Author	C. Robertson and P. Meller
Publisher	Superior Software
Year of Release	1986
Format	BBC Micro
Wub Rating	Like a good kebab it tastes great at the time but in the cold light of day is less appealing

Starting Out In 1986 Superior Software were churning out hit after hit for the BBC and one of the biggest was Stryker's Run. A game I find is based explained through comparison with a kebab. You took control of Commander John Stryker whose mission is to deliver vital intelligence on enemy defences to your headquarters several miles away through enemy terrain though one oddity I never understood can be seen in the screenshot to the left - you seem to actually start out at your HQ. However no matter that won't stop you from enjoying blasting anything that moves as you head towards this other HQ.

Gameplay consists of running from left to right across a large scrolling landscape shooting any enemies you come across. These take many forms: simply infantry, infantry in peaked caps (and therefore more powerful!), machine gunners, bazooka infantry, artillery guns, mortars, helicopters and airplanes. To despatch this variety of nefarious foes you have only a pistol and grenades at your disposal. Which doesn't sound much for taking down a helicopter however fortunately it was possible to commandeer any vehicles you came across. And oddly enough flying a helicopter yourself makes it a whole lot easier to take down an enemy helicopter. Your vehicles only have a certain amount of fuel and once its run out you'll be forced to leave them. There are a couple of points in the game where its important to make the most of the fuel in order to get past sections that can't be completed on foot without major loss of life. And talking of lives: you are given 9 lives to complete the game and it's not possible to obtain more. In case your wandering the gameplay is your basic doner meat.

Gameplay VideoUndoubtedly the games biggest attraction is the graphics as they are large, colourful, detailed and varied. Particularly so if you owned a Master 128 as Stryker's Run was the first game to feature enhancements for this machine - the chilli sauce on the kebab. In this case using the machines extra memory to add all sorts of one off set piece graphics to the game that really added to the atmosphere. Unfortunately the detailed graphics come at a cost that can be compared to the next day post kebab breath and toilet visit. The scrolling is slow and jerky and the screen and some sprites suffer from some horrible flicker to the point where it can be painful on the eyes. Additionally collision detection is poor and the controls can occasionally be unresponsive. However to be fair to the game, at the time BBC owners were too busy soaking in the atmosphere from the graphics to let this put them off.

This structure is only in
the Master 128 version Soundwise the game is pretty much what you'd expect with simple gunshot noises and explosions. The Master 128 version also featured a theme tune that played during the games menus.

Overall a solid effort and a reasonably fun game however its not aged gracefully and there are better shooters on the BBC and other formats. You have both the succulent doner meat, the chilli sauce and the next day regret. It was popular enough at the time to spawn a sequel called Codename Droid which is a far better game and worth checking out.