[{"TitleName":"Angler","Publisher":"Virgin Games Ltd","Author":"Dirk Olivier","YearOfRelease":"1983","ZxDbId":"0000205","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 2, Mar 1984","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-02-23","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":112,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nDesigner: Oliver Frey\r\nConsultant Editor: Franco Frey\r\nStaff Writers: Lloyd Mangram, Rod Bellamy\r\nAdvertisement Manager: John Edwards\r\nProduction Designer: Michael Arienti\r\n\r\n©1984 Newsfield Ltd.\r\n\r\nCrash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders.\r\n\r\nMono printing, typesetting & finishing by Feb Edge Litho Ltd. [redacted]\r\nColour printing by Allan-Denver Web Offset Ltd. [redacted].\r\nColour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by Wells Gardner, Darton & Co. [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £9.00 UK Mainland (post included)\r\nEurope: 12 issues £15 (post included).\r\nSingle copy: 75p\r\n\r\nIf you would like to contribute to CRASH please send articles or ideas for projects to the above address. Articles should be typed. We cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope\r\n\r\nCover Illustration:Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Virgin Games, 48K\r\n£5.95\r\nAuthor: Dirk Olivier\r\n\r\nA quiet day on the river fishing sounds like a load of fun, but this game manages to be about as thrilling as a real day on the river fishing. Beneath your boat pass 18 layers of various fish. With each game you're given 100 casts of the line to hook as many as you can. Some fish are fine to catch, some can be quite dangerous, and caught crabs eat away your catch. There are five levels of play which determine how close to your hook a fish must be to get caught. The language is BASIC, so are the graphics and the idea. May be okay for very young children, but there's nothing here for the serious player. Makes you wonder why 48K of memory was required. Virtually nil addictiveness and an overall CRASH rating of 39%.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"57","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"39%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 3, Apr 1984","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-03-16","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\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nStaff Writer: Lloyd Mangram\r\nContributing Writers: Matthew Uffindel, Chris Passey\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\r\n\r\n©1984 Newsfield Ltd.\r\nCrash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nTelephone numbers\r\nEditorial [redacted]\r\nSubscriptions [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\nHot Line [redacted]\r\nNo material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders.\r\n\r\nColour origination by Scan Studio, [redacted]\r\nPrinted in England by Plymouth Web Offset Ltd, [redacted].\r\nDistribution by Comag, [redacted]\r\nAdditional setting and process work by The Tortoise Shell Press, [redacted].\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £9.00 UK Mainland (post free)\r\nEurope: 12 issues £15 (post free).\r\n\r\nWe cannot undertake to return any written or photographic material sent to CRASH MICRO unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope.\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Virgin Games, 48K\r\n£5.95\r\nAuthor: Dirk Olivier\r\n\r\nA quiet day on the river fishing sounds like a load of fun, but this game manages to be about as thrilling as a real day on the river fishing. Beneath your boat pass 18 layers of various fish. With each game you're given 100 casts of the line to hook as many as you can. Some fish are fine to catch, some can be quite dangerous, and caught crabs eat away your catch. There are five levels of play which determine how close to your hook a fish must be to get caught. The language is BASIC, so are the graphics and the idea. May be okay for very young children, but there's nothing here for the serious player. Makes you wonder why 48K of memory was required. Virtually nil addictiveness and an overall CRASH rating of 39%.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"74","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"39%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 22, Jan 1984","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1983-12-15","Editor":"Nigel Clark","TotalPages":172,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Managing Editor: Nigel Clark\r\nDeputy Editor: Nicole Segre\r\nConsultant Editor: Mike Johnston\r\nManaging Production Editor: Harold Mayes MBE\r\nSoftware Editor: John Gilbert\r\nProgram Reviewer: Rebecca Ferguson\r\nIllustrator/Designer: Brian King\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: John Ross\r\nSales Executive: Annette Burrows\r\nProduction Assistant: Dezi Epaminondou\r\nEditorial Assistant: Colette McDermott\r\nManaging Director: Terry Cartwright\r\nChairman: Richard Hease\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by ECC Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\nTelephone\r\nAll departments\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nIf you would like to contribute to any of the Sinclair User group of publications please send programs, articles or ideas for hardware projects to:\r\nSinclair User and Programs\r\nECC Publications\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nPrograms 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 will pay £10 for the copyright of each program published and £50 per 1,000 words for each article used.