[{"TitleName":"Arkanoid","Publisher":"Imagine Software Ltd","Author":"Mark R. Jones, Mike Lamb, Ronnie Fowles","YearOfRelease":"1987","ZxDbId":"0000255","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 39, Apr 1987","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1987-03-26","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":132,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nSub Editor: Ciaran Brennan\r\nStaff Writers: Lloyd Mangram, Richard Eddy\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nStrategy Editor: Philippa Irving\r\nTech Tipster: Simon Goodwin\r\nContributing Writers: Jon Bates, Brendon Kavanagh, John Minson\r\nProduction Controller: David Western\r\nArt Director: Gordon Druce\r\nIllustrator: Oliver Frey\r\nProduction: Seb Clare, Tim Croton, Mark Kendrick, Tony Lorton, Nick Orchard, Michael Parkinson, Cameron Pound, Jonathan Rignall, Matthew Uffindell\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Roger Bennett\r\nAdvertisement Assistant: Nick Wild\r\nSubscriptions: Denise Roberts\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nEditorial and Production: [redacted]\r\n\r\nMail Order and Subscriptions: [redacted]\r\n\r\nADVERTISING\r\nBookings [redacted]\r\n\r\nPrinted in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistributed by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced whole or in part without written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return any written material sent to CRASH Magazine unless accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material which may be used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates.\r\n\r\n©1987 Newsfield Limited\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Imagine\r\nRetail Price: £7.95\r\nAuthor: Mike Lamb\r\n\r\nA major interstellar catastrophe has occurred! The giant spaceship Arkanoid has exploded and a small shuttle craft, The Vaus, has scrambled away, only to be sucked into a void inhabited by 'The Dimension Changer'. This horrid creature has transported The Vaus into a strange dimension - a void consisting of 32 block-patterned screens. In order to escape, The Vaus has to move from one screen to another clearing each screen of blocks, finally confronting the Dimension Changer on Level 33 in a battle to the death.\r\n\r\nThe Vaus sits at the bottom of the screen, and a ball is launched into the playing area. This ball bounces around the screen and ricochets off the sides, destroying the blocks on contact. The player moves The Vaus left and right, attempting to prevent the ball from leaving the screen.\r\n\r\nNot all of the blocks explode on first contact. Some take a more severe beating before they disappear, and others drop a spinning capsule which can be collected to gain a feature - such as an expanded bat, a slower ball, the ability to catch and relaunch the ball, a laser to shoot at the bricks, an escape route to the next screen, an extra life and the ability to split the ball into three separate spheres.\r\n\r\nSeemingly harmless aliens float about, but despite their appearance they pose an indirect threat to the Vaus - when one of these wandering obstacles is hit by the ball, it explodes and sends the ball flying off in the opposite direction.\r\n\r\nFailing to stop the ball from leaving the screen loses a life, although extra lives can be earned at regular point intervals - or by collecting a capsule marked with 'P'.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: left CAPS SHIFT-V, right B-SPACE, fire A-L\r\nJoystick: Kempston, Interface 2\r\nUse of colour: bright and attractive\r\nGraphics: smooth but unimaginative\r\nSound: spot FX, not tune\r\nSkill levels: one\r\nScreens: 33","ReviewerComments":["Aaaaaaaaaagh this is terrible - I'm addicted to a badly programmed Breakout variant, my street cred is never going to recover! The programmers have a lot to answer for, the collision detection is awful (a major problem for a Breakout game), and the program changes speed at the most illogical moments. To top it all there's a scenario - that's right, a scenario! Could you think of anything more irrelevant to put in a game like this? You have to sit through 30 seconds of tedious waffle at the start of each game. But despite all this the gameplay is still there, and the whole thing is disturbingly compelling. However I'm sure that Arkanoid will lose its appeal fairly quickly.