Driving away the criminal element.

Producer: Gremlin Graphics
Guns 'n' Bullets: £7.99 cass, £12.99 disk
Author: Tony Porter, Gary Priest, Jon Harrison, Kevin Bulmer

In the future, street crime and WWIII seem indistinguishable.

You begin the game in your Vmax Turbo Interceptor with hordes of DOA cars trying to force you off the road. You respond by blasting them to pieces, but the real work begins when you get called to crime scenes. Once you arrive the game switches to a side-on view of you walking through an apartment block. Gunning down criminals earns extra points, but watch out for civilians.

The driving blast-'em-up section has been done to death recently and Techno Cop is one of the weaker, more repetitive versions. The other section is no better, simply being a case of remembering where you found the criminal last time. Techno Cop is mildly addictive, at least to start with, but offers little originality to keep you playing for long.

MARK [51%]

THE ESSENTIALS
Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: the road scrolls fairly smoothly, but the buildings are dull and monochromatic
Sound: a noisy 128K title tune and some quiet in-game engine noises and footsteps
Options: definable keys

Overlander crossed with RoboCop and no multiload sounds a promising concept, and the first car stage is certainly very smoothly programmed. But there's a chronic lack of both colour and long-term appeal - later levels neglect even to change the monochromatic colour of buildings. Disappointing.
STUART [59%]

Gremlin
£7.99 cass/£12.99 disk
Reviewer: Sean Kelly

If you always wanted to be the type of policeman where the 'Bobbies' beat' is the rhythm of gunfire, then this game is for you. For, in Gremlin's latest offering, you are Technocop, a member of the most elite crime fighting force around - the Enforcers (and the chap on the loading screen looks just like ol' Clint - what a coincidence!). As the rootinest tootinest Technocop around, you have been chosen to deal with the sinister crime empire 'Dead on Arrival', and to this end you are whizzing down the highway in your VMAX vehicle, the most rootinest tootinest vehicle this side of a James Bond movie.

Unfortunately, the DOA nasties have sent out loads of their vehicles in an attempt to ensure that you are DBA (Dead Before Arrival). The good news, however, is that the buttons on the dashboard don't just turn on the windscreen wiper, they fire the roof-mounted 40mm cannon, or the deadly Nuke 'Em missiles which, would you believe, nuke 'em. Three shots from your cannon will destroy a vehicle, whilst the Nuke 'Em will obliterate every vehicle on the screen but your own. This is particularly useful on the later levels, but should be used sparingly as the supply is very limited.

The illusion of speed, so necessary to the playability of racing games, is really effective in this section, and the scrolling is excellent. It also makes a refreshing change to use the fire button in addition to the four directions, and removing other cars by blowing them up is great fun, as is driving over the pile of dust which was the car you just totalled.

As you progress to your rendezvous with DOA, messages will appear indicating that a wrong doer is doing wrong nearby, and so you must proceed as fast as possible to the scene and either kill or capture the baddie. If you reach your destination within the alloted time twice, your VMAX car will be upgraded. The first upgrade is a Dual Stage turbocharger, which gives faster acceleration. This is followed by a high power missile launcher, which will destroy any car with one shot; and finally you get Hydraulic Side Rams, which allow you to ram and barge cars with greater effect, and reduce the damage done by cars ramming you.

At last you get to climb out of the car and enter the derelict building where the baddie is hiding out. Your wrist timer will indicate the time allowed to apprehend said baddie in the manner ordered, and a radar will show the direction in which he lies. Often there will be no direct route, you'll need to use lifts to move between floors. Collapsed floors must also be negotiated, in addition to millions of minions all intent on filling you so full of lead you could be weighed in for scrap metal. Like a boy scout, however, a Technocop is always prepared, which in this instance means a gun to kill with and nets to entangle prisoners with. Should you reach the really bad guy, he must be shot repeatedly to kill him, made all the more difficult by his habit of firing back - one hit from him and you're injured whilst he escapes. It's even more difficult if you've been ordered to apprehend and not kill him, as he has to be shot until his energy hits the red zone and then have nets thrown over him. Successfully dealing with the baddie will result in promotion for you, and three Nuke 'Em missiles for the VMAX.

Should you find yourself with extra time after, or during, all that (fat chance - I generally had about two picoseconds going spare), there are certain goodies around the place which can benefit you in a number of ways. Finding a bag of money, or releasing a child from a cage, will result in a hefty score bonus: collecting a first aid kit will restore some of your energy; and finding the tool kit will restore some of the damage to the VMAX. Once you leave the building, it's on to the next, more difficult level.

