You've read him in writing, seen him on celluloid and
heard him on the wireless. Now play the game of WE Johns'
famous WW1 hero, Biggles, on the Commodore 64. Tie game
has two sections, both of which are loaded independently
from one another. The first section, called Timewarp,
has three separate sub games and the second, the Sound
Weapon, is a sort of helicopter fight simulator
with a purpose.
The
first of the three sub games in the Timewarp program
plonks you in the seat of Biggles' WW1 Sopwith Camel
biplane. Flying low over scrolling enemy territory in
Scramble style, you must avoid ack-ack fire and
other enemy fighters who try to shoot you down (although
you can shoot them down too). To complete the section
you must find and photograph the enemy's new horrible
new secret weapon.
The
second stage is a sort of Green Beret clone where
you must delve deep behind enemy lines on foot. Loads
of enemy soldiers try to stop you, but luckily you're
armed with your trusty old machine gun and a couple
of grenades. As you move right the screen scrolls to
show more landscape until you eventually reach the secret
weapon.
The
final sub-game is another scrolling affair and takes
place in London, 1986. Biggles has got the secret code
(which will help him in the Sound Weapon game) and he
and his chum have to escape from the police, but the
only way to do so is for them to leap from rooftop to
rooftop. You control them both and pressing fire switches
the control from one to the other. The big problem encountered
is that the screen can't be scrolled if one of the chaps
is lagging behind. The other big problem is the guards
who troll atop the various roofs -- if one of them touches
either hero you lose a life.
Throughout
this side of the program Biggles is randomly thrown
from situation to situation, which can be quite unnerving
at times. When he dies, by either being shot down, shot
by an enemy bullet or being touched by a guard, Biggles
is automatically thrown into the next sub game.
[This
screenshot was not in the original review]
The
other program in the Biggles package is a 3D
point of view helicopter flight simulator with added
bits. The objective of the game is to find and destroy
the enemy's secret sound weapon which is achieved by
flying around enemy and Allied territory and picking
up various objects and people. The helicopter can carry
up to four people and four objects simultaneously; it's
up to you to suss out which objects should be carried
to whom and when.
Controlling
the helicopter is done in the usual flight simulator
fashion and there are a load of cockpit displays to
help you keep aloft. To help you locate the various
personages and objects, two maps are made available
to you -- radar and detailed. The radar map shows the
whole battlefield area, and you are depicted as a flashing
group of pixels. The other map shows in detail the area
immediately surrounding you and displays the location
of enemy troops, people and objects.
If
you manage to destroy the sound weapon then you'll save
the day and keep the evil Hun from winning the first
World War!
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