Amstrad CPC, MSX and Sinclair ZX Spectrum versions:
Programming by Víctor Ruiz Tejedor
Graphics by Víctor Ruiz Tejedor and Santiago Morga B.
Loading screen by Javier Cubedo
Music by Manuel Cubedo
Amstrad and Sinclair versions published by Dinamic Software (Spain) and Imagine Software (rest of Europe) in 1986.
MSX version published by Dinamic Software and Imagine Software in 1987.
Commodore 64 version:
Programming by Zach Townsend
Graphics by Andrew Sleigh and Jane Lowe
Music and sound effects by Fred Gray
Published by Imagine Software in 1987.
Commodore Amiga version:
Programming by Marc Wilding
Graphics by Simon Butler
Music and sound effects by David Whittaker
Published by Imagine Software in 1987.
Atari ST version:
Programming by Marc Wilding
Graphics by Steven Cain
Music and sound effects by David Whittaker
Published by Imagine Software in 1988.
IBM-PC compatibles version:
Programming by Victoriano Gomez
Title screen by Javier Cubedo
Published by Dinamic Software in 1989.
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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS
In the 80's, and to some extent, 90's as well, Spanish game developers were more or less known primarily for using highly suggestive imagery for game cover art, perhaps to render themselves more appealing to more adult audiences. Before this style would take off properly, Dinamic Software did publish a few reasonably highly considered games, such as Saimazoom, Camelot Warriors and the home conversions of the arcade game West Bank. One of Dinamic's most well-known game series would take off with Army Moves from 1986, which I personally found through Ocean's game compilation called Live Ammo on the C64. I figured, now would probably be a good time to dig into all seven versions of the game, as I have been trying to balance things out a bit here on the blog, and I have strong suspicions that the C64 version might not win this time. Let's see.
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DESCRIPTION & REVIEW
For all I know, Army Moves was probably designed to showcase various styles of gameplay within one coherent context. For the most part, it's a side-scrolling shoot'em-up, starting with one long level of Moon Patrol -style Jeep action, then three equally long levels of helicopter action to the opposite direction, then you take control of a person for the rest of the way in push-scrolling and flip-screen environments. The goal for your endeavors is to find and grab some secret documents from the enemy base, but Army Moves is one of those games, where the journey is more important than getting to the end of it.
Similar to Dinamic's other well-known games, such as Game Over and Freddy Hardest, Army Moves was designed as a two-part game, with the second part needing to have the computer reset before loading, or even worse, you might have needed to load the first part before you were able to load the second part. Loading the second part would be futile, unless you had the code from the end of the first part. Naturally, this feature was bound to frustrate many less determined gamers, so it is likely a part of the problem many people have with Dinamic's games. From my personal experience, though, I can say that the decision to part this game in two halves was a good move - which shall be explained further later on.
The real problem with Army Moves, as well as many other games by Dinamic, is its unfair design. At some point, it becomes more common than not to have enemies come at you in such a way as to make it impossible for you to either shoot them or dodge them. Then again, when the game comes to that point, it becomes more of a battle against the game's weird enemy logic as you try to outsmart it than a genuine shoot'em-up game. While it remains a fairly traditional shoot'em-up, though, Army Moves is not half bad, really. If you want to dig into the history of Spanish computer games, you could do a lot worse than start with Army Moves, though I cannot say I would truly recommend it at all, had I not actually managed to complete it a couple of times on the C64 back in the day.
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LOADING
As you might have already guessed, the loading parts of Army Moves are more than usual of a slight annoyance, since most of the 8-bit versions are loaded in two parts, one way or another. The ATARI ST and AMIGA versions are spared that nonsense, although on the flip side, you need to play the entire game through in one sitting. The DOS version uses the two-parter method, but it doesn't really need to spend any notable amount of time loading.
AMSTRAD CPC:
Dinamic - (A) 4 minutes 3 seconds + (B) 2 minutes 23 seconds
Imagine/Summit - (A) 4 minutes 47 seconds + (B) 4 minutes 49 seconds
COMMODORE 64:
Alternative - (A) 7 minutes 2 seconds + (B) 6 minutes 51 seconds
Dinamic - (A) 6 minutes 20 seconds + (B) 7 minutes 2 seconds
Imagine - (A) 5 minutes 2 seconds + (B) 4 minutes 58 seconds
MSX: 4 minutes 44 seconds each side, both Dinamic and Imagine versions.
SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM:
Dinamic, 48k - 8 minutes 11 seconds
Dinamic, 128k - 5 minutes 1 second (loads all data at once)
Dinamic, medium case - (A) 4 minutes 41 seconds + (B) 3 minutes 12 seconds (also Micro Hobby version)
Dinamic, small black/orange case - (A) 4 minutes 43 seconds + (B) 3 minutes 13 seconds
Imagine - (A) 6 minutes 50 seconds + (B) 5 minutes 1 second
Summit - (A) 4 minutes 39 seconds + (B) 3 minutes 54 seconds
Obviously, that's quite a lot to take in all of a sudden, but there is a logic to follow here to make it easier to follow, which version does what. Firstly, the two main AMSTRAD versions are relatively simple: the original Dinamic release makes it necessary to load up the first part before loading the second part, since there is no boot sequence in the second part's loader; the Imagine/Summit re-releases use separate loaders for each part, hence the added loading time for side B. All the C64 versions load both parts separately, but the loading scheme is different for all three versions, the Imagine/Ocean loader being the quickest one. The MSX version uses the same loading scheme for all available releases, so there are no differences there.
The most difficult one to decipher is, naturally, the SPECTRUM version, which has six or seven clearly different releases, some of which are used in various compilations and other re-releases. All the Dinamic releases require the first part to be loaded before you can load the second part, while the Imagine and Summit re-releases use separate loaders. As an exception, the 128k version is loaded entirely into the memory all at once, so the only thing you need to do to get to play the second part of the game is to enter the code.
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| Loading screens, left to right: Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, MSX (top), Amiga/Atari ST (bottom). |
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PLAYABILITY
Dinamic being a Spanish game publisher, the first versions of the game were released in Spanish, so if you happen to own one of those versions, but have absolutely zero understanding of the language, here's a quick run of the words you need to know:
In the main menu:
Teclado = keys/keyboard (redefine keys)
Jugar = play (start game)
Musica = music (toggle)
Redefining keys:
Derecha = Right
Izquierda = Left
Subir = Up
Fuego 1 = Fire 1
Bajar = Down
Fuego 2 = Fire 2
Reiniciar = Abort (Reset)
Pausa = Pause
The other words you can probably guess more easily, but other than the key redefinition screen, you don't really need to knew any more Spanish. The C64, AMIGA and ATARI ST version do not exactly require you to know even that, since you can only play with a joystick, but at least with the above chart, you are able to play some of the other versions. Not that the game actually differs any by being in a different language. I wasn't able to find an English-language DOS version, so I'm not completely sure it even exists, but with the translations, you don't really need it.
**PART 1**
So, the first part of Army Moves consists of automatically side-scrolling shoot'em-up levels. Part 1 of the game starts off with the only level in which you control a Jeep with the ability to jump and shoot two sorts of missiles - one for the road surface and one for diagonally forwards up. You are going to need all these abilities, since the bridge that you need to get across is laden with holes that can drag you down, and tons of helicopters and oncoming enemy 4x4 vehicle traffic needs to be destroyed before you reach the finishing line.
When I first played Army Moves, I was concerned about the fuel gauge, which was set to deplete at an alarming rate, and I didn't know for how long the level would go on. As it turned out, the "fuel" meter is actually the distance meter; when it reaches zero (or close to it), you are at the end of the level. So, all you really need to worry about is not colliding with any enemies or their bullets, or drop down the holes in the bridge. I have found, that the easiest and more or less the most reliable method of getting through this level is to stay as close to the front edge of the screen as possible and keep shooting both missiles all the time, and jump when you must, although you do still need to move around a bit.
Still, and as is commonly the case, all versions were not created equal. The three versions made by the original team all play almost exactly the same - the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions are particularly similar to each other. In these two versions, the scrolling speed is sedate enough, although it's slightly choppy - which is only to be expected, really. Your on-screen movement range leaves an empty space roughly the width of your car at both ends of the screen. Firing missiles has to be done by repeated tapping of the two fire buttons, as there is no in-built autofire feature. The flight path of your ground level missiles is directly related to your Jeep's vertical position upon launching a ground missile, so there is a small chance the directly vertical missiles can fly over enemy cars. Speaking of which, the enemy cars have a tendency to randomly jump for no reason at all, and sometimes they just drive over holes in the bridge. And then, of course, the holes in the bridge are actually bigger than they appear, and can drag you in by just barely touching the invisible hitbox around a hole. To make things even more uncomfortable, upon death, you get no breather at all, and after less than half a second to get ready, the level restarts from the very beginning. The MSX version plays largely the same as the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, except its scrolling speed is just a tiny bit slower and choppier, and Space bar shoots both missiles simultaneously, although the ground level missiles appear with less frequency.
