GAUNTLET By: U.S. Gold Download: gauntlet.zip Gauntlet was a massive hit in the arcades many moons ago. When you talk about video games, Gauntlet must be ranked up there amongst the classic games of all time without a doubt. A good arcade game however doesn't necessarily mean a good CPC game. There is a long list of poor arcade conversions on the Amstrad that testify to that fact. Thankfully Gauntlet is not one of them. Gauntlet is in fact a really great game.

When the game loads up you get the choice of playing alone or with a friend. Two players is always more fun and having some extra firepower against the enemy is handy too. You then move onto choosing which character you want to play as. You get a choice of four although I don't think it really matters who you select. The only difference I could tell was what the character sprite looked like and what the projectile they fire is. Those characters include..

Thor: A muscular axe wielding barbarian. Popular with the He-man crowd.
Queshor: The Elven archer.
Zhrya: For the ladies there is this Valkere who uses swords.
Merlin: The mighty magician who casts fireballs at his foes.

Now the fun begins. The first of many levels loads and you get to see what the game is like. It's a fantasy orientated shoot em up viewed from above. The graphics are small, colourful and blocky but that isn't a bad thing. It just means that you can fit loads of enemies into the screen. What is the aim of the game? Well I don't know what the plot is but I suppose games like these don't really need one. You have to escape whatever dungeon your on. You do so by guiding your character through the many mazes killing whatever gets in your way and finding the level's exit. Exit or exits as some levels have more than one way out. You might find an exit but if you choose to explore a little more you may find an exit which skips a few levels! Watch out because the game's makers are sneaky. Some exits don't work or teleport to different places on the level.

It's a simple idea but some of the simplest games you'll find are the most fun. The game is a constant race against time as your energy drops every single second. You replenish it by finding items such as food. Watch out as you lose energy when enemies hit you or you eat poisoned food.

Credit has to be given to the people who put this gem together as it has so many idea crammed into it. To reach the exit you'll often have to overcome all manner of obstacles. You'll need to find keys to open locked areas, hit switches to make certain walls disappear and use transporters.

There are tons of enemies in each level. In many cases they come out from a base block and will keep on appearing unless you destroy those blocks. The screen is often jam packed with enemies. The type of enemies you encounter is also impressive. There are grunts which close in on you to club you, ghosts which ram into you and then monsters, fire breathing monsters, enemies who hurl projectiles over walls, magicians who appear and disappear on regular intervals and the worst of all the black death who is indestructible and homes into you. Thankfully there are magic power-ups which cause damage to everything on screen.

Gauntlet is a fast and furious fun game which anyone can pick up and enjoy. Why are you still reading this review? Go an play it now.

Rating: 92%