[{"TitleName":"Sidewalk","Publisher":"Infogrames","Author":"Nic Shulver, Steve Cook","YearOfRelease":"1987","ZxDbId":"0004492","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: Infogrames\r\nRetail Price: £9.95\r\n\r\nShe's going to kill you… there you are, on the other side of town, your motorbike's been stolen, you have only till 7.30 to get your girlfriend to a concert for which you don't even have the tickets yet. It never rains but it pours.\r\n\r\nSo find the parts of your bike, pick up your girlfriend, get the tickets and everything is sure to be hunky-dory - but fate throws plenty of pavement problems at you in Sidewalk, a rare Spectrum release from French software house Infogrames.\r\n\r\nProgress through the town is shown on a horizontally-split screen. (The upper half shows the mean streets through which you walk and the shops you can go in; the lower halt is given over to icons.)\r\n\r\nThese streets are full of dropouts and thugs. You can ask the dropouts if they know where your bike is, or how to get tickets to the concert, but meeting a thug will almost certainty result in a fight.\r\n\r\nIn a fight you can punch, kick and head-butt. The pint of beer to the right side of the upper screen, which represents your energy, is matched by another pint pot displaying your opponent's strength. Both are drained by fighting, and refilling can only be done at a bar.\r\n\r\nIf you win a fight with a thug, any bike part that he's carrying is transferred to you - along with any money you can grab from him.\r\n\r\nA clock ticks away, increasing the tension. Fail to complete your tasks, and your bike's gone for good, you won't get to the concert and your girl probably won't accept your excuses.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nJoysticks: Kempston, Sinclair\r\nGraphics: fantastically detailed monochromatic play area and stunning 3-D effect\r\nSound: excellent on 48K as well as 128K - jolly little title tunes with simple in-game spot effects","ReviewerComments":["Sidewalk makes a pleasant change from shoot-'em-ups and complex adventures. The monochromatic graphics are very well drawn, almost cartoon-like, and the sound is some of the best on the 48K Spectrum for a long time. It doesn't take long to learn how to deal with the thugs; the real enjoyment of Sidewalk derived from actually trying to recover the bits of the motorbike by visiting buildings and interacting with other characters. There's enough depth and puzzles to keep you coming back more, and with the clock clicking away you have to be quick your toes.\r\nRobin Candy\r\n85%","Sidewalk is an excellent cartoon adventure-type game. The characters, backgrounds and objects are all excellently defined, and the detail is amazing! On the 128K machine you get the added luxury of almost nonstop groovy music. The idea is relatively simple, but presented this way and with these brill graphics, Sidewalk will go far.\r\nNick Roberts\r\n85%","Sidewalk has some of the best graphics of the year, and the atmosphere created by them is so strong it's difficult to leave. And all the characters come over very realistically. The aim of the game is simple but extremely effective - much time is spent running around in a panic to avoid that final blow which will finish you off. And when you do die you've just got to have that one more go! Sidewalk is an exciting change from the usual game.\r\nPaul Sumner\r\n91%"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: Simple, but original, fun and very addictive.","Page":"11","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Robin Candy","Score":"85","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"85","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Paul Sumner","Score":"91","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"'Fantastically detailed' graphics in a rare Spectrum release from French house Infogrames."},{"Text":"Sidewalk: trying to get on yer bike."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"84%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"87%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 26, Feb 1988","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1988-01-14","Editor":"Teresa Maughan","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nArt Editor: Peter George, Darrell King\r\nDeputy Editor: Marcus Berkmann\r\nTechnical Editor: Phil South\r\nActing Production Editor: Fran Husband\r\nContributors: Richard Blaine, Audrey & Owen Bishop, Ciaran Brennan, Jonathan Davies, Mike Gerrard, Gwyn Hughes, David Jones, David McCandless, Duncan McDonald, John Minson, David Powell, Nat Pryce, Rick Robson, Peter Shaw, Rachael Smith, Mischa Welsh, Tony Worrall\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Simon Stansfield\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nPublisher: Kevin Cox\r\nPublishing Director: Roger Munford\r\nManaging Director: Stephen England\r\n\r\nPublished by Dennis Publishing 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 ©1988 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":"Infogrames\r\n£9.95\r\nReviewer: Nat Pryce\r\n\r\nIt's one of those days! You've left it to the last possible minute to buy tickets to the Band Aid concert, a gang of thugs has stolen your motorbike and smashed it up and to top it all, they're now hanging about waiting to pounce on you.