[{"TitleName":"Micro Mouse Goes De-bugging","Publisher":"MC Lothlorien Ltd","Author":"Steve Hughes","YearOfRelease":"1983","ZxDbId":"0003181","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 3, Apr 1984","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-03-16","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":128,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nConsultant Editor: Franco Frey\r\nProduction Designer: David Western\r\nArt Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nStaff Writer: Lloyd Mangram\r\nContributing Writers: Matthew Uffindel, Chris Passey\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\r\n\r\n©1984 Newsfield Ltd.\r\nCrash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nTelephone numbers\r\nEditorial [redacted]\r\nSubscriptions [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\nHot Line [redacted]\r\nNo material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders.\r\n\r\nColour origination by Scan Studio, [redacted]\r\nPrinted in England by Plymouth Web Offset Ltd, [redacted].\r\nDistribution by Comag, [redacted]\r\nAdditional setting and process work by The Tortoise Shell Press, [redacted].\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £9.00 UK Mainland (post free)\r\nEurope: 12 issues £15 (post free).\r\n\r\nWe cannot undertake to return any written or photographic material sent to CRASH MICRO unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope.\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: MC Lothlorien\r\nMemory Required: 16K\r\nRetail Price: £5.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\nAuthor: Derek Brewster\r\n\r\n10 FOR N = 1 TO 704\r\n20 PRINT INK INT (RND *'); PAPER INT (RND * 7);\r\n30 NEXT N\r\n\r\nWell it may not be the most stirring on-screen instructions you've ever seen for an arcade game, but it happens to be the beginning of this one. The problem is that some characters within this weeny program listing are flashing and keep disappearing. The cause of their disappearance soon manifests itself - or themselves. Yes folks, you've guessed the problem - there is a bug in the program, or several in fact. Red ones, green ones, purple ones and ones with pink spots on them. They keep nipping around the screen, whipping the CHRS out of the lines and restoring them to one of the four corners. If this goes on for too long there will be serious systems crash (that's crash with a small 'c').\r\n\r\nCan you take on the daunting task of micro mouse, whose job is to dash about, collect the errant letters from the four corners, and restore them where they are needed? As fast as you work, the bugs are bugging about like nobuggies business, whipping them out again. Contact with a busy bug delays you, but there is a remedy: a glowing mass of Datakill, run over it, and you're empowered to spray the bugs, which gets rid of them for a few moments, at least until you run into one, then the Datakill is returned to the base of the screen again. Meanwhile those CHRS are all on the blink and vanishing once more.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: definable, four direction and one for fire\r\nJoystick: most types can be catered for with the definable keys\r\nKeyboard play: responsive, 8-directional\r\nColour: good\r\nGraphics: above average, very smooth\r\nSound: average\r\nSkill levels: 1\r\nLives: 1","ReviewerComments":["I'm not quite sure why a mouse should be thought of as a debugger (if you'll pardon the expression), but he's quite cutely drawn, so perhaps that's alright. The graphics are all quite large, the bugs especially look very good, with twinkle toe animated legs and very smooth movement. In a sense it's a rather depressing task, Herculean almost, for as hard as you replace the letters, the faster the bugs take them away. Perhaps that's the main drawback to the game, that it doesn't really seem to get anywhere. Still, the getting nowhere is all very jolly and reasonably challenging. I found in the end that I settled for the Datakill and went on a massive bug-killing operation until the system crashed around me.\r\r\nUnknown","The instructions are a bit average, leaving you to find out really how to play the game. Very unlike Lothlorien. Smooth, above average graphics and a busy screen. I suppose it could be useful teaching BASIC and debugging programs, but otherwise I can't really recommend it.\r\r\nUnknown","It's a good idea, and the execution is very good, nice large graphics that move very smoothly, but nevertheless it doesn't really have arcade appeal for me. The obvious trouble with it as a game is that no real skill, beyond a straight forward ability to manipulate your micro mouse as swiftly as possible, is called for, so after a few minutes playing it begins to lose its attraction. One good point is that it has user-definable keys. Fun to play but not very addictive.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General rating: Average, fun to play but not very addictive.","Page":"124","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Practice in BASIC programming - may come in useful."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"79%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"70%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"58%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"44%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"40%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"55%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"58%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Personal Computer Games Issue 4, Mar 1984","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-02-16","Editor":"Chris Anderson","TotalPages":184,"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\nGame-of-the-month poster: Mark Watkinson\r\nScreenshots: Chris Bell\r\nCover Photography: Ko Kon Chung\r\nGroup Editor: Cyndy Miles\r\nArt Director: Jim Dansie\r\nPublishing Manager: Mark Eisen\r\nAssistant Publishing Manager: Sue Clements\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Herbert Wright\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Jan Martin\r\nAdvertisement Production: Simon Carter\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 48K\r\nJOYSTICK: Optional\r\nCATEGORY: Arcade\r\nSUPPLIER: Lothlorien\r\nPRICE: £5.95\r\n\r\nA computer game on a computer theme. On screen is a Basic program with some of its letters and numbers missing. They've been stolen by little bugs who hid them in boxes at the corners of the screen.\r\n\r\nYou control a mouse whose job is to put them back into position. This is easier than it sounds because the screen shows you where each missing character should be, and even tells you which box to collect it from. The problem is purely to replace the letters faster than the bugs can steal them.\r\n\r\nThis is easy at first, but gets progressively harder. You may have to resort to destroying the bugs with a spray you can squirt at them - although it's hard to see what this achieves since they're immediately replaced.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"97","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Chris Anderson","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"4/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Ease Of Use","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Originality","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Lasting Interest","Score":"4/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]