[{"TitleName":"Miami Chase","Publisher":"Code Masters Ltd","Author":"Allister Brimble, Andrew Richards","YearOfRelease":"1991","ZxDbId":"0009376","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 92, Sep 1991","Price":"£2.2","ReleaseDate":"1991-08-15","Editor":"Richard Eddy","TotalPages":68,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"THIS IS CRASH, THEY ARE:\r\n\r\nEditor: Richard Eddy\r\nSub Editor: Warren Lapworth\r\nStaff Writers: Mark Caswell, Nick Roberts, Lloyd Mangram\r\nArt Editor: Mark Kendrick\r\nDesign Assistant: Paul (Charlie) Chubb\r\nPhotography: Michael Parkinson\r\nDesign Consultant: Robin (Goodbye) Candy\r\nReprographics: Matthew Uffindell (Supervisor), Robert Millichamp, Robb Hamilton, Tim Morris\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executives: Neil Probert, Christine Moore\r\nAdvertisement Production: Jackie Morris (Supervisor), Joanne Lewis\r\nEditorial Director: Oliver Frey\r\nManaging Director: Jonathan Rignall\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\nSubscriptions: Caroline Edwards [redacted]\r\n\r\nTypesetting Apple Macintosh computers using Quark Express and Bitstream fonts.\r\n\r\nSystems Manager: Ian Chubb\r\n\r\nColour origination Scan Studios [redacted]. Printing in England by BPCC Business Magazines (Carlisle) Ltd, [redacted]. Distribution COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nYearly subscription rates: UK mainland £22, Eire and Europe £28. Outside Europe (Airmail) £42. US/Canada subscriptions and back issues enquiries Barry Hatcher, British Magazine Distributors Ltd [redacted]. Yearly subscription rates US $47.00, Canada $57.00.\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 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 us a line). No person who is related, no matter how remotely, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions.\r\n\r\nNo 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 on 35mm transparencies is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates. Copy published in CRASH will be edited as seen fit and payment will be calculated according to the current printed word rate. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nISSN 0954-8661\r\n©CRASH Ltd 1991.\r\nCover design by Oliver Frey. Powertape inlay design by Richard Eddy."},"MainText":"Everything's either driving or football this month, isn't it, viewers? This time Mark Caswell takes to the road in a smart, fast car to smash a drugs ring (funny for a football game, but there you have it!)\r\n\r\nCode Masters\r\n£3.99\r\n\r\nThe drug lords are expanding their empire to include five major cities so it's time to call in Crockett and Tubbs. Erm, no. Hang on, this isn't Miami Vice, it's Miami Chase (I'm a silly sausage, aren't I).\r\n\r\nCue the arrival of Lieutenant Ferrari, an undercover Drug Enforcement Agency operative with a very fast Ferrari F-40. The game starts with an APB being called on a pusher called Diago 'The Jackal' Angelo. Leap into your dream machine and burn some rubber (vroom, vroom).\r\n\r\nThe action viewed from above so all you can see of your car and the computer-controlled traffic is the top of the roof, bonnet and boot. In order to get Angelo, you first have to apprehend several of his gang members, who all drive red cars (colour-coordinated hoodlums, how sweet! - Sub Ed). This is achieved by either ramming into them or shooting them.\r\n\r\nEXPLODING CRETINS\r\n\r\nWhen they explode, villains' cars often leave useful items behind: these include a turbo charger, wheel blades, oil cannon and more.\r\n\r\nBut time is very short. A timer counts down from 499 and should you fail to catch Angelo and his gang within the time limit you lose a life. An added annoyance are the police cars that chase you around. They don't arrest you but you lose a precious few seconds when they stop you for questioning (the thickies).\r\n\r\nA life is also lost if you crash into too many buildings or other cars - an energy bar slowly decreases every time you have an argument with a hard object.\r\n\r\nOnce all the red cars are out of the way you can chase Mr Angelo in his very distinctive yellow vehicle, and with him out of the way you can move onto the next city (level).\r\n\r\nCOMING OR GOING\r\n\r\nMy first impressions of Miami Chase weren't good. The difficulty level has been set way too high. I found it amazingly tough to control the car, and when I finally managed it, both ends of the vehicle look so similar I didn't know whether I was coming or going (story of my life).\r\n\r\nThe cop cars are the biggest pain as they hassle you continually. You would have thought that an F-40 is pretty unforgettable but they stop you so often it just gets silly.\r\n\r\nIn short, even though the game is graphically pretty good, the dratted police cars quickly crush any impulse to continue play.\r\n\r\nMARK 45%","ReviewerComments":["Oh, I see. Miami Chase is impersonating All Points Bulletin. (Shame it forgot about the great jokes and smooth graphics, really.) The layout of the scrolling city streets is pretty plain but the way the cars move around it is unbelievable. If you turn a corner, the car is rotates through 45 degrees twice. The most annoying thing is that if you accidentally bump into any of the buildings or cars - and it's almost impossible not to - a cop car pulls you over to the side of the road and apologises for doing so! it wouldn't be so bad but half the time it the dratted cop that pushed you into the building in the first place!\r\nNick Roberts\r\n40%"],"OverallSummary":"Could have been good but has too many aggravating elements.","Page":"59","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Nick Roberts","Score":"40","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Mark Caswell","Score":"45","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"A multiple pile-up caused by a cop car containing members of the police."},{"Text":"'Ello, 'ello, 'ello, who do we think we are then, sir, Sterling bleedin' Moss?"},{"Text":"He's behind you! (Oh no he isn't!) Yes he bloomin' well is!"},{"Text":"It's all dark! Oh, it's the radar."