HYPERBOWL By: Mastertonic Download: hyperbwl.zip Hints & Tips Every computer/console around includes sport games in it's software library and the Amstrad is no exception. Not all these sport games however are based on real sports. Hyperbowl is one such example. What is Hyperbowl? Well it's meant to be a futuristic sport with some rules loosely based on present game games.

Hyperbowl is played by two players and the unique thing about it is that each competitor pilots a spaceship. The aim of the game is to be the player with the most points when the clock runs out. How are points awarded? Well this is were the game resembles soccer and rugby. On the game field there are three things, the two ships and a disc. Points are scored by pushing the disc to certain parts of the pitch. Pushing the disc to the end of your opponent's half gives you a line (worth one point). Just in front of the line is a small goal and you will get awarded two points for sticking the disc between the two posts. Double the points is worth it but harder to get than a line. To push the disc around the ground you can either ram into it with your ship or fire the ship's laser at it.

Don't get any crazy ideas about doing this to your rival because it won't work. Lasers don't affect your opponent's ship at all. The laser bolts you fire will eventually disappear after travelling a certain distance or vanish when they strike the disc. One cool thing about the laser is that it bounces off the edges of the pitch which can come in handing at certain times. Ramming also isn't an option as you just go straight through spaceships rather than collide with them. Shame, being able to nudge opponents out of the way would have been fun.

In one player mode the player has the option of playing a one off game against the computer or going for glory over a number of matches in a tournament. The game's life span is increased by having three difficulty settings. When you master the easiest setting you can move onto the next one. You can also play against a friend in the two player mode. As is the case with most games battling against a friend is much more fun.

Before each match you are given the choice of controlling a number of ships. I am not sure if there is any difference between them apart from the fact that they look different. I suppose some ships may be faster than others or have a more powerful laser but I honestly didn't notice when playing the game. Once the match starts you see both ships at the centre on the pitch with the disc between them. The playing area is quite large and the screen only displays a small part of it at one time. In the one player game the screen stays on your ship whilst in the two player option the screen tracks the disc. As a result in the two player option you will sometimes go off the screen. In such cases you will need to use the radar at the bottom of the screen to find your way back to the disc. The radar shows the entire pitch including the location of the disc and two ships. You also get to see a small arrow which shows what direction your facing and what the score is.

The game is pretty basic in terms of graphics and sonics. The ships for example aren't much better than what you get in the old asteroids game. They even move like in that game, you rotate to the direction you want to go and then accelerate. The plus side is that they can move about at a fair pace. Sound wise the game is also very limited. You get a very electronic tune when using the menu before each match and during the game your just treated to sounds when you hit the disc or fire a laser.

Don't let this put you off though. The one player mode will keep most people amused for a while and it's a real hoot when played against a friend.

Rating: 79%