<Author>Chris Stamper, Tim Stamper</Author><Publisher>Ultimate Play The Game</Publisher><Reviews><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Roger Kean</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Roger Kean Designer: Oliver Frey Consultant Editor: Franco Frey Staff Writers: Lloyd Mangram, Rod Bellamy Advertisement Manager: John Edwards Production Designer: Michael Arienti ©1984 Newsfield Ltd. Crash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted] No material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders. Mono printing, typesetting & finishing by Feb Edge Litho Ltd. [redacted] Colour printing by Allan-Denver Web Offset Ltd. [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted] Distributed by Wells Gardner, Darton & Co. [redacted] Subscriptions: 12 issues £9.00 UK Mainland (post included) Europe: 12 issues £15 (post included). Single copy: 75p If you would like to contribute to CRASH please send articles or ideas for projects to the above address. Articles should be typed. We cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope Cover Illustration:Oliver Frey</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Crash Issue 1, Feb 1984</Name><Price>£0.75</Price><ReleaseDate>1984-01-19</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>112</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>Producer: Ultimate, 16K £5.50 There's not much can be said about Ultimate that hasn't already been said. Graphics and presentation are of the highest standard. In Jetpac you must get your spaceman to assemble a rocket and fuel it, steal as many gems as you can and avoid the irate aliens or kill them with the laser. When assembled the rocket takes off for another planet to plunder. Re-assemble the ship after five planets. Five levels of different aliens. Joystick: Kempston. One or Two player games, continuous fire and movement in eight directions. Highly recommended.</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>47</Page><ReviewScores i:nil="true" /><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers /><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Roger Kean</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Roger Kean Designer: Oliver Frey Consultant Editor: Franco Frey Staff Writers: Lloyd Mangram, Rod Bellamy Advertisement Manager: John Edwards Production Designer: Michael Arienti ©1984 Newsfield Ltd. Crash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted] No material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders. Mono printing, typesetting & finishing by Feb Edge Litho Ltd. [redacted] Colour printing by Allan-Denver Web Offset Ltd. [redacted]. Colour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted] Distributed by Wells Gardner, Darton & Co. [redacted] Subscriptions: 12 issues £9.00 UK Mainland (post included) Europe: 12 issues £15 (post included). Single copy: 75p If you would like to contribute to CRASH please send articles or ideas for projects to the above address. Articles should be typed. We cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope Cover Illustration:Oliver Frey</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Crash Issue 2, Mar 1984</Name><Price>£0.75</Price><ReleaseDate>1984-02-23</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>112</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>Producer: Ultimate, 16K £5.50 There's not much can be said about Ultimate that hasn't already been said. Graphics and presentation are of the highest standard. In Jetpac you must get your spaceman to assemble a rocket and fuel it, steal as many gems as you can and avoid the irate aliens or kill them with the laser. When assembled the rocket takes off for another planet to plunder. Re-assemble the ship after five planets. Five levels of different aliens. Joystick: Kempston. One or Two player games, continuous fire and movement in eight directions. Highly recommended.</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>47</Page><ReviewScores i:nil="true" /><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers /><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Roger Kean</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Roger Kean Consultant Editor: Franco Frey Production Designer: David Western Art Editor: Oliver Frey Client Liaison: John Edwards Staff Writer: Lloyd Mangram Contributing Writers: Matthew Uffindel, Chris Passey Subscription Manager: Denise Roberts ©1984 Newsfield Ltd. Crash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted] Telephone numbers Editorial [redacted] Subscriptions [redacted] Advertising [redacted] Hot Line [redacted] No material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders. Colour origination by Scan Studio, [redacted] Printed in England by Plymouth Web Offset Ltd, [redacted]. Distribution by Comag, [redacted] Additional setting and process work by The Tortoise Shell Press, [redacted]. Subscriptions: 12 issues £9.00 UK Mainland (post free) Europe: 12 issues £15 (post free). We cannot undertake to return any written or photographic material sent to CRASH MICRO unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. Cover by Oliver Frey</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Crash Issue 3, Apr 1984</Name><Price>£0.75</Price><ReleaseDate>1984-03-16</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>128</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>Producer: Ultimate, 16K £5.50 There's not much can be said about Ultimate that hasn't already been said. Graphics and presentation are of the highest standard. In Jetpac you must get your spaceman to assemble a rocket and fuel it, steal as many gems as you can and avoid the irate aliens or kill them with the laser. When assembled the rocket takes off for another planet to plunder. Re-assemble the ship after five planets. Five levels of different aliens. Joystick: Kempston. One or Two player games, continuous fire and movement in eight directions. Highly recommended.</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>64</Page><ReviewScores i:nil="true" /><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers /><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>'The packages are not innovative or awe-inspiring.'</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>'The company has no idea which utilities will be available.'