As in the racing section, a mixture of good programming and plenty to keep you occupied make for an exciting, adrenalin-pumping game. Chasing up and down, backwards and forwards in the search for the enemy, rather than just plodding inexorably up or across as in most shoot em ups, also added to the addictiveness and playability of this game.

The two halves also combine well. (Oh no, not a game of two 'alves'! Ed) considering the two styles of game opted for. Having shoot em up elements in the racing section, and relating performance in the shoot 'em up to the power and performance of the vehicle in the racing section worked surprisingly well. One minor gripe: the graphics in the playing area are monochrome throughout. But, there's plenty packed in here, and the racing section alone is better than some racing games that have been released this year.

Gremlin is to be congratulated for making an interesting and addictive game out of two completely different elements.

BARGAIN BASEMENT

Torch? Check. Helmet? Check. Ability to write incredibly informative and witty reviews? Check. (Sort of.) Say hello to RICH PELLEY & JON PILLAR.

Kixx
£3.99
Reviewer: Rich Pelley

Ho hum. Another month, another Bargain Basement, another re-release.

Rather strangely, this game is actually two games in one - you alternate between a drive-'em-up (with shooting) and then a walk-about and shoot-'em-up. The idea, you see, is to drive along the smooth scrolling road shooting (or smart-bombing) the other cars, until your criminal-locater-radar at the bottom of the screen kindly informs you of a nearby crime. The car then stops in the middle of oblivion (there's no scenery to tell you where you are), and it's onto the next bit. Here you walk about a rather monochrome house in search of said criminal, killing (or not killing) the other baddies (or civilians) and picking up bonuses on the way. Complete this within the time limit, and you're then faced with two choices.

Option A is to load in the next level and then continue doing more or less the same again. A reasonably good idea you might think, until you consider option B (not bothering) and realise that this might offer just a little more entertainment. I really didn't think Techno Cop held much water in comparison to the high standards of many other budgies available at the moment. Both parts of the game are okayish and play well to begin with, but as little changes (you simply interchange between the two sections) they soon become monotonous and unenjoyable. Essentially, if we were to introduce an award for duffer re-release of the month, then this game would no doubt be sitting nervously in the audience wondering if it was going to win.

Label: Gremlin
Author: In-house
Price: £7.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various

Half of this game is a lot like Roadblasters, in the loose sense that it involves car driving combined with missile shooting. Actually it's a very good Roadblasters type game, nice smooth scrolling road effect, well designed big car graphics and lots of action. Your car zooms along swerving and dodging to miss the bad guys cars and when in doubt you blast them off the road.

But that isn't all there is to Techno Cop. The plot has you pitted against a secret organisation of law breakers. You, Techno Cop equipped only with a missile laden sports car and magnum have to rush from felony to felony hunting out the criminals, capturing or killing them and rescuing hostages or valuables. A successful arrest earns you promotion and some extra equipment for your car. If you were Jim Douglas you'd go for a surround sound CD player but being sensible you'll probably get NUKE-EM missiles (a sort of smart bomb to blow all the currently visible traffic off the road) Turbocharger (more speed) or hydraulic side rams to bash other cars.

The game begins in the road section - it's simple enough at this point to dodge, ram or blast the enemy traffic on the road, but as you progress more and more traffic makes the going really difficult. At some point a message will tell you that a felony is in progress, give you a picture of the bad buy and instructions: arrest or kill. Speed on and soon your car will be led off the road to part two of the game.

Part two takes place on foot and basically it's a glorified platforms and ladders game. Your man can run and jump, go up and down in lifts and pick up useful items. These might include, first aid boxes (repairs any current damage to your person), tool boxes (repairs damage to car) and money (bonus points). There are also hostages for you to rescue for more bonus points.

You have limited time in which to find the criminal before he escapes and a direction indicator to help you track him but the maze of misleading dead ends, elevators that go the wrong way and hordes of enemy henchmen mean its pretty difficult. It gets more tricky as you pass to later crimes, if only because the buildings get bigger and bigger and the wrong turnings and cul-de-sacs get more and more frequent.

If you do nab the bad guy you'll get promoted and given some gear for the car. On to the next level. Sometimes you'll be asked to arrest rather than kill the felon - for this you have a 'Net' option which enables you to cast a net over the bad guy.

The 'interior' graphics are pretty good - quite big, tolerably well animated and moderately varied. Backgrounds tend to be a bit samey.

Although Techno Cop does have a slight feel of the 'two games stuck together' syndrome. I really enjoyed it. The way the bonuses and extra car gear are interlinked between the two sections unifies the game pretty convincingly. The game planning is excellent - easy to get through the first stage, increasingly difficult afterwards.

