[{"TitleName":"Commando","Publisher":"Elite Systems Ltd","Author":"Karen Trueman, Keith Burkhill, Nigel Alderton, Rory C. Green","YearOfRelease":"1985","ZxDbId":"0009325","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 24, Jan 1986","Price":"£1.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-12-12","Editor":"Graeme Kidd","TotalPages":196,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Publishing Executive: Roger Kean\r\nEditor: Graeme Kidd\r\nTechnical Editor: Franco Frey\r\nArt Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nProduction Designer: David Western\r\nProduction Assistants: Gordon Druce, Matthew Uffindell\r\nSoftware Editor: Jeremy Spencer\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nSub Editor: Sean Masterson\r\nStaff Writer: Lloyd Mangram\r\nContributing Writers: Chris Passey, Robin Candy, Ben Stone, John Minson, Mark Hamer, Gary Liddon, Julian Rignall, Gary Penn\r\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\n\r\n©1985 Newsfield Limited.\r\nCrash Magazine is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions [redacted]\r\nEditorial/studio [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\n\r\nColour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted]; Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset Ltd (Member of the BPCC Group), [redacted].\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £14.50 post included (UK Mainland); Europe: 12 issues £21.50 post included. Outside Europe by arrangement in writing.\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. The opinions and views of correspondents are their own and not necessarily in accord with those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nMICRONET:\r\nYou can talk to CRASH via Micronet. Our MBX is 105845851\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Elite\r\nRetail Price: £7.95\r\nLanguage: Machine code\r\n\r\nElite's Commando is the licensed version of the classic Capcom arcade game which has captivated thousands and thousands of arcade gamers all over Britain.\r\n\r\nThe game involves you taking the role of a super crack commando with a mission to penetrate deep behind enemy lines and destroy their two main fortress. This mission takes place over a vertically scrolling landscape and you, armed with a few grenades and a sub machine gun, have to take on the entire enemy army single handed. There are boxes of grenades lying around the battlefield which you can pick up to replenish your stocks, but otherwise you just have to use your skill, reflexes and sub machine gun to survive.\r\n\r\nTo reach each fortress you first have to go through four areas, each with its own mini fortress at the end. When you take a mini fortress you are transported to the second area, and so on until you reach the main fortress. If you take and destroy that then you'll start the second mission which has to be completed in similar style, although the landscape and soldiers are far more hostile.\r\n\r\nWhen you approach a fortress its doors open and loads of soldiers pour out, spewing bullets from their guns and lobbing grenades all over the shop. To take the fortress you have to destroy every soldier - not a trivial task. When you've killed all the soldiers then your man automatically runs through the fortress gates, a message of congratulations is printed up on screen and you'll be transported to the next area.\r\n\r\nEach area has its own features and hazards. Level one is comparatively easy, but by the time you reach level four the going gets really tough, with lots of obstacles to thwart swift for ward progress. Naturally, there are loads of enemy soldiers swarming all over the place, but luckily they're only armed with single shot rifles and grenades. Even so their sheer number often becomes totally overpowering.\r\n\r\nThere are two specialist weapons used by enemy soldiers: bazookas and mortars. Mortar bombers don't pose too much of a threat, since they can only fire one pretty inaccurate shot at a time. Bazooka carriers, on the other hand, are deadly and fire round after round of lethal shells which explode in a large cloud of deadly flak.\r\n\r\nVehicles trundle about the landscape. They come in various shapes and sizes and include trucks, jeeps and motorbikes. They've all got to be avoided, but can be destroyed with a well-aimed hand grenade. Jeeps can cause problems, as they carry a gunner armed with a sub machine gun and spell doom if you're not busy pegging it in the opposite direction. Lorries, too, are deadly and carry many soldiers which pile out when their transport stops.\r\n\r\nThe landscape is very barren - well, what do you expect for a desert? Dotted around are trees, little hills (usually the enemy come belting down the slopes) and rivers (there are always bridges to cross them - you might be a commando but you can't swim!).\r\n\r\nArea one is pretty deserted with only a few trees and hills, although there is a bridge which you have go under. The bridge is narrow, and there's usually plenty of enemy soldiers just waiting to pounce on you on the other side. After the bridge there are rocks which the enemy use for cover and after them, the first mini fortress.