</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText></BlurbText><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Bill Scolding</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Bill Scolding Deputy Editor: Nicole Segre Consultant Editor: Mike Johnston Managing Production Editor: Harold Mayes MBE Software Editor: John Gilbert Program Reviewer: June Mortimer Illustrator/Designer: Brian King Group Advertisement Manager: John Ross Sales Executive: Annette Burrows Production Assistant: Dezi Epaminondou Editorial Assistant: Colette McDermott Managing Editor: Nigel Clark Managing Director: Terry Cartwright Chairman: Richard Hease Sinclair User is published monthly by ECC Publications Ltd. Telephone All departments [redacted] If you would like to contribute to any of the Sinclair User group of publications please send programs, articles or ideas for hardware projects to: Sinclair User and Programs ECC Publications [redacted] Programs should be on cassette and articles should be typed. We cannot undertake to return them unless a stamped-addressed envelope is included. We will pay £10 for the copyright of each program published and £50 per 1,000 words for each article used. ©Copyright 1984 Sinclair User ISSN NO. 0262-5458 Printed and typeset by Cradley Print PLC, [redacted] Distributed by Spotlight Magazine Distribution Ltd, [redacted]</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Sinclair User Issue 24, Mar 1984</Name><Price>£0.85</Price><ReleaseDate>1984-02-16</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>148</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>INTERFACE GAMES ARE FAST BUT NOT FURIOUS John Gilbert reviews the ROM cartridge software currently available. The Sinclair Research Interface Two has had few kind words said about it and that it is not surprising. The add-on is supposed to give the Spectrum the ROM potential of the Atari games consoles and computers into which you can plug ROM cartridges which will load games into the machine directly on power-up. It should have been the ideal add-on for users who want a quick-load device and no messing with tape recorders or even Microdrives. The main difficulties with the idea are that the software available consists of reproductions of arcade games which are already on the market and that many software companies have been deterred from producing software for the interface because of the conditions attached to ordering. At the moment companies have to order batches of 1,000 cartridges in a sector of the market which is not fully-established. It is a risky business even for a company as established as Melbourne House or Psion. The situation could develop so that Sinclair is the only company producing the ROM cartridges. It certainly has the monopoly now. The first ROM packages, together with their colourfully-styled display boxes, to arrive on the market were titles which already existed on the cassette format in the Sinclair software library. They included Planetoids, Backgammon and Space Raiders which are all from Psion. The packages, one of which appeared originally on the ZX-81, are not particularly innovative or awe-inspiring and they are certainly not the kind of titles which would be expected to be produced when bunching a new peripheral for a prime-selling microcomputer. It is as if Sinclair could not wait to get Interface Two out of the way and so complete its obligations for peripherals for the Spectrum. One reason may well have been that the new QL machine was occupying its thoughts. Backgammon featured as the only mind game in the first release, the others being held back because the Psion games were the quickest to produce. It is a pity that Backgammon was first instead of the chess package, which was left until later - chess has a far greater appeal to the majority of home computer users. Fortunately there was a gap of only two months before Chess was released and it has proved to be one of the better software packages in the launch. Space Raiders is a painfully slow version of Space Invaders and could just as well be bought on cassette more cheaply. There are three spaceships with which you can fire at the aliens which amble across the screen. Once you have finished one screen of the game, and that is not difficult, you will progress to the next level which is just as difficult or easy as the first. That makes the game a push-over and there is little challenge to tax even the newcomer to the arcade game scene. Like most of the games in the range the price of the program on cassette is only £5 but the ROM version costs almost £10. Considering that the software does not show off either the graphics, colour or sound of the Spectrum to best effect it does not seem advantageous to buy the ROM version. Planetoids is another arcade game with a familiar theme. Your spaceship first appears stationed at the centre of the screen and asteroids start to close in on it. You must try to destroy them and avoid the ones you miss. Alien spaceships make your task even more impossible. The standard of the game is reasonable for the market, even though it was first produced in late 1982. The graphics are better than the original Atari version of Asteroids. The ship and the planetoids have been given a solid, almost three dimensional quality. The program has a wrapround screen which allows your spaceship to go off one side and return on the other. That causes a strange effect when your ship fires across the screen, as the missiles will disappear off one edge and reappear somewhere else. The rogue missiles could even cause you to have some nasty accidents shooting at yourself. Those packages comprised the ROMs available at the launch of Interface Two and there was a considerable wait until the other ROMs were launched in December. The new packages include some old favourites from Melbourne House, already in the Sinclair software library, and some releases introduced by Ultimate Play the Game. The Melbourne house offerings feature the clown of the software scene. The newest Horace adventure is not on ROM but it is pleasant to see Hungry Horace having a re-birth and Horace and the Spiders on ROM. For those who know nothing of the Horace myth he is a little round, Pacman-type creature who has the habit of annoying everyone he meets. Each of the games has a cute plot and Hungry Horace sees the round man taking the part of a Pac-man. He is, however, no ordinary powerpill eater. He has to eat the flowers in the park and avoid the keepers who will throw him out if he is discovered. If you go through one maze into another there will be more surprises and if you are adept enough you may start to think that there is no limit to the number of mazes in the game. Horace and the Spiders is slightly different Horace has to dodge the spiders to gain points before he can reach the main part of the game which takes place in a cobwebbed house. You must destroy the spiders and their webs if you are to win the game. The Horace adventures are a pleasure to play and it is good to see them in a format where they can be loaded immediately you feel like a quick game. The range of Ultimate games is also worth having on cartridge, although they could be bought more cheaply on cassette from that company. In chronological order, Jet Pac was the first game Ultimate produced for the Spectrum. In it you play a spaceman whose task is to deliver and assemble spaceship kits and to collect valuable treasures on the way. You will be faced with all kinds of odd creatures which you must avoid and destroy to complete your task. The other games from Ultimate are Pssst, which involves a robot keeping away the bugs from a sunflower, and Cookie, which involves a chef bouncing ingredients for a cake, avoiding the nasties in the larder and keeping clear of the bins. Both games are arcade standard in quality and benefit from the ROM treatment. The only mind game in the second release of ROM software is Chess. It is the original cassette version