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This magazine was released in September 1985 and priced at £1.

Amscene[]

The Amstrad double - 2 pages (8-9)

The CPC 6128 and PCW 8256 announced

Game Announcments

Features[]

Talking Amstrad - 3 pages (12-14)

Industry insiders natter about the machine with the future

Which wrod-processor? (sic) - Chris Anderson - 3 pages (20-22)

Pocket Wordstar, Microscript, Tasword 464D

Battle of the Light Pens - 2 pages (30-31)

The Amsoft Power-Sell - Chris Anderson - 3 pages - (32-34)

Interview with software development manager Peter Roback and software sale manager Mike Mordecai.

Reviews[]

Game Title Publisher Reviewer Pages Pg No(s) Verdict %
The Way of the Exploding Fist Melbourne House Bob Wade 2 16-17 94
Boulder Dash Mirrorsoft Bob Wade 1 18 93
Loco-Motion Mastertronic Bob Wade 0.5 19 76
Rock Raid Kuma Bob Wade 0.5 19 65
Dragons Amsoft Bob Wade 0.33 19,26 57
Braxx Bluff Amsoft/Micromega Bob Wade 0.5 26 55
Finders Keepers Mastertronic Bob Wade 0.33 26-27 77
Red Arrows Database Bob Wade 0.5 27 55
Hard Hat Mack Ariolasoft Bob Wade 0.33 27 66
Fu-Kung in Las Vegas Amsoft/Romik Bob Wade 0.33 46 24
Cyrus II Chess Amsoft Peter Connor 0.5 46-47 92
Beach-Head Amsoft/US Gold Bob Wade 0.5 46-47 82
Arnhem CCS Bob Wade 0.66 47-48 75
Lords of Midnight Amsoft/Beyond Bob Wade 1 48-49 91
Nonterraqueous Mastertronic Bob Wade 0.66 49 85
Sorcery+ Amsoft/Virgin Bob Wade 1 52-53 91
Everyone's a Wally Mikro-Gen Bob Wade 1 52-53 92
Airwolf Amsoft/Elite Bob Wade 0.66 94 78
Dun Darach Gargoyle Bob Wade 1.33 94-95 90

Second Opinions

The Way of the Exploding Fist

You can almost feel the agony as a kick or a punch rips into a player's guts - or an even more painful anatomical region. The one-player game is good but the real fun starts when two people scrap it out. There's geniune skill involved in mastering the moves and the complex tactics that have to be employed in combat. The game's a smasher.  Peter Connor

Boulder Dash

I was really grab-factored by this one. It's one of those rare ideas that will trap even the virulent anti-gamester by its mixture of brilliant simplicity and sophisticated execution. Graphics are superb, the sound is atmospheric and I was even quite taken with the scrolling. An instant classic.  Peter Connor

Loco-Motion

This game railroads you into addiction. It's neither original nor sophisticated, which is perhaps why few people can resist its appeal. Once you sit down to a game you don't pay much attention to the outside world. Frenetic and exciting.  Peter Connor

Rock Raid

A game that oozed nostalgia. You load it up, see what it is, groan and have a desultory blast. Then you remember why games like this got you hooked in the first place and you start smashing those rocks and hyperspacing and smart-bombing and before you know what's happened you've been playing for hours. Most enjoyable.  Peter Connor

Dragons

The eggs are disgusting. Otherwise the graphics are quite pretty, but sometimes very indistinct - two yellow dragons together = one smudge. Controlling the character is tricky and I found the game ultimately a frustrating experience.  Peter Connor

Braxx Bluff

There was a very old-fashioned feel to this game. Although it's far from easy it didn't really grab me. The graphics are reminiscent of what happens when other micros crash and the sound is terrible.  Peter Connor

Finders Keepers

It's certainly good value - look no further for a bargain-basement arcade adventure - although the character you control has no real individuality and there's little originality in the game. But graphics and sound are pretty good. At the price there's nothing to rival it.  Peter Connor

Hard Hat Mack

The game's very attractive to look at - it seems dead easy, but it isn't quite. Unfortunately, it really shows its age (1983) with only three screens, and the gameplay won't test veterans of more recent programs.  Peter Connor

Fu-Kung in Las Vegas

I've racked my brains to find something good to say about this game, but I haven't been able to come up with anything. So I'll repeat the bad points instead: horrible graphics, worse sound, silly scenario.  Peter Connor

Cyrus II Chess

Chess games don't often get rave reviews but this certainly deserves it. The graphics are excellent and I found it played a good game even on level one. It should suit anyone from the novice to the grandmaster. With this display it's too attractive fo miss.  Bob Wade

Beach-Head

It's good to see this very enjoyable multi-blast on the Amstrad. There are lots of different tasks, some straightforward, others pretty tricky. The ship and air-attack sections are very classy, although the tank-attack suffers from the machine's jerky scrolling. Overall, it's very good value.  Peter Connor

