[{"TitleName":"Coin-Op Hits II","Publisher":"U.S. Gold Ltd","Author":"","YearOfRelease":"1991","ZxDbId":"0011599","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 89, Jun 1991","Price":"£2.99","ReleaseDate":"1991-05-23","Editor":"Richard Eddy","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Richard Eddy\r\nSub Editor: Warren Lapworth\r\nStaff Writers: Mark Caswell, Nick Roberts, Lloyd Mangram\r\nArt Editor: Mark Kendrick\r\nPhotography: Michael Parkinson\r\nProduction and Circulation Director: Jonathan Rignall\r\nSystems Operator: Paul (Charlie) Chubb\r\nReprographics: Matthew Uffindell (Supervisor), Robert Millichamp, Robb Hamilton, Tim Morris, Jenny Reddard\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Judith Bamford\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: Christine Moore\r\nAdvertisement Production: Jackie Morris (Supervisor), Joanne Lewis\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\nSubscriptions: Caroline Edwards [redacted]\r\n\r\nTypesetting Apple Macintosh Computers using Quark Express and Bitstream Fonts.\r\n\r\nSystems Manager: Ian Chubb\r\n\r\nColour origination Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by BPCC Business Magazines (Carlisle) Ltd, [redacted].\r\n\r\nDistributor COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nYearly subscription rates: UK £17.20 Europe £24.00, Air Mail overseas £37. US/Canada subscriptions and back issues enquiries Barry Hatcher, British Magazine Distributors Ltd [redacted]. Yearly subscription rates US$47.00, Canada CAN$57.00 Back Issues US$5.20, Canada CAN$6.20 (inclusive of postage). \r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available; If something untoward happens we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of CRASH. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop us a line). No person who is related, no matter how remotely, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions.\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material on 35mm transparencies is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Copy published in CRASH will be edited as seen fit and payment will be calculated according to the current printed word rate. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nCopyright CRASH Ltd 1991 A Newsfield Publication. ISSN 0954-8661. Cover design and illustration by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"US Gold\r\n£16.32\r\n\r\nSave yourself a stack of 10p's by getting a copy of US Gold's Coin Op Hits II. The five arcade smashes are Dynasty Wars, Ninja Spirit, Vigilante, Ghouls 'N' Ghosts and Hammefist.\r\n\r\nThe outstanding game in the bunch is Ghouls 'N' Ghosts, which was a 92% Smash when it was first reviewed! It's a platform shoot-'em-up with excellent scrolling scenery and graphics. The action is real addictive from the start.\r\n\r\nIf you like something with a bit more punch, Vigilante may be more up your street. Lots of kicks, punches and general violent behaviour is what it's all about as you battle your way through the street gangs of New York.\r\n\r\nFed up with modern day action? Fighting in a different time is just a load away with Dynasty Wars. The game is played entirely on horseback with the objective being to battle with eight legions of enemy infantry and cavalry to eventually polish off the evil warlord, Thung Choc!\r\n\r\nHammerfist speaks for itself really, doesn't it? More violent action, but this time the setting is in 2215 AD. The world is controlled by holograms and when two of these go wrong all hell breaks loose. You have got to stop the destruction.\r\n\r\nLast but definitely not least is Ninja Spirit. This is one for all fans of ninja games with plenty of swordsmen, samurais and wolves to be popped off and of course, oodles of weapons to help you.\r\n\r\nCoin-Op Hits II's mainly for beat-'em-up fans with each game having a similar style. Ghouls 'N' Ghosts comes out top of the heap.\r\n\r\nDynasty Wars: 15/20\r\nVigilante: 16/20\r\nGhouls 'N' Ghosts: 18/20\r\nNinja Spirit: 16/20\r\nHammerfist: 17/20","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"33","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"82","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"82%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[{"Header":"Dynasty Wars","Score":"15/20","Text":"Dynasty Wars"},{"Header":"Vigilante","Score":"16/20","Text":"Vigilante"},{"Header":"Ghouls 'N' Ghosts","Score":"18/20","Text":"Ghouls 'n' Ghosts"},{"Header":"Ninja Spirit","Score":"16/20","Text":"Ninja Spirit"},{"Header":"Hammerfist","Score":"17/20","Text":"Hammerfist"}]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 66, Jun 1991","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1991-05-02","Editor":"Andy Ide","TotalPages":84,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Andy Ide\r\nArt Editor: Sal Meddings\r\nGames Editor: James Leach\r\nStaff Writer: Linda Barker\r\nDesign Assistant: Andy Ounsted\r\nAdvertising Manager: Simon Moss\r\nDeputy Advertising Manager: Philip Davenport\r\nProduction Coordinator: Melissa Parkinson\r\nPublisher: Jane Richardson\r\nPublishing Assistant: Michele Harris\r\nGroup Publisher: Greg Ingham\r\nCirculation Director: Sue Hartley\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair, Future Publishing [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: Computer Posting [redacted]\r\nDistribution: MMC [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Robert Bliss\r\nISSN 0269 6983\r\nABC July-Dec 1990 60,368\r\n\r\nYS comes to you from the same folks who 'knock out' Commodore Format, ST Format, Amiga Format, New Computer Express, Amstrad Action, MacPublishing, Classic CD, PC Plus, 8000 Plus & Sega Power, Amiga Power, Amiga Shopper & Needlecraft"},"MainText":"US Gold\r\n£15.99 cass\r\nReviewer: James Leach\r\n\r\nYikes. This compilation's got more violence in it than Gary Glitter's got sequins! Of course, I'm no stranger to extreme physical trauma. Andy's always hitting me over the head for no apparent reason. (Thwack! Ed) Like that. (Cough.) So what better way to release all my pent-up anger and frustration (but keep my job at the same time) than to get well and truly stuck into some serious Speccy GBH? Banzai!