[{"TitleName":"Stifflip & Co.","Publisher":"Palace Software","Author":"Paul Norris, Richard Joseph, Rupert Bowater","YearOfRelease":"1987","ZxDbId":"0004899","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 44, Sep 1987","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1987-08-27","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nAssistant Editor: Barnaby Page\r\nStaff Writers: Richard Eddy, Lloyd Mangram, Ian Phillipson, Ben Stone\r\nPhotographers: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson\r\nOffice: Sally Newman\r\nTechnical Editor: Simon N Goodwin\r\nAdventure: Derek Brewster\r\nPBM: Brendon Kavanagh\r\nStrategy: Philippa Irving\r\nLondon: John Minson\r\nContributors: Jon Bates, Robin Candy, Mike Dunn, Franco Frey, Dominic Handy, Nick Roberts, Mark Rothwell, Paul Sumner\r\nEducational Software: Rosetta McLeod\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION\r\n\r\nProduction Controller: David Western\r\nArt Director: Gordon Druce\r\nIllustrator: Oliver Frey\r\nLayout: Tony Lorton, Mark Kendrick\r\nProcess and Planning: Matthew Uffindell, Jonathan Rignall, Nick Orchard\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\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nTypesetting by The Tortoise Shell Press, Ludlow\r\n\r\nColour origination by Scan Studios [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 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©1987 Newsfield Limited\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Novagen\r\nRetail Price: £9.95\r\nAuthor: Binary Vision\r\n\r\nLand of Hope and Glory, cold rice pudding, wet Sundays in Manchester and long queues at the Post Office have all helped make Britain the country it is today. But above all these stands one item that has truly put the Great in Great Britain - the cricket ball. This tremendously hard orb, which can smite a human body with such force that it hurts even through a foot of mattressing, has beaten the British character into shape.\r\n\r\nBut now evil is in the air - the dastardly Count Chameleon has plans to change a cricket ball's bounce with the help of his rubber-tronic ray. This bounder must be boweled a bouncer if he is to be stopped, and Viscount Sebastian Stifflip, Professor Braindeath, Colonel R G Bargie and Miss Palmyra Primbottom are the team to do it.\r\n\r\nThe characters are controlled in turn and followed as they make their way through the perilous pitfalls that await them on the far distant South American continent.\r\n\r\nThe one you're controlling is shown in the bottom half of the comic-strip-style screen, with the previous scene in the top half; the other three characters are on the right side of the screen.\r\n\r\nIcon and menu systems allow our heroes to move, converse with other characters, and manipulate objects including lengths of rope and thread, knives and reeds. These objects will help you find solutions to the puzzles that obstruct the way to the Count and his obnoxious device.\r\n\r\nBut it's just not cricket - the bureaucrats, cretins, wide boys and rotten cads our fearless four encounter in South America can try the patience of this English party. So sometimes you'll have to land a good old thump on a foreign body with some accurate hooking, uppercutting - or ungentlemanly, but decidedly effective, punching below the belt.\r\n\r\nBe warned, however: if too many low blows are thrown divine intervention occurs, and the offending character is dispatched heavenward.\r\n\r\nThere are two parts to Stifflip & Co, loaded separately; you must complete the first to reach the second. And remember, Britain expects every man and woman to do their best.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nJoystick: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair\r\nGraphics: large and very good; monochromatic cartoon area, coloured icons\r\nSound: outstanding tongue-in-cheek title tune with equally effective in-game tunes and effects\r\nOptions: definable control keys","ReviewerComments":["Wow! You'll be addicted in an instant. The graphics are marvellous and colour is used perfectly; the sound is brilliant too, with a fantastic title tune. Stifflip & Co is packed full of jokes and humorous faces - I particularly liked the way the screens change and the sequence for hitting people. I can't find anything to moan about in this first-class game - perhaps I'm ill, or just addicted!\r\nNick Roberts\r\n91%","Brilliant! Stifflip & Co strikes just the right balance between arcade game and adventure. The graphics are great, the title tune and in-game FX are superb; I don't think there's anything wrong with Stifflip & Co. It's polished, attractive, and amusing, and requires a lot of thought. Anyone with half a brain will get hours of fun. The only problem: I can see loads of spin-offs in the future...