[{"TitleName":"Uridium","Publisher":"Hewson Consultants Ltd","Author":"Andrew Braybrook, Dominic Robinson, John Cumming, Stephen J. Crow, Steve Turner, Steve Weston","YearOfRelease":"1986","ZxDbId":"0005525","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 35, Dec 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-11-20","Editor":"Graeme Kidd","TotalPages":164,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Publishers: Roger Kean, Oliver Frey, Franco Frey\r\nPublishing Executive/Editor: Graeme Kidd\r\nStaff Writers: Lloyd Mangram, Hannah Smith\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nStrategy Editor: Sean Masterson\r\nTech Tipster: Simon Goodwin\r\nContributing Writers: Jon Bates, Brendon Kavanagh, Rosetta McLeod, John Minson, Bill Scolding\r\nProduction Controller: David Western\r\nArt Director: Dick Shiner\r\nIllustrators: Ian Craig, Oliver Frey\r\nProduction: Seb Clare, Tim Croton, Gordon Druce, Mark Kendrick, Tony Lorton, 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\n101,483 Total\r\n97,992 UK and EIRE"},"MainText":"Producer: Hewson\r\nRetail Price: £8.95\r\nAuthor: Andrew Braybrook and Dominic Robinson\r\n\r\nThe Commodore game they said couldn't be done on the Spectrum has finally arrived. Dominic Robinson, a newcomer to the Hewson fold of programmers, has converted Uridium from the original that was designed and written by Andy Braybrook.\r\n\r\nHigh above a planet's surface huge battle cruisers called Dreadnaughts silently move into combat position. The reason for this sudden and unannounced invasion is simple; the Dreadnaughts need vast amounts of fuel. In order to get it, they must tap planetary cores and drain them of minerals. Naturally, this will result in the destruction of each planet in the sector if nothing is done.\r\n\r\nYour task as a super pilot is to fly your nifty Manta over the Dreadnaughts and make space safe by destroying each one in turn. The odds are stacked heavily against you but size is on your side. The Manta is small and versatile enough to fly very close to the Dreadnaughts and it can attack the fighters that patrol the ship's hull. The aim is to wipe out all the ancillary craft, inflict as much damage as possible and destroy the giant space ships.\r\n\r\nHowever, there is a severe drawback to this plan of action. Those fighter pilots aren't just going to sit back and let you get away with all this carnage and mayhem - they're out in force and they're gunning for you. Luckily your Manta has been equipped with powerful lasers which don't need recharging and can make short work of a fighter craft - if you're quick enough to catch it that is.\r\n\r\nA shrill siren lets you know when an attack wave is imminent, but you never know whether this attack is coming from the front or if it's going to be a crafty assault from behind. Whichever it is, you must keep your wits about you and remain cool at all times. Bonus points are awarded for destroying a complete wave of fighters.\r\n\r\nAs well as the fighters zooming into attack there is an added danger: the Dreadnaught hulls are a veritable obstacle course sprouting ariels, flanges and ducts. Sometimes sheer walls of metal rise up to meet you as you pilot your Manta at great speed - these can be identified by the shadows they cast on the hull. If your Manta crashes into an obstacle it is destroyed, and one of your three lives is lost. Some hull features can also be shot, adding to the amount of destruction inflicted on the huge mother ship.\r\n\r\nHoming mines present another problem. Automatic launchers are activated when your Manta flies over them, and when they turn red they release a mine which chases your craft. A lot of quick evasive manoeuvering is called for to escape a mine.\r\n\r\nTo avoid some of the obstacles on the hull you must fly at right angles and squeeze through some tight gaps. Holding down fire and moving up or down flips the Manta sideways and slowing down brings the Manta back to its normal aspect. If you slow down and stop, the Manta loops and rolls to face in the other direction - a useful evasive manoeuvre. Looping also lifts the craft momentarily higher off the surface of the Dreadnaught, which might help to avoid an enemy fighter or an obstacle.\r\n\r\nAfter your Manta has been in flight for a while the words 'Land Now' flash up at the top of the screen, accompanied by another siren. You now have to fly your Manta to the end of the Dreadnaught where there is a landing strip. Once you have set your craft down neatly on this landing strip, you automatically progress to the next Dreadnaught where the fun starts all over again.