Skyhigh 18 Game reviews

Game reviews




Well, this time I (Shuze) returns to you with a review
of one of the biggest games so far this year, namely:

SWORD OF HONOUR
SWORD OF HONOUR

From Prestige Entertainment, Dynafield Systems,
Hi-Track, Electric Boys Entertainment Software, and
just to add a bit more, Fairlight Designs....

Yes, a hell of a lot of people have worked on this
game. I know that Bacchus/Flt and Rowdy/Flt
basically cracked the original trackloading game
and placed their own loader in the game, so that it
could be transfered to 3.5 inch disk for Electric
Boyz. And my, they did a good job.

But, lets start with the review.

The first thing you notice upon loading the game
isn't the loading! It is an extremely fast loading
game, which is always good to see, as it really does
show that there was a lot of work done on this game.

The game starts with a basic into sequence, and
an average picture, nothing too special in my opinion,
but there is some nice music in the background to
set the scene. Then, your drive starts whirring
away, and the title screen is loaded, showing all
the credits and so on, and it isn't too bad to see
yet more presentation.

Anyway, then you press fire again, and the game
itself starts.

Being a fan of the Last Ninja style of game, I had
very high expectations for this game, then had
them squashed. To be honest, I found this game
quite repetitive, just the same as the whole Dizzy
series of games, with hunting around for objects
to solve the problems.

Many people do love this sort of game, but I
personally hate them.

But, so I don't badly influence this interview, I will
go on.

The thing that does strike you is the graphics, as
they are so detailed (although it must be said, when
compared to those of Last Ninja, a game from the
80's, they do fall short). Each screen appears to
have its own individual style, which shows a lot of
work from the artist. But, I would have thought that
with such a fast loading system, FLI background
graphics would have been a great idea, but that
doesn't matter.

Each screen of the game loads individually, which is
great on the original, due to the mega fast loader,
but if anyone has any of the cracked versions, it
soon becomes apparant just how unplayable the
game would be if there was no fastloader.

The detail applied to this game is intense, from the
background sounds of birds chirping, down to the
excellently drawn backgrounds (although the main
Ninja sprite doesn't particularly appeal to me). The
game does just ooze class.

But then I'm afraid, it is time to start criticising the
game.

I am not exactly stupid, but I had a lot of trouble
with this game, and eventually gave up, but then
again, I have always hated games that require
that sort of hunting around. I have always much
prefered the Last Ninja style where everything is
pretty obvious, but actual playing skill is needed,
or the Ultima series, where the game is so intriguing,

I thought that this game was truly great to look at,
and great on paper, but the actual game just isn't
my style. The whole idea is fair enough, but I have
never enjoyed this sort of game, and if you enjoy
the Dizzy style of game, with hunting through all
the screens for an object, then take it to someone
somewhere.

Before anyone criticises me for my review of this
game being so subjective, I will just tell you that
if you are a fan of the puzzle/action style of game,
this is one to get your hands on no matter what the
cost, but if, like me, you hate hunting through
endless screens for objects, give this a miss.

There is no doubt that this is a massive game, and if
you really want to get into it, then good luck to you,
but it ain't my sort.

Just as a final note, I think it is fair to be mentioned
that the game has over 2 megabytes of graphics, but
as the old saying goes "graphics do not make the
game" and as far as I am concerned, that applies
very much here.

Well, time for the final review

Graphics: 85% (great backgrounds, great animation)
Music: 80% (a few good tunes, and excellent SFX)
Playability: 70% (difficult to get into, probably hard
to get out of when you get into it)
Lastability: 90% (a huge game, but only if you like
this genre of game)
OVERALL: 84%
OVERALL: 84%

(note that Sword of Honour is available from
Electric Boyz Entertainment Software on 5.25 inch
and 3.5 inch disk, at a price of  9.99 pounds!
The address is:

Electric Boyz Entertainment Software
917B Brighton Road
Purley
Surrey
CR8 2BP
England

Make any cheques payable to Electric Boyz
Entertainment Software.

---------------------------------------------

Anyone with any memory in particular will know that
last issue I promised a review of the New Entry game
WALKERZ. Well, the game is not completed yet, so I
could not get ahold of it (apparantly, the code is
finished, but EBES are waiting for the official
release date before sending it to ANYONE (i.e. anyone
who may upload it onto any boards (me? Never......))

Don't worry, I will have it for you next issue.

Okey dokey, hit fire (or return, in case you didn't
know!)


Shuze