[{"TitleName":"Pyracurse","Publisher":"Hewson Consultants Ltd","Author":"Dominic Robinson, Keith Prosser, Mark Goodall, Steve Brown, Ian Watson [2]","YearOfRelease":"1986","ZxDbId":"0003952","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 31, Aug 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-07-31","Editor":"Graeme Kidd","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Publishers: Roger Kean, Oliver Frey, Franco Frey\r\nEditor: Graeme Kidd\r\nStaff Writers: Tony Flanagan, 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\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Hewsons\r\nRetail Price: £8.95\r\nAuthor: Mark Goodall and Keith Prosser\r\n\r\nThousands of years ago the god Xipe Totec reigned over the Sinu people in South America, bringing them knowledge and prosperity. However, he was a barbaric master, striking a cruel bargain with his worshippers. In return for his superior knowledge he demanded... BLOOD! Periodically, soldiers slaughtered some of the people of Sinu so the god could replenish his life source. Such was the power of Xipe Totec that the people of Sinu still believe in his presence. Many insist that he slumbers within his tomb, waiting for a sacrifice that will awaken him so his reign can continue.\r\n\r\nDeath and mystery surround the tomb of Xipe Totec - no one has ever returned from its clutches. Unperturbed by these stories, explorer Sir Pericles Pemberton-Smythe set out from England to excavate the tomb. Nothing has been heard from him since. Distraught with worry his daughter Daphne decides to investigate. With her fiance, Professor Kite, 'Legless' O'Donnell, a drunken hack from the Saturday Post, and Frozbie the dog, Daphne travels to Sinu. The game begins with the rescue party at the entrance of Xipe Totec's tomb.\r\n\r\nXipe Totec is well protected. Headless guardians patrol the warren-like tomb, and unpleasant scorpions scurry around. If one of the exploration party gets too close, these mobile nasties give chase. Floating skulls terrorise the team and try to stop them entering certain areas of the tomb. Mechanical men and other hideous creatures await those who penetrate deep into the tomb. Contact with a nasty saps a character's energy and eventually leads to death, but all is not lost: reincarnating fluid, once found, can be used to restore life.\r\n\r\nThe characters in the game have different personalities: O'Donnell is a tenacious fellow, and the strongest member of the quartet; Daphne is good at finding things, and is a source of support when things are looking tough; the Professor can apply his superior intellect to find ways of using objects found in the tomb, while Frozbie enjoys nothing more than a good scrabble in the dirt - and often unearths useful items.\r\n\r\nPyracurse is controlled in much the same way as Avalon. Using the fire button, menus can be flipped through until you find the action you require. One character is controlled at a time, and he or she can either go solo or lead the other members of the party. If the main character is in Lead Mode, the others follow in a rather shambolic fashion. Each member of the party may carry up to three objects - objects can be picked up by moving onto them, although some artefacts can only be picked up by the appropriate character. A cursor control system allows objects to be used: once an object has been put on the screen it can be moved around.\r\n\r\nThe action is viewed in isometric 3D through a window on the screen, in such a way that you can see over walls into inaccessible areas while other locations are hidden from view. Full hidden object removal adds to the realism and the screen scrolls in all directions, with the character under the player's control remaining roughly in the middle of the playing area.\r\n\r\nDaphne must find her father - she will be overjoyed if he is alive or very rich if he is dead, for she stands to inherit a considerable fortune. Are you ready to lead an archealogical rescue mission?\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: up/left A-G, up/right H-ENTER, down/left B-SPACE, down/right CAPS-V, fire Y-P\r\nJoystick: Kempston\r\nKeyboard play: responsive\r\nUse of colour: simple, but effective\r\nGraphics: neat 3D effects, good animation\r\nSound: intro tune, plus spot effects\r\nSkill levels: one\r\nScreens: scrolling play area equivalent to 300 screens","ReviewerComments":["Pyracurse is a good game, and if you're a big fan of Hewsons' Avalon and Dragontorc, you'll like this new game from a new programming team. Just wandering around looking for things is fun, but the size of the game makes it a daunting task to solve. The graphics are very good, with nice 'hidden view' effects, and the different abilities of the characters make the game more fun to play. This is a very different type of arcade adventure - but if you didn't like Dragontorc or Avalon, you might be disappointed.\r\r\nUnknown","Pyracurse is a welcome relief from the usual arcade adventure type game. It's a smashing mixture of great graphics and excellent gameplay. The scenario is brilliantly interpreted by the authors. The characters all have individual personalities and you have to get them to work as a team if you want to get anywhere in the game. The graphics are of the usual high Hewsons' standards and scroll around the screen beautifully. The tune at the start of the game is a very loud two channel simulation - but during the game there are only a few spot effects. I'm sure the atmosphere - which is superb - could have been improved with a little tune throughout the game. Overall, I would say that Pyracurse is one of the most absorbing games around. Every type of games player will love this one.