[{"TitleName":"Self Destruct","Publisher":"Atlantis Gold","Author":"Brad, Iky","YearOfRelease":"1985","ZxDbId":"0004394","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 45, Jul 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-06-16","Editor":"Tim Metcalfe","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Tim Metcalfe\r\nDeputy Editor: Paul Boughton\r\nEditorial Assistant: Lesley Walker\r\nStaff Writer: Seamus St. John\r\nDesigners: Brian Cookman, Sylvia Wells\r\nProduction Editor: Mary Morton\r\nAdventure Writer: Keith Campbell\r\nAmerican Correspondent: Marshall M. Rosenthal\r\nPublicity: Marcus Rich\r\nArcades: Clare Edgeley\r\nReader Services: Marcus Jeffery\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Matthews\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Bernard Dugdale\r\nAdvertising Executive: Sean Brennan\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: Courtesy of Domark"},"MainText":"MACHINE: Spectrum\r\nSUPPLIER: Atlantis\r\nPRICE: £2.99\r\n\r\nYour manned station develops a serious radiation leak. The order to evacuate is given and the station's self-destruct mechanism is set.\r\n\r\nBut your space suit is still in the control room and the race is on to see if you can get to it before the big bang.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"94","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"THE PRICE IS RIGHT\r\n\r\nBuying computer games can be an expensive business. Some can cost anything up to £14.\r\n\r\nTo buy all the latest titles as they come onto the market would cost a small fortune. And that's beyond the pocket of most people.\r\n\r\nSo it's no wonder that software companies have started producing a range of games costing no more than a couple of pounds.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, besides being cheap, some were very nasty and a waste of money. It seemed far better to save up and buy a top price game.\r\n\r\nBut such is the potential of the market that the quality of the games has improved while the prices have been kept low.\r\n\r\nSo Computer & Video Games thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at some of the current budget games on the market from software houses.\r\n\r\nFirebird, British Telecom's software company, is now in the process of updating its Silver catalogue which was launched in October 1984 with great success, with all the games selling for £2.50.\r\n\r\nStar of the original 20 titles was undoubtedly Booty on the Spectrum 48k and Commodore 64 which, claims Firebird, has sales now in excess of 100,000. It's now being converted to the Amstrad and should be available by late summer.\r\n\r\nIn Booty, Jim the cabin boy faces death by drowning or at the hands of the Ghost Pirate as he searches through the hold of the Black Galleon in search of treasure.\r\n\r\nAnother favourite is Gogo the Ghost on the Commodore 64 which has, believe it or not, 150 frames of haunted happenings.\r\n\r\nNew games shortly to be introduced into the Silver range are Microcosm for the BBC B, Subsunk for the Commodore 64 and Don't Panic for the 16k and 48k Spectrum.\r\n\r\nMastertronic, formed in April 1984, now claims to be the brand leader in budget games - its extensive range sells for just £1.99 each.\r\n\r\nIn its first 12 months of trading, Mastertronic says it has audited figures of sales for two million games.\r\n\r\nNew developments for 1985 in the £1.99 range include two semi-educational games in its Mistertronic titles - Make Music with Mistertronic and Type Rope - aimed at the six to 11 age range.\r\n\r\nEarlier this year, Atlantis Software launched three games under its new Atlantis Gold label, selling at £2.99 each.\r\n\r\nThey were the Dungeons and Dragons-style Adventure Velnor's Lair for the Commodore 64 and Nicotine Nightmare and Self Destruct, both on the Spectrum 48k.\r\n\r\nThe last two have proved so popular that Atlantis is in the process of converting them for the Amstrad - a move which again points to the growing popularity of the machine.\r\n\r\nMike Cole, of Atlantis, says: \"We believe in the Amstrad as the next thing to come. It's a lovely machine. We will be supporting it.\"\r\n\r\nBeing launched this spring is The Sparkler range of games from Creative Sparks at £2.50.\r\n\r\nSandy Mackenzie, of Creative Sparks, says: \"There is a a need to supply good quality software at prices affordable to kids\".\r\n\r\nThe company's decision to produce cheap software was prompted to a great extent by the large number of excellent games sent in by amateur writers.\r\n\r\n\"By promoting games in the budget range,\" says Sandy, \"we are opening the industry to new talent, and also serving the interest of games buyers by publishing good games at reasonable prices. After all, low prices doesn't have to mean low quality.\"\r\n\r\nSoit seems that pocket-money power is being recognised at last and computer star wars could soon become computer price wars.\r\n\r\nAbout time, too!"}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"7/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]