Capone

Title		Capone
Game Type	Shoot-em-up
Company		Actionware
Released	1988
Players		2
HD Installable  No
Compatibility   ???
Submission	Nick Scott (HP_Lovecraft@hotmail.com)

Review
Capone was the first game I ever bought for my Amiga. In fact, I think it
actually CAME with my Amiga. Capone was one of many games from Actionware
made in the late 1980s that used a Light Gun.

The game itself is very simple. It is set in 1920s Chicago, and
apparently you are either a cop or a rival gangster trying to kill Capone.
I never really figured out the "plot" since there is none. The game
consists ENTIRELY of scrolling backgrounds of buildings, where people pop
their heads out of windows, and doors. If they have a gun, you shoot
them. If they don't... well, don't shoot them, or you loose a "life".
Occasionally, a car drives by, and again, if they point a gun at you, you
shoot. There are a variety of 1920s era weapons like revolvers, pistols,
shotguns, and the infamous Thompson submachine gun. Gameplay is straight
forward, and similar to other games of this type. As usual, you have a
limited number of bullets, but can get more when a "magazine" of ammo
scrolls by. Plus, you need to reload when low on ammo by shooting the
"reload icon".

As far as I can tell, this game is identical to the other Actionware games
like POW, and Creature. The only thing changed was the backgrounds.
Pretty much a straight rip-off of Operation Wolf. That said, for what its
worth, Capone is a pretty good game.

The story is simple, but the graphics are very nice. They are highly
detailed, and scroll very smoothly. The music and sound effects are well
done. It's obvious that it's not a port. If you like these types of
shoot-em-ups, Capone is one of the best.

So, what's wrong with it? It needs a Light gun, but that is sold
separately. Furthermore, the common Sega Light Gun is not compatible. I
assume Actionware sold the gun separately to keep the price of the game
low, then made the Sega gun incompatible to raise sales of the Actionware
gun. This is really annoying, and a rather sneaky business practice. How
can Actionware get away with not including the gun? Well, you can
technically use a mouse, though it is nearly impossible since the "aiming
icon" lags a bit, making it nearly impossible to aim before the other guy
can shoot you. Its obvious that the mouse option was a quick afterthought,
and not really useable.

Fortunately, I later found out that you can use the Sega Gun with some
mods. You can find those online. It took me a couple of minutes to do. I
really enjoyed the game once I had the Sega gun (still common on Ebay).

Alphabetical list.