[{"TitleName":"Project Stealth Fighter","Publisher":"MicroProse Software Ltd","Author":"Arnold Hendrick, Max Remington III, Paul Hutchinson, Jim Synoski, Tom Freeman","YearOfRelease":"1990","ZxDbId":"0003900","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 73, Feb 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1990-01-25","Editor":"Oliver Frey","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Oliver Frey\r\nFeatures Editor: Richard Eddy\r\nStaff Writer: Mark Caswell\r\nEditorial Assistant: Viv Vickress\r\nPhotography: Michael Parkinson\r\nContributors: Nick Roberts\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nProduction Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell\r\nReprographics: Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Rob (the Rev) Hamilton, Jenny Reddard\r\nDesign: David Western, Mark Kendrick, Melvin Fisher\r\nSystems Operator: Ian Chubb\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executives: Caroline Blake, Christian Testa\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\nGroup Promotions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nSubscriptions\r\n[redacted].\r\n\r\nDesigned and typeset on Apple Macintosh II computers using Quark Express and Adobe Illustrator '88, output at MBI [redacted] with systems support from Digital Reprographics [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe 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 CRASH. 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 the Viv Vickress a line at the [redacted] address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions. No material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. We regret that readers' postal enquiries cannot always be answered. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Colour photographic material should be 35mm transparencies wherever possible. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nCopyright CRASH Ltd 1990 A Newsfield Publication. ISSN 0954-8661. Cover Design by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"MicroProse\r\n£9.95 cass, £14.95 disk\r\n\r\nMuch has recently been made of in the news about the revolutionary bat-winged Stealth Fighter, and now Microprose, lovers of flying matter, take you behind the scenes of America's most hush, hush airborne wings.\r\n\r\nThe game starts with an aircraft identification quiz.\r\n\r\nDon't worry, of you get it wrong though: all that happens is you aren't provided with the full menus (which may be a blessing - only kidding guys). Ranking is of course very important in the USAF, and you begin as a 2nd Lieutenant with plenty of options to keep you busy for the next few minutes. You can name your character or save and recall a pilot who has done very well for himself (promotion is rapid for good fliers).\r\n\r\nNext comes the choice of missions: Libya Training (enemy can't damage you), Libya, Persian Gulf, North Cape and Central Europe (the last four are actual combat situations, so watch your tail). Then choose Cold War, Limited War or Conventional War, the aggressive potential of the opponents, whether you want to crash or not upon landing, and finally arm your plane. A 20mm cannon, a range of Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground missiles and bombs are available, taking the mission type into consideration. Choice made it's into the wide blue yonder to destroy the enemy.\r\n\r\nA good read of the 120 page manual is essential because the game is as difficult to play as it is to explain. Graphics are wire framed and move quite nicely, though sound is limited to the occasional effect, such as the chatter of machine gun fire and the whoosh of a released missile. We received the tape version for review and found the multi-load to be more than a mite frustrating. I hope the disk version will be more user friendly. Definitely one for air combat sim aficionados.\r\n\r\nMARK 79%","ReviewerComments":["Microprose, the masters of flight simulation (and it would seem not much else), have come up with another thrilling game - F19 Stealth Fighter. Flight simulations on the Spectrum have never been fantastic, but this is quite acceptable. With the game you get the usual Microprose three billion page manual full of detailed information about the plane you will be flying and all the different moves it can make with ease. The game itself comes on two tapes, the first just holds an animated introduction with the F19 flying over a rugged landscape and then getting blown out of the sky (gives you some hope doesn't it?). The second holds the game. There are the usual controls in F19, using up most of the keyboard with things like brakes on/off, bay doors open/close and map selection. It takes some time to get the thing started, but once you have the game used, it's well worth it. Definitely one for all the flight sim fans.