Crime is the disease - you are the antibiotic

Resolution 101 logo Amiga Computing Excellence Award

YOU ARE slime, punk. And you have got nothing to lose. Which is why in the near future criminals like you will have a simple choice - rot in jail or do a spot of bounty hunting. The decision might seem cut and dried, more so when you discover that if you succeed in your mission you will be granted your freedom. The only drawback is that no one has yet succeeded. But everyone likes a challenge, and what is more the food is not very nice, so you trade your warm, comfy, although admittedly extremely overcrowded, cell for a Search/Destroy licence and ground skimmer with a light machine gun. Sounds fair to me.

As in all the best plots, your mission is to clean up the city. How you are expected to single-handedly clean up an entire city without so much as a mop is never actually explained, and so instead you spend your time trying to bring other lawbreakers to justice.

Four drug-running scoundrels have carved the area into quarters, and to gain yor freedom you will have to collect evidence and track them down.

In the true tradition of computer gaming, collecting evidence is just another way of saying "shoot everything". Each drug baron has a large gang of cronies intent on making your life miserable. Fortunately, for each one you (ahem) apprehend, you will earn some cash or some more evidence.

The cash comes in useful for buying bigger and nastier weapons, louder in-skimmer stereos with Dolby "c" and lots of other fun ways of enhancing of your lowly ground skimmer.

Of course, all this would be extremely so-so if the presentation was not first class. And thankfully it is.

The graphics are totally solid and are incredibly fast. As you whiz the mouse across the mat to change direction, the landscape hurtles by your nose. Add the customary copper graduation of colours as they fade into the distance and the overall effect is one of great - and yet controllable - speed.

Your skimmer is fitted out with a CBTV link which has nothing to do with new multimedia devices from Commodore. Instead it shows you what your drug-running friend is thinking.

If he is grimacing and waving his fists about, he is obviously thinking bad thoughts about you and/or has missed Neighbours. If he is smiling and waving he is thinking what a nice chap you are for messing up so badly and making his life a whole lot simpler.

I can say for certain that a tune plays throughout the game, for unlike other publications, we only review the finished product here at Amiga Computing. With such a constant repetitive little ditty hammering away, you might think it would quickly get on your nerves. I am happy to say that even after long hours of research I still managed to forgo the usual disconnection of the sound leads. I am not sure about Green though, because he would moan softly and stare at the ceiling every time I started playing.

Gameplay is the way it should be - challenging without being impossible. Extra levels get harder not only by supplying extra baddies to annihilate but also by subtle changes to the city. Large rivers for example. Glub, glub, glub.

Resolution 101 works well. The graphics are fast, and all 12 levels of play enjoyable. If it came to spending the rest of my life in jail or playing Resolution 101, I know which I would prefer.


Resolution 101 logo

MILLENNIUM £24.95 * Mouse or Joystick

Set a thief to catch a thief: that is the current rule in crime-busting. Resolution 101 was passed in January 2038 and it instantly allowed criminals held in state prisons the chance to gain themselves amnesty and freedom by helping the state. In effect, that means sending them out on a mission to terminate an even more dastardly criminal than they are themselves.

You are one such criminal in search of a pardon, so with your licence to kill in one hand and the keys to your Theta 4000 ground skimmer in the other you head off to prove you are worthy to rejoin society. Your mission, then, is to track down and terminate four drug barons operating in the small southern city of Los Envegas. Each baron controls a certain sector of the city and dealing with them involves destroying their henchmen and drug runners and collecting the red capsules of drugs they crop. Once you have collected a set number of the capsules you can go after the baron - destroy his ship and you can move on to the next sector.

The baron won't be defeated, though, because he has got his vehicle covered by insurance which means he can be destroyed on three separate occasions before he finally lies down and dies. This effectively makes the game a twelve-level affair, with each baron being 'killed' three times.

Your vehicle is also insured, but you can be destroyed four times. You can up your insurance rating (gain another life) by collecting the yellow capsules which are dropped occasionally by the baddies (four for a life).

The game is viewed from the cockpit of your skimmer, which is divided into a large window through which you watch all the action that is happening around you, and below that an instrument panel containing your rader (which can be set on enemy or shop mode, more about the shops later) and several other bits and pieces designed to make your vigilante life a bit easier.

