[{"TitleName":"Trans-Atlantic Balloon Challenge","Publisher":"Virgin Games Ltd","Author":"Ray Owen, Stephen N. Curtis","YearOfRelease":"1987","ZxDbId":"0005377","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 43, Aug 1987","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1987-07-30","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nAssistant Editor: Barnaby Page\r\nStaff Writers: Lloyd Mangram, Richard Eddy, 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: Gareth Adams, Jon Bates, Robin Candy, Mel Croucher, Mike Dunn, Franco Frey, Dominic Handy, Nick Roberts, Mark Rothwell, Paul Sumner\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, Tim Croton, Seb Clare\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: Virgin Games\r\nRetail Price: £7.95\r\nAuthor: Maxwell Technology\r\n\r\nRecently obsessed with inflatable objects, Richard Branson attempts to cross the Atlantic in a balloon. The screen is divided horizontally with Branson's Virgin Atlantic Flyer occupying the upper airspace and his rival the lower.\r\n\r\nAccompanying each craft is a controllable eagle, with sonic-beam eyes. Using these weapons the tame eagle can destroy aircraft and the pots of paint and puncture bombs which they drop and which can cause the balloon to lose height. And contact with the large fire-belching missile destroys the balloon and its crew.\r\n\r\nBut each enemy destroyed by your eagle's beam earns you points.\r\n\r\nAnd each eagle can leave its own balloon, travel to the other playing area and there wreak havoc upon your rival's aeronautical ambitions.\r\n\r\nHowever, these birds have limited energy, reduced by every wing flap and by contact with a rival's sonic beam.\r\n\r\nThe altitude of a balloon can be controlled using a burner icon. But activating this uses valuable fuel, and if fuel falls to zero the balloon falls and the intrepid airmen are dunked like biscuits in the North Atlantic.\r\n\r\nThe balloon can also gain height in the summer sun's warmth, but likewise drops seaward when the darkness of night descends.\r\n\r\nChildren borne by a surfeit of balloons are occasionally carried upward. Shooting these levitating brats incurs penalties, but the eagle can rescue them for big bonuses.\r\n\r\nTo add to Branson's pickle, rival eagles can push the Virgin balloon off its planned course.\r\n\r\nThere is a two-player option.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: Q up, A down, O left, P right, SPACE fire\r\nJoysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair\r\nUse of colour: vivid\r\nGraphics: poor\r\nSound: annoying spot FX\r\nSkill levels: one\r\nScreens: transatlantic scrolling","ReviewerComments":["Virgin seem to spend most of their time writing games without much playability, just to promote Richard Branson's attempts to get in the record books. Most normal CRASH readers will soon get bored of this.\r\r\nNick Roberts","You'd have thought that after the mediocre boat-race game (Virgin Atlantic Challenge Game, CRASH Issue 32) the folks at Virgin would have come up with something better - but they don't seemed to have learned from their mistakes. This balloon game is even more tedious and irrelevant than its predecessor. Whet graphics do appear are good, which goes to show that if they'd spent more time on the game it could have been a decent product. As it is Trans-Atlantic Balloon Challenge has very little content, though games of this genre need holding power. It's much more fun to follow Branson's ballooning on the telly than to play the game.\r\r\nPaul Sumner","Yawn! As if the event itself hadn't been overhyped to the point of internal collapse, then the game itself has. is this what all the adverts are trying to sell? The graphics are poor, and the colour choices are appalling. Tedium sets in after about two minutes (a new world record, surely!)\r\nMike Dunn"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: An improbable and unplayable shoot-'em-up.","Page":"82,83","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Paul Sumner","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Mike Dunn","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Graceful birds alight on your balloon, the reassuring him of a distant aeroplane... a moment of tranquil repose in Trans-Atlantic Balloon Challenge."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"60%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"44%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"20%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"21%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"22%","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: Virgin\r\nAuthor: Maxwell Technology\r\nPrice: £7.95\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Deniz Ahmet\r\n\r\nSo Branson's down. It's all over. And who cares? Well Virgin does and it's put out a very bizarre game - the Transatlantic Balloon Challenge based on the (non)event of the same name. Its like one of those two-player split-screen motor racing games except that it's with balloons - and about as speedy and exciting as all that could imply.\r\n\r\nAs well as the split-screen balloons you get four icons on the right which control height, steering etc and also an indicator box which shows score, lives, fuel, energy and attitude. A central block shows your balloon's position over the ocean, represented by a tiny white dot.\r\n\r\nThe key to the whole thing is you are an eagle with a sonic beam! You are!! Fly around and defend your balloon from missiles and bombs.\r\n\r\nA poorly executed game which does no credit to the crossing in any way whatsoever.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Complete tosh. Possibly even worse than East Enders! A definite no-buy.","Page":"64","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Deniz Ahmet","Score":"2","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"2/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]