[{"TitleName":"Mutant Monty","Publisher":"Artic Computing Ltd","Author":"Karl D. Jeffery, MC SR","YearOfRelease":"1984","ZxDbId":"0003339","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 14, Mar 1985","Price":"£0.85","ReleaseDate":"1985-02-28","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":132,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nAssistant Editor: Graeme Kidd\r\nConsultant Editor: Franco Frey\r\nArt Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nProduction Designer: David Western\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nStrategy Editor: Angus Ryall\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©1985 Newsfield Limited.\r\nCrash Magazine is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nTelephone numbers\r\nSubscriptions [redacted]\r\nEditorial/studio [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\nHot Line [redacted]\r\n\r\nColour by Scan Studios, [redacted]; Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset Ltd (Member of the BPCC Group), [redacted].\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCirculation Manager: Tom Hamilton\r\nAll circulation enquiries should ring [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £10.50 (UK Mainland post free), Europe: 12 issues £17.50 post free. Outside Europe by arrangement in writing.\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. The opinions and views of correspondents are their own and not necessarily in accord with those of the publishers."},"MainText":"Producer: Artic\r\nMemory Required: 48K\r\nRetail Price: £6.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\nAuthor: Karl Jeffery\r\n\r\nA little late this review, because the game arrived at an awkward moment in the last schedule. Like most people Monty has two main ambitions in life, to get rich quick and to become a hero. So says the inlay. There are 40 screens to wander through, collecting large gold nuggets on the way. That makes him rich. To turn him into a hero there is a distressed damsel to rescue.\r\n\r\nThe screens are broken up into various boxed areas with the gold nuggets placed in the most difficult positions to get at. Nasties parade up and down, left and right, making timing an essential ingredient. Only once all the nuggets have been collected can Monty exit a screen. There is a time limit set by the small clock face at the bottom right which ticks away your bonus score.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: CAPS, X/Z,C left/right, P/ENTER up/down\r\nJoystick: Sinclair 2, AGF, Protek\r\nKeyboard play: responsive, well positioned, and featuring variable speed control\r\nUse of colour: excellent\r\nGraphics: very good\r\nSound: continuous tune with on/off facility and spot effects\r\nSkill levels: 1\r\nLives: 5\r\nScreens: 40","ReviewerComments":["At last Artic have brought out a game. It seems years since the last one, and it's quite good too. I think Mutant Monty is a lot like JSW in feel, although the game itself is nothing like it. The graphics are smooth and neat, and the sound didn't drive me barmy. Controlling Monty is weird to say the least - left and right you get a slow and a fast movement depending on how you press the keys; up and down you only get a slow speed, which is a bit confusing at first. I found Mutant Monty very playable and addictive, but almost impossible to play with a joystick.\r\nUnknown","This game seems to be on the theme of Manic Miner to a large extent, although some of the animation is quite a bit better than in MM, The game itself is very, very difficult to play; perhaps too difficult in my opinion, as it seems to take all the fun out of the game. Everything that has been put into the program is neat and tidy. Animation is quite wonderful. Some considerable effort has been put into the design of the graphics which are colourful and very detailed. Just collecting gold seems easy at first, but it soon becomes apparent that timing and nimble fingers are required. To be able to get to some objects you need to be within one pixel of the correct position otherwise you're dead. One thing that is unique to this game is that it has variable momentum, the longer you keep a key pressed, the faster your man will travel; so the quicker you release the key, the slower you will travel. A very nice feature. Mutant Monty is quite playable but its addictive qualities are severely affected by the fact that it's so difficult to play, which is a great shame.\r\nUnknown","Mutant Monty as a game doesn't actually fit into any particular category. While the idea is similar to a platform game, there are no platforms. The graphics are good and colour is used well. There is a continuous tune which is quite good, but if it gets annoying you can turn it off. It is quite playable but it did strike me as being too hard and you are prevented from getting far into the game straight away. The demo lets you see some screens however. Overall, not a bad game and one which should prove a challenge to the better games player.