So, nothing stunningly original in either part but Techno Cop is still seriously addictive and a serious contender for any 'must have in Christmas stocking' awards.

Label: Kixx
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £2.99 Tape
Reviewer: Chris Jenkins

Techno Cop is not Robocop, that's for sure. But for crimebusting toughguys, this isn't a bad exercise in breaking baddies bad habits the hard way.

As a combination race and platforms Techno Cop has elements of Chase HQ, Rolling Thunder, and, let's be honest, a dozen other games of the same type. This budget re-release casts you as one of an elite band of Endorceers, armed with a VMAX twin turbo Interceptor sports car, a wrist computer, a snare gun and a .88 magnum. Receiving a mission from your comms unit, you must drive to the capture point, blasting enemy cars like a psychotic traffic warden, in time to catch the criminal and blow away his buddies.

The race section is fair, with smooth scrolling, a good impression of a speed and control over the car and a fair deal of excitement as you shoot up the baddies. Extra weapons and gadgets are awarded depending on your speed an bust rate (not size Fnaar!); the platforms section, though, is a bit slow-paced. Thugs inhabit the house, and can be scared off with a single shot or killed with a second. Lifts get you from one level to another and help you to find money, hostages, tools and first aid boxes. You have to avoid icing hostages before capturing the master criminal and moving on to your next mission.

As a full-price title, Techno Cop was a bit repetitive and derivative; as a budget, it will keep you entertained for long enough to justify laying out the dosh.

Highway robbery from Gremlin.

Cops sometimes have robotic attachments - but this one is going up against the evil-doers without any shiny armour plating. However lots of hi-tech gear as well as a spanking new fast car are on offer to this heroic lawgiver...

Hopping into the car, which has a machine gun mounted on the roof, you set off along the road. Traffic that gets in the way can be blasted or barged aside, and when a message comes through that a crime is being committed, speed is of the essence in order to get to the scene of the crime in time. If the traffic is a little heavy, there's always the Nuke'em missiles that act as smart bombs. Later on, additional equipment is available to deal with motorists - a turbocharger, a more powerful gun and side rams. Bonus items found on the missions help increase the score, replenish life or repair car damage.

At the crime scene leave the car and proceed on foot into a building, tracking the criminal who has to be caught or killed on a radar scanner. Criminals don't have to end up in pine boxes, but can be captured using a net gun. Speed and care are called for because there's a time limit for capturing the bad guy, and innocent civilians shouldn't be shot. To get to the quarry, holes in the floor have to be leapt over and lifts used to move between floors as gangsters attack you with guns, knives and whips.

When a mission is completed, successfully or not, it's back to the car and on to the next building. Before the day work is done, eleven criminals have to be apprehended, hiding in increasingly complicated locations - the building maps getting bigger and trickier to get around.

A very pleasing mix of driving action, which compares well with other recent car games, and exploration. There's no let-up in the action on either stage. It's annoying to have to repeat the early buildings every time you play, but otherwise it's well paced and full of things to shoot and find.

Reviewer: Bob Wade

RELEASE BOX
Atari ST, £19.99dk, Imminent
Amiga, £19.99dk, Imminent
Spectrum, £7.99cs, £12.99dk, Out Now
Amstrad, £9.99cs, £14.99dk, Imminent
C64/128, £9.99cs. £14.99dk, Imminent
IBM PC, £19.99dk, Imminent

Predicted Interest Curve

1 min: 75/100
1 hour: 85/100
1 day: 90/100
1 week: 80/100
1 month: 40/100
1 year: 10/100

Spectrum 48/128 Cassette: £7.99, Diskette: £12.99
Amstrad CPC Cassette: £9.99, Diskette: £14.99
Commodore 64/128 Cassette: £9.99, Diskette: £14.99
Amiga: £19.99

FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED

In the film RoboCop they made a man out of parts and put him to work. In Techno Cop, Gremlin have made a game out of bits and bobs from other games, but in this case, amid a welter of gore, the finished product doesn't work.

Techno Cop, armed with a powerful gun, net-gun and high-speed vehicle, is out for blood - criminal blood. Wrapped around his arm is a hi-tech computer to help him track down offenders, the more rapidly to get them under six loot of dirt.

Two distinct games emerge. The highway chase stage is similar to Road Blasters but with add-ons less readily available, and with automatic gears driving soon becomes mindless. The building stage has the leaps and pistol fire of Rolling Thunder.

But none of this excuses the gratuitously bloody mayhem which ensues and looks even worse on the 16-bit screens.