[{"TitleName":"Jimmy's Super League","Publisher":"Beyond Belief","Author":"","YearOfRelease":"1992","ZxDbId":"0009866","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 98, Apr 1992","Price":"£2.2","ReleaseDate":"1992-03-19","Editor":"Lucy Hickman","TotalPages":84,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Coming to you live from CRASH Towers are:\r\n\r\nEditor: Lucy 'G & T' Hickman\r\nDeputy Editor: Nick 'Totally Teed' Roberts\r\nProduction Editor: Warren 'I'm free?'' Lapworth\r\nStaff Writer: Mark 'Deja Vu' Caswell, Ian 'Obituary' Osborne\r\nArt & Design: Charlie 'Chipper' Chubb, Mark 'Five Times' Kendrick\r\nSystems Manager: Ian 'Insomniac' Chubb\r\nScreenshots: Michael 'Parky' Parkinson\r\nPublisher: Roger 'Moore' Kean\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Sheila 'Sip-Riot' Jarvis\r\nAdvertisement Sales Executive: George 'See Ya' Keenan\r\nAdvertisement Production: Jo 'Gi's A Break' Lewis\r\nProduction: Jackie 'Johannesburg' Morris\r\nReprographics: Rob 'Exiled' Millichamp\r\nManaging Director: Jonathan 'Radical' Rignall\r\nCirculation Manager: David 'Sinister' Wren\r\nAccounts: Santosh 'Tart' Thomas, Sheila 'Boolde' Adams\r\nSubscriptions: David 'Single' Bingle\r\n\r\nProduced using Apple Macintosh II computers, running Quark Xpress and Adobe Illustrator 3.0. Printing BPCC Business Magazines (Carlisle) Ltd. Distribution 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 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 write to us at the address below). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for either EUROPRESS IMPACT 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, hardware or software - 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. Copy published in CRASH will be edited as seen fit and payment will be calculated by the printed word rate. The views expressed in CRASH are not necessarily those of the publishers.\r\n\r\nEuropress Impact Ltd, CRASH [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover design: Oliver 'A' Frey. Powertape inlay: Mark Kendrick."},"MainText":"Beyond Belief\r\n£3.99\r\n\r\nWhy do they bother? if you've seen one footy management game you've seen 'em all! it wouldn't be so bed if Jimmy's Super League added something new to the genre, but it's just a straightforward rehash of old ideas - and not a particularly good one at that.\r\n\r\nUpon loading, quelle surprise, pick your team. The screen takes ages to update as you cycle through endless player files and you're only allowed to select eleven men - in case of injury, tough luck 'cos you haven't got a sub! The files are well set out (a nice mugshot of each player) but the colours are hideous - they look like the demented offerings of a frustrated art student.\r\n\r\nWhen you've selected your team it's on to the game. There's no animated representation of the match whatsoever - you just sit watching the clock and reading the match commentary. Aaarrggghhh! The only thing that moves is the commentator's mouth!\r\n\r\nAll the usual features are here, such as transfers, injuries, morale etc, presented through Icon-driven screens and menus. The graphics are pretty awful, though, and the whole thing's so slow it made me want to throw the tape at Lucy in frustration (Ian 'Stain' Osborne's cruising for a bruising, methinks - Ed).\r\n\r\nNicko gave i's predecessor, Jimmy's Soccer Manager, 30% in Issue 96 and Super League is basically an attempt to sell the same game twice. Dodgy graphics, dull gameplay and hellishly slow running speed make it a real stinker. And who the hell's Jimmy, anyway?!","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"74","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Ian Osborne","Score":"32","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"Wooh! Jimmy Jimmy, Jimmy Jimmy, you know your much to wild for this town."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"30%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"21%","Text":""},{"Header":"Sound","Score":"20%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"25%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictivity","Score":"15%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"32%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 74, Feb 1992","Price":"£2.2","ReleaseDate":"1992-01-02","Editor":"Andy Hutchinson","TotalPages":68,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"BACK TO OUR ROOTS\r\n\r\nWe're not talking about the roots in the land, we're talking 'bout the roots in the man!