\r\nBen Stone","Whatever next! Will flares be back in fashion this year? it seems a distinct possibility if the fashion industry follows IMAGINE 'S example to the computer industry. Arkanoid contains no addictive qualities at all. It's extremely boring to play and very easy to leave on the shelf. The Thru The Wall game that comes free with a Spectrum is more fun to play than this. Graphics are very simply defined, and poorly animated.\r\nPaul Sumner","What can I say? It's something like five years since the release of the Spectrum, and someone is still trying to flog a version of the game that was given away with the very first machine! Not only that, but this version isn't what I would expect after five years of development. The additions to the bat are great, but the game really falls down due to the speed variations. Somehow, though, someone has managed to put some addictivity into a game whose programming defies such a compliment. Generally, a slightly above average product that could have converted well from the arcade machine, but has been let down by poor programming.\r\nMike Dunn"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: Above average, and surprisingly addictive considering its ancient gameplay.","Page":"22","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Ben Stone","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Paul Sumner","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Mike Dunn","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"There you are, still on the first screen, and a 'catch' capsule falls towards the waiting Vaus."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"62%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"51%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"61%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"45%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"59%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 17, May 1987","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1987-04-16","Editor":"Teresa Maughan","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nSenior Art Editor: Hazel Bennington\r\nProduction Editor: Sara Biggs\r\nAssistant Editor: Phil South\r\nStaff Writer: Markus Berkmann\r\nDesigner: Darrell King\r\nContributors: Chris Donald, Mike Gerrard, Ian Hoare, Gwyn Hughes, ZZKJ, John Molloy, Rick Robson, Rachael Smith, Terri Wise\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Julian Harriott\r\nProduction Manager: Sonia Hunt\r\nManaging Editor: Kevin Cox\r\nPublisher: Roger Munford\r\nPublishing Director: Stephen England\r\n\r\nPublished by Dennis Publishing Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England.\r\nTypesetters: Carlinpoint [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinters: Chase Web Offset [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Sinclair ©1987 Felden Productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Sinclair is a monthly publication."},"MainText":"Imagine\n£7.95\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\n\nVaus ist los? A spacecraft lost in the perilous backwaters of space and time? Cast into outer darkness, though it seems reasonably well lit to me? Ah, but you know what Arkanoid's all about - it's that viciously addictive update of the mother and father of computer games, Breakout - all battering balls against bricks, but with knobs on. It wowed 'em in the arcades, and now all 33 screens of nut-crunching action have been converted to the Speccy. Imagine has done a fine job, and the result is one of the best games you'll see on the Spectrum this year.\n\nYes, I know we've said it before, but it really is that good. Each screen has a different pattern of bricks to knock off, and they're all extremely tricky - at least I think so, since I haven't got beyond level 9 yet. Most bricks need just a single hit, but silver ones must be pinged twice (and on later screens, anything up to five times) and gold ones are indestructible.\n\nYou also get little power capsules which drop down the screen occasionally when you hit certain bricks. If you can manoeuvre yourself to collide with one of these before you go back to meet the approaching ball, all sorts of weird and wonderful things can happen.\n\nFortunately the capsules are lettered, so the eagle-eyed will get an idea of what's about to befall them. Best in the early stages is the 'E' capsule, which extends the length of your bat (or Vaus craft) so you can be sure to get it in the right place. The 'S' capsule slows down play, though not for as long as you might hope. Still, it's a useful ploy on later screens when things start getting a little hectic. 'P' gives you an extra life, while 'L' arms you with a laser that'll destroy both the bricks and the tiresome nasties that drop down from the top of the screen and obstruct all your careful planning. 