FIVE TO PLAY

Blockbusters from Barry you have to hear

MARAUDER (C64)

■ It may have been an early effort, but Barry Lietch’s in-game tune for this lesser-known Hewson Consultants game has a lot going for it. After the slow and eerie opening sequence, the composition builds really well with its pulsing bass line. The Zzap!64 reviewers did like this one, giving it 81% for sound.

TFX (PC)

■ Subtitled ‘The Cutting Edge Of Aerial Combat’ TFX is a flight sim from Digital Image Design (a developer specialising in early 3D games that also created

Epic, Inferno and F29 Retaliator). Barry’s title tune has echoes of Top Gun (and Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins) in its distorted guitar and driving percussion.

LOTUS TURBO CHALLENGE 2 (AMIGA)

■ The Lotus series had some great music, and the title tune of Lotus 2 ranks among the best. It is built up around samples Barry ripped from CDS around the office, with an electronic-sounding bass and synth chords evoking early Nineties dance tracks well.

TOP GEAR (SNES)

■ The whole soundtrack to this racing game, a spiritual successor to the Lotus games, is worth a listen. Barry singles out the

Las Vegas track as one of his favourites, and we agree. The great Eighties-style synth sounds work perfectly. You can read more about Top Gear’s musical appeal over the page.

GAUNTLET LEGENDS (N64)

■ Barry put “blood, sweat and tears” into this one, his interpretation of John Paul’s arcade soundtrack. It gains its place here for the technical skill of cramming two hours of epic music into an N64 cartridge: that ranks up there with Resident

Evil ’s audio achievements.