COMPUTER WARRIOR contestants head for the finish line they are neck and neck. Skullaxe has the faster car and pulls away. In response Bobby turns his rotating cannon backwards and fires all barrels, giving him valuable recoil that propels his vehicle past the finishing line ahead of Skullaxe. The Dark Force champion is incensed, claiming Bobby a cheat and swipes his axe again. Just as the axe comes down though he disappears. The Warlord appears to warn Bobby that Skullaxe was the weakest of the Dark Forces and that greater challenges lay ahead. Back at home Bobby gets in some practice on his next challenge, Thunder Blade, when he sees a television news item about several missing teenagers. It’s the
Computer Warriors that Bobby had competed against to become the Ultimate Warrior. Bev, Floyd, Gummer and the rest are reported missing which urges Bobby to continue practising as he feels that the only way to free them is to win these challenges. The Warlord brings Bobby into the computer’s realm and shows him the helicopter named Thunder Blade. Bobby’s Dark Forces opponent, General Gor (a horned, reptilian humanoid) soon appears and makes his presence felt. The Warlord explains to Bobby that he must complete three warzones with his five lives. After an encouraging start Bobby loses a life as he veers off course and into a skyscraper. Another two lives are lost when the gunship proves to be a much more formidable opponent. Through grit and determination Bobby eventually destroys the gunship and finishes
The games: Roadblasters (1987) Developer: Atari Publisher: Atari Games Platform: Arcade (ports: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari Lynx, Atari ST, C64, NES, Mega Drive, ZX Spectrum)
the first stage. Fortunately, Bobby makes better progress through the second warzone and destroys the final fortress, all without losing a single life. As Bobby takes on General Gor’s airship in the final battle he loses a fourth life. General Gor attempts to ram Bobby’s
A 1987 arcade game from Atari. The aim of the game is to race through 50 rallies, while fending off attacks from various enemy vehicles. Throughout the race, the player has the ability to change vehicles, but they must keep their fuel topped up or it’s game over. Luckily, fuel can be gained along the way by picking up appropriate power up icons or reaching a checkpoint. Enemy vehicles consist of Stingers, Command Cars (which have bullet proof bumpers), Cycles, and Rat Jeeps, who all do their best to thwart your race. Not surprisingly, US Gold handled the home computer conversions.
ThunderBlade (1988) Developer: Sega Publisher: Sega Platform: Arcade (ports: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, MSX, Sega Master System, TurboGrafx-16, ZX Spectrum) One of Sega’s biggest arcade games of 1988 where you take control of the ThunderBlade chopper in a third person shoot‘em-up. Taking place in an unknown location, the plot revolves around the fall of the government and the rise of an evil dictatorship, who plan to take over the country. Using ThunderBlade’s guns and missiles, you need to take out the enemy’s tanks, helicopters, battleships, etc. The game was ported over to most home computers courtesy of US Gold.
RETROACTION ISSUE THREE
AUTUMN 2009
68