J O Y S T I C K J U R Y
On the jury this month are Alex Entwhistle, Alan Grier and Alan
Hunter - all members of the
Saltcoats Computer Club. Meeting every Tuesday evening (7-10pm)
at the Argyle Centre, Campbell
Avenue. Contact Daniel Canavin on nnnn nnnnn if you'd like to join
them.
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| * YS HIT * MUGSY
| Melbourne House / £6.95 |
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As the 'Godfather' to a gang of mafia men,
your job is to keep them all happy by
making lots of money and buying arms to
fight off rival gangs. You've also got to pay
for police co-operation and buy
'customers' who are in need of your brand
of protection.
Alex: As you might expect from Melbourne
House, the graphics are exceptionally well
defined; the detail is superb, right down to
the cigarette smoke. There are several
varying screens, each making good use of
contrasting colours, and the overall display
is very clear and pleasing to the eye.
Added to this is the very fast response time
which allows the game to proceed as
quickly as the player wants it to, and the
Charleston that's played
in the introduction.
Alan G: The idea of interacting with a comic
strip is excellent, and if you become too
successful, a rival gang sends out a hitman; the café shoot-out that results is
superb arcade sequence. Most of the
game, however, is about entering how
much money you want to spend on guns,
bribes, customers and so on. There's also a
wonderful micro movie at the end of each
year's business. Superbly detailed
graphics, excellent animation and choice of colours.
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Your right-hand man tells you here what is happening with your hoods in the gangland underworld and lets you know how much money you're making or losing.
The status report line gives you a running report on the number of hoods you have, your 'customers' and the amount of money you have left.
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| This is the 'input speech bubble', where you type in your requests, commands and replies.
The graphics used in Mugsy are great and have been drawn using Melbourne Draw; they really are very detailed.
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Alan H: The drawing of the graphics is
incredibly fast; in fact, they appear almost
instantaneously which is all the more
impressive considering their very high
quality. Equally astounding is the logic
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behind the game. It's consistent, but
doesn't produce outcomes that are in the
least predictable - every game seems to
be quite different from the last. Even the
title screen is very good. This
game is well worth the money at £6.95.
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| MR WONG'S LOOPY LAUNDRY
| Artic / £6.95 |
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Mr Wong is being chased by a clothes iron,
a stack of dirty washing and even soap
suds, as
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he tries to collect the laundry. So
it's up to you to help him out by spraying
his pursuers with starch to stun them.
Alex: The graphics aren't very impressive
and the colour doesn't improve the
situation. Being so slow makes the game
far too easy to play, especially when you're
using a joystick, so it's worth remembering
to play this one via the keyboard.
Collecting laundry is an original idea, but
it doesn't prove to
be exciting.
Alan H: Originality is low - it's similar to
burgertime type games - but this doesn't
make the game any less playable or
addictive. It includes above average, well-
drawn and fairly smooth graphics, with
only
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the merest amount of flicker. But the
colour could be better, as the whole
display is rather dull. Another minus is the
speed - it's quite slow for this type of
game, but using the keyboard instead of a
joystick solves the problem to some extent.
Alan H: There's a tendency to call this game
boring, but that's only because the speed is
so slow and perhaps because of the way
colour is used; it's the same on every
screen, which means everything looks the
same. However, the graphics are well
defined. It would be better to have total
control of Mr Wong; for example if you
press the key to go left he'll continue
until another
key is pressed.
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Fed up with his mundane existence and his
nagging wife (Dro Ning), not to mention
his whinging kids (Mo Ning and Complay
Ning), Yaw Ning decides to leave them
and look for adventure down at the local
(The Drink Ing?). There he hears tell that
Spoof the Magic Dragon has returned ...
Alex: The adventure's not much like the
description, but you wouldn't expect it to
be. The aim is to find a component for the
doctor's machine. Response to your
commands is excellent, with almost
immediate replies. But the best part about
this adventure is the humour, which makes
a pleasant change from
the usual seriousness.
Alan G: Adventures aren't usually
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very funny, but this one is and it tends to make it stand out from the rest. What's more,
you don't have to wait ages for a reply.
However, text-only adventures aren't new,
and they only have limited appeal. Even
this one, with its humour, will only be
interesting for a short time. The text is
white on a blue background and
there's absolutely
no sound at all.
Alan H: The idea is quite basic, but the
content is much better than lots of the
other adventures, especially the humour
which helps to maintain your interest. This
all goes to make one of the most playable
adventures around, and there are various
screen prompts to help you on your way.
The fact that
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there's no sound, rather than
detracting from the game, tends
to make it even better.
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| J O Y S T I C K J U R Y
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| SPACE COMMAND
| Virgin Games / £5.95 |
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Encounter alien life-forms, whose orders
are to seek and destroy, as you guide and
protect the
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asteroid and its doomed city
through many star systems. The city is
protected by a two-stage forcefield which
only actually protects the populated areas.
Alex: Virgin's still living in the past with
unoriginal space games - although this
one's a little better than some of the earlier
offerings and the action is fast and furious.
Colours contrast well, and the resulting
display is quite clear. Mastering the game
isn't too easy, so it stays mildly addictive.
Using a joystick improves
playability quite a bit.
Alan G: The graphics are a strong point.
They're flicker free, highly detailed and
move very smoothly. There's also a radar
dish which goes through six frames of
animation to
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revolve through 360 degrees.
It's by no means a dull looking game;
everything is very bright, with multi-
coloured aliens and a psychedelic base.
The big problem is the lack of originality
and content; the game fails
to hold your attention for long.
Alan H: Every colour imaginable seems to
be included - which makes it look rather
interesting, the trouble is the lack of
content makes it just a multi-coloured
mess. The speed is much too fast, making
play virtually impossible without a
joystick. The sound is made up of nothing
more than a few zaps, bangs and wallops.
