[{"TitleName":"Bombscare","Publisher":"Dollarsoft","Author":"Marco Duroe, Philip Durbidge, Richard Stevenson","YearOfRelease":"1984","ZxDbId":"0004478","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 11, Dec 1984","Price":"£0.85","ReleaseDate":"1984-11-15","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":164,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nConsultant Editor: Franco Frey\r\nProduction Designer: David Western\r\nArt Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nStaff Writer: Lloyd Mangram\r\nContributing Writers: Matthew Uffindel, Chris Passey\r\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\r\nCirculation Manager: Tom Hamilton\r\nAll circulation enquiries should ring [redacted]\r\n\r\n©1984 Newsfield Limited.\r\nCrash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nGeneral correspondence to: [redacted]\r\n\r\nTelephone numbers\r\nGeneral office [redacted]\r\nEditorial/studio [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\nHot Line [redacted]\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders.\r\n\r\nPhotosetting by SIOS [redacted]\r\nColour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted]\r\nPrinted in England by Carlisle Web Offset Ltd (Member of the BPCC Group), [redacted].\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £10.50 (UK Mainland post free)\r\nEurope: 12 issues £17.50 (post free).\r\n\r\nWe cannot undertake to return any written or photographic material sent to CRASH Magazine unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope.\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Dollarsoft\r\nMemory Required: 48K\r\nRetail Price: £5.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\nAuthor: R. Stevenson & P. Durbidge\r\n\r\nGuide Boris, the bomb disposal expert, around many of the world's greatest Cities. Collect detonators planted by the evil Cyril Saboteur and save the world from its impending doom - it says on the inlay. The detonators are obviously rather big ones, judging from the lively loading screen, which shows a city under the pall of what must be an atomic explosion. The on-screen instructions make all clear as the text scrolls upwards - they're nuclear detonators.\r\n\r\nBombscare is basically a platform game with each screen set around a famous monument such as the Sphinx and Great Pyramid on screen one. On the several platform are purple detonators which may be collected by walking over them. When one goes red, it is about to explode, so it makes sense to try and get those first, as you're not allowed much time. Control is with a left/right and jump key but there are ropes on some screens to be climbed and descended.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: O/P left/right, Q/A climb/descend rope, SYM SHIFT to jump\r\nJoystick: none\r\nKeyboard play: responsive but finicky\r\nUse of colour: average although not much\r\nGraphics: some nice drawings of famous sites, playing graphics on the small side\r\nSound: nice tune and spot effects\r\nSkill levels: 1\r\nLives: 3\r\nScreens: several","ReviewerComments":["Bombscare is quite a good little platform game. The graphics etc. are not up to the standards of MM but nonetheless they are above average, if somewhat simple. The game is fairly difficult and mildly addictive. I would like a sound on/off control as this begins to get on one's nerves after a while - also the inter-screen/game pause is too long. Overall, well above average.\r\r\nUnknown","This is a novel platform game because you can see famous sites around the world as you battle to save them from Cyril Saboteur. The graphics are fine and the sounds are alright. The game itself is quite fun to play and very frustrating, almost to the point of despair - that's the only thing that marred an otherwise good game. It's just a bit too hard to start off with. So, quite a good platform game with some nice graphics, and what makes it even better is that CRASH (in logo form) is the Hall of Fame Slime - or was this just bribery in the pre-production copy!?\r\r\nUnknown","This must be one of the most difficult platform games I've played for months, so much so that it seems to me that this will definitely spoil the yability of the game. Colour hasn't been really well used in this game, and everything seemed to be a little bit too small. Sound is well used, but does drive you up the wall and does delay play between lives and screens. Generally, an over-finicky game as far as controlling your character goes.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: Above average, mildly addictive, though difficult.","Page":"150,151","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Going up, 2nd floor - sarcophagae and embalming fluids, 3rd floor - and nuclear detonators..."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"58%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"62%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"59%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"59%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"63%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"60%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"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: Firebird\r\nPRICE: £2.50\r\n\r\nThe evil Boris is holding the world to ransom... by planting multi-detonator bombs in the capital cities of the world.