Wibstars (A 'n F) Review | Amstrad Action

Amstrad Action

1st April 1987

Wibstars

By A 'n F

•

Amstrad CPC464

Published in Amstrad Action #19

Wibstars | First Day Target Score | Verdict

Wibstars

You play the part of Billy Wibstar the entrepreneur. The plot is fairly simple: you have to collect items of computer hardware from the warehouse, chuck them in the back of your van and take them to one of the local wholesalers.

Thankfully, the game is actually a bit more complicated than that. The first part, loading a skip with hardware, is a bit farcical in that, once you have filled the skip, you must descend a lift, enter a van, and attempt to catch the previously loaded hardware that the skip is dropping down chutes from above you. Complicated, ain't it?

Anyway, once you have done that, you get to drive the van along some roads! Oooh, how exciting! Well, it's not that exciting. The object of this pan of the plot is to dodge the debris flying from the doors of the van in front of you. Some of the debris is useful, like disks, cassettes and computers. If you catch these, they increase the stock in the back of your van.

Once at the wholesaler, you face a complex screen consisting of platforms, conveyors and lifts. You must now take your stock out of the van and attempt to direct it up to the top of the screen, where a big hand comes out and grabs it.

When you have delivered, or have destroyed all the stock in your van, you must get back into it. If, overall, you have made a loss, the game ends. But if you have made a profit, you can drive back to the warehouse to stock up again.

Scoring is in the form of profit. Every item you sell increases your score, and every time you fail to avoid debris thrown from the competitor's van, your profit goes down. This is to pay for repairs.

I didn't like this game at all. The graphics are so "blocky-tacky", and the movement is a block at a time. Sound is best forgotten. A very poor production, and a definite waste of money.