'C' allows you to pick up the ball when you intercept it and then move position before firing it off again. 'D' is an odd one - it multiplies the ball by three, making it three times as effective, if three times as difficult to play. It comes into its own, though, when your ball is stuck behind or within a wall. Then watch the bricks go!\n\nBut the best capsule of all is the 'B' one. Pick this one up and a short cut through to the level appears on your next right.\n\nAll these capsules last only until you bump into another one, or until you die - a good incentive not to let your lives ebb away too swiftly! One dead easy way of losing a life is to assume that if you hit the ball on the very edge of your bat. It'll make contact. Wrong! You're only really safe in the centre, and if you're trying for a really whizzy angle to get at some awkward bricks, you've got to be a bit nifty about it.\n\nAnyway, enough of all that - I'm going back to play Arkanoid again. My excuse - further \"research\". My reason - well, how many ways are there of saying addictive, 'cos this is that and more.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"36","Denied":false,"Award":"Your Sinclair Megagame","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"9","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Level 8 is no morceau de gateau, especially when you consider that all the yellow bricks are indestructible. In fact you start off with six bricks to dispose of, three above and three below the centre. The first couple are no problem, bit to get shot of the last few you must trust to luck and keep going."},{"Text":"Very nasty. On Level 9 you've got to get your energy bolt into those cups of indestructible bricks at the top. There are loads of other bricks to be bopped, but it's funny how the trickiest ones are the ones you're left with at the end, isn't it? Your only eral hope is a lucky bounce off one of the meanies."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"9/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 61, Apr 1987","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1987-03-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: David Kelly\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nSenior Staff Writer: Graham Taylor\r\nStaff Writer: Jim Douglas\r\nDesigner: Gareth Jones\r\nAdventure Help: Gordo Greatbelly\r\nZapchat: Jon Riglar\r\nHelpline: Andrew Hewson\r\nContributors: Gary Rook, Andy Moss, Chris Jenkins, Clare Edgeley\r\nHardware Correspondent: Rupert Goodwins\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Mike Corr\r\nProduction Assistant: Alison Morton\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Linda Everest\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\nTelephone [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: David Rowe\r\n\r\nIf you would like to contribute to Sinclair User please send programs or articles to:\r\nSinclair User\r\nEMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nOriginal programs should be on cassette and articles should be typed. Please write Program Printout on the envelopes of all cassettes submitted. We cannot undertake to return cassettes unless an SAE is enclosed. We pay £20 for each program printed and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nTypeset by PRS Ltd, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1987 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\nABC 90,215 July-Dec 1985"},"MainText":"Label: Imagine\r\nAuthor: Mike Lamb\r\nPrice: £7.95\r\nJoystick: various\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nReviewer: Jim Douglas\r\n\r\nArkanoid is Imagine's umpteenth licence tie-in.\r\n\r\nSo far - as licences go - the arcade conversions have been infinitely superior to the TV/film links and this fits the trend.\r\n\r\nArkanoid comes from the Taito arcade machine and is completely wonderful.\r\n\r\nOld timers, having seen the screenshots, will be scoffing loudly, claiming that it's exactly the same a Breakout. And this is, in fact, not all that far from the truth. Breakout was invented years ago and it featured a bat and a ball and a wall. The object was to keep bouncing the ball (a white blob) off the wall at the top of the screen and not let it slip past you on the re-bound.\r\n\r\nNow Ocean's game is at least a couple of generations down the line. It's still got the bat and the ball (still a white blob) and a wall of some sort but there are so many little twiddles and added bits, accusations of unoriginality are really a bit pointless.