[{"TitleName":"F-16 Fighting Falcon","Publisher":"EDOS","Author":"Chris Graham, Paul Hiley, Sorcery, David John Rowe","YearOfRelease":"Unknown","ZxDbId":"0001706","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 76, May 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1990-04-26","Editor":"Oliver Frey","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Oliver Frey\r\nFeatures Editor: Richard Eddy\r\nStaff Writer: Mark Caswell\r\nEditorial Assistant: Viv Vickress\r\nPhotography: Michael Parkinson\r\nContributors: Nick Roberts\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nProduction Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell\r\nArt Director: Mark Kendrick\r\nReprographics: Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Rob (the Rev) Hamilton, Jenny Reddard\r\nDesign: David Western, Melvin Fisher\r\nSystems Operator: Ian Chubb, Paul (Charlie) Chubb\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executives: Caroline Blake\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\nGroup Promotions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nSubscriptions\r\n[redacted].\r\n\r\nDesigned and typeset on Apple Macintosh II computers using Quark Express and Adobe Illustrator '88, output at MBI [redacted] with systems support from Digital Reprographics [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by BPCC Business Magazines (Carlisle) Ltd, [redacted] - a member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens (like a game that has been offered as a prize being scrapped) we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of CRASH. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop the Viv Vickress a line at the main address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions. No material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. We regret that readers' postal enquiries cannot always be answered. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Colour photographic material should be 35mm transparencies wherever possible. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nCopyright CRASH Ltd 1989 A Newsfield Publication. ISSN 0954-8661. Cover Design by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"F-16 FIGHTING FALCON\r\nMastertronic\r\n£2.99\r\n\r\nGet up, up and away with the second of the new Mastertronic games for use with a Magnum Lightphaser. F-16 Fighting Falcon is a thrilling 3-D flight combat game, along the lines of Afterburner. You take part in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat using weapons such as heatseekers and sidewinders to blow Soviet MIGs out of the sky.\r\n\r\nThe detailed graphics of the F-16 and the enemies that fly towards it give the game a very professional feel. The ground below flies by at high speeds in a realistic way - the only trouble is it's all in glorious yellow monochrome (aww). Sound is not too impressive either, the effects are very basic and the tune drives you mad after a couple of plays.\r\n\r\nThe playability of the game using the lightgun is severely reduced. The idea is to shoot the F-16 when you want it to move. The inlay says it will take 'automatic, intelligent evasive action'. In fact the F-16 either stays put and ploughs into an oncoming chopper, or blows up!\r\n\r\nUsing the normal control method improves the game a bit, but there's nothing new about flying around shooting things, is there? If you're desperate for lightgun games then give this a whirl, but you will have to be pretty desperate!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"46","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"53","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"53%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 47, Nov 1989","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-10-16","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Higgs\r\nDeputy Editor: Jackie Ryan\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nStaff Writer: David Wilson\r\nDesigner: Catherine Peters\r\nTechnical Consultant: Jonathan Davies\r\nContributors: Marcus Berkmann, Jonathan Davies, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Duncan MacDonald, David McCandless, Phil South\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Lynda Elliott\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Alison Morton\r\nAdvertisement 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\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":"DEFENDER YOURSELF\r\n\r\nYou may remember we reviewed the Sinclair Magnum Light Phaser a couple of issues ago. And you may also remember what we thought of it - good, but not that good. Now there's a new shoot 'em up contender in the lightgun wars - the Defender from joystick makers Cheetah. It comes with its very own specially penned selection of games too, this time written by those loveable CodeMasters chappies. We let our own Philip Snout loose with it for an afternoon.