\r\nNick Roberts\r\n86%"],"OverallSummary":"Microprose fly where they know best - if only Bill Stealy flew Firebirds just as well!","Page":"44","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"86","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Mark Caswell","Score":"79","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"80%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"74%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"69%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"71%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictivity","Score":"79%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"83%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 47, Nov 1989","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-10-16","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Higgs\r\nDeputy Editor: Jackie Ryan\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nStaff Writer: David Wilson\r\nDesigner: Catherine Peters\r\nTechnical Consultant: Jonathan Davies\r\nContributors: Marcus Berkmann, Jonathan Davies, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Duncan MacDonald, David McCandless, Phil South\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Lynda Elliott\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Alison Morton\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Chris Skinner\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nAdvertisement Production: Claire Baker\r\nMarketing Manager: Bryan Denyer\r\nNewstrade Circulation Manager: Stephen Ward\r\nSubscription Manager: June Smith\r\nPublisher: Teresa Maughan\r\nFinance Director: Colin Crawford\r\nManaging Director: Stephen England\r\nChairman: Felix Dennis\r\n\r\nPublished by Dennis Publishing Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England.\r\nTypesetters: Point Five [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinted By: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Sinclair ©1989 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":"MicroProse\r\n£9.99 tape/£14.95 disk (128K only)\r\nReviewer: Jonathan Davies\r\n\r\nThe first flight simulator I can remember playing was Psion's, erm, Flight Simulator. Or was that Flight Simulation? Something pretty innovative anyway. It was full of little quirks, such as a compass with 370°, but the 'crash' effect was brill.\r\n\r\nThen Digital Integration appeared on the scene with its F15 simulator. It was pretty much the same, really, but there were things to shoot down if you hung around for long enough. Various successors then trickled out until finally (as always) the Americans appeared on the scene. Project Stealth Fighter, luckily for this intro, is MicroProse's contender.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, MicroProse seems to have jumped the gun a bit when launching this one, and must have cringed when the real Stealth Fighter was rolled out looking nothing like the piccies on the box. Still, as you're not meant to be able to see it anyway it probably doesn't matter.\r\n\r\nBeing American, most of the game revolves around trying to knock some sense into the Russians, Libyans, Iranians and whosoever else currently happens to be irritating our friends across the pond. It goes without saying that the game is dangerously complicated - the sort of thing that only a real pro like me should be entrusted with.\r\n\r\nWith your fingers strategically placed above the vast battery of keys you have at your disposal, and your plane squatting at the end of the runway, aircraft carrier or whatever, it's time to confront the foe. Prodding the right combination of buttons does the trick, and soon you should be off the ground.\r\n\r\nAt first sight the graphics just look like a load of squiggly lines crawling all over the screen. This is a mistake that anyone could make unless they've been in the business for as long as I have. So don't try this at home, kids. Closer inspection reveals an array of ships, mountains, tanks, buildings and everything else you'd expect to find. There are enemy planes too, but these approximate more accurately to pre-WWII airliners than MiG-whatevers. They look a lot better while being 'taken out', I reckon.\r\n\r\nThe next job is to decide what to blow up from the millions of flashing dots that plaster your instrument panel. On the subject of graphics, I thought a rather unsightly touch was the way that the whole screen goes blue when you're flying over sea, and green when you're flying over land. Quite how else they could have done it. though, I'm not sure, so p'raps I'd better shut up.