[{"TitleName":"The Battle of the Bulge","Publisher":"CCS","Author":"Pixel Pete, Steve P. Thomas","YearOfRelease":"1990","ZxDbId":"0000457","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 81, Oct 1990","Price":"£1.85","ReleaseDate":"1990-09-20","Editor":"Oliver Frey","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Oliver Frey\r\nFeatures Editor: Richard Eddy\r\nStaff Writer: Mark Caswell\r\nEditorial Assistant: Viv Vickress\r\nPhotography: Michael Parkinson\r\nContributors: Nick (Pie Scan!) Roberts, Lloyd Mangram\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nProduction Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell\r\nArt Director: Mark (Sparkie!) Kendrick\r\nReprographics: Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Rob (the Rev) Hamilton, Jenny Reddard\r\nDesign: David Western, Melvin Fisher\r\nSystems Manager: Ian (\"E\") Chubb\r\nSystems Operator: Paul (Charlie) Chubb\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nAdvertisement Production Assistants: Jackie Morris, Joanne Lewis\r\nGroup Promotions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nUK Subscriptions and Back Issues enquiries Robert Edwards [redacted]. Yearly Subscription Rates UK £15.40 Europe £22 Air Mail Overseas £35.\r\nUS/Canada subscriptions and Back Issues enquiries Barry Hatcher, British Magazine Distributors Ltd [redacted]. Yearly Subscriptions Rates US$47 Canada CAN$57 Back Issues US$5.20 Canada CAN$6.20 (inclusive of postage). \r\n\r\nDesigned and typeset on Apple Macintosh II computers using Quark Express and Adobe Illustrator '88, output at MBI [redacted] with systems support from Digital Reprographics [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by BPCC Business Magazines (Carlisle) Ltd, [redacted] - a member of the BPCC Group.\r\n\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens (like a game that has been offered as a prize being scrapped) we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of CRASH. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop the Viv Vickress a line at the main address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions. No material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH - including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. We regret that readers' postal enquiries cannot always be answered. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Colour photographic material should be 35mm transparencies wherever possible. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nCopyright CRASH Ltd 1989 A Newsfield Publication. ISSN 0954-8661. Cover Design by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"CCS\r\n£12.95\r\n\r\nSomehow, by early December 1944, Hitler had achieved the near impossible. He had, from defeated and disarranged armies, constructed a new army group on the Western Front. A Group that was not only constructed to hold the front - but to punch a hole all the way to the English Channel. What followed was the largest, and most daring, armoured counter-offensive in history.\r\n\r\nComplete with 20-page manual, CCS's interpretation of the battle also includes a few interesting 'what ifs' such as having the poor weather remain throughout the battle, not allowing Montgomery to be appointed as Commander of the Northern shoulder and delaying Patton during his 90 degree upward turn of the southern battlefront. Other pre-start options include an Allied/German computer player, a two-player option, levels of difficulty and deployment options (historical or player-set).\r\n\r\nThe on-screen map and units are well designed and easily interpreted. Placing the cursor over any unit brings up its stats including unit morale, supply level, movement points, etc. Orders are easily despatched and into found by the find key which hops around the map, cycling through your forces.\r\n\r\nThe game follows the standard order/movement phase-type play. Giving any unit an order turns it light blue. Orders include Move, Road (an excellent, timesaver, order that requires the unit to follow the road to the destination), Bomb (artillery fire), Construct/Demolish (for bridges) and Sabotage (for the two American supply depots).\r\n\r\nInitially, considering the bad weather, aircraft support was negligible. Sensibly, though, some air attack/recce is available on a limited basis. On the whole, Battle of the Bulge is an excellent game - although I'm slightly foxed as to the 128K version on side two of the tape as I couldn't see any 128K enhancements and no mention was made of this in the manual.\r\n\r\nCCS have not included a modifier for the German undercover commando team that caused some disarray in their American uniforms by scaremongering, rumour spreading, etc. I would have liked to have seen this included as they did have limited success. American troop movements were delayed, some high ranking US officers were arrested/delayed on suspicion of being a spy, etc. Even with my minor gripes, I still enjoyed Battle of the Bulge. CCS once again show they have the Spectrum wargame market by the short and curlies.