US Gold
£11.99 cassette
021 625 3388
Reviewer: Jon Pillar

The rich have a long tradition of being slightly eccentric. Take Jean Paul Getty, for example. More money than a giant redwood has atoms, and rumoured to like sleeping in a barrel. Or something. Anyway, the millionaire in Bonanza Bros is a case in point. He wants a couple of crims to rob his places of business just to prove it can be done. What a loony, eh? Probably spends his free time wearing pyjamas and ruing the loss of his sledge.

As befits a Japanese coin-op conversion, Bonanza Bros is replete with preposterous names. The screen glows with such luminaries as 'Mobo,' 'Robo,' er, 'Bonanza,' 'Sega,' 'US Gold,' and 'Program: Bonanza.' Actually. the game doesn't feature many stupid names at all. Only two in fact. Blimey, I seem to have exhausted the review already. Oh hang on, I could mention the game I suppose. It's a split-screen dash-about affair. with you (and a pal) playing Mobo (and Robo). You have to penetrate ten swish and snazzy buildings, and clear them out under the noses of the security guards. In your favour you've got paint guns that stun the guards for a few seconds, and a fleet pair of pegs. On the downside, there are oodles of guards, a load of booby traps and the lawyers from Twentieth Century Fox to contend with (This is a mightily obscure reference to the Bonanzas' catchphrase. 'I'm Mobo/Robo, who the hell are you?' which just happens to be exactly the same as Bart Simpson's. Not that I ever watch The Simpsons of course, my house remains satellite-free. Although they were good when they were on The Tracy Ullman Show. Um, or at least someone who watched The Tracy Ullman Show tells me. Erm, I think I'll close this bracket now.)

MEANWHILE, BACK WITH THE GAME

Bonanza Bros is one of those games that sound far more fun than they really are. It is a good laff jogging around the place, zapping guards and blagging swag. It's best with two players, because then you can divide up the workload and send your pal off to do the hard bits while you head straight for the exit. (Heh heh heh.) Um, and that's all there is to it - run around, shoot robots and pick up objects. Variety comes in the shape of extra baddies, more cluttered buildings and the occasional special effect (like the rope slides on Level Two). Apart from that, gameplay is pretty much of a muchness.

In its favour, it is rather playable in a five-minute wonder sort of way. The prob is, it's an exceedingly pernickety game. For a start, the controls are awful - pressing fire shoots your paint gun, but to jump you have to hold the button down, then release it and jiggle the joystick. Very annoying, and more than a little frustrating when you're trying to leg it away from the bad guys (Or should that be good guys? But I digress.) Secondly, getting onto the raised platforms that litter the floors is a task in itself. Thirdly although the screen scrolls smoothly and quickly in one-player mode, two-player mode causes Mobo's bit to go horribly jerky. Fourthly... well, it'd take ages to go through the lot. Suffice it to say that the game is really fiddly to play, which is in shame.

So. Overall, a fun little Spy vs Spy-ish game that falls down in two important areas. long-term appeal (there isn't any) and gameplay (you end up throwing a wobbly 'cos of the exacting controls.) Apart from that, it's pretty darn spanky.

SUPER GAME GUIDE

Following on from last month's frollicking funderland of fabbo games still available for the Speccy, Mark 'Cor Blimey Guv' Patterson gives us the lowdown on another batch of game greats from the pages of the world's most SU-per Speccy mag. The sheer number and variety of games is bewildering but since bewilderment is Marky's lot he's definitely the best man to give 'em a go...

BONANZA BROTHERS
Label: US Gold
Memory: 48/128K
Price: Tape £11.99 Disk £14.99
Reviewer: Mike Patterson

The rich folk of Badville have too much cash for their own good, so its time for the Bonanza Brothers, Robo and Mobo to make an appearence and clean them out.

This is a novel two-player platform and puzzles game which is marred only by an awkward control system. The split- screen mode makes the game far more playable providing you can get hold of a mate to take the other joystick.

Label: US Gold
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £11.99 Tape, £14.99 Disk
Reviewer: Ed Laurence

They got it wrong right from the start. Anyone naming their town 'Badville' was bound to invite a nasty criminal set to their locality and, well, it serves them right. SU's Ed The Bill' Laurence investigates the case file...