Oddly, the IBM-PC version, which was not made by the original team, is surprisingly close to the original form, with only a couple of minor, but notable gameplay differences. The first level is finished quicker than in the original, when you manage to do so, but the scrolling is a bit choppier than in the original. Also, the rate of enemy spawning seems to be a bit higher, which has necessitated a difficulty handicap in the form of letting you continue the level exactly where you died, instead of taking you back to the beginning. However, if you keep on tapping the fire buttons constantly, you should have a high probability of getting through the level with little to no deaths at all.
The C64 version is considerably different, starting with smooth-as-silk scrolling and slightly more tolerable enemy movement speed. Your on-screen range of movement is limited to just a little bit ahead of the half-way point of the screen, but then you can go all the way back to the left edge of the screen, so the area of movement is similar to the original - just in a different area. One of the best things about the C64 version is, that you can keep the two fire buttons (joystick fire and Space bar) pressed down thanks to an in-built autofire feature. Also, the ground level missiles always follow the bridge surface. The enemy cars act more logically here, jumping only over the holes in the bridge. As for the holes, they are just as wide as they seem, and do not drag you in unless you are clearly in the hitbox area. The non-existant pause between your death and respawning was made into a proper two second pause to give you a chance to breathe before your next attempt.
For a change, the AMIGA and ST versions are notably different from each other, and not just different from every other version. In both versions, the scrolling speed is slightly higher than on the 8-bits, but the AMIGA version seems to have a higher enemy spawn rate to go along with it, making it a much more challenging game - perhaps unfairly so. The movement range in both 16-bit versions is similar to the C64 version, as is the way the ground missiles act, as well as the way the holes in the bridge are detected. Firing missiles has been made as easy as possible, combining the single button firing from the MSX version with the autofire mechanism from the C64 version. The pause between your death and respawning is similar enough to the C64 version, and as with most other versions (apart from the DOS version), dying sends you back to the beginning of the level. For some reason, though, the ATARI ST version feels a bit better balanced than the AMIGA version, and I can partly attribute that to the enemy spawn rate, but also, it feels slightly different to control, particularly regarding the angle of your air missiles.
For the next three levels, you pilot a helicopter, which can shoot missiles in a couple of different alignments according to your movements to attack enemy fighter jets, as well as drop bombs to attack the ground targets. The other notable difference to the Jeep level is, that the screen scrolls left-to-right instead of right-to-left.
An annoying gameplay element in the SPECTRUM that doesn't necessarily bother in level 1 - in all probability, you might not even notice it, but will do in level 2 and onwards, is the sliding controls. You can tap the joystick or designated directional key to make your vehicle go into the wanted direction, and the vehicle will slide into the direction until you change the direction. When controlling a helicopter, this is pure evil, particularly when you are bombarded at once with two to three enemy helicopters that are slightly faster than you, and the occasional ground-to-air cannons. The worst of it, though, is the lack of moving space and your helicopter's relatively slow maneuverability. As before, the CPC and MSX versions are equally similar to the previous level, but slightly slower - but perhaps now more notably, do not feature sliding controls. The same thing goes for the DOS version, which basically continues in its own path, but otherwise feels similar enough to the SPECTRUM, AMSTRAD and MSX versions.
The C64 version continues being a vast improvement over the previous four versions by giving you a little bit more room for moving around and more precise collision fields, so you will not have as much trouble surviving going between two enemy fighter jets; and the helicopter also moves a bit faster than elsewhere thus far. Furthermore, your missiles are much faster than in the previous four versions, making your helicopter much more able to attack anything coming your way.
In the AMIGA version, your helicopter moves considerably quicker than even in the C64 version, which makes it almost too quick. On the flip side, your missiles - particularly the one going straight downwards - are slower than in the C64 version, and you have less room for movement, thanks to all the slightly oversized sprites. Some of the enemy bullets can be so quick, there might be little chance of dodging them, while some of them are slow enough to make you fall asleep. It is a strange combination of alterations, which ultimately do not work very well at all. Contrarily, the ATARI ST version's helicopter feels too slow to maneuver, although the missile speeds are similar to the AMIGA version, so it kind of feels more balanced in a way. Happily, at least the sprites are better proportioned to the given play area, and to make things further less difficult, the enemy fighter jets do not perform U-turns, as they do in every other version.
