[{"TitleName":"Space Harrier","Publisher":"Elite Systems Ltd","Author":"Jon Harrison, Keith Burkhill","YearOfRelease":"1986","ZxDbId":"0004663","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 36, Jan 1987","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-12-10","Editor":"Graeme Kidd","TotalPages":196,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Publishers: Roger Kean, Oliver Frey, Franco Frey\r\nPublishing Executive/Editor: Graeme Kidd\r\nAssistant Editor: Lee Paddon\r\nSub Editor: Ciaran Brennan\r\nStaff Writers: Lloyd Mangram, Hannah Smith\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nTech Tipster: Simon Goodwin\r\nContributing Writers: Jon Bates, Brendon Kavanagh, John Minson\r\nProduction Controller: David Western\r\nArt Director: Dick Shiner\r\nAssistant Art Director: Gordon Druce\r\nIllustrators: Ian Craig, Oliver Frey\r\nProduction: Seb Clare, Tim Croton, Mark Kendrick, Tony Lorton, Nick Orchard, Michael Parkinson, Cameron Pound, Jonathan Rignall, Matthew Uffindell\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Roger Bennett\r\nAdvertisement Assistant: Nick Wild\r\nSubscriptions: Denise Roberts\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nEditorial and Production: [redacted]\r\n\r\nMail Order and Subscriptions: [redacted]\r\n\r\nADVERTISING\r\nBookings [redacted]\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 Magazine unless accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material which may be used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates.\r\n\r\n©1986 Newsfield Limited\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey\r\n\r\nCRASH ABC FIGURE:\r\n101,843 Total\r\n97,992 UK and EIRE"},"MainText":"Producer: Elite\r\nRetail Price: £7.95\r\nAuthor: Keith Burkhill\r\n\r\nAnyone who is remotely familiar with amusement arcades will have heard of Space Harrier. In fact so imposing is this arcade machine that it would be very difficult to miss. The arcade version incorporates a huge hydraulic arm on which is mounted a seat and a video screen. Apparently it's quite an experience to play. Unfortunately the Spectrum version doesn't include such fancy sundries.\r\n\r\nYou control a futuristic soldier, a Space Harrier, who is pitting his witts against all manner of nasty aliens who are threatening to take over. One man against so many seems a fairly tall order. Your soldier is equipped with a jet pack and a powerful gun. This enables him to rocket about at great speeds while blasting away at the opposition.\r\n\r\nThe basic idea is to blast anything that hurtles towards your character from the back of the screen, whether it's a mean and ugly nasty or the odd bit of countryside. The person perspective action scrolls towards the player at a fair old rate. All the aliens zoom in from the far distant horizon and your soldier has to swoop and duck around blasting them out of the skies. Apart from the many monsters there are also landscape features that have to be avoided. Trees, rocks and large stone obelisks shoot out to meet you and then must be maneuvered around if success is to be yours.\r\n\r\nThere are sixteen levels to the game. Each one is identified by its distinctive colouring and different graphics. In the later levels the action gets quite furious with inanimate objects hurling at you. The Space Harrier must blast his/her way through all the nasties on a particular level, amassing the biggest score possible. At the end of each level there is a super baddie or baddies who must be conquered before your little soldier sets his feet down on the ground again and awaits the perils of the next level.\r\n\r\nAlthough the majority of the demons in this game are nasty there is an exception. If you get up to level ten, a cute cuddly dragon appears who is obviously very friendly. When he appears in the later levels your Space Harrier gets to ride on his back and together they wreak havock on the attacking monsters. Gone is his powerful laser and the Harrier and his dragonesque mate simply drive into the approaching monsters and destroy them that way. In fact, huge bonus scores can be achieved on this level Your Space Harrier has nine lives in the game. One of these is lost every time he gets shot by one of the monsters. For those that know the Arcade version intimately, the ending is along the same lines.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: definable, up, down, left, right, fire\r\nJoystick: Kempston, Cursor, Interface 2\r\nKeyboard play: pretty damn fast\r\nUse of colour: vivid\r\nGraphics: amazing perspective effect\r\nSound: the occasional spot effects\r\nSkill levels: one\r\nScreens: sixteen scrolling arenas","ReviewerComments":["Wow! This game moves at a pace! The first level is fairly easy, but even that's hectic first time through, but as you start to clock levels, things really do start getting fast. The score table gave me a massive shock the first time I saw it, but I was fairly pleasantly surprised when my scores went into seven figures after ten minutes playing. Although It's quite easy, Space Harrier isn't the worst ELITE conversion, and though being far from the best, might be worth considering if you're a big fan of the arcade version.