[{"TitleName":"Grid Patrol","Publisher":"MC Lothlorien Ltd","Author":"Simon Cobb","YearOfRelease":"1984","ZxDbId":"0002147","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 5, Jun 1984","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-05-24","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":126,"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\nTelephone numbers\r\nEditorial/office [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\nHot Line [redacted]\r\n\r\n©1984 Newsfield Ltd.\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\nPhotosetting by SIOS [redacted]\r\nColour origination by Scan Studio, [redacted]\r\nPrinted in England by Carlisle Web Offset Ltd, [redacted].\r\nDistribution by Comag, [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: MC Lothlorien\r\nMemory Required: 16K\r\nRetail Price: £5.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\nAuthor: Simon Cobb\r\n\r\nThe cassette inlay wastes little space in setting up a scenario for this ultra-fast grid game beyond telling you to avoid the devastating fire from the tanks. Quite right too.\r\n\r\nThe game takes the basic form of Transversion, but unlike that game instead of static pods to destroy there are a few aliens on the grid which keep moving about. Around all four edges of the grid there are tanks which can move up and down or left and right to fire inwards along the grid lines.\r\n\r\nThis means that your man must constantly face fire from four different directions, with the tanks constantly homing into fire along the line he is on. He is equipped with a laser that fires in eight directions, with which he must destroy the wandering aliens on the grid. Bumping onto one will result in loss of life.\r\n\r\nEach screen cleared moves you on to a more difficult one with more aliens, and they move about more wildly.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: Q/A up/down, O/P left/right, SYM SHIFT to fire (it does mention user-definable keys on the inlay but there don't seem to be any)\r\nJoystick: AGF, Protek, Kempston\r\nKeyboard play: responsive\r\nUse of colour: average\r\nGraphics: small, fast, generally reasonable\r\nSound: good\r\nSkill levels: 3 speeds\r\nLives: 5\r\nScreens: 8","ReviewerComments":["There have been a few attempts to take the crown away from Ocean' s Transversion, but this is the first one I have played which has actually managed to add to that game. It must be one of the fastest grid games ever, and certainly aims to rank with Jeff Minter's. Yes, the idea's ever so simple, but the addition of laser fire for your man is clever. Not only must you concentrate on trying to line up a shot on a moving alien, but you have literally half a second (on the slowest of three speeds) to do it before the tanks get you. It requires manic concentration and a bottle of headache pills. Great!\r\r\nUnknown","I don't think this is as good as Transversion it has poor movement responses and it's hard to see the screen in colour. Things just don't seem right it is very hard to move, avoid and shoot at your attackers. I also discovered that if you die when you reappear (in the middle) by an alien, you die immediately before realising it! it means having your finger on a move key before you reappear. Until I realised what was happening I was dying left, right and centre. Not struck on this version. \r\r\nUnknown","The game that starts on level 1 - impossible! Level 3 is simply impossibler! Grid Patrol is very fast - like in you need eight eyes fast, two for the joystick, two for the enemy, two for lining up shots, and two for keeping on the tanks. Graphics are small, but quite colourful and easily seen. The sound is fairly good, but you don't really need it because you're cone centrating on other things. I became so thrilled with this game that I broke a joystick (which is to be docked out of my CRASH expenses next month)! Very fast and quite addictive.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: Simple grid game for those who like a fast arcade game.","Page":"86,87","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"A totally manic game for real arcade freaks, and one of the best derivations of Transversion."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"55%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"59%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"56%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"61%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"59%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Personal Computer Games Issue 7, Jun 1984","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-05-17","Editor":"Chris Anderson","TotalPages":132,"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\nScreenshots: Chris Bell\r\nCover Illustration: Pat Weedon\r\nGroup Editor: Cyndy Miles\r\nArt Director: Jim Dansie\r\nGroup Publisher: John Cade\r\nPublisher: Mark Eisen\r\nAssistant Publishing Manager: Sue Clements\r\nPublishing Secretary: Jenny Dunne\r\nAdvertising Manager: Herbert Wright\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Jan Martin\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Mike Caroll\r\nAdvertisement Production: Simon Carter\r\nAdvertisement Assistant: Coraline Turner\r\nSales Executives: Joey Davies, Marion O'Neill\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 16/48K\r\nCONTROL: Keys, Cursor Joystick\r\nFROM: Lothlorien, £5.95\r\n\r\nSuperhuman reflexes are required as you dodge laser bolts and blast robots on a grid. Sometimes you're killed before you've even had a chance to move, or wonder why this game is so familiar. To find out, play Hewson Consultants' Di-Lithium Lift - reviewed elsewhere in this issue. Anyone getting a high score has my admiration.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"59","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Steve Cooke","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"4/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Originality","Score":"4/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Lasting Interest","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]