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A very good game, perhaps a bit too tough.","Page":"14","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":"78%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"84%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"76%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"82%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"65%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"76%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"77%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Spectrum Issue 12, Mar 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-02-21","Editor":"Roger Munford","TotalPages":74,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Munford\r\nArt Editor: Hazel Bennington\r\nDeputy Editor: Tina Boylan\r\nTechnical Editor: Peter Shaw\r\nProduction Editor: Louise Cook\r\nArt Assistant: Martin Dixon\r\nEditorial Consultant: Andrew Pennell\r\nSoftware Consultant: Gavin Monk\r\nContributors: John Torofex, Ian Beardsmore, Tony Samuels, Stephen Adams, Dave Nicholls, Ross Holman, Roger Willis, Stuart Jamieson, Clive Gifford, Simon Goodwin, Adrian Wagner, Chris Somerville, Chris Wood, Hunt Emerson\r\nAdvertising Manager: Joe Harrower\r\nAdvertising: Dave Baskerville\r\nGroup Advertising Manager: Jill Harris\r\nGroup Art Director: Perry Neville\r\nPublisher: Stephen England\r\n\r\nPublished by Sportscene Specialist Press Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England. Telephone (all departments): [redacted]\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 Spectrum ©1985 Felden productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Spectrum is a monthly publication."},"MainText":"MUTANT MONTY\r\nArtic Software\r\n£6.95\r\n\r\nRoss: If you were going to write a piece of software but couldn't think of an original idea then you might end up doing what everybody else seems to have done... and that's to borrow a bit of inspiration from Manic Miner or Jet Set Willy.\r\n\r\nThe game itself has 40 screens, each of which has a name and a number of pieces of gold to collect. Monty (a similar character to Miner Willy) moves left, right, up and down, and has to career around the screen dodging the horizontally or vertically moving graphics. The lack of jumping ability means that this is not a true platform game.\r\n\r\nDespite its many familiar features, Mutant Monty does have a few things going for it. Firstly, Monty accelerates when moving left and right if you keep the key held down and will continue to move until you press another key. This means that avoiding the nasties is a little more tricky than your average game. Secondly, the sprites move and animate smoothly.\r\n\r\nThe screens are all very colourful and lively, but unless you're a real fan of this kind of game it offers nothing new.","ReviewerComments":["Reasonable graphics, but the controls seemed rather slow to react. After wandering around so many games like this and collecting gold. I should be a rich man - where am I going wrong?\r\nDave Nicholls\r\n2/5 HIT","Forty-seven cans of Special Brew and a blindfold might prepare you for staggering through Monty's many rooms in an imprecise and frustrating quest for gold. But 1 suppose any ol' anaesthetic will do!\r\nRoger Willis\r\n2/5 MISS"],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"27","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Dave Nicholls","Score":"2","ScoreSuffix":"/5 HIT"},{"Name":"Ross Holman","Score":"2.5","ScoreSuffix":"/5 MISS"},{"Name":"Roger Willis","Score":"2","ScoreSuffix":"/5 MISS"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 37, Apr 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-03-21","Editor":"Bill Scolding","TotalPages":148,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\nEditor: Bill Scolding\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nStaff Writer: Chris Bourne, Clare Edgeley\r\nDesigner: Craig Kennedy\r\nEditorial Secretary: Norisah Fenn\r\nPublisher: Neil Wood\r\n\r\nADVERTISING\r\nAdvertising Manager: Rob Cameron\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: Kathy McLennan\r\nProduction Assistant: Jim McClure\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Maria Keighley\r\n\r\nMAGAZINE SERVICES\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\n\r\nTELEPHONE\r\nAll departments [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\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. We cannot undertake to return them unless a stamped-addressed envelope is included.\r\n\r\nWe pay £20 for each program printed and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nTypeset by Saffron Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Peterboro' Web, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1985 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\n96,271 Jan-June 1984"},"MainText":"MUTANT MONTY\r\nArtic Computing\r\nMemory: 48K\r\nPrice: £6.95\r\nJoystick: Sinclair, Cursor\r\n\r\nArtic's latest, Mutant Monty, bears a deliberately close resemblance to Manic Miner - a game which programmers have reproduced in almost every conceivable style and format.\r\n\r\nThe idea is to help Monty to reach the beautiful maiden, crossing the Pit of Eternal Slime and dodging innumerable aliens, sour lemons and other hostile objects, all the while scooping up piles of gold. Each screen has one exit to the next level, but all the gold has to be collected before he will be let through.