[{"TitleName":"Asterix and the Magic Cauldron","Publisher":"Melbourne House","Author":"Andrew Pierson, Frank Oldham, William Tang, Albert Uderzo","YearOfRelease":"1986","ZxDbId":"0000290","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 34, Nov 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-10-23","Editor":"Graeme Kidd","TotalPages":164,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Publishers: Roger Kean, Oliver Frey, Franco Frey\r\nPublishing Executive/Editor: Graeme Kidd\r\nStaff Writers: Lee Paddon, Lloyd Mangram, Hannah Smith\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nStrategy Editor: Sean Masterson\r\nTech Tipster: Simon Goodwin\r\nContributing Writers: Jon Bates, Brendon Kavanagh, Rosetta McLeod, John Minson\r\nProduction Controller: David Western\r\nArt Director: Dick Shiner\r\nIllustrators: Ian Craig, Oliver Frey\r\nProduction: Gordon Druce, Tony Lorton, 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©1986 Newsfield Limited\r\n\r\nCRASH ABC FIGURE:\r\n101,483 Total\r\n97,992 UK and EIRE"},"MainText":"Producer: Melbourne House\r\nRetail Price: £8.95\r\nAuthor: William Tang, Andrew Pierson, Frank Oldham\r\n\r\nBack in 50 BC much of Gaul is under Roman rule except one village where Asterix and Obelix live. Asterix, made famous in cartoon strips and books, is the cunning tighter always confronting impossible situations, helped by his eternally hungry and rotund friend, Obelix.\r\n\r\nThe people of Asterix's village are not fighters but they do have magic on their side. Getafix, the wise village Druid, developed a mystical herbal recipe which, when drunk, gives the drinker powerful super-human strengths.\r\n\r\nWhen Obelix was a baby he fell into Getafix's cauldron and virtually overdosed on the elixir. The effects never worked off and sometimes he forgets his mighty strength. Naughty Obelix tries to get a top up during a brewing session, but Getafix sternly turns him away. Obelix is not amused and aims a gentle kick at the cauldron - it shatters into seven pieces that scatter throughout Gaul. Vitalstatistix, the chief of the tribe, is not amused. Asterix and Obelix offer to hunt for the pieces so the elixir can be brewed again to save the village from the marauding Romans.\r\n\r\nThere are fifty screens in the game depicting scenes from the village, the surrounding countryside, and the Roman encampments. Obelix will follow Asterix anywhere but there are limits and he has to be bribed with his favourite food: wild boar hams. Asterix starts his journey with five of these hams and one disappears each time Asterix and Obelix feel a little peckish. If the stock gets too low then Asterix has to fight a boar - the fight sequences in the game take place in windows that zoom out of the main playscreen. Stamina bars for each combatant appear on the side of the window and the winner is the one who biff the other into submission first. Defeating the boar turns it into a baked ham that is added to the scoff chart. If Asterix loses a fight, the boar kicks him out of the window and he loses a life. The window system is also used when fighting with the Roman soldiers and when Asterix picks up useful objects along the way.\r\n\r\nAsterix starts with five lives and a phial of the elixir which was salvaged from the broken cauldron. This can only be used once in the game in time of extreme trouble. The pieces of the cauldron are shown at the top of the screen when they have been pocketed. Keys can also be picked up to get Asterix and Obelix into previously unexplored areas of the game.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: Q up, Z down, I left, P right, SPACE fire\r\nJoystick: Kempston\r\nKeyboard play: responsive\r\nUse of colour: very bold and pretty, without clashes\r\nGraphics: nice and large, attractive scenery\r\nSound: none\r\nSkill levels: one\r\nScreens: fifty","ReviewerComments":["When I was small I used to read the books, and they still raise a few laughs. So does the game, but in an entirely different sense: probably in that I looked forward to reading the books, but I certainly would avoid playing the game if I possibly could. The graphics and the loading screen are very pretty, but the game, as far as playability is concerned, is just amazingly bug ridden in the course of playing Asterix had to reload it no less than six times. If I had been unfortunate enough to buy this, I would be well cheesed off by now, but thank heaven I'll probably never have to play it again. Very pretty, but not much fun!