Arnhem

This is certainly the best war game I've seen on the Amstrad. Display and scrolling are both impressive, the map is big and the game is demanding. I particularly appreciated being offered a choice of scenarios. The only real disappointment was the sound - the beeps and burbles when battle commences are weak, to say the least.  Peter Connor

Lords of Midnight

The huge amount of instructions was a daunting enough sight, but was as nothing compared to the game itself, which boggled my mind and my boredom threshold. I confess l just didn't have a whole weekend free to admire the 32,000 different views. If you havent got that sort of time and patience, you won't really enjoy it.  Peter Connor

Nonterraqueous

Excellent graphics - indeed, excellent everything - for a cheapo game. At 1,000 screens you're going to find it's not just your robot's psyche that gets drained. Extra class is added by Mastertronic's multi-lingual instructions and the faint warble of Bach on the speaker. A French Suite, I think. Or was it one of the English? Do let us know if you can tell.  Peter Connor

Sorcery+

Absolutely wizard! Superb graphics, smooth movement, and a really intriguing game. It's not going to be an easy one to crack - the first few times I played I didn't even see a wizard. Let alone rescue one. There are some very nice touches, such as the leering ghosts, while it's very satisfying to smash your foes to smithereens with the lightning. For disc-owners it must be a must.  Peter Connor

Everyone's a Wally

A lovely game to look at, even if the Weeks are just about the most degenerate family in the entire computer game universe. Unfortunately, I found it desperately hard to play, mainly because your endurance runs out so quickly, but also because I couldn't figure out how to complete the tasks. But maybe I'm just a Wally. Like the 'song' says.  Peter Connor

Airwolf

Graphics were very impressive in their colourful chunkiness, but the music was maddening after a bit. So was the game. Control is exceptionally difficult and the puzzles are fiendish. You won't get very far to begin with. but you'll probably be back for more.  Peter Connor

Dun Darach

Cuchulainn looks like a real roughneck out for some aggro, and so far we haven't found any of that. Trading and strategy are more important. It's good to have so many cleverly-animated characters to interact with, even if many of them do cause nothing but trouble. This is a difficult game, but rewards the effort it demands.  Peter Connor

Adventure

Game Title Publisher Pg No(s) Verdict %
Red Moon Level 9 39-41 90
Sub Sunk Firebird 40-41 65
Shadow of the Bear, The Kuma 40-41 25
North Sea Bullion Kuma 40-41 25
Smuggler's Cove CRL 40-41 62

Red Moon

Level 9 have had a consistent reputation for good games, and Red Moon is one of their best, if not THE best. At £6.95 that makes it an essential purchase for all followers of the Hidden Path. DROP everything and GO for it!

Sub Sunk

The Pilgrim felt that some of the puzzles were a bit too obvious, but otherwise he reckons this is very good value for money. The only thing I would point out is that some of the responses are a bit odd. Entering 'Hold breath', for example, gets the reply 'You bash it with all your might! Nothing happened.' I'm still trying to work that one out.

The Shadow of the Bear

Entering R returns you to the display screen, but frankly I should just press ESC and flee to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. The game costs £3.95. but I should save your money.

North Sea Bullion

Just in case you're tempted, Kuma's other offering is no better than In the Shadow of the Bear. The Pilgrim marks this game with a big red cross and advises you to avoid it like the plague. 'Nuff said.

Smuggler's Cove

But overall, Smuggler's Cove can be recommended only to those with patience, a greed for gold and a forgiving attitude to sloppy programming.