\r\n\r\nThe plot tells of how your mothership, Arkanoid was destroyed, leaving only a shuttle craft, Vaus. In order for things to be well with the universe, you must destroy 32 levels of walls before reaching the Dimension Changer which will allow you to reverse time and bring back Arkanoid. OK, the plot stinks.\r\n\r\nHit Fire and you're off. You're the blocky thing at the bottom of the screen. The ball sits on the top of your craft and after a couple of seconds, it'll fly up toward the top of the screen. It won't get particularly far before slapping into a large coloured square and being bounced back down again.\r\n\r\nAll pretty familiar so far.\r\n\r\nA few bounces on and that's all changed. A kind of Hedex tablet with a letter on will drift down the screen. Now, each tablet does different things for you. For example, if you guide Vaus into one with the letter S on, the ball will slow down. One with a C on it gives your ship a kind of sticky property: the ball will stop when you touch it, and you can then move to whichever position you like before launching it again.\r\n\r\nOther letters make your ship wider (thus making it easier to hit the ball), give you extra lifes, move you to the next level or break the ball into three parts.\r\n\r\nThis last offers you a very strange kind of bonus situation where you have to juggle three balls instead of one. The final tablet arms your ship with lasers which can blast away walls and aliens.\r\n\r\nOh, I hadn't mentioned the aliens before, had I? They appear at the top of the screen and work their way down. The higher the level, the more numerous and infuriating they are. You can destroy them by crashing the ball into them, but this deflects its flightpath.\r\n\r\nThat's the game, but it's all wrapped up in slick graphics and super-smooth movement.\r\n\r\nDespite it's relatively primitive roots. Arkanoid is a quite extraordinarily playable game.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Slick graphics, good sound and stunning gameplay. Genuinely addictive qualities make Arkanoid a winner.","Page":"46,47","Denied":false,"Award":"Sinclair User Classic","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jim Douglas","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"It may look like Breakout but it plays like a whole new game. How many balls can you juggle?"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 67, May 1987","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1987-04-16","Editor":"Tim Metcalfe","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Tim Metcalfe\r\nDeputy Editor: Paul Boughton\r\nEditorial Assistant: Lesly Walker\r\nSub-Editor: Seamus St. John\r\nDesign: Craig Kennedy\r\nAdventure Writers: Keith Campbell, Steve Donoghue, Matthew Woodley\r\nAmerican Correspondent: Marshall M. Rosenthal\r\nArcades: Clare Edgeley\r\nSoftware Consultant: Tony Takoushi\r\nPublicity: Clive Pembridge\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Garry Williams\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Katherine Lee\r\nAd Production: Debbie Pearson\r\nPublisher: Rita Lewis\r\nCover: Craig Kennedy\r\n\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nJuly-December 106,571"},"MainText":"MACHINES: Spectrum/C64/Amstrade/Atari ST\r\nSUPPLIER: Imagine\r\nPRICE: £7.95 (Spec), £8.95 (C64, AMS), £14.95 (Atari ST)\r\nVERSIONS TESTED: Spectrum/C64\r\n\r\nNot since Ikari Warriors has the C+VG office seen such bloodshed! Yup, we've been fighting over the joystick again - this time just to get to grips with Imagine's instant smash arcade conversion Arkanoid.\r\n\r\nOur arcade ace Clare Edgeley raved about the Taito coin-op when it first appeared - and now we're going to rave about the computer conversions.\r\n\r\nOK, so in all reality Arkanoid is a revamped version of Breakout, that ancient game which us ancient gameplayers sometimes brush the cobwebs off to relive great moments of gaming history.\r\n\r\nTrouble is Arkanoid is just awesomely addictive and extremely playable. You're hooked from the moment you load up the game.\r\n\r\nSo what's it all about? Well, you're in charge of a Vaus craft - sounds like some sort of German rodent - and you're supposed to be trapped in space.\r\n\r\nArmed only with an energy bolt you have to break down mysterious barriers preventing your escape. These barriers are built of \"bricks\", Breakout - see!\r\n\r\nAnyway you have to blast away at these bricks by using the Vaus craft as a bat - hitting the energy bolt back and forth off the walls. Energy capsules drop down from the wall as you destroy it. Collect these, they are useful items. Each has a codeletter on them which lets you know what they do.