\r\nMike Dunn\r\n92%","I haven't enjoyed an icon-driven adventure so much since The Fourth Protocol was released - and Stifflip & Co's programmers worked on it, too. Though Stifflip & Co is extremely hard to crack, the presentation is clear and simple enough to make it permanently addictive. Each problem is fiendishly constructed and very satisfying once overcome. And the superb graphics express a kind of humour which is usually restricted to text adventures, but the clever features aren't there to cover for a poor game - they add to the strong atmosphere. It's all good clean fun, and well worth persevering with.\r\nPaul Sumner\r\n88%"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: An excellent joke on the cliches of the British Empire with loads of addictive playability.","Page":"102","Denied":false,"Award":"Crash Smash","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"91","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Mike Dunn","Score":"92","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Paul Sumner","Score":"88","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Miss Palmyra Primbottom ties rope to thread - but who's she going to tie the thread to?"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"91%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"90%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"90%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 75, Apr 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1990-03-22","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":"STIFFLIP & CO.\r\nKixx\r\n£2.99 (rerelease)\r\n\r\nI remember this, it's the weird game where you have to hit people all the time. That's my expert description! Stifflip & Co. is an icon driven graphic adventure. You have to explore the various locations talking to the weird and wonderful characters who inhabit them while desperately trying to stop the plans of the evil Count Chameleon. He is a master of disguise so your task is made even harder. The horrible Count has developed the rubbertronic ray with which he plans to bring down the British Empire and radically alter the bounce of the cricket ball! Yes folks, it's that sort of wacky, zany game.\r\n\r\nThe way you control the characters is strange at first. Icons must be selected to carry out different tasks. They range from chinwag which allows you to talk, to fisticuffs for fighting and change batter (work that one out for yourself chip shop lovers!). Graphics are almost faultless, the characters and the way they animate on the detailed backgrounds is really impressive. Pieces of film down the side of the screen show the characters you're not playing and what they're up to. The real fun sequences are when you beat people up. A special punchometer device allows you to select the strongest punch possible: get it wrong though and you'll be a real wimp!\r\n\r\nIf you missed Stifflip & Co. first time round get a copy today. A spiffingly good romp.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"48","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"80","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"80%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 22, Oct 1987","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1987-09-10","Editor":"Teresa Maughan","TotalPages":108,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nArt Editor: Peter George\r\nActing Production Editor: John Leach\r\nTechnical Editor: Phil South\r\nSoftware Editor: Marcus Berkmann\r\nDesigner: Darrell King\r\nEditorial Assistant: Angela Eager\r\nContributors: Richard Blaine, Audrey & Owen Bishop, Chris Donald, Mike Gerrard, Gwyn Hughes, ZZKJ, Tony Lee, Rick Robson, Peter Shaw, Rachael Smith, Mischa Welsh, Tony Worrall\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 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 ©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":"Palace\n£9.99\nReviewer: Rachael Smith\n\n\"But Rachael\", they said, \"this isn't your sort of game!\"\n\n\"Let me at it,\" I snarled, \"I go for anything that's not floppy.\"\n\n\"But it calls for brains...\"\n\n\"Gimme!!!\"\n\nOkay, so they may think I'm just a tottie sans gorm, but I can tell you - I'm the sort of girl who just lurves a stiff upper lip. Maybe I'm not up to text adventures (let's leave the typing to that bearded hunk Mike Gerrard), but if you can find an alternative form of input, I'm game.\n\nAlternatives are just what Stifflip is all about - alternatives to traditional arcade adventuring, alternatives to tatty presentation.