[{"TitleName":"Action Reflex","Publisher":"Mirrorsoft Ltd","Author":"Christian F. Urquhart, Medusa","YearOfRelease":"1986","ZxDbId":"0000078","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 31, Aug 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-07-31","Editor":"Graeme Kidd","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Publishers: Roger Kean, Oliver Frey, Franco Frey\r\nEditor: Graeme Kidd\r\nStaff Writers: Tony Flanagan, 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\r\nProduction Controller: David Western\r\nArt Director: Dick Shiner\r\nIllustrators: Ian Craig, Oliver Frey\r\nProduction: Gordon Druce, Tony Lorton, 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"},"MainText":"Producer: Mirrorsoft\r\nRetail Price: £7.95\r\nAuthor: Christian Urquhart\r\n\r\nAnother ballgame with a difference! The central character in this game is a chequered ball which has been trapped inside a linked sequence of three mazes. The sphere has to be guided through the whole course three times in all, each trip through the mazes more difficult to make, before freedom is won.\r\n\r\nLike most balls, the star of Action Reflex can roll along the floor - in this flip-screen playing environment, to the left or right. Bouncing is also in the repertoire: holding the fire button makes the Round One bounce higher and higher until maximum bounce has been achieved. The game is played against the clock, represented by a chart at the bottom of the screen. As time progresses a yellow pointer gradually moves towards the red danger zone, and if the current section of maze is not completed before the time limit expires, it's curtains.\r\n\r\nA variety of static and mobile obstacles must be avoided or evaded: bullets are shot from the ceiling; boxing gloves punch the spherical hero skywards, impaling it on dangerous looking spikes; magnets lure the bouncing ball to the top of the screen and hold it immobile until a dart comes along. Nearer ground level, drains suck the ball downwards and pools of water lurk in which unsuspecting balls can easily drown. Air vents whoosh the ball upwards through a vacuum delivery system and suck it along overhead pipeways to deliver the reluctant prisoner back to an earlier part of the maze. Whenever the ball is burst, time is lost and play restarts from one edge of the current screen.\r\n\r\nSome objects in the game can be of use to your little bouncing chum on its travels. These are not collected on the journey as in most arcade adventure games, but are awarded automatically according to the number of points that have been amassed. Points are dotted around the maze in a variety of denominations, and are collected by rolling through or bouncing onto them. Once five hundred points are nestling comfortably in your pocket, a rubber ring is thrown your way. This makes it possible for the ball to pass unscathed over a stretches of water. Seven hundred points is the price of a hammer that comes in very handy for breaking down one of the glass walls blocking off explorable areas of the maze. A key is slipped into your possession when nine hundred points have been collected, and can be used to unlock underground chutes that provide safe passage through tricky areas. These items can only be used once, and icons in the status area keep track of the quantity of each of the tools in stock.\r\n\r\nWhen a direction key is pressed and held, the ball gathers speed and two sets of chevron arrows under the time display give a readout of the speed of travel. Releasing a key allows the ball to slow down and come to rest - there are no brakes! The speedometer is useful when fudging large leaps or when avoiding bullets and spurts of flame which suddenly erupt from cracks in the floor. When time runs out, the game ends and a result screen pops into view to report on progress. Better luck next time, eh?\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: Z left, X right, SPACE increase bounce, P pause, Q quit\r\nJoystick: Kempston, Cursor, Interface 2\r\nKeyboard play: no problems\r\nUse of colour: very attractive\r\nGraphics: nice animation, lots of detail\r\nSound: good effects\r\nSkill levels: one - gets progressively harder\r\nScreens: 7","ReviewerComments":["The preview copy of Action Reflex looked very entertaining so I've been waiting for the proper copy for a few weeks now. I am not at all disappointed. This game has a really good feeling about it that keeps you playing: there are lots of nice graphical touches which help, like the bulge in the pipe when you are shot up it. The graphics are very near perfect - all the characters are very well animated and the scenery is very well drawn. My only niggle is that there is a touch of colour clash on the more colourful screens. The use of colour is excellent throughout the game, and is never garish. The sound is fairly average but there are some nice spot effects. A very playable and addictive game which I can recommend strongly.