\r\n\r\nMonty moves very quickly on the horizontal levels but tends to rise and sink slowly in comparison, as if he were indeed swimming through slime.\r\n\r\nThankfully there is an on/off key for the music; the Spectrum version of the first few bars of the The Sting is played continuously throughout.\r\n\r\nCompletely unoriginal in concept the game is at least intriguing and frustrating to play - exactly the attributes its programmers planned.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"27","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Clare Edgeley","Score":"7","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Gilbert Factor","Score":"7/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 41, Mar 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-02-16","Editor":"Tim Metcalfe","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Tim Metcalfe\r\nDeputy Editor: Wendie Pearson\r\nEditorial Assistant: Lesley Walker\r\nStaff Writer/Reader Services: Seamus St. John\r\nArt Editor: Linda Freeman\r\nDesigner: Sylvia Wells\r\nProduction Editor: Mary Morton\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Matthews\r\nAdvertising Executives: Bernard Dugdale, Sean Brennan, Phil Godsell\r\nProduction Assistant: Melanie Paulo\r\nPublisher: Rita Lewis\r\n\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES POSTAL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE. By using the special Postal Subscription Service, copies of COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES can be mailed direct from our offices each month to any address throughout the world. All subscription applications should be sent for processing to COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES (Subscription Department), [redacted]. All orders should include the appropriate remittance made payable to COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES. Annual subscription rates (12 issues): UK and Eire: £15. Additional service information including individual overseas airmail rates available upon request. Circulation Department: EMAP National Publications. Published and distributed by EMAP National Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\nPrinted by Severn Valley Press. Typeset by In-Step Ltd.\r\n\r\nCover: Jef Riddle"},"MainText":"MACHINE: Spectrum 48k\r\nSUPPLIER: Artic\r\nPRICE: £6.95\r\n\r\nThis is yet another Manic Miner clone, though better than most.\r\n\r\nMonty has two aims in life - to get rich quick and to be a hero.\r\n\r\nThere are 40 rooms to the game and he has to collect all the piles of gold in each one before he can move to the next. Unlike most games of this kind, there's no jump button. Monty can move up, down, left or right and that's all.\r\n\r\nAt the end of his mission, once he's become rich from all that gold, he can rescue the damsel in distress.\r\n\r\nIf you can't actually get that far, there's a built-in demo to show you what you're missing.\r\n\r\nDuring the game, the Spectrum plays a selection from various classical pieces of music, as only a Spectrum can. Not quite Hooked On Classics but better than nothing.\r\n\r\nThere's an assortment of nasties trying to prevent Monty achieving his ultimate ambition. One such beast is the beautiful but rare Quantum Leapy. There are also the dreaded paralielians and the Pit of Eternal Slime.\r\n\r\nYou only have five lives and you play against the clock. Not an easy game by any means.\r\n\r\nWe'll have to wait for the secret poke numbers to come in. Shouldn't be long.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"25","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"8/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue Annual 1986,  1986","Price":"£2.5","ReleaseDate":"1985-12-01","Editor":"John Gilbert","TotalPages":132,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\nEditor: John Gilbert\r\nConsultant Editor: Bill Scolding\r\nStaff Writers: Chris Bourne, Clare Edgeley\r\nDesigner: Craig Kennedy\r\nEditorial Secretary: Norisah Fenn\r\nPublisher: Neil Wood\r\n\r\nADVERTISING\r\nAdvertising Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Shahid Nizam\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: Kathy McLennan\r\nProduction Assistant: Jim McClure\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Linda Everest\r\n\r\nMAGAZINE SERVICES\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\n\r\nTELEPHONE\r\nAll departments [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User Annual is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\nCover Photograph: Spitting Image Productions Ltd.\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. We cannot undertake to return them unless a stamped-addressed envelope is included.\r\n\r\nWe pay £20 for each program printed and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nTypeset by Saffron Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Peterboro' Web, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd. ©Copyright 1985 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458"},"MainText":"ARCADE\r\n\r\nClare Edgeley blasts her way through a wealth of challenging software.\r\n\r\nGet fit quick just about sums up the last 12 months. 1985 has seen enough sports games to put you off doing anything more strenuous than lifting a pint glass, at least for the next year.