Label: Ocean
Author: Graftgold
Price: £8.95
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various
Reviewer: Jim Douglas
Until you've actually bought Rainbow Islands and played it, the following review may well seem a bit overenthusiastic.
But it really really is the most addictive, playable and thoroughly excellent game I've seen in an absolute age. New Zealand Story was a brave, and largely successful attempt at the genre, but Rainbow Islands blows it away. For a start, the game is absolutely packed with fast moving colour graphics, bonus icons and strange bad guys.
The days of the Rainbow Islands are numbered. Their colourfulness simply makes them too heavy and they're sinking into the sea. You've got to work your way to the very top of each island before you, well, drown really. Each island is populated with hundreds of peculiar denizens, all deadly to the touch. Using your (initially limited) rainbow-casting ability combined with a spritely jump, you're upward bound...
You can make a fair amount of progress up the island simply by jumping from one platform to another. A far more efficient and exciting mode of transport, though is available through the rainbows. No normal illusion produced by sunlight filtering through raindrops these. Oh no. You can walk on these rainbows and even kill the pesky island inhabitants with them.
Should you pick up some of the special potions scattered around, your rainbow will double in length, offering a much broader kill area and a longer bridge, giving access to more remote areas.
Once you've bumped off an alien, it'll turn into a power-up/bonus. Among these are Speedy boots (make you go faster), Smart bombs (kills everything on screen) and Potions (explained earlier). Others are simply score-incrementing pick-ups.
The colour graphics are remarkably well handled, and even when the screen is scrolling upwards, the action remains as smooth as silk, attribute problems virtually eradicated.
If you're a fan of the runny/jumpy genre, then this is THE game for you. Even if you're not, and would rather have red hot needles thrust into your eyes than play this sort of game, now is your chance to wise up; Rainbow Islands is the most entertaining game released for months.
Label: Hit Squad
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £3.99 Tape
Reviewer: Paul Berry
At the end of the rainbow there's no pot of gold, but there is a whole new world where a piece of animated bubblegum awaits your presence for never-ending fun.
Rainbow Islands takes place in a wacky, colourful world where our hero must conquer seven danger-fraught islands. Each islands has three levels , all of which are tricky to complete but can be overcome by rainbow zapping all the nasty island creatures in your way. Get to the top of each level before the world floods and you you drown.
At the end of each island you must defeat a guardian spider, which, believe me, is difficult. And defeating the spider is the only way to get to the next island!
Starting off with three credits in the bank, the game can last ages with high scores increasing the amount of credits available, thus improving playability and lastability; a very catchy theme tune will have you singing along like a choirboy while the cartoon-like graphics present a nice, detailed picture though the main sprite isn't too impressive.
Rainbow Islands is a very addictive game which will keep you coming back to more. I would highly recommend this game, it's one of my favourites.
GARTH:
Rainbow Islands is one most excellent game and has some of the best music ever on the Speccy. Tie this up with the excellent full colour graphics and you'll see why it did so well on the Rainbow Collection. If you haven't got it - get it!
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