[{"TitleName":"Confuzion","Publisher":"Incentive Software Ltd","Author":"Brendan Kelly, Ian Andrew, Paul Shirley, Peter Carter, Matthew Tidbury","YearOfRelease":"1985","ZxDbId":"0001048","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 16, May 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-04-25","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":148,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nAssistant Editor: Graeme Kidd\r\nTechnical Editor: Franco Frey\r\nArt Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nProduction Designer: David Western\r\nSoftware Editor: Jeremy Spencer\r\nAdventure Reviewer: Derek Brewster\r\nStrategy Reviewer: Angus Ryall\r\nStaff Writer: Lloyd Mangram\r\nContributing Writers: Matthew Uffindel, Chris Passey, Robin Candy, Ben Stone\r\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\r\n\r\n©1985 Newsfield Limited.\r\nCrash Magazine is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions [redacted]\r\nEditorial/studio [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\nHot Line [redacted]\r\n\r\nColour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted]; Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset Ltd (Member of the BPCC Group), [redacted].\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCirculation Manager: Tom Hamilton\r\nAll circulation enquiries should ring [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £10.50 (UK Mainland post free), Europe: 12 issues £17.50 post free. Outside Europe by arrangement in writing.\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced whole or in part without written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return any written material sent to CRASH Magazine unless accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material which may be used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. The opinions and views of correspondents are their own and not necessarily in accord with those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Incentive\r\nMemory Required: 48K\r\nRetail Price: £6.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\nAuthor:\r\n\r\nA year and a half ago Incentive brought out one of the most original of maze games called Splat!. This new one is also pretty original in concept, although there are one or two near relations as precedents, like the arcade game with trains, Microsphere's Train Game and, less in style but more in concept, Activision's Zenji.\r\n\r\nThe story behind the game is that having located the Confuzion bomb factory, your mission is to destroy every bomb in the place. These bombs lie along the edge of the 'assembly room ', and in the centre there are moveable pallets lying around covered in bits of fuze wire. The bombs are destroyed by guiding a spark along the fuze wire until it reaches a bomb. Like those old fashioned plastic hand games where you slid the squares about by using the one free space, in Confuzion you must move the pallets by sliding them into the one or two free spaces available. In doing this the route of the fuze wire is drastically altered. The trick is to move them in such a way that eventually the spark can reach all the bombs one after another.\r\n\r\nTo make life more difficult on each screen you have a time limit imposed by the length of time the spark will burn. On top of that there is the fact that if you let the spark run into a dead end or to the edge of the assembly room floor, it will lose some of its energy, thus shortening the burn time. But this isn't all - the sprinkler system also releases droplets of water which will run along the bits of fuze wire and should spark and drop meet, you will just get a damp squib. The game has 64 levels - 8 sections on 8 floors, and the player is allowed access to any of the first six sections. After every eighth level there is a bonus screen and after every four levels completed you are given a bonus spark.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: user definable, four directions needed\r\nJoystick:\r\nKeyboard play: responsive, directions may be reversed to suit player's orientation preference\r\nUse of colour: very good\r\nGraphics: although essentially simple, chunky, fast and smooth\r\nSound: above average\r\nSkill levels: progressive difficulty\r\nLives: 6\r\nScreens: 64","ReviewerComments":["I love puzzling games, in fact I'd go as far as to say that I thrive on them. But this one is, shall I say it, confusing. Presumably this is what its meant to be anyway. On the early levels everything seems pretty straightforward, but as you progress it rapidly becomes extremely difficult and frustrating, confusing to play. By the time you reach the stupid figures level of play, like level 4, everything comes seemingly against you and impossible, but then again, most people like something to go for - I do. Whatever happens on level 64, I just dare not think about! A game for the arcade/intellectual - a thoughtful and playable game\r\r\nUnknown","Confuzion is the sort of game which gives frustration a good name. There's something very compelling about it - it looks so simple, yet turns out to be so difficult that it just gets to you after a short while - you get very mad with yourself. Graphically it looks attractive, although there isn't anything exceptionally exciting about them, but they are brightly coloured and move extremely fast - the revolving bombs are very neat. I suspect that people are either going to love or hate Confuzion, but you certainly won't be indifferent to it, and if you do like this sort of game then l think you'll find it exceptionally addictive.