\r\n\r\nArea two is where things start getting tough. Foxholes filled with soldiers block your path, and the only way to kill the soldiers is by lobbing grenades on them. While you're trying to do that they're busily trying to machine gun you down, just to make your life a misery. There are also another two bridges, one to go under and one to go over (it gets you across a river). Buildings and bunkers start to make an appearance too. Yet more soldiers pour from the buildings, while a fusillade of bullets comes from the bunkers.\r\n\r\nAreas three and four feature all the hazards found in the earlier sections, only in far greater numbers. On area four, the final run up to the first fortress, you are forced to cross an airport which has lookout towers complete with machine gun wielding soldiers at the top. The areas which lead to the second fortress are diabolical, by comparison with what goes before them. And if you manage to destroy the second fortress then you'll be transported back to the very first area, to start over, but the enemy are more numerous and they fire more accurately.\r\n\r\nPoints are awarded for disposing of enemy soldiers and vehicles and a hefty bonus can be earned by killing two guards who hold a colleague of yours prisoner. Once you liberate your ally, he disappears, rather than helping you fight your battle, however.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: redefinable\r\nJoystick: Kempston, Sinclair, Cursor, Fuller\r\nKeyboard play: very responsive\r\nUse of colour: rather bland\r\nGraphics: excellent scrolling, and fast, especially with the amount of little mateys hacking about\r\nSound: great spot effects, but no tune\r\nSkill levels: increasing difficulty\r\nScreens: eight areas to fight through","ReviewerComments":["Speaking as someone who's youth was spent toggling the joysticks of arcade games this is about the best arcade conversion your Spectrum is likely to see. The arcade machine had some of the most photographic graphics and brilliant stereo sound - naturally these have been lost in the transition from megabyte memory 68000 to 48K Z80. Nevertheless, the rest of the game has faithfully been incorporated - all eight areas have been copied with meticulous attention. All the hillocks, trees, bridges and everything are all there - the soldiers even attack from the same points! The highscore table is the same as the arcade one too, with its spinning letters and all that. The gameplay is brilliant, although playing with the keys is a bit of a pain - it all gets rather confusing at the end of an area. If you want a game for Christmas then look no further than this, it's ********* amazing!\r\nUnknown","Elite have done a brilliant job, converting this arcade game for the Spectrum. The action is fast and furious, and should present a lasting challenge to anyone addicted to shoot em ups. Plenty of practice will be needed to get far into the game - it's very easy to concentrate on wiping out the enemy but you've got to remember to dodge their bullets too! Horribly violent, and not much of an intellectual challenge - but great fun. Get it.\r\nUnknown","I must confess that I never expected this game to turn out quite as well as it did. I found the game very easy to get into and not so easy to leave alone. The movement of the characters is very effective, I particularly enjoyed the way the enemy troops jumped down from various heights and then set about trying to do you in. There are some graphics which might have been better left out - in particular to the jeep which looks more like a tape deck. All in all Commando is a great game for those into fast moving violence, it requires fine tuned reactions and a fair bit of daring.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: A first-rate arcade conversion - very addictive indeed.","Page":"130,131","Denied":false,"Award":"Crash Smash","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"86%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"92%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"95%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"94%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"95%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"92%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"94%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 58, Nov 1988","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1988-10-20","Editor":"Dominic Handy","TotalPages":132,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Dominic Handy\r\nAssistant Editor: Stuart Wynne\r\nStaff Writers: Mark Caswell, Philip King, Lloyd Mangram, Nick Roberts\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson\r\nContributors: Jon Bates, Raffaele Cecco, Mel Croucher, Ian Cull, Simon Goodwin, Ian Lacey, Barnaby Page, Ian Philipson, Paul Sumner\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nReprographics Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell\r\nArt Director: Mark Kendrick\r\nAssistant Art Director: Wayne Allen\r\nProduction Team: Ian Chubb, Melvin Fisher, Robert Hamilton, Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Yvonne Priest\r\n\r\nEditorial Director: Roger Kean\r\nPublisher: Geoff Grimes\r\nAdvertisement Director: Roger Bennett\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nSales Executives: Sarah Chapman, Andrew Smales\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris, Lee Watkins [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 the Sticky Solutions Department 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":"Commando\r\nProducer: Encore\r\nPrice: £1.99\r\nOriginal Rating: 94%\r\n\r\nConverted from a Capcom coin-op, Commando received much acclaim when it was originally released by Elite.