**PART 2**
For most versions, the second part of the game requires a five-digit passcode before you get to play from level 5 onwards. The ATARI ST and AMIGA versions are to be played entirely through in one sitting, so there are no passcodes for part 2. For the other versions, I decided to include all five passcodes here, not only for the sake of personal convenience, but also, because as they are all available online anyway, now you don't have to look for them elsewhere.
AMSTRAD - 15372
C64 - 15863
IBM-PC - 26362
MSX - 37215
SPECTRUM - 27351
Part 2 is entirely played controlling a man instead of a vehicle, and your given abilities are shooting, throwing grenades, jumping and kneeling. Right from the beginning of part 2, the differences between versions are not exactly numerous, but their importance is vast. The versions that follow the SPECTRUM approach make the entire three-level sequence into a flip-screen adventure, which gives the levels restarting points for every screen.
The first level sees you crossing a river using small platforms to jump across it, while fending off hostile birds by shooting at them and trying to dodge grenades thrown by hiding enemy troops from the surrounding jungle. The second level is a straight-forward Green Beret clone, in which you just need to walk and shoot all the soldiers coming at you from both directions, while avoiding some more grenades thrown from the background towers. The third, and final level of the entire game, takes place inside a large building, where you will need to reach a safe to retrieve the secret documents. Although you still have the ability to jump and kneel, instead of jumping around in the usual platform-gaming style, you use ladders and doorways to reach your destination.
To be frank, the first level of part 2 (or level 5) is what makes the SPECTRUM version, and those based on it, worth playing. The flip-screen method suits this level much better than the scrolling version, although the reason for this suitability has more to do with other things: 1) your jumping speed and arch, 2) the birds' reactions to your shooting at them, 3) the rate at which the birds come onto the screen, and 4) the accuracy of the grenades thrown by the hidden enemies.
The way the SPECTRUM version works is, you walk at a fairly good speed, and jump quickly enough not to cause too many problems avoiding collision with birds. Speaking of which, hitting a bird once with your bullet makes it change its flight path a rather good notch upwards, so you basically need only to shoot them once or twice to give you a clear path, depending on your location, of course. By default, there are usually only two birds at once on the screen, although three is not uncommon, and they appear at a fair and manageable rate. Enemies that hide in the background jungle bushes throw grenades at you, but they seem to only have a few select spots they throw grenades to, so the map is fairly easily learned in that sense. Naturally, these rules apply to the AMSTRAD, MSX and IBM-PC versions. On further note, there are eight screens to get through in the flip-screen version of level 5, which go by quickly enough, thanks to your movement speed and the manageable enemy behavior. The sixth and seventh (final) levels have a more absurd rate of throwing enemies at you, but since you don't need to jump around, it's one less bother to focus on, but we don't really need to focus on those, because the last two levels offer less points of interest.
With the flip-screen method having been changed to scrolling, the C64 version has been turned practically impossible. Not only is the level notably longer by at least two screens' length, the primary problem has to do with the birds, which mostly appear from the right side of the screen exactly as you have started to jump to the next platform, which takes long enough for the bird to collide with you quite easily, because you move and jump spectacularly slowly, and the jump arcs are long and wide, and you have no mid-air control (not that you do in any other version). If the birds don't get you, the grenadiers will, for they have a freer range of "targets" they can hit than in the original, and the collision detection is a bit unfair. If you ever manage to finish level 5, the next level continues the unfair bombardment of enemies and grenades in a scrolling setting, and the final level plays surprisingly like the original version of it.
This is where the two 16-bit versions differ the most between themselves. The ATARI ST version has levels 5 and 6 as flip-screen versions, so they are structured similarly to the original. Unfortunately, the collision detection is even more unfair than in the C64 version, and the birds react to your shooting in a similar manner to the C64 version, so it's really a nightmare to even start, but once you figure out the patterns and alternate ways to deal with each screen, it's not as bad as it first seems. Really, the key is to keep your fire button down at all times, and you should have a higher chance at getting through. The AMIGA version, conversely, uses scrolling, but the birds' reactions is odd - if you keep the fire button pressed down, the birds will keep on ascending no matter what direction you're shooting in (perhaps a bug?); the collision detection is still extremely unfair, but they changed the jumping arc to higher but shorter. It works slightly better than the ATARI ST version because of how the birds act, but I cannot really say it's any better.
