[{"TitleName":"War Machine","Publisher":"Players Premier","Author":"Nigel Speight, Peter Austin","YearOfRelease":"1989","ZxDbId":"0005630","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 72, Jan 1990","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1989-11-14","Editor":"Oliver Frey","TotalPages":68,"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\nReprographics: Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Rob (the Rev) Hamilton, Jenny Reddard\r\nDesign: David Western, Mark Kendrick, 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 1990 A Newsfield Publication. ISSN 0954-8661. Cover Design by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"WAR MACHINE\r\nPlayers Premier\r\n£2.99\r\n\r\nOh hum. The solar system is in deep peril once again. An evil Allen Syndicate has gone and taken control of the mining installation on the asteroid XR27B. Using this base they swarm across the entire system bringing a wave of death and destruction. You've been selected to go and reclaim the base. You must kill all aliens you find, destroy all equipment and collect pieces of a mega-weapon that will allow you to zap the evil queen who started the whole ball rolling.\r\n\r\nSounds easy doesn't it? It would be if the programmer hadn't made the screen layouts so infuriating to get around. There are bits of scenery sticking out all over the place, and moving past them without banging your head is a skill. The game is nicely detailed and coloured though, with Exolon style sprites and movement in the main character. There are some really good music and effects through the game, better than most so called full price software!\r\n\r\nWar Machine may not be original, but it provides a cheap challenge for any arcade adventure freak. Even if the movement is annoying to begin with this is worth taking a look at.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"57","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"72","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"72%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 84, Dec 1992","Price":"£2.5","ReleaseDate":"1992-11-05","Editor":"Linda Barker","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"YOUR SINCLAIR\r\nABC 40,648\r\n\r\nEditor: Linda Barker\r\nArt Editor: Andy Ounsted\r\nStaff Writer: Jon Pillar\r\nEditorial Contributors: Craig Broadbent, Dave Golder, Tim Kemp, Simon Cooke\r\nArt Contributor: Nick Davies\r\nCover Artwork: Paul Kidby\r\nSenior Sales Executive: Jackie Garford\r\nSales Executive: Audrey Smith\r\nProduction Co-ordinator: Lisa Read\r\nProduction Technicians: Chris Stocker\r\nScanning: Simon Windsor, Jon Moore, Simon Chittenden\r\nPublisher: Colin Campbell\r\nPromotions Manager: Michelle Harris\r\nPromotions Assistant: Tamara Ward\r\nGroup Publisher: Greg Ingham\r\nCirculation Director: Sue Hartley\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair, Future Publishing [redacted]\r\n\r\nManaging Director Chris Anderson\r\n\r\nPrinters: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nSubscriptions: Future Publishing Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Future Publishing 1992. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the signed permission of Richard and David Darling.\r\n\r\nISSN 0269 6983\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair wobbles but it doesn't fall down with Commodore Format, Amstrad Action, Amiga Format, PCW Plus, PC Answers, Mega, Super Play, PC Plus, Sega Power, Amiga Power, Amiga Shopper, Classic CD, Needlecraft, Cycling Plus, Photo Plus, Mountain Biking UK, PC Format, Public Domain, ST Format, Total! and Today's Vegetarian\r\n\r\nToday's decoration - paper carnations... Fold some pink toilet paper in half and cut along the folded edge. Fold the tissue backwards and forwards like a concertina. Slide a hairgrip into the middle of the concertina. Fluff out the tissue above the hairgrip. This is the carnation. Honest."},"MainText":"Players Premier\r\n£2.99 cassette\r\nReviewer: Linda Barker\r\n\r\nWe found this one lurking behind the footie sims in John Menzies. As we'd never seem it before, we thought we'd take it back to the Shed and guive it a good blast on the old Speccy. We wondered why YS had never reviewed it before, but we didn't dwell on the fact, we put it down to fate and postmen.\r\n\r\nAlter two seconds playing time it was all too too clear why we'd never been sent War Machine to review - it's a lod of old twaddle. Okay, so it was originally released in 1989 but that's no excuse. War Machine is the everyday tale of a spaceman on a mission to destroy an alien queen, the alien breeders and the alien equipment. While he's at it, Mr Spaceman must also gather up the parts of pod that's needed to kill the alien Queen. (Yawn.) It's a familiar plot and I'm sure it's been put to good use before. In fact, if a game's good you can often ignore the vagaries of the plot. But if the plot's bad and the gameplay's bad, there's only one conclusion to be drawn - it's a bad game.\r\n\r\nWar Machine has absolutely no addictiveness, no nice little touches (apart from the 'You Are Now Dead' box that pops up from time to time) and no originality. The gameplay is dull, the graphics are blocky in the worst sense and your little sprite often disappears behind some obstacle. You can play War Machine, but there isn't any fun to be had in doing. A couple of people who know all about programming games saw me playing War Machine, \"Oh dear, it's one of those ready-in-a-week games isn't it?\" And d'you know, in a funny kind of way - it is.