\r\n\r\nThere are fifteen Dreadnaughts to destroy. Each one has a different layout, more features and more attack waves for you to deal with - if you like you can play the two player option with a fellow pilot and race to save the universe...\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: Left Z, Right X, Up L, Down SYMBOL SHIFT, FIRE ENTER, Pause P\r\nJoystick: Kempston\r\nKeyboard play: joystick is easier\r\nUse of colour: mainly monochromatic\r\nGraphics: very neat fast scrolling\r\nSound: really exciting and useful spot effects plus a tune at the beginning\r\nSkill levels: one\r\nScreens: scrolling play area","ReviewerComments":["Wowee!! This game is absolutely mega. I don't care how well it compares to the Commodore version, because it's probably the best shoot em up that I've ever seen on a Spectrum. The graphics are brilliant, with some excellent scrolling, which of course isn't up to the standard of the 64 version, but it is quite stunning for the Spectrum. The title tune is very good, and the game moves at a frantic pace, often resulting in cries of 'What hit me?' and 'it missed!', but this is all jolly good, destructive fun, and that's what I like about it.\r\r\nUnknown","I really didn't expect Uridium to be up to the standards of the Commodore version, and it isn't - but it is an extremely good, fast translation. The graphics are very well done, but the monochromatic display can make it difficult to see the action. The scrolling is very fast and smooth, but I found that the Manta took quite a long time to respond when turning around. The sound consists of a good title tune and decent spot effects during the game. Overall, a first rate shoot em up.\r\r\nUnknown","I can't really say that I was looking forward to seeing this on the Spectrum as so many games C64 games die when they're converted for our faithful Sinclair. Thankfully there is still plenty of life in Uridium ZX - admittedly it has lost its colour and some of its sound but it's one of the best shoot em ups around. The speed at which the game plays is truly amazing, the screen scrolls at a tremendous rate and nothing slows down when a load of nasties come on the screen. The graphics are excellent, and everything is superbly drawn. The sound too is top hole: the tune on the title screen is marvellous and there are some worthy sound effects during the game. If you are a shoot em up freak then go out and buy this, you're not going to see better for a long while.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A very worthy version of a fast-moving shoot em up.","Page":"20,21","Denied":false,"Award":"Crash Smash","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Nasty alien pilots do their best to thwart our Cam as his Manta zooms along the hull of the first mineral-theiving space leviathan."},{"Text":"Those black gaps in the middle of the runway were enemy fighters until our Cam blasted them. Always going for the High Score, our Cam. Better watch out for those pylon doobries at the top and bottom of the screen, though."},{"Text":"Zooming along in a Manta it's the defences of a Copper Dreadnaught Cam's taking on at the moment."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"90%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"90%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"90%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 56, Sep 1988","Price":"£1.25","ReleaseDate":"1988-08-25","Editor":"Dominic Handy","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Dominic Handy\r\nAssistant Editor: Katharina Hamza\r\nSub Editors: Barnaby Page, David Peters\r\nStaff Writers: Mark Caswell, Philip King, Lloyd Mangram, Nick Roberts\r\nEditorial Assistants: Erica Gwilliam, Frances Mable, Glenys Powell\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson\r\nContributors: Jon Bates, Raffaele Cecco, Paul Evans, Simon N Goodwin, Ian Philipson, Brendon Kavanagh, Rosetta McLeod, Paul Sumner\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nArt Director: Mark Kendrick\r\nAssistant Art Director: Wayne Allen\r\nProduction Team: Ian Chubb, Melvin Fisher, Robert Millichamp, Yvonne Priest, Matthew Uffindell\r\n\r\nEditorial Director: Roger Kean\r\nPublisher: Geoff Grimes\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Roger Bennett\r\nSales Executives: Andrew Smales, Sarah Chapman\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\nSubscriptions: Denise Roberts\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nTypeset by The Tortoise Shell Press, Ludlow. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group. Distribution 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 Frances Mable 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. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates.\r\n\r\nTotal: 96,590\r\nUK/EIRE: 90,822\r\n\r\n©CRASH Ltd, 1988\r\n\r\nCover Design & Illustration by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Uridium\r\nProducer: Rack It\r\nPrice: £2.99\r\nOriginal Rating: 90%\r\n\r\nHewson's Uridium caused quite a stir when it was released for the Commodore early in 1986. Nobody thought a successful Spectrum conversion was possible. But then they hadn't reckoned with Dominic Robinson, had they! His version of this immensely successful, horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up retained all the excitement and atmosphere of the original.\r\n\r\nAs your Manta craft moves over a series of enemy cruisers, inflicting crucial damage and shooting ancillary craft, it can loop and roll to avoid obstructions on each battle cruiser's hull. Fail to negotiate a treacherous obstacle in time and your sophisticated craft explodes. A two-player option allows you to tackle the vital mission with a friend.\r\n\r\nUridium's smooth scrolling and impeccably presented gameplay combined with the slick shadow effects which denote the position of your craft as it moves over the bas-relief landscape, were extremely smart in their time and haven't been successfully emulated since. Dominic Robinson's conversion of Andrew Braybrook's successful game remains almost unique - at £2.99 it's a steal!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"86","Denied":false,"Award":"Crash Smash","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Mark Caswell","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Kati Hamza","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"90%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 12, Dec 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-11-13","Editor":"Kevin Cox","TotalPages":122,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Kevin Cox\r\nArt Editors: Martin Dixon, Caroline Clayton\r\nDeputy Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nProduction Editor: Sara Biggs\r\nStaff Writer: Phil South\r\nTechnical Consultant: Peter Shaw\r\nContributors: Stephen Adams, Mike Gerrard, Ian Hoare, Gwyn Hughes, ZZKJ, Steve Marsden, Tommy Nash, Chris Palmer, Max Phillips, Rick Robson, Rachael Smith\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Julian Harriott\r\nProduction Managers: Sonia Hunt, Judith Middleton\r\nPublishing Manager: 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 ©1986 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":"FAX BOX\nGame: Uridium\nPublisher: Hewson\nPrice: £8.95\nKeys: Z-Left; X-Right; L-Up; Symbol Shift-Down; Enter-Fire\nJoystick: Kempston\nReviewer: Gwyn Hughes\n\nFrom the depths of space they come... and they want our minerals. With a cry of 'Land - mine!' they prepare to plumb the planetary depths in search of metals, precious and otherwise. They are... the interplanetary scrap merchants!!!\n\nThey put their rag and bone carts into orbit round each of the planets of our solar system. But these aren't flea-bitten horses dragging Steptoe wagons. These aren't even interstellar skips These are sooper-dooper Dreadnoughts. And they're bi-i-i-g!!!\n\nThis is obviously the sort of situation that calls for a hero. And you are the sort of person who volunteers to fly a low level mission in a teensy weensy Manta fighter, against a huge, heavily defended hulk... aren't you? Stop trying to hide behind that potted palm - I can see you!\n\nStrapped into your cockpit - to stop you running away - you set off on what will be the flight of your life. The last flight of your life. So long, suicide jockey. It's been good to know ya!\n\nOr to put it another way - Uridium, the Commodore (boo) smash hit, has found its way onto the Spectrum, and its difficult to imagine a faster blast everything up. It's one of those rare, perfectly balanced games. One that'll keep you up into the early hours unable to pull the plug because next time you might just make the next level.\n\nSo what makes Uridium the megagame, it undoubtedly is? Could it be the turn-on-two-and-a-half-new-pence handling of your Manta, as it twists, turns and spins through space? Perhaps! Not only is the manoeuvrability of the little ship a joy to behold, it soon becomes second nature as you wrench the joystick round for another 180 degree turn. You're really in touch with the on-screen action.\n\nThen there's the strategy element. Of course you can plough on in, taking pot shots at anything and everything, but if you do you'll soon be just another entry in an alien junk man's inventory. This calls for a little subtlety, see.