\r\n\r\nS: Slows down the speed of the energy bolt, making it easier to position yourself.\r\n\r\nC: Enables you to catch the bolt, move to the desired position and then fire.\r\n\r\nE: Expands the Vaus craft, giving you more chance to deflect the bolt.\r\n\r\nD: Disrupts the bolt into three separate components thereby giving you three times the effect.\r\n\r\nL: Arms your Vaus with a laser allowing it to shoot bricks and aliens.\r\n\r\nB: Breaks the section of the wall enabling your Vaus craft an alternative escape route to slip through to the next level.\r\n\r\nP: Awards you an extra life.\r\n\r\nOn screen displays show your current score, hi-score, number of lives remaining and level attained. Points are awarded between 50 and 120 for knocking out a brick, depending on the colour. Collecting a capsule is 1000 and hitting an alien scores 100 points.\r\n\r\nThere are six levels of differing complexity. You'll need to work out a good strategy for each screen to succeed - but always be ready to allow for the unexpected incident - that odd bounce etc.\r\n\r\nOpinion is divided herebut the 64 'ers among the team rate Krackout a nose in front of Arkanoid simply because of the joystick response.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"14,15","Denied":false,"Award":"Game of the Month","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Tim Metcalfe","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"C64 SCORES\r\n\r\nGraphics: 8/10\r\nSound: 9/10\r\nValue: 10/10\r\nPlayability: 10/10"}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"10/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"10/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 102, May 1990","Price":"£1.3","ReleaseDate":"1990-04-16","Editor":"Julian Rignall","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Julian Rignall\r\nArt Editor: Andrea Walker\r\nDeputy Editor: Paul Glancey\r\nStaff Writer: Paul Rand\r\nAdvertising Manager: Nigel Taylor\r\nDep Ad Manager: Joanna Cooke\r\nSales Executive: Tina Zanelli\r\nProduction Assistant: Glenys \"Teddy\" Powell\r\nPublisher: Graham Taylor\r\n\r\nSubscription Enquiries to: EMAP Frontline, [redacted]\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nPrinted By: Kingfisher Web, [redacted]\r\nColour By: Proprint, [redacted]\r\nTypeset By: Jaz and friends on one heck of a big printer\r\nDistributed By: BBC Frontline\r\nMegadrive Software courtesy of SpectreSoft, [redacted]\r\n\r\n©C+VG 1990\r\nISSN No: 0261-3697"},"MainText":"Hit Squad\r\nSpectrum, C64, Amstrad £2.99\r\n\r\nAnother re-release, this time the conversion of the classic Breakout derivative coin-op. Thirty two levels are simply aching to be beaten before you can get to the big baddie at the very end. Sitting snugly inside your Arkanoid fighter craft (which bears a startling resemblance to a Breakout bat), blast the enemy missile against the defence wall, picking up the power-ups as they fall. Points are scored for each brick hit, and when the wall is completely destroyed you move to the next, more difficult stage.\r\n\r\nArkanoid is a great Breakout game, and a smashing arcade conversion. The graphics aren't spectacular, but neither were those of the original; it's the gameplay that counts, and this game scores highly in that department. A must for everyone who enjoys bat 'n' ball games.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"The graphics are monochrome, but otherwise it's just as much fun as the C64 version.","Page":"63","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"C64 SCORES\r\n\r\nOverall: 87%\r\n\r\nA brilliant Breakout game with lots of advanced features. Dig out three pound coins and spend them on Arkanoid."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"84%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"The Games Machine Issue 2, Dec 1987","Price":"£1.25","ReleaseDate":"1987-11-19","Editor":"Oliver Frey","TotalPages":148,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nAssistant Editor: Nik Wild\r\nSoftware Co-ordinator: Richard Eddy\r\nStaff Writer: Robin Hogg\r\nEditorial Assistant: Frances Mable\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson (Assistant)\r\nContributors: Jon Bates, John Gilbert, Robin Candy, Martin Coxhead, Mel Croucher, Martyn Lester, Mark Rothwell, Rob Steel, Robin Waterfield, John Woods\r\nEditorial Director: Roger Kean\r\nProduction Controller: David Western\r\nDesign/Layout: Gordon Druce, Markie Kendrick, Wayne Allen\r\nProcess/Film Planning: Jonathan Rignall (Supervisor), Matthew Uffindell, Nick Orchard\r\n\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Roger Bennett\r\nSales Executive: Andrew Smales\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nMail Order\r\nCarol Kinsey\r\n\r\nSubscriptions\r\nDenise Roberts\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nTypeset by the Tortoise Shell Press, Ludlow with colour origination taken care of by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset [redacted] - a member of the BPCC Group. Distribution effected by COMAG, [redacted].