For most versions, getting through level 6 has more to do with the visual side of things than anything else, because on all the 8-bits, you get a nearly constant bombardment of enemy soldiers coming from both sides of the screen, and then you get thrown grenades at from the towers. If you cannot see enemy bullets coming at you, it's going to be extremely difficult - I'm looking at you here, SPECTRUM, MSX and DOS versions. Not impossible, just extremely difficult. The AMIGA and ATARI ST versions both have an odd in-built cheat mode that seems to make all the running enemy soldiers disappear, if you just keep on firing towards the right as you run along, but this doesn't work all the time. The C64 and AMSTRAD versions give the most optimal experience, but it's still very difficult.
The final level is, with no exception, a flip-screen level, in which you walk around inside the enemy headquarters, shoot at enemies and go through doorways, climb ladders and try to find your way to a safe, hidden deep within the building. Once you know your way around, it is the easiest level to get through, pretty much equally in all versions.
Despite its early game unfairness and annoying design decisions, Army Moves is an entertaining game on any platform you decide to play it on, thanks to its variety. The DOS version can be a bit difficult to get to work at the most optimal speed, but once you get it close enough, it's almost as playable as the original. Just be careful with your choice of keys, because the game can sometimes reset to the title screen with a certain key combination. Too bad the first half of the original game is too difficult to get to the more enjoyable parts, so perhaps a bit perversely, the C64 version is what gives you the most playable compromise on the whole.
1. COMMODORE 64
2. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM / AMSTRAD CPC / MSX
3. IBM-PC
4. ATARI ST
5. COMMODORE AMIGA
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GRAPHICS
Even with what some would call an alarming lack of enemy types, the two-parted structure of Army Moves does give you plenty enough to look at, each of the seven levels looking almost completely different from each other. The question is, of course, how much are you willing to sacrifice for good graphics?
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| Titles screens for both parts of Army Moves, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC |
Already in the title screen, we can see some clear pointers to how each version will look compared to each other when we get into the action. The SPECTRUM and MSX versions look largely the same - monochrome hi-res graphics - with the obvious differences in palette taken into consideration; the AMSTRAD version goes with a blockier, but much more colorful look; and the DOS version is something of a combination of both - stylistically the same as SPE/MSX, but with CGA graphics as your only option, there are only four colours in total, but they have been put to better use than in the SPE/MSX versions.
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| More uniform title screens, left to right: Commodore 64, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga |
As the 16-bit versions are missing the option to choose between music and sound effects, the title screens for both look somewhat less crowded, but then they are also lacking in colour compared to the C64 version. What they do have are nicer game logo designs. For the AMIGA version, they went with an animation where the letters of the game title are shot with precision with a machine gun to the nine metal pads at the top of the screen. For the ATARI ST version, the title logo is, for once, rather nicely designed, with an eagle (with spider legs??) surrounding the game title. Upon closer look, though, the texts use a brown camouflage colouring, so that's something.
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| Screenshots from level 1, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC, IBM-PC |
In the action screen, you don't get too many elements during level 1. Your Jeep hops and trudges on with some charm, the on-coming enemy traffic consisting of helicopters and trucks have their own specific looks, the clouds in the sky are nicely formed (but in the SPE/MSX versions, clash with the cyan/turquoise helicopter), your missiles and the enemy bullets are easy enough to see, and the bridge has enough of small details and gaps to make it easy to follow. There is nothing particularly pretty about the graphics in level 1, though, and the odd-looking garage/shack at the end of the level looks like a mess, unless you're playing the DOS version.
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| More screenshots from level 1, left to right: Commodore 64, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga |
The two 16-bit versions follow the C64 in many ways. The vehicles are relatively small on the screen and the bridge looks a bit bulkier - albeit considerably more metallic on both ST and AMIGA; also, the helicopter is missing from the end. The weird clouds have been switched to a starry background, the cage has been turned to a proper outpost-looking building, the enemy trucks look oddly cartoony and the info panel is unbearably technical-looking and complex. The ATARI ST version brings back the framing style, but for some unfathomable reason, dedicates a large portion of the sides of the screen to the frames, giving the AMIGA version a slight advantage in screen size. What I do like more about the ST version's graphics, though, are the vehicles' camouflage paint, compared to the AMIGA's solid greens.
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| Level completion (and bonus) screens. Top row, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC, IBM-PC. Bottom row, left to right: Commodore 64, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga. |
Completing a level can show you two kinds of screens: a simple "level completed" screen, as evidenced by the SPECTRUM, AMSTRAD, MSX and IBM-PC screenshots above; and a slightly more elaborate one with a bonus score counter running backwards and blinking in odd colours. I guess it's obvious, which versions have taken the latter route, and which ones the former.
