[{"TitleName":"Deviants","Publisher":"Players Software","Author":"Andrew Severn, Colin Swinbourne, Martin Severn","YearOfRelease":"1987","ZxDbId":"0001375","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 48, Jan 1988","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1987-12-10","Editor":"Barnaby Page","TotalPages":196,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Managing Editor: Barnaby Page\r\nStaff Writers: Dominic Handy, Lloyd Mangram, Ian Phillipson\r\nSubeditor: David Peters\r\nPhotographers: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson\r\nOffice: Frances Mable, Glenys Powell\r\nTechnical Writers: Simon N Goodwin, Jon Bates\r\nAdventure Writer: Derek Brewster\r\nPBM Writer: Brendon Kavanagh\r\nStrategy Writer: Philippa Irving\r\nEducation Writer: Rosetta McLeod\r\nContributors: Robin Candy, Mike Dunn, Paul Evans, Dave Hawkes, Nick Roberts, Ben Stone, Paul Sumner, Bym Welthy\r\nEditorial Director: Roger Kean\r\nProduction Controller: David Western\r\nArt Director/Illustrator: Oliver Frey\r\nAssistant Art Director: Markie Kendrick\r\nDesign: Wayne Allen\r\nProcess and Planning: Jonathan Rignall (Supervisor), Matthew Uffindell, Nick Orchard\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Roger Bennett\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Andrew Smales\r\nSubscriptions: Denise Roberts\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nEditorial and Production: [redacted]\r\nPlease address correspondence to the appropriate person!\r\n\r\nMail Order and Subscriptions: [redacted]\r\n\r\nADVERTISING\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nTypesetting by The Tortoise Shell Press, Ludlow\r\n\r\nPrinted in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistributed by COMAG, [redacted]\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 - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates.\r\n\r\n©1987 Newsfield Limited\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Players\r\nRetail Price: £1.99\r\nAuthor: Colin Swinbourne\r\n\r\nThe deviants, a semi-human race left over from Earth's early occupation of a distant world, have stirred their angry bones. They start changing their asteroid home into a massive astral battle station and look to other worlds to conquer.\r\n\r\nA crack squad of Starwarriors was sent to ensure that the deviant's plans are thwarted - but you are all that remain of that once bold band, and your last task is to prime the mechanisms of the 30 nuclear weapons that you fellow fighters have laid.\r\n\r\nMoving from platform to platform, you run and jump your way past the deviants who patrol their base, visiting a recharging station when too much fighting has exhausted you. (You can also replenish your blaster's ammunition on some levels.)\r\n\r\nTeleports at strategic points provide fast access to other sections of the asteroid base. But combat years ago has damaged them, so they're unreliable.\r\n\r\nWhen contact is finally made with an unprogrammed nuclear device, six activator valves appear onscreen. To prime one of these bombs, every valve must be closed with six corresponding keys. The task is complicated, however, by the fact that the valves are interlinked - close one and another may open. And a countdown shows how many seconds remain before the bomb self-destructs.\r\n\r\nProgrammer Colin Swinbourne's Joe Blade (also from Players) was found very playable and addictive a few months ago, earning 84% in Issue 44. The world loved it, too, and it sat at the top of the sales charts for more than a month.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nJoysticks: Cursor, Kempston,\r\nSinclair\r\nGraphics: good\r\nSound: good tune and effects","ReviewerComments":["Having to shoot these deviants more than once gets annoying, and their superior agility cramps your movement on every screen. And there's no information on how to set the bombs, which makes the game very short and pointless till you've found out how to do it. Dark atmospheric, graphics are the only good point.\r\nBym Welthy\r\n67%","I've been eagerly awaiting the next game from the programmer of Joe Blade - but I'm disappointed by Deviants. It's a pity Colin Swinbourne didn't try something a bit more adventurous than an extension of Virgin Games's Dan Dare, and Deviants has too many features of Joe Blade as well. The play area is very large and the graphics are many and varied, but still the game is disappointing.\r\nPaul Sumner\r\n65%"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: Limited gameplay, disappointing from the author of Joe Blade.","Page":"168","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Bym Welthy","Score":"67","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Paul Sumner","Score":"65","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Deviants: programmer Colin Swinbourne leaves the straight and narrow."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"58%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"80%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"63%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"65%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"66%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 28, Apr 1988","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1988-03-10","Editor":"Teresa Maughan","TotalPages":108,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nArt Editor: Darrell King\r\nDeputy Editor: Marcus Berkmann\r\nTechnical Editor: Phil South\r\nProduction Editor: Jackie Ryan\r\nDesigner: Catherine Higgs\r\nContributors: Guy Bennington, Richard Blaine, Audrey & Owen Bishop, Ciaran Brennan, Jonathan Davies, Mike Gerrard, Gwyn Hughes, David McCandless, Duncan McDonald, John Minson, David Powell, Nat Pryce, Peter Shaw, Rachael Smith, Tony Worrall\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Simon Stansfield\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nMarketing Manager: Bryan Denyer\r\nArt Director: Hazel Bennington\r\nPublisher: Kevin Cox\r\nPublishing Director: Roger Munford\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: 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 Sinclair ©1988 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":"Players\r\n£1.99\r\nReviewer: Duncan MacDonald\r\n\r\nRoll up, roll up! It's flick screen budget platform game time! Run around the alien battlestar. Shoot the aliens. Run around the battlestar a bit more. Prime a number of bombs. Make an origami paper hat (eh???).