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1984\r\nSinclair User\r\nISSN NO. 0262-5458\r\n\r\nPrinted and typeset by Cradley Print PLC, [redacted]\r\n\r\nDistributed by Spotlight Magazine Distribution Ltd, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Photograph: Peter Dawney"},"MainText":"EXTRA LIVES WOULD MAKE A MORE ExCITING RIDE\r\n\r\nTwo recent releases from Virgin Games are Rider and Angler, both for the 48K Spectrum. In Rider, you are an MI5 agent charged with a two-part mission. Stage one consists of parachuting into enemy territory and attempting to land on a moving motor-cycle. Thus mounted, you then move to stage two, which entails riding through a minefield to check the terrain prior to invasion.\r\n\r\nYou choose any level of difficulty from 001 to 007 and must avoid not only randomly-placed mines but obstacles which may cause you to crash. If you manage to stay the course you will be promoted.\r\n\r\nThe graphics in both stages of the game are lively and the second stage promises a fast and challenging ride. A major fault, however, is that if you crash during stage two, you have to go back to your original parachuting exercise. Extra lives for the motor-cyclist would have made the game more satisfying, as the second part is the more exciting and difficult to master.\r\n\r\nAngler could help confirm the low status of fishing as a spectator sport. In it you are at sea with your trawler, attempting to catch a variety of fish, all gaining different scores according to their type.\r\n\r\nThe trawler moves left and right and pressing any key casts the fishing line. According to the instructions, the length of time you keep the keys depressed determines the length of the line but, in the reviewer's experience, the line showed an infuriating tendency to stop short of any fish at which it was aimed.\r\n\r\nThe game features a scoreboard so that you can compete against your friends and a high score earns a certificate of merit. Fairly rudimentary graphics and slow responses, even if you choose an advanced level of difficulty, do not make it wildly exciting.\r\n\r\nRider and Angler are produced by Virgin Games, [redacted] and cost £5.50 each.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"44","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Gilbert Factor","Score":"6/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Personal Computer Games Issue 3, Feb 1984","Price":"£0.85","ReleaseDate":"1984-01-19","Editor":"Chris Anderson","TotalPages":176,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Chris Anderson\r\nProduction Editor: Roderick George\r\nArt Editor: Ian Findlay\r\nTechnical Editor: Stuart Cooke\r\nStaff Writers: Steve Cooke, Peter Connor\r\nEditorial Assistant: Samantha Hemens\r\nSoftware Consultant: Tony Takoushi\r\nCartoons: Kipper Williams\r\nProgram Control Guardians: Jeff Riddle\r\nIllustrations: Mark Watkinson, Andy Bylo, Tony Hannaford\r\nPhotography: Ian McKinnel, Chris Bell, Tony Sleep\r\nGroup Editor: Cyndy Miles\r\nArt Director: Jim Dansie\r\nPublishing Manager: Mark Eisen\r\nAssistant Publishing Manager: Sue Clements\r\nAdvertising Manager: Herbert Wright\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Jan Martin\r\nSales Executives: Joey Davies, Marion O'Neill, Louise Hedges\r\n\r\nPublished by VNU Business Publications, [redacted]. Typesetting by Spectrum Typesetting, [redacted] Origination by Fourmost Colour [redacted]. Printed and bound by Chase Web Offset [redacted]. © VNU Business Publications 1984."},"MainText":"MACHINE: Spectrum 48K\r\nJOYSTICK: No\r\nCATEGORY: Arcade\r\nSUPPLIER: Virgin Games\r\nPRICE: £5.95\r\n\r\nVirgin has had a somewhat unenthusiastic reception for its offerings so far, and Angler is unlikely to improve on this. The fisherman of the title sits in a small boat at the top of the screen and casts his line into a sea swarming with fish of various sizes.\r\n\r\nThe object of the game is simply to catch as many fish as possible while trying to avoid crabs, which will eat the catch given half a chance. Controls are simple - keys 5 and 8 move the boat from side to side, and any other key will cast the line.\r\n\r\nFish are caught by manoeuvring the line so that the hook appears just in front of the target, but catching anything often seems to be more luck than judgment (which is fairly true to life, I guess).\r\n\r\nThe line will reach the bottom only if there are no fish underneath it at the moment of casting.\r\n\r\nIf a crab is caught, it will immediately begin eating any fish in the boat. This may be rectified only by catching one of the much larger, tube-shaped bottom-dwelling fish - but care must be taken to avoid landing one of the largest creatures. Do this and the game ends in disaster.\r\n\r\nAll in all, it's a bit like the nursery rhyme about the old woman who swallowed a fly catch the wrong thing and you have to continue fishing until you catch a fish that can deal with the problem.\r\n\r\nYou have 100 casts in which to catch as many fish - and hence score as many points - as possible. Presentation of the game, in keeping with Virgin's packaging policy, is good, with a Hall of Fame that may be printed out on the ZX printer, but the graphics and sound can only be described as adequate.\r\n\r\nThere are various levels of difficulty to determine how close a fish must be to the hook before it is caught, but even at the highest level I can't imagine that this game will hold the attention for too long.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"54,55","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Steve Mann","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"4/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Ease Of Use","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Originality","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Lasting Interest","Score":"3/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]