Amstrad Prince of Persia Screenshots?

[TMR]

From a purely academic point of view, of course the judgement of any game should be entirely down to the playability, it's all that should matter. Reality is entirely different though, the cosmetic details can and do make all the difference.

i'd disagree with that because it doesn't necessarily make a difference to everybody in the first place and we can't realistically assume that even 50% of those who formed an opinion of R-Type back then did so with knowledge of the Spectrum version or having read a review of the CPC port. So some people at least judged the game purely on it's playability rather than comparative cosmetic detail but the overall consensus remains the same.

I knew you would. ;-) I still fail to see the entertainment value in a game where you crash into things because you hadn't memorised what's about to come up. It all just seems a little bit too random for my tastes.

That's because you're crap at it and i'm not. [Smiles sweetly =-]

The Manta can be flown at low speeds for working through trickier parts of the terrain and there's a change of height when turning which can be used to dodge collisions as well so it's just a matter of of practising a bit to become proficient at handling the ship before you can take things at a more sedate, easier to respond to pace.

[TotO]

From a purely academic point of view, of course the judgement of any game should be entirely down to the playability, it's all that should matter. Reality is entirely different though, the cosmetic details can and do make all the difference.

About R-Type CPC, the problem are both.
You get a "2 colors like" playfield with a poor playability and a very slow scrolling. The Spectrum version is far better.
A good game is before all a good concept with a good gameplay.