blackthunder-udi Commodore 64 game

Introduction: Quicksilva has not been without its bad press in this column of late. For every good Black Thunder.

Game Overview: Black Thunder is one of the former and I'm delighted to report, a rare gem indeed. It's an arcade stunner that's fast, frenetic, and thoroughly addictive. As Crow-Ther (the programmer's name in case you didn't know), the object of the exercise is to depart from the town of Wizening on the local motorway system easy until you realize you're being pursued all the while by the android Highway Patrol.

Gameplay: It's split-screen action. On top is your motor, a sort of customised VW Beetle that you see speeding past a rather attractive landscape. Don't, however, spend too much time admiring it if you want to stay alive for any length of time; keep all eyes firmly on the screen at the bottom. That's where you'll see a scrolling map of the motorway system complete with the helicopters and patrol cars that are coming to git ya! Flying things have a nasty tendency to drop bombs on you, so do everything you can to avoid ending up underneath them. Nifty footwork will get you behind and in position to open fire. To get out of the city alive, you have to score a maximum of 10,000 points; this you'll get by offing your pursuers and picking up the little gold things.

Game Details: Black Thunder Commodore 64 Quicksilva - Price £7.95

Comparison: If you own Loco or a similar game, you will not want this one. Otherwise, it is well worth buying.

Loco Mention: Loco was a great game from the ten while he was with Alligata. self-taught Tony Crowther, writ- While awaiting (eagerly!) for the follow-up on the Gremlin Graphics label in zoomed Black Thunder courtesy of Quicksilva. Never look a gifthorse in the mouth, even if it is mutton dressed up as lamb. Loco now looks positively homespun by com-

Additional Information: Your ambition is to escape the city; Mr. Nasty's aim is to keep you there. As you make a dash for it, it dawns on you that droid tanks are careering towards you; helicopters and missiles are tracking from behind, and somewhere above are malevolent UFOs, which seem indestructible from where I'm standing. You're bristling with shells, a forward and a rear gun (you control the altitude of fire on this one) and moving panorama of the city- you can look forward to grabbing further supplies of ammo en superimposed. You can watch your missiles launch, judge their height and thrill to direct hits.

Game Features: The screen is divided horizontally: the lower portion is a scrolling radar display of the road network (which makes Spaghetti Junction look like a slip road) showing your position and the approach of danger. The business half is a constantly also be on the Quicksilva label.