Domark
£10.99/£17.99

In the future, the life of a courier is more than tough. Terrorists rule the skies and seas and it needs a special sort of pestle to get the mail through.

Understandably, there isn't a great deal of competition in this game so your name is the one that comes to the lips of the government. You are... Postman Pat, Erm... no, better make that Hydra.

There are nine missions to complete with such diverse packages to deliver as Her Majesty the Queen's crown jewels, mutant virus strains, laser rifles and doomsday devices. You're provided with a hydracraft and a machine gun as standard protection., but once a couple of runs an under your belt special weapons, shields and fuel can be purchased.

Fuel is your main worry as you rocket up the screen toward the ravaging terrorist hordes. The fuel gauge, at the side of the screen, shoots down at an alarming rate but by shooting enemy craft, fuel crystals can be collected, as can balloons containing cash (by using the boost function to fly for a few seconds).

But beware: collision with any of the obstacles, mobile or stationary, will lose you a hydracraft, and more importantly, the cargo. When this happens, an enemy speedboat grabs the container and legs it. All you can do is increase speed to warp factor 8 and give chase.

If you survive to the end of the level you enter the Hydradome and are able to pick up tots of goodies. And, if you has loadsadosh, you can enter Ziggy's Weapon Shop and purchase such essentials as homing missiles, shields, flamethrowers and 9mm Uzi.

So, there you have it. It's a good thing that Postman Pat doesn't have to arm himself to deliver the post, isn't it viewers? 'Postman Pat and his black and white cat, early in the morning, just as day is dawning, he shoots all the terrorists in his van' doesn't have quite the same ring, does it?

The arcade version of Hydra is okay but isn't exactly a mega game, and this is the case with its computer offspring. The sprites are messy: from a distance the attacking mob looks like a plate of spaghetti, and close up things don't improve much.

A water-borne versa of Road Blasters is how I'd describe this game, just head up the scrolly screen and blast anything that moves. This would be fun if the fuel wasn't guzzled up so quickly (I think a stray bullet has hit the fuel tank). Nick may quite like this game but it doesn't do a great deal for me.

MARK [50%]

This type of racing game has been seen time and time again on the Speccy (and here it is gain). Your hydracraft moves and shoots like the speedboat in Domark's Live and Let Die - it's very similar! The game idea is simple but the slightest bang into any of the scenery or enemies and the cargo goes catapulting into the distance, to be picked up by someone else. Fuel disappears at an alarming rate and pods have to be constantly picked up to keep going. All the presentation screens are well drawn and coloured and the music that plays throughout really gets the toes tapping. The graphics on the whole are okay but tend to look quite dated and the 'tracks' are sparse.
NICK [66%]

Domark (Tengen)
£12.99 cass
Reviewer: Andy Ide

Let's face it, folks - these Tengen deals are doing Domark no favours at all. I mean excuse me for being so blunt, but, erm, they're completely crap, aren't they? STUN Runner, Skull And Crossbones, and now Hydra - we're talking turkeys of the highest order here!

"Good grief" you exclaim, "Andy's on a bit of a rant!" And indeed I am. But with due cause.

You see, every six months or so Domark ask Tengen if they can convert one or two of their rather successful coin-ops. The answer is usually yes, so long as they fork out for a couple of incredibly crap ones too. Yes, I know it sounds a bit dodgy, but that's the way it works - it the good stuff balances out with the bad then everything's okay.

Except it's not! Because everything's turning crap! Take a look at last year. Why didn't Klax and Robot Monsters get Megagames? After all, they were supposed to be the 'golden eggs' of the pack. Instead they were just very good games, but slightly unoriginal.

And things are even more out of whack this year. Okay, so RBI2 wasn't bad, but why did they cock up badly with STUN Runner? After the event, everyone makes the excuse that it was an impossible conversion - but then why buy it in the first place?! As for Skull And Crossbones, Linda found it reasonably appealing (as she'll tell you over on page 54) but she managed get to Level Six of an eight level game in no time at at all.

