Review: Ghosts 'n Goblins Multi 8bit

morcar

Active member
Banned
Joined
Feb 16, 2008
Posts
2,590
Country
UK
Region
Wales, UK
I am going to do a multi review which will include the Amstrad CPC 464, C64 and ZX Spectrum versions. I would like to state that this is not a head to head or anything like that, but its just my own opinion which lets face it are like noses every person has one.

My first game I am going to do a multi format review is the awesome Ghost'n'Goblins which is an arcade classic.

Set in medevil times our hero Arthur has to rescue the princess who has been kidnapped by the nasty demons and its your job to go through all the levels and rescue her. That's just the basics of it though because nothing is ever easy or straight forward. You can collect new weapons like knife, fire bomb and such which can either help you or make life harder.

Of course once you get to the end of level you have a final boss to beat and to get that key. These can be a bit challenging at first if you don’t know the patterns of the boss but with in time you can beat them with ease.

Amstrad CPC464
Starting on the Amstrad we see a really good and well drawn loading screen. It shows Arthur and some of the monsters he will face. It has good use of colour which is always good when you have to sit there for it to load on tape.

cpctitle.jpg


Once the loading is done you have the hi-score table along with who made the game and it tells you on what you need to know and how to start the game and such. There is no music with in the menus by the way its total silent.

When the game starts your thrown right into the game and music starts to play and apart from the starting part of the music its nothing like the arcade that i can remember. Also all the zombies that come out of the ground only come out from the grave stones they don’t come from anywhere else. As you move across the screen it does not scroll either like in the arcade. Instead once you reach a certain point it pushes you back to the other side and shows you what’s in front which is total rubbish. I also found that unlike the arcade you only have to get hit once and your dead which makes the game even harder. Graphics are also very poor I think as they all seem to be too big for the game. Colour is also used very badly because its very limited. The game is so hard I couldn't get off the first level because of this one hit and your dead.

cpcingame.jpg


All in all this game for the CPC is rubbish.

3/10

ZX Spectrum
Loading screen is not too bad although i have to admit the drawing is like if my 5 year old did it. It is showing you level 1 in the grave yard with all the zombies coming out and Arthur throwing a knife. Could have been better because arthur looks like he is no legs and the zombies look like babies in blue Halloween suits.

zxtitle.jpg


You get the normal stuff once its loaded like pick the keys you want to play with, pick a joystick and start the game. Its very minimalist though i have to say.

The game starts when you see the princess gets stolen so at least they fitted that in the Spectrum version. I was very surprised to see this game not a total monochrome as you do have some colour and the Arthur passes through it which works very well. Graphics are very well drawn and move with ease plus you also get proper scrolling which is joy to play as you don’t guess what’s coming next. Also the zombies coming up from the ground come up everywhere there is no set place and just to make it even easier you get the 2 hits and your dead. There is no music for this game as this was only made for the 48K Spectrums so all you get is short busts of beeps and such. Its not great but then again that was the 48K for you in most games.

zxingame.jpg


I really think this is a good as it gets for the 48K Spectrum in terms of this game. They did everything right and the only down side is there is no music but like i said that was the 48k for you.

7/10

Commodore 64
For this loading screen its the same as the Amstrad apart from the slightly washed out colours.

C64TITLE.jpg


Once loaded you get a cool bit of title music that I love hats off to that i think.

The game itself is very good with good use of colour but its not very detailed for the zombies or Arthur which really lets this great version down. You get the same music you had from the menu but that’s not a bad thing at least you are getting something out of that sid chip and it sounds good anyway. It also scrolls very smooth as you would expect with a C64 game and you get the 2 hits and your dead in this version too so its not going to hand your ass to you everytime.

c64ingame.jpg


I really like this version as its got everything you want apart from missing the detail in the graphics

8/10
 
Last edited:
Great little review. One of my favorite games on the c64. never noticed that the baddies wasn't detailed enough. the music rocks and the game is fun. they say it is easy compared to the arcade, but i never noticed. I never got far. one day I'll try beat it... :p
 
Good work Morcar,

Although the MSX and the PC Engine / TurboGFX are the best of the 8bit bunch - in terms of play, graphics - arguably they are nigh indestinguishable from the arcade game.
 
Back
Top Bottom