\r\r\nUnknown","The graphics on the arcade version were always what people talked about - but the Spectrum version has tried to make them too detailed, and the result looks very messy indeed. I found that it was very hard to see what was coming up the screen at you - and the difference between the missiles and obstacles was very little when moving at such a speed as it does. To me the Spectrum version shows how little actual game is in Space Harrier. I got very bored with it after only a few games. As far as I'm concerned, ELITE can give the seat away with it, and I still wouldn't buy the game.\r\r\nUnknown","I really liked Space Harrier in the arcades but only because the machine itself jerked around on hydraulics so you got a really good sense of motion when you moved about on screen (experience not to be no. 346). This is not at all a bad version of the original, it plays at high speed and it is quite compelling. The graphics are well above average but they do tend to get a little messy at times. Your character is well drawn but I feel that he could have a few more poses to complete the flying effect. The sound is average-ish, there are no tunes and the effects are mediocre only. This is yet another good shoot 'em up this issue seem to be full of them (horay!).\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A near miss.","Page":"28","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Facing up to the dragon at the end of stage one; a pretty tricky opponent."},{"Text":"In stage two, the scenery changes to a city scape, but the action is still fast and furious."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"75%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"78%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"76%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"76%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"72%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"72%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"77%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 74, Mar 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1990-02-22","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 Roberts\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nProduction Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell\r\nArt Director: Mark Kendrick\r\nReprographics: Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Rob (the Rev) Hamilton, Jenny Reddard\r\nDesign: David Western, Melvin Fisher\r\nSystems Operator: Ian Chubb\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executives: Caroline Blake, Christian Testa\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\nGroup Promotions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\nSubscriptions\r\n[redacted].\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 Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - 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 [redacted] 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":"SPACE HARRIER\r\nEnsore\r\n£2.99 (rerelease)\r\n\r\nYou're the hero chosen to save the Dragon Land, which has been occupied by the barbaric and evil creatures controlled by some weird supernatural phenomenon. Battle your way through hordes of aliens and fight the evil end-of-level monsters - all in glorious 3-D!\r\n\r\nAs a conversion of the Sega arcade machine, Space Harrier is really good. The 3-D scrolling play area of the coin-op has been converted as well as it could be. But when you think about it, it's all just a glorified space invaders game! The shading the programmer has used on the play area gets a bit hard on the eyes after a while, but this isn't much of a problem. It could have been put right by only using colours that look good together but green and purple, please!\r\n\r\nOne thing that lots of these re-released games don't have is sound! Space Harrier has one blip when the player fires at an alien. The rest of the time you have to put up with complete silence. Perhaps you could sing the latest Kylie Minogue single to make the game a bit more exciting!\r\n\r\nSpace Harrier was a fantastic game back in 1986, but I'm afraid it hasn't stood the test of time too well. The continual blasting soon gets a bit boring.