[{"TitleName":"Insurgency","Publisher":"CCS","Author":"Nicholas Holgate","YearOfRelease":"1984","ZxDbId":"0002490","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 12, Jan 1985","Price":"£1.25","ReleaseDate":"1984-12-13","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":196,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nConsultant Editor: Franco Frey\r\nAssistant Editor: Kevin Foster\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, Robin Candy\r\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\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":"INSURGENCY\r\n\r\nAuthor: Nicholas Holgate\r\nProducer: C.C.S.\r\nRetail Price: £5.95\r\n\r\nI must confess that I really do not know how C.C.S. do it. One minute they put out a truly enthralling games such as The Prince, the next they try to foist the most awful garbage on us, like Blue Riband. Then they bounce back again with an excellent offering like Insurgency. I must confess to being totally baffled. Insurgency is a two-player game of guerrilla warfare in which one player is the Sandinistas, or the VC's, while the other is the usual fascist oppressor. There is a selection of 100 maps to play on an each contains a number of villages connected by roads, several areas of jungle (accessible to guerrillas and army helicopters) and mountains (accessible to all) in each map the guerrillas are being supplied from the North and the army from the South. Supplies arrive by air through the game, but you have to be able to collect them. The army has a wider choice of units, with armour, aircraft, artillery, trucks and medics, but the guerrillas have an advantage of being able to move faster through the jungle, thus remaining out of reach.\r\n\r\nAs the game progresses each side builds up a picture of the other's position by means of intelligence reports, and then they attempt to take over villages, block roads with mines and so on. The guerrillas can recruit villagers and provide them with food and arms. But the army medics can improve their health, which helps to bring them back into the government fold.\r\n\r\nThe number of options available at any one time is amazingly high and I got really involved in running my Mujaheddin campaign. As with The Prince though, the drawback is that only one player is supposed to be at the screen at any time, which strikes me as something of a contradiction when you consider that multi-player games are supposed to bring increased sociability. The graphics also leave something to be desired (although they are well up to the usual strategy game standard - which isn't very high). All in all, however, a very impressive game, and the author one to watch for the future.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Verdict: At £5.95 may be evn better value than The Prince.","Page":"159","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Angus Ryall","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Big K Issue 10, Jan 1985","Price":"£0.85","ReleaseDate":"1984-12-10","Editor":"Tony Tyler","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Tony Tyler\r\nAssisted By: Richard Burton\r\nArt Editor: Ian Stead\r\nFeatures: Nicky Xikluna\r\nSoftware: Fin Fahey\r\nContributors: Kim Aldis (Features); Steve Keaton; John Conquest; Richard Taylor; Nigel Farrier, Gary Liddon; Tony Benyon; Steve Way; Sean Cox\r\nPublisher: Barry Leverett\r\nPublishing Director: John Purdie\r\nGroup Advertising Controller: Luis Bartlett\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Erica Vickers [redacted]\r\n\r\nEditorial Address: [redacted]\r\nTelephone: [redacted]\r\n\r\nPublished approximately on the 20th of each month by IPC Magazines Ltd. [redacted]. Monotone and colour origination by G.M. Litho Ltd [redacted]. Printed in England by Chase Web Offset, Cornwall. Sole Agents: Australia and New Zealand, Gordon& Gotch (A/sia) Ltd.; South Africa, Central News Agency Ltd. BIG K is sold subject to the following conditions, namely that it shall not, without the written consent of the Publishers first given, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade at more than the recommended selling price shown on the cover, and that it shall not be lent, resold or hired out or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated constitute or any unauthorised cover by way of trade or affixed to as part of any publication or advertising, literary or pictorial matter whatsoever. IPC MAGAZINES 1984."},"MainText":"REBELLIOUS STUFF\r\n\r\nFROM: CCS\r\nFORMAT: cassette\r\nPRICE: £5.95\r\n\r\nA very clever two-hander, government vs. guerrillas in a third world country. The uniformed mob, working to a budget, get 20 combat units (infantry, armour, choppers, jets and artillery) plus support (engineers, trucks , intelligence, medics and command), while the black pyjama brigade make do with 12 service units (guerrillas with or without radios, flak ad supply planes) plus spies, command, food and arms supplies.