Altered Beast

Altered Beast is a legendary side-scrolling beat 'em up set in Ancient Greece, where a fallen centurion is resurrected from the grave by Zeus. Your mission is to rescue Zeus's daughter, Athena, from the demonic god Neff. The core mechanic involves collecting spirit balls dropped by defeated white wolves, which cause your character to undergo dramatic physical transformations. After three power-ups, you morph into powerful creatures—such as a Werewolf, Weretiger, or Golden Bear—each possessing unique elemental attacks and supernatural strength to defeat the grotesque bosses guarding each of the five rounds.

Amstrad CPC

Released in 1989 by Activision and developed by Software Studios, the Amstrad CPC version is a technical curiosity that shares its DNA with the ZX Spectrum port. Utilizing the CPC's Mode 1, the game presents a high-resolution but color-limited display, typically using a four-color palette to maintain clarity and speed. While it lacks the vibrant colors seen on other systems, the sprites are large and clearly defined, retaining the muscular look of the centurion and the grotesque design of the enemies.
The gameplay is surprisingly fluid for an 8-bit conversion, though it suffers from "flip-screen" or jerky scrolling rather than the smooth movement of the arcade. The audio features a rendition of the main theme that makes good use of the AY-3-8912 sound chip, though the iconic digitized voices are absent. While it may not be the most visually striking version, it was considered a competent effort for the hardware, providing CPC owners with a playable and recognizable home version of Sega’s arcade hit.