\r\n\r\nCompetition Rules\r\nQThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens (like a game that has been offered as a prize being scrapped) we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of THE GAMES MACHINE. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop Fran Mable a line at the PO Box 10 address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions.\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into THE GAMES MACHINE - including written and photographic material, hardware or software - unless it's accompanied by a suitably stamped, addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photographic material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates.\r\n\r\n©Newsfield Ltd, 1987\r\n\r\nOn The Cover\r\nThe cover illustration is a composite made from an original computer generated picture designed by Steve Jarrett using Degas Elite. It was distorted to form the perspective shape, retouched in zoom mode before being photographed by Cameron Pound. This was then enlarged, laser scanned and composited at film planning stage with additional elements painted by Oliver Frey."},"MainText":"NEW BALLS PLEASE\r\n\r\nTHE BREAKOUT GAME\r\nVarious\r\n\r\nBalls are a bit 'in' at the moment. Especially, it would appear, when they are smashing multicoloured bricks to pieces. Breakout clones are suddenly appearing in vast quantities and spreading faster than Wordstar or Knight Lore clones did. Richard Eddy gives a personal run-down...\r\n\r\nTaito, the company which produced the corky coin-op Arkanoid, are probably to blame for unleashing the craze, and then Ocean for producing a series of very competent conversions for the home micros. The ST version is undoubtedly the superior, retaining all of the arcade's original features - if it wasn't for the small screen you could almost think it was the arcade original. Imagine have just released it for the IBM PC.\r\n\r\nFollowing in Ocean's footsteps came Gremlin's Krackout, which was somewhat jollier but slower and really didn't have the addictiveness Arkanoid provided.\r\n\r\nNot to be outdone Elite shoved in their fourpenneth in the shape of Batty which now features on Hit Pak 2. Written by an ex-Ultimate programmer, Batty was polished and showed greater graphical sophistication than Arkanoid. And then everyone breathed a sigh of relief thinking that it was over...\r\n\r\n'Not on your nelly!' shouted Audiogenic, Alligata, Pirate and CRL in unison, all proffering their latest versions which are: Impact, Addictaball, Smash Out! and Ball Breaker.\r\n\r\nApart from the games, comparing inlay storylines proves most interesting. Pirate's budget Smash Out! goes for a desperately-try-to-be-convincing story where the bat is supposed to be a spaceship lost in space and bricks are blobs of plasma, while Ball Breaker claims the ball is some chappie called Ovoid on a mission of annihilation. Personally I prefer Impact's 'Trapped in a 1970s arcade machine...' or Alligata's straight for the throat approach with '...I have difficulty imagining a bat is a spaceship... so let's call things a bat, ball and bricks - it's much easier!' And so it is.\r\n\r\nI think you can quite happily disregard Smash Out; it is little more than a poor man's Arkanoid with measly graphics, nauseous sound and the addictiveness of drying paint. Okay, so it may have screen designer thrown in, but even this is fiddly to use and does nothing to push up Smash Out's credibility.\r\n\r\nNOVELTY\r\n\r\nThere's a lesson to learn here - if you are going to produce a clone you have to do it very well, or devise a novel twist on the formula. Which is what CRL did with Ball Breaker, originally released for the Amstrad CPC range, it took Breakout into 3-D and worked well with some great sound effects and a colourful layout. Ball Breaker is just released for the Spectrum and retains its playability - although to avoid colour clash the monochromatic graphics can make it difficult to see exactly where to position your bat. Complete with all the typical features, it also includes a laser gun which stays with you throughout the game. Ball Breaker adds up to a worthwhile buy if you fancy a different twist on the rest - and soon to be available on the Atari ST and Amiga.