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"47","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"53","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"53%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 15, Mar 1987","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1987-02-12","Editor":"Teresa Maughan","TotalPages":98,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nArt Editor: Caroline Clayton\r\nProduction Editor: Sara Biggs\r\nAssistant Editor: Phil South\r\nStaff Writer: Markus Berkmann\r\nDesigner: Darrell King\r\nContributors: Luke C, Mike Gerrard, Ian Hoare, Gwyn Hughes, ZZKJ, Tommy Nash, Max Phillips, Rick Robson, Rachael Smith\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Julian Harriott\r\nProduction Manager: Sonia Hunt\r\nManaging Editor: Kevin Cox\r\nPublisher: Roger Munford\r\nPublishing Director: Stephen England\r\n\r\nPublished by Sportscene Specialist Press 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 ©1987 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":"Elite\n£7.95\nReviewer: Rachael Smith\n\nSpace Hurrier would've been a better name for this one, because Elite's conversion of one of my fave blast-everything-that-moves games is F-A-S-T!\n\nThen again, I'd also go for Space Worrier, because a mission like this is sure to give even the spaciest warrior a few sleepless nights. But let the instructions tell it like it is!\n\n'Our hero, a seasoned veteran of many spacewars, is on the scene again. This time to save the Dragon land that's occupied by evil barbaric creatures and controlled by supernatural phenomena.'\n\nBetter get your drag on then, if you're to beat such evil creatures as fire-spitting flowers and giant stone heads. And as for those supernatural phenomena... well, Gwyn reckons they're just a dotty bit of translation from the Japanese, but they sure gave me the willies. It's yet another case of they-said-it-couldn't-be-done-ism, but take it from me., Space Hairier would've been a fitting name because you won't get much hairier action than flying across the chequerboard Dragon land. See those squares just scroll from under you as you skim across the plain to an ever distant horizon.\n\nThose wretched phenomena are hurling everything they've got at you, and it won't do any good calling Ghostbusters! You'll just have to slide and keep your finger on the trigger as they blast you with blocks and fireballs. Our hero moves as smoothly as you could wish - but so do the deadly forces. Surely it can't be quite so perfect? After all, this is a conversion of a state of the art game with a megabyte of memory into a cramped 48K, beset by attribute problems. Well, obviously the graphics lose out. Clever though they are, at times your mono hero can get lost against the range of hills on the horizon and the rush hour surge of attackers.\n\nThis reduces the playability a bit, and maybe adds an element of pure chance that wasn't there in the original. A pity, too, that the arcade game's facility to drop in another coin and take over where you left off hasn't been included.\n\nThe sounds good though, lacking only sufficient amplification. The only other thing that I can think of that's missing is the famous moving seat. However, here's a playing tip that even Hex Loader hasn't considered. Take one YS office chair and one screwdriver. At the base of the chair you'll find four screws. Remove three of them. There you are - all the movement you could ask for. Just remember to replace them before T'zer sits... CRASHH'!!\n\n(Where's that gormless oaf Smith? I'll show her a supernatural phenomenon she'll never forget. Ed).","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"30","Denied":false,"Award":"Your Sinclair Megagame","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Rachael Smith","Score":"9","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"This dirty old dragon appears at the end of the first level, and the score counter stops while you grapple with him. His beastly breath is hero-seeking and he releases four fireballs every time he attacks. A good policy is circle to avoid them, then swoop in for some pot shots!"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"9/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 51, Mar 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1990-02-18","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Peters\r\nDeputy Editor: David Wilson\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nDesigner: Martin Sharrocks\r\nTechnical Consultant: Jonathan Davies\r\nContributors: Marcus Berkmann, Robert Corradi, Jonathan Davies, Tony Dillon, Mike Gerrard, Ivan Hawksley, Duncan MacDonald, Tanya Maldem, David McCandless, Jackie Ryan, Wag, Louise Willers\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Lynda Elliott\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Caroline Day\r\nClassified Advertisement Executive: Chris Skinner\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nAdvertisement Production: Claire Baker\r\nNewstrade Circulation Manager: Stephen Ward\r\nMarketing Services Manager: Zoe Ringrose\r\nSubscription Manager: June Smith\r\nPublisher: Teresa Maughan\r\nFinance Director: Colin Crawford\r\nManaging Director: Stephen England\r\nChairman: Felix Dennis\r\n\r\nPublished by Dennis Publishing Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England.