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"57%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"53%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"50%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"35%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictivity","Score":"34%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"42%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 70, Oct 1991","Price":"£2.2","ReleaseDate":"1991-09-05","Editor":"Andy Ide","TotalPages":69,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Andy Ide\r\nNew Art Editor: Andy Ounsted\r\nGames Editor: James Leach\r\nStaff Writer: Linda Barker\r\nArt Assistant: Maryanne Booth\r\nAdvertising Manager: Cheryl Beasley\r\nProduction Coordinator: Melissa Parkinson\r\nPublisher: Jane Richardson\r\nPromotions Manager: Michele Harris\r\nGroup Publisher: Greg Ingham\r\nCirculation Director: Sue Hartley\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair, Future Publishing [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: Computer Posting [redacted]\r\nDistribution: MMC [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Matt Groening\r\nISSN 0269 6983\r\nABC Jan-June 1991 65,444\r\n\r\nYS comes to you from the same incredibly talented people who knock out Commodore Format, ST Format, Amiga Format, NCE, Amstrad Action, 8000 Plus, PC Answers, PC Plus, Sega Power, Amiga Power, Amiga Shopper, Classic CD, Needlecraft, Mountain Biking UK and (introducing this month's newies) PC Format and Public Domain."},"MainText":"CodeMasters\r\n£2.99 cass\r\nReviewer: Jonathan Davies\r\n\r\nMiami Vice, eh? What a programme. But this has got nothing to do with it. Honest. It's just got a name that sounds slightly similar. And it looks a it like it. But that's it - really! The Codies have probably never even watched Miami Vice, being much too busy thinking up original scenarios for their games.\r\n\r\nThe fact that you're a renegade cop cruising round in a big white Ferrari is, of course, puce coincidence, and if anyone suggests anything to the contrary I suggest you blow them away with your car's built-in gun. Although what you should really be doing is mopping up Miami's bad guys before the 48 hour amnesty that the mayor's given runs out. There are five of them on the loose (baddies, that is) and they'rr all highly dangerous.\r\n\r\nHave a quick peek and the screenshot (go on) and you'll quickly spot that this is a standard Codies bird's-eye-view driving game. Ho hum. You've got to drive round in your difficult-to-control car avoiding walls, innocent traffic and other perils while trying to spot the baddies on your radar. The only other things you've got to worry about are police cars, who keep stopping you, holding you up for ages and then letting you go.\r\n\r\nThe graphics? They're okay, and give a fair impression of scrolling smoothly (even if they don't). The sound? Typical Codies music. Any good? Generally? No, not really. Miami Chase isn't actually bad as such, but it simply isn't any fun to play. Sorry, but it isn't.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"A boring driving/maze game. There's not a lot more you can say about it really.","Page":"55","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jonathan Davies","Score":"61","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"To jump or not to jump, that is the question. (Yep, things are that bad.)"}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Life Expectancy","Score":"49%","Text":""},{"Header":"Instant Appeal","Score":"65%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"70%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"50%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"61%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Sinclair User Issue 117, Nov 1991","Price":"£1.85","ReleaseDate":"1991-10-15","Editor":"Garth Sumpter","TotalPages":68,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Garth Sumpter\r\nDesign: Andrea Walker\r\nDesign: Yvette Nicholls\r\nSoftware Editor: Steve Keen\r\nSU Crew: John Cook, Pete Gerrard, Phillip Fisch, Ian Watson, Alan Dykes\r\nAd Manager: Jerry Hall\r\nAd Production: Jo Gleissner\r\nMarketing Man.: Mark Swan\r\nMarketing Women: Sarah Ewing, Sarah Hilliard\r\nPublisher: Graham Taylor\r\nManaging Director: Terry Pratt\r\n\r\n(c)1991 EMAP IMAGES\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nColour by Proprint.\r\nPrinted by Kingfisher"},"MainText":"Label: Hit Squad\r\nMemory: 48K/128K\r\nPrice: £3.99\r\nReviewer: Steve Keen\r\n\r\nI've never figured out how Miami cops can afford to travel around in Lambourginis while your average London bobby has to make do with an Austin Metro with no wheel hubs on it.\r\n\r\nThe police Lieutenant (Loo tenant - he's American and apparently lives in an oak outhouse) in Miami Chase is quietly driving his lilly white sports car around the seedy streets of Miami when he receives a call to apprehend an arch drug dealer in the Miami docks. He must go to it, guns blazing, avoiding innocent motorists and showing little regard for the paintwork on his supercar! The game isn't too difficult to control, just a little annoying and as far as this goes I must say I prefer keyboard control rather than joystick as it's marginally more accurate.\r\n\r\nMiami Chase is quite a long game and the graphics are actually better and more colourful than many other vertically viewed shoot 'em up chase games but the level of action won't really sustain interest for a long time.","ReviewerComments":["More impressive graphics than APB but not half as much fun. Miami Chase lacks the killer instinct with which other games bowl over their fans.\r\nAlan Dykes"],"OverallSummary":"Well I certainly wouldn't pay out for this one as it's really nothing more than an overhead racing game. And as such it's actually less exciting than trying to get a reluctant pussy out of a tree.","Page":"49","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Steve Keen","Score":"59","ScoreSuffix":"%"},{"Name":"Alan Dykes","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"70%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"62%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"58%","Text":""},{"Header":"Lastability","Score":"63%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"59%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]