COMBAT SCHOOL
VARIOUS, 1988
Konami’s arcade game was a timely and practical merging of two popular tropes: the Vietnam War and the multi-sports buttonmashing videogames genre. Players competed over a series of either physical (obstacle course, arm wrestling and hand-to-hand combat) or military events (several shooting ranges), using the coin-op machine’s trackball and button controls. It was a smash hit, proving Konami’s faith in the combination, and Ocean acquired the licence for European conversions to the C64, Amstrad and ZX Spectrum. Despite the lack of a trackball, Ocean’s dev teams put in an impressive shift, resulting in copious accolades and sales. While there were some concerns over the game’s difficulty [It’s war, it’s supposed to be tough! – Ed], each event is translated well, the sheer variety of gameplay styles on show offering excellent bang for your buck. Talking of value for money, Ocean very kindly bundled a demo cassette of another upcoming arcade conversion, Gryzor.