Initially, yo are armed with a front-firing machine gun, which is OK to start with, but once a baron has gone down he will start rebuilding his forces and equipping them with more destructive firepower. To compete you will have to start thinking about visiting the shops and buying yourself some upgrades: missiles, cannons and speed booster pods. These all cost money, of course, so it is fortunate that enemy skimmers carry wads of dosh - if they are not carrying pods - which you can collect and spend.

As well as returning your fire, the enemy skimmers drop bad pods which can cause severe damage to your skimmer if you are foolish enough to pick them up. Then there is the time limit - enough drug pods have to be collected before the baron completes his current drugs run, because if he makes it you lose one of your lives.

Shoot around the place taking on anything that moves, collect the pods and money and go for the baron. Make it to the end of Level 12 and you will have earned your freedom.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

We must point out the version we reviewed had no music or effects, but Millennium assure us both will up to the standard of the graphics - which are very good indeed. The filled 3D moves around extremely quickly and though the enemy ships are a little basic they are well animated. A very fast, very good-looking game.

LASTING INTEREST

Lose a life on a level and the whole thing has to be started again, which makes life difficult. There is an option to save the game at the end of every level, though, to balance things out. Considering the vast numbers of enemy ships that must be destroyed and the length of time it takes to earn enough money to buy upgrades, this is going to keep you skimming around and blasting for some time.

JUDGEMENT

Very good graphics, the game plays very well and it is a fun blast-em-up. Things start to get a bit repetitive, though, and it is not until you start exploring the world of when to go for money rather than drugs that things pick up again. It has not got the legs to make it into the Format Gold league, simply because it needs more variety. But it is a damn good try.


Resolution 101 logo

Strafvollzug der modernen Art: Jeder Schwerverbrecher, der einen anderen Gangster zur Strecke bringt, wird begnadigt und sein Vorstrafenregister komplett gelöscht. Den Sinn verstehe, wer will - wir machen uns derweil schon mal auf die Kopfgeldjagd.

Vier Drogendealer, von denen jeder einen anderen Stadtteil kontrolliert, sollen dingfest gemacht werden. Dazu muss man zunächst deren Drogentransportroboter zerstören und die Hasch-Päckchen als Beweismaterial sicherstellen, dann erst darf man dem Boss an den Kragen gehen.

Der Ex-Knasti von morgen nimmt die Verfolgung freilich nicht zu Fuß auf, wozu gibt es diese tollen Luftkissengleiter samt Maschinengewehr? Wer fleißig Bösewichte aufmischt, erhält genügend Bares, um sein Gefährt in Shops mit Extrawaffen und Zusatzausrüstung aufzumotzen. Ist ein Bezirk endlich gesäubert, geht die wilde Hatz im nächsten Viertel weiter, wo schon ein anderer Oberschurke wartet.

Wenn auch das Spielprinzip nicht sonderlich originell ist, so spielt sich Resolution 101 doch recht flott. Das ist vorwiegend der überaus gelungenen 3D-Grafik zu verdanken: Man sieht das Geschehen aus der Perspektive des Luftkissen-Piloten; Gebäude und Gegner rauschen rasend schnell auf einen zu. Mit der linken Maustaste wird beschleunigt, die rechte dient zum Feuern. Schade nur, daß man bedenkenlos in jedes Objekt hineindondern kann, der Gleiter prallt dann nur ab und setzt unbeschadet seine Fahrt fort - nicht sehr realistisch! Davon abgesehen erhält man ein flottes Actionspielchen, das mit toller Grafik und ordentlicher Spielbarkeit aufwarten kann. (C. Borgmeier)


Resolution 101 logo

MILLENNIUM
PRICE: £24.99

Set in a USA of the future, a new law has been passed that allows convicted criminals a chance to earn their freedom by hunting down and terminating law breakers. A plot that could hold its own in movie-land.

The perpetrators in this game are drug-runners and their henchmen. A flash of lightning signifies the arrival of the drug-runners' cronies. Equipped with a multitude of different craft and weapons, the bad guys' main job is to protect the drug-runner while doing a bit of powder pushing themselves. For every one of the henchmen destroyed you get a certain amount of bounty, plus bonus money or drug canisters. You must collect the drug canisters to complete the level, because you cannot destroy the runner until you have filled your quota.