The good citizens of Badville are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Two of the city's most notorious criminals, the Bonanza Brothers, have taken their final bow and retired. Sadly for the Bros, however, their poor knowledge of investment trusts has lost them most of their dubiously-acquired fortune. Still, the rich people of Badville have never had it so good. Not only have the main threats to their wealth vowed never to steal again, but a top security type has come up with an amazing new security device to keep out any burglars who wish make an attempt at the empty Bonanza throne.

The system consists of a number of android guards, all of whom are equipped with anti-burglar devices and super-sensitive sensors to sniff out intruders. Being a generous sort of chap, the inventor of this system has arranged a free home trial period for six of the highest-risk buildings in Badville, just to show how effective it is.

Instead of playing it safe and hoping none of the buildings are robbed however, Mr X (for it is he) is heading for all-out publicity value. To this end he is tempting the Bonanza Bros out the bed and breakfast which they have set up to support themselves throughout their dotage, with the following deal: The duo are to break into each of the buildings and steal a specified number of items from each, avoiding the security robots.

Whatever they steal, they can keep. However, if they are caught they face the consequences. Mr X will deny any knowledge of this deal and the effectiveness of his security will be proven, having caught the two most notorious thieves around.

Unable to resist a challenge like that, and looking to recoup their financial losses and live the high life for the rest of their existence, Mobo and Robo Bonanza are promptly set about robbing the six protected buildings of their riches. It's now your task to guide one of the two tin twins around the banks, casinos and houses on their list in search of booty in the guise of a number of items, all highlighted with a flashing border. Roaming around these buildings are lots android security guards with the intention of catching the brothers and having them put in prison.

Bonanza Bros is the long-awaited conversion of the popular Sega coin-op of a couple of years back. It is best described as a three dimensional platform game, with the screen having "depth" into which the characters can move. Each of the two cat-purses can run (well, waddle), jump and shoot with their paintball stun guns. Sadly, the ammunition on their guns is limited, so often other means must out, such as slamming doors open into the faces of guards (thus squashing them against the wall), or luring them underneath a piledriver before switching it on (you can probably guess what this does).

Two players can simultaneously participate in Bonanza Bros, by means of the split screen configuration. In one player mode, still only half of the screen is used, but the second half comes into play should Mobo wish to join the action. This allows the pair to stick together and work as a team or split up and hopefully accomplish each screen in half the time.

Bonanza Brothers is certainly an ambitious conversion. The original was famous for its fabulous, colourful ray-traced graphics, something which the Spectrum isn't exactly well versed in. However, the team behind the game have done an admirable job.

Although lacking in colour, the definition and animation on the sprites of the original is still there, giving it the same graphical flavour. The levels contained in Speccy BB are layed out the same as those in the arcade, although the 8-BIT version is somewhat scaled down in number of levels. Sadly sound, which consists of a poor tune on the title screen and a few sparse effects throughout the game, is somewhat neglected.

The main fault with the game is a lack of responsiveness to control. It takes ages to get your Brother to do what you want him to, especially when it comes to jumping. Once you've finally initiated a jump (by holding down fire for a while and then releasing it), it is sooo hard to control the direction your leap takes that you usually end up in the nightstick-equipped arms of the law. Shooting suffers from the same difficulties, by the time you get a shot off your target is out of range or sheltering behind an object.

The computer often puts you in impossible situations too, especially by allowing opponents to attack in mid air whilst you are defenceless when jumping. These faults all too often lead to frustration and very sore wrists from wrenching the joystick around in all directions.

Apart from that really annoying factor everything else runs really smoothly. The two main sprites can move quickly (unfortunately so can the guards) and the overall game is fast paced, action packed and contains enough levels, each with moderate increases in difficulty to keep you happy. It's best played in two player mode where both halves of the screen can operate independently of each other. It's a pity about the sloppy control, but Bonanza Bros, still manages to make the grade.

ALAN:
Bonanza Bros is fine in concept, the only real flaw with the game is its clumsy controls. If this were ironed out it would be a classic. As it stands it's still a bit of a steal.