CPC quick tests: Quad, Paper Boy
Continuing Amstrad CPC games "quick" tests, with some classical ones.
Game 1: Quad
- Release: 1987
- Editor: Microids
- Type: Driving simulation
One of the very first games I played, and I had found memories of it, so I was eager to test it again.
The goal of the game is to drive a quad, and avoid enemies and hurdles/traps
(cactus, rocks, ...).
In order to keep driving, you'll also need to pick up gas.
Commands are basic, i.e. just using arrows.
To be honest, what I remember is really different than playing the game in 2023:
- it's repetitive (not to say boring),
- it's really hard to drive the quad,
- commands are not intuitive, e.g. to turn you need to release the "up" arrow otherwise turning won't work.
Conclusion: Probably the very first CPC game test I did where I got
disappointed. That's not to say that I loved all the Amstrad games I played when
I was a kid, but I did enjoy the ones I am testing in those blog posts.
Not a big deal, I expect a few more similar experiences, and that's also one of
the reasons I'm writting those articles: to find out how these games aged.
Game 2: Paper Boy
- Release: 1987
- Editor: Elite Systems
- Type: Bicycle riding/simulation
Paper Boy is a very well known game, where you're a newspaper delivery boy riding his bicycle to deliver... well, newspaper to your customers.
You need to target the mailboxes, and avoid obstacles such as pedestrians, dogs, cars or holes in the pavement.
You can define your own control keys, which is nice and was not widely possible in the games back then.
Conclusion: Paper Boy is a game I didn't play much when I was a kid, as back then I already find it annoying/not super interesting. It's repetitive, and controlling it is not easy. Graphics are OK.
Tags: Amstrad, Geek, Emulation, Retrogaming