GREEN BERET By: Imagine Download: gberet.zip What ever happened to the good old fashion action hero? You know the kind I mean, muscle bound warriors armed to the teeth who can destroy an army before breakfast. You just don't see them anymore. Too many wimpy superheroes who don't even want to kill the bad guy or matrix saviours who lack any facial expression and fight computer generated baddies who aren't even real people. Give me Rambo any day of the week.

The thing is no matter how tough you are there is always someone who is tougher. Even the mighty Rambo isn't a match for the Green Beret. Hard as nails he is. In this game for example he has to go any save some hostages. So what I hear you ask? Well this guy doesn't believe in sneaking into the enemy base, oh no. You'll control the Green Beret as he charges head on into wave after wave of enemy soldiers armed with only a tiny knife! I know there have been defence cuts, but you think if your going to send someone on a suicide mission you could at least arm him with a pistol. Sounds like the polite thing to do.

So in the game you control the Green Beret as he travels from left to right with the aim of getting to the end of the level so he can "save the captives." As you progress along the level a stream of bad guys come towards you from both sides which you'll need to get rid of or avoid. This is not as easy as you might imagine as you only have a knife which can only used when the enemy soldiers are right next to you. If anyone touches you one of you lives disappears.

Thankfully for you some enemies will award you with a weapon if you dispose of them. These weapons include rifles and flame-throwers which fire a projectile that travels to the end of the screen and kills anything in its path (so one shot can get rid of rows of soldiers.) Don't get too carried away though because these weapons normally only have three to four shots and are best saved for when you really need it. It might be a better idea to duck enemy bullets or jump over incoming foes.

The game is a simple "slash em up" but you certainly won't get bored of it, even after repeated plays. The game is hard and the challenge is sure to encourage you to have one extra go to see if you can get a bit further. With such a high difficulty you will be grateful to learn that you are awarded extra lives as your score increases. Another thing which will keep you interested is the range of enemies which you will face. There are quite a few and they all act differently. Some will just run in one direction and can easily be avoid whilst others will follow you. Some enemies will attack you with grenades or bullets whilst others move in close and try to kick you. Each level also has obstacles to avoid such as mines and mortars. When you reach the end of a stage you'll take on something special. The first level is just a stream of enemies but level two will see you attacked by dogs and level three has you confronting several helicopters!

Graphically the game looks great. Perhaps it is a bit blocky but you can forgive that when you see the many well drawn backgrounds which are used. There is plenty of colour (perhaps too much when you consider that your hair colour seems to change when you die.) The only problem I have with the game is its less than smooth scrolling between screens.

Green Beret is a great game so waste no more time and give it a go. Turn into a badly needed action hero and kick arse.

Rating: 83%