\r\n\r\nCan you get hold of two tickets to the concert for you and your gorgeous gal before eight o'clock? 'Cos if you don't she's gonna run off with that Rick Astley lookalike (Croon. Ed), John the jerk! You can always try beating the hell out of some gang members so they give you your bike back or, if you you're low on energy, ask them a few questions and then run for it.\r\n\r\nAs usual there are the normal host of characters to give you helpful clues and advice. A girl will give you a spanner but don't try and wrench any answers out of her. The geezer in the record shop will do almost anything but sell you the tickets and the obligatory hippy can be persuaded to help you locate your mean machine. What's more there's a bar where you can down a quick pint to refresh those soft parts other beers won't reach - your energy!\r\n\r\nThe presentation is excellent - the flight scenes and town are portrayed in beautifully detailed monochromatic graphics and some of the stills, especially the one after a fight, are hilarious. My main criticism of Sidewalk is its size - a mere fourteen screens. The problems are pretty lemon squeasy too which makes it unaddictive after a while! Having said that it's still a highly playable and amusing game. Grab a copy and I can assure you, you won't be disappointed.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Not exactly original, but still a cracking game with wonderful graphics!","Page":"74","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nat Pryce","Score":"7","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"7/10","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: Infogrames\r\nAuthor: Kamel Bala, Gerard Courouble, Didier Chamfray\r\nPrice: £9.95\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Graham Taylor\r\n\r\nTalk about stylish - some of the graphics in Sidewalk are astounding, not necessarily in terms of animation or even detail but just as pure art.\r\n\r\nSidewalk is a French game from Infogames and it shows its heritage. Didier Chamfray, the graphic designer is seriously into French comic-book art.\r\n\r\nIt looks fab then. But what about the game? - That's more complicated.\r\n\r\nImagine Renegade with a little bit of strategy presented as though it were a Magic Knight style graphic adventure.\r\n\r\nSidewalk is a bit like that. The plot is very simple and very right-on - you want to get your girlfriend to come with you to the Band Aid concert - you need not only to get the tickets but also to find the various parts of your Motorcycle which are scattered around the town. Not only scattered but actually stolen by some of the most unpleasant people French graphic artists are capable of drawing.\r\n\r\nYou can win back the stolen bike bits by duffing up the appropriate baddie - this is where the Renegade bit comes in - using the kind of kicks headbutts and punches beloved of combat games since time immemorial (well Way of the Exploding Fist anyway).\r\n\r\nIt's an odd mixture. You troll around the town - depicted in the centre panel at the top of the screen - looking for tickets and bike and replenishing your energy via the pub (energy level is measured by how full a beer glass is.)\r\n\r\nWhen you come across somebody, you have the option of running away, asking a question or fighting. Most people respond badly to questions - some will be uncooperative - others will get annoyed and hit you. On rare occasions you may find someone who actually helps - the Hippy for example, knows where you can get the concert tickets - but then he would wouldn't he?\r\n\r\nRunning away is good if your energy level is low, fighting needs to be done with a full quota of energy. Actually the biffing is the weakest point in a way, I adopted a sort of headbutting-punching-kicking-just-waggle-the-joystick-continuously-and-be-optimistic-approach which required no skill whatsoever and found that it always worked if I had enough energy. It means that different moves and tactics don't seem to count for much.\r\n\r\nI managed to get the tickets and about half my bike back on around the sixth time of playing - that seems to be too easy to me and this is also a game which can be solved and finished - so I have some doubts about its longevity.\r\n\r\nThat said, I thought, the graphics were superb. I liked the multi-window pictures very much and its an inventive mixture of ideas.\r\n\r\nIt doesn't quite work perhaps but I expect great things of the programmers in the future...","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Unusual mixture of game ideas that don't all work together but redeemed by some astonishing graphic work.","Page":"105","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Graham Taylor","Score":"7","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"PROGRAMMERS\r\n\r\nThe game was converted from an original Amstrad version and was programmed by the Infogrames team of Kamel Bala and Gerard Cnurable with the astounding graphics the responsibility of Didier Chamfray.\r\n\r\nSoftography: Prohibition (Infogrames, 1987)"}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"7/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]