Beyond Belief
£2.99

Despite the suggestive title, Devastating Blow is a boxing game, the first release on the new Beyond Belief label. Starting as the eighth-ranked fighter in the world, you batter yow way to the top by flooring every bum who stands in your way.

To beat your opponent throw combinations of punches - when his energy rating approaches zero, he'll fall over. He'll do the same to you so keep that guard up and don't show too much chin. If you're knocked down, waggle furiously and you might stagger to your feet to fight again (and be knocked down again, probably).

Between bouts you blast sway at a punch beg to improve your power, and if you get bored with knocking over computer-controlled opponents, you can beat up a friend (sounds like fun - Ed).

The graphics aren't going to set the world alight, but they're as good you'd dare expect, while animation's silky smooth and crystal clear. The sweat flying from a fighter's head as he's hit helps create atmosphere.

On the minus side, Devastating Blow offers little in the way of tactics - just stand toe-to-toe and hit the other fighter. The lack of a joystick option doesn't help matters.

For all it's faults, Devastating Blow is a playable game that could easily go ten rounds with some of the full priced beat-'em-up games currently on the market. With far too many big software houses releasing games that are mere parodies of their 16-bit counterparts, it's great to see a smaller label using the Speccy for it's own sake. Not up to world title standard, but certainty in the ratings.

Beyond Belief
£2.99 cass
Reviewer: Jonathan Davies

For some reason people often mistake me for a mild mannered, easy-going 'yes' man. And I don't use the word 'mistake' lightly, as the admissions list of the Bristol Royal Infirmary will testify. So when a new boxing game was slid under the door of the shed I was its natural recipient.

If you didn't recognise the name in between the game's title and its price, that's because Beyond Belief is a new set-up and this is its first game. Hurrah! When so many so-called 'big' companies are tending to overlook the speccy in its old age, it's nice to see a new company getting its priorities right from day one. And the games not bad either.

It's about as standard a boxing as it's possible to get, but as there haven't been too many boxing games on the Spectrum in recent years I'd better go over the basics. Your boxer stands on the left, facing the other one (controlled either by the computer or a chum) who stands on the right. By pressing the right combination of keys you can get him to walk backwards and forwards and do various punches. As you lay into your opponent hisstrength goes down until, eventually, he'll fall over. He might manage to get up again (by hitting the left and right keys), in which case he gets a bit more energy and another chance. If not, you win the fight and move up a rank. (You start off in eighth position, and have to become first in the world, you see) Between every couple of bouts you get a chance to beef up your power rating by hitting a punch bag.

Although initially it seems that all you have to do to win a fight is press all the keys as quickly as possible and hope for the best, you'll eventually work out combinations of moves which work for you. But the best thing is the way the boxing matches actually look like boxing matches with teeth flying all over the place. In fact the whole feel of the game, while distinctly Spectrummy, is just right and nothing like as repetitive as these things so often can be. So, um, it's really rather good then.

Label: Beyond Belief
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £3.99 Tape
Reviewer: Toni Naqvi

Blam, bash, smack, crunch, splaattt! Duck down dudes 'cos Mighty Midget is about to try and knock your block off in a face-breaking, teeth-flying, blood-splurting, boxing bash 'em up that makes Mike Tyson look like a (jailed) pussycat.

Devastating Blow is a quite good, if inordinately simple boxing simulation, with bright colours, clear graphics, and variety of bone-crunching sound effects. Game set up is easy enough. After typing in a really scary 'power' name like Big Al'...(eh!), a status sheet appears telling you where you stand as far as strength and stamina are concerned and also (unfortunately), how many unlucky chappies your current opponent hos slaughtered so far.

Now it's into the ring! Movement is very basic and punching is either low or high but you can punch quickly and there is a special super punch available too which efficiently levels opponents. Hitting someone is actually quite satisfying thanks to the aforementioned sound and the little drops of sweat which bounce off the boxer on the receiving end.

A bout consists of 13 rounds, each lasting about a minute and a half. The idea is to knock the stuffing out of each other until either boxer's health percentage, displayed at the bottom of the screen, reaches about fifteen. As soon as you or your opponent go this low the ref gives a quick 10 second count and it's all over. In between bouts, you get a chance to practice moves on a punch bag and as matches are won your World Championship standing improves. (After starting at eighth,) This is the whole object of the game, though I don't know how high Devastating Blow will actually go in the software ranks.

GARTH:
I must say I thought Devastating Blow was a load of old cobblers when I first saw it, but I've warmed to it while kicking Toni's butt in two player mode. Not too high in the lastability stakes though.