\r\r\nUnknown","I was expecting a great deal from this game after watching it being played, but when I sat down to it on my own, I found it a little hard to get into. The graphics are certainly very good: there are well detailed backgrounds and 'moon walking' characters, but I was surprised to find that there was no view change control - it's possible to lose things behind walls. Playing the game itself is quite good fun but one feels a little awestruck at the huge task ahead. Generally, this game is quite hard to get into, but if you make the effort, it's a rewarding arcade adventure.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A quality development on the 3D arcade adventure front.","Page":"116","Denied":false,"Award":"Crash Smash","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Frozbie the dog has a little scorpion trouble - run away Froz! Wonder what's hidden in that chest... and the vase might conceal something useful too."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"84%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"90%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"87%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"90%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 9, Sep 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-08-14","Editor":"Kevin Cox","TotalPages":98,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Kevin Cox\r\nArt Editor: Martin Dixon\r\nDeputy Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nProduction Editor: Sara Biggs\r\nDesigner: Caroline Clayton\r\nImperial Staff Writer: Phil South\r\nTechnical Consultant: Peter Shaw\r\nEditorial Consultant: Andrew Pennell\r\nContributors: Stephen Adams, Luke C, Mike Gerrard, Ian Hoare, Gwyn Hughes, Max Phillips, Rick Robson, Rachael Smith, Chris Wood\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":"Hewson\n£9.95\nReviewer: Gwyn Hughes\n\nForesaking Arthurian England, Hewson has turned to high adventure heroics in the Amazon basin as Daphne Pemberton-Smythe leads an oddly assorted team, including her high-flying boyfriend Professor Kite, drunken reporter Legless O'Donnell and Frozbie the dog, in search of her missing father.\n\nHis last known location was the tomb of Xipe Totec and so the adventure begins, outside the portals of the ancient Sinu City, and almost immediately it's time to dodge a Headless Guardian, who's far from 'armless.\n\nPyracurse is very much in the Avalon style, seen from a high viewpoint over a smoothly scrolling two colour 3D landscape. It's by a new writing team made up of Mark Goodall and Keith Prosser who've devised some superb graphics for the tomb and the characters, who are in perfect proportion.\n\nIf anything it's more difficult than the Dark Age adventures because the city is open plan and even with last month's map you'll have trouble sorting out where to go to unlock the doors between the levels and discover the terrible secret of the fate of Sir Pericles Pemberton-Smythe.\n\nGoodall and Prosser have populated the ruins with a collection of monsters which would have Indiana Jones running for cover. From the topless mummies, who add a whole new meaning to losing your head. to the giant scorpions who home in on our heroes, there's a menace for every occasion. But none worse than the skulls, which are harmless until you bump into them when they follow, and unlike the other monsters, you can't out-run these gnashing death dealers with their flaming eyes.\n\nIf and when you get caught, which is very likely in the early stages, you'll need the help of one of the other characters to sprinkle your remains with a resurrection enzyme (I could with some of that. Ed). Make sure each character has a pot of this which will remain near his or her ashes on demise - you'll need the whole team to complete the adventure.\n\nActually you'll spend a lot of time switching from O'Donnell, who's useful when brute force is called for, to the Professor who, being a brainy sort, can solve the problem of unlocking secret doors. Don't neglect Daphne's eye for detail work though, or Frozbie's propensity for digging up useful objects!\n\nHewson has come up with another goodie, though one word of warning; the memory is so packed there's not enough room for a reset game option. The death of all the characters results in a reload but there is the possibility of saving your position so do it at frequent intervals, especially before attempting something dangerous.\n\nIt's a tricky game but there's really very little to curse about Pyracurse.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"68,69","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Gwyn Hughes","Score":"8","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"A little pot always helps. One of these contains a key, the other some resurrection powder, but breaking them sets off the scorpion alert."},{"Text":"A tongue of fire! Must be O'Donnell's boozy breath. No, it's the prof's remaining life force."},{"Text":"An important change in this window as it indicates what your current chosen object is. Useful when you pick things up."