\n\nFor one thing you need to know your way round the behemoths, because their surfaces are covered in aerials, fortifications and even the odd outside loo (for your convenience). If you don't want to wrap yourself round one of these obstacles you'll need a fairly close knowledge of the best path... particularly since you'll be flying fast!\n\nSecond trick is to learn what class of fighter's going to make your life a misery next. Some are fairly easy, flying a nice neat pattern, but others cause more of a problem. You'll have to decide whether there's a chink in their strategy or just to avoid them.\n\nEventually you'll beat a behemoth and see that welcoming message flashing at the top of the screen, telling you it's time to land. But not to relax. Never relax! Within seconds you'll be spacebound again, battling against a new foe, with a whole new flight path to learn.\n\nThe most obvious omission, compared to the Commie original, is the colour. Hewson has sensibly opted for monochrome backgrounds, though the stars still sparkle most colourfully. This sometimes causes problems if you're trying to spot small bombs against a textured surface. But the horizontal scrolling, never easy on the Speccy, is superfast and smooth.\n\nUridrum has to be the ultimate shooting match. So remember - in space nobody can hear you scream... but your folks will tell you to shut up every time your ship gets shot to smithereens!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"92,93","Denied":false,"Award":"Your Sinclair Megagame","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Gwyn Hughes","Score":"9","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"1. Take off! If it's blue it must be Zinc, the elementary level of the game. Not too much trouble from this first flight of fighters either. Best strategy is to do a U-turn then chase them into space because they don't follow their noses - they let their missiles go first."},{"Text":"2. As you'd expect, interstellar miners have mines. Only these aren't holes in the ground but the ballistic type, like the one at the bottom that's closing in. The secret of duffing up the doughnuts is to wait for them to go into their victory dance, then pick them off."},{"Text":"3. Tricky, this one. There's one of those nice mine launchers below the wall and the fighter fly-past is a particularly tricky problem. Seems like the ideal time to pick off a bit of the scenery as you'll score points for pointless vandalism."},{"Text":"4. At last, a neat little landing - but watch out for yet more mines. Usually you'll have to fly around in the dreadnoughts wake, dodging waves of warriors until you get the message 'Come in 26, your time is up.' Don't get shot up on your home run - it's most depressing."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"9/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 35, Nov 1988","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1988-10-11","Editor":"Teresa Maughan","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nDeputy Editor: Ciaran Brennan\r\nStaff Writer: Duncan MacDonald\r\nProduction Editor: Jackie Ryan\r\nDesigner: Catherine Higgs\r\nTechnical Consultant: David McCandless\r\nContributors: Guy Bennington, Marcus Berkmann, Richard Blaine, David Cadle, Jonathan Davies, Mike 'Skippy' Dunn, Greville Edwards, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Graeme Kidd, David Powell, Peter Shaw, Rachael Smith, Phil South, Ben Stone\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Simon Stansfield\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nMarketing Manager: Bryan Denyer\r\nPublisher: Kevin Cox\r\nPublishing Director: Roger Munford\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: 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 ©1988 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":"URIDIUM\r\nRack-It\r\n£2.99\r\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\r\n\r\nGasp! Well, it had to happen, I suppose. It has been said (by me, after a few) that when Uridium finally reached cheapie status, civilisation would finally have ground to a halt. So here it is, and I haven't noticed anarchy, death and destruction yet (except in the YS offices).\r\n\r\nUridium is of course the king and queen of scrolling shoot 'em ups, the game that proved it could be done on the Spectrum and how. Since then Hewson has moved on to such glories as Zynaps, Exolon and Cybernoid, but Uridium holds a special place in all our hearts, 'cos when it came out, it was really special.\r\n\r\nAnd it remains a rip-roaring blastarama, the sort of violent experience that stops normal people like us going out on the streets and taking things out on innocent bystanders. Unless of course you've been blasted out of the sky just before reaching the end of this particular Dreadnought, in which case you could probably plead justifiable homicide. Copied to death by lesser hacks, Uridium is still as playable as ever and a cracking good zap.