[{"TitleName":"Giant's Revenge","Publisher":"Thor Computer Software","Author":"Chris Kerry, Steve Kerry, Frankie Carney","YearOfRelease":"1984","ZxDbId":"0002040","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 9, Oct 1984","Price":"£0.85","ReleaseDate":"1984-09-27","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":128,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nConsultant Editor: Franco Frey\r\nProduction Designer: David Western\r\nArt Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nStaff Writer: Lloyd Mangram\r\nContributing Writers: Matthew Uffindel, Chris Passey\r\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\r\nCirculation Manager: Tom Hamilton\r\nAll circulation enquiries should ring [redacted]\r\n\r\n©1984 Newsfield Limited.\r\nCrash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nGeneral correspondence to: [redacted]\r\n\r\nTelephone numbers\r\nGeneral office [redacted]\r\nEditorial/studio [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\nHot Line [redacted]\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders.\r\n\r\nPhotosetting by SIOS [redacted]\r\nColour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted]\r\nPrinted in England by Carlisle Web Offset Ltd (Member of the BPCC Group), [redacted].\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £10.50 (UK Mainland post free)\r\nEurope: 12 issues £17.50 (post free).\r\n\r\nWe cannot undertake to return any written or photographic material sent to CRASH Magazine unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope.\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Thor\r\nMemory Required: 48K\r\nRetail Price: £5.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\nAuthor: Chris Kerry\r\n\r\nGiant's Revenge is a follow up program to Thor's Jack and the Beanstalk. Like Jet Set Willy it comes with a colour code anti-copying protection device. Unfortunately, and unlike Jet Set Willy, this card is so badly printed that it is hard to distinguish some of the colours except under ideal lighting conditions. The pale blue (cyan) and green are almost identical and hard to decipher unless either side by side or seen in bright light. Also, unlike Jet Set Willy, you are only allowed one go at a correct entry which seems pointlessly mean and silly when one is talking about a four to five minute loading time. This makes getting started a little fraught. On the other hand, you are treated to a very fast run through of all the screens you are about to tackle, which is colourful and useful.\r\n\r\nThe scenario goes that Jack is bored after his defeat of the giant until one morning he notices a hole in the ground left by the giant's fall. Entering, Jack discovers that the giant isn't dead at all, but has built a complex of caverns under the ground where he now lives. Giants everywhere have this odd habit of accumulating treasures, and Jack must go and collect them, including the Elixir of Life.\r\n\r\nGiant's Revenge takes the same graphics and game idea as Jack and the Beanstalk, where you must walk Jack around seven screens, finding the correct route and collecting the one object on each screen before being able to get onto the next. The principle difference here is that there is no fire to halt the various meanies found on each screen. The screens start off outside Jack's house and descend via a ladder into the first of the caverns; this is followed by a long cave with stalactites, then some planks over a pool, a large room, some stairs down to the cellar, the foot of the giant's bed and finally to the giant himself at the bottom of the beanstalk roots.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: well laid out, Q/W left/right, O/K up/down, P to jump\r\nJoystick: Kempston - annoying it's not mentioned on the inlay though\r\nKeyboard play: responsive\r\nUse of colour: very good, with a few attribute problems\r\nGraphics: very good\r\nSound: continuous tune and effects, a bit slower with microspeech\r\nSkill levels: 1\r\nLives: 4\r\nScreens: 7\r\nFeatures: Currah Micro-speech compatible and voice effects","ReviewerComments":["The less said about the colour code protection the better. At least the inlay for this game states quite boldly that you cannot get off a screen without an object, so you shouldn't waste time with that one. Throughout, the graphics are very colourful and well drawn. But like J & TBS the way you are killed off for getting near to the edge of the screen is not really a game element - it just makes the game less interesting to play because it's so damned irritating. If you liked J & TBS then you're bound to like Giant's Revenge, as they are pretty much identical. On the other hand, as a follow up it's disappointing that nothing new has been done. I found it more frustrating than addictive.\r\r\nUnknown","Giant's Revenge is as hard as the previous Thor game because the allowed route is very narrow. But it's fun to play and makes you want of go on. Fortunately the nasties all follow the same pattern each time, so it becomes easier to work out how to avoid them. The seven screens are very colourful and attractive, which helps make the game playable. Addictive if you can stand the pace.\r\r\nUnknown","The graphics are certainly lovely to look at, but I don't think they work all that well in the game. It's hard to work out why you get killed by touching a monster because sometimes you don't and sometimes you do. You can walk Jack right through a collectable object and fail to get it, and the sort of 3D drawing makes the game as confusing to play, or as imprecise to play, as Jack and the Beanstalk was. The real element of playability is finding the right route through each screen, and this adds some addictivity to it, but seven screens don't seem very much these days, even with varied graphics and I think that lowers its value for money somewhat.