\r\r\nUnknown","At first sight this game seems like Bounder, but viewed from the side. After playing a few goes, I soon realised that Action Reflex also has good depth to it that should keep any arcade player at the Spectrum for ages. The game is very playable and extremely addictive. Although Action Reflex has some old ideas, taken as a whole, the game format seems quite original, and is lots of fun to play. The ball moves around the screen very smoothly, although I feel it moves more like a stone. Action Reflex is definitely a move in a new direction.\r\r\nUnknown","Neato! Lots of colour and very nice graphics make Action Reflex very attractive visually. The loading method is very clever, but the loading screen is not particularly brilliant. I found it very playable, and despite the continual frustration, it also seems to be pretty addictive. The colour and graphic style is reminiscent of Chris Urquhart's last game, and very good it is too. Though not absolutely stunning, this game is a lot of fun: I like it.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A very good game, frustrating at times but addictive.","Page":"28","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Another action snap. The unwary sphere landed on that trigger pad, which activates the magnet. A dart is then despatched to deal death to the spherical adventurer as it is held helpless..."},{"Text":"Cameron's been practising his action photography - here's a snap of the ACTION REFLEX ball in mid flight, as it travels towards a set of ceiling spikes after being biffed by a boxing glove."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"86%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"89%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"88%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"88%","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":"Action Reflex\r\nProducer: Ricochet\r\nPrice: £1.99\r\nOriginal Rating: 88%\r\n\r\nWritten by Christian Urquhart, author of Daley Thompson's Decathlon and Xecutor, Action Reflex, originally published by Mirrorsoft, deals with the antics of a crazy bouncing ball. Trapped inside a linked series of three mazes, it must avoid a variety of static and moving obstacles, gain points to collect helpful objects and negotiate air events and planes of water - all in a desperate bid for rubber ball freedom (whatever that may be).\r\n\r\nRather like Bounder, Cauldron II and the recently released Hopping Mad in style, Action Reflex still comes across as a very playable game. Its bright and colourful backdrops hide an immense array of dangerous hazards, helpful and harmful objects, secret passages and unusually safe short cuts. With so many different features you're practically guaranteed hours and hours of play. If you've enjoyed other ball-bouncing games, get yer hands on this! It's a little bundle of uncontrollable fun.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"88","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Mark Caswell","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Kati Hamza","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Has the ball lost its bounce?"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"76%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 8, Aug 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-07-10","Editor":"Kevin Cox","TotalPages":98,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Kevin Cox\r\nArt Editor: Martin Dixon\r\nDeputy Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nProduction Editor: Sara Biggs\r\nDesigner: Caroline Clayton\r\nImperial Staff Writer: Phil South\r\nTechnical Consultant: Peter Shaw\r\nEditorial Consultant: Andrew Pennell\r\nContributors: Stephen Adams, Luke C, Mike Gerrard, Ian Hoare, Gwyn Hughes, Max Phillips, Rick Robson, Rachael Smith, Chris Wood\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Salmon\r\nProduction Manager: Sonia Hunt\r\nGroup Advertisement Director: Chris Talbot\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":"Mirrorsoft\n£7.95\nReviewer: Luke C\n\nWell, I'd just like to be the first to say sorry for harping back to the Jet Set Willy classics but, although this game is completely different, its very similar. (I'm sorry I'll write that again!) What I'm getting at is that the JSW games were an exercise in getting Willy to just the right place at the right time, jumping at just the right moment, and it was the same each time you negotiated that screen. Yes? And it's the same with Action Reflex, only this time you're controlling what looks like a football...\n\nThe scene is set in a series of underground caverns, full of strange obstacles, and its your task to get around 25 screens before the time limit is up. Once you've done that, you set out on the next of the three mazes. Don't ask me what happens on the third maze - I've yet to get there!\n\nThe movement of the football is wonderful - whatever algorithm the programmer has used mimics the real thing perfectly. You can move the football left and right, and bounce it up and down. It does take a bit of getting used to, though, as the ball slowly accelerates and decelerates according to an exponential or parabolic curve, gathering momentum as it moves - ask your local mathematician if you're not sure what I'm talking about. Whatever... you'll soon get the hang of it within about five goes.