which has existed since the title was launched, with no changes. That is surprising since Mikro Gen, the original manufacturer of the game, has produced an upgraded version. The game is standard so far as computer chess goes with options for playing or setting-up the board to play in particular situations. There are 10 levels and the highest, nine, takes several minutes to make a move. Each move for both you and your opponent is monitored in seconds, minutes and hours on a chess clock above the board on the screen. The future of the ROM interface is still uncertain and many software houses are unsure what they will do in the way of supporting it. It seems unlikely that any large-scale production of programs on Sinclair standard ROMs is planned in the software industry and Sinclair could be in the unenviable position of having a monopoly of ROM software. Sinclair Research hopes to produce some language and utility packages for Interface Two but the company still has no idea which language or utilities will be available, or when. It is likely that a ROM version of Micro-Prolog will be available soon but no firm date is being given even for that step forward. The indications are that it will be the last interface for the Spectrum. The buffer at the back of the board will support only a ZX printer and Sinclair has given no intention of producing more peripherals for its home market machine. It would therefore seem logical to support the interfaces it already has as far as it can and to promote the use of those devices as much as possible. As far as Interface Two is concerned it has crept on to the market with more of a whisper than the bang which was expected.</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>54,55</Page><ReviewScores><ReviewScore><Header>Gilbert Factor</Header><Score>8/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore></ReviewScores><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers><Reviewer><Name>John Gilbert</Name><Score>8</Score><ScoreSuffix>/10</ScoreSuffix></Reviewer></Reviewers><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>David Kelly</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: David Kelly Deputy Editor: Graham Taylor Staff Writer: Jim Douglas Staff Writer: Tamara Howard Art Editor: Gareth Jones Designer: Andrea Walker Adventure Help: Gordo Greatbelly Zapchat: Jon Riglar Helpline: Andrew Hewson Contributors: Richard Price, Chris Jenkins, Tony Dillon, Gary Rook Hardware Correspondent: Rupert Goodwins Advertisement Manager: Mike Corr Sales Executive: Steve Prescott Classified Sales/Production: Alison Morton Publisher's Secretary: Debbie Pearson Subscriptions Manager: Carl Dunne Publisher: Terry Pratt Telephone [redacted] Subscription Enquiries [redacted] Sinclair User is published monthly by EMAP Business & Computer Publications Cover Illustration: Angus Fieldhouse Sinclair User EMAP Business & Computer Publications [redacted] Printed by Nene River Press, [redacted] Distributed by EMAP Publications Ltd. ©Copyright 1986 Sinclair User ISSN No 0262-5458 ABC 84,699 July-Dec 1986</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Sinclair User Issue 69, Dec 1987</Name><Price>£1</Price><ReleaseDate>1987-11-18</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>148</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>Label: Ricochet Author: Ultimate Price: £1.99 Memory: 48K/128K Joystick: various Reviewer: Jason Roseaman Oh boy. We really are going beck to the dawn of time with this one. Jetpac was first released by Ultimate in the days when Ultimate was the undisputed king of Spectrum software. The basic idea is to collect the various bits of spaceship scattered around the first screen and from then on collect enough fuel pods to achieve lift off and get to the next level. Trouble is, you must get the stuff whilst dodging hoards of aliens that bounce about wildly. You will soon realise that there isn't actually much gameplay in this ancient shoot 'em up but even as old as Jetpac is, it still retains some of its original addictiveness.</MainText><OverallSummary>A classic blast from the past that perhaps has no place alongside today's shoot 'em ups.</OverallSummary><Page>48</Page><ReviewScores><ReviewScore><Header>Overall</Header><Score>6/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore></ReviewScores><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers><Reviewer><Name>Jason Roseaman</Name><Score>6</Score><ScoreSuffix>/10</ScoreSuffix></Reviewer></Reviewers><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Terry Pratt</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Terry Pratt Staff Writer: Eugene Lacey Editorial Assistant: Clare Edgeley Reader Services: Robert Schifreen Art Editor: Linda Freeman Designer: Lynda Skerry Production Editor: Tim Metcalfe Advertisement Manager: Rita Lewis Advertising Executives: Louise Matthews, Mick Cassall Advertisement Assistant: Louise Flockhart Publisher: Tom Moloney Editorial and Advertisement Offices: [redacted] COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES POSTAL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE. By using the special Postal Subscription Service, copies of COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES can be mailed direct from our offices each month to any address throughout the world. All subscription applications should be sent for processing to COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES (Subscription Department), [redacted]. All orders should include the appropriate remittance made payable to COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES. Annual subscription rates (12 issues): UK and Eire: £10.00, Overseas surface mail: £12.00, Airmail Europe: £20.00. 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 Eden Fisher (Southend) Ltd. ©Computer & Video Games Limited ISSN 0261 3697. Cover: David Scutt Next Issue: July 16th</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 21, Jul 1983</Name><Price>£0.75</Price><ReleaseDate>1983-06-16</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>156</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>TRACK DOWN THE NASTY SIZZLING ALIEN ENEMIES Building your rocket and fuelling it is the idea of the latest game from Ultimate. The tape loaded successfully first time and while the game was loading an impressive title screen was displayed. The game starts with a rocket ship in three parts. This has to be assembled by picking up each of the pieces in order and dropping them onto the base segment which is already in position at the bottom of the screen. Once the rocket assembly is complete, you will need to get six fuel pods on board by picking them up as they appear randomly on the screen and dropping them into the craft. When fuelled, you can board the ship yourself and blast off to the next planet where a similar task faces you. If all this sounds too easy, then you probably haven't heard about the thousands of aliens who inhabit each planet and are, "in desperate need of blowing up". You are equipped with a laser weapon with which to do this and also a jet-powered transport system strapped to your back, hence the title. If you are hit by an alien then you lose one of your four lives. On the first screen the aliens are not too difficult to avoid but on subsequent planets they become more intelligent and are able to track you with ever increasing accuracy. Jetpac is very playable, addictive and original arcade type game. The graphics are superb but the sound effects bore a striking similarity to a pan of frying eggs and bacon. By the time I reached the fourth planet I was starving! The choice of movement keys is well thought out, although the program also accepts a joystick from Kempston. Jetpac runs on any ZX Spectrum and is for one or two players. It costs £5 from Leicestershire-based Ultimate and comes complete with a five year unconditional guarantee which can't be bad.