\n\nWhat its all about, oh my little wobbly ones, is rubber. Count Chameleon, master of disguise, has bounced back with his Rubbertronic ray, which is strong enough to take the starch out of a trainspotter's Y-fronts.\n\nSome time between one and two (World Wars, that is) the balloon goes up. Wing collars will take a crash dive, upper lips will droop and moral standards will slowly deflate, unless somebody calls for the Viscount. Not the chocolate biscuit, but Viscount Sebastian Stifflip, all-round hero and general good egg.\n\nWith him are his redoubtable team of Colonel R G Bargie (whose initials were later adopted for a famous interface); Professor Braindeath, who keeps himself alive with a solar-powered toupee: and Miss Palmyra Primbottom, the chap-ess responsible for putting the gingan-goolie in the Girl Guides.\n\nAction in Stiffy is presented in a series of frames, just like a comic strip, which peel over as the action progresses. Watching the 'page turn' is only one of the joys of the program's presentation.\n\nBefore you can investigate though there's one big problem to beat. You're all being held captive by an evil general-isimmo! How to escape his clutches? it took me a lot of brainbending until eventually the aid of Mr (my middle name's MENSA) Hughes was enrolled. Be prepared for same extremely lateral thinking.\n\nMost of your actions are easily achieved by going to the correct symbol. You want to move to the next location, for example. Choose the 'Beetle off' icon and it shows you what exits are available. Now select one with a direction key, then press fire while it's still illuminated and the picture will peel to the next frame.\n\nYou'll also find 'Chinwag' useful, as it allows you to talk to other characters, both from your team and the enemy.\n\nSometimes talk just isn't enough though, and if you're faced with one of Chameleon's thugs you'll need to thump first and ask questions later. This leads to the 'Fisticuffs'screen, a sort of fairground simulation of throwing a punch which is, to say the least, tricky. This difficulty is probably the game's greatest weakness.\n\nYou can always opt for the effective but unsporting below-the-belt punch, but two or three of these and as the caption has it 'The celestial umpire' will strike. Swiping a gaucho in the goolies just ain't cricket.\n\nStifflip is simply superb. There's really no other adventure like it. You'll keep running into brick walls until suddenly you put two and two together and stop getting five and three-quarters (my hat size, so stop taking the pith helmet) and you're off into a whole new group of locations. This is definitely one Stiffy you won't want to stifle!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Adventuring for adventurers, arcadies, anyone. Hilarious and stylish, only the too-complex combat system lets it down.","Page":"69","Denied":false,"Award":"Your Sinclair Megagame","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Rachael Smith","Score":"9","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"The main screen is simple to understand, with the current action in the bottom frame. the previous activity above. Your colleagues appear on the right, though if they're out of action they'll be behind bars, while fatalities are registered with a black cross. If you want to keep your team together you'll need to keep on switching between its members, but if not you'll be given a warning when one of them strays into danger!"},{"Text":"The notorious combat screen! First choose the type of punch with the joystick (1), by pressing a direction then fire. The target (2) will start to spin and you have to centre the crosshair then fire to swing. The spinning fist (3) indicates the power of your punch, while you and your opponent's strengths are compared on the 'ring-the-bell' machine (4). Opponent's punching power is registered by the spring (5)."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"9/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 66, Sep 1987","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1987-08-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":108,"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\nAdventure Help: Gordo Greatbelly\r\nZapchat: Jon Riglar\r\nHelpline: Andrew Hewson\r\nContributors: Richard Price, Andy Moss, Gary Rook\r\nHardware Correspondent: Rupert Goodwins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Mike Corr\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\nSubscription Enquiries [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Lee Sullivan, Jerry Paris, James MacDonald\r\n\r\nSinclair User\r\nEMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nTypeset by 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 84,699 July-Dec 1986"},"MainText":"Label: Palace\r\nAuthor: Binary Vision\r\nPrice: £9.99\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Tamara Howard\r\n\r\nStifflip & Co from Palace is set just after the First World War, at a time when the Empire was still strong, when men were men and sheep were frightened, when cricket was the only sport worth mentioning, and Nanny's word was law.