\r\n\r\nProduct: Defender Light Gun\r\nDesigner/Manufacturer: Cheetah Marketing\r\nPrice: £24.95\r\n\r\nAs we all know, lightguns are basically a fun, if limited, addition to Speccy gamesplaying. I mean, they'll never take over from joysticks as the best all-round game controllers, but a change is as good as a rest I always say, so it was as inevitable as a slap in the gob with a mullet (but not as red) that sooner or later one would become available for the Speccy.\r\n\r\nFirst off the mark was actually the Stack Light Rifle years ago, but it was a bit crap. The biggie, of course, was the recent Amstrad/Spectrum Light Phaser. But that had its disappointments too, namely the rather flimsy construction and horrible black and white bars it splattered across Operation Wolf. This was one of a handful of games specially converted to the lightgun standard. The actual weapon was built by Trojan, best known for its lightpens, and it sort of showed. Nasty people around the office started describing it as \"a lightpen with a handle on\", which was a bit unfair, but that's the YS team for you. So it was only a matter of time really before joystick manufacturers started entering the fray (in fact it was only a matter of months which meant they must have had it planned all along) and the first of these to do so is popular joystick and musical funbox maker Cheetah Marketing.\r\n\r\nThe Defender is a nice piece of work. The moulded plastic body is dark grey with bright red handgrips. The design is quite modern and sturdy looking I s'pose, but still with slightly naff Buck Rogers-like tendencies. The handgrip is raked forwards to make it aim and hold, and weights have been added inside the body to improve the feel and balance of the thing. It certainly seems quite hefty and gun-like, unlike the feeble Sinclair.\r\n\r\nAccuracy-wise the Defender seems to be pretty sharp. Most of the time I aimed at something I hit it, which means one of two things - either the gun is accurate, or the software is really good at reading the gun. (Of course the other thing it might mean is I'm flipping skill at using it!) You do have to be fairly square to the screen though, and not too close, or the focus of the gun goes all to cock. You'll hit everything on the screen with one shot, and that's no good if you need to be selective, like in Bronx Street Cop for instance (one of the games bundled in with it). So care should be taken, and a few experiments done, before you challenge someone to competition Unless you don't ever want to get to the second level.\r\n\r\nTHE GAMES!\r\n(They made me deaf you know!)\r\n\r\nThere are six games bundled in with the Cheetah Defender, all specially written by the wacky CodeMasters (those Darling, Darling boys!). The games will be available on cassette to start with, with disk loading versions to follow.\r\n\r\nJUNGLE WARFARE\r\n\r\nAn out'n'out Op Wolf clone. You scroll sideways through a series of backdrops, from airports to bridges and jungles, as a battalion of enemy soldiers, choppers and tanks comes into your sights. You must shoot them in order to stay alive. (Nah, you don't say!? Ed) Unfortunately, you have limited ammo, so splattering the gooks all over the landscape on rapid fire is fun but won't get you far. The graphics aren't too bad, and there's some impressively life-like banging noises as your gun goes off. I think I could do without the screen flashing every time you shoot though. It's not half as bad as the Phaser but a little divot of earth flipping up to let me know where I hit would suffice. Still, the game isn't too bad, just a little bit repetitive, and it's obviously the ideal sort of thing to use a lightgun for.\r\n\r\nOverall: 60°\r\n\r\nADVANCED PINBALL SIMULATOR\r\n\r\nYegads, what's this? Pinball?! This is as good an example as you can get to show how odd the pairing of gun and games can sometimes be. What on Earth possessed the designer of this game to make it a 'shoot-at-the-flippers-'em-up'? It almost seems deliberately perverse!\r\n\r\nWhat happens is you shoot at the plunger to eject the ball into the machine. Then you shoot at the flippers to punt the ball back into play if it looks like it's going to make a break for it. Just like a normal game of pinball really (well, sort of). Works okay though, and although a bit strange at first, the program does play a mean pinball!\r\n\r\nOverall: 60°\r\n\r\nF16 FIGHTING FALCON\r\n\r\nThis one is an Afterburner clone in which you shoot at all the incoming fighters and missiles, and shoot at your own F16 to make it perform what the manual calls \"automatic intelligent evasive action\". Hmm. Just looks like it bounces out of the way if you ask me.