},{"Text":"By choosing inventory the hitting fire the hi-lighted object appears under your control and can be steered around while in cursor mode."},{"Text":"Getting in was easy - just a game of dodge the mummy - but when Legless broke the jar to free the key this psychotic skull appeared."},{"Text":"Here's a Sinu Yale key which Roger Kite, the right man for such brainy work, is waving around in front of a stone lock. 'Stone me,' exclaims O'Donnell."},{"Text":"If you can't read, here's a pictorial reminder of your current character. Fire brings up a scrolling menu in the central window."},{"Text":"Once the Prof has puzzled out that security system, the exit will slide into the ground and out they go."},{"Text":"The problem with professors is they stumble into the most unacademic situations - like being surrounded by scorpions and animated Aztecs."},{"Text":"When it's time to 'flea', it's every man for himself, every woman for herself and dogs life for Frozbie, but at times of safety choose Lead to collar some followers."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"8/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 44, Aug 1989","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-07-17","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Higgs\r\nDeputy Editor: Jackie Ryan\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nSenior Staff Writer: Duncan MacDonald\r\nDesigner: Catherine Peters\r\nEditorial Assistant: David Wilson\r\nTechnical Consultant: David McCandless\r\nContributors: Marcus Berkmann, Jonathan Davies, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Peter Shaw,Phil South\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Alison Morton\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Stephen Bloy\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nAdvertisement Production: Claire Baker\r\nMarketing Manager: Bryan Denyer\r\nCirculation Manager: June Smith\r\nAssociate Publisher: 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: Carlinpoint [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":"PYRACURSE\r\nRack-It\r\n£2.99\r\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\r\n\r\nA real rarity, this - a completely crap Hewson game. Titter ye not, for I speak the truth. It first appeared back in '86, in the middle of the 3D isometric war that waged back then, when everyone saw how many sales Knight Lore had notched up and wanted a piece of the action. Deep in the forests of South America, three explorers and a dog are exploring an ancient Sinu temple, which essentially involves being chased around by headless corpses (who nevertheless seem to have an accurate homing system), skulls, oversized insects and the usual nasties. You can toggle between all of your four characters, which is a help as they tend to get killed quite quickly. Sounds a bit like Where Time Stood Still doesn't it? And indeed there are similarities, but this game has none of the later title's subtlety, scope or sheer playability.\r\n\r\nPyracurse is altogether too fiddly to be much fun - an hour spent trying to get to grips with it proved a frustrating experience. In the end, in fact. I loaded up WTSS just to check that it was as good as I remembered it. It was. This isn't. Time certainly hasn't stood still since this was first released. And to think it originally got a Crash Smash...","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"51","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"51","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"51%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 53, Aug 1986","Price":"£0.98","ReleaseDate":"1986-07-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":108,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: David Kelly\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nSenior Staff Writer: Graham Taylor\r\nStaff Writers: Clare Edgeley\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: Jerry Muir, Gary Rook, Tony Kendle, Richard Price, Mike Wright, Brian Cooper\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nSenior Sales Executive: Rory Doyle\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: Lee Sullivan\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: Hewson\r\nAuthors: Mark Goodall, Keith Prosser\r\nPrice: £9.95\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Graham Taylor\r\n\r\nFrozbie growled suddenly. \"What's up. old chap?\", said the professor. \"That dog's no dummy, Prof\", O'Donnell observed grimly, \"it knows something ain't right\".\r\n\r\nSomething was trudging towards them with slow, heavy, yet regular steps. Suddenly a figure lurched from behind a crumbling pillar.\r\n\r\n\"My God it's, it's... It doesn't have, I mean... \" O'Donnell quivered in terror. The Professor nodded grimly, \"yes, my friend, you are right, it doesn't have a head... \"\r\n\r\nPyracurse is a little like that, it reminds me of half a dozen B-movies where a group of unlikely characters explore ancient ruins in search of adventure and treasure. Usually an absent minded (but brilliant) Professor, a hard bitten journalist, an independent young lady who ends up wanting nothing more than a little cottage in the country with the hard bitten journalist, an independent young lady who ends up wanting nothing more than a little cottage in the country with the hard bitten (but strangely handsome) journalist and a dog.