Guns n' Ghosts [C64]

Psytronik deliver yet another great title to the C64 in the form of arcade platform shooter Guns n' Ghosts. Based loosely on the Supernatural TV series, you play as 2 brothers out to slay all manner of graveyard beasties. One has his trusty shotgun full of rock-salt and the other uses his psychic blasts to dispatch foes.


Game play takes place on a single screen and the game is played by leaping platform to platform whilst shooting the badies. Its a simple concept that is easy to get to grips with and harks back to the 80's single screen arcade games like bomb-jack or Bubble Bobble. The game does have a few nail biting mechanics that will have your hands sweating with anticipation, for instance your weapon requires you to stand still to reload. Now this isn't a problem early on as there are few, slow enemies but as the game goes on and the enemies tougher and more varied it can get very nerve wracking.

There are a number of power-ups along the way which increase your capacities and extra goes.
The visuals are wonderful in the usual C64 way -  simple but full of character. There are graveyards and various other spooky locations to visit in your quest, each featuring a wonderfully rendered horror styling.

The controls make game play a joy, tight and simple. Enough said.

The music is absolutely brilliant, making great use of the SID chips capabilities. Frantic electronic music with a horror twist...  Its very unique and will stay in your head for hours after playing.

In summary if you like simple but challenging old school arcade games make sure you get a copy, it's available from Binary Zone on tape or disk and from RGCD on a spooky glowing cartridge!

I really love over this game, and for the price of less than a magazine (on tape) it really is worth picking up... Providing your datasette is up to task...

Now where's my screwdriver...

~Anton

Available on tape and disk here.
Available on cartridge here.