Manny Lopez, leader of the Sharks, is going to fight against other gang bosses for the title of King of the Bronx. To help you in this task, you'll start each stage wearing armour and carrying different kinds of weapons. Bronx has big and colourful graphics, including a great loading screen, a good background story (that is, in the game inlay) and a sense of humour. Maybe you've seen some of your opponents before. Nevertheless the game is a bit slow, due to the size of the sprites, and once you manage to combine offensive and defensive moves, it's a bit too easy.

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Life in the Bronx district of New York must be tough with all the muggings, robberies and other crimes that occur each day. You're a new recruit and have to show the bosses that you're the meanest cop around. The game starts with target practice where you must achieve a certain score; if you do this, you can go on to the streets and shoot criminals – but don't shoot any grannies or you'll be disciplined! The graphics and sound are somewhat basic, and for that matter, so is the gameplay; the missions basically consist of more target practice, and the game is a bit too easy.

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Is there any need to introduce this game? Based upon the movies of the famous kung-fu actor, this early platform game is one of the funniest ever released on our computer. Technically, there is nothing amazing. The graphics are average and the sound effects are sufficient, no more. What makes the gameplay excellent is the design of the levels. Each screen is different and the difficulty of the (many) traps perfectly studied. You must collect golden lanterns and climb nets and ladders. Two opponents will try to stop you; a green sumotori (!) and a ninja. It's really funny to watch them fry as they walk on the traps you have triggered...

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Bubble Bobble
(Firebird, 1987)

This is regarded as an all-time classic, and it's easy to see why. It's a simple platform game where Bub (and Bob if another person is playing) kill all the enemies by blowing bubbles at them and then bursting the bubbles. Bonus points can be obtained if you collect all the letters of the word 'EXTEND'. There are also a range of monsters and 100 tough levels to get through. The graphics look very dated, and while there aren't many sound effects, they do their job. This is still a fun game to play after all these years.

See also: BB4CPC, Rainbow Islands.

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Dizzy has decided to go diving and collect some pearls from the bottom of the sea. On each level, you start at the bottom of a well and try to reach the surface again before your oxygen runs out by using bubbles, as well as collecting as many pearls as you can. Of course, there are also creatures to watch out for, which decrease your oxygen. This is one of the better Dizzy arcade games but it is much too easy; you'll probably be able to complete it on your second or third go! Even so, the graphics are pretty good (although there are some awful colour schemes in use) and it's OK to play it occasionally.

See also: Crystal Kingdom Dizzy, Dizzy, Dizzy Down the Rapids, Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk, Fantasy World Dizzy, Fast Food, Kwik Snax, Magicland Dizzy, Panic Dizzy, Spellbound Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy.

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Here's a cute and original puzzle game in which a ghost must blow a bubble from one side of a room to the other, ensuring that the bubble does not come into contact with anything. Naturally, other hazards have to be negotiated; there are candles that have to be blown out, and fans that have to be turned off. Naturally, the rooms become trickier and the passages become narrower as you progress. While there's hardly any sound, the graphics aren't bad, and it's really a rather addictive game. It's really amusing to see the ghost's anger and frustration when the bubble bursts – something that you will also feel after playing this game for a while!

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Vadras Prison consists of five 3D worlds full of platforms, ramps and ledges. Each stage also contains several 'bubblers' which have to be corked to stop them from releasing bubbles, and you must cork all of them to go to the next stage. In a further twist, the thing you control is also a bubble, and it's very awkward to control; you need to move the direction gauge and then make the bubble move or jump in that direction. This takes a lot of getting used to, and you'll find the rest of the game rather difficult. It's too easy to fall off, and dodging the bullets fired by some of the enemy creatures is entirely down to luck.

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Compete in six rodeo events – knife throwing, target shooting, calf roping, the bucking bronco, steer wrestling and the stagecoach rescue – on your own or with up to three other players. You can choose to play in as many or as few events as you wish, and you can try again as many times as you like, which is very useful for the more difficult events (particularly the calf roping and steer wrestling). The graphics are colourful, beautifully drawn and very well animated, and the music is excellent, with some great renditions of well known American tunes. Most of the events are fun to play, and this is a game you will want to keep coming back to in order to improve on your previous scores.

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Heartily enjoyable arcade driving game. Navigate your motorised buggy with its two (!) gears around numerous outside race courses that progressively become more fiendish as you lap the circuit again. Narrow bridges have to be traversed to avoid a watery delay, while rocks, fences, boulders and wood piles are cunningly placed to prevent you from reaching your goal before the time runs out. Along the way, bonus points are collected by passing through flags of various values, and the logs that are occasionally placed on the road enable you to jump over otherwise unpassable paths. A nice looking game that is very addictive.

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In the year 2019, machines have rebelled against mankind and laid waste to cities, and only a Buggy Ranger can stop them. You control an armoured buggy with a removable turret which you can manoeuvre around the screen in order to destroy the many obstacles and enemies that the buggy will encounter as it drives through each city. Although the turret is mostly invulnerable, the buggy's energy is depleted by collision with airborne enemies or obstacles on the ground. The graphics are colourful and of the high standard that one expects from a Dinamic game, but there is no music. Thankfully it's not overly difficult to progress in the game; just make sure to keep moving swiftly and don't plod along!

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