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A great looking game that somehow lacks real playability.","Page":"95,96","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":"70%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"78%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"55%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"58%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"61%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"63%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"64%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 35, Feb 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-01-17","Editor":"Bill Scolding","TotalPages":148,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Bill Scolding\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nConsultant Editor: Mike Johnston\r\nStaff Writer: Chris Bourne, Clare Edgeley\r\nIllustrator/Designer: Craig Kennedy\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Rob Cameron\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: Kathy McLennan\r\nProduction Assistant: James McClure\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Claudia Viertel\r\nEditorial Assistant: Colette McDermott\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\nAssistant Publisher: Neil Wood\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\n96,271 Jan-June 1984\r\n\r\nTelephone\r\nEditorial and advertising departments\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nIf you would like to contribute to Sinclair User please send programs or articles:\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 the copyright of each program published and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nAll subscription enquiries to\r\nMagazine Services,\r\nEMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1985\r\nSinclair User\r\nISSN NO. 0262-5458\r\n\r\nTypeset by Saffron Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\n\r\nPrinted by Peterboro' Web, [redacted]\r\n\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd."},"MainText":"GIANT'S REVENGE\r\nThor\r\nMemory: 48K\r\nPrice: £6.95\r\nJoystick: Kempston\r\n\r\nOnce upon a time there was a game called Jack and the Beanstalk, which for some unaccountable reason got into the Top Ten charts.\r\n\r\nFlushed with the sudden irrational tolerance of an otherwise critical market. Thor has released the inevitable follow-up. Giant's Revenge, in which Jack the yellow blob descends into the earth for more treasure.\r\n\r\nOne mistake on his narrow route and Jack's a dead blob. That is perhaps the most annoying aspect of the game. Not only must you discover how to collect the object at the end of each screen but you must also discover the correct route, pixel by pixel, regardless of where obstacles are placed. Sometimes you can walk straight through stalagmites or monsters. Sometimes they zap you before you even touch them.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"38","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Chris Bourne","Score":"3","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Gilbert Factor","Score":"3/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Personal Computer News Issue 80, Sep 1984","Price":"","ReleaseDate":"1984-09-21","Editor":"Peter Worlock","TotalPages":66,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editorial\r\nEditor: Peter Worlock\r\nDeputy Production Editor: Leah Batham\r\nSub-Editor: Harriet Arnold\r\nNews Editor: David Guest\r\nNews Writer: Ralph Bancroft\r\nNews Writer/Sub Editor: Sandra Grandison\r\nFeatures Editor: John Lettice\r\nSoftware Editor: Bryan Skinner\r\nPeripherals Editor: Kenn Garroch\r\nHardware Editor: Stuart Cooke\r\nPrograms Editor: Nickie Robinson\r\nArt Director: Jim Dansie\r\nArt Editor: David Alexander\r\nAssistant Art Editor: Tim Brown\r\nLayout Artist: Bruce Preston\r\nPublisher: Cyndy Miles\r\nPublishing Assistant: Tobe Bendeth\r\n\r\nAdvertising\r\nGroup Advertising Manager: Peter Goldstein\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Bettina Williams\r\nAssistant Advertisement Managers: Sarah Barron, Phil Pratt\r\nSenior Sales Executives: Laura Cade, Claire Rowbottom\r\nSales Executives: Claire Barnes, Phil Benson, Mike Blackman, Paul Evans, Tony Keefe, Christian McCarthy, Amanda Moore, Sarah Musgrave, Tony O'Reilly\r\nProduction: Richard Gaffrey\r\nAdvertisement Assistant: Karen Isaac\r\nSubscription Enquiries: Gill Stevens\r\nSubscription Address: [redacted]\r\nEditorial Address: [redacted]\r\nAdvertising Address: [redacted]\r\n\r\nPublished by VNU Business Publications, [redacted]\r\n© VNU 1983. No material maybe reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders.\r\nPhotoset by Quickset, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Chase Web Offset, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by Seymour Press, [redacted]\r\nRegistered at the PO as a newspaper"},"MainText":"Price: £5.95\r\nPublisher: Thor Software [redacted]\r\n\r\nWhat goes up must come down. Thor's successful Jack and the Beanstalk had you climbing to the top of the plant whereas Giant's Revenge has you heading towards the root, through the hole left by the giant when he fell to earth.\r\n\r\nThe game has seven screens. Starting at ground level, you descend through various chambers to the giant's subterranean lair among the beanstalk roots. Each screen holds a valuable object which must be snatched before you can progress further. Various meanies scuttle around each chamber - and you have nothing but nimbleness to prevent you from being knocked into the abyss below.\r\n\r\nThe game can be played using the keyboard or Kempston joystick and also emits an assortment of spoken comments if you attach a Currah Microspeech unit.\r\n\r\nAt start-up, the game flicks through all the screen layouts, including the options page. Unfortunately, it skips through the latter so quickly, you barely have time to see what key you need to press to select the appropriate option (1 for keyboard, 2 for Kempston, in fact).\r\n\r\nOn screen one, Jack, a small yellow figure, stands outside his house at the foot of the beanstalk. Hanging about nearby are two unrecognisable but dangerous thingies. A ladder leads down a hole to a cave where two more beasties patrol. If you use the Currah Microspeech, you'll be told to collect the enchanted scroll which is lying centre-screen.\r\n\r\nJack can jump as well as move left, right, up and down. He does suffer somewhat from colour attribute problems, frequently leaving a blob of yellow in areas he has visited. The animation is not bad but controlling Jack is a pain. It's all to easy to blunder into a monster or fall off a ledge.\r\n\r\nOther screens feature a stalactite and stalagmite-filled cave, planks across a lake, the giant's chamber and finally, the giant's lair, complete with giant (well, his head anyway). The backdrop graphics are the best feature in what is otherwise a pretty ordinary and awkward game. A non-runner bean.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"54","Denied":false,"Award":"Personal Computer News MISS","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Bob Chappell","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]