Target: Renegade

Ocean
£7.95 cass/£14.95 disk
Reviewer: David McCandless

I'm not really a sadistic, I-luv-violence sort of person. Honest! You don't believe me? Yeah? Fight 'bout it? You come 'ere an'say dat! Anyday mate! Ahem, well okay, I like vapourising the odd bug-eyed extra-terrestrial on my birthday, and, yes, I suppose I'm a martial-arts freak, but I tell ya, no matter how pacifistic, wimpy or down-right chicken you are, Target Renegade will awaken your most primeval instincts and have you drooling in violent ecstasy.

Scumville (sounds like a nice place), is a corrupt city, so corrupt in fact that even Guinness share-holders wouldn't touch it with a transatlantic cable. It's ruled by the modestly named gangster, Mr. Big (in the interest of good taste, I have omitted all "big parts of anatomy" jokes here). Your brother, Matt, obviously a suicidal cabbage-head, thought he'd investigate the malignant machinations (and bad alliterations), of Mr Big. Surprise! Surprise! Matt was later found underwater still wearing his trendy concrete Espadrilles, and you, Renegade, have only one thing on your mind - vengeance.

Since his last excursion, Renegade has grown up - he's taller now and glides smoothly over the screen like Wacko Jacko himself. Unfortunately, his numerous antagonists have also been at the steroids and are bigger, eviler, seedier and badder than ever before - and they get harder and harder (oo-er) to beat. From prostitutes to punks, breakdancers to bodyguards - all slide out to take turns in pulping you.

In this sequel, there are five loadable rough-tough, smelly city parts - the multi-storey car park, the street at night, the park, the shopping mall, and ultimately Mr Big's bar. Each has its own selection of burly, brick wall types (you know them, all weight-lifting and no conversation), who crowd in and attack you from all sides with punches, kicks or blunt instruments. All knock you dribbling to the floor and chop off a chunk of your energy.

To defend yourself, you have a simple, manageable range of karate moves. There's no "Oh-no! I've used the spinning front snap telescopic groin kick, instead of the jumping rotating side thrust punch!" - the moves are easy and effective. Foremost is the beautiful flying kick, then there's an elegant back-kick, followed by punches and the eye-wateringly realistic knee-in groin move.

Graphic variation in a game like this is obviously limited, but Dawn Drake's design of the enemy is brilliant and actually has character. Spiky-haired punks, stilletoed ladies of the night, and bulbous gnashing dogs, to name but some, must be reduced to recumbent bruises before you can progress. The five backdrops however are a bit primitive and stark, except for the park which has some excellently designed trees, but gameplay is so fierce you rarely notice.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you could be moaning, so what's new? - I've seen all this before in Renegade. Well quit moaning, you stroppy wimp (to coin one of my mother's eloquent phrases) There's a splattering of special snazzy features that'll throw the original into the shade.

For instance, you can now use weapons (axes, sledgehammers etc obtained by downing its owner), to batter your assailent into aqueous beetroot. But there's no way of knowing they're dead. So, you may scream "Hah-hah! Liquidized you, you punk!" - but boing! up jumps Mr Punk and nuts Mr Renegade, Concrete head syndrome I call it.

The new two player option is fun - jumping about all over the screen, bluntly kicking anything and everything including your fellow player. Unfortunately, double players means double enemies, and the play hots up accordingly.

Anyway, the attraction of Target is that it appeals to our more violent instincts and is wholly satisfying when you perform an exquisite flying kick and bash that punk into the pavement. It's addictively addictive and Mike Lamb has done a job and three quarters in coding it. Does the play ooze as several thousand breakdancers converge on you? Do you flicker when moving at high speed to dodge a bullet? Not a chance mate - find a fault and win a fiver (That's a rhetorical quezzie by the way!).

Difficulty, I think, is slightly unbalanced. I cruised through to level three and then suddenly level four punched me in the stomach and I couldn't get any further. But it just adds to the addictiveness.

The greatest beat 'em up to date?

Yep.

Who needs a torch for the dark when you're wearing pink and yellow day-glo flares? 'Ever Ready' RICH PELLEY shines some light down the...

BARGAIN BASEMENT

The Hit Squad
£2.99
Reviewer: Rich Pelley

You lucky people! if you've been on the moon/living in a cave/dead etc etc for the past few years then you probably won't know how brill Targ Ren is, so please allow me (if I may) to explain. (Er, if you haven't then go away and have a bath or something.)