\r\r\nUnknown","This has something in common with Activision's Zenji in as much as you have to 'feel' your way to the solution. The spark moves about fast enough to keep you constantly on the hop and stop you from thinking. I could understand some people not liking it, or finding it too difficult and not exciting enough to keep their interest, but for me this isn't the case. I think Confuzion will become a classic of its type - the puzzle/arcade game, and as such it is playable, though very hard, a certainly addictive.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: An unusual and original arcade/puzzle with plenty of difficulty levels and features suitable to multiplayer use.","Page":"34","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"83%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"85%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"86%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"84%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"87%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"86%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Spectrum Issue 16, Jul 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-06-20","Editor":"Kevin Cox","TotalPages":66,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Kevin Cox (Why me? Ed)\r\nArt Editor: Phoebe Good Evans\r\nDeputy Editor: Peter Not So Shaw\r\nProduction Editor: Loopy-Lou Cook\r\nArt Assistant: Martin Dixon of Dock Green\r\nEditorial Consultant: Andrew Pennell\r\nSoftware Consultant: Gavin The Mad Monk\r\nContributors: Stephen Adams, Dave Nicholls, Roger Willis, Ross Holman, Mike Leaman, Tony Samuels, Chris Somerville, Steve Malone, Iolo Davidson, Craig Rawstron\r\nAdvertisement Manager: David 'The Hound' Baskerville\r\nProduction Manager: Sonia Hunt\r\nArt Director: Jimmy Mc Egerton\r\nManaging Editor: Roger Munford\r\nGroup Art Director: Perry Scope\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Chris Talbot\r\nPublisher: Stephen England\r\n\r\nPublished by Sportscene Specialist Press Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England. Telephone (all departments): [redacted]\r\nTypesetters: Carlinpoint [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinters: Chase Web Offset [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Spectrum ©1985 Felden productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Spectrum is a monthly publication."},"MainText":"CONFUZION\r\nIncentive Software\r\n£6.95\r\n\r\nRoss: Haven't we been here before? This puzzle-type game's very similar to Zenji by Activision and will appeal to much the same people. The game's built up of fuses, bombs and sparks and the idea is simply to arrange the fuses so that they lead the sparks to the bombs. Explosive stuff, eh? Well, not quite. The fuses are split into curved sections so they can be rotated through 90 degrees and joined in a multitude of ways. To make life trickier you've only a limited time to complete each grid.\r\n\r\nThe number of bombs you have to blow up and the complexity of their fuses range from the 'possible to the close your eyes and hope for the best'. The controls are a synch and you can use the joystick to highlight a large portion of the fuse-ways - the fire button then rotates that bit.\r\n\r\nThe difficulties begin when you attempt to usefully direct the constantly moving spark. By luck rather than judgement, I managed to clear a few screens. Nevertheless, you will develop a feel for the game and I don't doubt that with some thought you could work out a perfect system. The graphics and sound are reasonable so if you fancy blowing cobwebs from some of those dormant brain cells check it out. But don't expect the big bang.","ReviewerComments":["I do have rather a soft spot for puzzles and this one isn't at ail bad. It'd be nice if you could slow it down a touch though - my brain just can't keep up - and I don't want any sarky Ed's comments. (As if! Ed).\r\nDave Nicholls\r\n3/5 MISS","Read the name and then agree that yes it is, isn't it!\r\nRoger Willis\r\n2/5 MISS"],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"45","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Dave Nicholls","Score":"3","ScoreSuffix":"/5 MISS"},{"Name":"Ross Holman","Score":"2","ScoreSuffix":"/5 HIT"},{"Name":"Roger Willis","Score":"2","ScoreSuffix":"/5 MISS"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 39, Jun 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-05-18","Editor":"Bill Scolding","TotalPages":132,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\nEditor: Bill Scolding\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nStaff Writer: Chris Bourne, Clare Edgeley\r\nDesigner: Craig Kennedy\r\nEditorial Secretary: Norisah Fenn\r\nPublisher: Neil Wood\r\n\r\nADVERTISING\r\nAdvertising Manager: Rob Cameron\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: Kathy McLennan\r\nProduction Assistant: Jim McClure\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Maria Keighley\r\n\r\nMAGAZINE SERVICES\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\n\r\nTELEPHONE\r\nAll departments [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\nIf you would like to contribute to Sinclair User please send programs or articles to:\r\nSinclair User\r\nEMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nOriginal programs should be on cassette and articles should be typed. We cannot undertake to return them unless a stamped-addressed envelope is included.