Superkid


by Adrian R. Shaw, David A. Shaw, Graham D. Shaw, John Hay
Atlantis Software Ltd
1989
Sinclair User Issue 89, Aug 1989   page(s) 46

Label: Atlantis
Author: In-house
Price: £1.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various
Reviewer: Tony Dillon

Life's great when your uncle is one of the greatest minds ever to walk the face of the earth. (That's what my nephew keeps saying - JD). Life then gets even better when that same uncle spends most of his life working on the theory of human flight. Things get even better better when your uncles accidentally leaves the door to his study open and leaves an untested flying potion disguised as a glass of lemonade. And funnily enough, you just happen to be thirsty.

And thus begins the legacy that is Atlantis' newie, Superkid. Not only have you been blessed with the power to fly, you've also been gifted with super strength. You are now so amazingly strong that all it takes is one little punch from your mighty little fists and enemies simply explode and disintegrate on the spot.

The aim: Be your average everyday superhero and protect all the innocent civilians of Boring New Town from all the bad guys. You can spot the bad guys a mile off, they are the ones who wear the stripey shirts and the black eye masks. They also pack pistols and shoot old ladies. I for one am all for euthanasia, but in the role of Super Kid, you aren't. And people say computer games are fun.

Probably the most striking feature about this otherwise run of the mill screen arcade move-'em-up is the large amount of colour splashed about. Sure clash abounds, but it's not a bad thing. I think it successfully captures the feel of a city not entirely unlike New York, complete with the smell of the smog and the reflective glow of the neon signs.

The graphics aren't amazingly huge, but they are well defined. Super Kid runs, jumps, flies, the works. His cap flaps, his hair blows, his tights, well do whatever it is that tights are supposed to do, apart from hide all your varicose veins and red blotches on your legs. The bad guys look like bad guys. The old ladies look like old ladies. The girls falling off the buildings look like girls falling off buildings.

There are some nice touches in the front end details; scrolling messages like "Superkid where are you!" and "Crimewave Overload!" keep you alert.

Super Kid is a very average product. Amazingly so. It has some nice graphical touches, but nothing that Players haven't been doing for ages. Once again, Atlantis manage to match everyone else's standard, but fail to beat them.


Graphics: 76%
Sound: 72%
Playability: 71%
Lastability: 70%
Overall: 71%

Summary: Fairly run-of-the-mill sort of game. OK. Again.

Transcript by Chris Bourne

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