 | |
| Developer(s) | Odin Computer Graphics |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Firebird Software |
| Designer(s) | Steve Wetherill Colin Grunes |
| Platform(s) | Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, two-player |
Sidewize is a horizontally scrolling shooter released by Firebird in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum home computers. It was followed by a sequel, Crosswize .
The four worlds of Omicron, Nu, Delta and Iota are under siege by the Dariard Mutants. The Warriors of the Xeolom Alliance are all that stand between the Mutants and victory.
Sidewize is a 2D horizontally scrolling shooter with similarities to the Capcom arcade game Side Arms . The player controls the warrior Dynar on his lone mission against waves of Mutants on the four worlds of the Xeolom Alliance. Dynar is equipped with an armored suit with a jetpack and an array of weapons. Power-ups may be collected for improved mobility, weapons and firepower.
The four Xeolom worlds may be played in any order, but must all be completed before the player moves on to the alien world of Zeta, where the final Mutant boss awaits.
Sidewize was developed by Odin Computer Graphics.
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Crash | 50% [1] |
| Computer and Video Games | 29/30 [2] |
| Sinclair User |  [3] |
| Your Sinclair | 9/10 [4] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| Sinclair User | SU Classic |
| Your Sinclair | Megagame |
"The game itself is a simple concept, but there's just so much to it, and the difficulty is so well judged, you just can't pull the plug. It's fast. The action is flicker-free. The monochrome graphics are great and the sound effects set it all off. It could take years of careful manoeuvre to beat this one, unless you're into hacking..." [4]
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, released as Renegade in the West, is a beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for the arcades in 1986. In the original Japanese version Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, the game revolves around a high-school delinquent named Kunio-kun who must stand up against a series of rival gangs frequently targeting his classmate Hiroshi. In the Western version Renegade, the player controls a street brawler who must face four different gangs in order to rescue his girlfriend being held captive by a mob boss.
Operation Wolf is a light gun shooter arcade game developed by Taito and released in 1987. It was ported to many home systems.
Uridium is a science fiction side-scrolling shoot 'em up originally designed by Andrew Braybrook for the Commodore 64, and later ported to other 8-bit machines. It consists of fifteen levels, each named after a metal element, with the last level being called Uridium. The manual quotes Robert Orchard, who invented the name as saying "I really thought it existed".
Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.
Cauldron is a video game developed and published by British developer Palace Software in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC home computers. It contains both platform game and horizontally scrolling shooter sections. Players control a witch who aims to become the "Witch Queen" by defeating an enemy called the "Pumpking".
Navy SEALs is a shoot 'em up platform video game developed and published by Ocean Software. It was first released in the United Kingdom for the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad GX4000 and Commodore 64 in 1990. It was later re-released in the rest of Europe for the ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Amiga home computers in the following year. It was then ported to the Game Boy on 1 September 1991 in the United States. The game is based on the film of the same name and follows the protagonist, Lieutenant Dale Hawkins, progressing through five side-scrolling levels.
Sanxion is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Stavros Fasoulas for the Commodore 64 and published in 1986 by Thalamus Ltd. It was the first game released by Thalamus. A ZX Spectrum port followed in 1989. Fasoulas also wrote Delta and Quedex.
Dynasty Wars, released in Japan as Tenchi wo Kurau, is a 1989 side-scrolling beat-'em-up game released for arcades by Capcom, based on the Japanese manga Tenchi wo Kurau and a reenactment of the battle between the Kingdom of Shu and the Yellow Turban rebels. Each of the two players can assume the roles of one of the four Chinese generals riding on horseback from the Three Kingdoms period in an attempt to smash the rebellion. A sequel, Warriors of Fate, was released in 1992.
Silkworm is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Tecmo and first released for arcades in 1988. In 1989 it was ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and NES (1990) systems by The Sales Curve and released by Virgin Mastertronic.
Kane is a multi-section action game published by Mastertronic for the Commodore 64 in 1986. It was ported to the Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, ZX Spectrum, and the Commodore 16 and Plus/4. The game is set in the Wild West, and its name is a reference to the main character of the film High Noon. It consists of four distinct scenes, although some versions only contain two. A sequel was released in 1988.
Savage is an action game developed by Probe Software and published by Firebird Software in 1988 for ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. In 1989 Firebird published a version for the Amiga.
Cobra is a 1986 platform game based on the film of the same name. It was developed and published by Ocean Software, and was released in Europe for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum. By 1990, it received a budget re-release.
Crosswize is a shoot 'em up released by Firebird in 1988 for the ZX Spectrum home computer and is the sequel to Sidewize.
Light Force is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter designed by Greg Follis and Roy Carter, developed by their company Gargoyle Games, and published under their Faster Than Light imprint. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms.
Line of Fire is a first-person light gun shooter game developed by Sega and released for arcades in 1989. It was released with two arcade cabinet versions, a standard upright and a sit-down cockpit, both featuring two positional guns. The cockpit design allows the player(s) to sit down while playing the game, while having two-handed machine guns, controlled by a potentiometer-controlled gun alignment software system. The game follows a two-man commando unit as they try to escape from a terrorist facility after seizing a prototype weapon.
Agent Orange is a horizontally scrolling shooter released by A&F Software in January 1987 for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Tensei Ryū: Saint Dragon is a horizontally scrolling shooter released as a coin-op by Jaleco in 1989. Ports to several home computer systems were published by Storm Entertainment in 1990. On February 6, 2020, Saint Dragon was released as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives lineup for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
The Real Ghostbusters is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is loosely based on Ghostbusters. In Japan, Data East released it as a non-Ghostbusters arcade game under the title Meikyuu Hunter G. In 1989, Activision published The Real Ghostbusters for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Rastan Saga, known as Rastan in North America, is a side-scrolling hack and slash arcade video game released by Taito in 1987. It was a critical and commercial success and was ported to home platforms.
Judge Dredd is a 1991 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1991, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.