Personal Computer News


Siren City

Author: Bob Chappell
Publisher: Interceptor Micros
Machine: Commodore 64

 
Published in Personal Computer News #044

Citizen Cool

There are many games in the naked city. There are few where the city is in the game. This is just one of them.

Objectives

You cruise a patrol car around the city, endeavouring to keep the streets of Siren City safe. Public enemies include homicidal dragster drivers, a bazooka-wielding helicopter pilot and sundry psychopathic motorists. More normal hazards like Sunday drivers, sharp bends and a railway engine present no less a threat to your peace-keeping role.

In Play

A simple title page invites you to wait for a demo or press a key to start. You have a choice of levels from 1-10.

Siren City

Instructions and progress are given by a teletype simulation - adding to the general 'police procedural' atmosphere though sowing things up between rounds.

The city is large, a jungle of roads, buildings, lawns, hoardings, fire hydrants and a railway running right down the centre. You have a bird's eye view of the scene, the main item of which is your black and white patrol car.

Pushing your joystick (sorry, no keyboard option with this one) in the direction you wish to travel moves your car, picking up speed the longer the joystick is pushed. Slowing down is simply the reverse process. Turning left or right is accompanied by a quick flick of the joystick in the appropriate direction and a simultaneous press of the fire button. You can even execute smart U-turns and spins a la Hazzard County once you've got the hang of it.

Siren City

As you motor around, the screen scrolls to reveal more of the geography - it turns out to be a fair-sized city. Depending on the level you've selected, your duties can range from a simple patrol of the streets until your timer runs out (try to avoid hitting motorists) to blasting an attacking helicopter, neutralising poisonous fumes, detonating timebombs and shooting killer dragsters. It's all in a day's work.

One of the best, though deadly, features of this program is a team locomotive which hurtles down the railway line at erractic intervals - better not be dawdling across when it's due.

Verdict

With good use of sound and sprites and an impressively large but not so naked city, Siren City provides an enjoyable and testing romp.

Bob Chappell

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