\r\n\r\nBut Sam Short is out to defuse them or get blown up. And when one city is cleared, Sam is off to help out another beleaguered capital.\r\n\r\nBut is this really a good subject for fun and games? Terrorism for entertainment! Short's Fuse is a cheap and nasty game.","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":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"6/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"ZX Computing Issue 20, Aug 1985","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-07-25","Editor":"Ray Elder","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Ray Elder\r\nEditorial Assistant: Cliff Joseph\r\nGroup Editor: Wendy J Palmer\r\nSoftware Assistant: John Gerard Donovan\r\nSales Executive: Alice Robertson\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Barry Bingham\r\nDivisional Advertising Manager: Chris Northam\r\nCopy Controller: Sue Couchman\r\nPublishing Director: Peter Welham\r\nChief Executive: T J Connell\r\n\r\nOrigination and design by MM Design & Print, [redacted]\r\nPublished by Argus Specialist Publications Ltd, [redacted]\r\n\r\nZX Computing is published bi-monthly on the fourth Friday of the month. Distributed by: Argus Press Sales & Distribution Ltd. [redacted]. Printed by: Garnett Print, Rotherham and London.\r\n\r\nThe contents of this publication including all articles, designs, plans, drawings and programs and all copyright and other intellectual property rights therein 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 Argus Specialist Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Argus Specialist Publications Limited 1985"},"MainText":"SHORT'S FUSE is a simple but maddeningly addictive game in which you have to chase around the screen to reach bombs before they explode.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"74","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Personal Computer News Issue 98, Feb 1985","Price":"","ReleaseDate":"1985-02-09","Editor":"Peter Worlock","TotalPages":46,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editorial\r\nEditor: Peter Worlock\r\nDeputy Editor: David Guest\r\nProduction Editor: Lauraine Turner\r\nDeputy Production Editor: Harriet Arnold\r\nEditor's Assistant: Karen Isaac\r\nNews Writer: Ralph Bancroft, Sandra Grandison\r\nFeatures Editor: John Lettice\r\nSoftware Editor: Bryan Skinner\r\nPeripherals Editor: Kenn Garroch\r\nHardware Editor: Stuart Cooke\r\nPrograms Editor: Nickie Robinson\r\nArt Editor: Dave Alexander\r\nAssistant Art Editor: Bruce Preston\r\nPublisher: Cyndy Miles\r\nPublishing Assistant: Tobe Bendeth\r\n\r\nAdvertising\r\nGroup Advertising Manager: Peter Goldstein\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Sarah Barron\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Laura Cade\r\nSales Executives: Phil Benson, Mike Blackman, Jacqui Edmiston, Andrew Flint, Sarah Musgrave, Tony O'Reilly\r\nProduction: Richard Gaffrey\r\nAdvertisement Assistant: Andrea Laurence\r\nSubscription Enquiries: Gill Stevens\r\nSubscription Address: [redacted]\r\nEditorial Address: [redacted]\r\nAdvertising Address: [redacted]\r\n\r\nPublished by VNU Business Publications, [redacted]\r\n© VNU 1983. No material maybe reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders.\r\nPhotoset by Quickset, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Chase Web Offset, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by Seymour Press, [redacted]\r\nRegistered at the PO as a newspaper"},"MainText":"PRICE: £6.50\r\nPUBLISHER: Dollarsoft [redacted]\r\n\r\nA silly scenario with a straightforward objective. Guide Boris the bomb disposal expert around some of the world's greatest cities and prevent a nuclear holocaust by collecting up the detonators planted by Cyril the saboteur.\r\n\r\nI liked the secondary title page showing the head of the Statue of Liberty lying on its side with an ominous mushroom cloud floating overhead. I was not quite so impressed with the game itself though. The strains of Camptown Races accompany the opening instruction sequence and the game kicks off with Jimmy Crack Corn - what strange tastes in theme music these people have.\r\n\r\nAn impressively drawn sphinx dominates the first screen and around it are dotted a number of small platforms. The detonators are strewn around the platforms, while Cyril with his bomb lurk in the most inaccessible part. Boris is an attractive, smoothly animated little figure whom you control with the keyboard.\r\n\r\nThe game is extremely difficult to play, mainly because you have to get Boris to move precisely from one tiny platform to another by pressing the awkward combination of the O or P key together with the Symbol Shift, and this while in a very short race against the clock.\r\n\r\nThe other major annoyance comes whenever you lose a life. You have to wait while both the tunes mentioned above have run their course. The delay seemed intolerable after a few plays.\r\n\r\nWithout the above two factors, Bomb Scare would be quite an enjoyable little game. The graphics are fairly good and the animation effective, especially of Boris. Whether these qualities compensate for the vexation caused by the controls and the musical pauses you will have to decide for yourself. They didn't for me.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"36","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Bob Chappell","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]