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A surprise enemy attack has taken your army by surprise, and many of your comrades are now being held prisoner. Four men – Bob, Gray, Quint and Deckar – have been sent behind enemy lines to rescue as many of them as possible, in a plan codenamed Jackal. You have to roam around the enemy camp in a jeep and use grenades and missiles to destroy enemy tanks and guns, as well as blow up the huts where your comrades are held in order to rescue them (but how do they withstand the blast?!). You can also run over enemy soldiers, which is fun! However, the graphics are crudely drawn and the playing area is very small, which makes it very difficult to sneak up on the enemy and avoid their bullets. As a result, it's an annoyingly frustrating game to play, and after a few attempts, you won't want to try again.
We all know the fairy tale – Simple Jack sells his cow for some magic beans... The game takes place the following morning facing a gigantic beanstalk. Your task is to climb upwards avoiding the birds and – oh, did you collect that gun on the floor? The second screen involves climbing walls to collect the sack of gold. The third screen sets you near the giant's fireplace – can you get the golden goose? The final screen shows the giant, who you must carefully climb upon to reach the table and a large sack of gold. Difficult at first, but very easy once you know where to position yourself. The graphics and sound are basic, although the beanstalk looks nice. However, there seems to be a bug in the game that prevents you seeing the last screen.
Dr. Jackle has swallowed a potion and transformed into the evil Mr. Wide, but he forgot to prepare an antidote, so now he must search for his enemy, Dr. Piqued, and retrieve the antidote from him. To do this, you must explore Hyde Park and the sewers beneath it, one at a time. Each sewer consists of a maze of rooms, and once you've found a way out, you return to Hyde Park and must find the entrance to the next sewer to explore. There are various objects scattered around the park, although not all of them are useful. The graphics are very Spectrum-like, particularly in the sewers where everything is drawn in monochrome, and the sound effects are very basic. The sewers all look very similar, and exploring one sewer after another soon becomes very repetitive.
Jackson City is a top-down shoot-'em-up. Swarms of aliens and 'fruit' come towards you as you travel along shooting the hell out of them. Your spaceship moves with a unique drift, adding a more realistic sense of flight. Power-ups are there to be found which improve your speed and firepower. At the end of each zone is a guardian that must be defeated to move onwards. Some detailed MODE 1 graphics and smooth scrolling make this an acceptable shoot-'em-up, although the sound effects are sparse.
You play a toddler named Jack, and the aim is to cause as much havoc as possible! Starting out in your bedroom, you must roam the town, creating chaos whenever you can. And the more trouble you cause, the higher your naughtyometer goes, the aim being to get it as full as possible. But beware, because all the grown-ups are there to give you a good spanking. A truly great and original game; the graphics are wonderful and detailed, the music and sound effects are good and catchy, and the challenge is just right – Jack has many lives as well as a sizeable energy bar, so games last a good while. A true classic, and better than its sequel.
See also: Jack the Nipper II.
Jack is back... and he’s angry! You’ve been parachuted into the jungle, wearing nothing but your nappy, and you must fight wild animals (that wear sunglasses!), throwing coconuts at them. This sequel is really funny. First, it is huge and the graphics are really different from one area to the next – but Spectrum port syndrome strikes again! Anyway, there are many places to explore and it’s easy to get lost in this game. It’s rather difficult, too, and you must move very carefully (even though, like cats, you’ve got nine lives). Eventually, the action is pleasant and... well, this is a very good platform game!
See also: Jack the Nipper.
The tale of Jack the Ripper has remained a part of folklore for more than a century – an unknown murderer who roamed the streets of London's East End and killed five women. This text adventure sees you stumbling across the murder scene of the Ripper's first victim, Mary Ann Nichols, on the night of the 31st of August 1888, and subsequently becoming the prime suspect after a run-in with the police. This was apparently the first computer game in the UK ever to receive an 18 certificate (although this was arguably a calculated move by CRL to gain publicity for it), and the prose is definitely gory and stomach-churning, with descriptions of mutilated heads and organs ripped out of dead bodies. The parser is quite good and the prose creates a suitably frightening atmosphere, but avoid it if you're squeamish.
There's been a mass jail-break! Thousands of convicted criminals are armed and loose on the streets of New York, and the warden has been taken hostage. You must be one heck of a cop, because you've been sent in alone to rescue him! As this super-cop, you shoot your way from left to right through six grossly difficult levels, avoiding enemy bullets, vans and pedestrians. The graphics are kind of blocky and not very detailed, but they're also bold and colourful, and there's a very cool little tune on the title screen, accompanied by some nice digitised speech. Alas, the in-game sound effects are pitiful (there are only about three effects) and also, the game's difficulty is sky-high, but it doesn't really matter; it's actually quite addictive and reasonably good fun.