\r\n\r\nOnce in the air your fab Stealth Fighter seems to handle pretty much like any other fighter I've flown, Stealth or not. Considering the number of lines that are being heaved around the screen things run pretty smoothly, at least until one of those planes appears, at which point the game goes over to slow motion.\r\n\r\nOne of the things MicroProse has always been particularly hot on is cramming lots into its games and Stealth Fighter, as they say, is no exception. The scope is positively enormous, what with the dozens of different land-and sea-based targets, a wide selection of combat areas and a huge range of flashing lights.\r\n\r\nI reckon that Stealth Fighter is the best Speccy flight sim to date, and coming from me that really means something. Not quite up to the standards of Falcon of course (Never heard of it. Ed), but a great achievement for those content to remain faithful to Sir Clive.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Seriously complicated and packed to the brim. A top dog flight sim and no mistake.","Page":"16,17","Denied":false,"Award":"Your Sinclair Megagame","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jonathan Davies","Score":"91","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"\"Er... I've got a problem, Wingco! Ordinance seem to have loaded up 2515 ducks instead of any missiles!? Over.\""},{"Text":"Coo! This is a better idea for a security system! Identify the plane correctly or you can't play the game! Funny, though, I can't see 'De Havilland Chipmunk' anywhere on the options list!?"},{"Text":"Right, I've got four Sidewinders, two Mavericks, three Snakeyes, three Slicks, a tank full of gas, and I'm wearing dark glasses! Let's do it!"},{"Text":"Time flies by when you're the driver of a plane, and you ride in the cockpit there and back again... Eeek! Looks like I've got company! Er, Bogeys one-five!!"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Life Expectancy","Score":"93%","Text":""},{"Header":"Instant Appeal","Score":"72%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"80%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"92%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"91%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 58, Oct 1990","Price":"£1.85","ReleaseDate":"1990-09-06","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Sal Meddings\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nDesign Assistant: Andy Ounsted\r\nContributors: Robin Alway, Marcus Berkmann, Joe Davies, Jonathan Davies, Cathy Fryett, Mike Gerrard, Duncan MacDonald, Jon North, Rich Pelley, Jon Pillar, Claire Thomas, David Wilson\r\nAdvertising Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertising Executive: Simon Moss\r\nPublisher: Greg Ingham\r\nAssistant Publisher: Jane Richardson\r\nPublishing Assistant: Michele Harris\r\nManaging Director: Chris Anderson\r\nProduction Director: Ian Seager\r\nProduction Coordinator: Melissa Parkinson\r\nSubscriptions: Computer Posting [redacted]\r\nMail Order: The Old Barn [redacted]\r\nPrinters: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistributors: SM Distribution [redacted]\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair is published by Future Publishing Ltd [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Future Publishing 1990. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission."},"MainText":"Project Stealth Fighter\r\nMicroProse\r\n\r\nIf an award had to go to the most comprehensive, option-packed and, quite simply, darned complicated flight sim around, it might just get pinned onto Project Stealth Fighter's uniform. Which is handy, as that's just what we're looking at now. Like most recent flight sims it's all about the legendary Stealth Fighter (which actually turned out not to be so legendary, and completely different to how everyone thought). This doesn't actually make a lot of difference to the way the game works - it's really just an excuse for another flight sim. Technically PSF doesn't break any new ground. We've all seen wireframe graphics before, although these ones are about twice as detailed as anything before, and a bit faster. There is, however, masses to see/shoot. You can fly over land and sea, which means there are destroyers and aircraft carriers to take out as well as the usual tanks and buildings, and there's also a huge range of weapons and missions to use them on. Ideologically though, this one goes out the window. You have to spend the whole time beating up Russians and Arabs when really it ought to be the Welsh. (Just kidding.)","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"28","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jonathan Davies","Score":"90","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"\"Hey, Brad, this is Kuwait yet?