\r\n\r\nSince the 1984 Olympics, we have competed in every imaginable sport: played footie with Bobby Charlton, run rings round Daley Thompson and been KO'd by big Frank... There is hardly an action sport left which has not been turned into a money spinner, with a Sportsman's name attached. What is wrong with Tessa Sanderson's Javelin anyway?\r\n\r\nDaley Thompson's Decathlon was first to the tape back in November '84 and notched up a gold for Ocean when it jumped to number one in the charts for a few weeks. You have to compete in all ten events of the decathlon, taking part in the high jump, long jump and pole vault as well as track events. The 400m is the most gruelling and to keep up speed you must pump the joystick back and forth, which may result in a touch of cramp. The graphics are colourful and the game does give a taste of the real thing.\r\n\r\nMelbourne House also attempted a compilation of events with Sports Hero, although it was nowhere near as successful as Daley Thompson. Sports Hero has you competing in four events - 100m sprint, long jump, 110m hurdles and the pole vault, over three difficulty levels. To gain speed you must pummel the run button and press the jump button before takeoff. Aching fingers seem to be the norm in that type of game and in many cases you will end up with a sick keyboard as well. There is no sound and the graphics are not fantastic, although the scrolling background is interesting. A few more events should have been possible.\r\n\r\nMore recently, Brian Jacks' Superstar Challenge from Martech reached the top ten, although it came a poor second to Imagine's Hypersports. Both contain a weird hotch-potch of events - some interesting, others boring. Brian Jacks gives you a pretty raw deal. For £7.95 you can immerse yourself in such exciting events as squat thrusts and arm dips. Those may be thrilling to watch on TV but on computer they are about as much fun as a wet blanket.\r\n\r\nHypersports is a different ball game altogether. Licensed from the arcade game of the same name, the computer version is very like the original, although some events lack imagination. When swimming - or floundering, if you forget to breathe - instead of tearing down to the end of the pool, the end moves towards you. Clay pigeon shooting is certainly one of the better events, in which you must shoot the skeets through automatically moving sights. The vault is tricky and rather than vaulting as far as possible from the horse, you are likely to end up on your head beside it. The graphics are generally thought to be more professional than Daley Thompson's Decathlon, though whether the game is better is a moot point.\r\n\r\nJonah Barrington's Squash from New Generation is an interesting concept which seems to have fallen flat. Knock a miniscule black ball round the 3D court and try to beat Jonah at his own game. Jonah is one of Britain's leading squash players. Much was made of the fact that a taped recording of Jonah's voice calls out the scores. Unfortunately, all you get is an unintelligible gabble and it is easier to read them on the score board anyway.\r\n\r\nWe awarded imagine's World Series Baseball three stars in the June issue, which just goes to show that our forecasts are not always spot on. In June, July and August it remained at number three in the charts, only dropping to eleventh place in September.\r\n\r\nThe game opens with a traditional rendering of the tAmerican National Anthem. Then play starts, with one team pitching and the other batting. You can play with a friend or against the computer, adjusting the speed and direction of the ball when pitching and the strength and lift of your swing when batting. Loving attention has been paid to detail with a large scoreboard displaying genuine adverts between innings.\r\n\r\nLast, but not least, boxing - the sport for ugly mugs. Cauliflower ears and battered brains are only half the fun - just think what you can do to your opponent. A few months ago three games were released simultaneously on the back of Punch Out!!, a highly successful arcade game.\r\n\r\nElite's Frank Bruno's Boxing knocks Rocco and Knockout for six, and is easily the most playable and realistic, offering more possible moves and a greater number of competitors than either of the other games. It is also the only boxing game featuring a sporting personality - Bruno helped in an advisory capacity during production which explains the close attention to detail.\r\n\r\nGremlin Graphic's Rocco squares up well in the ring, though you will find it is not as easy to dodge your opponent as it is in Frank Bruno, and there are only three competitors. The scoring system is simple and the graphics are the clearest of the three games. It is worth playing and annihilates Alligata's Knockout in the ring.\r\n\r\nKnockout is appalling and lacks any addictive qualities. It is the only game which uses colour - the others being mono - although that could have been sacrificed for extra playability. Other than left and right punches to the body and head, there is no facility for ducking and dodging, but at least you can amble away if the going gets too rough. You tend to spend a great deal of time seeing stars after being KO'd. At least it lives up to its name.