<Author>Mark Lucas</Author><Publisher>Firebird Software Ltd</Publisher><Reviews><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Kevin Cox</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Kevin Cox Art Editor: Hazel Bennington Deputy Editor: Peter Shaw Production Editor: Louise Cook Art Assistant: Martin Dixon Editorial Consultant: Andrew Pennell Software Consultant: Gavin Monk Contributors: Stephen Adams, Dave Nicholls, Roger Willis, Ross Holman, Terry Bulfib, Chris Wood, Sue Denham, SQ Factor, Tony Samuels, AM Grant, B Hobson Advertisement Manager: Joe Harrower Advertisement Executive: David Baskerville Production Manager: Sonia Hunt Group Advertisement Manager: Jill Harris Group Art Director: Jimmy Egerton Managing Editor: Roger Munford Publisher: Stephen England Published by Sportscene Specialist Press Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England. Telephone (all departments): [redacted] Typesetters: Carlinpoint [redacted] Reproduction: Graphic Ideas, London Printers: Chase Web Offset [redacted] Distribution: Seymour Press [redacted] All 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.</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Your Spectrum Issue 14, May 1985</Name><Price>£0.95</Price><ReleaseDate>1985-04-18</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>74</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>VIKING RAIDERS Firebird £2.50 Roger: This knockabout Nordic wargame features up to four armies slapping each other around a map showing angular fjords and the various battle formations. Swordplay, siege catapults and searfaring sorties are only a part of the potential conflict. The hordes of Wotan The Wicked, Odin The Odious, Brunhilda The Bold and Egbert The Exccrable, swarm across the northern tundra to battle it out under human control or computer substitution. But it's nothing to go berserk about! To enjoy such uncivilised and aggressive behaviour demands a special penchant for this type of action, because the graphics are seriously underwhelming. The kick must be on a cerebral strategy scale but, if it is, I failed to find the fun and my concentration swiftly withered into plug-pulling boredom. If it's supposed to be about Scandinavian rape, pillage and loot tendencies, I think I'll stick to the crispbread...</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>50</Page><ReviewScores i:nil="true" /><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays"><d5p1:string>I've always found something lacking in Speccy strategy games. For the price though Viking Raiders is pretty good value if you're a strategist. Dave Nicholls 2/5 MISS</d5p1:string><d5p1:string>This war game is slow and basic (in both senses). Still, I like the bit when your army stumbles on some booze and gets rapidly drunk. I knowhow they feel. Ross Holman 1/5 MISS</d5p1:string></ReviewerComments><Reviewers><Reviewer><Name>Dave Nicholls</Name><Score>2</Score><ScoreSuffix>/5 MISS</ScoreSuffix></Reviewer><Reviewer><Name>Ross Holman</Name><Score>1</Score><ScoreSuffix>/5 MISS</ScoreSuffix></Reviewer><Reviewer><Name>Roger Willis</Name><Score>1</Score><ScoreSuffix>/5 MISS</ScoreSuffix></Reviewer></Reviewers><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Bill Scolding</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Bill Scolding Deputy Editor: John Gilbert Consultant Editor: Mike Johnston Staff Writer: Chris Bourne, Clare Edgeley Illustrator/Designer: Craig Kennedy Advertisement Manager: Rob Cameron Deputy Advertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe Advertisement Sales Executive: Kathy McLennan Production Assistant: James McClure Advertisement Secretary: Claudia Viertel Editorial Assistant: Colette McDermott Subscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne Assistant Publisher: Neil Wood Publisher: Gerry Murray Sinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications 96,271 Jan-June 1984 Telephone Editorial and advertising departments [redacted] If you would like to contribute to Sinclair User please send programs or articles: Sinclair User EMAP Business & Computer Publications [redacted] Original programs should be on cassette and articles should be typed. We cannot undertake to return them unless a stamped-addressed envelope is included. We pay £20 for the copyright of each program published and £50 for star programs. All subscription enquiries to Magazine Services, EMAP Business & Computer Publications [redacted] ©Copyright 1985 Sinclair User ISSN NO. 0262-5458 Printed and typeset by Cradley Print PLC, [redacted] Distributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Sinclair User Issue 34, Jan 1985</Name><Price>£0.85</Price><ReleaseDate>1984-12-13</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>212</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>BARGAINS ARE BOOTYFUL BOOTY Memory: 48K Price: £2.50 Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair, Programmable VIKING RAIDERS Memory: 48K Price: £2.50 THE WILD BUNCH Memory: 48K Price: £2.50 EXODUS Memory: 48K Price: £2.50 Joystick: Cursor, Kempston In a bid to capitalise on the computer gaming scene, British Telecom has recently entered the market with their Silver range of games - priced at £2.50. They are a mixed bag. BT's claim that the games are worthy of a five pound price tag seems to be applicable to only two of the games reviewed here. The remaining two would be expensive at any price over £2.50. In Booty, you play the pan of Jim the Cabin Boy who finds himself aboard the infamous pirate ship - the Black Galleon. One night while most of the pirates are sitting down to a steady drinking spree Jim creeps round the levels of the ship to steal their loot. However, life is not always a game and Jim finds himself in the suds when he realises that not all the pirates are