\n\nMoving around the screens, there are all sorts of things to watch out for - like the ball disappearing into lakes, being destroyed by fire burst, being punched up to the ceiling and shot with an arrow, hitting overhead magnets and, of course, the various coloured wobbly meanies that shuffle about generally getting in the way. Within the time limit, you have an infinite number of lives - but each new life means that you lose a couple of valuable seconds... making it very difficult to get around all 25 screens before your time runs out. Points can be picked up on the way by 'walking' the ball through them - these are then accumulated so you can gain objects, such as a ring, hammer and key. These'll come in handy later on.\n\nWhich brings me around to my original point about the game being a little bit like JSW and, in particular, Manic Miner (if you can bring yourself to remember that far back). When I first played Action Reflex, it took me my full time limit to get through the first five screens of the first maze. After five or six attempts, I'd sussed out a 'safe' route and managed to get through about 12 screens... and so on... until I'd cracked the first maze. But the most frustrating bit is having to get through the screens you know well, especially if you keep making silly mistakes, until you get to a screen you haven't seen before.\n\nYes, it's very clever, and it's one of the most addictive games I've played... but I think a better title would've been 'Learned Response'.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"70","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Luke C","Score":"8","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"8/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"8/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 54, Sep 1986","Price":"£0.98","ReleaseDate":"1986-08-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: David Kelly\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nSenior Staff Writer: Graham Taylor\r\nStaff Writers: Clare Edgeley\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: Gary Rook, Richard Price, Mike Wright\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: Lee Sullivan\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\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: Mirrorsoft\r\nAuthor: Urquhart, Chubsly and Herman\r\nPrice: £7.95\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nReviewer: Graham Taylor\r\n\r\nAction Reflex is one of those games that is entertaining without being exciting. Technically there is nothing special to say about it, it boasts no new and impressive graphic routines, it doesn't feature artificial intelligence (however artificially) and it isn't going to win any prizes. On the other hand, I found it infuriating and had a severe attack of the 'just one more go'.\r\n\r\nA bouncing ball looking suspiciously like the Amiga demo is the heart of the game (OK, it doesn't look much like the Amiga demo but it has got a checkered pattern on it). Learning to control the ball, which acts just like you would expect a bouncing ball to act is the art of the game. The challenge is provided by a series of odd but vicious traps which deflate both ego and ball simultaneously.\r\n\r\nThe ball movement is a subtle affair, bounce levels can be controlled quite precisely but don't drop immediately to zero when you wish them to. In other words, the super leap you build up to help you jump the tall funny statue type thing in one screen may also hurl you uncontrollably into the deadly fire pit in the next screen - get the picture?\r\n\r\nThere are some other features to the game. Some objects have to be acquired in order to pass certain obstacles. Useful objects are not collected but 'earned' - they are awarded automatically each time a certain number of points are achieved. Points are awarded for successfully negotiating certain obstacles.\r\n\r\nSound is rather minimal, just enough to give the audible impression of a bounce.\r\n\r\nI do like the ideas behind the graphics, there are some touches of gloriously eccentric violence a la Road Runner. I particularly like the hidden boxing glove which springs from the floor and punches the ball straight into the prongs of what looks like a pitchfork.\r\n\r\nThat's about it really, the key to the game is learning how to work those bounces and learning what bounce patterns are required between certain screens. Nothing amazing but I liked it.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"No prizes but rather entertaining. The sort of game that may still be worth playing this time next year.","Page":"61","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Graham Taylor","Score":"4","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"4/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 72, Mar 1988","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1988-02-18","Editor":"David Kelly","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Graham Taylor\r\nStaff Writer: Jim Douglas\r\nStaff Writer: Tamara Howard\r\nArt Editor: Gareth Jones\r\nDesigner: Andrea Walker\r\nAdventure: The Sorceress\r\nZapchat: Jon 'Call me Bon Jovi' Riglar\r\nTechnical: Andrew Hewson, Rupert Goodwins\r\nContributors: Tony 'a fiver if my name goes first in the list' Dillon, Chris 'a fiver? You must be joking!' 