Next three levels might as well co-exist in the same picture, because they offer no real variety in gameplay, all being helicopter levels, moreover, ones that scroll to the same direction among themselves, which is the opposite from the Jeep level. Each of the three levels features fighter jets from the enemy coming from both directions, oftentimes simultaneously, and some sort of ground missile launchers, a different looking thing for each level. Unlike the Jeep level, which only featured two parallax-scrolling layers, the helicopter levels feature three, so these three levels tend to slow down each of these machines more than the first level.
Screenshots from levels 2-4, left to right:
Sinclair ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC, IBM-PC
The first helicopter area is a desert-like area with underground missile silos and some green growths here and there. The next one happens over a long stretch of sea, featuring surfaced submarines and some islands here and there. The final helicopter area happens over a dense jungle/forest, with the only discernible thing being a sniper hut tower. Understandably, the DOS version doesn't have much alternatives for colours, while the SPECTRUM, MSX and AMSTRAD versions do use a different basic colour scheme for each of the levels. Unfortunately, the graphics can more often than not get a bit messy, so spotting submarines or missile silos can become a bit difficult. Having more or less choppy and sluggish scrolling all four versions (except if you overclock your virtual IBM-PC enough) also makes them straining for your eyes and somewhat difficult to follow, particularly the two versions that have some notable attribute clash.
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| More screenshots from levels 2-4, left to right: Commodore 64, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga |
For these three levels, the 16-bit versions certainly look more upgraded than before, but I cannot help but think they barely put any effort in bringing the game properly to the 16-bits. The desert and sea levels look nice enough in the ATARI ST version, while the AMIGA version botched the sea level somewhat with the overly splashy wave graphics that too often hide the submarines. Both versions have the jungle level turned into something of a grassy field with some forest elements further in the background, and the sniper towers have been turned into some kind of three-way land-to-air missile launcher blocks that barely look like anything.
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| Screenshots from level 5, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC, IBM-PC |
Although it's nice to have variety in both gameplay and graphics, this is where things start getting a bit too messy. For almost the entire duration of this level, your character in the SPECTRUM and MSX versions is mostly recognizable by the cyan area surrounding the player sprite; otherwise, it's almost indistinguishable from the background. This point is proven further by the AMSTRAD and IBM-PC versions, which don't have attribute clash, but your camouflage-coloured soldier is too well camouflaged for his own good. Too bad, because I do like the look of this level in other ways, particularly the AMSTRAD version.
The mysterious design choices between the ATARI ST and AMIGA versions become clearer in the fifth level, where we see the graphics are essentially the same, apart from their size, some of the chosen colours and, of course, the differences in the info panel/frame that we have already established. What I found a bit odd, is that the ATARI ST version shows more of the area of action than the AMIGA version, which feels like a forced altered screen resolution solution - for no real practical reason, what I can see, at least. Even more oddly, the ATARI ST version of level 5 is the only one of the lot that ends with a full screen dedicated to the area of entrace to the enemy base camp area, instead of the usual half an entrance at the end of the level. A design choice I'm not very fond of on the 16-bits is the brown palm trees that make the entire level more dreadful than usual.
More screenshots from level 5, left to right:
Commodore 64, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga
In the C64 version, you see the usual stylistic choice regarding that, and the palm trees are perhaps greener than absolutely necessary. The washed out colours that the C64 is often berated for, are in their full glory here, even though the basic colour palette would have had better choices. The most unsightly thing is, unfortunately, your soldier, who is wearing a pink uniform, which doesn't really give the impression of someone who is a military person. The blue birds feel similarly cartoony and off the line, even compared to the AMSTRAD version, in which the darkness of the dark blue colour in the birds is more akin to a crow's black tint, but still a bit off.
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| Screenshots from level 6. Top row, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC, IBM-PC. Bottom row, left to right: Commodore 64, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga. |
What I always found graphically the most pleasant sections in Army Moves are the first two levels, and the last one. Too bad some of the versions are so brutally difficult, that it's next to impossible to reach the final level. The only way I could even get this far on most versions was to use savestates on emulators, but at least I have learned some tactics on how to get through some of these versions.
