Set in the equally dangerous world of the Roman Empire, Kixx's Colosseum (70%) is all about chariot racing. But this isn't exactly a sport to take up for health reasons. The drivers are equipped with weapons, and the winner is the sole survivor at the end of the race! As Benurio, wrongly-accused of treason (you were on holiday at the time), you must prove your innocence by winning a chariot race (this is almost as strange as British justice!). Racing round the oval track, obstacles must be avoided, while you hack away at other drivers with your axe. If a driver is killed, you take his weapon even if it is less powerful than your present one. The action is fast and furious, albeit very repetitive. Although the sprites are simple, the track is fast-scrolling, and the perspective for the bends is ingenious: the viewpoint follows the chariot round. Despite a very simple concept, Colosseum is surprisingly addictive.

BARGAIN BASEMENT

Chirpy, chirpy, cheap, cheap, chirpy, chirpy, cheap, cheap, chirpy, chirpy, cheap, cheap, BLAM! Nuff of that it's time for another trip to Cheapsville, with Marcus "mothballs-in-the-wallet" Berkmann!

Kixx
£2.99
Reviewer: Marcus Berkmann

It's not often that Kixx releases an original game, the label mainly being concerned with recycling old US Gold and Gremlin games (and a v. good job it does too). But for some reason our Spanish chums have a small problem being taken seriously in this country, 'cos it's amazing how many games of theirs crop up on cheapie labels when there's a chance that they'd have done just as well at full price. Still, that's to our benefit if not theirs, as games like Colosseum sometimes crop up. The idea's fairly straightforward - you're a participant in a death-at-all-costs chariot race around the colosseum, and for obvious reasons (you like staying alive), it's rather important that you win. To do so you must negotiate four circuits of the track, taking care not to smash into any boulders or specially built walls as you go round, and should you come up abreast with any other charioteers, you must fight them to death (usually yours). You start with a mere hatchet, and by killing charioteers with better weaponry and then nicking what they drop, you gradually upgrade to a lance, which kills instantly.

Now I'm not going to pretend that this is the most original or profound game I've ever seen, but it's an awful lot of fun, and quite difficult at first. The chariot sprites are huge and detailed, and the gameplay is fast, well balanced and thoroughly engrossing. Which means that at three nicker this is a bargain and no mistake, guv. Worth a punt, I'd say.

Label: KIXX
Author: Toposoft
Price: £1.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various
Reviewer: Tony Dillon

Hasn't the world had enough Gladiator type games yet? Maybe I wouldn't cry so despairingly had any of them been any good, but the sad fact remains, they've all been more less crud. Colosseum is no exception to the rule.

Colosseum isn't very good. That said, it's fairly original, so a pat on the back for KIXX.

You are a chariot driver, back in the good old days of the Romans, and along with four computer controlled riders have to try and win the race. To win you have to do two things. Firstly, stay alive. Secondly, make sure that no-one else does.

As you race around the long oval shaped track, you discover exactly what kind of things can kill you. Most important and the loveliest of the lot are the obstructions in the road which range from regular harmful bushes to bits of wall that someone has casually left lying around.

The other riders are armed, as you are, with axes and maces. What they have to do is deplete your energy by hitting you as many times as possible before you do the same to them. The loser is treated to a bit of a graphical thrill when their horses charge away from the chariot and the rider is left flying through the air before ploughing painfully and brain smashingly into the ground.

Controls are basic, usual, boring regular old controls. Up and down moves your chariot up and down in relation to the side view scrolling racetrack. Left and right brake and accelerate the chariot respectively. Fire activates weapon. Why doesn't somebody come up with a new and exciting control method. I'm bored with all these samey joystick controls. Come on BBC, buck your ideas up. (Terwonee, are you alright? - AS)

The graphics are alright. The scrolling works quite well, but there are a lot of items in the game that are just completely unrecognisable. As for when you get into a battle with an opposing chariot. Life suddenly becomes one huge mess of pixels.

It doesn't play very well. That's probably as honestly as I can put it without being offensive. The controls are fairly slow to respond, but that's no real problem. This is. At a guess, the racetrack has got five lanes. The obstructions appear in one of the five lanes with no overlaps. Steering around objects is difficult because there are no lane markers and it's a bit of a job to tell manually exactly where you are in relation to the rest of the universe.

It's just not very good. Colosseum is a brilliant idea. It's original, and were it carried through properly, it could be an excellent game. As it is in it's present form, it's not. At least it's budget.