Alcatraz is a computer game created by 221B Software Developments and published by Infograms. It was released on DOS, Atari ST and Commodore Amiga in 1992, and is a spiritual sequel to Infograms earlier espionage game, Hostages, released on various popular formats of the time. It came with a code sheet, in which you had to enter the correct code as soon as the game has loaded, to try and curb the rampant piracy that was prevailant at the time.
Plot
Two Special Forces operatives land on Alcatraz Island, once the former prison, to bring down a notorious drugs trafficker, Miguel Tardiez. Alcatraz has been taken over by the self-proclaimed warlord, and turned it into his base of operations for his drugs cartel, gun running and money laundering operations. The two operatives, Bird and Stone, must make their way from one end of the island, to the other, eliminating Tardiez's men, destroying the narcotics and, finally, apprehending, or dispatching, Tardiez, then making their escape via he awaiting Helicopter, all within 2 hours upon reaching their intrusion point.
Gameplay
The game takes place over a number of levels, which changes it's perspective to adjust to the corresponding mission, ie: inside buildings to find drugs, money and weapon caches, the viewpoint adjusts to first person mode, whilst many levels adopt the familiar side-scrolling perspective. You have various weapons at your disposal, like flame throwers, grenades and machine guns, which the henchmen will drop when you dispatch them. Another feature implemented into the game is that of stealth. When Tardiez's henchmen appear, or even before, you can hide in the shadows of doorways, over and behind walls and in areas of complete darkness. This also allows you to switch between any available weapons you have on your person. The whole game takes place within a time limit of just 2 hours. By that time, the waiting helicopter would have taken off, leaving you stranded on the island, with no way back to the mainland.
Critical reception
Amiga Action (31 (Apr 1992)81%) said "Many people will find the gameplay outdated and will soon become bored with it" but said "If you were a fan of the original, the new offering will be right up your street". Whereas Amiga Computing (48 (May 1992)81%) were more positive, and commented "As a whole, Alcatraz is an improvement on Hostages" and that "The scrolly shooty bits are absolutely brilliant" and said that the 3D sections "are not as good, but still fun". Other scores from the publications at the time (all varying between April and September 1992): Amiga Format 35 (Jun 1992) 76%, Amiga Joker (Apr 1992) 78%, Amiga Mania (Sep 1992) 75% and Amiga Power 13 (May 1992) 73%
Source: Wikipedia, Alcatraz (video game), available under the CC-BY-SA License.
