Virtual Console Roundup

Cybernoid

• Platform: C64
• Wii Points: 500
• In Real Money: GBP 3.50 / EUR 5 (approx)

Raffaele Cecco was one of the stars of the 8-bit UK home computer scene, his bold colourful shooters helping to keep us happy while we saved up for an Amiga or Atari ST. Cybernoid was his breakthrough hit, a flip-screen shooter made up of numerous bite-sized tests of reflexes and agility.

You control the Cybernoid ship, tasked with retrieving gems and weapons stolen by space pirates. Each screen is a stand-alone miniature challenge - and I really should emphasise the word challenge. I'd forgotten just how brutal this game was, offering no gentle introduction but instead putting you in do-or-die situations from the second screen onwards.

You have a laser, and holding down the fire button launches bombs for destroying larger foes. You can also pick up additional weapons from defeated enemy ships, such as a rotating spiky ball of death and a rear gunner.

It's also worth pointing out for purists that this C64 port was actually coded by Nick Jones, rather than Cecco himself. The gameplay is much the same as the Spectrum version, but the graphics are rather splodgy compared to the Speccy's insanely detailed, if colour-clashing, design.

Cybernoid is a fantastic game, and one that sits proudly alongside Uridium as an example of how innovative the 8-bit era really was. It is, however, one of those vintage games that makes you sweat blood to make any sort of progress. Wimps take note.

8/10

Pac-Attack

• Platform: SNES
• Wii Points: 800
• In Real Money: GBP 6 / EUR 8 (approx)

I'm starting to suspect that Nintendo is aiming for some sort of world record for Most Block-Dropping Puzzle Games In One Place. At the last count, there are 526 such games on the Virtual Console, give or take a few hundred.

As the name suggests, Pac-Attack ropes Pac-Man into the fun this time, and it's an addition that actually works better than you might think. You're dropping mixtures of blocks and ghosts, and the aim is to arrange the ghosts in nice neat lines. That way, when Pac-Man drops from the top, he'll munch his way through them, clearing a big chunk of screen. Each ghost munched fills up the fairy meter, and when full that introduces a fairy who can destroy large sections of the on-screen clutter. The blocks, as with every Tetris clone, disappear when you create a full line.

It's okay for what it is, but that's literally all there is to it. It's the beginning of a cute twist on an over-used formula, but as it never really advances beyond the obvious, you'd be better off choosing one of the other similar games first.

6/10

King of the Monsters

• Platform: Neo Geo
• Wii Points: 900
• In Real Money: GBP 6.30 / EUR 9 (approx)

I like giant monsters, and it kills me that the only truly great giant monster videogame is still Sony's War of the Monsters. This relic from the '90s seems to offer everything a desperate kaiju fan could need, but it's really only worth the effort if you have a like-minded friend to play against.

It's a fighting game, with a mixture of melee attacks and wrestling moves with which to defeat your opponent, who is drawn from six available creatures. Each bout takes place in a medium sized city, with electric barriers hemming you in. Be the first to pin your foe and victory is yours.

As fun as the concept is, time hasn't been kind to the execution. Collision detection feels random and often unfair, while triggering the most effective slams and drops can be something of a crapshoot as well. For this reason, playing it solo against CPU players can be a thankless exercise, as they effortlessly smack you down time and time again, often giving you little chance to recover.

Play against a human opponent and the field is levelled, but for a game nudging the upper VC price bracket, there's too much here that feels wonky to make it a worthwhile download.

5/10