraforming other worlds, yet the rising of various pirate clans proves to be an existential threat to humanity at large, and must be dealt with.
The video game adaptation created for the Sega Genesis sees players taking control of members of Able Squad, a team of exoframe pilots, and the main focus of the TV show. Exoframes are large mech suit/exoskeletons, piloted by a human operator, and designed for battle. They come equipped with various weapon systems, missiles and plasma guns, all capable of dissolving space pirates into molten slag. Youll get to operate different frame types throughout the course of the game, with each unit being the focus of a specific level type.
The first of these sections is an After Burner style piloting section that involves manoeuvring your mech around the screen, avoiding incoming missiles, flying through fields of space mines, and shooting anything else that gets in the way. Visually, its really quite impressive , with the whole background layer tilting on the Y-axis, but is let down massively by the oversensitive controls. The shape and size of the exoframe also makes avoiding mines far tougher than it should be, and I found the best strategy was to just keep moving in random directions and hope I didnt take too much damage.
The second level type is a side-ways scrolling shooting stage where the player plods along, stopping occasionally to destroy enemies and obstacles when they appear on the screen. A pair of yellow reticules displayed in front of the suit indicate where the left and right arm cannons are aiming, and you can tilt the aim up or down to deal with enemies at different levels of elevation. Again, its technically quite impressive, with the various individual sprites used to create the exoframe assigned different priorities, occluding one another to give an impression of depth. Its just a shame that the gameplay is rather dull and boring.
The final level type pits two pilots against each other in a one-on-one close quarters battle involving punches, kicks, slams, plus the occasional plasma blast and missile salvo for good measure. Its a basic beat em up section that, to its credit, manages to convey the size, weight and general heft of the exoframes, although the slowness of animations means that every animation is overly telegraphed, leading to combat which is slow and rather cludgy. The simulated 3D using overlapping sprites is, once again, quite impressive, but its just not particularly fun to play.
And thats the general takeaway from Exosquad. Despite some impressive visuals, the three level types are either dull, uninspiring, or too frustrating to enjoy. It doesnt matter how good the visuals are if the underlying gameplay isnt up to scratch, and thats the biggest problem the game has. Theres also a huge amount of boring exposition to sit through between levels, which is more depressing when you come to realise what comes next wasnt worth the wait. Its a real shame, because I think this could have been quite a decent title if there had been more variety in the level design and mechanics. The reality is, I suspect this got tucked away in a draw after the first couple of games, then largely forgotten.
Chapters
0:00:00 Attract mode
0:02:10 Intro
0:06:38 Stage 01
0:08:49 Stage 02
0:12:51 Stage 03
0:15:55 Stage 04
0:18:28 Stage 05
0:15:16 Stage 06
0:27:43 Stage 07
0:36:05 Stage 08
0:41:40 Stage 09
0:45:22 Stage 10
0:46:32 Stage 11
0:49:52 Stage 12
0:53:53 Stage 13
0:57:05 Stage 14
1:02:14 Stage 15
1:04:50 Stage 16
1:09:57 Stage 17
1:16:50 Stage 18
1:21:53 Stage 19
1:25:01 Stage 20
1:28:42 Ending")
![Ninja Commando Longplay (C64) [QHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yCjx_u5C1hk/mqdefault.jpg "Ninja Commando Longplay (C64) [QHD]
Game Info
Developer: Zeppelin Games
Publisher: Zeppelin Games
Year of Release: 1989
Game Review & Impressions
For a budget game released in 1989, Ninja Commando isnt too bad. This run-and-gun style affair feels oddly reminiscent of Chelnov (Atomic Runner), with an emphasis on leaping and avoiding obstacles as much as blasting enemies.
Beating each of the games 8 stages is a simple case of reaching the extreme right of the level to reach the exit, albeit one fraught with peril. Enemies emerge from doorways and, after a brief grace period, will kill you if you come into contact with them, so you need to stay on your toes. These bad guys can be killed by jumping on them, or by shooting them with one of the weapon upgrades they drop periodically. These range from shuriken, which is pretty weedy, to machine gun capable of mowing down pretty much anything standing in your path.