\r\n\r\nVIGILANTE\r\n\r\nVigilante is pure martial arts beat-'em-up (along the lines of Renegade) and sees you jumping around New York trying to rescue Madonna. (Or someone with exactly the same name.) There are the usual fighting moves, and weapons to pick up, and stuff like that, and, er, that's about it really. The graphics are nothing special, and the colour clash can get a bit severe at times, but overall it's just about fast enough to keep your interest up.\r\n1991 Rating: 69°\r\n\r\nNINJA SPIRIT\r\n\r\nBy some weird coincidence, Ninja Spirit also sees you with 2 characters, only this time one is literally a shadow of the other, doing exactly what the first one does. They both wander around the mazy dungeony-type castle hacking and slashing at the dozens of mystical warriors who toddle up bravely to get their heads cut off.\r\n\r\nThe combat and movement is nice and zappy but it lets itself down by having a very, very confused background. This is a pity, because otherwise the game would be perfectly good fun to play.\r\n1991 Rating: 71°\r\n\r\nDYNASTY WARS\r\n\r\nA funny one. It sets you up as one of a clan of oriental horseriders trying to wipe out an empire of nasty evil warriors. They're nicely drawn, giving a sort of Japanesey feel to the whole thing, but they're too small and tend to get confused (like Ninja Spirit) in battle. The combat itself is unsatisfying because you've got to hold down Fire to put more aggressiveness into each blow, and then you find that it's really easy to kill everybody by just sliding around the screen from side to side. But strangely, it's also a game you'd quite like to get to the end of. Again, showing its age, but endearing.\r\n1991 Rating: 80°\r\n\r\nHAMMERFIST\r\n\r\nHammerfist is very much in the Last Ninja 2 mould. It's about some bloke who shoots a big gun and a girl who jumps quite high in the air who together take on the cyberpunk establishment of the future. You control first one character and then the other, according to which suits the particular situation. There are some well-funky graphics and a fair bit of puzzle-solving to do, and, all in all, it's fast-paced, highly addictive and generally pretty spookalicious.\r\n1991 Rating: 87°\r\n\r\nGHOULS 'N' GHOSTS\r\n\r\nThis is better. No Japanese street-fighting here. Just simple, easy-peasy ghost killing. You play Arthur, picking up weapons and points as you wend your way towards a large castle. Undead people burst up out of the ground, terrifying vultures swoop down, and trapdoors open and close with little or no warning. G'n' G is a lot of fun. It's got simple, clear graphics, and a good mix of puzzles and tricks to keep your interest from flagging. There are nice touches of humour too. like the wizard chappie who turns you into a duck when you shoot him. It is getting old and lacks the sort of novel twists you see in the best shoot-'em-ups, but still manages to carry itself extremely well.\r\nYS Rating: 82°\r\n\r\nOh dear. Didn't quite have the punch I was looking for, that. None of the games are classics, and time hasn't been too kind to them, but then again they're not totally crap either. The only trouble is I'm still feeling incredibly violent. (Thwack! Ed) And I think I'm about to go and lose my job...","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"A compilation of 5 generally alright (and very violent) games. Just teeters above average.","Page":"48,49","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"James Leach","Score":"78","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"And here's another crap 'Pass the binoculars' screen. (Looks like we're underwater!)"},{"Text":"Crikey! Lots of hobgoblin thingies are jumping out of the ground to kill me! Better stop 'em with my nifty dagger-throwing party trick, eh? That'll show 'em!"},{"Text":"Good lord. Can't see a thing. Looks like a blizzard in an Indian takeaway! (Ho hum.)"},{"Text":"Oh no - yobs on the loose! Look, er, just take the money, will you? Go and buy yourselves a couple of lollypops or something."},{"Text":"Well, she's certainly 'got the power', hasn't she?"}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"THE VOICE OF REASON\r\n\r\nThe other day we heard a rustling in the YS bushes (behind the shed) and went out to investigate. The noise seemed to be coming from a hole in the ground, and, as we approached, who should suddenly jump out of it but Arnold Schwarzenegger. Spook! After recovering from the initial shock of finding himself in south-west England (and not Southern California where he'd been filming an action scene for the forthcoming Terminator 2), he accepted our gracious offer of a cup of tea, and gave us this second opinion on Coin-Op Hits 2. Over to you, Mr Schwarzenegger.\r\n\r\nOh. Where iz diz Spegdrum compooda den? Oh, yez. I zee it. Vigilante, it haf loz of violenze. Iz good becoz, you know, violenze, is quite impordant. Is good. Hammerviz? Diz Metaliziz girl I like. She very strong. You have her addrez? Hur hur. Dere izn't enuv violonze in Ninja Zpirit. No. I cannot zee what iz going on eider. Ghoulz 'n' Ghosts is not zo good neider. How you kill ghoz? Uh? Und dis Dynasty Varz? Pah! Horze-riding is fur girls und big drinks of water. I eat zem for breakfaz. Where's my Uzi 9 millimeder? I'll be back!\r\n\r\nAnd with that he disappeared back down the hole again."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Life Expectancy","Score":"75%","Text":""},{"Header":"Instant Appeal","Score":"77%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"79%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"75%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"78%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[{"Header":"Vigilante","Score":"69%","Text":"Vigilante"},{"Header":"Ninja Spirit","Score":"71%","Text":"Ninja Spirit"},{"Header":"Dynasty Wars","Score":"80%","Text":"Dynasty Wars"},{"Header":"Hammerfist","Score":"87%","Text":"Hammerfist"},{"Header":"Ghouls 'N' Ghosts","Score":"82%","Text":"Ghouls 'n' Ghosts"}]}]}]