Ritchardo
Reviews
Test Match + One Day Cricket (Amstrad CPC)
Closer to a computerised 'Rock', 'Paper', 'Scissors'
The Good
Cricket is a very under-represented sport when it comes to computer games - not having penetrated the American, European or Japanese market, this is hardly a surprise.
This marked one of the earliest attempts at translating the game on the computer screens and for the whole does a reasonable job at capturing the key decisions that take place on a cricket pitch.
The game zips along and you can easily cram in a few innings over the course of an afternoon.
The bird's eye view of the pitch and the graphic representation of your shots is helpful and while basic, the graphics do have a certain charm to them.
The Bad
Unfortunately the gameplay doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Each decision you make is basically a weighted calculation of the odds - whether to run, whether to stand, the computer will make a determination of how successful your decision is. This means the game is boiled down to gambling against the best odds - there's little to no skill involved and you have no control over how well the bowler performs (other than avoiding selecting the same ones too often to reduce the risk of fatigue).
The longer you play, the more you realise how shallow the game actually is - a real pity because it is fun in the short-term, it's just not one that you'll be going back to.
The Bottom Line
Credit for making the game in the first place and for trying something a little different, unfortunately it just doesn't hold up to scrutiny once you realise how the pie is baked.
By Ritchardo on August 23, 2023
American Football (Amstrad CPC)
It all seemed so exotic at the time
The Good
As an introduction to American Football, this game of the same name does a good job - giving complete novices an overview of some of the more common tactical plays and an idea of what can be a very confusing game if you haven't grown up with it.
While the two letter code system is confusing to begin with, the inclusion of an in-game help page is most welcome.
The Bad
The presentation was dated at the time and time hasn't been kind to it - stickman graphics are far from inspiring. The fact that the game is effectively just a one on one exhibition with no league or tournament setting is disappointing.
The Bottom Line
It's not going to win any awards for realism and it has clearly been surpassed by many, many other games devoted to America's most lucrative sport but American Football is still a nostalgic curio that fulfills its brief of assuming the player knows nothing about the sport when they first pick up the game.
By Ritchardo on August 22, 2023
Codename MAT (Amstrad CPC)
Ahead of its time
The Good
A surprisingly deep mixture of strategy and arcade shooting action, Codename MAT is a kind of half way house between Star Raiders and Elite (without the trading obviously) where you need to carefully plan your next course of action and quickly take out the opposing forces.
The Bad
Graphics are serviceable but even at the time seemed a little on the flimsy side. The main detractor for this game though is the almost bewildering keyboard controls that sees you hop from map screen to rear and side views of your ship - a lot of which aren't really needed to be completely honest. The layout of the controls is such that you can sometimes accidentally find yourself warping into or out of trouble when you only wanted to slightly speed the ship up too.
The Bottom Line
Highly ambitious for the time and certainly surpassed by games with more depth and polish that came after it, Codename MAT is still an interesting curio of its time.
By Ritchardo on August 20, 2023
Bugaboo (The Flea) (Amstrad CPC)
A frustrating and limited experience
The Good
Bright and colourful graphics and a cheery tune set the tone for what should be a fun and entertaining game...
The Bad
.... which all comes crashing down when you land at the bottom of the cave, are confronted by an awkward jumping mechanic that isn't captured properly by the game's graphics to let you see how far your jumping; and are invariably munched by that pterodactyl!
The Bottom Line
While it becomes easier to get the feel after a few goes - the cavern itself never really changes - just a few extra hazards added so really if you escape once, you've seen the entire game.
By Ritchardo on August 20, 2023