\" \"Er, dunno (burp)... Let's bomb it anyway!\""}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"EVERY FLIGHT SIM EVER (IN THE WORLD)*\r\n\r\n*(near enough)\r\nAce - Cascade\r\nAce II - Cascade\r\nAce Of Aces - US Gold\r\nAcrojet - US Gold\r\nAirliner - Protek\r\nATF - Digital Integration\r\nBiggies - Mirrorsoft\r\nChuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer - Electronic Arts\r\nCombat Lynx - Durell\r\nDambusters - US Gold\r\nDelta Wing - Creative Sparks\r\nDeep Strike - Durell\r\nF-15 Strike Eagle - MicroProse\r\nFlight Path 737 - Anirog\r\nFighter Bomber - Activision\r\nFighter Pilot - Digital Integration\r\nFlight Simulation - Psion\r\nFlyer Fox - Bug Byte\r\nGee Bee Air Rally - Activision\r\nGunship - MicroProse\r\nNightflight - Hewson\r\nNightflight II - Hewson\r\nNight Raider - Gremlin\r\nProject Stealth Fighter - MicroProse\r\nRed Arrows - Database Software\r\nSkyfox - Ariolasoft\r\nSpace Shuttle - Microdeal\r\nSpitfire 40 - Mirrorsoft\r\nStrike Attack - Micro Mart\r\nStrike Force Harrier - Mirrorsoft\r\nTop Gun - Ocean"},{"Text":"GAMES THAT AREN'T FLIGHT SIMS, BUT MIGHT JUST WELL HAVE BEEN\r\n\r\nCaesar The Cat - Mirrorsoft\r\nMr Wong's Loop Laundry - Artic\r\nZX Tool Kit - Star Dreams"},{"Text":"GAMES THAT MOST DEFINITELY AREN'T FLIGHT SIMS\r\n\r\nBeaky And The Egg Snatchers - Fantasy\r\nBlue Max - US Gold\r\nHarrier Attack - Durell\r\nHeathrow Air Traffic Control - Hewson\r\nMonty Python's Flying Circus - Virgin\r\nNight Gunner - Digital Integration\r\nP47 - Firebird\r\nScramble Spirits - Grandslam\r\nSpitfire - Encore\r\nTLL - Vortex"},{"Text":"LOOKING-AT-IT-FROM-BEHIND ONES\r\n\r\nThese ones are really the next step down from the True Flight Sim. They're essentially the same, except that instead of a view out of the cockpit you get a view of the back of your plane. This isn't quite as pointless as it sounds, because usually the plane is small enough so that you can see past it to the 'scenery' beyond. This type of view generally makes it easier to judge landings and to see if you're about to fly into anything, but there is often a corresponding reduction in the number of knobs and dials, and an increase in things to do. Not what we want at all. ATF is the perfect example of this sort of thing.\r\n\r\n\"Chuck Yeager. (Well, he sort of belongs in this box.)\""},{"Text":"LOOKING-AT-IT-FROM-JUST-ABOUT-ANYWHERE ONES\r\n\r\nNow these really are the business. They're like a cross between the True Flight Sim and the Looking-At-It-From-Behind one, with lots more as well. In fact, what you can do is look at your plane from all sorts of different angles, including weird ones like from-the-ground and from-the-front-of-the-plane. To tell the truth, games like this are a bit scarce on the Speccy (they tend to flourish on posh computers like the Atari ST) but there are one or two good ones. Chuck Yeager is a notable example, as is Fighter Bomber."},{"Text":"LOOKING-AT-IT-FROM-THE-SIDE ONES\r\n\r\nNow we're looking at things like Harrier Attack And they're certainly not flight sims. In fact, they're usually just scrolling shoot-'em-ups with planes instead of spaceships. There's always plenty of stuff to shoot, but technical accuracy is very limited indeed. You never have to worry about setting your flaps at the right angle or the navigational computer to the appropriate beacon, or watching your airspeed in case you stall. Useless.\r\n\r\n\"Harrier Attack - definitely not a flight simulator. (Clear now?)\""},{"Text":"LOOKING-AT-IT-FROM-THE-TOP ONES\r\n\r\nNow we're in dicey territory. We're talking about things like TLL here. Quite frankly, they're not really, are they? Flight sims, I mean. They've rarely got more than four or five keys, placing them firmly on the arcade side of things. So let's pass over them."},{"Text":"SO, YOU WANT TO WRITE A FLIGHT SIM?\r\n\r\nEr, are you sure? Stick your tongue out. Hmm. Say \"Ahh\". Crikey. Okay, let's take a look at some essential ingredients...\r\n\r\nTHE SETTING\r\n\r\nFlight sims are always set in a spooky 'alternative' world where the sky is always blue and the grass is always green (and so is just about everything else for that matter). Other vegetation is pretty sparse, apart from triangles on sticks which look a bit like trees. These are usually about 600 ft high (if your altimeter is anything to go by). The only buildings tend to be in a modernist cereal packet style, with no-one living in them. Mountains are handy for flying into.\r\n\r\nKNOBS AND DIALS\r\n\r\nThere should be a ridiculous number of these, all of which are unmarked and of no obvious use. If they start reading 'zero', eject. There should also be little red lights which start flashing and making a beeping noise for no apparent reason. They only stop when you press every key on the keyboard very hard, at which point the plane crashes.