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 'I'll leave that with you then' Pembridge\r\n\r\nPhone: [redacted]\r\nFax: [redacted]\r\nSubscriptions: [redacted]\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nThis Month's Cover: Brian Talbot\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"},"MainText":"Label: Ricochet\r\nPrice: £1.99\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nJoystick: various\r\nReviewer: Tony Dillon, the crisp bringer.\r\n\r\nGuess what, this is another of those bouncy ball type games. You know that type of game when you have to do all the business with avoiding obstacles and all that. Most of them games, though, are pretty boring int they? But this one's quite good. Eh? What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about. Oh, you've lived in Somerset all your life. Why didn't you say so. I'll start again, shall I? (Hoi! I know people that live in Somerset! - Ed)\r\n\r\nIn AR, you play a little chequered ball, that has to bounce down a long corridor, avoiding all the things littered about the place, like the magnets that catch you, or the holes that make you fall to your death if you land on one.\r\n\r\nGraphics are nice and clear, with the game relying more on recognisability more than realism, with huge horseshoe magnets and darts. The game scrolls along at a nice fast pace and is very very playable. One of the budget year's best buys, and if it doesn't make it into the top 10 budget games, I'll eat my granny and her bathchair (That's age-ist - Ed)","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Terrific little bouncing rerelease and an affordable price. One of the best bargains of the year.","Page":"62","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Tony Dillon","Score":"8","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"8/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 58, Aug 1986","Price":"£0.98","ReleaseDate":"1986-07-16","Editor":"Tim Metcalfe","TotalPages":108,"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, Jim Douglas\r\nAmerican Correspondent: Marshall M. Rosenthal\r\nArcades: Clare Edgeley\r\nSoftware Consultant: Tony Takoushi, Chris Cain\r\nPublicity: Marcus Rich\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Matthews\r\nAssistant Ad Manager: Garry William\r\nAd Production: Debbie Pearson\r\nPublisher: Rita Lewis\r\nCover: Mark Bromley\r\n\r\n...and the Bug Hunters!\r\n© Jerry Paris\r\n\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nJuly-December 98,258"},"MainText":"MACHINE: Spectrum 48K\r\nSUPPLIER: Mirrorsoft\r\nPRICE: £7.95\r\n\r\nGood grief. We've had pre-production copies. We've had preview copies, we've even had botched-up demo copies. This, however, is a first. It's a penultimate version of Action Reflex. Why companies won't just admit that the ruddy product isn't ready is beyond me!\r\n\r\nHurumph!! Having got that off my chest, I can get on with the important issue; what the game is actually like.\r\n\r\nIt's been written by C. F. Urquhart. Name rings a bell, doesn't it? Unfortunately, there's nothing that I could find which makes this game stand out from the run-of-the-mill offerings which flood the C+VG offices.\r\n\r\nThe \"aim\" of the game is exploration. It's nicely presented, with very colourful, graphics and reasonable sound. You take control of \"bounce\", a sphere. Hardly the most charismatic character. Still, he's certainly got some energy; rushing around the screen like nobody's business. You control him simply by pushing the joystick left and right, and pressing fire to make him bounce. (Keyboard control is included as well).\r\n\r\nIt's humiliatingly frustrating. The C+VG swear-box was filled to overflowing after only a few seconds play. Mirrorsoft says that they will be making some alterations, which \"may affect game play\". With any luck, it will make the thing slightly more easy. As it stands, the game is just too tough.\r\n\r\nYour progress through the various screens is hampered by an assortment of nasties - some stationary, others mobile. There are a number of traps. Crossing a suspect pad in the floor may well result in you being sprung into the air. If there is a magnet above the pad, you're in serious trouble as a dart will fly across the screen and effectively burst your ball, while you are hanging helplessly from the magnet.\r\n\r\nWater troughs and plain-old holes provide more ball-breaking problems. You can take some transport short-cuts too. Chutes and tubes will whizz you from place to place.\r\n\r\nThe main problem with the program is that bounce is so bloody hard to control! Once he's started his frenetic bouncing routine it's nigh-on impossible to stop him from careering into something deadly.\r\n\r\nThat's just about it. Nothing particularly special.