Gryzor, my friend, it's time to tell the world..

Nothing came in shiny boxes back then. That`s what you`d get, if so nice and clean at all...

Gryzor was one of the big and cool games for Amstrad that used one full side of a compact floppy disc. It`s one of the forefathers of the go-right-kill-at-sight type of games. The setting is somewhere like the Predator movie, alien jungle kind of place. The player controls one of two armed military commandos named Bill and Lance (so 80s), who are sent on a mission to neutralize a terrorist organization called Red Falcon that is secretly planning to take over the Earth.

The main character is equipped with a gun with an unlimited amount of ammunition. The player can also jump, move and fire in eight directions, as well as move or jump simultaneously while firing. Awesome stuff. I bet playing co-op would be superb, but countless times I`ve tried, I failed to do the settings and decided to go play a self-invented role-playing game we called "alien attack" with my best friend A!riza.


I give this game a good 8 out of 10, considering the ahead-of-time approach and gameplay. Don`t worry, I won`t score every game I mention here, but this one deserves something. The 2 points are lost for graphics, not because of the game, but my father, who decided to buy us a GREEN screen instead of a colored one.


Speaking of scoring, let`s look at some differences now and then:

1988

And now (Gamespot.com)

Kind of cool to see the difference. Long live Gryzor, long live two dimensions and limits of choice!