[{"TitleName":"Super Pipeline II","Publisher":"Taskset Ltd","Author":"Nic Shulver, Steve Cook","YearOfRelease":"1985","ZxDbId":"0005029","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 18, Jul 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-06-27","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":132,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nAssistant Editor: Graeme Kidd\r\nTechnical Editor: Franco Frey\r\nArt Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nProduction Designer: David Western\r\nSoftware Editor: Jeremy Spencer\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nStrategy Reviewer: Angus Ryall\r\nStaff Writer: Lloyd Mangram\r\nContributing Writers: Matthew Uffindel, Chris Passey, Robin Candy, Ben Stone, John Minson\r\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\n©1985 Newsfield Limited.\r\nCrash Magazine is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions [redacted]\r\nEditorial/studio [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\nHot Line [redacted]\r\n\r\nColour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted]; Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset Ltd (Member of the BPCC Group), [redacted].\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCirculation Manager: Tom Hamilton\r\nAll circulation enquiries should ring [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £14.50 post included (UK Mainland); Europe: 12 issues £21.50 post included. Outside Europe by arrangement in writing.\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. The opinions and views of correspondents are their own and not necessarily in accord with those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nMICRONET:\r\nYou can talk to CRASH via Micronet. Our MBX is 105845851\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Taskset\r\nMemory Required: 48K\r\nRetail Price: £7.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\n\r\nSuper Pipeline became something of a cult game on the 64 and gave software house Taskset a big following. The Spectrum version of Super Pipeline2 is the first ever game Taskset have done on the Spectrum, and is a conversion from the 64 version of the same name.\r\n\r\nIn Super Pipeline 2 you are in charge of a gang of busy workmen who repair various long, convoluted pipes that get damaged by the nasties that come from all angles. Some of them are harmless to the pipes but not much good to yourself or your team, whereas others, like the two types of drill, make holes in the pipes. This is a Bad Thing because water is flowing down from a cistern at the top left, through the pipe, to issue at the end into a barrel. The object is to fill the barrels) before the supply in the cistern runs out. It takes a while for the water to run all the way through the pipe, so nothing is being wasted if holes are made before the water reaches them, but after that precious time and water is awasting.\r\n\r\nTo repair a hole you must guide one your workmen to the hole, at which point he will start hammering away and repairing it. It takes a few seconds to repair, and in the meantime you must protect him from the predators. This is done by using your blaster which, however, may only be fired left and right which puts you in a vulnerable position while you are climbing up or down a pipe. The workmen run on to the screen and dash around the pipe complex until they are either snatched by a nasty or come up against you, in which case they huddle at your back until led off to a repair job.\r\n\r\nWhen a barrel is filled, a tune plays and various inter-screen animation sequences take place. Each subsequent pipe is longer and more complicated than the last, later ones require more than one barrel to be filled, and of course there are more and nastier nasties. Lobsters can only be shot up from behind and the tacks are completely invulnerable.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: O/P left/right. E/D up/down, Space to fire\r\nJoystick: Kempston, Sinclair, Cursor\r\nKeyboard play: very positive response, but finicky control\r\nUse of colour: generally fine, each pipe in a different colour, but some graphics clashes\r\nGraphics: nicely sized characters with good animation\r\nSound: good tunes between screens, otherwise spot effects\r\nSkill levels: progressive difficulty\r\nLives: selectable between 1 and 8\r\nScreens: 16","ReviewerComments":["This may sound like a betrayal, but we ought to admit that there are some games where the graphics work so well on the 64 and less well on the Spectrum - the reverse is also true of course. SuperPipeline 2 is such a game. I do play games on the Commodore, and this looks so much better on that machine. Anyway, having said that, I think Taskset have done a good conversion of this madly addictive piece of frenzy. I always enjoyed the way your workmen have a mindless mind of their own, and true to British style- there's never one around when you need one! Niggles are that the horizontal pipes are hard to get onto, control is slightly tricky land it is a test of your joystick tool, and if there are a couple of workmen sheltering behind you, their characters overlap, making it hard to see the damned pipe!. Still, it is an addictive game, a playable one although a bit tough because of the things I've just mentioned, one well worth getting.\r\r\nUnknown","This was one of my favourites on the CBM. The Spectrum version has not done too badly either, it has very good cartoon like graphics which are well drawn and animated. The sound is very good for the Spectrum but it leaves a little to be desired. Playing the game is as manic, or more so, than the CBM64 version and l am very addicted to it as it is so playable. It has little sequences at the end like 'Pacman' which are very jolly. My only niggle is that when you want to cross over to another part of the pipeline you have to move your foreman exactly to the right position or else he won't move at all so if you aren't very good at playing or you have two workmen following you (so you can't see the pipe) you tend to lose lives as it takes time to get it right.\r\r\nUnknown","Super Pipeline 2 is a fast, addictive and very difficult game to play. Graphics are along the usual pipeline style but plenty of nice animation and colour. The meanies are extremely vicious and at first I thought the game was too difficult to play - I still do! I soon got very frustrated with because as soon as I had plugged one hole, another appeared. The water pouring out is realistic and nicely described. I found the up and down a little hard to get the hang of - a bit finicky. A nice game but a little too difficult for my liking. Frantic plugging!