Nope, Domark are letting themselves down badly. Sure, they've got much better deals elsewhere (like the Incentive ones for Castle Master and 3D Contstruction Kit - which is where they get their real hits from) but, so far as the Speccy goes, Tengen take up the most room. Meanwhile a budgie house like the Codies simply trash these conversions straight into the ground. And at £10 less a throw. It's a joke! (So get. ready to laugh at this...)

(BLIMEY! AT LAST!)

Hydra wasn't exactly a corker in the arcades, and it brimming well isn't here either. You play a speedboat courier, zipping off round the world (and into the screen) to deliver lots of Top Secret packages.

There are nine missions (making up 31 levels), and the aim is to avoid being shot by international terrorists and hang on to enough fuel to get you through to the end of each level. Crystal petroleum pick-up thingies bob up and down in the water for you to scoot through, and there are similar 'floaties' to help you boost up your, er, 'boost' power (which makes you fly. Well, it lifts you about two feet off the ground anyway).

There's also a bonus level called the Hydradome, which is a sort of psychedelic obstacle course that you've got to race round in order to visit Ziggy's Weapon 'Shoppe' and stock up on ammo and shields. And, er, that's it. (Well, it probably isn't but I'm buttocked if I'm going to say anything else about it.)

EXCEPT THAT...

The graphics look as though they're only half finished (if that) and are pretty jerky. All the sprites are blurry and indistinct (except for your boat up at the front of the screen), and there's no attempt to reproduce any kind of river effect. (In fact, it may as well be a road - Hydra plays very much like a cruddy version of Roadblasters.) As for any sense of speed and danger, well, that really is in short supply. The game seems to end when you run out of fuel which means it hasn't got the edge to keep you really involved, and certainly the first couple of levels are a cinch to get through.

Nope, there's simply nothing to recommend Hydra. For all it cares, it may as well have come out in 1985. (And the Speccy's progressed an awful long way since then.) So, er, let's just keep our fingers crossed for Thunderjaws, eh?

Label: Domark
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £10.99 Tape, £17.99 Disk
Reviewer: Alan Dykes

Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no river wide enough it would seem, to keep Hydra from delivering the goods!. Yes, if you've ever wondered what all those sinister looking bike couriers do in their spare time then Hydra may provide a few answers.

As driver of the Hydra-mobile it's your job to deliver a variety of highly sensitive cargoes intact, to their respective destinations. Naturally, in the process you must knock off a few baddies as well, but its not all mindless violence, there's a lot of driving skill involved too, so sharpen those reflexes!

There are eight missions to complete, each in a different part of the world, and each with its own obstacles and enemies, e.g. when in Germany you must avoid trees which litter the road. The most common enemies are Dalek like creatures but watch out also for mines and vehicles which appear to throw roofing tiles at you. The score builds up by killing these enemies but the primary objective is to get that cargo home safely, for which you receive payment. This allows you to get more weapons to use on the next level. Each time Hydra crashes or gets shot up the cargo gets stolen, and must be recovered or you won't get any end of level dosh, so there!.

When you do get some money go spend it in Ziggy's weapon shoppe, special offers today include homing missiles, an uzi, some nuclear bombs, a flame thrower and a shield. Some of these are quite expensive and the shop doesn't take cheques, even if you've got a connect card!, lets face it, Ziggy isn't just ugly, he's mean as well.

The graphics on the opening screens are really colourful but take on a more familiar look during the game. There is quite a lot of scenery though. Alongside the main screen there are gauges which show score, money and fuel levels, weapons etc, these all operate simultaneously. The sound is good throughout with a dangerous sounding Depeche Modey backing track and explosions to keep all you violence loving critters happy.

Hydra is not really an original game format, but does add a new concept to the genre, that of the international courier, hurrah!. It's about time these lads got some recognition. Although you may recognise Hydra immediately it has enough good gameplay, graphics and sound to make it worthwhile.

GARTH SEZ:
Hydra is full of nice little touches, warp gates, weapons shops and nicely scrolling landscapes. If you've got the spare cash and a feel for the open road then it could well be worth a quick blast!