\r\n\r\nTHE MAP\r\n\r\nAny relation to a normal map should be avoided. Flight sim maps consist of a large and (usually green-on-yellow, or something else that's probably outlawed by EEC legislation) covered in little splotches. Quite what these are isn't entirely clear. Somewhere in the middle is a flashing square - you. This never seems to move, no matter how long you look. Meanwhile, back in the cockpit, your plane has just been shot down.\r\n\r\nTHE CONTROLS\r\n\r\nAs previously explained, there should be as many as possible, and then lots more on top of that. They should all have obvious purposes (eg P for throttle up, K for map, Symbol Shift, Caps Shift and 3 for left etc). There should also be a disconcerting delay (say, five minutes) between pressing a key and anything happening. The need for constant reference to the manual can easily be incorporated, during which time the plane flies into a tree.\r\n\r\nSOUND\r\n\r\nDon't put any in. Apart from the 'crash effect', of course.\r\n\r\nTHE ENEMY\r\n\r\nSomewhere on the screen there should be a radar with a little flashing dot on it. This is the enemy aircraft. The player will turn to face it, prime the air-to-air missiles and wait for the two aircraft to meet. This, of course, never happens. After a certain length of time the player will get bored, engage the autopilot and nip out to put the kettle on. His plane then gets shot down.\r\n\r\nLANDING\r\n\r\nAs you'll no doubt be aware, this is impossible. Real F-15s and things land perfectly first time, every time. But not simulated ones. You get them lined up exactly, set the speed rate of descent and everything exactly according to the instructions, flaps and undercarriage down, set it down oh-so-gently and... kaboom.\r\n\r\nPLAYTESTING\r\n\r\nOnce the game's nearing completion you'll have to thoroughly test it. Sit yourself down in front of it and ask someone to come and check up on you after an hour or so. If you're still awake the game is obviously in need of modification."},{"Text":"THE A-Z OF FLYING TERMS\r\n\r\nAmmo: A Latin verb.\r\nBeing Tail Gunner: Going to the loo.\r\nChocks Away: Someone's pinched your lunch.\r\nDogfight: These are illegal.\r\nEject: If in doubt...\r\nFlaps: Do lots of these if the propeller stops going round.\r\nGround: The main hazard faced by most pilots.\r\nHeading: See Football Guide, YS Issue 54.\r\nInstruments: In-flight entertainment.\r\nJoystick: Long thing between your legs with a red bit on the end.\r\nKippers: Probably the nickname of a World War 1 pilot.\r\nLanding: The bit at the top of the stairs.\r\nMae West: Something pilots like to keep handy.\r\nNormandy: A nice place to go on holiday.\r\nOrange: If you paint your 'crate' this colour you'll probably get shot down.\r\nPiece Of Cake: Dreadful drama series about planes on telly.\r\nQuebec: Keep an eye on the map if you don't want to end up here.\r\nRoger: (Er, do S. Ed)\r\nSix O'Clock: Tea-time.\r\nTake Off: Spoof or parody.\r\nUndercarriage: See Joystick.\r\nV-Formation: Give one of these to the enemy as you fly by.\r\nWings: Something to do with Paul McCartney.\r\nX-Ray: You're meant to say this over the radio quite often.\r\nYellow: See Orange."},{"Text":"THE FIRST FLIGHT SIM EVER\r\n\r\nHa. This one's easy. It was Flight Simulation, one of the first games that ever came out on the Speccy. It was also the first game I bought. (Aargh! The secret's out.) It was one of those Psion games which came out on Sinclair's own label, and despite the mind-numbingly tedious piccy on the box (the instrument panel of a plane) it hung around near the top of the charts for years. In actual fact, Flight Simulation is a conversion of a ZX81 game of the same name. Yikes. We'll take a closer look at this one later on."},{"Text":"THE 'TRUE' FLIGHT SIM\r\n\r\nThe obvious example of one of these is the original Flight Simulation, but that was pretty crap. What we're basically talking about here is the sort where you're placed in the cockpit looking out of the window in the bottom half of the screen (or, worse, on another screen altogether) is the instrument panel, which can generally be ignored, and in the top half is the view. This is generally green on the bottom and blue on the top. If it's the other way round you're probably in trouble. Scattered about will be lots of squiggly lines, and maybe a few dots on the ground to give the impression of 'speed' (ahem).\r\n\r\n\"Night Raider - not of the best but it'll do.