\r\n\r\nThe legendary success of Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy lives on. Platform and ladders games are still the rage and dozens of versions have landed in the Sinclair User offices over the last 12 months. Two years ago Manic Miner was a sure recipe for success, and because it was ahead of its time a lot of money was made. Programming techniques are now more sophisticated and with games like Alien 8 and Spy vs Spy around, who needs a Manic Miner spin-off?\r\n\r\nHowever, they are here to stay and some at least are worth the money you pay for them. One of the more successful games is Strangeloop, released late in '84, which has gone a long way to repairing the damage done to Virgin by Sheepwalk - one of its earliest and most awful games.\r\n\r\nA half-crazy computer is the source of all your troubles in Strangeloop and, playing the part of a metagalactic repairman, you must shut it down. There are over 240 rooms filled with lethal swarf which attacks and damages your space suit. A jetbike waits somewhere and will make your task easier but you have to locate and refuel it first. Objects picked up will help with various tasks and friendly robots will patch your torn suit. The graphics are colourful and simple. and there is even a facility for saving your position on tape, to be resumed later when you have recharged your batteries.\r\n\r\nJet Set Willy II is the biggest rip-off of them all as Software Projects has done little other than add about 70 extra screens to the original. Essentially it is the same as Jet Set Willy which was launched back in 1984. The plot is similar; clear up the house before going to bed and avoid the hundreds of lethal thingummies found in each room. Despite being little more than a re-release, Jet Set Willy II is currently doing very well in the charts.\r\n\r\nDespite the lack of original thought, if you are still hooked on the challenge of platform and ladders, try The Edge's Brian Bloodaxe. A loopy game if ever there was one. Brian, a viking soldier has been trapped in a block of ice for centuries, and as it thaws, he leaps out shivering, but ready to conquer the British. Flapping 100 seats, deadly ducks and mad Scotsmen are a few of the dangers that lurk on each level. Objects to collect and chasms to be leapt add to his daunting task. Brian Bloodaxe is at least as good as Jet Set Willy, with much visual humour and bright, clear graphics.\r\n\r\nHewson, which has made a name for itself in recent months with arcade adventures such as Dragontorc and simulations like Heathrow ATC, must have had a brain storm late last year with Technician Ted, which is totally unlike the semi-serious games released since. Guide Ted around a silicon chip factory while looking for a plate of the real things. Pick up knives, forks and other necessary implements and avoid several nasty traps. Easy to play and reasonably addictive, Technician Ted is not one of Hewson's best games but has done quite well in the platform and ladders stakes.\r\n\r\nArtic's Mutant Monty is more sophisticated than Technician Ted and includes some extremely tricky screens requiring split second timing - if you are slightly out, a lemon or some other incongruous object will squash you flat, and then where will the beautiful maiden be? it is a constant source of amusement that so much work goes into preparing intricate story lines bearing absolutely no resemblance to the game you are playing.\r\n\r\nOn the whole rip-offs are uniformly mediocre in standard and not the sort of game you would buy for lasting playability. Real fanatics will find Activision's Toy Bizarre and Micromega's Jasper a doddle, and probably have more fun playing blindfold with their hands tied behind their backs. Both games are average and employ run-of-the-mill graphics. In Toy Bizarre, the player leaps round the levels of a toy factory popping balloons while being chased by a gang of irate toys.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, in Jasper much the same thing is going on, only this time you are a furry rat collecting money bags and treasure chests while avoiding furry cats, rabbits and other hairy animals. Platform games are usually fast moving and it is generally easier to keep up with the pace using a joystick. Unless you have very strong fingers, Jasper is doomed as your only option is to use the Spectrum's sticky keyboard.\r\n\r\nArcade adventures have come into their own in recent months, some remaining for weeks at a time in the top ten. With the advent of games like Gyron, fewer people are willing to put up with games like Jet Pac - classics two years ago but now gathering dust in cupboards across the country.\r\n\r\nSuperior graphics is the name of the game and the Spectrum is being stretched to its limits in a constant effort to improve software. Some games combine excellent graphics with originality, though equally large numbers have been launched on the back of the successful few. Ultimate's Knight Lore, Underwurlde and Alien 8 are three successful examples and Nightshade is expected to do as well.\r\n\r\nUnderwurlde is rather like a vertical Atic Atac featuring the Sabre-man who must escape a series of chambers while avoiding hosts of nasties. The pace is fast, the screens colourful - a devious game.