drunk - some have been left on guard. To get into their cabins, he has to steal the keys from under their noses. The graphics are excellent with half the game portrayed in the increasingly popular style reminiscent of Sabre Wulf and Pyjamarama. Viking Raiders is a different kettle of fish. It is a strategy game set amongst warfaring vikings back in the days of King Canute. There are four armies, each headed by a Viking chief. The aim is to defeat the other three armies and become victor and ruler of the area. Dirty tricks abound and your catapults can be used to devastating effect. The graphics are sparse and basic. Each army takes a different colour which is hard on the eyes. Bright blues, pinks and greens may look nice in the programmer's imagination but they look terrible to the player who has to squint to see what is going on. However, there is enough appeal in the game to detract from these basic graphics. The remaining two games are The Wild Bunch and Exodus. The Wild Bunch is an adventure set in the wild west. Framed for a murder you didn't commit, you are out to nail the Wild Bunch. The game resembles a superior multiple choice with a selection of options given to you at every move. Adventures written in that style are rarely as exciting as those written in the more conventional mode - they rapidly become tedious. Billed as a graphical adventure, The Wild Bunch has a few scenes dotted around the adventure which are well depicted. For the most part though it appears to be mostly text. Exodus is your average arcade game packed with characters cloned from other games. Mutant llamas abound, hovver mowers, galleons and TV sets lurk and assorted aliens merely wait to get you. The game lacks excitement, the graphics flicker and the sound is fairly average.</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>39</Page><ReviewScores><ReviewScore><Header>Gilbert Factor</Header><Score>6/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore></ReviewScores><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers><Reviewer><Name>Clare Edgeley</Name><Score>6</Score><ScoreSuffix>/10</ScoreSuffix></Reviewer></Reviewers><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Tim Metcalfe</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Tim Metcalfe Deputy Editor: Wendie Pearson Editorial Assistant: Lesley Walker Staff Writer/Reader Services: Seamus St. John Art Editor: Linda Freeman Designer: Sylvia Wells Production Editor: Mary Morton Advertisement Manager: Louise Matthews Advertising Executives: Bernard Dugdale, Sean Brennan, Phil Godsell Production Assistant: Melanie Paulo Publisher: Rita Lewis Editorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted] COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES POSTAL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE. By using the special Postal Subscription Service, copies of COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES can be mailed direct from our offices each month to any address throughout the world. All subscription applications should be sent for processing to COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES (Subscription Department), [redacted]. All orders should include the appropriate remittance made payable to COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES. Annual subscription rates (12 issues): UK and Eire: £15. Additional service information including individual overseas airmail rates available upon request. Circulation Department: EMAP National Publications. Published and distributed by EMAP National Publications Ltd. Printed by Severn Valley Press. Typeset by In-Step Ltd. Cover: Jef Riddle</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 41, Mar 1985</Name><Price>£0.95</Price><ReleaseDate>1985-02-16</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>124</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>MACHINE: Spectrum SUPPLIER: Firebird PRICE: £2.50 Viking Raiders is just one of the flood games from Firebird - British Telecom's software spinoff who have entered the budget price game market. And a nice little game it is too. You take part in a battle between four Viking overlords. Four human players can fight it out - or any combination human and computer players. The battlefield features fjords which freeze over as the game progresses making the movement of armies easier, although you can use all the gold you have in the VSB Viking Savings Bank stupid! - to buy longboats, armies and catapults. The aim of the game is to move your forces around the battlefield and conquer your opponents' castles - before they do the same to you. The characters - like Odin the Odious and Wotan the Wicked - have their own specific characteristics, and are amusing too! There is even a wicked lady Viking warrior - just as tricky as the men. The program is well presented, with lots useful prompts which flash up at the bottom of the screen during loading and play. The documentation is good - backed up by good instruction screens within the gameitself. The graphics are not much to write home about - but who cares when you can get an entertaining game for just £2.50. Good value, Firebird!</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>25</Page><ReviewScores><ReviewScore><Header>Graphics</Header><Score>7/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Sound</Header><Score>6/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Value</Header><Score>9/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Playability</Header><Score>8/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore></ReviewScores><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers /><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review></Reviews><TitleName>Viking Raiders</TitleName><YearOfRelease>1984</YearOfRelease><ZxDbId>0005573</ZxDbId>