</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>136</Page><ReviewScores><ReviewScore><Header>Getting Started</Header><Score>9/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Value</Header><Score>9/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Playability</Header><Score>9/10</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore></ReviewScores><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers /><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Roger Munford</Editor><FlannelPanel>ZX Computing Vol. One Number Eight Aug/Sept 1983 Editor: Roger Munford Advertising Manager: Miriam Roberts Managing Editor: Ron Harris Managing Director: T J Connell Origination and design by MM Design & Print, [redacted] Published by Argus Specialist Publications Ltd, [redacted] ZX Computing is published bi-monthly on the fourth Friday of the month. Distributed by: Argus Press Sales & Distribution Ltd. [redacted]. Printed by: Henry Garnett Ltd., Rotherham. The contents of this publication including all articles, designs, plans, drawings and programs and all copyright and other intellectual property rights therein 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 Argus Specialist Publications Ltd. ©Argus Specialist Publications Limited 1983</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>ZX Computing Issue 8, Aug 1983</Name><Price>£1.85</Price><ReleaseDate>1983-07-22</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>148</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>PRICE: £5.50 Memory: 16K The idea of this game is that you are an astronaut and your object is to collect as many of the valuable minerals, etc, of the planet which you are on, whilst also collecting fuel for your safe departure. Though the scenario is not the most original around, what puts it to number one in this review is the fantastic quality of the graphics. The characters are beautifully designed and colour is used very well indeed. But the thing that really caught my eye was the incredible smoothness of it all. Never in the game will you see one jerky move. As you get to more planets the inhabitants get more and more determined to stop you. Another nice feature is the way in which, as you proceed through the game, your rocket turns into the space shuttle - a nice touch. There are five controls to be mastered: left, right, fire, thrust and hover. All of which maybe controlled via the keyboard or through a joystick. Overall this is a very well put together piece of software. If you want a game with impact then this is one of the best around. An excellent program and game.</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>106,107</Page><ReviewScores><ReviewScore><Header>Documentation</Header><Score>4.5/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Addictive Quality</Header><Score>4.5/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Graphics</Header><Score>5/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Programming Achievement</Header><Score>4.5/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Lasting Appeal</Header><Score>4.5/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Value</Header><Score>4.5/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore></ReviewScores><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers><Reviewer><Name>James Walsh</Name><Score></Score><ScoreSuffix></ScoreSuffix></Reviewer></Reviewers><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Toby Wolpe</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Toby Wolpe Assistant Editor: Meirion Jones Staff Writer: Simon Beesley Sub-Editor: Paul Bond Editorial Secretary: Lynn Cowling Editorial: [redacted] Advertisement Manager: Philip Kirby Assistant Advertisement Manager: Peter Rice Advertisement Executives: Bill Ardley, Nigel Borrell Midlands Office: Vic Sheret Northern Office: Ron Southall Advertisement Secretary: Jeanette Mackrell Classified: Claire Notley Publishing Director: Chris Hipwell ©Business Press International Ltd 1983 Your Computer, [redacted] Subscriptions: U.K. £9 for 12 issues. Printed in Great Britain for the proprietors of Business Press International Ltd, [redacted]. ISSN 0263-0885 Printed by Riverside Press Ltd, [redacted], and typeset by Instep Ltd, [redacted]</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Your Computer Issue 7, Jul 1983</Name><Price>£0.7</Price><ReleaseDate>1983-06-16</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>220</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>FROM DEEP-SPACE ADVENTURES TO WORLDLY BOARD-GAMES IN MEIRION JONES' SURVEY Less than a year ago the appearance of Scrabble on disc for the Apple caused consternation among micro owners. The program defeated three-quarters of the humans who challenged it to a dual of words. At least Scrabblers could comfort themselves with the knowledge that they had been beaten by a £750 disc-based system. Now Psion has taken even that consolation away by launching an improved version of the game with a bigger dictionary and better graphics which will run on a £150 system - the 48K Spectrum and a cassette recorder. This illustrates the rate at which Spectrum software is improving. The latest releases include clever implementations of board- games like monopoly and arcade favourites such as Scramble, long and complicated Adventures with names like Knight's Quest and combinations of arcade and Adventure like Pixel's Trader. While serious and educational material software is still thin on the ground, programs like Hewson's Countries of the World show how much useful information can be packed into the Spectrum. MORE ORIGINALITY Unfortunately the standard is not uniformly high. Sometimes imagination is lacking. Bridge software still insists on marketing what it calls "an exciting game for two to six players". Yes, you guessed, it is boring old Hangman. At other times graphics are weak. Micromega sells a version of Roulette which features a roulette wheel which looks more like a flying saucer on an off day. There is still too high a percentage of unloadable tapes and of tapes which you wished had been unloadable. Davic Games Tape 1, for instance, features a game which has Tooth Monsters instead of ghosts, which is probably the dullest-ever version of Pac-Man. The Tooth Monsters themselves are about as threatening as a pair of jelly babies. If you want real tooth monsters try Imagine's excellent Molar Maul. This is a real nerve-tingler