\r\n\r\nAll should be peace and harmony, but there are those who wish to change the order of things, even to the point of altering the balance of a cricket ball. Yes, Count Cameleon, Master of Disguise, has perfected his Rubbertronic Ray, and is out to destroy the natural order of things and undermine the establishment. And it's up to you to stop him.\r\n\r\nThe game features four characters, anyone of whom may be played by you at any point. Viscount Sebastian Stifflip is the hero, surrounded by his trusty companions, Palmyra Primbottom, Professor Braindeath and Colonel R G Bargie... Each character is equipped with different objects and has different abilities. Palmyra's not too hot when it comes to fighting, so if she gets involved in a bit of a tussle, the best thing to do is swap over and let Stifflip take over.\r\n\r\nStifflip, the game, is a multi-load affair, but you only get on to the second load if you succeed in getting all four characters to the end of the first. The 48K version has no sound, but the 128K has some wonderfully bizarre effects like monkeys chattering in the background.\r\n\r\nIt's more of an adventure than anything else, and is played using the icons to represent the usual adventure game commands. The screen is divided roughly into thirds. In the middle are two small pictures, one showing where you are, one showing where you've just been. As you move, the pictures peel off, like pages of a book turning over, the top picture disappears, the bottom picture moves into the top slot and a new picture appears at the bottom. The right hand side of the screen shows the command icons, using daft terms eg Chinwag means talk to or trade with, Fisticuffs means fight, Beetle off means move somewhere else. On the left side are three characters not currently playing.\r\n\r\nThis is no ordinary adventure. It's an extremely clever, thoroughly outrageous and very sophisticated mickey take of the terribly-British way of life at the beginning of the century.\r\n\r\nAnd that could well be where it will fall apart. If you've seen old films from that era, and know the banter you're going to find Stifflip very funny. If, on the other hand, you aren't in the slightest bit interested in that sort of 'jolly jape' satire then you might be impressed by the graphics (which are marvellous) and puzzled by the problems themselves. And you'll soon probably get tired with the rather childish in-jokes which run through the game.\r\n\r\nI can see how the game could get you like that. However, I found it all great entertainment. It's terrific visually, the puzzles were hard, but not so hard that it's impossible to get anywhere, and Fisticuffs mode proved to be a real laugh. It works like this. Every time one of Count Chameleon's henchmen appears on screen, they will pick a fight. Enter Fisticuffs mode. You then have a choice of left or right punches, white feather (running away) or hitting below the belt (which is very effective) if unsporting. You select the punch you want, wind up the rotating arm in the middle of the screen to build up strength, and aim your punch by positioning a crosshair in the centre of the moving target at the bottom left-hand side of the screen. Press Fire and your punch will be thrown.\r\n\r\nStifflip has got to be worth a look, even if you're not normally a fan of adventures. It's beautifully drawn and great fun to play, but watch out for appalling jokes.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Visually impressive and entertaining adventure game, well worth a look. The many in-jokes could get a bit tedious though.","Page":"24,25","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Tamara Howard","Score":"8","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"PROGRAMMERS\r\n\r\nPaul Norris (left), responsible for game design and coding the C64 version. Began with Thorn EMI and joined Electronic Pencil Company before leaving to form Binary Vision with Rupert.\r\n\r\nSoftography: Ice Palace (Mastertronic, 1984), Fourth Protocol (Century, 1985), Zoids (Martech, 1986).\r\n\r\nRupert Bowater (right), responsible for game design and coding the Spectrum version. Like Paul he worked for Thorn and EPC before Binary Vision.\r\n\r\nSoftography: Fourth Protocol (Century, 1985), Zoids (Martech, 1986)."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"8/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]