However, I digress, even though I'm not particularly fond of the overtly visible framing around the action screen, the ATARI ST version is what manages to look quintessentially Dinamic. Technically, it also looks the best, even though there are some design choices I'm not too happy about. Therefore, the AMIGA version isn't too far off the main spot. Perhaps a bit unorthodoxically, the IBM-PC version is very nice to look at, even with its limited range of colours, and it can certainly scroll better than any of the 8-bits, if you find the correct emulated processor speed. But if you do want more colour into your game, the C64 and AMSTRAD versions are pretty much equally good in that regard - with the C64 version taking the edge over the AMSTRAD by having smoother scrolling. The MSX and SPECTRUM versions are equally incapable of scrolling smoothly as the AMSTRAD version, and the monochrome graphics do have a tendency of making things look too messy on the long run. So, this is how I see the results:
1. ATARI ST
2. COMMODORE AMIGA
3. COMMODORE 64 / AMSTRAD CPC
4. IBM-PC
5. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM / MSX
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SOUNDS
This section, at least, should be simple enough. We start with the simplest one of the lot: the DOS version, which can be dealt with in less than a sentence. Random beeps.
Climbing the ladder upwards from there, we have a multiple choice challenge here. In the 48k SPECTRUM version, all the sounds are produced by the single-channel beeper, so it's not exactly the most pleasant version to listen to, even though it's the basis for all the others. For music, you get a fairly militant title track that only plays in the title screens, and for the in-game sounds, you get a tap-noise for shooting a missile, an odd noise of disintegrating for an exploding thing (whether it's you or an enemy), and an annoying accelerating "dwee-dwee-dwee" sound when a level has been completed. Part 2 brings in some new sound effects in place of the old ones, but they don't really feel like anything that belongs in the actions they're linked to. Random squirts and snaps and whatnot, it just doesn't feel like the sound designer put any real effort into it.
The MSX version one-ups the 48k SPECTRUM version by featuring a couple of sound effects alongside the title screen music, which has now been rendered into a two-voice harmony. This upgrade continues into the game, by having the music - optionally - looping constantly in the background, while the game plays sound effects simultaneously when required. The amount of sound effects is a little higher compared to the SPECTRUM version, with effects for shooting, jumping and exploding now featured - one more than previously. A similar amount of new sound effects arrives with loading the second part, but again, the effects are better defined and more appropriate for all their purposes than in the 48k SPECTRUM version. Thankfully, Imagine also released a 128k SPECTRUM version, which sounds pretty much exactly like the MSX version.
Perhaps it will come as not a huge surprise, that the AMSTRAD version sounds almost exactly like the MSX and 128k SPECTRUM versions. The only real difference is, that there is some notable lift in the low frequencies to give the entire soundtrack a bit more oomph. So, out of the soundtracks with the original music, the AMSTRAD version is definitely the best option.
With the arrival of the COMMODORE 64 version, we have a new soundtrack with two new songs and a few semi-hidden jingles in it. The main title screen contains the new Army Moves theme (with a weird melody but a blues structure), but you can choose to listen to either music or sound effects during the game. If you choose music, you get a nicely flowing and looping in-game medley of "Colonel Bogey" by Ken Alford, "Alte Kameraden" by Carl Teike and "Stars and Stripes Forever" by J.P. Sousa. If you choose sound effects, there are three familiar jingles that appear at the start of each level, at the time of your losing a life, and at the end of the bonus screen. When you get to the bonus screen, you are first greeted with the bonus counter, which plays a series of ascending arpeggios for as long as you still have bonus. Unfortunately, you cannot hear sound effects and the medley simultaneously, but it's nice to at least have a choice. The reason you don't get to hear sound effects simultaneously is, because there are too many of them that already need to alternate between themselves for the music to have any place in the mix anymore. Even in the first level, you get the Jeep's engine whirring constantly, which alternates between your jumping "sproing" sound, and additionally, you get shooting and exploding noises, which really fill up your speakers nicely. The helicopter levels replace the Jeep engine's whirring with constantly flapping rotors, and the walking levels features a jumping "bonnnggg" noise, a shooting "shtup" noise, birds squawking, grenades flying and exploding, water splashing and enemies shooting in the later levels. Sure enough, it's a rich sound environment, if you choose that option.
Both the 16-bit versions base their soundtracks on the C64 version, but they have the song ordered and arranged a bit differently. The ATARI ST version starts off with a version of the medley that starts playing in the title screen and apart from fanfares at the end of each level, the medley doesn't change until you reach the fifth level. Compared to the C64 version, the medley isn't complete, but the "Colonel Bogey" bit modulates back and forth before the medley reaches "Alte Kameraden", does the usual bit and loops back to the beginning. So, no "Stars and Stripes Forever" in this version. Once you reach the fifth level, you finally get to hear a somewhat more sedate rendition of the new Army Moves theme, which plays until the end of the game - at least, I suppose it does, because I haven't reached it myself yet. Oddly, though the ATARI ST version clearly says "Music and FX by David Whittaker", I haven't been able to find any sound effects - no key press seems to toggle the two supposed modes.