\r\n\r\nThis is mindless violence at it s very best, with you taking on a whole army, Rambo-style. Your super-fit commando character is equipped with just a submachine gun and a box of grenades.\r\n\r\nNevertheless you aim to single-handedly destroy two large fortresses, each one preceded by four areas patrolled by swarms of hostile soldiers. These aren't the only danger to your life however, as the enemy also has a number of mortars and vehicles such as trucks and motorbikes.\r\n\r\nAll the soldiers are nicely animated as they jump down from hillocks, spraying bullets like there's no tomorrow. Although the landscape is rather barren - too many features would have cluttered up the play area - it's acceptable.\r\n\r\nBut what really makes Commando is not graphics or sound, but the all important playability it's positively oozing with addictive qualities. And like all really good games it doesn't show its age - if you missed this first time around, get it now!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"110","Denied":false,"Award":"Crash Smash","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Phil King","Score":"92","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"92%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 2, Feb 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-01-16","Editor":"Kevin Cox","TotalPages":98,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Kevin Cox\r\nArt Editor: Martin Dixon\r\nDeputy Editor: Peter Shaw\r\nProduction Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nEditorial Consultant: Andrew Pennell\r\nSoftware Consultant: Gavin Monk\r\nContributors: Stephen Adams, Luke C, Steve Colwill, Steve Cooke, Iolo Davidson, Ian Hoare, Alison Hjul, Steve Malone, Tommy Nash, Max Phillips, Rick Robson, Tony Samuels, Rachael Smith, Phil South, Chris Wood\r\nAdvertisement Manager: David Baskerville\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Neil Dyson\r\nProduction Manager: Sonia Hunt\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Chris Talbot\r\nManaging Editor: Roger Munford\r\nArt Director: Jimmy Egerton\r\nPublisher: 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":"Elite\n£7.95\nReviewer: Alison Hjul\n\nIf you've started to miss those mindless shoot'em ups that marked the start of Speccy game playing - you'll be dying to have a crack at Commando. Super Joe is the ultimate killing machine, his sole mission to wipe the enemy forces from the face of the earth. And he's armed only with his sub-machine gun and six hand grenades.\n\nThe game is an almost exact copy of Commando, the arcade hit. I say almost, as the programmers were forced to leave out some of the little touches from the original - like the chopper that drops our hero off at the start. The only thing you may miss is the sound - the taktaktaktak of the machine guns and the kerpow of the grenades.\n\nOnce on terra firma, the game's the same - it's kill, kill, kill all the way to the end. Then it's straight back to the beginning where the slaughter starts all over again.\n\nThere are no real rules - just get in there and blast away, slaying the stormtroopers, gunning the grenadiers and blowing up the enemy battalions. Your machine gun's got unlimited fire power so spray those bullets about like a man with no arms - and after an hour or so's keyboard bashing your arms'll ache so much, you'll wish you didn't have any either!\n\nThe graphics are really neat but you'll hardly have time to admire the scenery - hang around too long in one place and the enemy sends in the heavy mob.\n\nCommando won't stretch your mind and if you've got a downer on mercenary militarism then give it a miss. But if you like your shoot'em ups simple, they don't come much simpler than this. Play it and blast away a few brain cells - yours and the enemies'!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"28","Denied":false,"Award":"Your Sinclair Hot Shot","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Alison Hjul","Score":"9","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"8/10","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 91, Jul 1993","Price":"£2.5","ReleaseDate":"1993-06-10","Editor":"Jonathan Nash","TotalPages":36,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"YOUR SINCLAIR\r\nABC 20,775\r\n\r\nEditor: Dennis Nash\r\nArt Editor: Dennis Ounsted\r\nContributors: Dennis Broadbent, Dennis Campbell, Dennis Cooke, Dennis Forrester, Dennis Golder, Dennis Hindle, Dennis McCardle\r\nDeputy Ad Manager: Dennis Garford\r\nProduction Co-ordinator: Dennis Brock\r\nAd Design: Dennis Cockroft\r\nLino Bods: Dennis Gover, Dennis Parsons\r\nProduction Technician: Dennis Stocker\r\nScanning: Dennis Windsor, Jon Moore, Dennis Chittenden\r\nPublisher: Dennis A Campbell\r\nPromotions Manager: Dennis Ward\r\nGroup Publisher: Dennis Ingham\r\nCirculation Director: Dennis Hartley\r\nProduction Controller: Dennis Thomas\r\nProduction Control Assistant: Dennis McKeown\r\nPaper Controller: Dennis Deane\r\nAdministration Assistant: Dennis Angelo-Sparling\r\n\r\nYour Dennis, Future Publishing [redacted]\r\n\r\nManaging Director: Dennis Anderson\r\n\r\nPrinters: Riverside Dennis [redacted]\r\nBack Issues: Dennis Future Publishing Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Future Publishing 1993. No part of this magazine may be reproduced by Kid Silly ( and his sidekick Man With A Pole Man).