You have to make your way through five perfectly innocent levels, each one taking up about ten screens and with a different setting, with inhabitants including (beautifully animated) motorcyclists, thugs, pimps (with guns), hookers, skinheads, and even dogs. The general aim is to reach Mr Big, whose corks you have to pop as well (spookily enough). There are tons of moves, and you can pick up and use weapons which are lying about on the way round too.

But why is it so good? Er, well, it just is - probably because it's so playable. Mind you, it is a little easy to complete, especially when doing it simo two-player style (but then again that's much more fun 'cos you can beat up your friend as well, both on- and off-screen). If you haven't got this already, then what are you waiting for? Go out and buy a copy immediately. If you have, then why not buy another in case you lose your original copy (or something)?

THE COMPLETE YS GUIDE TO BEAT-'EM-UPS

A SELECTION OF HISTORIC BEAT-'EM-UPS

Beat-'em-ups, eh? They've been oodles of them gracing the Speccy over the years, haven't there? So many in fact that it's easy-peasy to get your Exploding Fists mixed up with your International Karates, and end up with absolutely no idea where you are. But not any more, 'cos here's Jonathan Davies with the Your Sinclair Definitive Guide To Beat-'Em-Ups!! Hurrah! (Or should that be "Hai-arrgh!"?)

Before we start, let's get one thing straight - beat-'em-ups are not boring, and if you think they are then you've got it all wrong. On the contrary, they're jolly interesting. And, rather than all being exactly the same, they're highly individual affairs, each with their own subtleties and nuances. To assume otherwise exhibits a total ignorance of the creativity and skill that go into making what has become one of the stalwarts of the computer games industry.

So what constitutes a 'beat-'em-up'? Obviously, the beating up of one or more characters is an essential part of the gameplay. Whether this is done with one's hands or a weapon depends on the game. Purists tend to frown upon the use of shurikens, big sticks and other instruments, but it's a sad fact that in these days you're unlikely to rescue your princess without some sort of mechanical assistance. The setting is also important. The summit of Mount Yukahomo is ideal or perhaps the imperial palace of the Dragon master, but an oriental atmosphere is a definite must.

In its traditional form the beat-'em-up takes place on a single screen, with your opponents tackling you one at a time. Variations, however, include the scrolling beat-'em-up (with the bonus of tackling two or more adversaries at once) and the full scale flip-screen, multi-level version with add-on weapons, puzzles to solve and an embossment of up to three initials.

Whichever incarnation it appears in, a beat-'em-up is not to be taken lightly. A sharp eye, lightning reflexes and an elephantine memory (for learning all those moves) are needed, along with the finest joystick available.

THE FIRST EVER BEAT-'EM-UP

"That's easy," you exclaim. "Way Of The Exploding Fist!" But you'd be wrong. The first ever beat-'em-up, the father of them all, the seed from which all future offerings stemmed forth, and of which al the others are but pale imitations, was none other than Kung Fu, from a long-forgotten label called Bug-Byte.

A very primitive construction, it had all the ingredients of the real thing (including tinkly music). Reviewed in ish 11 of Your Spectrum, it scored 3/5 (times where hard). The rest, as they say, is, erm... oh, well you know.

Target: Renegade
Imagine

Like Barbarian, the Renegade series avoided the stereotypical martial arts confrontation, and instead went for a modern-day 'street' setting. It still comes out on top.

Target Renegade, like its predecessor Renegade and its successor Renegade III, was one of the new generation of flip-screen beat-'em-ups with add-on weapons and a wide array of opponents to take on. Some of the best are the motorbike riders and the whip-equipped 'ladies of the night'. The range of moves available is mind-boggling, for example the grab-him-by-the-shoulders-and-knee-him-in-the-groin, and even the toss-him-over-your-shoulder-and-hopefully-over-a-cliff-too.

The playability has been finely tuned, and everything runs at a perfect speed. The difficulty level is also spot on, easing you into it gently and then planting one right where it hurts most.

WHAT A BARG!

Summertime, summertime, summer, summer, summertime! Hurrah - summer is here! And what better way to celebrate the advent of sunny, carefree days than by locking yourself in your bedroom and playing a load of Speccy games? With the seemingly unstoppable spread of budget software, we here at YS thought it would be quite a wheeze to sort out the brass from the dross. So take your seats and upset your neighbour's popcorn as JON PILLAR whisks you with shameless bias through a roundup of the best £3.99ers around.

BEAT 'EM UP GAMES

Target Renegade
Hit Squad/Issue 61
Reviewer: Jon Pillar

Well, it's Renegade with two players. Need I say more? Okay, the levels are huge, there are weapons to snaffrle, and the final baddie has a gun. Put it this way - after three years and as many attempts, the Double Dragons are still nowhere near as good as this game.