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This is more like it. A game with a realistic storyline we can all relate to (man). Yaemon, Grandmaster of Flame, (light my fire baby) has bumped off Naijishi (not the car manufacturer), your foster father, and stolen the Scrolls of Kettsuin (no dead easy scrolls these) which you have sworn to the Great God Kwon you will recover. To that end, you now stand outside the Quench Heart. Keep ready to slay all who stand in your way, including Yaemon's henchmen, Manse the death mage and Honoric, keeper of the magic sword. Eat your heart out, Eastenders.
Of course, you've guessed by now that we're in for another bout of judo what. And guess whose martial parts are on the line! But if you're one of those people who have to order your kung fu moves according to the numbers down the side of the menu, then Avenger's just your cup of China tea. It lets you batter your opponents' prawn balls without first mastering a Kama Sutra full of joystick positions. Usually one chop sticks, thought you will find other weapons like shuriken and an iron fist as you explore. But is this a game to take-away? Well, like all Oriental fare, it left me feeling full at first but hungry for another go ten minutes later. So as Confucius say, let's take a wok on the wild side.

King Kung
Dumped outside the Great Keep, your first task is to locate the keys so you aren't kept out any longer. Once inside, your next job appears as a message on the screen, a sort of celestial teletype from the great god, Kwon. But you're just as likely to miss it on your first few goes, what with fighting off the fiends and mapping the maze of the castle. I shouldn't worry - you've probably dropped your remaining keys down one of the holes or forgotten to replenish your energy by now. This task is done by calling on Kwon as soon as your inner force fades. He'll then recharge your kung fuel. Of course, I could say that he adds a new move to the Kung Fu repertoire - the Kwon tum leap. But I won't.
The castle corridors are patrolled by a proper assortment of shady characters but except for the big nobs, they'll all succumb to a spot of reasoned argument - provided your fist's on the other end of it. But worst of all, the game's full of bugs - huge black spiders that appear from the holes to harry you. (Fortunately, there are no lice, flied or otherwise.)


Run the Gauntlet
Okay, I heard you at the back. Yes, it looks like Gauntlet. Yes, it scrolls and yes, it's set in a multi-level castle full of nasties. And yes, the action's viewed from above. But really the similarity ends there. It just shows that the programmers can spot a good idea when they see one and know how to adapt if for an equally good but very different game. Avenger isn't just about fighting off hordes of horrors to reach the final screen. You don't complete it by following a particular path - you can wander at will all over the castle. Plus it has a strong plot that'll take some working out before you kill off the terrible trio and collect the Scrolls. And anyway, it's a one player game so you can tell your mates to push off!
But it is big. 298 screens that scroll rather strangely. The map is split up into nine screen units that character scroll very smoothly and very quickly. But when you reach the edge of a nine screen block you jump into the next one. At first it seems odd but you soon grow accustomed to it. All in all, I reckon Tiger II burns as brightly as ever.


Verdict: 9/10
Review by Tommy Nash

Avenger was the follow up to the beat em up game Way of the Tiger, also by Gremlin Graphics. Taking the top down view this game was similar in gameplay to the classic arcade game Gauntlet.

Avenger was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1986 and was pretty well received.

The whole premise of this game (as was usual with martial arts adventures!) was one of revenge and returning some valuable item to it's rightful place.

So - you had just completed your training and were ready to avenge your stepfather and take back the scrolls of Ketsuin. These scrolls had been stolen by the wicked Yaemon -and not returning them meant the God Kwon would be lost forever in eternal hell.

You started the game outside the Quench Heart Keep and your first task at hand was to gain entry to the inside.

There were plenty of locked doors and walls to keep you out so you had to find the keys to open these doors. Horned beasties and giant spiders roamed around the grounds and courtyards which sapped your energy on contact.

Spikes would also poke up through the floor and slow your progress down considerably.

You began the game armed with ten shurikens which dispatched an enemy very efficiently. Once these were used up you had to rely on hand to hand combat until more shurikens could be found and collected.

I will wreack my rewenge! - ZX SpectrumOne neat aspect of this retro arcade adventure was your energy levels. Each confrontation used up some of your life force but you did have a chance to replenish it. Asking the god Kwon for help could result in him topping up your energy levels (sometimes completely). If you asked him too often though he became angered (even though you were trying to help him!) and would not do anything for you.

To complete the game you had to defeat each of the guardians (there were three in total) that resided within the castle. Once you had killed each one of them the game was won!

On release:
Avenger was released for the ZX Spectrum in amongst a host of other Gauntlet type games. (Gauntlet type games were popular on (Sinclair and Commodore machines at the time). As such it suffered slightly as a lot of gamers were looking for something a little different. Still, for fans of this type of game it was a good choice and was praised for it's colourful graphics, smooth scrolling and well animated characters.

The test of time:
Well this retro game is a tad simple these days. The martial action is pretty plain and running around collecting keys and beating up spiders is 'okay' at best. It was never a classic game for the Spectrum and will not hold your attention for any length of time. If you're a fan of Gauntlet you should check it out. A solid if unspectacular retro arcade game.

We recommend getting hold of the real Sinclair ZX Spectrum hardware, but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download Avenger for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

Please see our other ZX Spectrum retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.

GENRE: Arcade game
RELEASE DATE: 1986
RELEASED BY: Gremlin Graphics
DEVELOPER(S): Shaun Hollingworth, Greg Holmes, Chris Kerry, Pete Harrap, Steve Kerry
PRICE: £9.95