Rankin' Rodney has to gather his four instruments which are scattered about the screen. Each instrument is in a separate corner, but the screen is divided into several areas of different colours, and Rodney can only move from one area to the other by using the conveyor belts. There are also musical notes which float about, and running into them causes Rodney to lose whatever instrument he's carrying. It's hard to avoid them, and that's what lets this game down. Mind you, it's worth playing just to listen to the funky music!
Ride your jet bike around several courses and try to beat the other three riders to cross the line first. Three sets of courses (lakes, docklands and coastlines) are on offer, and you can select standard and expert levels. Standard level requires you to complete the course within a certain time; it doesn't matter if you come last. However, if you fail to beat any of the other three players on expert level, you're out. The graphics are beautiful and there's some nice music and digitised speech. I think the expert mode is far too hard, though.
See also: Championship Jet Ski Simulator.
Jack likes listening to groovy music, and in this platform game, he has to collect all the musical notes on each level, while avoiding all the hazards – and there are many of those. There is a total of ten levels, and you must manoeuvre Jack around each screen, being careful to get on and off the lifts and moving platforms at the correct moment. You'll also have to watch your head; there are stalactites and monsters protruding from the ceilings, and if you touch them, you'll lose a life. There is also an energy bar which needs to be replenished frequently. This is a fast-paced game which is marred by being very difficult indeed. There are so many obstacles on each screen, and you rarely have time to think! It's a shame, because the game would otherwise be fun to play.
When this game was originally released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983, players were gobsmacked; it set a new standard for arcade games on the humble Spectrum. This is an emulated version of the game which uses the code from the Spectrum version, and it's lost little of its quality. You are a space pilot who has to assemble rockets and collect fuel for the rocket in order to escape from each level, while simultaneously dodging aliens and shooting them with your laser. The graphics are basic (although stippling is used to give the impression of more colours) and the sound effects are mediocre by the CPC's standards, but once you start playing this game, it's difficult to pull yourself away from it. The concept is really simple but it's very fast-paced indeed and there is a real urge to have one more go.
The sequel to the classic Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy is another of those strange games where you jump around impossibly difficult screens and avoid weirdly abstract bad guys. The story behind this one is that, having just bought a mansion and had a huge house-warming party, his housekeeper won't let him into his bedroom until he gathers all the trinkets from around the mansion's grounds that his guests have scattered about. So instead of firing her on the spot, Willy sets out to do just that. The graphics are colourful and actually quite good in a simplistic way, and there are a few nice sound effects, but don't even think about finishing this game! Despite being supplied with an unholy amount of lives, this game sets new standards in difficulty! The mansion is too huge, the monsters are too plentiful, and it doesn't even tell you how many items are left to get! Nevertheless, a fun and addictive game.
See also: Manic Miner.
If you have ever wanted to know what it's like to run your own shop, this game may well interest you. You are the owner of a small toy shop in a little town, but you have greater ambitions. Customers will enter your shop and ask for an item, and you have to walk over to the display and fetch it for them. If you take too long doing this, or the item isn't available and you fob off the customer with excuses, he or she walks out and your reputation diminishes. At the end of each day, you must replenish your stock. Eventually, you should earn enough money to expand your business by moving to a better location and selling other items such as clothes, books, electrical equipment and computer games. This is actually a fairly entertaining game with colourful, cheerful graphics, although some people may find it rather easy and lacking any real challenge.
You would think that with all the football management games that have been released for the CPC, that this one, released in 1992, would be excellent – but some people never learn. You're the new manager of Kettering FC, who finished third from bottom in the Conference league last season, and you're entrusted with restoring the team's fortunes. There are several things wrong with this game. The transfer market system is stupid; the players magically become defenders, midfields or forwards depending on what vacancies you have in your team, and the game is far too hard – you're doing well if you score any goals in the entire season! There isn't even an option to save the game! This game definitely belongs in the relegation zone.
President Halley's daughter Samantha has been kidnapped by Vulkhor, who wants to know the location of a secret weapon that will allow him to take over the universe. Oh my goodness! This is a job for Jim Power, the chief of President Halley's protection squad, who goes to Mutant Planet to rescue Samantha. The game is a fairly run-of-the-mill mixture of platform and shoot-'em-up action; jump across platforms, shoot enemies, and collect the bonus they leave behind. The graphics look good, but the scrolling is very jerky indeed, and this also makes the gameplay frustrating, as Jim often won't jump when you want him to. The sound effects and music are also really bad.