\r\n\r\nKnight Lore and Alien 8 could, at first glance, be mistaken for the same game. Featuring superb 3D grahpics, Knight Lore's hero must search a maze of rooms and find the ingredients of a spell to lift a curse placed upon him. Each room presents a challenge and one wrong move spells instant death. The scenario in Alien 8 is different from its predecessor and the quality of graphics is even higher.\r\n\r\nWizard's Lair from Bubble Bus is an Atic Atac lookalike with shades of Sabre Wulf and is an excellent game, even if you have seen the same sort of thing before. Bubble Bus has made some attempt to change the scenario which covers three levels, accessed via a magic wardrobe lift.\r\n\r\nThe programmers of Firebird's Cylu were influenced by Alien 8. Cylu is in the Silver range and at £2.50 represents very good value - it is almost as frustrating as the original but the graphics are a little patchy. Ultimate should be proud that so many companies want to copy their games, though it's a crying shame that those same software houses cannot put their combined programming expertise to good use, and produce something original of their own.\r\n\r\nGames featuring film scenarios and famous names are often the subject of massive advertising campaigns, and Domark's A View to a Kill was no exception. Played in three parts you must guide the intrepid 007 through the streets of Paris, San Francisco and into Silicon Valley to stop the evil Max Zorin from tipping chip valley into the drink. The game received mixed reviews but, at the time of writing, it had just made it into the top ten - probably due to the James Bond name. It is an exciting game but lacks much visual detail.\r\n\r\nThe Rocky Horror Show from CRL is already sliding down the charts and does not live up to its namesakes, the film and play. Rescue Janet or Brad from the Medusa machine by finding 15 component parts of the de-Medusa machine. It sounds riveting. Your task seems enormous as you can carry only one part of the machine at a time and if you expect to meet normal sane characters in the castle, forget it. More could have been made of the graphics and the action is slow in places, but it is worth playing if only to meet Magenta who will strip you of your clothes. Wow!\r\n\r\nBeyond's Spy vs Spy is unique and features simultaneous play between two players on a split screen. Take part in the zany humour of MAD magazine's two famous characters, the black spy and the white spy, each trying to stop the other finding secret documents in a foreign embassy. Set whacky traps as you ransack each room before escaping to the airport. It is fun, highly addictive and very amusing. Buying the licence to films, books and names is an expensive business, and at last one company has made the most of it with an excellent game.\r\n\r\nIt is interesting to note that when one unusual game is launched others of a similar nature swiftly follow. Perhaps all programmers follow the same thought waves. Last summer we had an unusual trio of games, reviewed in May, June and August issues. Two are based on the human body - not the most obvious subject for a game.\r\n\r\nQuicksilva's Fantastic Voyage is a thrilling game based on the sixties film of the same name, in which Raquel Welch is injected into the body of a brain damaged scientist. Unfortunately, your mini-sub breaks up and you have only one hour to locate all the missing parts. Searching is a novel experience as you rush from atrium to stomach to lung and heart in a never ending circle. Finding your way to the brain is difficult as it is not signposted and the turning is easy to miss. Dine on red blood cells to keep up your energy and clear any infections which frequently break out - normally in the most inaccessible parts of the scientist's anatomy. A great way to learn about your bits, and where they are situated.\r\n\r\nIcon's Frankenstien 2000 bears little resemblance to Fantastic Voyage, though it is played in a monster's body. Whoever heard of monsters smoking fags? This one obviously did and that is probably why it's dead. On reaching the lungs, battle with cigarette packets, avoid hopping frogs in the trachea, and fire at any oxygen molecules it is your misfortune to encounter. The graphics are uninspired and the game is simple.\r\n\r\nGenesis' Bodyworks was reviewed in June and it is difficult to know what to make of it. It is hardly an arcade game - more of an illustrated, educational tour of the workings of a human body, describing the nervous, circulatory and respiratory systems.\r\n\r\nSpace Invaders was one of the first great games on the Spectrum and software houses have never tired of the theme. Space games crop up in all categories; simulations, adventures and arcade adventures. Activision has even brought out Ballblazer, a sports game played in space. Way out!\r\n\r\nMoon Cresta from Incentive is a traditional game in which you shoot everything in sight, and then dock with another space ship before taking off to do exactly the same on the next level. With complex games like Starion around one would think that games of this calibre would flop. But no, there must be some people around whose brains are in their trigger fingers. Surprisingly, Moon Cresta is creeping up the charts. Long live the aliens.