from the moment that an enormous set of gleaming teeth appears on the screen like something out of jaws. Armed only with a toothbrush and toothpaste you have to defend these dentures from swarms of evil bacteria. These germs go by the name of Dentorium Kamikazium which allows Imagine to talk about "the DK Menace" - a triple pun partly at the expense of Imagine's Ipswich-based rivals DK'tronics. Imagine's punsters are at work again on the cover of Arcadia where we are told we are fighting against the "deadly menace of the Atarian empire". Perhaps this explains why Sinclair owners have shown such enthusiasm for Arcadia because the game itself is just a lacklustre version of Galaxians. Much better is Imagine's Schizoids. If, like me, you have always wanted to be a bulldozer, Schizoids is the game for you. You are a bulldozer in outer space and your job is to push tumbling cubes and pyramids into a nearby black hole without falling in yourself. Perhaps this nearby anomaly in the space-time continuum affects the wavelength of light. At any rate the game itself is only in black and white. Pixel is another company which cannot resist veiled messages. Trader is part space Adventure and part arcade game. The Adventure, trading commodities between different worlds, is more convincing than the crude skill tests such as finding the right orbit when approaching a planet. Trader may well be bought as much for its attractive packaging - which includes a survival guide for the would-be Trader - as for the game itself. After buying supplies for your first trip you set out for the planet Psi where the inhabitants - yes, Psions - who look like a cross between Clive Sinclair's beard and a muppet ask you tiresome questions such as "What is the formula for carbon monoxide?" or "What is your first name?". Entering "Clive" as an answer elicits the response "What a strange name". So, for that matter, does any other reply. If disaster should strike, a caption will appear saying "Is this the end...?" The answer is "No" because Trader is a trilogy so there are another two complete parts to load from the tape. There are many more traditional text Adventures of the "Go south, open door, take gold" variety but the narrowness of the replies they will accept is often irritating. DOWN THE MINES Mikrogen's Mines of Saturn starts with a cheery "Have fun" and then proceeds to ask questions like "Tunnels lead N, S, E and W - what will you do?" Attempts to answer "N" or "go N" or even "go n" will not wash. It must be "go North" or nothing. At least Phipps' Knight's Quest has a 120-word vocabulary to help you on your damsel-ridden way to a castle in the air. Everest by Richard Shepherd Software is more of a strategy game than a straight Adventure. You have to take enough food and rope to climb the mountain and cope with every hazard. I enjoyed the climb but I never reached the summit - partly because the Sherpas are not what they used to be. When Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Everest for the first time he managed to find a Sherpa called Tensing. The time when you visit a Nepalese hill village to recruit porters you are asked to choose between Sherpas with names like Keith, Brian, Ron, Tim and Paul. Presumably they are ex-hippies, lost on the road to Katmandu. Things obviously still are what they used to be down at Mikrogen. If Andy Capp sends you into fits of laughter Mad Martha might just raise a smile. It is the same old story, boy meets girl, well, hen-pecked husband meets axe-happy wife - all very predictable. Mikrogen also sells arcade games like Cosmic Raiders - a competent impersonation of Defender with a long-range screen and grabbers. Melbourne House's variation on the same theme is called Penetrator. The display looks more like the arcade version of Scramble. A training facility to help you build up specific game skills is a good idea. C-Tech's Rocket Raider is yet another competent variant on similar lines. Artic offers a suicidally fast asteroids game called Cosmic Debris. Still in the arcades, both Elfin Software and Quicksilva produce robot battles which are of the Pac-Man-meets-Tanks variety. Elfin's Tobor has the more exciting opening titles but loses on points to Quicksilva's QS Frenzy whose exotic science-fiction plot seems to offer a better justification for the game. Speaking of Tanks, DK'tronics 3D Tanx was one of my favourite programs in the whole batch. You can track you gun barrel from side to side and adjust the elevation as you lob your shells at four lines of moving tanks which can fire back at you. Although the opposing tanks at first appear to be crawling across a structure that looks more like Brighton's West Pier than a battleground, this is one of my four games you might catch me paying to play in an arcade. JOIN THE PROFESSIONALS Artic's Combat Zone is another ambitious attempt at a Tank game. Your target and the landscape - a few pyramids on an invisible plane - look like refugees from Psion's Vu-3D program. They are very simple three-dimensional shapes but they change position smoothly and realistically as if you were walking past them in some world inside your Spectrum. You and your opponents fire fragments of cubist paintings at each other but the abstraction is not so important as the fact that you are playing the first real Spectrum game in three dimensions - Vu-3D itself is a Psion program which allows you to build up three dimensional objects on the screen and then rotate them, or float them towards you and back again. In effect it is a crude version of the mainframe programs which create the effects for films like Tron. ET makes an appearance too in an Abbex Adventure with voices called ETX. Unfortunately after loading pages of instructions about how I should phone home ending with the advice that I should treat any MI5 man who appeared as an enemy, the tape self-destructed. This left me with an unnerving impression of "the strength of Britain's security services. The secret police are certainly important in DK'tronics strategy game called Dictator. The setting is a banana republic. The instructions ominously point out that "your rule is measured in months". You have to balance political factions, army, secret police, peasants, landowners, guerillas and superpowers if you are to survive. Breaking into embassies would doubtless be all in a day's work for a dictator. So for all prospective saviours of the nation, Sinclair's Embassy Assault will come in useful. It is very much like those maze games which present your view. standing in the maze. Instead of trying to avoid a minotaur, this time you are looking for secret codes and the like. All this is enough to send you back into the arcades but Jet Pac's creators have moved from the arcades into home computing. Ultimate Play the Game's Jet Pac puts you into the position of an astronaut who has to build a rocket from the pieces he can find sitting on clouds around the screen. The scenario is not entirely convincing but it makes for a good game. The same cannot be said of the simulations by CCS. CCS's representations of the oil business, Dallas, running a printers, Print Room, and of international