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"29","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"4/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 60, Oct 1986","Price":"£0.98","ReleaseDate":"1986-09-16","Editor":"Tim Metcalfe","TotalPages":128,"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, Jim Douglas\r\nAmerican Correspondent: Marshall M. Rosenthal\r\nArcades: Clare Edgeley\r\nSoftware Consultant: Tony Takoushi, Chris Cain\r\nPublicity: Marcus Rich\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Garry Williams\r\nAd Production: Debbie Pearson\r\nPublisher: Rita Lewis\r\nCover: Simon Harrison\r\n\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nJuly-December 98,258"},"MainText":"MACHINE: Spectrum 48K\r\nSUPPLIER: Mirrorsoft\r\nPRICE: £7.95\r\n\r\n\"Wait a minute,\" I hear you cry. \"I read all about Action Reflex in the super August issue!\" Well, that was the \"penultimate\" version. Now I've got my mits on the real one, and am going to tell you about it, whether you like it or not.\r\n\r\nThe object of the game is to move through the various screens, avoiding death which is dished out by various fiendish and not-so-fiendish traps littered about the game.\r\n\r\nJust about the only difference we could find when comparing it to our pre-production copy was that there are now large green funnels which suck up your ball and spits it out somewhere else. There isn't an awful lot to the game, and the price will prohibit its inclusion in all but the most extravagant of software collections.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"46","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jim Douglas","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"6/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"5/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"4/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Computer Issue 7, Jul 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1986-06-19","Editor":"Gary Evans","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Gary Evans\r\nSoftware Editor: Lee Paddon\r\nStaff Writer: Anthony Thompson\r\nSub Editor: Harold Mayes MBE\r\nProduction Editor: Jim McClure\r\nProduction Assistant: Nick Fry\r\nEditorial Secretary: Sheila Baker\r\nDesigner: Chris Winch\r\nEditorial: [redacted]\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: David Lake\r\nAdvertisement Executives: Ian Faux, Jeremy Kite\r\nClassified: Paul Monaf\r\nAdvertising: [redacted]\r\nPublisher: Paul Coster\r\nFinancial Director: Brendan McGrath\r\nManaging Director: Richard Hease\r\n\r\nCover by Mark Tyler\r\n\r\nYour Computer, [redacted]\r\nISS 0263 0885\r\n\r\n©1986 Focus Investments Ltd\r\nPrinted by The Riverside Press Ltd, England.\r\nTypeset by Time Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\nMember of the Audit Bureau of Circulation.\r\n\r\nReasonable care is taken to avoid errors in this magazine but no liability is accepted for any errors which may occur. No material in this publication may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of the publishers. The publishers will not accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, listings, data tapes or discs.\r\n\r\nWe will assume permission to publish all unsolicited material unless otherwise stated. We cannot be held responsible for the safe return of any material submitted for publication. Please keep a copy of all your work and do not send us original artwork.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately we are unable to answer lengthy enquiries by telephone. Any written query requiring a personal answer MUST be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope; please allow up to 28 days for a reply.\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: UK £14 for 12 issues. Overseas (surface mail) £22.50 - Airmail rates on request. Please make a cheque/postal orders payable to Focus Investments. (Please allow 5 weeks from order receipt of first subscription copy). Send orders to Your Computer Subscriptions, [redacted].\r\n\r\nJanuary to April 86 back issues of the magazine are available for £1.50 from the Back Issues Department, [redacted].\r\n\r\nDistributed by Business Press International, [redacted]."},"MainText":"Spectrum\r\nMirrorsoft\r\nArcade Adventure\r\n£7.95\r\n\r\nWith hundreds of new games entering the market each week and software houses struggling to meet the rising demand for new games, it seems inevitable that, eventually, programmers will run out of names for their creations.\r\n\r\nThat would explain why the first game from the new Mirrorsoft Medusa label has the unlikely title of Action Reflex. Even though it sounds like a medical term for a muscle spasm, the game is very enjoyable.\r\n\r\nIt involves guiding a bouncy ball through a maze of screens filled with everything from green monsters and spiked gloves to wall speakers and vacuum tubes. At various intervals along the floor of the maze there are certain places which, should you roll or bounce on them, will lead to your doom. Only trial and error will identify the safe areas, so making a map as you proceed is a very good idea.