Chase HQ


Title		Chase HQ
Game Type	Driving
Players		1
Publisher	Ocean
Compatibility	OCS/ECS (AGA with Patch)
HD Installable	Yes (with Patch)
Submission	Glen Lambert

Review
"Let's Go, Mr. Driver!"

Chase HQ took the arcades by storm back in 1988. The attraction was that
Chase HQ was very different to other racing games of the time. There was a
different objective to finishing first, which added greater depth to the
gameplay.

Basically, you are a member of the Chase HQ law enforcement agency. You
and your partner drive around in a souped up Porsche 928 awaiting
instructions from Nancy, the controller back at Chase HQ.

The game has five stages, each getting progressively harder. You get a
call over the radio from Nancy informing you of a criminal trying to
escape in his car. Then the game begins. You have 60 seconds to race
across the roads, dodging civilian cars (curiously, according to the
graphics, every second citizen in the cities drives a Lambo or some other
exotic car!!!) trying to reach the target car.

Along the way, you'll get help from Nancy and support helicopters. They
don't serve any purpose other than to tell you which way the criminal has
gone (the road forks out occasionally into two separate roads) and if you
take the wrong turn, you'll have to drive exceptionally well to reach the
target car in time.

When you eventually catch up with the target car, the second phase of the
game begins. You have to ram the criminal off the road. The sirens come on
(which can get quite irritating after a while) and your partner sticks a
flashing light on top of the car. A bar appears on the left of the screen,
and this fills up as you hit the target car. This is where your turbo
boosts can come in handy. At the start of the stage, you are given three
turbo boosts. If you need to use them, you can at any point in the stage,
but they come in very handy during the ramming phase. You can activate one
and shoot off into the back of the target car.

When you've done enough damage to the target car, he pulls over, and you
and your partner make the arrest. Then it's on to the next stage.

The Amiga version of Chase HQ was poor, in my opinion. I used to spend
ages playing the Spectrum conversion, so when I got my Amiga I was eager
to try out the Amiga version. Whilst the graphics were more colourful, I
always felt they were clearer on the Spectrum, believe it or not. The road
jerked horribly past as you drove along it, yet in the Spectrum version it
was silky smooth.

Still... at least it was better than the godawful Chase HQ 2: Special
Criminal Investigation. The addition of the gun in the sequel took away
the best part of the original game.

RATING: 65% - A very playable and original game, but sadly lacking due to
a dodgy coin-op conversion.



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