\r\n\r\nAudiogenic, quiet for some time, return to our 16-bit screens with the elaborate Impact for the Atari ST and Amiga (and hopefully soon for the Spectrum and Commodore 64/128). Impact is quite the connoisseur's Arkanoid cleverly topped off by some great sounds (each brick, alien and the bat produces an individual sound, so occasionally it sounds like a decent tune gone wonky!). Graphically, it is what you would expect from 16-bit, utilising colour very well and sharp definition to add that extra bit of class to the aliens.\r\n\r\nTHE LARGEST\r\n\r\nWhat gives it that little extra push is the novel way in which features, such as lasers, bat expand and catch are collected - a la Nemesis. Yellow tokens spin down from selected bricks when destroyed and, if collected, are stored in the power select pad at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Pressing the mouse button when one is collected makes the ball slow down, collecting two and then pressing the button gives you the catch effect and so on through divide (3 balls), expand, torch (to see hidden bricks), laser, smart bomb (to destroy aliens), missile and forcefield, which doesn't have the rebound effect off bricks, but simply continues to smash its way round the screen until hitting a wall where it bounces off.\r\n\r\nWith 80 screens and 48 more you can design yourself using the easy-to-use screen designer, Impact definitely wins my approval as being the best just for sheer addictiveness.\r\n\r\nBut coming a close second is Addictaball from Alligata, which doesn't quite make it to the very top for the simple reason that it falls down on presentation and graphics. The use of colour is very dull on the first levels - mainly greys, greens, and blues used for the bricks and surroundings - which doesn't do much to create an exciting atmosphere.\r\n\r\nHowever, Addictaball proves to be quite novel in the way the bricks slowly scroll down the screen in one long trail - its great saving grace. The trail can prove to be frustrating when, having died, you are returned to the beginning, or one of the internal stages within a level. Two weapons, laser gun and thruster (which allows you to move up and down the screen) can be collected at the very beginning, though they have to be replenished frequently by hitting the correct bricks.\r\n\r\nAlong the bottom of the screen is a barrier preventing the ball from disappearing but this gradually gets destroyed by the shower of fireballs which come down the screen, unless the fireballs are destroyed with the bat before they reach the bottom. There are cars, bikes and the like to be battered along the way which, if nothing else, adds a bit of humour to the game.\r\n\r\nSo, now what? Do we dare breathe a sigh of relief or is the next parcel we open going to be Revenge Of The Mutant Bouncing Balls From Jupiter...?\r\n\r\nSTOP PRESS! No relief breathing yet! We have just received Reflex from Players priced at £1.99 for the MSX...!\r\n\r\nAVAILABILITY AND RATINGS\r\n\r\nIMPACT (Audiogenic)\r\nAtari ST (£14.95) 91%\r\nAmiga (£14.95) 90%\r\nCommodore 64/128\r\nSpectrum\r\n\r\nADDICTABALL (Alligata)\r\nAtari ST (£14.95) 80%\r\nSpectrum (£7.95)\r\nCommodore 64 (£7.95)\r\nMSX (£7.95)\r\n\r\nSMASH OUT! (Pirate)\r\nSpectrum (£1.99) 15%\r\n\r\nARKANOID (Ocean)\r\nSpectrum (£7.95) 71%\r\nCommodore 64/128 (£9.95) 87%\r\nAmstrad CPC (£8.95) 86%\r\nAtari ST (£14.95) 89%\r\n\r\nKRACKOUT (Gremlin)\r\nSpectrum (£7.95) 42%\r\nCommodore (£9.95) 51%\r\nAmstrad (£8.95) 50%\r\n\r\nBATTY (On Hit Pak 2 by Elite)\r\nSpectrum (£9.95) 78%\r\nAmstrad (£9.95) 75%\r\nCommodore (£9.95)","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"30,31","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Richard Eddy","Score":"71","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Audiogenic's Impact - a colourful ST screen."},{"Text":"Right at the start, and it's high time to knock out the laser blocks at the left and right if you want the force to be with you - Atari ST screen."}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"\"Impact definitely wins my approval as being the best just for sheer addictiveness.