Finally, the AMIGA version starts off with machine gun fire effect, which lasts until the machine gun has fired all the letters into the game title plates. Immediately after that, a similarly structured medley to the ATARI ST rendition starts playing, which this time is notably faster and slightly more discoesque. The cheap sampled trumpets and drums make this soundtrack sound funnier than perhaps intended, but it cannot be argued that it doesn't sound more modern, at least, than the 8-bit versions. At the end of each level, you get the same fanfare to break the eventual monotony of the music, although the AMIGA version also stops the music when performing the respawning sequence. Similarly to the ATARI ST version, the new Army Moves theme starts playing as you reach level 5, which this time is a much moodier and aggressive version. Also similarly to the ATARI ST version, I haven't been able to find a way to toggle sound effects, so I'm forced to suppose that there are none.
Honestly, I cannot think of any other reason for the 16-bit versions not to have any sound effects, than that somebody must have just forgotten to implement them into the code, because from earlier experience, I could easily assume David Whittaker having at least done his job, but who knows. Still, they're both definitely better even with just the music, than the IBM-PC and 48k SPECTRUM versions. The AMSTRAD, MSX and 128k SPECTRUM soundtracks can be considered equally good, although I do personally prefer the CPC's more booming low frequencies in this case. When it comes to sounds, the C64 version's only slight misfortune is not having a "music + sfx" option that would give you the best of both worlds, but other than that, Fred Gray's soundtrack is the best you're going to find from this lot.
1. COMMODORE 64
2. AMSTRAD CPC / MSX / SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 128k
3. COMMODORE AMIGA / ATARI ST
4. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k
5. IBM-PC
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OVERALL + VIDEO
Well, that was a bit unexpected, I'd say. Because Army Moves was developed by a Spanish team for machines that were more prominent in Spain, I'm sure they did the best they could with the machines' architecture available. Out of all three, the AMSTRAD version came out the most optimal, with gameplay, graphics and sounds all as good as they could be, and for these particular machines, they were impressive enough, make no mistake on that. However, when the conversion job of the C64 version was given to a highly capable British team, not only did the C64 version surpass the original in most important ways, it still remained a bit of an underachiever, which is why the C64 version is not particularly well considered. The IBM-PC version has its own odd advantages, and the AMIGA and ATARI ST versions only shine in terms of graphics.
1. COMMODORE 64: Playability 5, Graphics 3, Sounds 5 = TOTAL 13
2. AMSTRAD CPC: Playability 4, Graphics 3, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 11
3. ATARI ST: Playability 2, Graphics 5, Sounds 3 = TOTAL 10
4. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 128k: Playability 4, Graphics 1, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 9
4. MSX: Playability 4, Graphics 1, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 9
5. COMMODORE AMIGA: Playability 1, Graphics 4, Sounds 3 = TOTAL 8
6. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k: Playability 4, Graphics 1, Sounds 2 = TOTAL 7
7. IBM-PC: Playability 3, Graphics 2, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 6
Of course, some people will likely disagree with at least some of this, which is only to be expected, but for the rest of you, who might want to rethink your stance, feel free to either play all the versions of Army Moves back to back, or watch this video if you're not feeling brave enough.
However mediocre Army Moves eventually became known as, it was successful enough to spawn a couple of official sequels in the form of Navy Moves (1988) and Arctic Moves (1995), neither of which I can claim to have any experience with, so the less said on those at this point, the better. However, the unofficial spiritual successor to that series, Space Moves, was written by Toni Ramirez for the Amstrad CPC in a CPC game developing competition in 2015, which it won - and the game got upgraded in 2020 with completely new graphics and music. At least, Space Moves I can recommend rather enthusiastically, but as with all Dinamic's games, I'd be cautious with the official sequels.
That's it for now, hope that was worth the elongated wait. Next time, hopefully by the end of the month, I've got another comparison for you to enjoy, before I take a long awaited summer holiday. What it is, though, remains to be seen, but until then, thanks for reading/watching! Cheers!
The pc versión uses the pedro Gimeno emulator spectrum emulator and the spectrum memory dump
ReplyDeleteUnless you're speaking of a different PC version than the 1989 DOS version, I'm not buying that. The PC version plays very differently to the Spectrum version, looks different and sounds completely different as well, so it cannot be emulated, not at least following the known description of what emulation is.
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