Classic Gaming - #1

(Frankie) #1

Bitmap’s first crack at a platformer, Gods’ biggest
contribution to gaming history was what, to our
knowledge, is one of the first ever cracks at adaptive
AI. The smoother your passage through the game,
the tougher the enemies became. Considering it was
cement-hard, however, few could verify that claim.


GODS 1991


Possibly the closest the Bitmaps ever got to a true
duffer, although despite its ponderous pace it was
still better than a great many games in a saturated
platformer market. Its hero, the 1990s-cool Bitmap
Kid, dispatched his foes with level-specific special
powers that originated from his pockets. (Er...)

MAGIC POCKETS 1991


The Bitmaps rediscovered their earlier form with
this technically-accomplished top-down shooter
set in a steampunk Victorian Britain. It was built for
co-operative play, although the Amiga would fight
alongside you if another player couldn’t be found.
The 1996 sequel was the Bitmap’s Amiga swansong.

THE CHAOS ENGINE 1993


01 02


01 Xenon II: Megablast 1988
The sequel captured the Amiga owning public’s
imagination at the time with its big, beautiful sprites and
finger-snapping dance soundtrack. But time hasn’t been
too kind; the tempo is too slow to truly excite, and it had a
nasty tendency to funnel your ship down narrow, enemy-
packed corridors.

02 Speedball 2 1990
There are plenty of games based on existing sports, but
not enough with the brass neck to invent their own sport.
Speedball was a thuggish cyberpunk sport which allowed
you to punch your opponents clean out, but there are
also numerous ingenious ways to snatch a last-gasp win.

03 Cadaver 1990
Bitmap’s one and only foray into the RPG genre was this
isometric adventure, where as Karadoc, a bounty hunter
dwarf, you amble round a castle solving puzzles and
slaying everything from rats to dragons.

03


SPECTRUM | AMIGA | MEGA DRIVE | PLAYSTATION | NINTENDO 64

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