Amcyclopedia

Game Title Publisher Pg No(s) Verdict %
Pyjamarama Amsoft/Mikro-Gen 56 79
The Rocky Horror Show CRL 56 64
Knight Lore Ultimate 56-57 95
Alien 8 Ultimate 56-57 96
Technician Ted Hewson 58 82
Roland in Time Amsoft/Gem 58 82
Sorcery Virgin 58 90
Roland on the Ropes Amsoft/Indescomp 58,60 58
The Survivor Anirog 60 66
Death Pit Durell 60 59
Fantastic Voyage Amsoft 60 67
Roland in Space Amsoft/Gem 60-61 81
Android One Vortex 60-61 65
Dark Star Design Design 61 84
The Galactic Plague Amsoft/Indescomp 61 29
Chopper Squad Interceptor Micro's 61 34
Ahhh! CRL 61-62 44
Astro Attack Amsoft 62 38
Heathrow International: Air Traffic Control Hewson 62 68
The Wild Bunch Firebird 62 70
Fighter Pilot Digital Integration 62,67 65
Roland in the Caves Amsoft/Indescomp 67 49
Jet-Boot Jack Amsoft/English Software 67 70
Football Manager Addictive Games 67 69
Defend or Die Alligata 67 73
American Football Amsoft/Argus Press 67-68 70
Alex Higgins' World Pool Amsoft/Gem 68 51
Detective Amsoft/Argus Press 68 38
Steve Davis Snooker CDS 68 68
Daley Thompson's Decathlon Ocean 68-69 81
Amsgolf Amsoft/Computersmith 68-69 67
Frank N Stein Amsoft/PSS 69 65
Blagger Alligata 69 61
Mr. Freeze Firebird 69 52
Hunchback II: Quasimodo's Revenge Ocean 69-70 74
Ghostbusters Activision 70 52
Roland Goes Digging Amsoft/Gem 70 54
Gilligan's Gold Ocean 70 74
Confuzion Incentive 70-71 74
Super Pipeline II Amsoft/Taskset 70-71 71
Kong Strikes Back Ocean 71 83
Bridge-It Amsoft/Epicsoft 71 20
Roland Ahoy Amsoft/Computersmith 71 56
Er*Bert Microbyte 71-72 70
Fruit Machine Amsoft 72 42
Harrier Attack Amsoft/Durell 72 53
Alien Break-In Amsoft/Romik 72 43
Atom Smasher Amsoft/Romik 72 33
Grand Prix Rally II Amsoft/Loriciels 72-73 65
Tankbusters Design Design 73 88
Handicap Golf CRL 73 41
Test Match (CRL) CRL 73-74 50
World Cup Artic 74 68
Centre Court Amsoft/Epicsoft 74 48
Alex Higgins' World Snooker Amsoft/Gem 74 54
Classic Racing Amsoft 74-75 90
Admiral Graf Spee Amsoft/Temptation 74-75 38
3D Time Trek Anirog 75 30
Software Star Addictive 75 46
Millionaire Incentive 75-76 53
Alien Argus Press 76 65
Sultan's Maze Amsoft/Gem 76 29
Mutant Monty Amsoft/Artic 76 60
Minder Dk'Tronics 76-77 78
Hunchback Amsoft/Ocean 76-77 49
Spannerman Amsoft/Gem 77 43
Traffic Amsoft/Andromeda 77 46
Haunted Hedges Amsoft/Micromega 77 43
Quack a Jack Amsoft 77 67
Jammin' Amsoft/Taskset 77-78 72
Binky Software Projects 78 60
Roland on the Run Amsoft/Epicsoft 78 29
Splat! Amsoft/Incentive 78 63
Catastrophes Amsoft/Andromeda 78-79 66
Fruity Frank Kuma 78-79 82
Electro Freddy Amsoft/Softspot 79 57
Punchy Amsoft/Mr Micro 79 55
Oh Mummy Amsoft/Gem 79 48
The Key Factor Amsoft 79 28
Codename MAT Amsoft/Micromega 79-80 71
3D Invaders Amsoft/Quark Data 80 20
Space Hawks Amsoft/Durell 80 49
Laserwarp Amsoft/Mikro-Gen 80 54
The Prize Amsoft/Arcade Software 80 56
3D Starstrike Realtime Games 80-81 86
Moon Buggy Anirog 80-81 67
Bridge Kuma 81 67
Animated Strip Poker Knightsoft 81 52
Master Chess Amsoft/Mikro-Gen 81 60
Cubit Amsoft/Mr Micro 81 51
Roland Goes Square Bashing Amsoft/Durell 81 30
Xanagrams Amsoft/Postern 82 33
Gatecrasher Amsoft/Exopal 82 45
Manic Miner Amsoft/Software Projects 82 64
Chuckie Egg A 'n' F 82 78
Sir Lancelot Melbourne House 82 64
Mr. Wong's Loopy Laundry Amsoft/Artic 82 52
The Scout Steps Out Amsoft/HR Software 87 77
Short's Fuse Firebird/Dollarsoft 87 62
Ghouls Micro Power 87 66
Johnny Reb Lothlorian 87 52
Redcoats Lothlorian 87 45
Special Operations Lothlorian 87-88 65
Battle for Midway PSS 88 59
War Zone CCS 88 57
Flight Path 737 Anirog 88 47
Flight Simulation Myrddin 88 58
Combat Lynx Durell 88-89 92
Hunter Killer Amsoft/Protek 88-89 47
Jump Jet Anirog 89 59
Jet Set Willy Software Projects 89 85
Killer Gorilla / Gauntlet Micro Power 89 87

Cheat Mode[]

Airwolf, Combat Lynx, Amsgolf, Punchy, Sorcery, Defend or Die - 2 pages (44-45)

Map - Dun Darach - 2 pages (96-97)

Other Credits[]

Software Editor

Bob Wade

Art Editor

Trevor Gilham

Publisher

Chris Anderson

Issue Index[]

Amstrad Action Index
Date Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
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1992 cover missing
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