\r\nTypesetters: Point Five [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinted By: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Sinclair ©1990 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":"SPACE HARRIER\r\nEncore\r\n£2.99\r\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\r\n\r\nCor, is it that long ago? In fact, it's the best part of three years since we were all drooling and dribbling over this coin-op conversion, mainly because we'd spent the previous six months getting even dribblier over the actual coin-op. Those streams of weird and wonderful spaceships flying at you in almost balletic formations, the speed of at all, the sheer originality - well, I spend a few quid down the arcades on this one, I can tell you. And three years later, it's still a good blast, even though the legendary limitations of the 48K beermat makes it rather less spectacular than purists might hope. The glorious rushing colours of the coin-op are replaced by the Speccy's usual monochrome, although the chequered ground pattern, so effective in giving the illusion of speed, remains intact. Still, original it remains, which means a good blast for anyone so inclined (eg me).","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"43","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"76","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"76%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 57, Dec 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-11-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":148,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: David Kelly\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nSenior Staff Writer: Graham Taylor\r\nStaff Writer: Jim Douglas\r\nDesigner: Gareth Jones\r\nAdventure Help: Gordo Greatbelly\r\nZapchat: Jon Riglar\r\nHelpline: Andrew Hewson\r\nContributors: Jeff Naylor, Richard Price, Rupert Goodwins, Andy Moss, Gary Rook\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nSenior Sales Executive: Jacqui Pope\r\nProduction Assistant: Alison Morton\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Linda Everest\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\nTelephone [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Gerry Paris\r\n\r\nIf you would like to contribute to Sinclair User please send programs or articles to:\r\nSinclair User\r\nEMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nOriginal programs should be on cassette and articles should be typed. Please write Program Printout on the envelopes of all cassettes submitted. We cannot undertake to return cassettes unless an SAE is addressed. We pay £20 for each program printed and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nTypeset by Saffron Graphics Ltd, [redacted] and PRS Ltd, [redacted]\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 90,215 July-Dec 1985"},"MainText":"Label: Elite\r\nAuthor: In-house\r\nPrice: £8.95\r\nJoystick: various\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nReviewer: Graham Taylor\r\n\r\nSpace Harrier exceeds even Gauntlet in terms of ultimate arcade credibility. It presents state of the art - even psychedelic - graphics in a landscape utterly strange. Abstract and yet tremendously believeable. The coin-op machine features incredible hydraulic rams which twist and turn the cockpit in which you sit according to the movements of your joystick. The result is an incredible sensation of movement and a big adrenalin high.\r\n\r\nWhat happens when you try to do that on a Spectrum? Surely it must be the most difficult conversion imaginable.\r\n\r\nElite has the licence for the game and the Spectrum version is a remarkable technical achievement.\r\n\r\nIt manages to do a fair impression of the strange grid - like landscape of the original which scrolls towards your figure, seemingly animate objects in three dimensions - the Chinese dragon is excellent - and most significantly, do the whole thing at speed and without an abundance of attribute clash.\r\n\r\nThe original game has seventeen levels, the Spectrum version has 'more than ten' Most of the elements of the original are retained: frogs, rocks, the peculiar looking mushrooms, and of course the swirling, tail-twisting oriental carnival dragon.\r\n\r\nThe remarkable dragon, first seen in the second screen is constructed from a dozen or more segments, each drawn in a kind of outline form and carefully positioned and animated to give the impression of movement firstly out of the distance and also along its length.