\r\n\r\nHaving picked their mix, both sides are placed on one of 100 maps showing villages, rivers, bridges, roads, mountains and jungles. Weather reports are given for the next (two week) turn and a more or less accurate forecast for the one after. The guerrillas get some reports from spies, supply units, lay ambushes, give or take food from the locals, lay mines, recruit villagers or move. The government gets equally unreliable intelligence reports, does an aerial reconnaissance sweep, supplies, build roads and bridges, fortifies villages, gives or takes food, uses transport or moves. News reports give out more unreliable information and, eventually, declares the winner.\r\n\r\nA very useful print facility will provide copies of the map and unit breakdowns, useful stuff for serious players as it's very easy to lose track. As in real life, there are no quick short-cuts to victory and, with the guerrillas looking at a 30 turns deadline, both sides must try and accumulate a mass of small pay-offs that will add up to success. Getting all that detail onto a Spectrum window means that everything is pretty small, so you really have to pay attention to details. Serious stuff.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"16","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"John Conquest","Score":"1","ScoreSuffix":"/3"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"1/3","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"2/3","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"1/3","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"1/3","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Personal Computer Games Issue 14, Jan 1985","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-12-13","Editor":"Chris Anderson","TotalPages":172,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Chris Anderson\r\nDeputy Editor: Steve Cooke\r\nProduction Editor: Roderick George\r\nArt Editor: Ian Findlay\r\nStaff Writers: Peter Connor, Bob Wade\r\nEditorial Assistant: Samantha Hemens\r\nCartoons: Kipper Williams\r\nScreenshots: Chris Bell\r\nArt Director: Jim Dansie\r\nGroup Publisher: John Cade\r\nPublisher: Tony Harris\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Peter Goldstein\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Sarah Barron\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Phil Pratt\r\nSenior Sales Executive: Ian Cross\r\nProduction Manager: Noel O'Sullivan\r\nAdvertisement Assistant: Andrea Lawrence\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\nCONTROL: Keys\r\nFROM: CDS, £5.95\r\n\r\nEver fancied yourself as a bit of a Che Guevera, fighting for the freedom of the people? Or, for that matter, a government, battling for democracy and stability in a tiny state? If so, then C.C.S.'s latest release, Insurgency, will appeal to you.\r\n\r\nThe cassette describes the game as simulating 'a campaign of subversion in an isolated region of a third world state that has come to a head'. It's a story that will be all too familiar to anyone who reads the newspaper: martial law, task forces hunting down dissidents, neighbouring countries supporting guerilla forces.\r\n\r\nIt's a two-player game, with one player taking the part of the rebels, the other controlling state forces. Whichever role you choose to play - you will have an equal number of complicated options and eventualities to juggle with.\r\n\r\nThe tape contains two programs. The first holds the routine which sets up the game - the two players choosing the various forces with which they will wage the campaign, and the map upon which it will be fought.\r\n\r\nThe next program uses this data for the game itself, a complex affair in which the players can move forces, occupy villages, bring in new supplies, receive intelligence reports... and so on.\r\n\r\nAs you can tell the game is fairly complicated, so arcade aces who cannot think beyond the trajectory of their next missile should give this one a miss.\r\n\r\nGraphically it is quite well done, the map being clear and easy to understand. The text is laid out neatly and with some thought and is therefore simple to follow. Sound is necessarily limited to informative beepings, and the controls are limited to the keyboard.\r\n\r\nIt is difficult to follow at first and takes a lot of thinking - every tactical nuance will not be immediately obvious. If you do enjoy tactical games, then this is about as good as they come.","ReviewerComments":["Although this game is in Basic it's quite quick and there's a lot to think about. The graphics are fair and there is sound. The main criticism I have is the fact that two players must play - there is no option Of playing against the computer - so while one person sees his instructions, the other must turn his bock.\r\r\n\r\r\nIf you like this sort of wartime/strategy game (they seem to hove a small cult following, though I don't think I've ever seen one in the charts) this is perhaps one you might like to invest in. However, I think it is rather overpriced.\r\nMartyn Smith","Graphics are used to display the troop positions but most of the symbols are unclear. The maps are probably more confusing than helpful. Sound is virtually non-existent.