H.E.R.O. 2
Laughing in the face of danger Shiuming Lai dons his red cape...
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Thank goodness there's no elevator music...
I apologise for the misinformation in AC#6 regarding H.E.R.O. 2 -
it's not a sequel but the original H.E.R.O. patched and improved
for STe and Falcon computers. Due to technical difficulties the
first game did not work on these machines, so it's still new to
many people. For the benefit of this group here's a quick recap of
the game's objective: save the world!
All right, at least in this case the story line bears some relevance to
the game, which is set in a sprawling bio-nuclear complex on the
brink of going "bang" in a mushroom of radioactive particles.![]()
The task of preventing this terrible catastrophe is accomplished
by guiding your character, Jim, around the Rick Dangerous style
platform levels within a time limit, and the gameplay is very
similar - not a bad thing. H.E.R.O. adds to the shooting, jumping
and blasting action with a certain amount of puzzle element, with
a sprinkling of devious twists to trap you just when you thought
it was a walkover. For example, once you've worked out how to pass
some levels with several strategically-placed security cards and
door locks, you have to remember to shoot off any remaining rounds
of ammunition in your gun otherwise they'll blow up in the
teleporter when you warp to the next stage!![]()
At first sight I was disappointed with H.E.R.O. 2. Having heard it
would require a minimum of 4Mb memory I expected far better
graphics, especially as STOSSER has a new pixel wiz, Dean
Chadwick, whose excellent work is a trademark of its recent
titles. Apart from a few tweaks and extra animation frames, it
looks more or less identical to the old game, which is a definite
step back from the likes of Billy Boy. Considering it's for the
STe and Falcon, I'm also surprised by the lack of decent scrolling
- it's quite coarse and uncomfortable to look at.Most of the memory went on sound - oodles of it, all sampled and
nearly all appropriate for the game. Gunshots announce themselves
with a satisfying punch and the atmosphere imparted by the
clanging and whirring lift machinery is marvellous. However, in my
opinion, it goes too far by subjecting you to a sample of
M-People's "Search for the Hero" at every available opportunity
including death, most irritating. Isn't this the sort of thing
CD-ROMs are for?![]()
Control is an important facet of any game's appeal and here to it
hasn't really been improved from the original. The computer always
forces an action to complete once started, which can be
particularly nasty given the scale of the graphics in relation to
the viewport. You can be running somewhere, see a robot heading
for you, kneel down to shoot then in a split second realise you
are actually too close. Meanwhile, halfway through the shooting
action, the robot has reached and killed you (cue M-People
song...)Despite these niggles I still found the urge to play on - the
puzzles are well thought out and the levels are not so large that
they make remembering the maps get in the way of gameplay (there
is a save game feature to help you along too). If you view this as
a goodwill gesture for those who missed out on the game when it
was first released it's fine, plus there's the bonus of decent
sound. Last but certainly not least it's free.![]()
What might have been
New graphics were drawn for H.E.R.O. 2, but on a standard 8MHz STe
these slowed down the gameplay (the extra detail making for a
slower screen copy) so they were discarded. It's a real pity these
weren't kept and made available for machines with faster
processors, as STOS games tend to be happy with this. With better
graphics and more fluid control this game could have been a
blockbuster.
Product name: H.E.R.O. 2
Publisher: STOSSER Software
Availability: PD libraries, on-line services and the STOSSER web
pages:
URL: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/paxton/
Requires: STe and Falcon only, 320x200 resolution (ST low), 4Mb
memory, hard disk recommended
Pros: Sonic treat, lastability
Cons: Aged but not gracefully
Scores:
Graphics: 78%
Sound: 92%
Gameplay: 75%
82%
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