Watchtower
OTM are fast becoming one of
the leading forces in the Amiga games industry, and hopefully the new release
Watchtower will secure their place.
Basically, It's Commando. Yep, remember that now dusty old arcade which
you'll probably find locked away in a dark room, most likely because it's
so old it'll be falling apart and already vandalised by school kids during
lunchtimes. Commando was one of the greatest games ever.
When I was little, I used to wander into some social place, usually with
a good reason, and walk straight past the Snooker and Pool tables and head
for the arcades to continuously ram 10p's down their throats until they
were blue in the face. Back then it was either Frogger, Asteroids or Commando.
It was a tough choice, although they were all frustrating, so inevitably,
my temper frayed and the machines were abruptly abused with my feet, fists
and anything I could generally throw at it. Well, Commando was a top-viewed
war/action game. It featured this little war guy who had a machine gun and
some grenades. I could never remember the plot because it was simply a case
of sticking you coin in and achieving the highest score, the intro screens
barely saw the light of day. It was set in jungle and the idea was to kill
all the enemy, release hostages and blow up bridges.
During the middle eighties after receiving a Spectrum - I managed to find
Commando in the shops for £1.99. Blimey! A game forless then two quid!
And to this day it's still one of the greatest games ever to grace computer
screens. Not because of the graphics or sound, but for sheer playability.
Watchtower is based on the same idea, although it will obviously be far
superior in presentation and hopefully in gameplay too.
You can play two players on the screen
at once and both can battle through three different stages including the
Desert, Jungle and City. There are six missions in each one. Just like the
original Commando, there are tanks, helicopters and other various vehicles
to battle against which will take an enormous amount of firepower to destroy
and when you've got foot soldiers firing at you from all angles it gives
you an idea of the challenge.
I can't remember if Commando had end-of-level guardians, although I seem
to recall a big door where the enemy used to come pouring out.
The game is still around 75% complete and should be ready around early April.
It's looking pretty polished and it's certainly a tough challenge. We'll
bring you a full review as soon as we can.
Watchtower will be released by OTM around March '96
© 1996 IDG Media