\r\n\r\nThe blurb says: \"As the last star-warrior, you must complete the mission and uphold the honour of your fallen comrades.\" if this was a crappy game, I could have been incredibly waggish and said 'I'd rather have played one of the fallen comrades\" Unfortunately the game isn't crappy, so I can't.\r\n\r\nDeviants is pretty easy to describe, in fact I've already described it; you shoot aliens and prime bombs. This bomb-priming bit is quite tricky (or it is if you're as mind numbingly thick as I am), because you have to complete a little logic 'prob' within a time limit. Fail and you die. I just kept dying; my highest priming rate was a pitiful two bombs, and that was blind luck (literally - I had my eyes shut). Anyway, onto the 'look' of the game.\r\n\r\nQuestion: What separates a good platform game from a dud platform game?\r\n\r\nAnswer. Crikey, I wouldn't send you out to buy a pound of sausages. (Whoops, wrong answer).\r\n\r\nProper Answer: Quite simple really; graphics, animation, colour, sound, playability and price. (Same as any other type of game. Haw Haw.)\r\n\r\nDeviants scores well. It gets a tick for each of the above (quite a big one, actually). Nicely coloured bold sprites move smoothly over an attractive playing area with absolutely no attribute clash (a bit Dan-Dareish actually). There's yer extra bullets and yer extra energy to pick up and also a 128K tune (on the menu screen, anyway). All in all the game is very... erm, what's the word? Slick!! Yes, that'll do - it's very Slick. There's another word for it as well. Uuum - aah yes: Cheap! Deviants is Slick and also Cheap. And well worth the spondies, too. Boing!!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Top-notch cheapie platformer from the author of Joe Blade. It's positively deviant (fniar)!","Page":"48","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Duncan MacDonald","Score":"8","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"8/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 72, Mar 1988","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1988-02-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Graham Taylor\r\nStaff Writer: Jim Douglas\r\nStaff Writer: Tamara Howard\r\nArt Editor: Gareth Jones\r\nDesigner: Andrea Walker\r\nAdventure: The Sorceress\r\nZapchat: Jon 'Call me Bon Jovi' Riglar\r\nTechnical: Andrew Hewson, Rupert Goodwins\r\nContributors: Tony 'a fiver if my name goes first in the list' Dillon, Chris 'a fiver? You must be joking!' Jenkins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Katherine Lee\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Alison Morton\r\nAd Production: Emma Ward\r\nPublisher's Assistant: Debbie Pearson\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\nMarketing: Clive 'I'll leave that with you then' Pembridge\r\n\r\nPhone: [redacted]\r\nFax: [redacted]\r\nSubscriptions: [redacted]\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nThis Month's Cover: Brian Talbot\r\n\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1988 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458"},"MainText":"Label: Players\r\nAuthor: Colin Swinbourne\r\nPrice: £1.99\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Tony Dillon\r\n\r\nIsn't it amazing. Here we are in 3162 years time leaving Earth to find another home, and where are we going? The planet Krauze that's where. Great. Krauze is not so dull as it sounds enough being loaded with mysterious artefacts telling us all about an evil race of Deviants that lived on Krauze in the dim past.\r\n\r\nGuess what? The Deviants want their planet back and have returned with a giant battle station...\r\n\r\nYou are a Starwarrior, and quite a well defined one at that. You run between the flipping screens and prime all the bombs, no mean feat, I promise you. The bombs are positioned in arch-like things which, if not primed, won't let you through. In all locations are a couple of these little green aliens, which, when they touch you, sap your energy. Scattered round the place are all manner of little bibs and bobs to help you. There are spare bullets on the floor, a la Dan Dare, and also these little cubicles which, replenish your energy.\r\n\r\nThe graphics are wicked, background, fore grounds, everything. All of the graphics are good. The backgrounds are made up of pipes and metallic looking platforms, which really add to the mood of the game. The graphics for the sprites are beautifully detailed. The main sprite has a face, for example, and the aliens look very familiar. I wouldn't be surprised if Ripley turned up somewhere...\r\n\r\nUp to this point, the game has been really simple, but now it's time the hard part in the game showed it's face. The priming of the bombs is very hard, I tell you. You are shown a row of 6 valves, which are either open (glowing and oscillating) or closed (dull and oscillating.) Using the keys 1 to 6 you have to get all the valves open, a la V. You know, key 1 changes valves 1 and 4 etc. What makes it really hard is that you have a very short time limit to do your stuff, and the chances of getting the night combination of keys seems like one in a thousand.\r\n\r\nStill, I like a challenge.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Deviants is a game that would be more than acceptable in the over £7 area, and is a real bargain in on budget.","Page":"33","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Tony Dillon","Score":"9","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"DEVIANTS TIPS\r\n\r\nWhen on the tall poles that rotate (for example, the start position) pull down and you can then use it as a transporter.\r\n\r\nDon't be afraid to fall from great heights. This can't kill you.\r\n\r\nDon't just run past aliens. Once you destroy the aliens in a screen they don't come back, so kill all you can. It saves energy for when you go back that way.\r\n\r\nDon't bother to use the roll. It's a waste of time and you can't shoot from the floor."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"9/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]