\r\n\r\nThe scenery scrolls by underneath you as you fly along blasting the poop out of anything that moves and a few things that don't Trouble is you don't get much time to anticipate a plane coming on to the screen, and, if you leave it too late to blow it up, it gets a chance to launch its missiles at you. There are four levels to the game, over the Sahara, Tropics, Arctic and Ocean. Okay, I s'pose, but not enough control over the plane for my taste. Another slightly peculiar use of the gun.\r\n\r\nOverall: 55°\r\n\r\nSUPERCAR TRANS AM\r\n\r\nHey, don't I remember something just like this by the late lamented Ultimate Play The Game about a million years ago? Trans Am it was called. This new CodeMasters version bears more than a passing resemblance to the old Ultimate smasheroo, but this time of course you've got God, or at least a lightgun, on your side. You steer by shooting steering icons and change from forward to reverse by zapping the car itself.\r\n\r\nThere are five stages to the journey going from LA to NY, starting at the California Beach, then moving on to the Rocky Mountain Pass, the Grand Canyon Jump, past the Great Lakes Stage, and finally on to New York City in Sight. It's a sort of arcade road movie really. I dunno, I found it really hard to concentrate on steering the car without bumping into stuff let alone shooting as well. All along the route men with guns try to blow your bum off, and usually they succeed. Not as good as the original, but it probably rewards persistence.\r\n\r\nOverall: 56°\r\n\r\nBRONX STREET COP\r\n\r\nAt last, a classic shooting gallery type game. You're a rookie cop on the Bronx street beat. In order that you don't wax some poor passers by in the process of blowing away... hem hem... In the process of apprehending a villain, you are put on the shooting range and presented with a couple of targets to shoot at. As they come up into the gallery you must decide whether they are legitimate targets or innocent bystanders. Brilliant.\r\n\r\nOverall: 89°\r\n\r\nBILLY THE KID\r\n\r\nNot quite as good as Bronx Street Cop, but nearly. You get to blow tins off cactuses in the practice round this time. The cowboy at the side of the screen also throws a tin which you can keep aloft by shooting at it - if you're skill enough that is. Then you go on to 'help Billy The Kid shoot his way out of' various sticky situations. You only have limited ammo for the main parts of the game, but in the practice round you can put on the rapid fire switch and blast everything to ribbons. This is one of the funniest ways to play any of the games. Skill to Middling I'd say.\r\n\r\nOverall: 76°\r\n\r\nHEAD TO HEAD\r\n\r\nSo, how does the Detender stand up against the recently released Sinclair Magnum Light Phaser by Trojan/Amstrad? At first, it seemed the guns were compatible. This was, we thought, the idea. But whilst the Magnum gun worked with the Defender games, the reverse wasn't true. Jon 'Techno Flash' Davies was on hand at the time I tested them and his theory was that the Cheetah was being read by the games as if it was always aimed at the top right of the screen! Weird. Anyway, the possibilities for a standard are out the window unless someone makes a game which works with both methods, or at least can be selected.\r\n\r\nThe Defender seems much more solidly built, and the weights in it do a lot to improve balance and handling. Having played with the Magnum beforehand I really did notice how much heavier and more business-like the Defender is. It seems to be more accurate too, but that could just be the way the software itself reads the gun. The stupid problem of the Magnum causing huge white flashing bars across the screen has been solved in the Cheetah software, and all the games react much more smoothly. The games in the free pack are a bit samey in their presentation I s'pose, as compared to the varied range that comes with the Magnum, but this is to be expected as the games in the Defender pack all come from the same publisher. Also, the way the handgrip on the Defender is raked forwards, automatically pointing the gun level at the screen, differs with the Magnum's upright hold. This means you have to bend your wrist back ever so slightly to aim the gun. A minor quibble, but worth bearing in mind. The down side is that it takes less effort to keep the Magnum aloft than it does to hold up the Defender. 'Cos the Def is heavier, it makes your arm ache after a bit. But the Defender does have a rapid fire button, and this is brilliant fun, especially on things like Billy The Kid, when ammo isn't limited. The major plus for the Defender is that the lead is longer so you can get further away from the screen.