Based on the highly successful television series, this game puts you in the role of Stringfellow Hawke and you have to rescue five scientists from the underground complex of the evil General Zaranov.

You are flying the Airwolf helicopter, and it is equipped with forward flying missiles and nine shields that resist impact with objects. These shields are essential since the caves are a mass of traps and vicious enemies. You only see a small part at any one time, the picture scrolling in any of four directions as you move.

The scientists are located on small platforms and have to be reached one at a time, collected, and brought back to your starting position. These platforms are, as you would expect, in the most tortuous places to get to, and since you only have one life accurate flying is a must.

Shoot this switch and the blue wall vanishes -- but it also
sets the huge boulder (right) rolling towards you. You have
to speed left down the corridor. And only one shield left!

You should rapidly get to grips with the chopper's control, which unless moved upwards will fall through gravity (but when travelling left or right maintains its height). On screen the Airwolf has been made a large helicopter and consequently the whole game is of large size with lots of clear graphics and objects.

The game features many doors and walls, which have to be opened by shooting buttons or switches or just plain blasting through them. You can fire horizontally or downwards and you have auto fires when the button is held down. This is handy for ripping through two layer walls when in a tight spot.

Bumping into walls and small objects causes shield damage, but collision with a hefty rock splatters you immediately. However, if you manage to pick up a scientist and get him back to base you are rewarded with a completely new set of shields.

The theme tune from the TV series plays throughout the game but it is uninspiring, and the space bar will turn it off. The other sound effects are just blast and crash noises but are gratifying enough.

BW

The helicopter, viewed head-on and still with seven
shields intact (see display bottom left), moves down
carefully to pick up the first scientist.
.

The idea of this game is a familiar one, but its execution is original and full of pleasant surprises. The deviousness of the caverns and the

Trap Trouble

The hazards that face you can be very complicated, even once you have worked out your route to rescue the scientists.

Near the base are three columns down which fall massive lethal rocks giving you very little time to get through them. Other tight spaces have pinball bumpers which bounce bullets around the room to knock off some of your shields.

Particularly nasty locations are those that hide a flying saucer and two monsters, since these sap your protection very rapidly. Other hazards are one-way force walls, a giant boulder Indiana Jones style, and a murderous lift.

Elite tell us the entire playing area is 36 screens big (9x4). That's far bigger (and more interesting) than the Spectrum version of the game. Bearing in mind the quality of the graphics and difficulty of the traps, it's about as big as you could reasonably expect.
.

be a Fort Apocalypse derivative -- I don't care. What we have here is an extremely addictive shoot-and-pick-em-up.
.

Htmlized by Dimitris Kiminas (22 April 2001)

Other "Games of the Week!"

Home