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"14","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Linda Barker","Score":"30","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"As the night began to descend, the little angel decided that it was time he was tucked up in bed. Unfortunately, he seemed to have left his keys indoors. Dumbo!"},{"Text":"It was just a wonderful dream. As Michael stood on the rock, he noticed three massive fruit gums speeding towards him. Yummy! Yellow was his fave flavour!"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"30%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 49, Jan 1990","Price":"£1.7","ReleaseDate":"1989-12-18","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":108,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Peters\r\nDeputy Editor: David Wilson\r\nProduction Editor: Andy Ide\r\nDesigner: Martin Sharrocks\r\nTechnical Consultant: Jonathan Davies\r\nContributors: Robin Alway, Marcus Berkmann, Phoebe Cresswell-Evans, Jonathan Davies, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Paul Lakin, Duncan MacDonald, Rich Pelley, Dave Robinson, Jackie Ryan, Phil South, Wag, Louise Willers\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Lynda Elliott\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Caroline Day\r\nClassified Advertisement Executive: Chris Skinner\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nAdvertisement Production: Claire Baker\r\nMarketing Manager: Bryan Denyer\r\nNewstrade Circulation Manager: Stephen Ward\r\nSubscription Manager: June Smith\r\nPublisher: Teresa Maughan\r\nGroup Publishing Director: Richard Howell\r\nGroup Creative Director: Tony Spalding\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: Point Five [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinted By: Riverside Press [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":"WAR MACHINE\r\nPlayers Premier\r\n£2.99\r\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\r\n\r\nPlayers is to be congratulated for its determination to keep bringing out new cheapie games - even if sometimes they're not up to much. Certainly War Machine is hardly the most inspired game, taking its many ideas from so many other games that I could scarcely keep count as I was playing. It's part arcade adventure (collect the bits), it's part shoot-'em-up ( and avoid-'em-up too - you need quick reactions), but mainly it's not much cop. You're in the usual alien fortress, trying to collect parts of a top secret weapon in order to kill the chief alien - I mean, PLEASE, we have been this way before. So you jump around some blocky graphics getting killed a lot, and although it looks alright and plays alright, there's nothing terribly imaginative about it and the whole game has a slightly unfinished, bodged-together look. Monstrously unoriginal, its main challenge lies in wondering whether to turn it off and throw it out of the window. There she goes!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"52,53","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"35","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"35%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 94, Jan 1990","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-12-18","Editor":"Jim Douglas","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"JIM \"Keyring\" DOUGLAS (Editor)\r\nLike all Editors, Jim's absolutely loaded with cash and his car is a luxury status symbol that goes with his high-flying ulcer-inducing job editing Sinclair User. You know you've hit it big when Jim asks if the keys to his Nissan Micra will fit in your handbag!\r\n\r\nALISON \"Toot Toot\" SKEAT (Production Editor)\r\nAl Drives the SU Bus! Every morning she honks the horn and collects the rest of the team and drives them off for another day at the office. Hera she is, bright and early on a Monday morning, ready to get 'on the case' (alright, so she's in the office on a Friday afternoon holding a plastic bin lid).\r\n\r\nOSMOND \"Brake, Brake!\" BROWNE (Designer)\r\nOz, our new design wizard is preparing for his test at the moment, and seems to be having trouble with reversing around corners, but he firmly believes that in no time he'll be behind the wheel of his vary own DeLorean Snowstorm.\r\n\r\nGARTH \"Firestone\" Sumpter (Staff Writer)\r\nAlways on hand to steady a sometimes rocky and panic-ridden ship, Garth soothes the worries of the team away with his stories of articulated lorry racing round Silverstone. \"Which reminds me of the time I hit the chicane at 90 with no steering...\"\r\n\r\nAdventure: The Sorceress\r\nI've Got This Problem: Rupert Goodwins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: James Owens\r\nSenior Sales: Martha Moloughney\r\nAd Production: Emma Ward\r\nMarketing Manager: Dean Barrett\r\nMarketing Assistant: Sarah Ewing\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\nOur Address: [redacted]\r\nOur Phone Number: [redacted]\r\nOur Fax No: [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Clive Goodyear\r\n\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\nTypeset By Mr Douglas and Mr Sumpter at Jimmy's Setting Emporium\r\nDistributed by EMAP Frontline.\r\n\r\nSubscription Enquiries: [redacted]\r\n24 Hour Order Line: [redacted]\r\nBack Issues: Back Issues Department (SU), [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Copyright Sinclair User 1989/90 ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\nNo part of this magazine may be reproduced/transcribed, stored in a data retrieval system etc etc, or you'll go to gaol forever. We will, however, be giving a special prize to anyone who can reproduce this issue in the smallest possible form. Send entries to the address above. Must be smaller than a cassette tape."