[{"TitleName":"Hopper","Publisher":"PSS","Author":"A. Tobias, Chris P. Cullen","YearOfRelease":"1983","ZxDbId":"0002347","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 23, Feb 1984","Price":"£0.85","ReleaseDate":"1984-01-19","Editor":"Bill Scolding","TotalPages":152,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Bill Scolding\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 Editor: Nigel Clark\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]"},"MainText":"FAST ACTION IN ARCADE FAVOURITES\r\n\r\nKrazy Kong and Frogger are two original arcade games which PSS has converted to the 16K Spectrum. The name of the latter game has been changed to Hopper.\r\n\r\nIn Krazy Kong you have to get up a tower of scaffolding, using a series of ladders, to save Jane from King Kong, avoiding fireballs, barrels, pies, lifts and flans.\r\n\r\nIf that is not difficult enough the authors have made it almost impossible to get a good control of the movement keys, as they are so close together. You may also have difficulty starting the game, as the control keys are in the top left-hand corner of the keyboard and the start key is at the bottom right.\r\n\r\nHopper is not much easier, although the control keys are all in a better position for play. The difficulty is in the speed of movement which can make you take several jumps at a time.\r\n\r\nAll the usual elements are there, including turtles, crocodiles, a train and some fast cars on the highway but they make the screen overcrowded and it is difficult to follow the path of your frog. That does not make the game unusable but it would be suited to those with knowledge of Frogger who can cope with fast play or many options - is not the beginner.\r\n\r\nBoth games can he obtained from PSS, [redacted]. Cost: £5.95 each.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"52","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 16K\r\nJOYSTICK: Kempston, Optional\r\nCATEGORY: Arcade\r\nSUPPLIER: PSS\r\nPRICE: £5.95\r\n\r\nHopping is what frogs do, so it's no surprise that Hopper is another version of Frogger. The object of all Frogger games is to manoeuvre frogs across busy roads and dangerous rivers, without getting run over, eaten by crocodiles, or otherwise terminally squelched.\r\n\r\nIn this version, you have 10 frogs, and the highway has six lanes. Traffic moves at different speeds in each lane, so that any gaps in the traffic are transient.\r\n\r\nOn the other side of the highway, there's a railway, where trains sit around until, generally at the most inconvenient time, they are shunted away.\r\n\r\nThen there's the river, where drifting logs and turtles can be hopped upon, and crocodiles and drowning avoided.\r\n\r\nIf you manage all these, there are five safe lily-pads to reach. When they're full, the hazards gently escalate.\r\n\r\nThe frog can be moved with a Kempston joystick or with the keyboard, and the latter is actually easier since it educes the rather high incidence of hopping two lanes when you only wanted to hop one.\r\n\r\nUnlike real life, it's easy to get run over by the back of a receding car, and once you've hit the road, you can't hop back to the starting side again.\r\n\r\nAs for sound effects, there's frog croaks as well as some irritating musical themes - for some reason, 'Rule Britannia' is played if you drown in the water.\r\n\r\nBut this is unfair - Hopper offers much in the way of obstacles, it runs smoothly, and it has clear graphics. Frogger has spawned many versions, and this one leapfrogs others. Hop out and buy it.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"42,43","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Wensley Dale","Score":"7","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Ease Of Use","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Originality","Score":"3/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Lasting Interest","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"7/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]