\r\n\r\nThe best aspects of Elite's conversion are the central figure and the weird tilting landscape. Your man is large and fully detailed and does a particularly effective tumble when toppled by a roving mushroom, brick or similar object. The floor tilt - when the whole landscape seems to change in perspective - is recreated lovingly.\r\n\r\nSo is this a rave review? I have some doubts. For five minutes I thought this game was definitely classic material. After ten I wasn't so sure After fifteen I had real problems. The hitch is the gameplay.\r\n\r\nIt is quite possible to score vast amounts and get through a lot of screens (I did four, no trouble) very early on just by positioning yourself just off centre and stabbing the fire button as fast as you can I felt, not being once of those arcade wizzes who always get the high score on anything on the first attempt, that I did too well. The sense of challenge was already beginning to wane and I felt that there really wasn't really very much strategy to be developed.\r\n\r\nFor a while, it is astonishingly thrilling and I dare say other magazines will give it all sorts of mega awards.\r\n\r\nI think that it may not have much staying power.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"An impossible conversion surprisingly well done, the problem may be in the gameplay. The graphics are terrific.","Page":"36,37","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Graham Taylor","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 96, Mar 1990","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1990-02-18","Editor":"Jim Douglas","TotalPages":93,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"TRAVEL SPECIAL\r\n\r\nJIM \"private jet\" DOUGLAS (Editor)\r\nBeing a bloody stinking yuppie, our Jim just had to go on the piste, that's skiing to you. He's bought his dayglo green end purple salopettes, got some mirrored raybans and applied some of that gungy white zinc stuff to his kisser and now he's ready for a mega pose on the top of a snowy slope. God, what a poser, I hope he breaks both legs.\r\n\r\nGARTH \"where's me backpack man\" Sumpter (Staff Writer)\r\nGarfy baby has decided it's time to find himself (maan), so he's booked into a Kibbutz in The Himalayas for the summer. He's bought himself some loon pants and a string of love beads and a pack of josticks, and is now practising his spaced-out Hippie look (maaaaaaaaaaaan).\r\n\r\nOSMOND \"a nice quiet break\" BROWNE (Designer)\r\nOz decided to go for a peaceful holiday so the team recommended an 18-30's trip to Benidorm. He's hoping to meet some interesting chums and a better class of girlie (fool). He's just heard he's sharing a room with his predecessor Tim 'lagered up' Noonan and 25 of his mates. Rather you than me, matey.\r\n\r\nAL SKEAT (Production Editor)\r\nPoor old Al. She did all the ringing around for the others and booked up their vacations and the rotten sods have spent all the cash in the holiday kitty and left her with nothing. She's currently on the blower to her Auntie Vi, who says she's welcome to stay at her 'smashing' caravan on Canvey Isle, with her and Uncle Eric, as long as she doesn't mind sleeping with their incontinent Wire-haired Terrier. Al can hardly wait. \r\n\r\nNo part of this magazine may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in a data retrieval system or transcribed without express written permission from the Publishers. (Who are all in a foul mood at the moment, so don't bother asking.)\r\n\r\nAdventure: The Sorceress\r\nI've Got This Problem: Rupert Goodwins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: James Owens\r\nSenior Sales: Martha Moloughney\r\nAd Production: Emma Ward\r\nMarketing Manager: Dean Barrett\r\nMarketing Assistant: Sarah Ewing\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\nSinclair User, EMAP B+CP, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Jerry Paris\r\n\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Copyright Sinclair User 1990"},"MainText":"Label: Encore\r\nAuthor: Burkhill\r\nPrice: £2.99\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Jim Douglas\r\n\r\nOriginally written by the team behind Ghost'n'Goblins and Commando, Space Harrier was regarded as a very ambitious conversion of the Sega coin-op when it first appeared, and was largely well-received despite some criticism that the graphics were difficult to make out.\r\n\r\nThings haven't improved with age (these things don't, you know), but the game still stands up pretty well, especially since Space Harrier II has just appeared, and doesn't really fare much better.