RVG Forum

A Falcon version of the ST, Amiga, PC and Atari Lynx game of the same name this is basically just the highly popular Japanese board game of mah-jong with a few minor differences. For those people who have somehow never encountered mah-jong in any form it’s an ancient tile game that involves you matching up pairs and trying to clear the board in the best time. The tiles are stacked in formations and you can only match and remove tiles if they are not blocked by another tile from the left or right. As the tiles are also stacked its wise to try and uncover the tiles you can't see as soon as you can. The tiles are stacked randomly so sometimes its not even possible to complete a board. Features unique to Shanghai compared to previous incarnations of the game are a simpler style western tile set along side the original one, a hint option, selection of soundtracks and best of all a wonderful selection of different tile layouts all based on and resembling different animals such as bear, butterfly, fish and turtle. The graphics are really well defined and do the job perfectly, the sound is great with some suitable tunes and effects but its the gameplay that really matters on this game and I can safely say that Shanghai is THE most addictive game I have ever played! This freeware Falcon game is my favourite puzzle game for the machine and well worth checking out.

Produced by the legendary Jeff Minter this game started off its life as an early prototype for Atari’s abandoned 32-bit Panther console called The Antelope Demo. It is pretty much a cross between 2 of Jeff’s previous games, Revenge Of The Mutant Camels and Andes Attack. A horizontally scrolling shooter containing the usual levels of Minter madness it plays much like Defender with the screen scrolling in both directions as well as up and down a limited amount. Each level has its own mission like killing a bunch of giant robotic camels or wiping out a gang of flying cyborg sheep! Of course there are power-ups along the way to help you and boy will you need them if you want to progress! Llamazap looks great with loads of colour, smooth scrolling and masses of sprites on screen. The sound is made up of crazy digitised animal noises and ear bursting effects, what else would you expect from Minter? I love Llamazap and I am sure you will too, especially if you are as big a fan of the Yak as I am!

Moon Games is actually the sequel to another Falcon game called Moon Speeder. It takes that original game and improves on it massively adding lots of new features. The other great thing about this homebrew title is that it’s freeware so can be downloaded legally for free! The game is split into 2 distinct parts, the maze levels and racing levels. The maze levels act like a bonus stage of sorts and see you moving a giant marble round a 3D maze trying to find the exit in the quickest time possible. The main, and also most interesting, part of the game however is the racing sections. Take one look at them and you will be instantly reminded of F-Zero on the SNES. This is because they use a mode 7 style track to convey the action but with all the graphics drawn in 3D using polygons. The racing itself is much like Mario Kart as you try to beat your opponents while picking up different power-ups to help you along the way. These are things like nitros, lasers and a bad one that slows you down! On these stages you get to choose from a number of different moon speeders that all have their own strengths and weaknesses. One of the very best things about this game is that it can be played in split-screen 2-player mode! If you own a Falcon there really is no reason not to own this game, a highly accomplished product for the home computer.