\r\n\r\nThe character design, animation and plot of Pyracurse combine to produce a deft parody of those old movies and, incidentally, one hell of a game.\r\n\r\nThat dodgy term, adventure movie for once seems well warranted.\r\n\r\nTo say that you actually identify with the animated characters in Pyracurse may be pushing it a bit, but certainly they give as good an impression of actually having a personality as any I've seen.\r\n\r\nYou control four characters (three characters and a dog to be precise) - Daphne, the Professor, O'Donnel and Frozbie. Each has different strengths all of which you will need at one time or another. Frozbie, for example, may find things hidden in the dirt.\r\n\r\nMovement of each character around the labyrinthine maze of the ancient city is by joystick. To move onwards through the city you not only dodge hoards of headless monsters, skulls, scorpions and other wandering nasties but also open hidden doors, collect treasures and solve countless puzzles.\r\n\r\nThe trick to avoiding trouble is to select the right character to control in the right place at the right time.\r\n\r\nThere are essentially two modes. In the first you use the joystick to move the currently selected character around the Inca-style city the walls of which scroll smoothly in a similar way to Ant Attack. The second mode gives you a menu, scrolled using the joystick (a la Dragontorc) where you select an object for use, switch control between characters or choose to control all the characters simultaneously.\r\n\r\nEverything is not as it seems. The thing to do is to concentrate on getting through the maze of city ruins collecting information and objects as you go. It seems, though that various members of your group all have different motives for wanting to be on the expedition...\r\n\r\nPyracurse, the first game from Hewson's in-house programming team is a winner. The smooth scrolling and 3D graphics put it a disembodied head and shoulders above most other recent releases.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"\"My God professor it's incredible!\" gasped O'Donnell, \"It seems Hewson can do no wrong\"","Page":"40,41","Denied":false,"Award":"Sinclair User Classic","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Graham Taylor","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"A deadly scorpion scuttles around dangerously. Daphne and O'Donnell search desperately for a key that matches the lock. The screen indicates that O'Donnell is the character currently under your control."},{"Text":"A headless guardian trudges past the gateway. Inside O'Donnell may get further help by opening the casket. Of the hieroglyphics against the back wall, he can make no sense. Perhaps another character is needed?"},{"Text":"Fozbie the dog. Not merely cute. His size means he can get through passages too small for the other characters. And he can dig for useful objects."},{"Text":"More monsters. A roving scorpion and skulls that fly through the air. The professor stands alone. Not the ideal person for physical confrontations."},{"Text":"The whole group. O'Donnell, Frozbie. Daphne and the professor."},{"Text":"The youthful professor Kite stands by an opened treasure chest. Beside him is one of the bottles of immortality fluid used to revive dead members of the team. Not all treasure chests reveal their secrets so easily."}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"GRAPHICS\r\n\r\nSimply marvellous, although the main sprites are fairly small, there is a sense of detail in the clothes (check out O'Donnells stylish overcoat and Daphne's 'Southern Belle' completely-inappropriate-for-adventuring ballgown outfit). The animation is equally impressive, particularly the dog, which pads along in a lovely authentic manner.\r\n\r\nScrolling is very smooth indeed - no noticeable visual hiccups and superb hidden-line removal techniques mean true 3D realism when objects move behind walls etc."},{"Text":"PLAYING TECHNIQUES\r\n\r\nTo begin with get to know the characters. The first skills you need are fairly standard arcade ones: react quickly to dodge the nasties. Some of them are foolish and you can easily avoid them, others head inexorably straight for you.\r\n\r\nUseful objects are often found in caskets which can be smashed by running into them (sometimes). Keys to locked doors come in various shapes and it's important to match up the right key shape to the right shape lock. Treasure chests may also stay fiendishly locked until you figure out which character and which object are needed.\r\n\r\nYour characters may die if they are hit too often by baddies but all is not lost, if you can locate one of the globes of reincarnation liquid and pour it over the bones of the dead character, that person is back in the game."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 58, Aug 1986","Price":"£0.98","ReleaseDate":"1986-07-16","Editor":"Tim Metcalfe","TotalPages":108,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Tim Metcalfe\r\nDeputy Editor: Paul Boughton\r\nEditorial Assistant: Lesley Walker\r\nSub-Editor: Seamus St. John\r\nDesign: Craig Kennedy\r\nAdventure Writers: Keith Campbell, Paul Coppins, Steve Donoghue, Jim Douglas\r\nAmerican Correspondent: Marshall M. Rosenthal\r\nArcades: Clare Edgeley\r\nSoftware Consultant: Tony Takoushi, Chris Cain\r\nPublicity: Marcus Rich\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Matthews\r\nAssistant Ad Manager: Garry William\r\nAd Production: Debbie Pearson\r\nPublisher: Rita Lewis\r\nCover: Mark Bromley\r\n\r\n...and the Bug Hunters!