aviation, Airline, may be realistic but they are not very exciting. Although these were originally designed as training for middle management, livelier presentation would not necessarily have made them less useful. Hewson's simulations of air-traffic control, Heathrow, and the Nightflite flight simulator are more convincing. Board-games seem to transfer particularly well to the Spectrum. Psion's Scrabble has already been recommended. With its four levels of play and 11,000-word dictionary it can offer almost as tough opposition as you could want. There are also two different approaches to that old favourite Monopoly. Automonopoli offers a continuous display of the part of the board around your current position. This display moves smoothly when the dice are thrown. Do Not Pass Go from Workforce has a less interesting display but at least shows the whole board all the time. Automonopoli allows you to personalise the program with the names of players and both programs give the option of being either a board for humans to play on or of letting the computer join in as a player. In each case the computer becomes a soft opponent once you have reached the stage of building houses and hotels. If you have ever wandered into a rundown dockland hotel or pub and been confronted by the sort of balding drunk who says he used to sail the seven seas and boasts that he can name the capital of any country you care to choose, I can reveal his secret. At home he has a Spectrum with Hewson's Countries of the World up and running on it. At the touch of a button it will remind you that N'djamena is the capital of Chad or that Yaounde is the capital of Cameroon. In the corner of the pub someone with probably be playing a video game not unlike Firebirds. Softek's Firebirds is a Galaxians-type game distinguished by good croaking noises from the birds. Still on the subject of sound effects Workforce's Jaws Revenge is very noisy and fun. The graphics are great. You are a shark and you are after the divers and- boats which are after you. Mined Out from Quicksilva is a very strange version of Mines. It is subtitled "Rescue Bill the worm from certain old age" and if you find a way through the first minefield you then have to rescue damsels in distress. Someone at Quicksilva has been playing too many Adventure games and it is beginning to show. The last words on the cassette packet read "the image fades to soft focus which is replaced by waves falling on a rocky shore, except in Bill's dream there are no waves or soft focus..." It is certainly time that software cassettes carried a government health warning. Company: Abbex Game: ETX Memory: 16/48K Price: £5.95 Company: Artic Game: 3D Combat Zone Memory: 48K Price: £5.95 Company: Artic Game: Cosmic Debris Memory: 48K Price: £4.95 Company: Automata Game: Automonopoli Memory: 16/48K Price: £6 Company: Bridge Game: Lynchmob Memory: 16K Price: £6.50 Company: CCS Software Game: Dallas Memory: 48K Price: £6 Company: C-Tech Game: Rocket Raider Memory: 16K Price: £6.50 Company: DK'Tronics Game: 3D Tanx Memory: 16/48K Price: £4.95 Company: DK'Tronics Game: Dictator Memory: 48K Price: £4.95 Company: Elfin Game: Tobor Memory: 48K Price: £7.95 Company: Hewson Game: Heathrow Memory: 16/48K Price: £7.95 Company: Hewson Game: Countries of the World Memory: 16/48K Price: £5.95 Company: Imagine Game: Molar Maul Memory: 16/48K Price: £5.50 Company: Imagine Game: Arcadia Memory: 16/48K Price: £5.50 Company: Imagine Game: Schizoids Memory: 16/48K Price: £5.50 Company: Melbourne House Game: Penetrator Memory: 48K Price: £6.95 Company: Micromega Game: Roulette Memory: 16/48K Price: £4.95 Company: Mikrogen Game: Cosmic Raiders Memory: 16/48K Price: £5.95 Company: Mikrogen Game: Mines of Saturn Memory: 48K Price: £5.95 Company: Mikrogen Game: Mad Martha Memory: 48K Price: £6.95 Company: Phipps Game: Knight's Quest Memory: 48K Price: £5.95 Company: Psion Game: Scrabble Memory: 48K Price: £15.95 Company: Psion Game: Vu-3D Memory: 48K Price: £9.95 Company: Quicksilva Game: Frenzy Memory: 16/48K Price: £4.95 Company: Quicksilva Game: Trader Memory: 16/48K Price: £9.95 Company: Quicksilva Game: Mined Out Memory: 48K Price: £4.95 Company: Richard Shepherd Game: Everest Ascent Memory: 48K Price: £6.50 Company: Sinclair Research Game: Embassy Assault Memory: 16/48K Price: £4.95 Company: Softek Game: Firebirds Memory: 16K Price: £5.95 Company: Ultimate Play The Game Game: Jet Pac Memory: 16/48K Price: £5.50 Company: Workforce Game: Do Not Pass Go Memory: 48K Price: £6.95 Company: Workforce Game: Jaws Revenge Memory: 16/48K Price: £5.95</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>62,63,66</Page><ReviewScores i:nil="true" /><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers><Reviewer><Name>Meirion Jones</Name><Score></Score><ScoreSuffix></ScoreSuffix></Reviewer></Reviewers><ScreenshotText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>Build rockets in Jet Pac, left, and arm yourself to the teeth in Molar Maul, above.</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText></ScreenshotText><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>CRASH REVIEWERS COMPETITION In the first issue of CRASH (February) we ran a competition designed to discover the best reviewers of games from among readers. The results of this competition should have been announced in the third issue (April). We had, however, overlooked the fact that, as they say, everyone's a critic at heart. By the time the third hundred review dropped into the IN tray, we realised that there was no way it would be possible to process all the entries in time. Hence the one-month delay.</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>In addition to the winner and five runners-up, the following get a special mention, and extracts or whole reviews will be appearing in following issues. Vic Groves, Regent's Park Estate, London NW1 A. J. Green, Toddington, Beds Rob Holmes, Wirksworthy, Derbyshire David Branston, Hall Green, Birmingham S. Guillerme, London W8 R. Norfolk, Scholar Green, Stoke-on-Trent H. J. Lock, Wallington, Surrey David Dursley, Clifton, Bristol J. E. Price, St Albans, Herts</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>JUDGING CRITERIA What we were really looking for were reviews that managed to provide a good, concise description of the game in question and combine it with a sense of humour, personal observation and, of course, an ability to write in a fluent, interesting way. We did say that entries would not be judged on spelling ability, although it would be important to be literate. In the event, there seemed to be very few bad spellers. A number of entries tried to ape the style of presentation as seen in CRASH, which was not necessary at all, although this did not affect the outcome of the final decision; and other writers steadfastly stuck to the format that other well-known computer magazines offer. The winner and five runners-up have provided a varied selection of titles, and although it was felt that the winner stood out, he did so from the runners-up by a faint margin. All in all it was a hard Choice. And so to the most important part - the results.