[{"TitleName":"Apple Jam","Publisher":"DK'Tronics Ltd","Author":"Ed Hickman","YearOfRelease":"1984","ZxDbId":"0000224","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: DK'Tronics\r\nMemory Required: 16K\r\nRetail Price: £5.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\nAuthor: E. Hickman\r\n\r\nDK'Tronics have generally tended in the past to write good introductions as to the objectives of their games, but the recent releases have suffered with little or no explanation. Hard Cheese is a case in point, where a game starts without aims being made clear and where the scenario is obviously too complicated to sort out easily. The danger with this is that players can run out of patience before tapping the game's potential.\r\n\r\nApple Jam is another example. In this case there are no explanations at all. It is, in concept, a very simple game, and the broad intentions of the author are immediately clear, or rapidly sorted out, but as at least one reviewer found, points of the game still baffle.\r\n\r\nBasically, the screen has a lift at the left, a sauna box at the right, a jam dispenser in the middle, overhead, and above that, a conveyor belt which produces apples. In a lower portion is a rat tunnel. The screen also shows the game score and the hi-score, three purple pills and the words RAT BAIT! A little man is made to run back and forth. He opens his mouth when correctly positioned under the dropping point of either jam or apples. Each time he gulps down another mouthful, he grows a bit fatter. To work off the excess weight he must enter the sauna for a few seconds and when he comes out he's all slim and wonderful. If he fails to go to the sauna each mouthful after a certain point, it loses him one of the purple pills. When all three have gone he dies.\r\n\r\nBelow in the rat run, the rats are running. Should the man miss any apples or jam, they fall through and the rats eat the food. Once this has happened they tend to come up a floor and eat the man. He can escape by getting into the lift, but that means missing more food. Should you do really well against these miserable odds, there's a giant hornet to watch out for.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: 5 & 8 left & right\r\nJoystick: Protek, AGF\r\nKeyboard play: responsive\r\nColour: fair\r\nGraphics: reasonable\r\nSound: poor\r\nSkill levels: 1\r\nLives: endless, but three pills","ReviewerComments":["A non-violent game for the younger games-player, that's my impression. There's a fair use of colour and the character block graphics are smooth and fair in quality. It's a nice touch when an ambulance comes up to collect the dead hero after being rat-bitten, but I think they cheated by having it back-up - it could have driven forwards and turned around.\r\nUnknown","This game made me feel quite dense - it looks simple, it is simple, but I couldn't work out what was going on at all. I never found out what the RAT BAIT! was for, if anything, and someone had to tell me what the pills were for. I had figured out what the sauna did, and became obsessed with my hero's figure. Consequently my opinions are somewhat coloured. On the whole, a rather poor game.\r\nUnknown","The odds have been stacked up too high to make this into an addictive game. Once the rats emerge you never have a chance to catch more food, or sweat it off, and it all becomes pointless. It is, anyway, very repetitive.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: Poor on instructions, a game for younger players with a limited addictivity.","Page":"71","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Open wide those pearly gates and let the jam pass in."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"65%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"59%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"35%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"40%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"40%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"50%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"47%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Spectrum Issue 2, Mar 1984","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1984-02-16","Editor":"Roger Munford","TotalPages":98,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Munford\r\nContributing Editor: Bruce Sawford\r\nTechnical Editor: Ron Smith\r\nSoftware Consultant: Gavin Monk\r\nEditorial Consultant: Andrew Pennell\r\nSub Editor: Nik Lumsden\r\nContributors: Toni Baker, Simon Goodwin, Mike Lord, Ian Beardsmore, Max Philips, Guy Kewney, Henry Budgett, Gary Marshall, Dilwyn Jones, Phil Manchester\r\nArt Editor: Jimmy Egerton\r\nArt Assistants: Steve Broadhurst, Mike Wilkes\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Jeff Raggett\r\nAdvertisement Managers: Shane Campbell, Gill Harris\r\nProduction Editor: Derek Cohen\r\nTypesetters: Anne Ashby, Maggie Kayley, Velma Miller\r\nProduction Manager: Sonia Hunt\r\nGroup Art Director: Perry Neville\r\nPublisher: Stephen England\r\nDistribution Manager: Colin James\r\nPublished by Sportscene Specialist Press Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England. Telephone (all departments): [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinters: Chase Web Offset [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Spectrum ©1984 Felden productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Spectrum is a bi-monthly publication and the third issue will be available during the second week of April 1984."