Sadly, the game suffers from surprisingly unresponsive controls, which spoils the enjoyment somewhat. Your ninja dude has a propensity to jump almost half a second too late, and youll find yourself plummeting to your death at the bottom of the game screen on a regular basis. Its a shame, because I thought this game, for the most part, was actually pretty cool.
Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
01:43 Stage 1
04:24 Stage 2
07:04 Stage 3
09:52 Stage 4
12:43 Stage 5
15:36 Stage 6
18:15 Stage 7
21:26 Stage 8
24:00 Ending")
![Soldier Girl Amazon Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yJRtt8R3GBk/mqdefault.jpg "Soldier Girl Amazon Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]
Game Info
Developer: Nichibutsu
Publisher: Nichibutsu
Year of Release: 1986
Game Review & Impressions
A gruelling top-down shoot em starring a female protagonist whose attire looks somewhat reminiscent of Lynda Carters portrayal of Wonder Woman, Soldier Girl Amazon is fairly typical for games of this type from this era. You must blast your way through wave-upon-wave of alien and mutant enemies, collecting weapon power ups and bonuses, and generally trying to stay alive.
Of all the collectibles, the ride-on hover bike is by far the most important. It allows the player to take extra damage, increases offensive capabilities by way of a spread of projectiles, and can be upgraded multiple times to form a small tank. The downsides to using the vehicle are the loss of mobility and fact you present a much larger target for enemy projectiles. Youll want to keep the vehicle intact for the end-of-level bosses, but doing so is a real challenge.
As with other games of this era, Soldier Amazon Girl has no ending, endlessly looping through the various stages until you die. If you enjoy a good high score challenge game then this might be worth a couple of plays, although its ultimately forgettable.
Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
00:40 Gameplay")
![Mad Motor Longplay (Arcade) [QHD] [Unreleased Prototype]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yLmvMaQQFqY/mqdefault.jpg "Mad Motor Longplay (Arcade) [QHD] [Unreleased Prototype]
Game Info
Developer: Mitchell Corporation
Publisher: Mitchell Corporation
Year of Release: 1989 (unreleased)
Game Review & Impressions
Rummaging in the closet of games which never made it to market, Mad Motor is certainly an odd thing. The attract mode is the only coin-op Im aware that flips the bird on any prospective player, telling you this a game with an attitude problem. Its a blend of Mad Max post apocalyptica featuring warring motorcycle gangs and mutants, into the midst of which the player is thrust. The objective of each stage is to batter opposing riders and vehicles into submission using a pair of wrist-worn blades until they eventually explode. You can leverage these explosions to lift your bike into the air, which will cause extra damage to other enemies when you land on them.
The player character also has something of a dark secret. When reduced to the final unit of energy within the current life, he turns into a hulking demon of devastating power. Its s kind of final gambit state where the extra power might just be sufficient to help pull through a difficult situation, but as theres no way to recover health that I could determine, its usefulness is actually rather limited.
Although the aesthetic is cool, I can see why the game got canned. The truth of the matter is it doesnt play very well, and this is due in large part to the lack of perceived damage you do to many of the enemies. It wasnt until later in the longplay I realised that what the game expects you to do is kill the weaker enemies with your blades, then use the ensuing explosion as a springboard and to dunk on top of the more powerful enemies with your bike. Even then, enemies like the armoured knights are incredibly dangerous and difficult to tackle, and the game feels poorly balanced in general. The final spear-twirling samurai boss and its pet dragon is a case in point, one which is virtually impossible to defeat.
Maybe with a few tweaks and a round of rebalancing Mad Motor could have been a decent coin muncher. The graphics are great and everything moves at a decent lick, and the design of the enemies is pretty cool all round; medieval knights jousting atop 1000cc seeds is certainly not a common sight as far as games are concerned, nor is a massive gorilla hanging from a helicopter. Its all genuinely quite interesting stuff, just not especially fun to play.
Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
01:11 Stage 01
04:29 Stage 02
08:12 Stage 03
11:57 Stage 04
13:33 Stage 05
16:35 Stage 06
20:37 Ending")
![CT Special Forces Longplay (Game Boy Advance) [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z4FHyTW54v0/mqdefault.jpg "CT Special Forces Longplay (Game Boy Advance) [4K]
Game Info
Developer: LSP (Light & Shadow Production)
Publisher: LSP (Light & Shadow Production)
Year of Release: 2002
Game Review & Impressions
Metal Slug is one of my favourite arcade games, so when I saw pictures of CT Special Forces, I couldnt wait to try it out. This visually impressive run-and-gun has some great visuals and art direction, a cool soundtrack, and appears to ape one of the best games in the Neo Geo library.
Whats not to like?, I thought...
Well, it turns out this game is actually rather dull! Its classic side-scrolling territory where you blast bad guys with an assortment of guns and gizmos, all wrapped up in some SAS special forces trappings. Each level has an objective involving arresting, killing or blowing something up, but the moment-to-moment action during combat the very thing which holds this type of game together is really boring. Theres little variety in the way of enemies, and the weapons you have to fight them with are either too weak, or just bland and unsatisfying.
Book-ending the side-scrolling stages are sections where you pilot a gunship, blowing up tanks and building from an overhead view. Again, theres really very little to these sections, and they go on for way too long. It wasnt until the second of these sections I realised the gunship also came equipped with rocket pods, and while theyre certainly more potent than the choppers cannon, theyre not necessary to beat the level.
I came away from CT Special Forces feeling particularly underwhelmed. It looks great and has the framework for a really cool shooter, but theres just not enough content or variety in the levels or mission objectives to make you want to keep playing. The game did receive a number of sequels, so Im curious to see whether theyll be any better.
Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
01:41 Stage 1-1
05:39 Stage 1-2
11:13 Stage 1-3
16:28 Stage 2-1
20:23 Stage 2-2
27:13 Stage 2-3
34:11 Stage 3-1
39:25 Stage 3-2
43:19 Stage 3-3
47:45 Stage 4-1
51:52 Stage 4-2
58:47 Stage 4-3
1:04:10 Ending")
![Neighbours Longplay (C64) [QHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z6T9VR_qCYo/mqdefault.jpg "Neighbours Longplay (C64) [QHD]
Game Info
Developer: Ian Copeland
Publisher: Impulze (Zeppelin Games)
Year of Release: 1991
Game Review & Impressions
Tuning in to watch the life and times of the residents of Ramsay Street is something Im sure multiple generations can attest to. The long-enduring Australian soap opera focusing on the lives of families living in a relatively middle class suburb ran from 1985 to 2025, a staggering total of 40 years, before eventually being cancelled for real. The show famously served as a launch point for pop stars Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Natalie Imbruglia, and storylines included the usual teen existential crises and dating woes, while the adults committed adultery, or people disappearing at sea in mysterious circumstances, only to turn up safe and sound several years later.
Under its Impulze label, Zeppelin games thought to capitalise on the shows popularity by releasing a Neighbours video game for the C64 and other home computers of the era. The premise is Scott Robinson and friends decides to hold a race around Ramsay Street, avoiding obstacles and watching out for other members of the ensemble cast who look to spoil their fun. To complete the race, not only must competitors complete the set number of laps, but they must also ensure they pass through each set of flashing gates to ensure the lap is considered valid. Falling off your skateboard or colliding with obstacles reduces your remaining energy, so youll need to collect the weird unidentifiable grey splodges on the ground to restore health.
The problem the game has is its completely unsuitable material for a video game of this kind. The dearth of innovation and creativity means that Zeppelin was reduced to adding a bunch of stereotypical iconography to try and convey to the player that the game is set in Australia. Kangaroos and emus wander the asphalt sidewalks and roads as though it were a common occurrence, and I wouldnt have been at all surprised if the Ramsay Street residents had all been wearing cork hats and packing boomerangs. Its just an achingly dull soapbox racer that has to rely on not-so-subtle cultural references to try and convey, nay hammer home, that you are in fact in Australia, and this is, indeed, Ramsay Street. The net result is a boring game that really wasnt worth anyones money or time, and is best avoided.
Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
01:40 Stage 01
03:35 Stage 02
05:06 Stage 03
06:44 Stage 04
08:25 Stage 05
10:16 Stage 06
12:07 Stage 07
13:40 Stage 08")
![Chopper I Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zApwThZ2mpU/mqdefault.jpg "Chopper I Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]
Game Info
Developer: SNK
Publisher: SNK
Year of Release: 1988
Game Review & Impressions
Released in 1988, Chopper I is a rather innocuous shoot em up that features, in my opinion, some of the best pixel art seen in games of this, considering the time of its release. The addition of a motion blur effect to the rotation of chopper blades, plumes of smoke as the jets of your rockets ignite, not to mention the ground shadows of the teeny-tiny troopers running along the ground, are nuances and kind of attention to detail which still werent exactly common place.
The actual gameplay isnt too shabby either, although is largely representative for the genre as a whole. Players blast through waves of jets, helicopters and ground forces hell-bent on their destruction, taking down end-of-level bosses, then proceeding to do it all over again in the next stage. You also better enjoy this sort of thing, too, because with 12 stages set of two loops, Chopper I is a pretty long game. Beating the second loop to see the somewhat lacklustre ending is going to take time, patience, not to mention a whole sack of coins.
Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
00:27 Loop 1 - Stage 1
04:05 Loop 1 - Stage 2
08:00 Loop 1 - Stage 3
11:34 Loop 1 - Stage 4
15:08 Loop 1 - Stage 5
18:40 Loop 1 - Stage 6
22:37 Loop 2 - Stage 1
26:26 Loop 2 - Stage 2
30:41 Loop 2 - Stage 3
34:19 Loop 2 - Stage 4
38:07 Loop 2 - Stage 5
41:50 Loop 2 - Stage 6
45:05 Ending")
![Busou Keiji: Cyber Cross Longplay (PC Engine) [QHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zhES92mXMDk/mqdefault.jpg "Busou Keiji: Cyber Cross Longplay (PC Engine) [QHD]
Game Info
Developer: ITL
Publisher: Face Corporation
Year of Release: 1988
Game Review & Impressions
Busou Keiji Cyber Cross is one of those games with a cool-sounding title and pretty graphics that look good for screenshots, and the impressionable sucker I am decided this was worth checking out when it popped up in my socials. This horizontal scrolling fighter has undertones of Kung Fu Master and Altered Beast about it, spiced with some Manga superhero undertones. Youre out to save the world from the dastardly Dr. Nosumi, who has unleashed an army of insectoid and robotic creatures in an effort to conquer the world, and its up to you to stop them.
Right from the off, Cyber Cross proves to be familiar territory. You simply keep moving to the right and despatch anything and everything that dares to stand in your way. Flying drones have a chance to drop a power-up token when destroyed, and these can be collected to increase your powers. The first of these will transform you into the powerful Cyber Cross mode, and subsequent glowing orbs will bestow you with weaponry of different types. You get to wield a power sword, shoot a ray gun, or sling a particularly useless boomerang; all of these have a special overcharge ability that can be unleashed on enemies for extra damage, and certain weapons have more utility and effectiveness on certain types of enemies. Levels culminate with a fracas against an end-of-level boss, and you know the drill: hit it until it falls over.
The chief problem with Cyber Cross is just how mind-numbingly repetitive it is. The backgrounds and enemies might differ somewhat, but the overall experience changes very little throughout its entirety. It isnt until the final level that the game decides to pull the trick of having you enter doors and fall through holes in the floor to try and find the correct path through to the final area. Taking a wrong turn inside the enemy base forces you to slog through a dingy tunnel, before spitting you back outside and forcing you to repeat much of the stage. It might have been acceptable to pull this stunt if the game was interesting enough, but it simply isnt. The single blippy-bloppy tune constituting 99% of the total music in the game is sure to send you to sleep, even if the gameplay doesnt, repeating ad nauseum throughout each of the six main stages.
What I had hoped would be an exciting experience proved to be a bland and dull trudge-fest. Cyber Cross isnt bad as such, but punching the same enemies and listening to that one damned tune on repeat for 30 minutes was in danger of putting me in a catatonic state. Play it by all means, but keep an adrenaline shot and industrial quantity of Lava Java coffee within easy reach when doing so.
Chapters
00:00 Attract mode
00:56 Stage 01
04:32 Stage 02
07:29 Stage 03
11:35 Stage 04
15:05 Stage 05
20:45 Stage 06
30:11 Ending")