</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>Readers were asked to write three reviews of titles picked from a selection of 79 games, divided into five categories: Arcade, Adventure, Strategy /board games, Simulations, Utilities and Educational. Each review was supposed to be of between 500 and 900 words. However, due to a rather ambiguous use of language (sorry) entrants were a bit confused as to whether they should write three reviews of this length or three reviews which together added up to this length. As it was our error, no one has been penalised for picking either figure. As it turns out, it was just as well that there was a large selection of choice, but, in the main, the majority of reviewers opted for the more obvious games and there were numerous versions of Jetpac, Hobbit, Penetrator and Zoom. From among the utilities The Quill and Melbourne Draw proved favourites. We were pleasantly surprised by how many educational reviews we received, showing that this is a vital area of interest for quite a number of readers. Choosing a winner and five runners-up has been a difficult task, not only because there were so many entries, but also because the standard was extremely high throughout. A factor common to many entries was the tendency to pick games obviously well enjoyed by the reviewer, thus allowing said reviewer to rhapsodise over the game's finest points rather than actually criticise it. It's always much easier to say nice things about something than to say unpleasant things in a constructive manner. On the other hand, there were a few entries which positively reveled in tearing a program to shreds as a sort of revenge against the computer game in general!</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>THE WINNERS ENTRIES It would only be fair to say that in the opinion of the Editor there were several entrants who were able to provide more detailed descriptions of the games than those that will be found in the winner's reviews. But the winner managed to combine most successfully the ability to enthuse over a game while at the same time keeping a sense of overall perspective. He was able to describe the games adequately and in a very personal way. Most importantly, all three reviews start off in a highly original and entertaining manner, creating instantly an atmosphere which makes the reader want to carry on reading. As printing all the winning entries in one go would take up too much room, we have had to split them up into two sections. This month the winner, J. Singh, and runners-up John Minson and Phil Morse; next month runners-up Gary Bradley, E. Munslow and Steven Wetherill. The following month we will be printing some further entries which deserve a special mention. May we thank everyone who wrote in to take part in the competition.</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>WINNER - CRASH REVIEWERS COMPETITION Jaswant Singh is 19 and lives in Hadley, Telford, with his family: mother, father, two sisters and brother. He went to Manor School, just down the road from where he lives, and he left with 10 O-levels and four A-levels. He now works for Lloyds Bank. The CRASH Reviewers' Competition isn't the first competition that Jaswant has won. In May 1982 he won second prize of £300 as an A-level student in a competition organised by Barclays, writing on teaching and the microchip. He was also a runner-up in a nationwide competition organised by The Observer and Whitbread of the subject, How the Chip Will Change Society. Jaswant bought his first Spectrum in October, and says he prefers playing arcade games. He does not use a joystick, although he is thinking of getting one soon. We hope that Jaswant will be joining the team of CRASH reviewers very soon.</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText><ScreenshotAndBlurbText><Text>WINNER CRASH REVIEWERS' COMPETITION J. Singh, Hadley, Telford, Salop RUNNERS-UP (Not in order of merit) Steven Wetherill, Kexboro, Barnsley, S. Yorks E.Munslow, West Bromwich, W. Midlands Gary Bradley, Glasgow John Minson, Muswell Hill, London N10 Phil Morse, Welwyn Garden City, Herts</Text></ScreenshotAndBlurbText></BlurbText><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Roger Kean</Editor><FlannelPanel>Editor: Roger Kean Consultant Editor: Franco Frey Production Designer: David Western Art Editor: Oliver Frey Client Liaison: John Edwards Staff Writer: Lloyd Mangram Contributing Writers: Matthew Uffindel, Chris Passey Subscription Manager: Denise Roberts ©1984 Newsfield Ltd. Crash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted] Telephone numbers Editorial [redacted] Subscriptions [redacted] Advertising [redacted] Hot Line [redacted] No material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders. Colour origination by Scan Studio, [redacted] Printed in England by Plymouth Web Offset Ltd, [redacted]. Distribution by Comag, [redacted] Additional setting and process work by The Tortoise Shell Press, [redacted]. Subscriptions: 12 issues £9.00 UK Mainland (post free) Europe: 12 issues £15 (post free). We cannot undertake to return any written or photographic material sent to CRASH MICRO unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. Cover by Oliver Frey</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Crash Issue 4, May 1984</Name><Price>£0.75</Price><ReleaseDate>1984-04-19</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>128</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>Situations Vacant Wanted: Space Test Pilot Qualifications: Rocket Pilot Licence, elementary technical knowledge and Award of Merit from League of Blasted Aliens Special Details: Volunteer required to assemble and launch test vehicles. Dangerous conditions (hordes of homicidal entities alien to all known galaxies), but good rewards for initiative can be acquired through a 10% commission on all minerals secured. (High profits assured on every trip.) Lengthy experience in laser weaponry required, strong nerves essential, and a preference for working alone. Xenophobiacs preferred, a pathological tendency to blast everything in sight helpful. Certificate of insanity not mandatory but also helpful. Can you fulfil the above criteria and become the Ultimate test-pilot? This job is not for the faint hearted or for those with lethargic reflexes. The task itself is simple enough; as sole test pilot for the Acme Interstellar Transport Company 'you' have to assemble a space ship which is conveniently distributed in bits on the planet surface while fighting off hordes of maniacal aliens. Once assembled the test-pilot must wait for fuel supplies to descent from the heavens or he can supplement his income by collecting the various gems that also accompany the fuel supplies. The screen display shows the planet surface, the rocket parts awaiting assembly and three ledges at various heights. The screen has a wrap around effect which enables the jetman's laser to leave and re-enter the screen at opposite points. The aliens are of different colours, and their numbers are supplemented by new arrivals to prevent you from feeling lonely. Your jetman can negotiate 16 screens and assemble four space ships before the game begins to