\r\n\r\nISSN 0269 6983\r\n\r\nDennis Format, Dennis Action, Dennis A Format, Dennis Plus, Dennis Answers, Dennis, Dennis Play, Dennis A Plus, Dennis Power, Dennis A Power, Dennis Shopper, Classic Dennis, Denniscraft, Cycling Dennis, Dennis UK, Gamesdennis, Dennis B Format, Dennis C Format, Dennis!, Caravan Dennis, Dennis Woodworking, Dennis Music, Dennis D Format and Cross Dennis are all slightly embarrassed to associate with YS."},"MainText":"COMMANDO\r\nElite\r\n£3.99\r\n[redacted]\r\nReviewer: Philip Kiernan\r\n\r\nEver fantasised about being dropped into some deadly jungle (hostile territory and all that) with nothing but a measly machine gun to protect you? Well look no further because here at YS we have up for grabs a limited edition AK47 and a one-way ticket to... hang on, my mistake. Look no further, because here's the long-awaited re-release of that famous and very old shoot-'em-up Commando. Er, hurrah.\r\n\r\nWell, anyway, about the game. The plot is pretty simply and reads something along the lines of... (Sound of someone rustling papers on desk.) Blimey where has that inlay gone? Er, er, once upon a time there live a mild-mannered social worker from down South by the name of Steve. Minded his own business he did and expected others to treat him likewise. One day, while walking to the local shop to fetch a white sliced loaf, something quite extraordinary happened. A manhole had been left uncovered on the road, and due to a stroke of bad luck, our Steve went and stepped right into it. Down and down he went, right to the bottom at which point he hit his head on a rock. Next morning, he awoke to find himself wandering in the middle of a battlefield. Being a devout pacifist, a dilemma arose – should he raise his hands and surrender or should he proceed to annihilate every last one of the blighters closing in on him with this handy machine gun he seemed to have picked up from somewhere? After a moment's deliberation, he cast aside both his ethics and his hopes of ever seeing a white sliced loaf again, and started shooting.\r\n\r\nOw, my conscience! Well, the plot definitely involves shooting, anyway. Lots of it. Armed with that machine gun and a handful of grenades, your mission involves advancing as far up the vertically-scrolling landscape as is humanly possible. If you run low on grenades, you can steal the opposition's, which is a bit useful to say the least.\r\n\r\nShould you reach the end of a level, you come slap bang up against a big gate, out of which pop zillions of newly-recruited troops with (squint) your name on their bullets! Blast these into the ground and it's on to the next level. No problem (Sarge).\r\n\r\nThe sheer addictiveness lies in finding out what the next stage holds – now it's laid out and what hazards there will be to overcome. These hazards get progressively more insanely dangerous, and the opposition grows less shy about whipping out their rocket launchers (Oo, as they say, -er Ed) These one-man mission larks appear impossible at times – makes you wish they'd included a two-player option. (They did, in the sort-of sequel, Duel, which was crap, so there you are. Ed) Oh well, ne'er mind.\r\n\r\nWhere were we? Oh yeah, addictiveness. Yes, it is addictive. In fact I think I'll just nip odd for another try. And I think I'll take along a representative sample of the studio audience. (Small party runs through desert landscape.) On our left we can see what's known as an army tank – nasty little number indeed. Don't get too close. (Ratatatatat.) Oh, and best be careful of those trucks cruising across our path. And what's that jumping out of them? Why, it's a lot of soldiers! (Ratatatatatat.) Pah, amateurs.\r\n\r\nWatch out for the bloke with the bazooka. (Whizz, kablamm.) Cripes, that was close. (Part dives into ditch.) And now, for anyone interested, the bridge we're crawling under was erected in 1936 by a sheep farmer worried about his critters. What's that, sir? I don't wish to know about your critters. Now, on either side of us are the trenches. Note how the inhabitants crouch down as we approach. No cameras please, they don't like it. And here we have the mad motorcyclist, an unpredictable fellow. Pikes, dive for cover! (Party zigzags in panicked fashion.) Missiles, eh? Yikes, heads down. Flamethrowers, eh? Yikes, say yikes a lot. Tikes. (Ragged party stumbles through gate and collapses on grass.) An enjoyable romp if ever there was one.