\r\n\r\nWe pay £20 for each program printed and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nTypeset by Saffron Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Peterboro' Web, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1985 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\n91,901 Jun-Dec 1984"},"MainText":"Publisher: Incentive\r\nPrice: £6.95\r\nMemory: 48K\r\nJoystick: Kempston, Sinclair, Cursor\r\n\r\nSheer mental agony is the basic consequence of an hour playing Confuzion, the latest from Incentive. Deceptively simple, it will have you grinding your teeth and foaming at the mouth in minutes.\r\n\r\nThere is a tenuous plot to do with defusing bombs before they explode, but that is simply a peg on which to hang an unusual abstract maze game.\r\n\r\nYou have to control a fuzzy ball which moves around a maze of interlocking lines and attempt to knock out the bombs at the edges before your time runs out. Rather than move the ball itself, you slide blocks of the maze about, creating new pathways, rather in the style of those slide puzzles where you have to make words or rearrange numbers.\r\n\r\nThere are 64 mazes in all to negotiate, and although the first few are easy enough, the introduction of enemy balls, extra bombs, and holes in the maze plan soon turn the play into a frenzied nightmare. The time limit is tight, but the faster you play the less chance you have of working out a logical plan in advance.\r\n\r\nThe presentation is pleasant, with thick lines for the mazes and good, solid sound effects. But the strength of the game is entirely due to the novel strategies and techniques you must develop to win.\r\n\r\nConventional wisdom demands that games should have strong themes and plots to succeed. It would be a pity if the abstract nature of Confuzion were held against it, as it generates more thrills and addiction than plenty of well-hyped intergalactic epics. 'Fun for all the family' as they say - give it a try and bend your brain to bits.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"28","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Chris Bourne","Score":"4","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"4/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 45, Jul 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-06-16","Editor":"Tim Metcalfe","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Tim Metcalfe\r\nDeputy Editor: Paul Boughton\r\nEditorial Assistant: Lesley Walker\r\nStaff Writer: Seamus St. John\r\nDesigners: Brian Cookman, Sylvia Wells\r\nProduction Editor: Mary Morton\r\nAdventure Writer: Keith Campbell\r\nAmerican Correspondent: Marshall M. Rosenthal\r\nPublicity: Marcus Rich\r\nArcades: Clare Edgeley\r\nReader Services: Marcus Jeffery\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Matthews\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Bernard Dugdale\r\nAdvertising Executive: Sean Brennan\r\nProduction Assistant: Melanie Paulo\r\nPublisher: Rita Lewis\r\n\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES POSTAL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE. By using the special Postal Subscription Service, copies of COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES can be mailed direct from our offices each month to any address throughout the world. All subscription applications should be sent for processing to COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES (Subscription Department), [redacted]. All orders should include the appropriate remittance made payable to COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES. Annual subscription rates (12 issues): UK and Eire: £15. Additional service information including individual overseas airmail rates available upon request. Circulation Department: EMAP National Publications. Published and distributed by EMAP National Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\nPrinted by Severn Valley Press. Typeset by In-Step Ltd.\r\n\r\nCover: Courtesy of Domark"},"MainText":"MACHINE: Spectrum/Amstrad/CBM 64/BBC/Electron\r\nSUPPLIER: Incentive\r\nPRICE: £6.95\r\n\r\nThe only confusing thing about Incentive's latest release is why it's not in the top ten yet! This fast moving puzzle game will have you hooked as soon as you start playing.\r\n\r\nRemember those plastic puzzle squares you used to get in Christmas crackers? The ones where you have to shuffle squares around to make a picture or word? Well Confuzion is a bit like that. Except you have shuffle squares around to make a pathway for a spark which is itching to get to an unexploded bomb spinning away at the edge of a square - which looks a bit like a circuit board.\r\n\r\nOnce you've made the correct connections with your shuffling squares, the spark reaches the bomb and detonates it. Then it's on to another puzzle square - bigger with more bombs. Later squares feature added hazards to your fuse, including a drop of water which chases you around attempting to put out your fire!\r\n\r\nI played the Amstrad and Spectrum versions and both were totally addictive.\r\n\r\nSo when you're next looking for a game to spend your cash on, don't be confused by the huge choice which confronts you at your local store - go for Confuzion!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"21","Denied":false,"Award":"Blitz Game","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"10/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"10/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair Programs Issue 33, Jul 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-06-20","Editor":"Rebecca Ferguson","TotalPages":60,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Rebecca Ferguson\r\nStaff Writer: Colette McDermott\r\nDesign/Illustration: Elaine Bishop\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Shahid Nizam\r\nProduction Co-ordinator: Serena Hadley\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Maria Keighley\r\nSubscription Manager: Carl Dunne\r\nPublisher: Neil Wood\r\n\r\nSinclair Programs is published monthly by EMAP Business and Computer Publications.