\r\n\r\nAs your valiant space knight flies through the interstellar void zapping endless hordes of boogers flying towards him, the perspective graphics struggle to retain the wonderfulness of the original coin-op; of course, they don't manage, but they have a jolly good try. The flickering chessboard ground pattern is hypnotic, and the backgrounds scroll smoothly in all directions, while the giant flying heads, serpents and whirling bladey things, inevitably depicted in mono, move so fast that it's really just a matter of hammering the fire button and hoping you hit something.\r\n\r\nThere isn't much time to aim and fire; and if you're hit by a flying meteor and drop senseless to the ground, your usual reaction will be 'Where the $!&$!did that come from!' in effect the game's very fast and frantic, but there doesn't seem to be much skill involved.\r\n\r\nThe end-of-level baddies are rather wonderful, and at this price it's worth getting Space Harrier if only because it might save you having to fork out a lot more on Space Harrier II. But don't tell Grandslam!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Classic coin-op conversion for space cadets.","Page":"82","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jim Douglas","Score":"72","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"65%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"74%","Text":""},{"Header":"Lastability","Score":"70%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"72%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 63, Jan 1987","Price":"£98","ReleaseDate":"1986-12-16","Editor":"Tim Metcalfe","TotalPages":164,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Tim Metcalfe\r\nDeputy Editor: Paul Boughton\r\nEditorial Assistant: Lesley Walker\r\nSub-Editor: Seamus St. John\r\nDesign: Craig Kennedy\r\nAdventure Writers: Keith Campbell, Paul Coppins, Steve Donoghue\r\nAmerican Correspondent: Marshall M. Rosenthal\r\nArcades: Clare Edgeley\r\nSoftware Consultant: Tony Takoushi\r\nPublicity: Marcus Rich\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Garry Williams\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Katherine Lee\r\nAd Production: Debbie Pearson\r\nPublisher: Rita Lewis\r\nCover: Steve Gibbs\r\n\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nJuly-December 98,258"},"MainText":"MACHINE: Spectrum, Amstrad, C64/128\r\nSUPPLIER: Elite\r\nPRICE: £7.95 (Spectrum), £8.95 Amstrad, £9.95/£14.95 (C64/128)\r\nVERSIONS TESTED: Spectrum/Amstrad\r\n\r\nThere's only one way to play Space Harrier. That's with the lights turned down low and some really LOUD music blasting your eardrums to pulp. That way you can experience the weirdness of this game to the full.\r\n\r\nIt's fast, it's slick and it's the most fun you'll have with your Spectrum this year.\r\n\r\nKeith Burkhill has done an astounding job on the Spectrum version - and the Amstrad and C64 versions are equally as awesome.\r\n\r\nSpace Harrier took the arcades by storm thanks to spectacular graphics and the incredible hydraulic action on the coin-op specials.\r\n\r\nOK, so the computers around at the moment can't capture the graphic quality of the original or sit you on a moving seat to reproduce the movements of a jet-pack trooper.\r\n\r\nBut they can capture the spirit and all the fast action of this abstract shoot 'em-up.\r\n\r\nThe basic idea of the computer game and the coin-op is to fly your jet-powered trooper through fast scrolling landscapes packed with creatures which could well have jumped out of a Salvidor Dali painting.\r\n\r\nYou have to zap the creatures to survive. There are rock heads, space ships, swirling elephant like things and of course the huge double headed dragons.\r\n\r\nYou get a dragon at the end of each level which must be destroyed if you are to progress to the next level. And you get a real kick out of blasting the thing - especially as it's probably knocked YOU down a few times already. You'll need several well aimed shots on target to get rid of these beasties.\r\n\r\nThe fast scrolling is smooth, and the impression of moving across the chequered landscape is near perfect. Keith has managed to get the tilting feeling as you move your trooper across the screen just about right.\r\n\r\nDespite the speed of the game the graphics are almost flicker free.\r\n\r\nBecause of the graphic limitations of the Spectrum it's sometimes hard to tell just what is coming at you. But the C64 and Amstrad versions will have solid graphics.\r\n\r\nYou score by staying alive. The numbers roll around at the bottom of the screen. And there's a nice scrolling hi-score chart which appears at the end of each session.\r\n\r\nYou get eight lives to begin with - and an extra one at the end of each zone. Especially when you first load up the game.\r\n\r\nAnimation of the space trooper is nice. He runs and zaps around the alien skies smoothly.