\r\n\r\nSo, all in all, I could sump up Commando as being a bit of a classic really. It's got everything fanatical shoot-'em-up folk could ever want and a bit more to boot, whatever that means. If you missed it last time around, well, here's your chance to join the war. Happy shooting, merry mayhem, and may the force be with you. Or something.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"30","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Philip Kiernan","Score":"78","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Damn it Brad, you told me these little boxes were made of ticky-tacky. That's the third man I've lost to them already. Oh no, Dozier's just been eaten by a giant cotton wool ball as well. I'll be making a full report about this, mister."},{"Text":"Hello sir, (blam blam blam) I wonder if I could interest you (ratatatatatatat bang) in my company's exceptionally fine (chug chug chug chug kablang) double glazing? (Poot.)"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"78%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 37, Jan 1989","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1988-12-09","Editor":"Teresa Maughan","TotalPages":156,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Teresa Maughan\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Higgs\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, Ciaran Brennan, Jason Daley, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Catherine Peters, Peter Shaw, Rachael Smith, Phil South\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Simon Stansfield\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Stephen Bloy\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\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":"COMMANDO\r\nEncore\r\n£1.99\r\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\r\n\r\nGor lumme, I never thought Id see this again. Commando is more than just a game these days, it's a whole format: all those vertically scrolling rushing-about shooting-things games always get compared to it. In fact it's three years since Commando took the charts by storm and changed forever our preconceptions of a good Speccy shoot em up. But it hasn't aged well. It's still fast, zappy and fun, but we've seen too many other vertically scrolling rushing-about shooting-things games in the past three years to be impressed by this all over again The graphics, while perfectly fine for 1985, now seem drab and unsophisticated, and the gameplay is just too samey.\r\n\r\nStill. I'm sure that Commando still has its fans, and many of them will grab this chance to buy a cheapie copy of an old favourite game. Newcomers, though, will be disappointed - I'd say you're better off going for a \"Commando-type\" game than Commando itself. Amazing, but true.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"123","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"6","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"6/10","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":"COMMANDO\r\nEncore\r\n£2.99\r\nReviewer: David McCandless\r\n\r\nFeatured in the Berkmann budget round-up last month. Totally awesome and absorbing vertical shoot 'em up in the Rambo/mindless vein. First released: January '86.","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 47, Feb 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1986-01-18","Editor":"Bill Scolding","TotalPages":130,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Bill Scolding\r\nDeputy Editor: John Gilbert\r\nStaff Writers: Chris Bourne, Clare Edgeley\r\nDesigner: Gareth Jones\r\nEditorial Secretary: Norisah Fenn\r\nAdventure Writers: Richard Price, Gordo Greatbelly\r\nHelpline: Andrew Hewson\r\nHardware Correspondent: John Lambert\r\nBusiness Correspondent: Mike Wright\r\nContributors: Nicole Segre, Jerry Muir, Megan Jones, Marcus Jeffrey\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Fanthorpe\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Shahid Nizam\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: Kathy McLennan\r\nProduction Assistant: Jim McClure\r\nAdvertisement Secretary: Linda Everest\r\nSubscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne\r\nPublisher: Neil Wood\r\n\r\nTelephone [redacted]\r\n\r\nSinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Paul Barnes for Digital Integration\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 pay £20 for each program printed and £50 for star programs.\r\n\r\nTypeset by Saffron Graphics Ltd, [redacted]\r\nPrinted by Peterboro' Web, [redacted]\r\nDistributed by EMAP Publications Ltd.\r\n\r\n©Copyright 1986 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458\r\n\r\nABC 102,023 Jan-June 1985"},"MainText":"Publisher: Elite\r\nProgrammers: Keith Burkhill, Nigel Alderton\r\nPrice: £7.95\r\nMemory: 48K\r\n\r\nYou may not see yourself as the heroic type, capable of winning a war single-handed, but Elite's conversion of the popular arcade game Commando is likely to bring out the Rambo you didn't know you had inside you.\r\n\r\nThe game panders to your worst instincts, allowing you to zap away for all you're worth, amassing points the more people and things you blow up. You can disapprove as much as you like, but the game is great fun and you will probably find it hard to resist.