To help you combat inner city crime the sheriff's office has obligingly given you a hover car and a light machine gun. The car is well armoured, but even the best drivers have trouble avoiding bullets, so this is where the shop comes in handy. Patches can be bought to bodge up any holes in your vehicle, as well as replacement parts. Extra weapons such as cannons and missiles are also available, each divided into varying degrees of effectiveness and destructive power.

The graphics are bright and fast, as expected from the team who programmed Archipelagos. And it is quite easy to learn the layout of the city so that you do not get lost. Though all the buildings are built completely out of blocks and contain very little detail, things like trees, lampposts and boulevards make the city seem more realistic.

Unfortunately, Resolution 101 has two drawbacks. The first is the feeling generated by your car. I know it is set in the future, but I would have preferred handling whether it drives on the road or a couple of feet above it. There is also a lack of variety. There are twelve levels to pass through, but each one looks and plays like the one before. Disappointing.

Still, Resolution 101 is a fast, fun, original shoot em up which is worth trying.


Resolution 101 logo

Millennium, Amiga £24.99

Set a thief to catch a thief, so they say, only in the future it's more a case of freeing criminals to assassinate America's Most Wanted. This bizarre new law, Senate Resolution 101, is due to skyrocketing drug-related crime. You're one such convicted criminal and to earn your complete freedom you've got to 'terminate' a number of gangland bosses. Besides your licence to kill, you've been given an armed skimmer. More importantly, you've got free insurance! A rating of five translates as five lives.

The four criminals you must execute are located in Los Envegas; each controls a quarter of the city. When in pursuit of one you're confined to that quarter. To shoot the drug dealer's ship you must collect enough evidence - i.e. red drug canisters which are dropped by the drug runner and destroyed henchmen. The number of canisters needed increases with each level, but once the ship is blown up the drug dealer still survives. While you pursue the next dealer he uses his insurance to buy another ship. Only after his third defeat can he be killed for good. With four dealers, in all this makes twelve levels to be completed.

When a drug runner starts a run the sky darkens... A drug run consists of stops at various buildings, if completed you lose a life. The dealer can also command drug bosses who, with their henchmen, can be ordered to defend buildings, areas or even attack you! Most henchmen fly saucer-shaped skimmers, but there's also plenty of robotic snipers on the ground.

Initially, hits reduce your armour rating: once this is in the red, instruments such as Local Radar, City Map and various indicators can be destroyed. These can be repaired at shops in any of the nine shopping malls. There are three shop types: for Repairs, Guns and Engine maintenance. You can uprate your skimmer with more powerful machineguns, cannons and heat-seeking missiles. There's also a booster pack for the engine.

All this costs money, earned by shooting baddies for bounty and collecting squarish canisters. There are also yellow canisters (collect four for an extra life), and booby-trapped ones. Further complications are provided by canals and large rivers - if the skimmer stops on any of these it sinks! If you do get into trouble a small TV shows the dealer laughing at you; succeed and he grimaces.


Robin Hogg The programmers' previous game, Archipelagos, was packed with novelty and originality which I'm disappointed to find a little lacking here. The urban drug runner chase is a good idea - Turbo Esprit made a hit of it on the Speccy - but here the city is too abstract to be convincing. The sprites aren't initially impressive either, but apart from the odd dodgy robot they soon grow on you. In fact, they turn out to be fairly good with a great 'glass spider' later on.
As the game progresses it gets better all round, in fact. Saving up to buy equipment takes quite some time, while damage to the instruments work quite realistically. And the maze of canals on sector four ensures plenty of tension there.
Scorelord 101's impressive manual packs in plenty of detail and scenario, but it boils down to being a Backlash-like shoot-'em-up with shops for repairs and add-on equipment. The graphics aren't awesome - an odd mix of solid 3-D and sprites - but still effective and fast-moving. Particularly good is the drug runner ship which is good from all angles, and the animated 'TV' pictures of the dealers scoffing or weeping!
Gameplay is above-average for this type of shoot-'em-up with some nice tactical touches. The drug lords surrounded by assassins provide some formidable opposition, and while the music is a bit too cheerful for the scenario, it's good quality stuff. All in all, a very enjoyable game which well reward long-term play.