},"MainText":"APPLE JAM\r\nDK'Tronics\r\n£5.95\r\n\r\nAn original arcade game in which you have to eat as much jam and apples as you can without getting into trouble with wandering rats and bees.","ReviewerComments":["Play starts off very slowly, and gradually increases as progress is made. I would have liked it a bit better if the initial speed of the game had been set a little faster. That said, the game makes good use of colour and sound, and is certainly original.\r\nStephen Cathrall","Particularly impressive are the man and rats, who grow in size the more apple and jam they eat. For a 16K program, this package contains an amusingly different theme and has some great features. For instance, lift journeys can be quite fun, especially if you judge its descent so that you squash a rat!\r\r\r\nStewart McPherson","Most of the displays are pretty impressive and colourful, but that's not to say they couldn't have been improved upon. Overall, pretty good.\r\r\r\nPeter Shaw"],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"58","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Stephen Cathrall","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Stewart McPherson","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Peter Shaw","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"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: DK Tronics, 16K\r\n£5.59 (2)\r\nAuthor: E Hickman\r\n\r\nThere's a lift to the left, a sauna to the right, an overhead jam dispenser and conveyor belt carrying apples in the middle. The idea is to centre your man to catch dripping jam and falling apples, leaping between each to prevent any falling into the rat run below. With every mouthful your man gets fatter and must eventually be taken to the sauna to sweat off his fat. The more food that falls through to the rats, the more adventurous they become, until they come up and try eating your man. Getting into the lift saves him, but it all becomes thoroughly silly and repetitive. Joystick: Protek, AGF, general rating: poor - 47%.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"74","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"47%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Personal Computer Games Issue 4, Mar 1984","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-02-16","Editor":"Chris Anderson","TotalPages":184,"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\nGame-of-the-month poster: Mark Watkinson\r\nScreenshots: Chris Bell\r\nCover Photography: Ko Kon Chung\r\nGroup Editor: Cyndy Miles\r\nArt Director: Jim Dansie\r\nPublishing Manager: Mark Eisen\r\nAssistant Publishing Manager: Sue Clements\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Herbert Wright\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Jan Martin\r\nAdvertisement Production: Simon Carter\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 16/48K\r\nJOYSTICK: No\r\nCATEGORY: Arcade\r\nSUPPLIER: DK'Tronics\r\nPRICE: £5.95\r\n\r\nThis one is guaranteed to make you sick. Apples are falling off the end of a conveyor belt and jam is dripping from the nozzle of a machine. It's your disgusting duty to stand under each piece of apparatus in turn so that as much food as possible falls into your mouth.\r\n\r\nWith each gulp you grow visibly fatter until - the sick part - you have a fit. This costs you a pill, and since you have only three you need to keep slimming down by running into a sauna.\r\n\r\nBut, oh dear, this means that the sticky yuk you should be scoffing is falling to the ground and being slurped by little rats. Which get bigger the more they consume. And when they're very big they run on to your level to attack you.\r\n\r\nYour only escape is to tear into a lift which shoots up and down automatically. If you time it right, you come down on top of a rat and crush it (causing a red stain which gets a bit bigger each time - revolting touch!).\r\n\r\nOne final hazard is a nasty-looking hornet with a fatal sting.\r\n\r\nApple film is clever in that the game's considerable variety is achieved with the use of just two keys: left and right.\r\n\r\nThis means you can enjoy playing it immediately - but it should still offer prolonged entertainment.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"82,83","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Chris Anderson","Score":"8","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"3/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Ease Of Use","Score":"10/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Originality","Score":"10/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Lasting Interest","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"8/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]