\r\n© Jerry Paris\r\n\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nJuly-December 98,258"},"MainText":"MACHINE: Spectrum 48/128\r\nSUPPLIER: Hewson\r\nPRICE: £9.95\r\n\r\nSo, you thought you'd seen it all did you? When it comes to 3D arcade adventures, that is. Well, think again, because Pyracurse is here. This latest release from Hewson will not only enhance their already considerable reputation for producing quality games, it will also make \"room based\" arcade adventures look a bit silly.\r\n\r\nPyracurse allows you to move freely about a huge scrolling area exploring mysterious rooms and chambers, opening chests and discovering the contents of huge ancient vases.\r\n\r\nIf you picked up the last issue of C+VG you'll already know some of the background to this South American adventure. For the unfortunate few who couldn't get their hands on an issue here's a brief synopsis of the plot.\r\n\r\nPatrick \"Legless\" O'Donnell, Professor Roger Kite, Daphne Pemberton-Smythe and Frozbie the dog set out to explore the tomb of the daughter of Xipe Totec an ancient and supposedly immortal god. They hope to find Daphne's father, ace explorer and archeologist Sir Pemberton-Smythe, who has unaccountably gone missing in the Sinu region of Columbia.\r\n\r\nAt the start of the game the four characters are found at the entrance to the tomb - which is teeming with headless guardians, poisonous scorpions and deadly skulking skulls.\r\n\r\nEach of the characters has his/her its own particular skill. And you'll need to keep all four of the explorers alive if you want to succeed. Fortunately there are flasks of the extremely useful genetic enzyme dotted around the tomb. These can be used to resurrect \"dead\" characters if necessary. It's a good idea to make sure that at least one of your characters has a flask of this enzyme. They can be found quite close to the entrance!\r\n\r\nO'Donnell is the strongest member of the group. He's useful for breaking pots which you'll find inside the tomb and which contain useful items. Daphne is better at finding things than the others. Frozbie tends to enjoy digging through the dirt. Professor Kite is good at using the ancient objects left in the tomb.\r\n\r\nAt the top of the screen is a window displaying your current mode of operation - you start in mobile mode. To the left, a coloured band indicates the energy status of your current character. If the energy level falls to zero your character will die.\r\n\r\nManipulating the characters and getting them to do all the right things for you will be crucial when playing the game.\r\n\r\nThe monsters you'll find are not very clever but they are extremely single-minded. They will not stray for from their posts but they will chase you if you get too close to them. Fortunately there are ways of disposing of them!\r\n\r\nThere are many items for you to collect and use scattered around the tomb. To pick up an object, select mobile mode and walk up to the item you require. As you collect it the graphic window will flash and show you a picture of the item. Each character may carry up to three items at a time.\r\n\r\nIf O'Donnell or the Prof are a bit low on life-force, a cuddle with Daphne will help!\r\n\r\nPyracurse really IS something completely different. It has atmosphere and addictiveness in equally enormous quantities. It's the first \"adventure movie\" from programmers Mark Goodall and Keith Prosser - hopefully the first of many.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"19","Denied":false,"Award":"Game of the Month","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"10/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"ZX Computing Issue 28, Aug 1986","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1986-07-24","Editor":"Bryan Ralph","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Bryan Ralph\r\nAssistant Editor: Cliff Joseph\r\nConsultant Editor: Ray Elder\r\nAdvertising Managers: Peter Chandler and John McGarry\r\nDesign: Argus Design\r\nA.S.P. Advertising and Editorial [redacted]\r\n\r\nPrinted by Alabaster Passmore and Sons Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nAdvertisement Copy Controller: Lynn Collis\r\n\r\nDistributed by: Argus Press Sales and Distribution Ltd, [redacted]\r\n\r\nZX Computing Monthly is published on the fourth Friday of each month. Subscription rates can be obtained from ZX Subscriptions, [redacted]\r\n\r\nThe contents of this publication, including all articles, designs plans, drawings and other intellectual property rights herein belong to Argus Specialist Publications Limited. All rights conferred by the law of Copyright and other intellectual property rights and by virtue of international copyright conventions are specifically reserved to Argus Specialist Publications Limited and any reproduction requires the prior written consent of the company.\r\n\r\nArgus Specialist Publications Limited. ©1986"},"MainText":"FOUR INTREPID EXPLORERS TAKE ON THE TOMB SWELLERS IN HEWSON'S LATEST 3D-SCROLLER.