\r\n\r\nCONCLUSION\r\n\r\nI prefer the Defender as a gun, and its games are good overall. My favourite must be Bronx Street Cop, with Billy The Kid a close second. I still don't know why they bothered to do it but the pinball game is pretty enjoyable (so perhaps there's the reason why). The Defender looks better, it's cheaper and in general seems to be much more fab than its only current competitor. Let's hope we see more lightguns using this same Cheetah standard, and even rifles or Uzi submachine guns. Watch this space (or another very similar).","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"31","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Phil South","Score":"55","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"55%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 53, May 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1990-04-12","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Kevin Hibbert\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nDesign Assistant: Andy Ounsted\r\nContributors: Robin Alway, Marcus Berkmann, Amanda Cook, Joe Davies, Jonathan Davies, Cathy Fryett, Mike Gerrard, Simon Goggin, Duncan MacDonald, David McCandless, Paul Morgan, Rich Pelley, David Wilson\r\nAdvertising Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertising Executive: Simon Moss\r\nPublisher: Greg Ingham\r\nAssistant Publisher: Jane Nolan\r\nProduction Manager: Ian Seager\r\nProduction Coordinator: Melissa Parkinson\r\nSubscriptions: Computer Posting [redacted]\r\nMail Order: The Old Barn [redacted]\r\nPrinters: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistributors: SM Distribution [redacted]\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair is published by Future Publishing Ltd [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Future Publishing 1990. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission."},"MainText":"F-16 FIGHTING FALCON\r\nMastertronic\r\n£1.99\r\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\r\n\r\nAnother game to be played with Mastertronic's exciting new Magnum Lightphaser (I wonder how much that costs - more than £2.99, no doubt...). But strip away the gripping new technological requirements, and underneath it's just another aircraft combat game, with few differences, if any, from nine billion similar games we've seen in the past. True, your F-16 does beetle over four different scenarios - Sahara, Tropical, Arctic and Ocean - but, graphical backgrounds aside, there's not as much variety to it as there initially seems. What there is is immense speed - your react ions need to be incredibly fast and it's really dead easy to get killed. Quite what difference the Magnum Lightphaser™ makes I can't tell you, but with joystick or keyboard it's very much business-as-usual. Shoot them down before they shoot you, and all will be well.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"44","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"69","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"69%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 58, Oct 1990","Price":"£1.85","ReleaseDate":"1990-09-06","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Sal Meddings\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nDesign Assistant: Andy Ounsted\r\nContributors: Robin Alway, Marcus Berkmann, Joe Davies, Jonathan Davies, Cathy Fryett, Mike Gerrard, Duncan MacDonald, Jon North, Rich Pelley, Jon Pillar, Claire Thomas, David Wilson\r\nAdvertising Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertising Executive: Simon Moss\r\nPublisher: Greg Ingham\r\nAssistant Publisher: Jane Richardson\r\nPublishing Assistant: Michele Harris\r\nManaging Director: Chris Anderson\r\nProduction Director: Ian Seager\r\nProduction Coordinator: Melissa Parkinson\r\nSubscriptions: Computer Posting [redacted]\r\nMail Order: The Old Barn [redacted]\r\nPrinters: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistributors: SM Distribution [redacted]\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair is published by Future Publishing Ltd [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Future Publishing 1990. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission."},"MainText":"F-16 Fighting Falcon\r\nMastertronic\r\n\r\nA couple of major questions hang over this one. Firstly, why has it got a picture of a Harrier (with an extra tail fin) on the loading screen? And, secondly, why bother releasing it at all? (It's a bit crap.) The second question is easy enough to answer. It originally came out with the highly successful (?) Magnum lightgun, and obviously appeared to have some mileage left in it. Flight sim-wise, things don't look too hot either. It's a blatant Afterburner rip-off (but without the rocking landscape) and as Afterburner wasn't a flight sim this isn't either. Oops.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"30","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jonathan Davies","Score":"41","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Never mind the planes and tanks. Look at the size of that ruddy cactus!"