Reviews
Reviews for H.E.R.O. (#2301)
Review by Matt_B on 11 Nov 2011 (Rating: 4)
Somewhat bucking the trend of the remainder of Activision's early releases for the Spectrum, this is a creditable conversion of the Atari 2600 classic.
In it, you control a man equipped with a helicopter back-pack, laser gun and several sticks of TNT. Your mission is to rescue several trapped miners from deep inside caverns. There are numerous nasty creatures inside the mine (hence your laser), and walls that obstruct your passage (hence the TNT.) Just to add to the fun, there's a modest amount of inertia to overcome with the backback, so just hovering is tricky and the art of hitting the thrust button just before you lay a stick of TNT is something you've got to master early on.
As you progress deeper into the game you'll come across additional obstacles, such as lava pits - with the occasional floating raft - and lamps which, if touched, will black out the room you're in. Naturally some of the rooms force you to do this as you enter. Fuel and laser power are limited and the latter needs to be conserved on some levels as you've not got enough TNT to blast all the walls and need to exhaust it on them instead.
All in all, it's not the prettiest game on the Spectrum, but the gameplay is thoroughly faithful to the original and that's what matters most.
1984 Activision (UK)
by David Aubrey-Jones
One of my oldest and dearest games.
This is truly a great arcade game. The playability is excellent. The graphics are cute and nice and the movements are smooth.
I always loved everything about this. Today I'm older and not so impressive but the only thing I might say could improve it would be a larger variety of backgrounds and different nasties.
If you never tried it before go ahead and I guarantee you a good time.
A somewhat forgotten Speccy classic.
Review by Raphie on 21 Jan 2012 (Rating: 5)
What an absolutely brilliant game this is, simple yet very effective look combined with simple yet challenging gameplay. Highly recommended.
Review by YOR on 03 Apr 2014 (Rating: 5)
Why on earth did it take me so long to play this game even if Activision have denied their games? Really wish I played this sooner in the pre-wife and children days because I'm hooked. Excellent game, full of thrills and joy.
Another game brilliantly converted from the Atari 2600. With a jet pack, laser and some sticks of dynamite your aim is to rescue the trapped miners on each level. It may not be much to look at but this game is very very addictive.