\r\n\r\nRecommended.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"88","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"8","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"8/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 38, Feb 1989","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-01-10","Editor":"Teresa Maughan","TotalPages":108,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Higgs\r\nDeputy Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nProduction Editor: Jackie Ryan\r\nStaff Writer: Duncan MacDonald\r\nDesigner: Thor Goodall\r\nTechnical Consultant: David McCandless\r\nContributors: Marcus Berkmann, Guy Bennignton, Richard Blaine, Ciaran Brennan, Jonathan Davies, Mike 'Skippy' Dunn, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Catherine Peters, Peter Shaw, Rachael Smith, Phil South, Ben Stone\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Simon Stansfield\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Stephen Bloy\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nAdvertisement Production: Katherine Balchin\r\nMarketing Manager: Bryan Denyer\r\nPublisher: Terry Grimwood\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: 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 ©1989 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":"URIDIUM\r\nRack-It\r\n£2.99\r\nReviewer: David McCandless\r\n\r\nSuperb shaded graphics, impeccable animation, fast and smooth scrolling (not a common combination on the Speccy) and of course that completely addictive gameplay all go to make Uridium possibly the greatest Commodore to Spectrum conversion of all time - no kidding.\r\n\r\nYou cruise along in space as the impressive battleship rolls under you. Its defence systems are activated, alert sirens sound. Intricate waves of aliens streak forwards (mechanical doughnuts, starfights and lemons) intending to mount your head over their mantelpieces. You fight - a fiery altercation in space - spinning and weaving, flipping over with stylish animation to avoid their fire, dodging the walls and pillars that rear up all round, raining your lasers on the surface of the ship. You win the fight, land and warp to the next mechanical behemoth - wondering about the fifteen more to be destroyed after that.\r\n\r\nThe graphics are fluid and fast, and grappling with inertia is a difficult and skillful affair. The scrolling is impeccable and alien attack waves tough and faster than a speeding bullet or clichés to that effect. In fact though Uridium was released in October of '86 it still looks pretty good today.\r\n\r\nIf you are extremely prejudiced towards aliens, want to fry their butts off, and would like to pilot a ship at incredible speeds then Uridium's the game for you.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"55","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"David McCandless","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 56, Nov 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-10-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":124,"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\nEditorial Secretary: Norisah Fenn\r\nAdventure Writers: Gordo Greatbelly\r\nZapchat: Jon Riglar\r\nHelpline: Andrew Hewson\r\nHardware Correspondent: John Lambert\r\nContributors: Brendon Gore, Richard Price, Rupert Goodwins, Andy Moss, Gary Rook, John Pope\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: Stewart Hughes\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 enclosed. We pay £20 for each program printed and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nTypeset by Saffron Graphics 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: Hewson\r\nAuthor: Dominic Robinson\r\nPrice: £8.95\r\nJoystick: various\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nReviewer: Graham Taylor\r\n\r\nAt the last count about twenty-seven people had explained to me, why it would never be possible to convert Uridium to the Spectrum.\r\n\r\nI almost believed them. A mistake. Here is Uridium on the Spectrum and its a closer conversion than anyone could have ever dared hoped.\r\n\r\nUridium was No 1 game on the Commodore, and proved that, done correctly, there was photon power in the old zap 'em up yet.\r\n\r\nMore than life - freshness, excitement and exuberance.\r\n\r\nThe plot: destroy a giant space aircraft carrier (that's what it looks like), by first destroying all of its defensive forces - waves and waves of variously shaped ships that hurtle along its length. At the same time blast various gun emplacements, shields, blocks and other features built on the fuselage.