\r\n\r\nEditor: Andy (Manchester) Hutchinson\r\nNew Art Editor: Andy (Bristol) Ounsted\r\nGames Editor: James (Hamelin) Leach\r\nStaff Writer: Linda (Hackney) Barker\r\nArt Assistant: Maryanne (Portsmouth) Booth\r\nAdvertising Manager: Cheryl (Tunbridge Wells) Beesley\r\nProduction Coordinator: Lisa (Bath) Read\r\nPublisher: Jane (Chelmsford) Richardson\r\nPublishing Assistant: Michele (Amersham) Harris\r\nGroup Publisher: Greg (New Forest) Ingham\r\nCirculation Director: Sue (Guildford) Hartley\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair (London), Future (Somerton) Publishing [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: The Old Barn [redacted]\r\nDistribution: MMC [redacted]\r\n\r\nCover Illustration: Max (Wokingham) Ellis\r\nISSN 0269 6983\r\nABC Jan-June 1991 65,444\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair canters briskly into the paddock with a whinny and a neigh from the same stable as these fillies: Commodore Format (Bath), Amstrad Action (Somerton), Amiga Format (Bath), PCW Plus (Somerton), Sega Power (Bath), Amiga Power (Bath), Amiga Shopper (Bath), Classic CD (Bath), Needlecraft (Bath), Mountain Biking UK (Faversham), PC Format (Bath), Public Domain (Bath) and ST Format (Bath).\r\n\r\nBut what we really want to know is... who invented liquid soap, and why?"},"MainText":"Beyond Belief\r\n£3.99 cass\r\nReviewer: James Leach\r\n\r\nSo there were these two nuns, and one says to the other, \"Do you believe in life insurance?\" And the other one says...oh, sorry, have we started doing the review now? Erm, I'll tell you the rest of the joke later, Hutch.\r\n\r\nApologies for that, readers. You joined us a little early. Anyway (sounds of paper shuffling), let's get on. Jimmy's Super League, yes indeed. This is another management sim from the Beyond Belief stable. In fact it was programmed behind that pile of dimly-lit straw next to the horse feed.\r\n\r\nYou've got a team of eleven strapping young feller-me-lads raring to go and play a tough game of ninety minutes, two halves and a spell in the sin bin.\r\n\r\nEverything is controlled from a main office with a PC on the desk, a phone and a filing cabinet. You simply move the cursor onto the telephone or computer or whatever and you can go for a quick training session with the lads, play the game, look at very long lists of names and numbers and so on. There's masses of highly exciting detail on each bod, even down to what they had for breakfast. This is actually very important to a player's mental and physical agility, and can mean the difference between them being sick on the pitch or not.\r\n\r\nAll this detail is fine and groovy, and it adds a lot of atmosphere to a pretty boring game. But this doesn't hide the fact that it's still just an okayish footie management sim, and all you really need to do is select eleven players. Amongst the list of names you'll find that of the internationally famous W Scribo - art critic, deep sea diver, wok assembler and part-time pipe cleaner. Where would Beyond Belief be without him, eh?\r\n\r\nThe best bit is the game itself. You get both a commentary and an edited goal-mouth graphical action sequence. A David Coleman-type chap sits and watches each game carefully, making suitable comments in a scrolly line box. like \"Nobel prizewinner W Scribo has the ball. He passes to W Scribo, famous author who gets into position and shoots. But it's a great save by the Scribo twins (both minor Norse gods, of course) in goal!\"\r\n\r\nA side-on view of the goal shows some enterprising dude rushing on (it's usually our fave, Sir W of Scribo MBE) to have a shot. You can watch with bated breath as he whacks the ball at the net. If the goalie is alert, he can get in the way, otherwise it's a classic goal of the sort which will crop up on A Question Of Sport in years to come.\r\n\r\nWhat Super League lacks, of course, is an action packed 90 minutes of full-screen on-pitch action. The only way you can get an idea of what's going on is to read what the commentator is saying. It's like an extremely weird cross between listening to the radio and watching telly.\r\n\r\nThe only other fault of Super League is that it's as slow as almost every other management sim. You keep wondering whether your Speccy has crashed. I know that the computer is actually making lots of lovely calculations while you're watching a blank screen, but couldn't they display a little animation or show us the latest stock and share prices or something? Even Ceefax would be more interesting than a screen with the words 'Please Wait' on them.