\r\n\r\nThe storyline couldn't be simpler. You are the crack combat soldier Super Joe, sent in alone to defeat the advance rebel forces equipped only with your M60 machine gun and six hand grenades. Pushing relentlessly forwards, you must penetrate deep into hostile territory with the eventual aim of capturing the heart of the enemy fortress.\r\n\r\nLuckily, your machine gun is perpetually self-loading, and there are plenty of hand grenades abandoned by enemy soldiers for you to be able to replenish your stock. In all other respects, however, the odds are heavily stacked against you.\r\n\r\nRight from the start, the pace is hectic. Advancing steadily along the scrolling landscape, you are assailed on all sides by soldiers who come at you from behind sandbags, boulders and palm trees or leap down on you from the top of tufted hillocks. The bullets fly, the hand grenades and the dynamite rain down, and with all the explosions it is a bit like firework night. Any stray bullet or hand grenade can make you lose one of your five lives, and you must keep dodging and firing every inch of the way.\r\n\r\nHaving disposed of a first wave of attackers, you will come to a bridge with a narrow archway. Run through this, avoiding the hail of bombs coming over the wall. If you are still in business you'll arrive at a set of red gates, and here your troubles really begin. The gates slowly part to unleash a flood of enemy soldiers.\r\n\r\nSheltering behind the wall, firing continuously and lobbing a few grenades, you may just about be able to eliminate this horde down to the last man. A tickertape message then appears despatching you to area two, although by now you'd probably rather have a nice quiet tea break.\r\n\r\nArea two features lorries, bunkers, huts and mobile typewriters - probably meant to be jeeps. All of these conceal more enemy soldiers and snipers, and if you get rid of them, you will eventually arrive at another set of gates releasing a second wave of attackers. If you manage to survive this onslaught without being overwhelmed, Rambo would surely be proud of you.\r\n\r\nDaunting though the game is, Commando is also powerfully addictive. It has fast and furious action, plenty of excitement, and just the right blend of suspense in seeing how far you can get without losing all your lives, and of satisfaction in zapping moving targets. It also has smooth movement and lively, imaginative graphics.\r\n\r\nAs the screen scrolls from top to bottom, the scene is viewed in 3D from a height - but not directly overhead - so that men and machines are foreshortened. Our hero Super Joe scuttles about in a mean and menacing fashion, and although at first it is difficult to distinguish him from the enemy - he is black, the rest are mostly blue - you soon get the hang of identifying with the right chap.\r\n\r\nThe hillocks on the first level look a little odd, but palm trees, trucks and sand bags are realistically done, as is the bridge with its motor bike patrol on top. The enemy soldiers daringly fling themselves from the hilltops, arms outstretched in true commando style, and there are no distasteful death throes, either. The enemy shimmer and disintegrate when hit, while Super Joe just sinks straight into the ground.\r\n\r\nOne particularly nice touch is the high score table, which consists of military style letters, as seen stencilled on the sides of army vehicles. To spell out your name, you line up each letter in your sights and shoot it - a good enough idea in itself but these letters spin when they are hit like fairground targets. You can even set the whole lot spinning if you so fancy.\r\n\r\nThere are minor flaws in the graphics, such as ghosts which appear in front of the gates instead of behind them, or figures which glide backwards until they melt into a wall. A worse fault is the fact that the scoring is not explained, either on the inlay or on screen, and with everything happening so fast, there is no time to work out where the points are coming from. An element of strategic planning might have added interest to the game.\r\n\r\nAll in all, though, Commando is exciting, challenging and guaranteed to keep you playing until keyboard or joystick fatigue get you shipped out on home leave.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"56","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nicole Segre","Score":"5","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"5/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 51, Jan 1986","Price":"£0.95","ReleaseDate":"1985-12-16","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, Simon Marsh, Jim Douglas\r\nAmerican Correspondent: Marshall M. Rosenthal\r\nArcades: Clare Edgeley\r\nSoftware Consultant: Tony Takoushi\r\nPublicity: Marcus Rich\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Louise Matthews\r\nDeputy Advertisement Manager: Bernard Dugdale\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Mike Core\r\nProduction Assistant: Melanie Paulo\r\nPublisher: Rita Lewis\r\nCover: Steven Gulbis\r\n\r\n...and the Bug Hunters!