Most people know H.E.R.O. very well as its on so many systems (probably not the Oric...what is on the Oric?). Its an extremely under played game by most but give it 5mins and the hook will getcha. (from now on I'll just refer to it as Hero to save the fancy typing) hero just oozes fun, its decidedly simple initially but there's a lot more strategy than it seems, timing, use of dynamite, what tunnels are right, avoiding the light switches etc etc.. I've found that most versions are very playable, I initially saw the game on the Atari 8 bit but as said, its only many machines out there. For those living in caves (other than man caves) the premise of the game is that you are Hero or Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation, the real Hero of the mae, your job with you helicopter back pack is to traverse the many tunnels of Mount Leone to find the poor lost miners. Along the way you will find all sorts of enemies like spiders, snakes living in the walls and other nasties trying to kill you. You will also find walls blocking your way but fear not, you have a limited supply of dynamite which will blast these to kingdom come. In all the versions I've played this is done by walking to the wall and pulling down on the joystick. Now like most things you have a supply of power which for the helicopter back pack which gets used up the more you fly but the notion of just dropping down the tunnels should be avoided as enemies await below you, some in the area's but some in those tunnels so caution should be used when dropping down. As you play the tunnels get more and more tricky as do the enemies, more time is needed to hover thus draining the power, some levels are very very tight on this as you progress but all in all its a really fun experience. Graphically depending on the system, its looks pretty basic but functional, controls are tight and responsive and while you think its going to be repetitive it actually keeps you going for one more rescue and how could you not love a game with a Hero called Roderick. Lastly there's a new and updated version coming but although I've seen a small preview I can't remember what machines its on. Have fun...
I lurve it, mate, and never tire of playing HERO. I'm sure it was suggested as a competition game over on A.S., yonks ago, but there wasn't ever much call for comps over there so maybe just me, Thark and Brenski had a quick blast on it (this was long before Allen's, Richie's and your days, fella). I got quite addicted and will still fire it up - as you say there's a great feel to it and the challenges in the (dark) tunnels when you inadvertently knock out the lights as you jet pack down and along the caves, caverns and columns are all really well designed and pitched just right to rescue the 'survivor' at the end either by stealth, firepower or dynamite. I just seem to recall it looks a bit, suspiciously, like a blow job 'reward' at the end of each mission, Paul? Can you comment on this as I think this is the reason it was kept off the Oric scene - the puritans on there banned it when Mrs Whitehouse got involved and ended-up shagging a dead goat, dressed as Mikhail Gorbachev, because of it... ABOVE: From HERO to Zero? Just look where the hand is: the rescued becomes the rescuer and gives you a 'reward' at the end of each suck-cessful level...
I firmly believe that said miner is requesting said blow job but its looks like RODerick has no lead in the pencil so he's out of luck.. Had said moiner been female I'm sure he would have knocked her front teeth out on the first stroke. They said you could not beat Mary W but I can tell you that you can beat one out over her picture..