\r\r\nUnknown","Asterix is a strange sort of game that contains its good bits and its fair share of bad bits. The game consists of some excellent graphics that are very big and extremely well drawn. Colour is well used and the game avoids clashes with the use of big black outlines on all of the buildings - basic but effective. The sound in the game is practically non-existent, but the game doesn't suffer too much without it. All the characters are very recognisable and fun to walk around with - which adds to the whole image of the game. I like the way the windows open when Asterix gets into trouble. Even though all these good bits may attract you to the game, I must warn you that the game contains little for the game player to do bar wander round and have the odd scrap.\r\r\nUnknown","Come on guys I've been waiting for this game for ages and when it finally arrives it's awful. I expected better of MELBOURNE HOUSE. I was very surprised at the unprofessional way this game had been presented and at the general 'unfinishedness' of it - it seems that Asterix has just been thrown together to meet a deadline. The graphics are about the only thing that Asterix can boast about - the characters are well detailed and nicely animated and the playing area is colourful and full of detail. The sound is a little on the poor side: there are no tunes and the effects are minimal. The most annoying bit is the way you can get stuck in a tree, or wedged between Obelix and a building, fortunately there is a game abort option but it does get very frustrating if you have to abort a game when you have five pieces.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A great disappointment: a good looker but the gameplay could do with a bit of Getafix's potion!","Page":"141","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Asterix and Obelix admire the scenery in the Gaulish village. The status area reveals four hams in stock. They haven't used the potion yet..."},{"Text":"In the Roman arena with a bit of cauldron in the inventory but no potion. Asterix is down to his last life...."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"61%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"84%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"70%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"59%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"56%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"61%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 12, Dec 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-11-13","Editor":"Kevin Cox","TotalPages":122,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Kevin Cox\r\nArt Editors: Martin Dixon, Caroline Clayton\r\nDeputy Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nProduction Editor: Sara Biggs\r\nStaff Writer: Phil South\r\nTechnical Consultant: Peter Shaw\r\nContributors: Stephen Adams, Mike Gerrard, Ian Hoare, Gwyn Hughes, ZZKJ, Steve Marsden, Tommy Nash, Chris Palmer, Max Phillips, Rick Robson, Rachael Smith\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Julian Harriott\r\nProduction Managers: Sonia Hunt, Judith Middleton\r\nPublishing Manager: Roger Munford\r\nPublishing Director: Stephen England\r\n\r\nPublished by Sportscene Specialist Press 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 ©1986 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":"Melbourne House\n£8.95\nReviewer: Rachael Smith\n\nAt last a game featuring our own beloved Ed. (What - as a loveable, wiry, little hero called Asterix? Ed) No, as a big, blundering, blob called Obelix.\n\nSeems like Ed... Obelix, sorry, has kicked the cauldron which houses the first century equivalent of 6X, and if he doesn't Superglue it back together the villagers will very likely kick the can. So it's more roamin' among the Romans as Astie and Obbo go walkabout.\n\nLet's start with the obvious, Asterix And The MC looks good. Big, bright, colourful graphics, just like the cartoon itself. And it's all suitably ancient, if not positively prehistoric.\n\nFor starters, there's a long pause as each element of the picture appears. It's rather like watching a haunted copy of that venerable graphics package. Melbourne Draw, at work.\n\nThen there's the question of attributes. Like I said, ancient Gaul is poster-coloured to the point of psychedelia. Asterix and Obelix, on the other hand, haven't been eating their Weetabix. You can see right through them.\n\nBut the game's crowning glory has to be its plot. Wander from screen to screen, picking up shards of pottery and biffing boars. The action takes place in a frame within a frame, and adds a Fist element, though it looks like the martial arts weren't so well developed in 50BC. There are lots of neat little sound effect bubbles. But, in the words of the bard, all that FX and fury signifies nowt.