[{"TitleName":"Saracen","Publisher":"U.S. Gold Ltd","Author":"Paragon Programming Ltd, David Mann","YearOfRelease":"1987","ZxDbId":"0004339","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 48, Jan 1988","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1987-12-10","Editor":"Barnaby Page","TotalPages":196,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Managing Editor: Barnaby Page\r\nStaff Writers: Dominic Handy, Lloyd Mangram, Ian Phillipson\r\nSubeditor: David Peters\r\nPhotographers: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson\r\nOffice: Frances Mable, Glenys Powell\r\nTechnical Writers: Simon N Goodwin, Jon Bates\r\nAdventure Writer: Derek Brewster\r\nPBM Writer: Brendon Kavanagh\r\nStrategy Writer: Philippa Irving\r\nEducation Writer: Rosetta McLeod\r\nContributors: Robin Candy, Mike Dunn, Paul Evans, Dave Hawkes, Nick Roberts, Ben Stone, Paul Sumner, Bym Welthy\r\nEditorial Director: Roger Kean\r\nProduction Controller: David Western\r\nArt Director/Illustrator: Oliver Frey\r\nAssistant Art Director: Markie Kendrick\r\nDesign: Wayne Allen\r\nProcess and Planning: Jonathan Rignall (Supervisor), Matthew Uffindell, Nick Orchard\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Roger Bennett\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Andrew Smales\r\nSubscriptions: Denise Roberts\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nEditorial and Production: [redacted]\r\nPlease address correspondence to the appropriate person!\r\n\r\nMail Order and Subscriptions: [redacted]\r\n\r\nADVERTISING\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nTypesetting by The Tortoise Shell Press, Ludlow\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 - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates.\r\n\r\n©1987 Newsfield Limited\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Americana\r\r\nRetail Price: £7.99\r\r\n\r\r\nLlan, a knight of the crusades is out to destroy the infidel Saracens in the medieval Holy Land. But his knightly prowess is certain to be sorely tested, for many warriors block the path to the Saracens' evil chief, whom Llan must destroy to move to the next of 40 levels.\r\r\n\r\r\nAnd Llan must work his way through a maze of brick and stone passages, magic doors and one-way entrances to find and kill the chief.\r\r\n\r\r\nLlan's longbow is some help; arrows lie around the play area, and Llan can fire in the direction in which they point.\r\r\n\r\r\nWith these arrows, Llan can detonate packs of obtructing bombs, grenades, blast his way through brickwork and destroy the white crosses which open magic doors. And if there aren't enough arrows pointing in the appropriate direction, the medieval soldier can create some more by shooting an arrow marker.\r\r\n\r\r\nOther doors require not such heavy-handed tactics, but keys which Llan can collect.\r\r\n\r\r\nThe progress of enemy soldiers - like coloured snowflakes rolling about the maze - can be stopped. If Llan takes careful aim and shoots at a spiral wall-maker, brickwork is instantly produced to immures the oncoming Saracen squaddies.\r\r\n\r\r\nAnd to give Llan some brief respite from the tension, he can reach the relative tranquility of a safety zone, where he can't be touched by enemy soldiers or deadly bouncing cannonballs. Fair's fair, though for rather Llan's fairpwllwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwilLlantysiliogogogoch), and Llan can't shoot arrows or pick up objects in the safety zones.\r\r\n\r\r\nCOMMENTS\r\r\n\r\r\nJoysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair\r\r\nGraphics: poor\r\r\nOptions: start on any of 40 levels","ReviewerComments":["Another typical budget game: small, fast, jerky graphics, little gameplay. A few ideas in Saracen, such as picking up directional fire power, are great - but their brilliance is tarnished by the appalling graphics. The built-in antiboredom device is the option of starting on any level, but it doesn't take long to get bored with every screen there is.\r\nBym Welthy\r\n13%","Saracen didn't really melt my joystick - in fact, it's dead boring, very simple with crummy graphics. There's only one real challenge - getting to the next level - and the gameplay consists of running around shooting weird-looking (hardly Saracen-like!) objects.\r\nDave Hawkes\r\n16%"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: Hideous and uninteresting.","Page":"168","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Bym Welthy","Score":"13","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Dave Hawkes","Score":"16","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Saracen: shooting snowflakes in the desert."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"30%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"14%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"9%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"11%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"15%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 70, Jan 1988","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1987-12-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: David Kelly\r\nDeputy Editor: Graham Taylor\r\nStaff Writer: Jim Douglas\r\nStaff Writer: Tamara Howard\r\nArt Editor: Gareth Jones\r\nDesigner: Andrea Walker\r\nAdventure Help: Gordo Greatbelly\r\nZapchat: Jon Riglar\r\nHelpline: Andrew Hewson\r\nContributors: Richard Price, Chris Jenkins, Tony Dillon, Gary Rook\r\nHardware Correspondent: Rupert Goodwins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mike Corr\r\nSales Executive: Steve Prescott\r\nClassified Sales/Production: Alison Morton\r\nPublisher's Secretary: Debbie Pearson\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\nTelephone [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscription Enquiries [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Richard Winnington\r\n\r\nSinclair User\r\nEMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n[redacted]\r\n\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 84,699 July-Dec 1986"},"MainText":"Label: Americana\r\nPrice: £1.99\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Tony Dillon\r\n\r\nDear Anne Robinson. Why, oh why, oh why do software houses take pride in destroying reputations. Americana, which brought out the excellent re-releases Spiderman and Hulk has now thrown Saracen into the lap of the nation.\r\n\r\nTo imagine just how gross this terrible game really is, take Boulderdash, and reshape the character into a stickman with a small head. Now give him two poses, one for standing still and one for running. Then change the scrolling so that it keeps up with him and make it scroll two character spaces at a time. Make the background black and the foreground blindingly white. Then sit and try to play it.\r\n\r\nTake all this, give it 40 easy-to-do levels and some spinning crosses to use as the enemy and you have Saracen. Leave it alone unless you like buying completely useless trash to fill up space on your shelf. It's the Great Space Race of the budget world.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Badly designed Boulderdash-cum-Gauntlet rip-off. This is pre-ZX81 programming.","Page":"43","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Tony Dillon","Score":"1","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"1/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]