\r\n\r\nThe only thing really lacking from Spectrum Harrier is sound. That's why you need that loud driving rock music to keep things truckin' right along.\r\n\r\nSome other magazine, which should remain nameless but we'll call Sinclair Us*r, reckoned that it was easy to get through the first few levels. That's cos they were playing a preview version The real thing 'aint easy at all.\r\n\r\nHere at C+VG we can't wait to get our hands on a finished C64 version from Elite's Chris Butler.\r\n\r\nSpace Harrier is a sure fire smash, it's a must for made addicts.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"15","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Tim Metcalfe","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Keith Burkhill."},{"Text":"More Amstrad Harrier!"},{"Text":"Space Harrier/Spectrum."},{"Text":"The real thing!"},{"Text":"Space Harrier/64"},{"Text":"Space Harrier/Amstrad"}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"AMSTRAD SCORES\r\n\r\nGraphics: 9/10\r\nSound: 7/10\r\nValue: 9/10\r\nPlayability: 10/10"},{"Text":"BURKHILL'S GUIDE TO ALIEN BASHING\r\n\r\nHere's a few tips on playing Spare Harrier from the man who put it together, They may help you survive the perils of the fantasy zone if you're lucky\r\n\r\n- Keep Spacey circling and firing all the time in a clockwise manouvre.\r\n\r\n- Trees can be destroyed - but not pillars.\r\n\r\n- Tri-ads can only be shot when they are open. Then they'll be shooting at you too...\r\n\r\n- You have to destroy both halves of the two headed monsters. Kill one half and the other becomes more deadly.\r\n\r\n- Learn the movements of the monsters,\r\n\r\n- Adapt yourself to the changing speeds of the different levels."},{"Text":"WELCOME TO THE FANTASY ZONE\r\n\r\nIt's here! The game which brought a whole new meaning to the words rock n' roll! Space Harrier is just about to take off up the charts and here we take a look at the arcade machine that started it all and the programmers who have achieved the impossible. Read on and be amazed.\r\n\r\nBreathtaking graphics and a fabulous hydraulics system are two stunning features in Space Harrier, a game which was launched at the beginning of 1986 by Sega writes C&VG's arcade ace Clere Edgeley.\r\n\r\nSpace Harrier's gameplay is relatively simple, it involves a lone warrior, travelling through vast numbers of abstract landscapes knocking out the wonderfully multi coloured baddies which hurtle you. All shapes and sizes. Some moving, some stationery. Many deadly if touched!\r\n\r\nSpace Harrier makes you leap around the screen like a cat on hot bricks to avoid all the nasties.\r\n\r\nThey don't just appear on ground level either. Some attack at head height, some come in formation. On every level you'll find at least one load of these wretches which will take some thought to blast and dodge your way through.\r\n\r\nIt's the graphics of Space Harrier that really caught everyones imagination.\r\n\r\nSpecially the amazing Chinese dragons. Huge undulating multi-coloured monsters which wriggle wildly to the front of the screen ready for battle.\r\n\r\nYou have to score several direct hits to destroy these amazing monsters and you can't move onto the next level until you've got rid of them.\r\n\r\nThere's only one on each level so take heart.\r\n\r\nThat's basically Space Harrier - screen after screen of fantastically drawn objects which get progressively harder and harder to eliminate.\r\n\r\nThe sense of 3D is uncanny and though the speed of the game adds to this impression, mention must be made of the excellent perspective and the ground which has a grid format disappearing into the distance. For graphical effects, this game is one of the best I've seen.\r\n\r\nAside from the graphics, the hydraulics make the game one of the most exciting ever to hit the arcades.\r\n\r\nThe cockpit version includes a hydraulics system which throws you around as you move the joystick.\r\n\r\nThe whole cabinet swings up and down and from side to side, and as it's very high off the ground, once you've fastened the seath belt, you really do feel as if you're in another world.\r\n\r\nSpace Harrier should convert well to a home computer. It's a pity about the hydraulics. Still, they'd look pretty outrageous attached to a Spectrum! For a programmer who has just forced the Spectrum to perform minor miracles 20 year-old Keith Burkhill is remarkably modest. As the entire C+ VG office marvelled at the speed and slickness of his conversion of Space Harrier he just shrugged his shoulders and commented: \"Every program has it's challenges.\"\r\n\r\nKeith is a veteran coder - even though his name is relatively unknown by the people who play his games. \"After Ghosts n' Goblins I did get one fan letter!\" he says.\r\n\r\nHe began programming at 17, hiding away in the bedroom of his home in the wilds of North Wales.