\r\n\r\nHewson\r\n£9.99\r\n\r\nDeep in the jungles of South America is the tomb of Xipe Iotec and deep in tho tomb is an English explorer who has been captured by tho grotesque and deadly inhabitants. Your object is to guide a team of four, Daphne Roger, ace reporter \"Legless\" O'Donnell and their dog Frosbie on a rescue attempt. But this is no abandoned burial ground. It's teeming with scorpions, skulls, headless guardians, mechanical men and other assorted nasties intent on making the tomb your final resting place.\r\n\r\nPyracurse is similar in style to Hewson's previous games Avalon and Dragontorc and sprawls pleasingly ever three levels of approximately 100 screens each. The scrolling l£ effortless and the action avoids the 'one room per screen' format by giving the player a slightly elevated viewpoint that allows peeks into the rooms by the side of your chosen path. While this makes it easier to gain an idea of the layout it also creates corners that are hidden and where various hideous foes can conceal themselves.\r\n\r\nEach of the four controlled characters have their own personalities and some are better than others at throwing or collecting objects and access to some of the rooms is open for just one character so there is the usual trial and error stage before you get into the game for real. It is, though, quite possible to move around a great deal of the tomb without hindrance and a nice feature that cuts down on characters just doing the legwork from one area to another is the LEAD feature. You can opt to deploy your character in SOLO mode in which case the other characters will remain stationary, but if you use LEAD they will gravitate towards the lead character under your control (unless of course they are trapped, which tended to be the fate of my fearless team).\r\n\r\nThere are all sorts of objects to pick up and each character can carry three (of course some characters are quite incapable of picking up some objects). One object worth collecting to prolonging active life is the goblet of rejuvenating fluid which can be used to bring members of the heroic foursome back from the dead. But the giant vases which contain many of the objects may also contain a lethal scorpion so beware.\r\n\r\nOne big advantage with Pyracurse is that it is easy to play with either joystick or keyboard and it does not take long to become acquainted with what you can do and how to do it. This simplicity combined with the sophisticated 3D graphics, the expansive scrolling scenario and involved gameplay, makes Pyracurse a game well worth the money.\r\n\r\nIt does lack that certain something to make it a classic but it's only a near miss.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"52","Denied":false,"Award":"Globella","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"Great","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Computer Issue 8, Aug 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-07-17","Editor":"Gary Evans","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Gary Evans\r\nSoftware Editor: Lee Paddon, Francis Jago\r\nStaff Writer: Anthony Thompson\r\nSub Editor: Harold Mayes MBE\r\nProduction Editor: Jim McClure\r\nProduction Assistant: Nick Fry\r\nEditorial Secretary: Sheila Baker\r\nDesigner: Chris Winch\r\nEditorial: [redacted]\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: David Lake\r\nAdvertisement Executives: Ian Faux, Jeremy Kite\r\nClassified: Paul Monaf\r\nAdvertising: [redacted]\r\nPublisher: Paul Coster\r\nFinancial Director: Brendan McGrath\r\nManaging Director: Richard Hease\r\n\r\nCover Barnabys Picture Library\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\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":"Hewson\r\nArcade Adventure\r\n£9.95\r\n\r\nDeep in the dank, mysterious depths of the remote South American jungle, four brave heroes prepare to confront the perils of the cursed tomb of Xipe Totec. You control the four chums as they search the tomb, battle hideous monsters, foil dastardly plots and escape certain death at every turn.\r\n\r\nJust when you thought every conceivable variation on the arcade adventure theme had been played out, Hewson has to produce a game which will make everyone sit up and take notice.\r\n\r\nThe whole screen scrolls quickly and smoothly as your chosen character moves about. You can move only one character at a time but teamwork is often essential, as one character might trigger a trap and another character has to effect a rescue. With 100 screens worth per level, and three levels, just mapping this game will be a major achievement:\r\n\r\nA great deal of work has been put into making the game playable. All the controls can be from the joystick; selecting characters, dropping, using and manipulating objects are all actions done in commonsense ways. Certain characters are good at certain things. The dog finds things in the dirt, contact with Daphne gives other characters an energy boost - don't ask how - and Legless O'Donell is good for the donkey work.\r\n\r\nFans of comic strip heroes like Tintin, Scoobie Do and Indiana Jones will find the game strikes a chord with the humour and style of those classics. This game has depth, fun and an almost contemptuous degree of technical prowess.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"45","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Lee Paddon","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"2/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]