\r\n© Jerry Paris\r\n\r\nEditorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPUTER + VIDEO GAMES POSTAL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE\r\nBy using the special Postal Subscription Service, copies of COMPUTER + 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 + VIDEO GAMES (Subscription Department), [redacted]. All orders should include the appropriate remittance made payable to COMPUTER + 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."},"MainText":"MACHINE: Spectrum/C64/128/Amstrad/BBC\r\nSUPPLIER: Elite\r\nPRICE: £7.95\r\n\r\nGo totally over the top as Super Joe, crack commando, takes on the world in an explosive rescue mission. Forget Rambo - old Joe's in a class of his own on this battlefield.\r\n\r\nBasically what you have to do is reach the enemy fortress and rescue the prisoners held there. You have to be fast on your feet and quick on the trigger to defeat the massed forces of the enemy. They come at you on foot, shoot at you with mortars and bazookers, try and run you down with troop carriers and motorcycles. All decidedly unfriendly.\r\n\r\nStill, you've got your trusty machine gun and a handful of grenades to help you get through. And you can pick up more grenades as you dash across the battlefields, under the tunnels and through enemy strongholds. We played the Spectrum version for this review - and the graphics, sound, animation and game play are all excellent. Better, we're afraid to say, than the Commodore version. We've yet to see the game on the Amstrad or Beeb.\r\n\r\nThe Spectrum Super Joe is a big, well animated character. The background and enemy soldiers are also well drawn. The choice of colours is good. Scrolling is smooth and colour clash problems are kept to a minimum.\r\n\r\nCommando is really a pretty straightforward shoot-out. But the game is difficult enough to keep your interest and addictive enough to keep you coming back for more.\r\n\r\nThere's only one hint really worth giving for beginners - keep moving fast and keep blasting everything in sight! Spectrum owners shouldn't miss this Elite version of the classic arcade game.\r\n\r\nCommodore owners have more of a choice with Alligata's Who Dares Wins II and the soon to be released Rambo game from Ocean.\r\n\r\nYou pays your money and takes your choice, Commandos' not a bad choice.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"17","Denied":false,"Award":"Blitz Game","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"7/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Value","Score":"9/10","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"10/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Computer Issue 1, Jan 1986","Price":"£1","ReleaseDate":"1985-12-19","Editor":"Toby Wolpe","TotalPages":132,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Toby Wolpe\r\nSoftware Editor: Simon Beesley\r\nCommercial Software Editor: Paul Bond\r\nEditorial Assistant: Lee Paddon\r\nEditorial: [redacted]\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Nick Ratnieks\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Ken Walford\r\nNorthern Office: Chris Shaw\r\nClassified: Ian Faux\r\nPublisher: Richard Hease\r\n\r\nYour Computer, [redacted]\r\n©Focus Investments Ltd\r\n\r\nPrinted in Great Britain for the proprietors of Focus Investments Ltd.\r\nPrinted by Riverside Press Ltd, [redacted], and typeset by Instep Ltd, [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: U.K. £14 for 12 issues.\r\nSubscription Enquiries: [redacted]\r\n\r\nABC 131,769 June-December 1984."},"MainText":"Spectrum & Commodore 64\r\nElite\r\nArcade\r\n£7.95 and £9.95\r\n\r\nBitter battling has not been confined to the game itself - Elite forced Alligata to make alterations to their excellent Who Dares Wins II in order to delay its production - and it would seem both games are superseded in complexity and variety by Ocean's Rambo.\r\n\r\nWhat all the games have in common is an upward scrolling scenario depicting a feisty little soldier battling his way past the enemy, past gun emplacements, bridges all the way to the fortress.\r\n\r\nThis game is particularly striking on the Spectrum - the animation and detail are so good it makes Sir Clive's little box of tricks look like an arcade machine. The sound quality on the Commodore is excellent and adds to the whole atmosphere of generally frothing stupidly at the mouth that is essential to partaking in warlike activity.\r\n\r\nDeveloped with the aid of Capcom to create the closest possible duplication of the original arcade game, Elite's Commando has the cachet of being the official version. A lot of people will think they are doing well if they get as far as the fortress wall, but beyond here there are troop carriers and tanks to defeat.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"35","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Paul Bond","Score":"4","ScoreSuffix":"/5"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Commando: An amazing programming feat."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"5/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"4/5","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall Rating","Score":"4/5","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]