BUFFALO BILL'S WILD WEST RODEO SHOW

Tynesoft £9.99/£14.99

Yee-ha! Ride ’em cowboy! Yes siree, all the thrills and spills of a wild west rodeo moseys on into town courtesy of Buffalo Bill himself. Six events, play them individually or as a series — the choice is yours, out to test your ability to be a rootin’ tootin’ son of the west.

Try your hand at knife throwing and see your beautiful assistant spiked on the rotating board (whoops!). Pointing the sights at the place you want the knife to land (careful now...), but don’t forget that the board turns. It you miss the horse in the paddock laughs at you!

Next comes trick shooting; time to get your pistol out and have a shot at the baddie targets as they rise and fall from the ground. But it’s no good getting trigger happy with these targets, you might just shoot the teddy bear out of the hands of an innocent little girl who just happens to be strolling by!

Calf-roping is another wild west favourite; ride your horse to the side of the calf and simply lasso it with the rope. But it’s easier said than done, and many a CRASH writer has ended up in the dirt! Bronco riding is really funny to watch but not so amusing when it’s you being thrown off a bucking horse!

Steer wrestling is the next event, and this seems impossible; jumping from a galloping horse and clinging to a rampaging steer for dear life cannot be classed under ‘fun’! The last stage — the grand finale — is a good stage coach rescue. The hero rides up against a speeding coach, jumps onto its side, climbs up and beats an indian in a fist fight to rescue the fair maiden.

This is all good wild west fun and I am totally addicted. The graphics are excellent, with colourful detailed back drops, well drawn animated sprites and action just bursting out of every event. There is a good dose of country style tunes and plenty of hoof-trotting effects. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Rodeo Show is a fantastic game whether you play it on your own or with a group of friends.

NICK

Just when you thought it was safe to forget the sports simulation... Well, it’s not really a sports sim I suppose, if only because the idea behind this multiple event challenge is so original. It’s great: the events are as difficult as any other multi-eventer (there’s three skill levels as well!). The graphics are fine, the sound’s very almospheric on the 128, and the gameplay is wildly addictive, All topped off with marvellous presentation — it’s great!

MIKE

Screenshot

RATING

A very playable, addictive and often funny series of six great games.
Presentation83%
Graphics84%
Sound84%
Playability85%
Addictivity86%
Overall86%