\""}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"The View","Score":"79%","Text":""},{"Header":"Realism","Score":"91%","Text":""},{"Header":"Dakka Factor","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Net Weight","Score":"93%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"90%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 96, Mar 1990","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1990-02-18","Editor":"Jim Douglas","TotalPages":93,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"TRAVEL SPECIAL\r\n\r\nJIM \"private jet\" DOUGLAS (Editor)\r\nBeing a bloody stinking yuppie, our Jim just had to go on the piste, that's skiing to you. He's bought his dayglo green end purple salopettes, got some mirrored raybans and applied some of that gungy white zinc stuff to his kisser and now he's ready for a mega pose on the top of a snowy slope. God, what a poser, I hope he breaks both legs.\r\n\r\nGARTH \"where's me backpack man\" Sumpter (Staff Writer)\r\nGarfy baby has decided it's time to find himself (maan), so he's booked into a Kibbutz in The Himalayas for the summer. He's bought himself some loon pants and a string of love beads and a pack of josticks, and is now practising his spaced-out Hippie look (maaaaaaaaaaaan).\r\n\r\nOSMOND \"a nice quiet break\" BROWNE (Designer)\r\nOz decided to go for a peaceful holiday so the team recommended an 18-30's trip to Benidorm. He's hoping to meet some interesting chums and a better class of girlie (fool). He's just heard he's sharing a room with his predecessor Tim 'lagered up' Noonan and 25 of his mates. Rather you than me, matey.\r\n\r\nAL SKEAT (Production Editor)\r\nPoor old Al. She did all the ringing around for the others and booked up their vacations and the rotten sods have spent all the cash in the holiday kitty and left her with nothing. She's currently on the blower to her Auntie Vi, who says she's welcome to stay at her 'smashing' caravan on Canvey Isle, with her and Uncle Eric, as long as she doesn't mind sleeping with their incontinent Wire-haired Terrier. Al can hardly wait. \r\n\r\nNo part of this magazine may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in a data retrieval system or transcribed without express written permission from the Publishers. (Who are all in a foul mood at the moment, so don't bother asking.)\r\n\r\nAdventure: The Sorceress\r\nI've Got This Problem: Rupert Goodwins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: James Owens\r\nSenior Sales: Martha Moloughney\r\nAd Production: Emma Ward\r\nMarketing Manager: Dean Barrett\r\nMarketing Assistant: Sarah Ewing\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\nSinclair User, EMAP B+CP, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Jerry Paris\r\n\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Copyright Sinclair User 1990"},"MainText":"Label: Microprose\r\nAuthor: Paul Hutchinson\r\nPrice: £12.95\r\nMemory: 128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Garth Sumpter\r\n\r\nWell now - what do we have here? Mmmmmm, an 8-Bit version of one of Wild Billy Steely's super dooper simulations; this time of the F19-M035-1, known to the rest of the world as the Stealth Fighter.\r\n\r\nWhy's that? Well - because due to some fancy design and expenditure of loads and loadsa of the folding green stuff, the plane has a very weak radar signature. This means that it is very difficult for any enemy to pick it up on their radars - and therefore it can pounce on targets deep into enemy territory with complete surprise. They've painted it black too - so it must be very difficult for the pilot to get into in the dark.\r\n\r\nYou might have seen the game appear on 16-Bit a while back and now it's on your own humble Spectrum. So whassit like?\r\n\r\nFor starters, this is not - repeat Red Leader - not going to be one for you \"slam it in, load it up, shoot it out\" brigade. Not with a 120 page manual, eh, and it's a tome that you're going to have to read through very carefully to even come close to wringing the full potential out of the game.\r\n\r\nAnd don't loose the key card either - 'cos with over 30 potential control keys, you have to be a flippin' genius to remember this lot.\r\n\r\nCome to think of it, you're going to have to have the patience of a Saint too, as the full load (which comes in three parts) takes a total of 15 minutes from the very start to \"Chocks Away!\".Better get a disc drive, eh - or take up reading epic novels in between missions.\r\n\r\nOK, so that's the down side. The up side is that this is a title that takes the Spectrum very seriously. Locked up inside Project Stealth Fighter is a great number of missions and difficulty levels all to be flown over tree main combat areas - Libya, The Persian Gulf and Central Europe - each more difficult than the last.