\r\r\n\r\r\nI played Insurgency with several different people and nobody could really grasp the mechanics of the game. It would probably appeal to wargamers who play in the conventional way and would like to play a quick game, (by quick, I mean less than a day) when they come home from work.\r\r\n\r\r\nQuick, somebody give me an arcade game.\r\nSteve Spittle"],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"92,93","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Peter Walker","Score":"6","ScoreSuffix":"/10"},{"Name":"Martyn Smith","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Steve Spittle","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"3/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Originality","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Lasting Interest","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"6/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Micro Adventurer Issue 15, Jan 1985","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-12-13","Editor":"Brendon Gore","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Brendon Gore\r\nAssistant Editor: Martin Croft\r\nSoftware Editor: Graham Taylor\r\nMaster Adventurers: Tony Bridge, Mike Grace, Ken Matthews\r\nEditorial Secretary: Geraldine Smyth\r\nAdvertisement Manager: David Lake\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Simon Langston\r\nAdministration: Theresa Lacy\r\nManaging Editor: Brendon Gore\r\nPublishing Director: Jenny Ireland\r\nTelephone number (all departments): [redacted]\r\nUK Address: [redacted]\r\nUS Address: [redacted]\r\nSubscriptions: UK £10.00 for 12 issues, overseas surface (excluding US and Canada) £16 for 12 issues, US and Canada air-lifted US$33.95 for 12 issues.\r\n\r\nMicro Adventurer is published monthly by Sunshine Books, Scot Press Ltd. Typesetting by In-Step Ltd, [redacted]. Printed by Eden Fisher (Southend) Ltd, [redacted]. Distributed by SM Distribution, [redacted].\r\n\r\nISSN 0265-4156. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper.\r\n\r\n© Sunshine Books 1984"},"MainText":"VIVA LA REVOLUTION\r\n\r\nMICRO: Spectrum 48K\r\nPRICE: £5.95\r\nFORMAT: Cassette\r\nSUPPLIER: Cases Computer Simulations, [redacted]\r\n\r\nInsurgency claims to \"simulate modern warfare in most of the worlds trouble spots\". One player is the government forces and the other the guerillas.\r\n\r\nTheoretically this could be a very interesting game, but in practice it is an extremely boring and frustrating waste of an hour or two.\r\n\r\nMAPS\r\n\r\nThe programme offers 100 different maps chosen by selecting a number between 1-100. All of them are extremely basic, simply being a series of villages, linked by roads, with the odd mountain range or two. The map colour is predominantly green, depicting jungle.\r\n\r\nChoices of troops and budget allocation are offered to the players in turn, necessitating the other player turning away from the screen.\r\n\r\nThe government forces are: infantry used for occupying villages and trotting about in the jungle, armour which is restricted to riding up and down the road net but better at fighting than the infantry, artillery for shelling (but which is extremely vulnerable to attack), helicopters, to support ground troops and searching for the pesky rebels, and finally aircraft, to carry out recon and bomb the guerilla forces.\r\n\r\nThe cover instructions tell you that you also receive other units, but I never got any! The government may choose within certain limitations 20 combat units.\r\n\r\nIn addition there are: engineers, supply trucks, which oddly can go through the jungle while the armour units cannot, intelligence for victimising locals and spying, medics, and lastly your headquarters command post.\r\n\r\nThe guerillas have a much more limited choice of troop type. Guerillas for fighting and recruiting, the same with radios, moving faster and more communicative, antiaircraft units, and supply planes for resupply.\r\n\r\nThey are also given options for spies, and a command post. The supply planes are able to drop arms or food you must choose a mixture of these up to 100 plane loads. The guerillas have 12 active service units only.\r\n\r\nThe command key words are simple enough, each unit having a series of options per turn.\r\n\r\nOn the surface of it the commands should cover the things that you would like to do, but this is not so. Either I totally misunderstood the spartan instructions or the game has definitely missed the crucial point of the whole idea.\r\n\r\nConflict is the name of the game, and conflict is exactly what's missing. When we moved two opposing units into the same village nothing happened, when we wanted to attack a guerilla unit with helicopters or aircraft, the programme merely flashed up the word CONTACT.\r\n\r\nWithout the option to fight, what does one do? Unless someone tells you, forget Insurgency. CCS can do better - and they have.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"37","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Kevin Bergin","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]