C&VG


Tiger Mission
By Kele Line
Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #68

Tiger Mission

Here it is, the game that's a bit like the arcade classic Tiger Heli. Although I'm not supposed to say that.

Tiger Mission is a shoot-'em-up in the scrolling landscape way. You know the sort of thing that I mean, very average.

Yes, this Tiger Heli lookalike, this amazing game that Press releases go on and on about, is just run of the mill stuff. Maybe it's news in Denmark, but over here it's no big deal.

Tiger Mission

Anyway, the game scrolls, as I said, a landscape underneath a chopper, which is let loose into your hands. You must destroy various oncoming enemies, and collect lots of points.

As you start your attack run on level one, you are in for a real shock.

The game puts you straight into combat with those deadliest of enemies, floating squares.

Tiger Mission

Yes, you must guide your way through the oncoming terror, hoping that these aircraft are not carrying the latest heat-seeking triangles. Well, I ask you, Squares!

Next come the less menacing tanks, which blast without accuracy, but still get you all the same. Shooting these tanks looks easy, but when you play, you'll discover the truth.

For in their ultimate wisdom, Kele Line have programmed the chopper to go at a snail's pace, which means you can't always get away from missiles.

Tiger Mission

Oh, by the way, Missiles is spelt incorrectly in the game. Shows bad workmanship, does that.

Your chopper can be made to go faster by collecting a turbo, but I didn't find any whilst playing, however I did find long range missiles which destroy enemies normally, I say this because otherwise you are rather limited rangewise.

While this 'Action Packed' thrill is taking place (Laugh) you get to listen to the music, which is the best part of the game. It's a haunting piece, and very well arranged.

Tiger Mission

Unfortunately, the other tunes featured in the game aren't that hot!

As you carry out your attack run, you have the ability to release one bomb onto the nasty people shooting at you. This is rather like a 'Smart' in Defender, as it will take out all enemies on-screen.

When you get shot down, you will notice a rather annoying feature about the game, which could have been avoided. After dying you have to go all the way back to the start of the level, no matter how far you've got. Silly, eh?

Tiger Mission

Should you get to the end of the level, you will see a helipad on which you must land. This is done by positioning your craft over it and pressing fire. And then it's on to the next level.

This level is tougher than the previous one, and has a lot more tanks at the start, making it very difficult to get very far. Should you make it past the seventh set of tanks, consider yourself brilliant.

The graphics are very simple, nothing to elaborate, I suppose it's so that it can be converted to other machines easier (i.e. ZX81 and Jupiter Ace).

Tiger Mission

Gameplay-wise the game is a dead ringer for a lot of games which have hit the market recently, and there are far better versions of this theme available.

On the whole good, but nothing fantastic. A bit like Vikings really.

But so far Danish software hasn't been that exciting - maybe we're missing something.