\n\nEventually you may stumble upon the occupying Eye-ties, sip a potion, sock a centurion, spend the night in jail and emerge into the arena... and the forty locations will last forever as they laboriously draw themselves.\n\nSomewhere in here is a potentially good game. If only they could have put all those groovy graphics on a solid framework it might have been worth playing. As it is, it's a classic case of licensing a character then merely producing a load of old Gauls.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"67","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Rachael Smith","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 56, Nov 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-10-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":124,"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\nEditorial Secretary: Norisah Fenn\r\nAdventure Writers: Gordo Greatbelly\r\nZapchat: Jon Riglar\r\nHelpline: Andrew Hewson\r\nHardware Correspondent: John Lambert\r\nContributors: Brendon Gore, Richard Price, Rupert Goodwins, Andy Moss, Gary Rook, John Pope\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nSenior Sales Executive: Jacqui Pope\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: Stewart Hughes\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 Saffron Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1986 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\nABC 90,215 July-Dec 1985"},"MainText":"Label: Melbourne House\r\nPrice: £8.95\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nReviewer: Brenda Gore\r\n\r\nAsterix is, internationally, one of the most popular comic strips ever. Never quite as popular over here as overseas, the cartoon stars the little Gaul, his fat friend Obelix and the druid Getafix.\r\n\r\nIt's 50BC and Gaul has been invaded by Roman legions, save that is, save for one small village which refuses to succumb to the might of Caesar's empire.\r\n\r\nMelbourne House, which has made something of a speciality of translating fictional characters into computer games - The Hobbit, Sherlock and Lord of the Rings - has now released Asterix and the Magic Cauldron. Only six months later than intended, but as with Fist II, release schedules have never been Melbourne's strong point.\r\n\r\nAsterix is a mix of graphic advenure and arcade action. The graphics themselves are beautifully done - particularly the backgrounds.\r\n\r\nAsterix and Obelix are looking for seven pieces of Getafix's magic cauldron, which was shattered in a moment of stupidity by a mighty kick from Obelix.\r\n\r\nVitalstatistix, the tribal chief, who is only afraid of one thing - the sky falling on his head - orders Asterix and Obelix to recover the missing pieces so the village blacksmith, Fullyautomatix, can reforge the whole thing.\r\n\r\nWhat you find in game terms are 50 different screens of action, covering the Gaulish village, the forest, Roman camps and Rome (or Roma, if you prefer). These screens are peopled by wild boars and Roman guards.\r\n\r\nThe action - fighting soldiers and so on is shown using a curious window zoom effect. For example, bump into a wild boar and a zoom facility brings the arcade action into close up. A box containing Asterix and the boar is projected on screen. Each character's stamina is displayed at the side of the box and you must kick, punch and pummel the boar into submission.\r\n\r\nFail and Asterix loses a life, shown graphically by Asterix lying backwards out of the box in a sitting position (known in skiing circles as the English or flying toilet position).\r\n\r\nSucceed and the boar's stamina rating will decrese to zero, whereupon it will keel over.\r\n\r\nRoman guards are armed with spears, but otherwise the fight scenes are similar, However, if you don't attempt to bash the guard, he may ask you if you want to surrender and you'll end up in a cell in Rome The only exit from the cell opens on to the arena. Here you do battle with a hyped-up gladiator.\r\n\r\nYou'll have to fight and win - he's carrying a cauldron section.\r\n\r\nKnock him dead and he'll drop it - it's easily identifiable as it pulses as if with a magix force.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Clever graphics keep the spirit of the cartoon and the game play is refreshingly unusual.","Page":"31","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Brenda Gore","Score":"4","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Shows the snappy zoom-window effect. Asterix is about to get beaten up by a Roman."}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"HINTS AND TIPS\r\n\r\nAlways take a key when entering the cells.\r\n\r\nDrink the magic potion when you are faced by the gladiator in the arena.