\r\n\r\nNow, aside from the problem of not being shot down by the increasingly vicious defensive ships there is another problem - it is very easy to hurtle straight into any one of a dozen or more obstacles on the ships surface. This causes you to explode into a ball of flames, generally a bad thing.\r\n\r\nActually, if you think about it, the above description would do for any one of a thousand arcade games. So what makes Uridium so special? Not easy to say but I think it's the slickness of the presentation and the speed and smoothness of the movement.\r\n\r\nThe only other program around at the moment to compete with it as far as making the Spectrum look like an arcade machine is Lightforce.\r\n\r\nThe sprites are elegant and sharply defined, the scrolling is very smooth (17 frames per second it says in the blurb) and virtually flickerless.\r\n\r\nMaybe my favourite section to the whole game is the way your attack fighters turn in a tight corner - executing a perfect 90 degree roll combined with a half turn. And on later levels, you'll need to fly edge-on to swoop between narrow channels on the ship's surface.\r\n\r\nWhat doesn't it have? Well it is mostly two-colour to prevent attribute problems and the sound is, well, limited.\r\n\r\nUridium is going to generate vast numbers of letters to our John Riglar pleading for infinite lives Pokes, tips and tricks. Things will get very het up and competitive - what does that all prove?\r\n\r\nThat Uridium is wonderful.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Superb arcade game. Smoother faster, slicker and more challenging than almost everything else you can currently buy.","Page":"58,59","Denied":false,"Award":"Sinclair User Classic","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Graham Taylor","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Ground based fighters obliterated. You're under attack. Get behind them to wipe them out."},{"Text":"Some sharp joystick work necessary to get through the gap and around the aerial mast."}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"HINTS AND TIPS\r\n\r\nLearn the space carrier layout carefully.\r\n\r\nDon't fly over the generator ports because they dispatch homing mines.\r\n\r\nRemember to do a ninety degree flip when flying through narrow spaces - ie, between serial masts.\r\n\r\nFor the safest result attack alien waves from behind as they always fire forward.\r\n\r\nDestroy complete alien waves to gain bonus points.\r\n\r\nShoot all ground targets to gain bonus points.\r\n\r\nAvoid areas on the earner with long shadows - this denotes higher level surface you could crash into.\r\n\r\nTo gain height to fly above alien missiles change direction using flip.\r\n\r\nAfter the Land Now message appears on screen, land on the master runway of the carrier as soon as possible to avoid the extra-nasty aliens."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 79, Oct 1988","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1988-09-18","Editor":"Graham Taylor","TotalPages":108,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Graham 'Generalissimo' Taylor\r\nDeputy Editor: Jim 'Rourke' Douglas\r\nProduction Editor: Tamara '1st Traitor?' Howard\r\nArt Editor: Gareth Jones\r\nDesigner: Andrea '2nd Traitor' Walker\r\nAdventure: The Sorceress\r\nZapchat: Jon Riglar\r\nTechnical: Andrew Hewson, Rupert Goodwins\r\nContributors: Tony 'Bon Jovi or bust' Dillon, Chris 'Mr Blag' Jenkins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Katherine Lee\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Alison Morton\r\nAd Production: Emma Ward\r\nPublisher's Assistant: Debbie Pearson\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\nMarketing: Clive 'Where have you taken my office?' Pembridge\r\n\r\nPhone: [redacted]\r\nFax: [redacted]\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nThis Month's Cover: Junior.\r\n\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1988 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\nSubscription Enquiries: [redacted]\r\n24 Hour Order Line: [redacted]\r\nBack Issues: Back Issues Department (SU), [redacted]"},"MainText":"Label: Rack-It\r\nAuthor: Dominic Robinson\r\nPrice: £2.99\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Jimmy Douglas\r\n\r\nJust in case you missed it the first time, Hewson have re-released Uridium for a piddling £2.99. It's your job to save the universe (again) by flying out into space and intercepting a fleet of alien dreadnought cruisers, currently winging their way towards earth on a mission of bug-eyed nastiness.\r\n\r\nYou fly your manta fighter over the surface of the spaceship, dodging the aerials and buildings and blowing the Sam Hill out of the alien defence fighters.