| ★ AMSTRAD CPC ★ GAMESLIST ★ BEACH HEAD 2 (c) USGOLD ★ |
| A100% | Amstrad Action |
This sequel has been a long time in the making. At last you've got the chance to get to grips with the dictator who apparently escaped at the end of the original game. He's now constructed himself an island fortress which the allied forces are trying to capture, while the dictator tries to inflict revenge for his earlier defeat. You can play either the dictator or the allied commander, or go head-to-head with another player, in the four-stage battle for supremacy. In the first stage the allied paratroopers parachute in and attack a machinegun nest, next they use the gun to help hostages trying to escape the dictator. Any rescued hostages are put in helicopters and flown through heavy defences. The final confrontation is between the dictator and allied leader throwing ‘poonta' sticks at each other across a river.
Having overrun the gun, the allies can turn it on the dictator and try to help some hostages escape. They appear in the top left of the screen and walk automatically across to a doorway. The dictator tries to stop them by using several means which the allies try to counter with the gun. One soldier ties to drop rocks on the escaper, another lays mines for him to run into, while a tank trundles towards him trying to crush him. If at least one hostage gets through, it's on to the next stage. This is a helicopter flight over a downward-scrolling landscape which the allies have to complete with the hostages as passengers. The dictator controls tanks along the route that can bring the chopper down, while other defences work automatically. The chopper can shoot many of the defences and fly under and over obstacles. The final stage has two figures standing on opposite sides of an underground river where they throw sticks to try to hit each other. Four hits wins a round, causing the man to fall in the water. There are nine rounds to complete, a bonus being awarded for scoring 4-0 victories. The stages all sound fine in concept but they are actually very boring to play. For one, three and four there are simple methods for completing them without any difficulty whatsoever, while number two is a lot tougher. The computer puts up rather pitiful opposition; even a two-player game is limited by the game's shortcomings, particularly on stage two where the dictator can win every time without fail. This is a bad conversion made up of simple graphics, horrible sound and boring gameplay. BW
While you're busy zigzagging across the ocean the engine temperature and stress will be building up. If you let them rise too far the boat will break up. You'll either have to keep going at a steady pace or give them time to rest occasionally. You have to look after your health and the business as well on this trip, using the galley and a telex machine. At the galley you are gradually stoked up with food, allowing you to move faster around the boat. The telex will ask you a question about the business: you must answer yes or no. Get the question right and you could make some money, wrong and you'll lose a packet. Most of your time is spent racing from one part of the ship to another as the computer informs you of each alert. This gets repetitive after a while, and most annoying when one slight delay can sink the boat and end your game. There's quite a long-term challenge in completing the route at all, never mind in record time, so that should keep you plugging away. On the whole I think the game consists mostly of hype and publicity, but the tough task redeems it somewhat. BW, AA GREEN SCREEN VIEW : Unfortunately too much is visible. |
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