Popular games published by company Gaelco
Smashing Drive puts you in the driver's seat of an insane, outrageous taxi on the busy streets of New York City. Your job is to simply race from point to point in the fastest time possible. The key to success in Smashing Drive lies in two features: crazy power-ups and hidden shortcuts. Almost all of the power-ups transform your taxi in some way that allows you to smash your way through traffic with ease. And the shortcuts usually involve crashing through the insides of buildings, like movie theaters and sports arenas.
A criminal called Scrubby has escaped. He was imprisoned for trying to steal the Magic Pendulum - which brings toys to life. Relik, a cuckoo clock, guards the pendulum. Scrubby appears suddenly and steals the pendulum. You, a hero called Inguz, are called on to recover the pendulum before the toys' magical world disappears...
Snowboard Championship is a 2D arcade snowboarding game on courses with gameplay similar to Zigurat's World Rally games. Using a side-scrolling bird's-eye view the snowboarder moves forward automatically and the player has to react quickly to turns and obstacles as signalled by arrows. There are three riders to choose from, representing Europe, Japan and USA, and several courses player either in the Beginner of the Championship mode. Most of the focus is used on the steering, but a single button is used to run and get extra speed after slowing down, for instance after bumping into a board. The racing is always done alone, but each course consists of a qualifying run followed by a real race. To qualify, the course needs to be finished not exceeding the time limit. After completing a course it is possible to do the same course again or to move on to the next course. Next to regular races there are slower slalom races with smaller paths and more focus on steering. Some courses have optional elements such as loopings or jumps that provide bonus points. The game supports two player racing each other taking turns for the best time.
Squash lets players participate in squash matches playing against a computer opponent or with two players. The general rules are followed. The character can be steered around the court and two buttons are used: one for a hard shot and another for a light one. When hitting the ball the direction of the shot can also be determined. When a shot seems out of reach it is possible to perform a type of dive, but this has a recovery time usually long enough to miss the next shot when it returns. The players cannot collide or hinder each other. There are eight characters to choose from, each from a different country. The first player to score nine points wins the game. A single credit is not necessarily sufficient to complete an entire game. After too many faults an additional credit is required to continue playing. When a serve takes too long a clock appears. Games consist of a series of matches against an opponent who becomes more difficult with each match.
Alligator Hunt is a shoot 'em up arcade game released by Spanish company Gaelco in 1994. Reptilian-looking aliens are invading earth and is up to the bravest soldiers (skateboarding kids!) to stop the invasion and destroy the enemy base. Features gameplay similar to Cabal and Blood Bros.
Maniac Square is an action puzzle game with gameplay similar to Columns, but with pieces of only two parts and colours. Blocks drop down from the top of the screen and can be rotated. To create a match and make them disappear, at least three identical pieces need to be lined up horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Every now and then blocks contain a star piece that can be matched with any piece. The game is played at a fast pace with a time limit. To extend the time and continue playing the player has to form a certain number of lines. Progress is shown through a vertical Goal bar in the top right side of the screen. Multiplayer is supported for two players simultaneously, racing each other.
A light gun game in which the player shoots moving targets before time runs out. The game includes three modes: Shooting Range, Desert Chariots, and Track Wagons.
A four-wheel motorcycle racing simulator with four different circuits and two selectable modes: Practice and Competition.
Gaelco Championship Tuning Race is a car track racing game where players race their cars around a circuit. There are several tracks to choose from, and players can tune their car to personalise them and enhance them. There are two modes: Arcade Race, where the player will race against other cars (human or computer opponents) and Tournament Time Attack, where the player can race alone to score their best possible lap time. Players can choose from four different cars and four different racetracks. The four different circuits vary in difficulty and players can choose dry, variable and wet weather to race in for each of the tracks. Players accumulate points during their race and may use these points to buy accessories with which to tune their car.
Thunder Hoop is a 2D side-scrolling platform game that puts players in the shoes of Thunder Hoop. Thunder Hoop has to stop the uncontrollable creatures professor Genbreak has released into to the world. Genbreak was forbidden to continue his dangerous research in creating these creatures, but exasperated, he created them all the same. Thunder Hoop was specifically developed in a laboratory to counter these creatures.
A cartoony first-person 2-D Wild West shooter from Gaelco.
Radikal Bikers is set in a Mediterranean environment, and is based on delivering pizza on a rare Italian scooter called Italjet Dragster in heavy traffic before your AI opponent does, while getting points. It has three difficulty levels, which correspond to each of the different places: Capricciosa (medium, set in Rome), Margherita (easy, set in Milan) and Diabola (hard, set in Naples). If you beat all four races in a level, you get to play the next level free.
A driving game where the player assumes the role of a cop going after dangerous criminals in Tokyo from pickpockets to the most wanted throughout four districts: Ginza, Hibiya, Shinjuku and Shibuya. A promotion is earned based on how quickly criminals are captured. Different cars are available in each round. The game also has four selectable characters: Isumu, Kazu, Reika and Junko.
World Rally is a road rally-themed driving game. Licensed by Gaelco of Barcelona, Spain, it is suitable for both street and arcade locations. World Rally is a 1- or 2-player alternating driving game. Controls include a steering wheel on a mounting pod, a high/low gear shifter assembly, and an accelerator pedal. Players select 1 of 4 rallies to start, each progressively more difficult than the one before. A rally is composed of three stages, offering a variety of different track layouts and road surfaces. Asphalt, dirt, night driving and snow-covered roads require players to adjust their driving skills accordingly. Players maneuver their way through hairpin curves, jumps, bridges, puddles, and other obstacles. Completing each stage within the 60-second time limit allows players to advance to the next stage for free. After the finish of each stage, and at the completion of all 12 stages, players' times are displayed and compared with other top drivers. It became notable in recent years due to being extremely difficult to play on emulators like MAME, as the arcade hardware implemented an advanced anti-piracy system until Gaelco co-founder Javier Valero provided unencrypted keys for the PCB in 2008 at a Spanish gaming conference, allowing it to be emulated and played. Gaelco later made its ROM image available as freeware.
Glass is the follow-up to Splash! with similar gameplay. Aliens once attacked Earth and now the humans travel to their planets to take the fight to their worlds. One of two players, working together, control a space ship in fixed-screen stages filled with blocks. To win a stage all blocks need to be removed and this done by moving over them. Meanwhile aliens spawn from different directions and roam around. Some of them can also fire while other have special abilities such as leaving behind bombs or restoring the blocks. The player's space ship can shoot bullets (now an unlimited amount unlike in Splash!), but not all enemies can be defeated. It is also possible to leave behind dynamite as a bomb or active a shield for temporary invincibility. Defeated opponents drop coins for extra points, additional bombs, a new primary weapon or energy to restore the shield. The ship can be steered in eight directions and a single credit provides three lives. There is also a time limit per level. The game contains eight worlds with four stages each. The last stage is always a boss fight against a strong character and there are no blocks to clear. In addition the player is rewarded with a nude or revealing picture of a man or a woman. The picture is already teased after completing the first three levels, but with some black blocks covering parts. Only when the boss is defeated is the picture revealed in full. At the start of the game the player chooses between Boys mode or Girls mode to determine the gender of the people in the pictures.