[{"TitleName":"Action Countdown","Publisher":"Kixx","Author":"","YearOfRelease":"1989","ZxDbId":"0011465","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 49, Jan 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1989-12-18","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":108,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Peters\r\nDeputy Editor: David Wilson\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nDesigner: Martin Sharrocks\r\nTechnical Consultant: Jonathan Davies\r\nContributors: Robin Alway, Marcus Berkmann, Phoebe Cresswell-Evans, Jonathan Davies, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Paul Lakin, Duncan MacDonald, Rich Pelley, Dave Robinson, Jackie Ryan, Phil South, Wag, Louise Willers\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Lynda Elliott\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Caroline Day\r\nClassified Advertisement Executive: Chris Skinner\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nAdvertisement Production: Claire Baker\r\nMarketing Manager: Bryan Denyer\r\nNewstrade Circulation Manager: Stephen Ward\r\nSubscription Manager: June Smith\r\nPublisher: Teresa Maughan\r\nGroup Publishing Director: Richard Howell\r\nGroup Creative Director: Tony Spalding\r\nFinance Director: Colin Crawford\r\nManaging Director: Stephen England\r\nChairman: Felix Dennis\r\n\r\nPublished by Dennis Publishing Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England.\r\nTypesetters: Point Five [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinted By: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Sinclair ©1989 Felden Productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Sinclair is a monthly publication."},"MainText":"ACTION COUNTDOWN\r\nKixx\r\n£9.99 cass/£14.99 disk\r\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\r\n\r\nOdd one, this. Instead of bunging these nine games out one by one, Kixx has decided to squeeze them all on to one tape, and put them out at what seems a very nice price. Rather than review them all separately in detail (no space, I'm afraid), I'll just mark each one out of ten and add up the scores to get an overall percentage. Awight? Awight.\r\n\r\nWELLS AND FARGO\r\nAt least, I think that's the title - my notes are a little sketchy. You'll know it when you play it - a Spanish wild west arcade game with you as Dodge City's answer to Postman Pat, riding your wagon through hostile territory. Total rubbish, basically, enlivened only by the final message 'You are death'. Thanks, pal.\r\n2/10\r\n\r\nTUREG\r\nAh, it's Arabian Nights time. Walk through the city, shoot people, and try not to gnaw off your arms with boredom. Dismal.\r\n1/10\r\n\r\nCOLOSSEUM\r\nAh, a reasonable game. This involves driving your Roman wagonette around the colosseum, avoiding boulders and so forth and trying to kill all your fellow competitors either by guiding them into boulders or by hacking at them with your axe as you pass. Not really very good at all, actually, but something of a masterpiece compared to the rest.\r\n6/10\r\n\r\nTITANIC\r\nAaah! I've played this before! You're a deep sea diver exploring underground caves and looking for treasure! It's rubbish!\r\n3/10\r\n\r\nSCORE 3020\r\nFuturistic pinball-cum-combat game with some nice ideas, but it's all been so shoddily programmed that it fails on just about every count. Next!\r\n3/10\r\n\r\nSTARDUST\r\nAwful space shoot-'em-up that looks like every other space shoot-'em-up you've seen in the past few years - except that it's no blinkin' good. Uridium still has a lot to answer for.\r\n3/10\r\n\r\nMETROPOLIS\r\nVery odd, this one. You're in a burnt out wreck of a city, defending yourself from passers by with... a sword and a shield. Eh? They walk towards you, and you have to kill them before they kill you. Very profound. But where's the game?\r\n3/10\r\n\r\nROCK 'N' ROLLER\r\nQuite why it's called this I'm not sure. The actual game, a jeep racing thing set in a maze of streets and viewed from above, I am sure about. It's rubbish.\r\n2/10\r\n\r\nBLACKBEARD\r\nYou play the devious pirate captain himself, running around the decks of his ship trying to find the treasure map hidden in one of many chests dotted around the place. But watch out! Your mutinous crew are all out to stop you! I dunno, some people seem to think it's rather good, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to play this dismally slow, turgid Gauntlet clone.\r\n4/10\r\n\r\nTogether with one out of ten for Star Quality, I make that 30° all told. And that's generous. Keep a bargepole handy if you see this in the shops.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"53","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"30","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"30%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[{"Header":"Wells and Fargo","Score":"2/10","Text":"Wells & Fargo"},{"Header":"Tuareg","Score":"1/10","Text":"Tuareg"},{"Header":"Colosseum","Score":"6/10","Text":"Coliseum"},{"Header":"Titanic","Score":"3/10","Text":"Titanic"},{"Header":"Score 3020","Score":"3/10","Text":"Score 3020"},{"Header":"Stardust","Score":"3/10","Text":"Stardust"},{"Header":"Metropolis","Score":"3/10","Text":"Metropolis"},{"Header":"Rock'n Roller","Score":"2/10","Text":"Rock'n Roller"},{"Header":"Black Beard","Score":"4/10","Text":"Black Beard"}]}]}]