}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"EVERY FLIGHT SIM EVER (IN THE WORLD)*\r\n\r\n*(near enough)\r\nAce - Cascade\r\nAce II - Cascade\r\nAce Of Aces - US Gold\r\nAcrojet - US Gold\r\nAirliner - Protek\r\nATF - Digital Integration\r\nBiggies - Mirrorsoft\r\nChuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer - Electronic Arts\r\nCombat Lynx - Durell\r\nDambusters - US Gold\r\nDelta Wing - Creative Sparks\r\nDeep Strike - Durell\r\nF-15 Strike Eagle - MicroProse\r\nFlight Path 737 - Anirog\r\nFighter Bomber - Activision\r\nFighter Pilot - Digital Integration\r\nFlight Simulation - Psion\r\nFlyer Fox - Bug Byte\r\nGee Bee Air Rally - Activision\r\nGunship - MicroProse\r\nNightflight - Hewson\r\nNightflight II - Hewson\r\nNight Raider - Gremlin\r\nProject Stealth Fighter - MicroProse\r\nRed Arrows - Database Software\r\nSkyfox - Ariolasoft\r\nSpace Shuttle - Microdeal\r\nSpitfire 40 - Mirrorsoft\r\nStrike Attack - Micro Mart\r\nStrike Force Harrier - Mirrorsoft\r\nTop Gun - Ocean"},{"Text":"GAMES THAT AREN'T FLIGHT SIMS, BUT MIGHT JUST WELL HAVE BEEN\r\n\r\nCaesar The Cat - Mirrorsoft\r\nMr Wong's Loop Laundry - Artic\r\nZX Tool Kit - Star Dreams"},{"Text":"GAMES THAT MOST DEFINITELY AREN'T FLIGHT SIMS\r\n\r\nBeaky And The Egg Snatchers - Fantasy\r\nBlue Max - US Gold\r\nHarrier Attack - Durell\r\nHeathrow Air Traffic Control - Hewson\r\nMonty Python's Flying Circus - Virgin\r\nNight Gunner - Digital Integration\r\nP47 - Firebird\r\nScramble Spirits - Grandslam\r\nSpitfire - Encore\r\nTLL - Vortex"},{"Text":"LOOKING-AT-IT-FROM-BEHIND ONES\r\n\r\nThese ones are really the next step down from the True Flight Sim. They're essentially the same, except that instead of a view out of the cockpit you get a view of the back of your plane. This isn't quite as pointless as it sounds, because usually the plane is small enough so that you can see past it to the 'scenery' beyond. This type of view generally makes it easier to judge landings and to see if you're about to fly into anything, but there is often a corresponding reduction in the number of knobs and dials, and an increase in things to do. Not what we want at all. ATF is the perfect example of this sort of thing.\r\n\r\n\"Chuck Yeager. (Well, he sort of belongs in this box.)\""},{"Text":"LOOKING-AT-IT-FROM-JUST-ABOUT-ANYWHERE ONES\r\n\r\nNow these really are the business. They're like a cross between the True Flight Sim and the Looking-At-It-From-Behind one, with lots more as well. In fact, what you can do is look at your plane from all sorts of different angles, including weird ones like from-the-ground and from-the-front-of-the-plane. To tell the truth, games like this are a bit scarce on the Speccy (they tend to flourish on posh computers like the Atari ST) but there are one or two good ones. Chuck Yeager is a notable example, as is Fighter Bomber."},{"Text":"LOOKING-AT-IT-FROM-THE-SIDE ONES\r\n\r\nNow we're looking at things like Harrier Attack And they're certainly not flight sims. In fact, they're usually just scrolling shoot-'em-ups with planes instead of spaceships. There's always plenty of stuff to shoot, but technical accuracy is very limited indeed. You never have to worry about setting your flaps at the right angle or the navigational computer to the appropriate beacon, or watching your airspeed in case you stall. Useless.\r\n\r\n\"Harrier Attack - definitely not a flight simulator. (Clear now?)\""},{"Text":"LOOKING-AT-IT-FROM-THE-TOP ONES\r\n\r\nNow we're in dicey territory. We're talking about things like TLL here. Quite frankly, they're not really, are they? Flight sims, I mean. They've rarely got more than four or five keys, placing them firmly on the arcade side of things. So let's pass over them."},{"Text":"SO, YOU WANT TO WRITE A FLIGHT SIM?\r\n\r\nEr, are you sure? Stick your tongue out. Hmm. Say \"Ahh\". Crikey. Okay, let's take a look at some essential ingredients...\r\n\r\nTHE SETTING\r\n\r\nFlight sims are always set in a spooky 'alternative' world where the sky is always blue and the grass is always green (and so is just about everything else for that matter). Other vegetation is pretty sparse, apart from triangles on sticks which look a bit like trees. These are usually about 600 ft high (if your altimeter is anything to go by). The only buildings tend to be in a modernist cereal packet style, with no-one living in them. Mountains are handy for flying into.\r\n\r\nKNOBS AND DIALS\r\n\r\nThere should be a ridiculous number of these, all of which are unmarked and of no obvious use. If they start reading 'zero', eject. There should also be little red lights which start flashing and making a beeping noise for no apparent reason. They only stop when you press every key on the keyboard very hard, at which point the plane crashes.\r\n\r\nTHE MAP\r\n\r\nAny relation to a normal map should be avoided. Flight sim maps consist of a large and (usually green-on-yellow, or something else that's probably outlawed by EEC legislation) covered in little splotches. Quite what these are isn't entirely clear. Somewhere in the middle is a flashing square - you. This never seems to move, no matter how long you look. Meanwhile, back in the cockpit, your plane has just been shot down.