\r\n\r\nSo, in conclusion, Jimmy's Super League is proof that management sims are getting better. Most people still prefer a shoot-'em-up, but mannie sims (as they're known in the biz) have reached new heights, it would seem.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"Sick as a parrot or over the moon. It depends on whether you like management sims. This one is pretty okayish, actually.","Page":"18","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"James Leach","Score":"58","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"This is perhaps one of the saddest offices I've ever seen. I'd rather work in a mortuary than have to look at those green walls. Urgh!"}],"BlurbText":[{"Text":"LEAGUE FACTS\r\n\r\nA league is actually 3.456 miles.\r\nA league is something plumbers come to fix.\r\nThe Human League was a crap New Wave band."}],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Life Expectancy","Score":"64%","Text":""},{"Header":"Instant Appeal","Score":"59%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"58%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictiveness","Score":"57%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"58%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 85, Jan 1993","Price":"£2.5","ReleaseDate":"1992-12-13","Editor":"Linda Barker","TotalPages":52,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"YOUR SINCLAIR\r\nABC 40,648\r\n\r\nEditor: Linda Barker\r\nArt Editor: Andy Ounsted\r\nStaff Writer: Jon Pillar\r\nEditorial Contributors: Steve Anderson, Craig Broadbent, Dave Golder, Tim Kemp, Stuart Campbell, Simon Cooke\r\nArt Contributors: Nick Davies, Phil McCardle\r\nCover Artwork: Mike Roberts\r\nSenior Sales Executive: Jackie Garford\r\nProduction Co-ordinator: Lisa Read\r\nProduction Technicians: Chris Stocker\r\nScanning: Simon Windsor, Jon Moore, Simon Chittenden\r\nPublisher: Colin Campbell\r\nPromotions Manager: Michelle Harris\r\nPromotions Assistant: Tamara Ward\r\nGroup Publisher: Greg Ingham\r\nCirculation Director: Sue Hartley\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair, Future Publishing [redacted]\r\n\r\nManaging Director Chris Anderson\r\n\r\nPrinters: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nSubscriptions: Future Publishing Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\n©Future Publishing 1992. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission of W Scribo.\r\n\r\nISSN 0269 6983\r\n\r\nYour Sinclair has got more gold glitter in its little fingernail than Commodore Format, Amstrad Action, Amiga Format, PCW Plus, PC Answers, Mega, Super Play, PC Plus, Sega Power, Amiga Power, Amiga Shopper, Classic CD, Needlecraft, Cycling Plus, Photo Plus, Mountain Biking UK, PC Format, Public Domain, ST Format, Total! and Today's Vegetarian put together."},"MainText":"JIMMY'S SUPER LEAGUE\r\nBeyond Belief\r\n£3.99\r\n[redacted]\r\nReviewer: Jon Pillar\r\n\r\nWe originally saw this 'un way back in the mists of time (issue 75 actually), when James gave it the once-over and proclaimed it worthy of 58%. Since then, the gameplay's been tweaked here and there, with the player intelligence routines falling prey to a bit o' rewriting and the various options having a mite more user-friendliness built into them. So we thought we'd take another look at it.\r\n\r\nAs usual, you're the manager of a struggling club and have to climb to the top etc etc etc, and also as usual (well, these days anyway) the main screen is a whizz-your- pointer-around-the-cluttered-desk thang. Slight humour is introduced with the team, who all have strange names and apparently are all based on real-life people. (Yes. W Scribo makes his obligatory appearance here as well.)\r\n\r\nSo, what's Jimmy's Version 2.0 like then? For a start, more like Jimmy's 1.1 - the changes aren't spectacular, and just serve to make the game a little more rounded and less pernickety. If you've got the first version, there's no point buying this one, but if Jimmy's Super League isn't yet gracing your shelves, pop out and swap your pocket money for it. Nowhere near the giddy heights of all-time fave Tracksuit Manager, but pretty good fun all the same.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"44","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Jon Pillar","Score":"62","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"\"It is, isn't it? In fact, that's probably the best ball through I've ever seen in my life. What do you think, Jimmy?\" \"Yeah, yeah. A good ball through. Definitely.\""}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"62%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]