[{"TitleName":"Loony Lander","Publisher":"Software Supersavers Ltd","Author":"Nicholas Williams, Robert Maynard, Roger Tissyman","YearOfRelease":"1984","ZxDbId":"0002923","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":"Producer: Software Supersavers\r\nMemory Required: 48K\r\nRetail Price: £2.99\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\nAuthor: Nicholas Williams & Robert Maynard\r\n\r\nLoony Lander is a title that describes the game type quite well - indeed a 'Lunar Lander' game. What makes this one different is that each screen is different graphically and has different hazards for the shuttle craft to descend through. Eleven screens in all, each with a different title. On the first - The Research station, layers of clouds bar the route down to the landing pad. Then there's the Subway, with tube trains crossing from tunnels, The Oasis, Underwater Scenario, Park, Arcade Machine, Cassandra Crossing, Hell, The Worm's Hide Out, Pacman's Revenge and the Cloning factory - all make an appearance.\r\n\r\nIn every other respect, the game plays quite traditionally, with you guiding the shuttle down through the transverse hazards to land softly on a pad.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: 1/2 accelerate up/down, 2/9 hover vertically/horizontally, 8/0 accelerate left/right\r\nJoystick: none\r\nKeyboard play: totally unresponsive, although well laid out - too many keys though.\r\nUse of colour: above average to good\r\nGraphics: smooth, small but effective and varied\r\nSound: poor\r\nSkill levels: 1\r\nLives: 5\r\nScreens: 11","ReviewerComments":["This is the hardest 'Lander' type game I have ever played. The ship has so much 'inertia' that control is really difficult. A challenge up to a point, but this one goes a bit beyond the point. Generally this game is average, but it you are a 'Lander' expert then try it!\r\r\nUnknown","The thing that makes this game fail is that you cannot respond quickly enough to the directing instructions. I'm sure that with hours of practice one could, perhaps, become quite good. The only sound is an apologetic burp when you die. Colours are bright and cheerful. The keys don't respond very well, though, and this makes navigation almost impossible.\r\r\nUnknown","This game is one of the cheapies on the market produced by SSS (really Software Projects), but being cheap won't be able to sell it because the game is of extremely low quality. WHAT'S SURPRISING (and rather sad) is that the graphics in this (and some of the other SSS games) are designed to a high standard, usually smooth and quite fast with plenty of detail. But the real problem seems to me to be the lack of playability. It's as though the games haven't been really thought through property. In the case of Loony Lander, it is almost impossible to get through the hazards - nice, therefore, to have a demo of the screens - at least you get your money's worth there.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: Waste of money in the opinion of two of the reviewers and below average from the third.","Page":"185","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"40%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"48%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"34%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"56%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"20%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"32%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"38%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]