Here we go again. One of these days we're going to be able to fill a whole issue of CF with just
compilations. There have been so many of the things released recently that you could be fooled
into thinking that the softies are having a good spring clean. The latest features various Codies
sports games, and one of them, Cueboy, is brand new.
Slicks is a bit like Carnage (which was reviewed last issue) in that it's an overhead-viewed
motor racing game. But unlike Carnage, your car is at all times in the centre of the screen while
the scenery scrolls by. There's a fab two-player mode that's worth buying the game for alone, but there
are loads of other great touches that give Slicks the edge over your average motor racing game.
Wrestling Super Start is a pretty bog standard wrestling game. With large sprites and good
use of colour it looks pretty, but it's a bit lacking on the gameplay front. To beat your opponent
you have to waggle your stick faster than the computer thinks one of the top wrestling stars could
waggle this.
One of these days a Californian university professor will publish a report
on how waggling is good for your health, but until then I'll stick to games that need a little
skill to beat rather than just a swift wrist.
Although the next game is called 1st Division Manager you can actually chose to manage any team
in a British league from the Premier to the Third (which is a bit like calling it 2nd Division
Manager if it had been out a couple of years back). You start fresh at the beginning of a season,
with a nondescript bunch of players and no games to your name. You then have to start building
your team into a cup-winning squad, and there are various ways to do this.
Turn on your (in-game) PC, wince at the meagre talents of your team, and start to train them
up. Either that or you can contact the outside world, via a cute-looking girly on the other end
of the phone. She'll arrange a bank loan for you, buy a player or sell one of yours - versatile
little miss (makes you wonder what she does with the players she buys! - Ed).
1st Division Manager looks luvverly but plays slowly and without any real kick. All it needs
is a bit of tightening up - buying a player is particularly tedious - and some more options. You've
got to have a lot of patience to be able to progress.
International Speedway's not quite like taking a Harley across America: it's more like go-karting
around your driveway. You race around a simple oval circuit, against four simple opponents. The
main problem is that it's just too easy. On top of that every race feels exactly the same as
the last - the names of your opponents and the tracks change, but that's about it. Admittedly it
feels good at first but after a few goes you'll be as bored as a pyromaniac in a swimming pool.