\r\n\r\nTelephone [redacted]\r\n\r\nIf you would like your original programs to be published in Sinclair Programs, please send your contributions, which must not have appeared elsewhere, to:\r\nSinclair Programs\r\nEEC Publications\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nPrograms should be on cassette. We cannot undertake to return them unless a stamped-addressed envelope is included. We pay £25 for the copyright of listings published and £10 for the copyright of listings published in the Beginners' section.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1985 Sinclair Programs\r\nISSN No. 0263-0265\r\n\r\nPrinted and typeset by: Cradley Print PLC, [redacted]\r\n\r\nDistributed by EMAP National Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\nAll subscription enquiries:\r\nMagazine Services,\r\nEMAP Business and Computer Publications\r\n[redacted]"},"MainText":"PRICE: £6.95\r\n\r\nLike Locomotion, which is also reviewed in Softspot this month, Confuzion takes up the theme of the sliding puzzle in which blocks are slid into order by way of a space on the board.\r\n\r\nThe aim in Confuzion is to lay a fuse from the bouncing spark to bombs placed around the board. This must be done before the fuse at the bottom of the screen burns out; and it burns faster whenever you make a mistake.\r\n\r\nThe fuse patterns are complicated, and there are two pieces of fuse to each block, making it difficult to visualise how the board will look when certain blocks have been moved.\r\n\r\nThe puzzle is easy on the early levels, with a long time limit and only one bomb. By the end of the game though, you will be struggling with short time limits, multiple bombs, holes in the board and moving obstacles.\r\n\r\nConfuzion does have many points in common with Locomotion and it is likely that players will prefer whichever they play first. Confuzion is more frustrating, Locomotion is cheaper. Confuzion offers a wider variety of screens but consequently appears more bitty than Locomotion.\r\n\r\nConfuzion is produced for the 48K Spectrum by Incentive Software, [redacted].","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"19","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Colette McDermott","Score":"54","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Rating","Score":"54%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"ZX Computing Issue 20, Aug 1985","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-07-25","Editor":"Ray Elder","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Ray Elder\r\nEditorial Assistant: Cliff Joseph\r\nGroup Editor: Wendy J Palmer\r\nSoftware Assistant: John Gerard Donovan\r\nSales Executive: Alice Robertson\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Barry Bingham\r\nDivisional Advertising Manager: Chris Northam\r\nCopy Controller: Sue Couchman\r\nPublishing Director: Peter Welham\r\nChief Executive: T J Connell\r\n\r\nOrigination and design by MM Design & Print, [redacted]\r\nPublished by Argus Specialist Publications Ltd, [redacted]\r\n\r\nZX Computing is published bi-monthly on the fourth Friday of the month. Distributed by: Argus Press Sales & Distribution Ltd. [redacted]. Printed by: Garnett Print, Rotherham and London.\r\n\r\nThe contents of this publication including all articles, designs, plans, drawings and programs and all copyright and other intellectual property rights therein belong to Argus Specialist Publications Limited. All rights conferred by the Law of Copyright and other intellectual property rights and by virtue of international copyright conventions are specifically reserved to Argus Specialist Publications Limited and any reproduction requires the prior written consent of Argus Specialist Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Argus Specialist Publications Limited 1985"},"MainText":"Incentive\r\n£6.95\r\n\r\nThis is the most annoyingly addictive game we tried in this batch of programs! OK, so it doesn't have state of the art graphics, speech, prizes, or any other worthy selling point, but it deserves a place in the charts for its sheer ingenuity and compulsive playability. I dare not load it in because it means the end of any work for a few hours.\r\n\r\nThe idea on which it is based is a very old one, the sliding block puzzle, the twist is the movement within the block and the all too short time in which to find a solution. You have a grid of blocks, the number and shape depends on the skill level, in which is a track along which a spark constantly travels. By moving the blocks to create new track paths you have to guide the spark to the confuzion bombs at the sides of the screen before they explode.\r\n\r\nOn some of the 64 screens there is also the added hazard of water drops traveling along the tracks, contact means loss of a spark. A wide variety of options and a well balanced playing level makes it easy to start playing and difficult to stop.\r\n\r\nIn print it may not sound particularly interesting, but I urge you to try it for yourself at your nearest dealer.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"76","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"5/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]