\r\n\r\nHis first appearance in the scene was a program listing printed in Your Computer. After that he wrote Missile Defence for Anirog, Pogo and Gilligan's Gold for Ocean.\r\n\r\nThen it was on to Elite where he worked on all the Spectrum versions of that batch of recent smash hits - Commando, Ghosts n' Goblins and now Space Harrier.\r\n\r\nHe got a glimpse of Harrier in an arcade in Rhyl. \"I didn't think I'd be able to do it at first. But I went home and worked a few things out and it all eventually came together. I was working for months on the scrolling. It took ages to get that together.\"\r\n\r\nThe super-fast scrolling and the relatively flicker free screen are the things that will strike you most when you first start playing.\r\n\r\nThere are 15 levels in the Spectrum version - one less than the arcade original described by C+VG's arcade ace Clare Edgeley elsewhere on this page.\r\n\r\nAll the most famous alien attackers are in the game - including the amazing two traded dragons.\r\n\r\nAnd if you think the opening stages are fast wait till later. \"The final stages are two and a half times faster than the first level,\" says Keith. You better believe it!\r\n\r\nSpectrum Space Hairier demands all the same quick responses as the coin-op. The only thing missing is the hydraulic action - but as one industry wit pointed out you could always put a few drawing pins on your seat while you play to reproduce the action of the arcade machine!\r\n\r\nHow does Keith plan to follow up his success with Space Harrier? \"I'm not sure really. I'd like to do a sequel with different monsters. But that's up to Elite really.\"\r\n\r\nBut now the four months of hard labour are over Keith intends to spend more time on his other passion - sound recording. He'd really like to have a go at learning how to use a mixing desk in a studio. Any offers?\r\n\r\nBefore he left the C+VG penthouse Keith offered these words of advice to would be games coders. \"Copy anything you like and put together a package that you think will impress a software house. It could be anything. A game or just a routine. Learn from other programmers. I learnt a lot working in-house at Elite.\"\r\n\r\nKeith impressed the bosses at Elite - and we think his Space Harrier is going to impress you."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"10/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 100, Mar 1990","Price":"£1.3","ReleaseDate":"1990-02-16","Editor":"Julian Rignall","TotalPages":108,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Julian Rignall\r\nArt Editor: Andrea Walker\r\nDeputy Editor: Paul Glancey\r\nStaff Writer: Paul Rand\r\nAdvertising Manager: Nigel Taylor\r\nDep Ad Manager: Joanna Cooke\r\nSales Executive: Tina Zanelli\r\nProduction Assistant: Glenys \"Teddy\" Powell\r\nPublisher: Graham Taylor\r\n\r\nSubscription Enquiries to: EMAP Frontline, [redacted]\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nPrinted By: Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\nColour By: Proprint, [redacted]\r\nTypeset By: Jaz and a big fat printer\r\nDistributed By: EMAP Frontline\r\nThanks: For Nothing\r\n\r\n©C+VG 1990\r\nISSN No: 0261-3697"},"MainText":"Encore\r\nSpectrum, C64, Amstrad £1.99\r\n\r\nEnter the Fantasy Zone, be the doer of derring and generally get up to all sorts of jet-packin' fun in the first of this month's two re-releases from Elite's budget label. The world of the Space Harrier is a first-person perspective 3D landscape, where weird and wonderful fauna and flora patrol the checkerboard pastures - and they've gone berserk. So power up your jet pack, load your photon cannon and defeat the beasties before they take over the Fantasy Zone.\r\n\r\nWhat made this game a hit in the arcades was the hydraulic chair and, as it's notable by its absence in these conversions, the game doesn't have the same appeal. Especially when you consider the fact that all gameplay consists of is shooting assorted baddies.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Monochrome graphics, although detailed, tend to blend into each other making it difficult to follow the action. Apart from that, Space Harrier offers enjoyable play in the short-term.","Page":"64,65","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Wire-frame graphics keep the CPC version fast."}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"AMSTRAD SCORES\r\n\r\nOverall: 70%\r\n\r\nSimilar criticisms to the Spectrum game, although there's a lot more colour to brighten up the screen."},{"Text":"C64 SCORES\r\n\r\nOverall: 46%\r\n\r\nThe worst of the conversions, sporting poorly defined sprites and tedious gameplay. THere are much better games available than this."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"68%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]