\r\n\r\nDon't run out of hams. If your supply is getting low, zap a few wild boars. If you run out of hams Obelix will stop following you around - and that's bad.\r\n\r\nAn uppercut is often effective against Roman guards, but one is never enough - keep hitting.\r\n\r\nMake a map as you go."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"4/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Computer Issue 11, Nov 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-10-16","Editor":"Gary Evans","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Gary Evans\r\nDeputy Editor: Francis Jago\r\nStaff Writer: John Barnes, Anthony Thompson\r\nSub Editor: Harold Mayes MBE\r\nProduction Editor: Jim McClure\r\nProduction Assistants: Nick Fry, Isabelle Risner\r\nEditorial Secretary: Sheila Baker\r\nDesigner: Chris Winch\r\nDesign Assistant: Neil Tookey\r\nEditorial: [redacted]\r\nHead Of Advertising Sales: Dory Mackay\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: David Lake\r\nAdvertisement Executives: Amber Russell, Bal Dillon\r\nClassified: Paul Monaf\r\nPublisher: Paul Coster\r\nAdvertising: [redacted]\r\nFinancial Director: Brendan McGrath\r\nManaging Director: Richard Hease\r\n\r\nYour Computer, [redacted]\r\nISS 0263 0885\r\n\r\n©1986 Focus Investments Ltd\r\nPrinted by The Riverside Press Ltd, England.\r\nTypeset by Time Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\nMember of the Audit Bureau of Circulation.\r\n\r\nDistributed by Business Press International, [redacted].\r\n\r\nReasonable care is taken to avoid errors in this magazine but no liability is accepted for any errors which may occur. No material in this publication may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of the publishers. The publishers will not accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, listings, data tapes or discs.\r\n\r\nWe will assume permission to publish all unsolicited material unless otherwise stated. We cannot be held responsible for the safe return of any material submitted for publication. Please keep a copy of all your work and do not send us original artwork.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately we are unable to answer lengthy enquiries by telephone. Any written query requiring a personal answer MUST be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope; please allow up to 28 days for a reply.\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: UK £15 for 12 issues. Overseas (surface mail) £25 - airmail rates on request. Please make a cheque/postal orders payable to Focus Investments (allow 5 weeks from order receipt of first subscription copy). Send orders to Your Computer Subscriptions, [redacted].\r\n\r\nBack issues of the magazine from January onwards are available for £1.50 (UK), £3 (Overseas) from the Back Issues Department, [redacted].\r\n\r\nDistributed by Business Press International, [redacted]."},"MainText":"C64/Spectrum\r\nMelbourne House\r\nArcade/Adventure\r\n£9.95\r\n\r\nDefeating odds approaching one million to one always appeals to the public and, consequently, tales of Asterix and Obelix have always been among the most-loved children's books. In the latest release from Melbourne House, Asterix and the Magic Cauldron, you take the role of the veritable Gaul and it is your task to rescue the seven pieces of the Magic Cauldron.\r\n\r\nTogether with your inseparable friend Obelix, you set out to scour the Roman empire. searching for the smashed cauldron so that Fullyautomatix can put it back together. In more computerised language, it is an arcade adventure with a heavy dose of combat included for good measure.\r\n\r\nWithout a real hit since Way of the Exploding Fist, Melbourne House hopes that Asterix could prove to be a winner. Graphically, the game is excellent. Both the main characters are easily identified, and the Romans look suitably uncivilised. All the backgrounds include various Gaulic dwellings, Roman camps and Rome.\r\n\r\nGetting used to the various joystick movements requires more than a little practice, especially in the change-over between movement and fighting. As with the original books, Asterix does not have an unlimited supply of super potion; in fact, the potion can be used only once, even if it is to devastating effect.\r\n\r\nAny dedicated fans of the books will undoubtedly be able to find fault with the game. I could but it is still entertaining and should appeal to anyone from eight to 80. One final criticism, where is Dogmatix?","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"44","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Francis Jago","Score":"4","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"4/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]