\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A conversion which suffers in comparison, but a tough and addictive game nonetheless.","Page":"114","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"77%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"80%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"81%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"80%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"86%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"79%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"79%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Spectrum Issue 19, Oct 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-09-19","Editor":"Kevin Cox","TotalPages":66,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Kevin Cox\r\nArt Editor: Phoebe Evans\r\nDeputy Editor: Peter Shaw\r\nProduction Editor: Louise Cook\r\nDesigner: Martin Dixon\r\nEditorial Consultant: Andrew Pennell\r\nSoftware Consultant: Gavin Monk\r\nContributors: Stephen Adams, Ross Holman, Tony Samuels, Ian Beardsmore, Chris Wood, Rick Robson, Dougie Bern, Chris Somerville, Max Phillips, Phil South, Stuart Jamieson, Christopher Hardy, Peter Freebrey, Dave Nicholls\r\nAdvertisement Manager: David Baskerville\r\nProduction Manager: Sonia Hunt\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Chris Talbot\r\nManaging Editor: Roger Munford\r\nArt Director: Jimmy Egerton\r\nPublisher: Stephen England\r\n\r\nPublished by Sportscene Specialist Press Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England. Telephone (all departments): [redacted]\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 Spectrum ©1985 Felden productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Spectrum is a monthly publication."},"MainText":"SUPER PIPELINE II\r\nTaskset\r\n£7.95\r\n\r\nDougie: First off, don't be taken in by the screenshots from the Commie 64 version on the inlay card. The Spectrum version's screens are just as interesting, the sprites are just as fast and smooth, but the graphics aren't as pretty and the designer chappy who colours it all in must have had the afternoon off.\r\r\r\n\r\r\nBut if looks don't matter too much, then this game's a treat. It's a bit of an exercise in uncontrolled mayhem, but it does have a cute story so it can't be that violent!\r\r\r\n\r\r\nForeman Fred heads up a bunch of mindless workmen (who resemble Ewocks in tin hats) whose job it is to make sure that the water continues to flow through the pipeline. And why shouldn't it continue to flow? Ah, didn't I mention the deadly slugs, spanners, showers of tacks, lobsters, power drills and hammers?\r\r\r\n\r\r\nThe action is fast and furious - you never get too much time to consider tactics, it's just a matter of shooting all the time and patching up the leaks.\r\r\n\r\r\nForeman Fred fixes a leak in the pipeline by leading one of the Munchkin workers over to the hole, whereupon the little man seems to do something rather obscene with a hammer. It's soon fixed but, oh no, another leak's started. And that's it really... apart from the fact that every time you manage to fill a barrel full of water at the end of the pipeline, you're whisked off to another level, a different shaped pipeline, different nasties and the same ol' mayhem.\r\r\n\r\r\r\nAbsurdly impossible, foolishly frustrating... but fun.","ReviewerComments":["It's only a couple of months since the original Pipeline appeared under a different company. You'd have to be really dedicated to want both but if it's only one you're after, this is it.\r\nRoss Holman\r\n7/10","Look. I can't hang around here. I've got a leak over there and the nasties are on my back... Pack up the grey matter and plumb the depths!\r\nRick Robson\r\n8/10"],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"47","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Ross Holman","Score":"7","ScoreSuffix":"/10"},{"Name":"Rick Robson","Score":"8","ScoreSuffix":"/10"},{"Name":"Dougie Bern","Score":"7","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 41, Aug 1985","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-07-18","Editor":"Bill Scolding","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\nEditor: Bill Scolding\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nStaff Writer: Chris Bourne, Clare Edgeley\r\nDesigner: Craig Kennedy\r\nEditorial Secretary: Norisah Fenn\r\nPublisher: Neil Wood\r\n\r\nADVERTISING\r\nAdvertising Manager: Rob Cameron\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: Kathy McLennan\r\nProduction Assistant: Jim McClure\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Linda Everest\r\n\r\nMAGAZINE SERVICES\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\n\r\nTELEPHONE\r\nAll departments [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\nCover Photograph: Sheila Rock for Roland Rat Enterprises Ltd.\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. We cannot undertake to return them unless a stamped-addressed envelope is included.\r\n\r\nWe pay £20 for each program printed and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nTypeset by Saffron Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Peterboro' Web, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1985 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\n91,901 Jun-Dec 1984"},"MainText":"Publisher: Taskset\r\nPrice: £7.95\r\nMemory: 48K\r\n\r\nThe task is hardly run of the mill and graphics hardly sophisticated in this drain of a game from Taskset.\r\n\r\nYour objective is to keep the pipeline open. No holes or gaps must appear in it and it would be more than your job is worth if water escaped and did not run into the barrels below the pipe.\r\n\r\nAs foreman Fred you have two helpers who will hammer any hole closed. But first you must collect them and lead them to the leak. Obstacles include evil insects, intent on chewing you to death, and various power tools which have wills of their own.\r\n\r\nDespite the awful graphics the player will also be disappointed with the playability of the game - worse than the original arcade version. The graphics could have been at least as colourful, even allowing for the Spectrum screen restrictions.\r\n\r\nSuper Pipeline II is like Jaws II, all packaging and no bite.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"24","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"John Gilbert","Score":"3","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"3/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]