\r\n\r\nThe program is very sophisticated indeed - and be warned if you were expecting otherwise - is not geared towards pure arcade action. Far from it. It is obvious that most of the coding has gone into cramming all that strategy can control code into the Spectrum, with not that much going into the main visual display from out of the cockpit. This has been done in monochrome, with OK but not fab, vectors. Check out the three frames per second.\r\n\r\nHowever, if you're willing to put up with that and want a game you can be assured you still be coming back to play this time next year - then you should think of making the hefty investment. But again, bear in mind, you won't be acquiring it for any major adrenaline surges, but the intense intellectual challenge and stimulation of piloting a billion dollars worth of kit.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Sophis flight sim, but likely to be a bit heavyweight for the average Spectrum owner.","Page":"34,35","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Garth Sumpter","Score":"73","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"64%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"67%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"71%","Text":""},{"Header":"Lastability","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"73%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"The Games Machine Issue 28, Mar 1990","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1990-02-08","Editor":"Richard Montiero","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL OFFICE\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nConsultant Editor: Richard Monteiro\r\nDeputy Editor: Richard Eddy\r\nSub Editor: Dominic Handy\r\nTechnical Editor: Robin Candy\r\nStaff Writers: Mark Caswell, Warren Lapworth\r\nEditorial Assistants: Vivien Vickress\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson (Assistant)\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION DEPARTMENT\r\n[redacted]\r\nEditorial Director: Oliver Frey\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nProduction Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell\r\nReprographics: Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Jenny Reddard, Robert Hamilton\r\nDesign: Mark Kendrick, Melvyn Fisher\r\nSystems Operator: Ian Chubb\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executives: Christian Testa, Caroline Blake\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\nGroup Promotions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\nSubscriptions: [redacted]\r\n\r\nDesigned and typeset on Apple Macintosh II computers running Quark Xpress, Adobe Illustrator 88, with systems support from Digital Print Reprographics, [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted] and Newsfield. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset [redacted] - a member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistribution effected by COMAG, [redacted].\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. List of winners are available after the closing date from Viv Vickress at [redacted] (please enclose SAE). No person who has any relationship to anyone who works for Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes may enter one of our competitions. No 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 TGM - including written and photographic material, hardware or software - unless it's accompanied by a suitably stamped, addressed envelope. We regret that readers' postal enquiries cannot always be answered. Unsolicited written or photographic material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates - we reserve the right to edit any written material. The views expressed in TGM are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\n©1990 TGM Magazines Ltd\r\nA Newsfield Publication ISSN 0954-8092\r\n\r\nCover Design Mark Kendrick"},"MainText":"Spectrum: £9.95 cass, £14.95 disk\r\n\r\nOriginally reviewed: TGM015\r\n\r\nAs is usual with MicroProse products, the million page (or so it seems) instruction manual must be absorbed to the full. It's all worthwhile, though. The Spectrum version is both graphically and sonically sound. The wire-frame graphics are well constructed, with the occasional sound effect (like the chatter of machine gun fire or the whoosh of a missile release) adding to the atmosphere. Accuracy is up to the usual MicroProse standard. F-19 Stealth Fighter is certainly worthy of consideration from Speccy flight simmers.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"54","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Mark Caswell","Score":"82","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"82%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]