},"MainText":"YPrice: £2.99\r\nJoystick: Kempston\r\nReviewer: Andrew Buchan\r\n\r\nWar Machine is a really the complete Bore Machine. You'd expect the Players Premiere label to come up with something better than this crap but no.\r\n\r\nAs usual, you have been selected for a dangerous mission. You must rid an asteroid of a nasty alien queen and her swarming armies of nasty little breeders. To accomplish this you must collect the parts of a secret weapon in order to kill her whilst creating the maximum amount of destruction on the asteroid.\r\n\r\nThere's nothing new here, in fact I thought this type of genre of game was dead and buried but like the living dead this lives on.\r\n\r\nThe complex of the queen is large and you need to collect keys to get from one part to another. You get five lives with which to complete your long and boring task.\r\n\r\nThere are two weapons: a gun and a grenade and I didn't see any scoring on the game.\r\n\r\nEDITOR FOR A DAY","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"It's crap. Run away from it on sight!","Page":"51","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Andrew Buchan","Score":"35","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Leap, sproing, zap. Yes it's all go as you try to kill the Queen of the asteroid and her swarming army of 'orrible little breeders."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"79%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"80%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"35%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 94, Jan 1990","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-12-18","Editor":"Jim Douglas","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"JIM \"Keyring\" DOUGLAS (Editor)\r\nLike all Editors, Jim's absolutely loaded with cash and his car is a luxury status symbol that goes with his high-flying ulcer-inducing job editing Sinclair User. You know you've hit it big when Jim asks if the keys to his Nissan Micra will fit in your handbag!\r\n\r\nALISON \"Toot Toot\" SKEAT (Production Editor)\r\nAl Drives the SU Bus! Every morning she honks the horn and collects the rest of the team and drives them off for another day at the office. Hera she is, bright and early on a Monday morning, ready to get 'on the case' (alright, so she's in the office on a Friday afternoon holding a plastic bin lid).\r\n\r\nOSMOND \"Brake, Brake!\" BROWNE (Designer)\r\nOz, our new design wizard is preparing for his test at the moment, and seems to be having trouble with reversing around corners, but he firmly believes that in no time he'll be behind the wheel of his vary own DeLorean Snowstorm.\r\n\r\nGARTH \"Firestone\" Sumpter (Staff Writer)\r\nAlways on hand to steady a sometimes rocky and panic-ridden ship, Garth soothes the worries of the team away with his stories of articulated lorry racing round Silverstone. \"Which reminds me of the time I hit the chicane at 90 with no steering...\"\r\n\r\nAdventure: The Sorceress\r\nI've Got This Problem: Rupert Goodwins\r\nAdvertisement Manager: James Owens\r\nSenior Sales: Martha Moloughney\r\nAd Production: Emma Ward\r\nMarketing Manager: Dean Barrett\r\nMarketing Assistant: Sarah Ewing\r\nPublisher: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\nOur Address: [redacted]\r\nOur Phone Number: [redacted]\r\nOur Fax No: [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Clive Goodyear\r\n\r\nPrinted by Nene River Press, [redacted]\r\nTypeset By Mr Douglas and Mr Sumpter at Jimmy's Setting Emporium\r\nDistributed by EMAP Frontline.\r\n\r\nSubscription Enquiries: [redacted]\r\n24 Hour Order Line: [redacted]\r\nBack Issues: Back Issues Department (SU), [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Copyright Sinclair User 1989/90 ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\nNo part of this magazine may be reproduced/transcribed, stored in a data retrieval system etc etc, or you'll go to gaol forever. We will, however, be giving a special prize to anyone who can reproduce this issue in the smallest possible form. Send entries to the address above. Must be smaller than a cassette tape."},"MainText":"Label: Players Premiere\r\nPrice: £2.99\r\nJoystick: Kempston\r\nReviewer: Garth Sumpter\r\n\r\nYet another platform 'leap, sproing, cavort whilst dishing out a bit of mega death' game. The plot is a little tenuous as Andrew points out and I think he's probably showing some of the dissatisfaction felt by punters when a game seems to have a scenario written vaguely around it once it's completed. War Machine isn't as bad as he makes out however as the graphics are crisp and the game does move nicely along. It is somewhat boring though as he says with not quite enough of the added bells, whistles and depth of gameplay that buyers now expect.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Nice graphics but far too shallow in gameplay.","Page":"51","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Garth Sumpter","Score":"61","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Leap, sproing, zap. Yes it's all go as you try to kill the Queen of the asteroid and her swarming army of 'orrible little breeders."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"81%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"83%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"61%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]