\r\n\r\nTHE CONTROLS\r\n\r\nAs previously explained, there should be as many as possible, and then lots more on top of that. They should all have obvious purposes (eg P for throttle up, K for map, Symbol Shift, Caps Shift and 3 for left etc). There should also be a disconcerting delay (say, five minutes) between pressing a key and anything happening. The need for constant reference to the manual can easily be incorporated, during which time the plane flies into a tree.\r\n\r\nSOUND\r\n\r\nDon't put any in. Apart from the 'crash effect', of course.\r\n\r\nTHE ENEMY\r\n\r\nSomewhere on the screen there should be a radar with a little flashing dot on it. This is the enemy aircraft. The player will turn to face it, prime the air-to-air missiles and wait for the two aircraft to meet. This, of course, never happens. After a certain length of time the player will get bored, engage the autopilot and nip out to put the kettle on. His plane then gets shot down.\r\n\r\nLANDING\r\n\r\nAs you'll no doubt be aware, this is impossible. Real F-15s and things land perfectly first time, every time. But not simulated ones. You get them lined up exactly, set the speed rate of descent and everything exactly according to the instructions, flaps and undercarriage down, set it down oh-so-gently and... kaboom.\r\n\r\nPLAYTESTING\r\n\r\nOnce the game's nearing completion you'll have to thoroughly test it. Sit yourself down in front of it and ask someone to come and check up on you after an hour or so. If you're still awake the game is obviously in need of modification."},{"Text":"THE A-Z OF FLYING TERMS\r\n\r\nAmmo: A Latin verb.\r\nBeing Tail Gunner: Going to the loo.\r\nChocks Away: Someone's pinched your lunch.\r\nDogfight: These are illegal.\r\nEject: If in doubt...\r\nFlaps: Do lots of these if the propeller stops going round.\r\nGround: The main hazard faced by most pilots.\r\nHeading: See Football Guide, YS Issue 54.\r\nInstruments: In-flight entertainment.\r\nJoystick: Long thing between your legs with a red bit on the end.\r\nKippers: Probably the nickname of a World War 1 pilot.\r\nLanding: The bit at the top of the stairs.\r\nMae West: Something pilots like to keep handy.\r\nNormandy: A nice place to go on holiday.\r\nOrange: If you paint your 'crate' this colour you'll probably get shot down.\r\nPiece Of Cake: Dreadful drama series about planes on telly.\r\nQuebec: Keep an eye on the map if you don't want to end up here.\r\nRoger: (Er, do S. Ed)\r\nSix O'Clock: Tea-time.\r\nTake Off: Spoof or parody.\r\nUndercarriage: See Joystick.\r\nV-Formation: Give one of these to the enemy as you fly by.\r\nWings: Something to do with Paul McCartney.\r\nX-Ray: You're meant to say this over the radio quite often.\r\nYellow: See Orange."},{"Text":"THE FIRST FLIGHT SIM EVER\r\n\r\nHa. This one's easy. It was Flight Simulation, one of the first games that ever came out on the Speccy. It was also the first game I bought. (Aargh! The secret's out.) It was one of those Psion games which came out on Sinclair's own label, and despite the mind-numbingly tedious piccy on the box (the instrument panel of a plane) it hung around near the top of the charts for years. In actual fact, Flight Simulation is a conversion of a ZX81 game of the same name. Yikes. We'll take a closer look at this one later on."},{"Text":"THE 'TRUE' FLIGHT SIM\r\n\r\nThe obvious example of one of these is the original Flight Simulation, but that was pretty crap. What we're basically talking about here is the sort where you're placed in the cockpit looking out of the window in the bottom half of the screen (or, worse, on another screen altogether) is the instrument panel, which can generally be ignored, and in the top half is the view. This is generally green on the bottom and blue on the top. If it's the other way round you're probably in trouble. Scattered about will be lots of squiggly lines, and maybe a few dots on the ground to give the impression of 'speed' (ahem).\r\n\r\n\"Night Raider - not of the best but it'll do.\""}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"The View","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Realism","Score":"5%","Text":""},{"Header":"Dakka Factor","Score":"79%","Text":""},{"Header":"Net Weight","Score":"4%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"41%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 99, May 1990","Price":"£1.85","ReleaseDate":"1990-04-18","Editor":"Jim Douglas","TotalPages":84,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Jim Douglas\r\nDeputy Editor: Garth Sumpter\r\nProduction Editor: Alison Skeat\r\nDesigner: Osmond Browne\r\nAdvertisement Manager: James Owens\r\nSenior Sales: Martha Moloughney\r\nAd Production: Emma Ward\r\nMarketing Manager: Dean \"Boxers\" Barrett\r\nMarketing Assistant: Sarah Ewing\r\nPublisher: Graham Taylor\r\n\r\n©1990 Sinclair User, [redacted]\r\n\r\nTypesetting by J'n'G Print\r\nPrinted by Kingfisher Web Ltd, Peterborough.