\r\n\r\nMelbourne House's Starion takes space travel seriously and combines a number of features, including the traditional shoot 'em up, word puzzles and anagrams. Kill off enemy space ships and collect the letters they drop, then unscramble those to form a word. Fly down to earth and answer a puzzle to change the course of Earth's history. There are 243 events to rewrite - and that amounts to a lot of flying time. Starion is well up in the top ten.\r\n\r\nSystem 3 has come up with the goods against all opposition with the dreadful Death Star Interceptor, which has proved surprisingly popular. If you are really into boring games, this is right up your alley. Played in three sections, first take off into outer space, next avoid assorted aliens and then, as in Star Wars, plant a bomb in the exhaust port of an enemy death star. It is all thrilling stuff.\r\n\r\nQuicksilva's Glass is amazing to look at. Psychedelic colours make you want to blink in this repetitive but addictive game. There are hundreds of screens to blast through, and whole sections are spent dodging columns as you hurtle through a 3D spacescape. The rest of the time is spent shooting radar antennae off unsuspecting space ships. The graphics make up for any limitations in the game and demonstrates that a traditional shoot 'em up need not be boring.\r\n\r\nThis final section consists of a number of games which cannot be categorised. A strange mixture falls into this area - many are shoot 'em ups in some form or another, others require an element of cunning and strategy.\r\n\r\nGyron from Firebird, a Sinclair User classic, is a unique game in which you must travel through a complex maze, dodging massive rolling balls and keeping a watchful eye on the guardian towers to be round at each junction. Those shoot at you, but approaching from another angle may change the direction of their fire. As there are two mazes to get through, it should take months. Gyron is likely to deter arcade nuts, but for those with staying power, it is an attractive proposition. It did make a brief appearance in the top ten at the time of writing, but has since fallen away.\r\n\r\nUS Gold's Spy Hunter, based on the arcade game of the same name, is a faithful replica of the original. It all takes place on the road as you drive your souped-up sports car through a variety of traps laid down by the baddies. Equip your motor with a variety of weapons, obtainable from a weapons van which you drive into Italian Job style. Rockets, smoke screens and oil slicks are all strongly reminiscent of 007.\r\n\r\nElite's Airwolf is a game that we found so hard as to be almost impossible, and which everyone else seemed to find a cinch - and told us so in no uncertain terms! Try if you can, to fly your chopper down a long, narrow tunnel to rescue five scientists stuck at the end. Blast your way through walls, which rematerialise as fast as you can destroy them - a well nigh impossible task for those whose trigger fingers and joysticks have suffered from the likes of Daley Thomson's Decathlon. Airwolf has done better than we predicted. You can't win them all.\r\n\r\nGhostbusters, the mega box office hit last Christmas was a prime candidate for a computer game and Activision was first to the ghost. Featuring all the best parts of the film, it was an instant success and Activision did well to launch it simultaneously with the movie. Drive around the city coaxing ghouls into your ghost trap but listen out for a Marshmallow Alert. That giant sticky marshmallow man is quite capable of flattening whole streets unless halted. Greenbacks play an important part in the game as you have to buy your equipment to get started, and earn enough prize money for the number of ghosts caught, in order to take part in a final showdown with Zuul.\r\n\r\nFinally Tapper from US Gold - another Sinclair User classic. Tapper is a simple but refreshing game centered round an all-American soda bar. You play a harassed barman, who must serve his customers with drinks. Easy at first as you slide them down the bar but wait until they have gulped down the fizzy stuff. Running backwards and forwards between four bars, make sure the customers have got a drink, and catch the empties as they come skidding back. There are three difficulty levels, each one faster and more hectic than the last. Tapper is moving up the charts and we are sure that it will go far towards refreshing the parts other games cannot reach.\r\n\r\nThe fierce competition over the last 12 months has chased many companies into liquidation. There have, however, been successes, particularly with a number of small software houses bringing new blood into the market. That can only be seen as a healthy sign.\r\n\r\nThe lack of QL games software is the only disappointment. Where is it? Other than a few basic programs such as Reversi, which cut its eye teeth on the ZX-81 years ago, there has been a dearth of games for this flagging micro. If games of the quality of Knight Lore can be produced for the Spectrum, why not for the QL?","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"47,48,49,50,51","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Clare Edgeley","Score":"4","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"4/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]