repeat itself, but getting there is a difficult task as the aliens vary from subnormal laser-fodder to vicious 'intelligent' hunters who follow you around the screen. None of the aliens is armed but collision is usually fatal. It is easy to see why Jetpac turned Ultimate into a household name virtually overnight; even now it stands out amongst the plethora of mediocre arcade clones. The presentation of the game is excellent, it loads reliably under a beautifully designed title-page which shows almost exactly the cassette inlay illustration. The keyboard controls and the game itself are comprehensively covered within the inlay; however, the program, once loaded, gives you a choice between keyboard and joystick controls, or between one and two players. The graphics are colourful and the test-pilot jetman with a rocket pack on his back is accurately drawn with remarkable attention to detail. The animation of the jetman is superb and his movement in flight, and that of the aliens, is very smooth indeed. My favourite piece of animation is when the fully fuelled rocket blasts off for another planet with the frustrated aliens hopping about angrily in the flames from the rocket's afterburners. The smoothly animated multi-coloured laser blasts and the variform aliens are very eye-catching as well. The only criticism with this cassette (if one is hypercritical) is with the sound, which is adequate without being exceptional, and with no catchy tunes being played. In appraising this game it is difficult to find any real faults. The game is easily played with either the keyboard or joystick. The high-resolution colour graphics and excellent animation routines make full use of the Spectrum's capabilities. Ultimate have gone a long way towards creating the perfect arcade-quality game, and at only £5.50 my verdict is rush out and buy it before Ultimate realise that it's grossly under priced.</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>56,57</Page><ReviewScores i:nil="true" /><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers><Reviewer><Name>Jaswant Singh</Name><Score></Score><ScoreSuffix></ScoreSuffix></Reviewer></Reviewers><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review><Review><Award>Not Awarded</Award><BlurbText /><CompilationReviewScores /><Denied>false</Denied><Issue><Editor>Cyndy Miles</Editor><FlannelPanel>CHARACTER SET Editorial Editor: Cyndy Miles Assistant Editor: Geof Wheelwright Production Editor: Keith Parish Sub-Editor: John Lettice News Editor: David Guest News Writers: Ralph Bancroft, Wendie Pearson Software Editor: Shirley Fawcett Systems Editor: Max Phillips Hardware Editor: Richard King Peripherals Editor: Ian Scales Listings Editor: Sandra Grandison Editor's Assistant: Harriet Arnold Art Director: Jim Dansie Art Editor: David Robinson Assistant Art Editor: Floyd Sayers Art Assistant: Dolores Fairman Publisher: Fiona Collier Publishing Manager: Mark Eisen Publishing Assistant: Jane Green Advertising Advertisement Director: John Cade Advertisement Manager: Nic Jones Assistant Advertisement Manager: Sue Hunter Sales Executives: Robert Stallibrass, Matthew Parrot, Bettina Williams, Ian Whorley, Sarah Barron, Roxanna Johnston, Christian McCarthy Production Manager: Eva Wroblewska Advertisement Assistant: Jenny Dunne Subscription Enquiries: Gill Stevens Subscription Address: [redacted] Editorial Address: [redacted] Advertising Address: [redacted] Published by VNU Business Publications [redacted] © VNU 1983. No material maybe reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders. Photoset by Quickset, [redacted] Printed by Chase Web Offset, [redacted] Distributed by Seymour Press, [redacted] Registered at the PO as a newspaper Cover photography by Chris Stevens</FlannelPanel><HasCoverTape>false</HasCoverTape><Name>Personal Computer News Issue 17, Jul 1983</Name><Price></Price><ReleaseDate>1983-07-07</ReleaseDate><TotalPages>90</TotalPages></Issue><MainText>NAME: Jet Pac SYSTEM: Spectrum 16K PRICE: £5.50 PUBLISHER: Ultimate Play the Game [redacted] FORMAT: Cassette OUTLETS: WH Smith, John Menzies, Sinclair dealers, mail order. PLANETS OF PLENTY Jet Pac is the first product from a newly formed company which claims it has 'the most experienced arcade video game design team in Britain.' OBJECTIVE In a word - greed. You're the chief test pilot for Acme Interstellar Transport and have been asked to go to various planets and assemble rockets. But that seems a mildly boring activity - once you've built one rocket the others are the same. So when you arrive on the planet and start jetting around, you decide to take a few 'souvenirs' in the form of jewels, elements and gold - which oddly keep falling from the sky. The aliens are a mite peeved that you've tried to walk off with their treasure, without so much as paying the V in VAT. So you have to shoot them with your Quad Photon Laser Phasers. You also have to fuel the rocket you've assembled in order to get off each planet - and that means collecting six fuel pods - which also drop from the skies. FIRST IMPRESSIONS This is one of the only cassette-based games - no, the only - I've ever played whose onscreen graphics match the artists' impressions that look so enticing on cassette sleeves. The documentation is also quite sufficient to explain the principle, so Jet Pac wins on both counts. IN PLAY The first planet features fireball-type creatures that don't get in your way too much as you build your rocket and then re-fuel to move on to the next planet. The trick is to stay hovering above the planet on the three 'safe areas' above the ground - if you don't the fireballs will get you. However, the air seems thinner at the top of the screen and the aliens tend to keep away from it. The second planet harbours mean furry creatures, the third vicious bouncing spheres and the fourth some strange-looking little insects. The insects are a new breed of tough creature that jealously guard both jewels and fuel pods and seems to have a heat-seeking capability that allows them to follow you around. The fifth planet (I didn't get any further than that) features flying saucers which seem even meaner than the insects. VERDICT Little to say here, except that I have never had more fun playing a game on the Spectrum. A classic which should rank with Space Invaders and Pacman in the computer game annals of fame.</MainText><OverallSummary></OverallSummary><Page>51</Page><ReviewScores><ReviewScore><Header>Lasting Appeal</Header><Score>4/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Playability</Header><Score>5/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Use Of Machine</Header><Score>4/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore><ReviewScore><Header>Overall Value</Header><Score>5/5</Score><Text></Text></ReviewScore></ReviewScores><ReviewerComments xmlns:d5p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/Arrays" /><Reviewers><Reviewer><Name>Geof Wheelwight</Name><Score></Score><ScoreSuffix></ScoreSuffix></Reviewer></Reviewers><ScreenshotText /><TranscriptBy>Chris Bourne</TranscriptBy></Review></Reviews><TitleName>Jetpac</TitleName><YearOfRelease>1983</YearOfRelease><ZxDbId>0009362</ZxDbId>