\r\nDistributed by BBC Frontline.\r\n\r\nAnd like, hey! While we're on the subject, thanks for participating in this infotainment experience. We value your input. Awesome."},"MainText":"Label: Mastertronic Plus\r\nPrice: £2.99\r\nReviewer: Jim Douglas\r\n\r\nI do love a game with completely illogical controls. Look, I know that Falcon Patrol doesn't bill itself as a realistic simulation. I realise that it's supposed to be a knockabout bit of blasting fun, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the controls to be the right way round.\r\n\r\nWhen you fly a plane, pulling back on the joystick pulls the nose up (you go up). Pushing forward on the joystick tips the nose forward (you go down). And the same is true of a thousands of coin-ops and conversions the world over. Alas, F16 doesn't follow such dreary conventions. Your plane behaves as if it was an airborne cursor. Pulling back on the joystick to climb sends you earthward while pushing forward to dip your nose out of trouble cause you to climb into oncoming bullets.\r\n\r\nYou can't even remedy the situation yourself since there's no option to redefine the keys.\r\n\r\nAlthough billed heavily as being compatible with the Magnum Lightphaser, the extent of Lightgun controls is minimal. You shoot your plane and the computer picks a safe direction and automatically moves you that way. So apart from the fact that it's completely unplayable, what's it like? Crap, I'm afraid.\r\n\r\nRemember Afterburner? Well, take all the good bits and F16 is what you've got. Each of the four (count 'em!) stages takes place in a distinct global environment. There's the blistering heat of the Sahara desert, the close humidity of the tropics, the icy wastes of the Arctic and finally the, er, damp wetness of the Ocean.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, it doesn't really matter where you're fighting, since the baddies you face (enemy jets and choppers) are common to all levels.\r\n\r\nDid I mention that it was extremely easy? Oh, it's appallingly easy. You can get through the level simply by letting go of the joystick and firing occasionally.\r\n\r\nIf you're bonkers about flying then maybe you could just about justify the three quid. Other than that. You'd be bonkers.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Reasonable pix, but really not much gameplay to speak of.","Page":"63","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jim Douglas","Score":"40","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Push forward on the joystick and watch your aircraft scream up the screen into oncoming missiles."},{"Text":"Skimming low over the Sahara, the skies filled with enemy aircraft and {INDECIPHERABLE}ath-splintering action."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"55%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"35%","Text":""},{"Header":"Lastability","Score":"30%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"40%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 69, Oct 1989","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1989-09-19","Editor":"Oliver Frey","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Oliver Frey\r\nFeatures Editor: Richard Eddy\r\nEditorial Assistants: Viv Vickress, Caroline Blake\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson (Assistant)\r\nContributors: Nick Roberts, Mike 'Skippy' Dunn, Robin Hogg\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION DEPARTMENT\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nReprographics Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell (Supervisor), Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Robert (the Rev) Hamilton, Jenny Reddard\r\n\r\nDESIGN\r\nRoger Kean, Mark Kendrick, Melvin Fisher\r\n\r\nSystems Operator: Ian Chubb\r\nPublisher: Geoff Grimes\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executives: Lee Watkins, Wynne Morgan\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\nGroup Promotions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nSubscriptions\r\n[redacted].\r\n\r\nDesigned and typeset on Apple Macintosh II computers using Quark Express and Adobe Illustrator '88, output at MBI [redacted] with systems support from Digital Reprographics [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens (like a game that has been offered as a prize being scrapped) we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of CRASH. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop the Viv Vickress a line at the [redacted] address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions. No material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. We regret that readers' postal enquiries cannot always be answered. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Colour photographic material should be 35mm transparencies wherever possible. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nCopyright CRASH Ltd 1989 A Newsfield Publication. ISSN 0954-8661. Cover Design by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Go ahead punk, make my day!!\r\n\r\nCheetah Marketing\r\nNot Known\r\n£24.95\r\n\r\nLean, mean and accurate... BLAM!! The new Defender light gun from Cheetah is here, and Richard Eddy takes an exclusive peek at the latest Speccy add-on that's aiming to rival Sinclair's very own Magnum.\r\n\r\nIt's a fact! The people from Wales are absolute boffins when it comes to producing Speccy stuff. There's the Sam Coupe from MGT, the Sinclair Magnum developed in Swansea by Trojan, and now Cheetah in Cardiff have a spiffing new light gun called the Defender, which looks like it's going to knock the Magnum into a cocked hat when it's released any time now. Mainly 'cos it looks dead good, but especially as it's a fiver cheaper at £24.95.\r\n\r\nThe Defender is the end result of a year's work by a group of Cheetah's top engineers, and it's just a smidgeon off being finished. Unlike the Magnum (featured in the August issue) it actually looks like a gun, rather than a space phaser, and is constructed to give the same feel as a real pistol with weight, trigger balance and precision. So remember - don't point this at your granny unless you're prepared to get into heaps of trouble!\r\n\r\nThe 128K/+2/+3 version is the closest to being finished, This connects to the Speccy via the Keypad/Aux port. A 48K version is also underway, and will connect via a joystick interface.\r\n\r\nUnlike the Magnum, the Defender has the smart inclusion of a sliding autofire/function select switch. This, if the software suits, turns the Defender into a machine gun, or allows you to select different weapons on screen.\r\n\r\nUntil recently Cheetah hadn't seen the Magnum - but when they did get their paws on it, they thought it a tad primitive. They're now confident that their Defender is designed, and works, a lot better. Of course, the TV screen will flash when the trigger is pulled, but Cheetah say it shouldn't interrupt gameplay as much as the Magnum does.\r\n\r\nGameplay? Coo, yes! While Cheetah have been busy constructing the gun, best-selling budget house CodeMasters have been programming six super games to make the most of the Defender. And what are they all about? Read on and find out..\r\n\r\nBRONX STREET COP\r\nAuthor: Pete Williamson\r\n\r\nIt's tough on the streets... especially the streets of New York's Bronx area - unless you own a Defender! There's five levels to the game, starting with a training session. The action really hots up in the first mission, where you have to track down armed robbers and bump 'em off. More missions follow, each getting progressively more difficult as you face crazed muggers. evil drug pushers and other vile pieces of work.\r\n\r\nSUPERCAR TRANS-AM\r\nAuthor: Pete Williamson (prolific)\r\n\r\nJump in the driving seat of a V12 turbocharged armour plated flyer and prepare to race from the beaches of California to the skyscrapers of New York. You're armed with ground-to-ground and remote-controlled air defences. You decide the direction the car takes by firing at a right/left icon on screen. Sounds like a novel way of getting about.\r\n\r\nADVANCED PINBALL SIMULATOR\r\nAuthors: The Oliver Twins\r\n\r\nA previous CodeMasters hit gets the light gun treatment with fast flippers, gates, barriers, bonus lanes, extra balls, a ball trap and loads more pinball features, and it's all controlled by the light gun firing at left and right flipper icons on the side of the table.\r\n\r\nBILLY THE KID\r\nAuthor: Gary Priest\r\n\r\nBecome the most famous cowboy of them all and load up for gun-slinging action from the wild, wild west. You can practice shooting cans hurled into the air, and then go on to to become a fully-fledged outlaw in a bank raid. Watch out for the Sheriff now, or you maybe challenged to wild west high noon shoot out - five paces, turn, fire and all that milarky!\r\n\r\nF-16 FIGHTING FALCON\r\nAuthor: Pete Williamson (even more busy!)\r\n\r\nFour levels of 3-D flight combat. To defend your Falcon against the Soviet MiGs and 'copters, point the light gun at enemy targets and let rip with a barrage of heatseakers, sidewinders and heaps of other missiles to blast everything outta the sky! To avoid oncoming planes and their missiles, shoot(!) your plane to take evasive action.\r\n\r\nJUNGLE WARFARE\r\nAuthor: Jason Falcos\r\n\r\nLevel after level of hostile forces to destroy - tanks, 'copters, jeeps, crack commando snipers, enemy aircraft... the list goes on. It's taken from Super Tank Simulator (reviewed this issue), the action viewed side on with the scenery scrolling right to left while you shoot at a seemingly endless onslaught of enemy troops.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"12,13","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Richard Eddy","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]