It is not often that one encounters games that make you want to throw your keyboard at the monitor in frustration, but this is one example. The concept is fairly novel – take a bog-standard platform game, but instead of controlling a person, you control a bat, and you must guide the bouncing ball to the end of the level and making sure it avoids the traps. There are also bricks to destroy, Breakout-style. The ball is incredibly hard to control, the game is too fast, and positioning your bat accurately is impossible. What's just as bad is that you only have one life – that's really helpful!
Many years ago, the Bracelet of Turani was created to protect the land of Aquitania from the influence of the Green Witches. However, a witch called Jannedor has managed to break up the bracelet and its five charms, which are the real source of its magical powers. Now Aquitania is under a spell of bad luck, and you must recover the charms, in order to restore the bracelet's powers. This text adventure has a very quirky sense of humour indeed, especially when you examine the many objects that you can get! The difficulty level is set perfectly, and interestingly, you can't die – although if you solve some puzzles incorrectly, you will lose some luck and be unable to complete the game later on! This is another brilliant adventure from Magnetic Scrolls, although the graphics aren't quite of the same standard as their previous games.
Jocky Wilson was a Scottish darts player who won the Embassy World Darts Championship twice, in 1982 and 1989. This set of darts games lets you and up to three friends play darts (although you don't have to smoke and drink as much as Jocky). As well as playing in a tournament, you can try a 'round the clock' game in which you must hit the numbers 1 to 20 on the dartboard in order. To aim the dart, you move it about the dartboard, but it constantly rotates so that aiming the dart precisely is quite difficult. For this reason, it's not as good as some other darts games I've played as it takes a considerable amount of patience and practice to get used to playing the game.
See also: Jocky Wilson's Darts Compendium.
Jocky Wilson has six variations on the game of darts for us this time in his second Zeppelin game. Football sees you trying to hit a bullseye followed by ten doubles. Dart Bowls starts with you throwing a 'jack' to which you and your opponent must score closest to win points. Scram involves trying to outscore your opponent while they eliminate sectors of the board. Ten Dart Century is a race to get closest to 100 with ten consecutive darts. Shanghai forces you to select a single sector and play within that to score points. Regular 501 darts rounds off proceedings. A game for one or two players, this is not worth the effort. It's a very poor Spectrum port where the computer is far too good even on the lowest difficulty level. The controls are imprecise and the number of bounce out darts you throw is unrealistic.
See also: Jocky Wilson's Darts Challenge.
Someone has to take on the terrorists and there's only one man for the job – Joe Blade. Guide our hero in this quirky platformer around the enemy base freeing the hostages, solving the puzzles to arm the bombs whilst collecting any keys along the way. However, all this has to be completed before the explosives go off, so it's also a battle against time. It's unfortunate that the monochrome graphics and poor sound really let down what is actually quite a good challenge.
See also: Joe Blade 2, Joe Blade 3.
The second instalment in the Joe Blade series is set in 1995, in a crime-ridden city, where muggers rule the streets. Only Joe Blade can clean up the city! This game is much like the original; you wander around the maze-like streets to track down sixteen citizens – men in raincoats (oo-er!) who will give you one of four puzzles. These must be solved in 60 seconds, or the game's over. The gameplay is really limited; all the screens look the same, and it's easy to lose track of where you are. The graphics and sound are both poor as well.
See also: Joe Blade, Joe Blade 3.
Joe Blade is back – again! After his previously more musclebound antics, this represents more of a return to the first in the trilogy. Once again you are rescuing hostages, collecting objects and setting off bombs. This time, the environment is a large office tower comprised of several levels navigated by a lift, all filled with various nefarious terrorists, thugs, mines, and somewhat lethal robots. As with its predecessors, this is quite a challenging game, but you can't help but think that by the third instalment they would have come up with something better, as there seems to be very little advancement in terms of sound, graphics and playability.
See also: Joe Blade, Joe Blade 2.
