Personal Computer News


Airwolf

Author: Kenn Garroch
Publisher: Elite
Machine: Commodore 64

 
Published in Personal Computer News #109

AIRWOLF

Familiar title? Airwolf is based on the television series with Stringfellow Hawk and a hyper-super chopper. The graphics are superb - but the game's almost impossible!

The first screen shows your blue copter on a landing pad in a beautifully drawn cavern. Airwolf has a strong caverns element, but there's also a lot of Fort Apocalypse in it.

Moving the chopper isn't easy. It takes a steady hand and delicate control to avoid bouncing off the walls and depleting your shield strength. What's worse, the helicopter doesn't hover on its own; you have to keep nudging it up. There's no way you can stay at the same level, turning on the spot to blast forward and back.

Airwolf

Getting past the various obstacles isn't easy either. In the first location you have a mushroom to get rid of an impenetrable aquamarine column. Later there are brick walls to be demolished, trains to be avoided, lifts to take and so on. Because of the tricky movement control and the tight placing of the obstructions, just getting about relatively unscathed is challenge enough.

But there's a mission involved - rescue kidnapped scientists. Naturally, they're placed in the worst blind alleys and one-way passages, so clocking a high score takes hours of practice. There are also nasties like magnetic pads which grab your copter and hold it down while rocks tumble on it - very friendly.

The graphics are excellent. The detail, shading and colour make each screen a delight and the animation and scrolling are as smooth as you could wish for. There are plenty of sound effects and the music is well-done, though you can turn it off during play.

The action is one of the hardest I've seen this year. But, difficult as it may be, Airwolf is absolutely addictive.

Kenn Garroch