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"An excellent strategy game, a few extra options would have made it perfect.","Page":"47","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Paul Rigby","Score":"82","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"78%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"80%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"42%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"84%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictivity","Score":"86%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"82%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 57, Sep 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1990-08-09","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":84,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Sal Meddings\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nDesign Assistant: Andy Ounsted\r\nContributors: Robin Alway, Marcus Berkmann, Joe Davies, Jonathan Davies, Cathy Fryett, Mike Gerrard, Kati Hamza, Duncan MacDonald, Jon North, Rich Pelley, Jackie Ryan, David Wilson\r\nAdvertising Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertising Executive: Simon Moss\r\nPublisher: Greg Ingham\r\nAssistant Publisher: Jane Richardson\r\nManaging Director: Chris Anderson\r\nProduction Director: Ian Seager\r\nProduction Coordinator: Melissa Parkinson\r\nSubscriptions: Computer Posting [redacted]\r\nMail Order: The Old Barn [redacted]\r\nPrinters: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistributors: SM Distribution [redacted]\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair is published by Future Publishing Ltd [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Future Publishing 1990. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission."},"MainText":"I never Was a great fan of war games (probably 'cos I'm completely crap at them) so why I got lumbered with reviewing this one, I don't know. Oh dear. But it gets worse - this one's based on an incident from a real life war (the Battle of the Bulge from World War Two, no less) and guess what?Yep, I'm crap at history as well, so I haven't got a sausage of a clue what it's all about. Oh well, only one thing to do in this situation - use my brilliant reviewer's 'talent' and improvise. (It always works).\r\n\r\nThe Battle of the Bulge, according to Jonathan (oops, bang goes the improvisation) was apparently one of the last bits of the Second World War where Britain and America got very cross with Germany in some part of Western Europe or something. Anyway, as I've said, this one really goes out of its way to re-live that memorable experience, so everything's true to the real thing - all the units start in their historical locations on the map of the playing area and so on..\r\n\r\nYou take the side of either Germany or the Allies (or alternatively two people can take a side each) and you sort of, erm, fight each other until everyone dies or until the Germans reach Antwerp or something. Of course, you have to do all this 'strategically' by moving lots of tanks, guns and people around. Fun eh? Other 'highlights' include blowing up bridges, air attacks and more. Each player takes it in turns to move his (or her) party or parties of people and guns and things around until they meet with the enemy - then the real 'fun' begins. Depending on your tactics and morale and so on, where you can play the game pretending other things had actually happened even though they didn't really happen in the real thing, if you see what I mean. For example, you could 'pretend' that it was foggy all the time so all air attacks'll be out of the question. And what if British troops had chickened out at the last minute leaving poor old America to handle all the action? What a pickle you'd be in there 'cos you'd have less people, and more of a chance of losing. Well, that's the thing in theory, but how does it play? Well, it's all nice'n'simple with one key presses and things which no doubt you'll have under your belt in no time. Of course, the tactics of the game take a bit of time to get into - to discover what possibilities this little babe's really got to offer, like where the enemy units start, what the best attack formations to use are and whatnot - but that's just how it is with these type of games. Okay, so it's nothing extremely exciting to some of us, but for those of you really into this sort of thing, it could be your lucky day.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Yep, folks, it's another strategy thingie, but fortunately it's quite a good on. (Well, sort of, anyway.) Hurrah!","Page":"50,51","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Rich Pelley","Score":"75","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"Look! It's a squadron of my tanks! (At least I hope their mine - they're going the wrong way if they're not!)\r\n\r\nAnd this, um, well it's one of mine (I think) but I'm not quite sure what it is. Um, infantry? Artillery? Elephant-mounted cavalry? (Who knows?)\r\n\r\nWhat I don't quite understand is why the land is all drawn in green. Surely The Battle Of The Bulge was fought in winter (when it was snowing) and so it should be white. (it was in the film, anyway).\r\n\r\nNot much happening around this end of the screen (I think I'll go over there and hang out a bit with the local 'babes')"}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Life Expectancy","Score":"80%","Text":""},{"Header":"Instant Appeal","Score":"55%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"61%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"74%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"75%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]