\r\n\r\nThe graphics throughout are fantastic, and the action is some of the best we've seen. At the new budget price, you'd have to be completely bonkers not to buy it.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Fantastic space shoot-out stands the test of time. Fab graphics too. What more do you want?","Page":"68","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jim Douglas","Score":"90","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"90%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) Issue 7, Apr 1988","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1988-03-03","Editor":"Peter Connor, Steve Cooke","TotalPages":132,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Advanced Computer Entertainment\r\nFuture Publishing [redacted]\r\nTelephone [redacted], Fax [redacted], Telecom Gold 84:TXT152, Prestel/Micronet [redacted]\r\n\r\nCo-editors: Peter Connor, Steve Cooke\r\nReviews Editor: Andy Wilton\r\nProduction Editor: Rod Lawton\r\nStaff Writer: Andy Smith\r\nArt Editor: Trevor Gilham\r\nArt Team: Angela Neal, Sally Meddings\r\nPublisher: Chris Anderson\r\n\r\nCOVER PHOTOGRAPHY\r\nStuart Baynes Photography [redacted]\r\n\r\nSUBSCRIPTIONS & SPECIAL OFFERS\r\nChristine Stacey [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOLOUR ORIGINATION\r\nWessex Reproduction [redacted]\r\n\r\nDISTRIBUTION\r\nSM Distribution [redacted]\r\n\r\nPRINTING\r\nChase Web Offset [redacted]\r\n\r\nCopyright - FUTURE PUBLISHING LTD 1988 - No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without our permission."},"MainText":"Spectrum, £8.95cs\r\nC64/128, £9.95cs, £12.95dk\r\n\r\nAndrew Braybrook's game took about five minutes to become a classic - punters were dazzled by the super-smooth scrolling and knocked out by the metallic and menacing graphics.\r\n\r\nBasically, you have to fly around blasting the mighty Dreadnoughts - massive structures floating in space. Your ship has plenty of inertia, which some people find annoying in play. Or maybe they just find it too tricky...","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"70","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 62, Dec 1986","Price":"£98","ReleaseDate":"1986-11-16","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\r\nSUPPLIER: Hewson\r\nPRICE: £8.95\r\n\r\nThey said it couldn't be done! But Hewson programmer Dominic Robinson has done it. And done it extremely well. What has he done? Only converted the classic space zapper Uridium on to the Spectrum that's all.\r\n\r\nAndrew Braybrook's original on the 64 has spawned a billion imitators on many different machines. But there's nothing quite like original a this Spectrum version is destined to become an instant classic.\r\n\r\nThe basic idea remains the same - you zip among the mobile defence forces of an alien fleet of super-dreadnoughts, blasting everything and anything that comes your way.\r\n\r\nYour Manta fighter is amazingly aerobatic - you can loop back on yourself and spin sideways in order to squeeze through tight gaps on the dreadnought's superstructure.\r\n\r\nDon't think that just because you've played the 64 version you're going to find the Spectrum game a piece of cake - 'cos it isn't. The dreadnoughts are different. As are the attack waves.\r\n\r\nIn fact the dreadnoughts seem to be longer than on the 64 version. This may well be an optical illusion brought on by all the extra hazards Dominic has built in to the superstructure, which makes flying the length of the ship a REAL challenge.\r\n\r\nThe Spectrum version includes all the features of the original - including the lethal space mines which are fired from the dreadnought's glowing generator ports.\r\n\r\nIf anything these mines are more deadly than the 64 version's! Very fast and they very seldom miss unless you're quick to spot one emerging and escape from that sector of the ship extremely quickly.\r\n\r\nThe Manta fighter is very manoeuvrable and has built in inertia which means you can slow down by throwing one of the essential 90 degree loops. You can use this manoeuvre to avoid on-coming missiles.\r\n\r\nYou get bonus points for destroying a wave of alien defenders and for zapping destroyable bits on the dreadnought's surface.\r\n\r\nScore 10,000 plus points and you get a replacement Manta - you'll need as many as you can get.\r\n\r\nLike the 64 version you'll see a Land Now message flash when you've scored so many points. Land on the master runway and you'll get a further bonus for destroying the dreadnought totally.\r\n\r\nGraphics capture all the feel of the 64 original - solid and metallic looking. The animation of the Manta fighter is excellent and action is as fast as the original.