\r\n\r\nThe idea of the game is to complete the maze. As you progress deeper and deeper, obstacles such as glass walls and lakes are encountered. Only by collecting certain objects along the way can they be overcome. A counter on the screen records your progress. If you lose a life, a time penalty is imposed, reducing the chance of completing the game.\r\n\r\nThere are three skill levels with 25 screens on each level, a real challenge for those who can face the embarrassment of going into a software shop and saying \"Action Reflex, please\".","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"42","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Ian Nicol","Score":"4","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"2/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall Rating","Score":"4/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"ZX Computing Issue 28, Aug 1986","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1986-07-24","Editor":"Bryan Ralph","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Bryan Ralph\r\nAssistant Editor: Cliff Joseph\r\nConsultant Editor: Ray Elder\r\nAdvertising Managers: Peter Chandler and John McGarry\r\nDesign: Argus Design\r\nA.S.P. Advertising and Editorial [redacted]\r\n\r\nPrinted by Alabaster Passmore and Sons Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nAdvertisement Copy Controller: Lynn Collis\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":"Mirrorsoft\r\n£7.95\r\n\r\nThis is an odd little game. I'd seen a couple of pre-production versions of the game and it seemed like a fairly ordinary dodge-the-obstacles type program with a bouncing ball instead of a jumping Jet Set Willy character. However, when I finally got my hands on the finished version it turned out to be to be quite a bit more challenging more challenging than I expected.\r\n\r\nYou control a chequered bouncing ball that has to be guided be guided around an obstacle course. Your controls are just lelf/right and jump, and to begin with the ball is left lying on the floor of the first section of the of the course. The motion of the ball is quite tricky to handle and although this isn't an enormously fast game it can be quite challenging working out how to get past all the different types of obstacles - especially as getting past one tricky spot can send you hurtling out of control into an even deadlier one just a little further along the way.\r\n\r\nThe movement of the ball is fairly realistic, in that it has inertia which causes the ball to accelerate and decelerate quite slowly at first then the speed change increases more rapidly. To get the ball bouncing first you have to stop moving left/right and press the bounce button to build up the height of your bounces. The longer you hold the bounce button, the higher the ball will bounce (though obviously this is limited by the height of the screens themselves) and once you've achieved the height that you think you need you can then bounce off along the course. This requires good judgment on your part, since once the ball is bouncing it's quite easy to misjudge the speed and height that the ball will be moving at, and if you hit something accidentally you can find yourself bouncing helplessly all over the place and getting killed by one of the traps lying in wait.\r\n\r\nThere are three mazes to complete, each containing 25 screens full of traps and obstacles, and each harder than the last. The course contains some goofy green monsters which wander back and forth and a variety of fixed traps that can destroy you in all sorts of ways. There are lakes that you can sink into, tubular tunnels that need to be smashed open with a hammer, flame throwers, magnets, flying darts and many other devices guaranteed to deflate both the ball and your game-playing ego.\r\n\r\nThere are also some obstacles which can't just be bounced past. These require you to collect objects that are scattered along the course (and normally in inaccessible corners guarded by monsters). The lakes can only be crossed if you've found a life raft, tunnels need a key to get through them and some locked doors have to be bashed down with a hammer.\r\n\r\nGraphically the game is fairly simple to look at - and looks a lot like any decent platform and traps game - with lots of large colourful sprites and some quite good animation, particularly in the movement of the ball itself. There is no set number of lives as you play against a time limit, but each time you get punctured you receive a time penalty so you've got to try and make some quick decisions and you don't always have time to stop and work out exactly what your next move is.\r\n\r\nAction Reflex isn't going to win any awards for the most original game of all time but it is an addictive and tricky game that needs a combination of arcade reflexes and a little bit of planning and judgment. My only doubt about it is that three mazes might not be sufficient to give the game a very long lifespan.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"15","Denied":false,"Award":"Globella","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"Great","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]