Another excellent game by Hi-Tec based on a popular Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, Jonny Quest has you in the role of the schoolboy supersleuth as you roam the fortress of the evil Dr. Zin, rescuing your kidnapped comrades – your mystic Indian friend Hadji, your dog Bandit, your bodyguard, and finally, your inventor father. The game itself – a nice blend of platform action and Dizzy-style puzzles – is fairly big, but also quite linear, so you never get lost, and little surprises are thrown in along the way, like the enjoyable scuba-diving section, so you never get bored. The graphics are good and well animated, while the sound effects are sparse but serviceable. Also, the difficulty level is perfect; it's a challenging game, but not impossible. Overall, one of my favourite games!
The name means 'the game of the goose' in English, and it's much like snakes and ladders. Get up to three friends to play (you can't play it on your own, unless you want to take control of all the players) and roll the dice to progress along the board. Landing on the geese lets you jump some of the squares, although there are some squares that cause you to miss some turns – and don't land on the skull! Younger players will enjoy the bright colours and pictures, but the scrolling is extremely slow and anyone else will find the game very tedious.
Plenty of simulators exist for racing cars, but have you ever fancied having a go at driving an articulated lorry? You've started work with a haulage company and have to transport goods around town. Your lorry can only store so much, so several trips will be needed, and you'll have to watch your fuel gauge as well, and make sure you don't speed in built-up areas! There is a practice mode to help you get used to driving the lorry, but I never got used to parking the lorry in a loading bay, which you must learn how to do. It's fun driving around town like a maniac at first, but if you can't park, you'll get nowhere. The graphics and sound effects aren't convincing, either.
A cross between Breakout and Space Invaders is perhaps the best way to describe this Spanish arcade game. You control an alien who can walk along the top of a long wall consisting of bricks. Instead of shooting at the monsters, you must kill them by jumping on the wall, which results in a brick being dislodged. Hopefully the brick will hit a monster and kill it. However, if you dislodge too many bricks, there will be gaps in the wall that you may be unable to jump across! The graphics are brilliant and really detailed, although there are few sound effects. It's also a rather difficult game, but persevere with it and you may well end up liking it.
Jumpman was the original name for Mario, and the cover for this game featured a Mario lookalike. So you'd think it would be a Mario clone, right? Wrong, it's a Q*Bert clone... You play as Q*Bert lookalike Hubert C. Jumpman, and have to hop around the blocks, turning them all another colour, while avoiding the blobs pursuing you, and trying not to fall off. There are six levels, which repeat again and again, each time adding another evil blob to the mix. The graphics are very colourful but basic, and the game slows somewhat as more blobs appear on the scene, but the game is mercilessly addictive and actually very good fun! It's a pity that you only get three lives, though.
While Tarzan is away, the native tribesmen of the jungle have taken advantage and captured Jane. Unless she can escape, she will end up in the cooking pot for their next meal! On each level, Jane can climb up and down a vine on the right of the screen, and she must fire bananas at the tribesmen as they move about the screen. If she lets too many of them get away, or she is hit by too many of the coconuts that the tribesmen throw at her, she'll literally end up in a stew – although there may be one last desperate opportunity to escape... This French game features very bright and cheerful graphics, and after playing the first screen, the game looks quite promising. However, once you play the second screen several times, you'll find that it's far too difficult to be able to progress further, even on the easy difficulty level.
I don't know how many Operation Wolf clones were released on the CPC, but as far as I know, almost none of them was even a decent game. Jungle Warfare isn't an exception to the rule. The graphics and the sound are just average. The scrolling is smooth, though, but that's due to the fact that the playing area occupies less than half of the screen. The gameplay is quite dull; you won't see more than two or three enemies on the screen at the same time. On top of everything, you can be shot only three times before you die, which makes the game rather difficult.
It's a pity how games that otherwise would have been quite successful are relatively unknown, simply because they were released when 8-bit machines were about to die. This the case with Jungle Warrior. Regardless which part of this adventure you are playing, the graphics are nice, colourful and well animated. Concerning gameplay, it is also a good game, as a result of the addition of some arcade elements. Nevertheless, I must admit there's hardly anything in this game that can be considered really original, and of course, this is the kind of game in which without a map, you won't do much more than walk around in circles.
Justin is a burglar who must open some safes in a mansion and escape within 60 minutes! You control him in this isometric 3D adventure, and besides stealing the gold, you must also open doors and avoid mice, dangerous plants and policemen! The graphics are brightly coloured and well drawn, the sprites have a satisfactory level of detail, and the animation is above average as well. There are some sound effects, but no in-game music. The game itself is very big and well designed. It will remind you often of Head Over Heels! The biggest drawback to Justin's gameplay is its difficulty level, which is rather annoying. Besides, there are no continues; you have only four lives, and you must start over again and again in order to progress.