\r\n\r\nDominic has even managed to fit in the Uridium tune and a nice hi-score chart complete with glowing letters and numbers.\r\n\r\nDon't bother with imitators - there's only one Uridium. Get it.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"42,43","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Tim Metcalfe","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"The best shoot-'em-up available on the Spectrum. Buy it."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"10/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"ZX Computing Issue 32, Dec 1986","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1986-11-20","Editor":"Bryan Ralph","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Bryan Ralph\r\nAssistant Editor: Cliff Joseph\r\nConsultant Editor: Ray Elder\r\nAdvertising Manager: John McGarry\r\nDesign: Argus Design\r\nA.S.P. Advertising and Editorial [redacted]\r\n\r\nPrinted by Chase Web\r\n\r\nAdvertisement Copy Controller: Andy Selwood\r\n\r\nDistributed by: Argus Press Sales and Distribution Ltd, [redacted]\r\n\r\nZX Computing Monthly is published on the fourth Friday of each month. Subscription rates can be obtained from ZX Subscriptions, [redacted]\r\n\r\nThe contents of this publication, including all articles, designs plans, drawings and other intellectual property rights herein belong to Argus Specialist Publications Limited. All rights conferred by the law of Copyright and other intellectual property rights and by virtue of international copyright conventions are specifically reserved to Argus Specialist Publications Limited and any reproduction requires the prior written consent of the company.\r\n\r\nArgus Specialist Publications Limited. ©1986"},"MainText":"A HIGH SPEED SHOOT-EM-UP FROM HEWSON THAT CONFOUNDED THE DOUBTERS\r\n\r\nHewson\r\n£8.95\r\n\r\nWe seem to be seeing a lot of games at the moment that were deemed impossible to create on the Spectrum even six months ago. Uridium is such a game and the fact that it has been converted so effectively from the Commodore would seem to suggest that the rule book on what is currently possible on the Spectrum will have to be rewritten yet again.\r\n\r\nAll this is good news for the game player as standards are rising significantly and Uridium is a shoot-em-up which is surprising both in its speed and subtlety.\r\n\r\nAs with the best arcade games the plot is almost irrelevant, but for the record the solar system is under attack from huge platform spaceships called Super Dreadnoughts. The aliens need the earth's mineral resources and each dreadnought is assigned a different metal are to collect. This gives the game its structure as you are put in command of a Manta Class space fighter and sent out to destroy first the Lead dreadnought then the Zinc and so on.\r\n\r\nThe action plays from left to right as opposed to the more traditional vertical shoot-em-up game. Your first objective is to knock out the enemy fighters which protect the dreadnought and then destroy the surface defences. The deck of the dreadnought is studded with structures that you can collide with and there are also generator ports which if you are unlucky enough to activate them dispense homing mines which unless you can outrun them, blow you to smithereens.\r\n\r\nOnce you have fought your way through all this you fly off the end of the dreadnought and the instruction 'Land now' flashes up. It's then time to double back and land on the main runway of the ship's deck. Even when you think you've accomplished this a mine may be activated and destroy you as you land. Successfully landing enables you to vaporise the dreadnought.\r\n\r\nAs described. Uridium may sound like 101 other shoot-em-up but it distinguishes itself both by its speed and the manoeuverability of the fighter under your control. A particularly neat touch is the fighter's method of turning - a smooth acrobatic flip which means you can literally turn on a sixpence even when travelling at speed.\r\n\r\nThe graphics too are impressive with a lot of detail. To avoid attribute clashes Uridium is fashionably monochrome with a change in colour to indicate level changes.\r\n\r\nThe game can be played with either joystick or keyboard with one or two player options and it's definitely a game that will spark endless squabbles over whose turn it is next to have a crack at the dreadnought.\r\n\r\nUridium proves there is still a lot of life left in the shoot-em-up format especially at this level of sophistication and it is highly recommended for anyone with an itchy trigger finger.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"32","Denied":false,"Award":"ZX Monster Hit","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]