\""},{"Text":"AMSTRAD CPC\r\n\r\nOverall: 86%"},{"Text":"ATARI ST\r\n\r\nOverall: 89%"},{"Text":"COMMODORE 64\r\n\r\nOverall: 87%"}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"71%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"ZX Computing Issue 37, May 1987","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1987-04-23","Editor":"Bryan Ralph","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Bryan Ralph\r\nAssistant Editor: Cliff Joseph\r\nConsultant Editor: Ray Elder\r\nAdvertising Manager: Peter Chandler\r\n\r\nDesign: A.S.P. Design Studio\r\nA.S.P. Advertising and Editorial [redacted]\r\n\r\nPrinted by Chase Web, [redacted]\r\n\r\nAdvertisement Copy Controller: Andy Selwood\r\n\r\nDistributed by: Argus Press Sales and Distribution Ltd, [redacted]\r\n\r\nZX Computing Monthly is published on the fourth Friday of each month. Subscription rates can be obtained from ZX Subscriptions, [redacted]\r\n\r\nThe contents of this publication, including all articles, designs plans, drawings and other intellectual property rights herein belong to Argus Specialist Publications Limited. All rights conferred by the law of Copyright and other intellectual property rights and by virtue of international copyright conventions are specifically reserved to Argus Specialist Publications Limited and any reproduction requires the prior written consent of the company.\r\n\r\nArgus Specialist Publications Limited. ©1987"},"MainText":"WELCOME TO 2ND GENERATION BREAKOUT.\r\n\r\nImagine\r\n£7.95\r\n\r\nMy first reaction when I saw this was to think that Imagine had a bit of a cheek to try and pass off a tarted up version of Breakout as some sort of space age mega-game. But then I've always been a sucker for a good game of Breakout and after a couple of tries I soon found myself hooked.\r\n\r\nWhen you read the instructions on the cassette inlay you get a lot of drivel about your Arkanoid mothership being destroyed and your escape vessel, the Vaus, being hurled into the void. It seems that the way to recreate the mothership is to move the Vaus left and right and bounce a ball against the barriers ahead of you. Once you've got through about thirty levels of this you get to meet the dimension changer' who can save you and the mothership from the void.\r\n\r\nWhat a load of rot. As I said, itTs just a version of Breakout (based on the coin-op game by Taito), but instead of the simple version of the game that's been floating around for years this version has a number of added features that put a bit of spark back into an old formula.\r\n\r\nThe game starts with a simple bat and ball screen, in which the barrier is made up of layers of different coloured bricks running horizontally across the top of the screen. But as you start to hit the barrier capsules are released which, if caught, have differing effects on your ship/bat. Some of them slow the ball down, whilst others arm you with lasers, increase the size of the ship provide an escape onto the next screen and so on. These all add a bit of variety to the action, especially as you can often find yourself darting around the screen trying to decide whether to go for the ball or to risk going after the capsules.\r\n\r\nThere are also different types of aliens' trapped behind the barriers. These aren't deadly, but once they're set free you can bounce the ball off them and rack up a few points.\r\n\r\nOn later screens the shape of the barrier becomes more complex and just to make life even more difficult certain types of bricks are harder to destroy than others, while some are completely indestructible so you'll have a hard time controlling the movement of the ball well enough to find the barrier's weak spots.\r\n\r\nThere are a couple of minor improvements that could be made: the ship responds quite well to keyboard control, though it sometimes gets a little bit jerky, and I wasn't too keen on using it with a joystick. And the collision detection is a bit suspect at times, as the ball can sometimes go right through the bat when it looked certain that you'd hit it solidly.\r\n\r\nIt's almost embarrassing to admit, with all the mega-state-of-the-art-arcade-adventures going around, that you can get hooked on something as simple and old-fashioned as Breakout, but after all, it's one of those oldies but goodies that can get you completely hooked, and Arkanoids is currently the game that gets played most in our office. It's only the relatively high price that stops it getting an unreserved monster hit. Eight quid is a bit much for any version of Breakout these days, but Arkanoids is about the best version that you're likely to get.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"37","Denied":false,"Award":"Globella","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"Great","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]