There's no choice of skill level, but you
get the option to choose which
pretty space ship you use!
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| DUNGEON BUILDER
| Dream Software / £9.95 |
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This program, consisting of 15K of pure
machine code, allows the user to design
graphics adventures using the displayed
map. There are also extensive save
facilities; created programs can be run
without Dungeon Builder.
Alex: Adventure designers are not at all
original, but this one has been very highly
developed and should enable adventure
programs to be created that are every bit
as good as the user's imagination. I, for
one, will be rushing out to buy one straight
away. One of the most interesting features
is the way you can produce your own screen
graphics, and then use any
of the Spectrum's colours.
Alan G: It's a pleasure to use, with fast
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response times to your commands,
complete freedom in things like graphics
designing and choice of colours. The most
valuable feature is the way it allows a
complete adventure to run without
Dungeon Builder being present. Also very
good is the 100-page manual which
explains clearly how to make
the most of the package.
Alan H: A utility that actually works quite
well, but could have been better. It's
similar to other programs like The Quill
and Dungeon Master, coupled with a
crude drawing program. The graphics take
a good deal of time to produce, but they're
pretty good when complete. Compared
with other similar offerings, this one rates
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favourably, but overall appeal depends
upon whether you like writing adventure programs.
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The aim is to steal the Purple Puma
diamond.
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First though, you must collect all
the objects and then experiment to find
out what they do, at the same time
avoiding police cars, policemen and
Kaolin the Chef.
Alex: Based on the Pink Panther movies,
this is a cops-and-robbers maze game -
but one which includes some well-
executed graphics. The trouble is they tend
to get boring after a while. This could be
due, in part, to a not particularly
impressive choice of colours which cause
the display to appear hazy. A better choice
would have made
the game a lot better.
Alan G: It's not the sort of game to keep you
glued to the screen for hours, but it does
make good use of the Spectrum's
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graphics;
it's well-drawn, and moves very smoothly.
However, while choice of colours is well
above average, there's lots of overlapping
that takes place - mainly because the
characters are quite large. There's also a
really good Pink Panther
tune between lives.
Alan H: The general idea is original, but the
effect isn't. It ends up feeling like a cross
between Pacman and an adventure -
probably because the aim of the whole
thing has been to give an adventure theme,
while taking away a lot of the work.
However, the technical execution is very
good, with clear, smooth graphics,
enhanced by well-chosen colours and a
playing speed that's
just right.
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| STUART HENRY'S POP QUIZ
| Bellflower Software / £5.75 |
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Radio Luxembourg DJ, Stuart Henry, has
set over 750 questions to test your
knowledge of pop. The questions range
from the dim and distant past to the
present - so it's suitable for anyone from
the oldest swinger to the youngest teeny-
bopper. There's also a mystery tune to be
identified.
Alex: It sounds like a pretty drab sort of
program, but Bellflower has actually come
up with something that can be described as
good family entertainment, and not a
space invader in sight - other than Boy
George! The idea's very good, and there
are only one or two minor problems. The
first one is that the questions can't be
updated and, second your answer needs to
be spelled correctly otherwise
you get it wrong.
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Alan H: As you answer the questions
correctly, you're given the chance to guess
another note in the mystery tune (which is
played at the start of a game, once only). If
you guess correctly the note's displayed on
the musical score, halfway down the
screen. Guess them all, and the mystery's
solved. The best thing about this game
is that it has nothing to do
with aliens, ghosts or tanks.
Alan G: What a good idea to have a
computerised pop/rock quiz for a wide
range. It's appeal is only limited to
contemporary music fans, which should
mean that most people could get
enjoyment from it. The sound is a problem
and makes guessing the
mystery tune difficult.
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| J O Y S T I C K J U R Y
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| TURBO CHESS
| Kerian / £5.95 |
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The makers of Turbo Chess claim it
represents a state-of-the-art chess
program (it doesn't say which one) and
that it includes infinite levels of play, the
ability to load a previously saved program
and a comprehensive analysis routine.
Alex: There are so many chess programs
for the Spectrum that this is quite likely to
get lost in the crowd. However, with
features like setting the Spectrum's
'thinking' time limit, I can quite believe it
is the best one around. The graphics are
clear and it responds quite quickly most of
the time, so at least it's above average. It's
very complex, and will
only appeal to chess nuts.
Alan G: Oh no, not another chess game!
Actually it's probably unfair to dismiss it
out of hand, but there really are far too
many similar
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programs on the market.
This one does seem to have a few more
features than the others and it's quite
simple to get the hang of, although only
chess freaks will welcome its arrival. It's
well presented with adequate graphics and speed.
Alan H: It's difficult to comment on a
program like this without being extremely
good at chess - certainly from a technical
point of view it seems to be quite good.
The graphics are impressive, with four-
character blocks being used to define each
piece and the colour has been chosen
reasonably well. Sometimes though it's
difficult to see a white piece in a cyan
background. This example
has been executed well.
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| CAVELON
| Ocean Software / £5.90 |
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Inside the forbidding castle the contest has
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begun, and to reach the end of your quest
you must successfully complete six levels
of play, each time collecting all the
fragments of a door which will provide
your entrance to the next.
Alex: The graphics aren't all that
entertaining, in fact they're downright
boring after a while; a bit more thought in
the design could have made all the
difference. However, execution is very
good, with the figures keeping their shape
while moving. The idea is based on the
arcade game of the same name, and to
some extent has been transferred
successfully on to the Spectrum. What
really lets it down are
those monotonous graphics.
Alan G: The playing speed could do
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with
being a bit faster, but the graphics are very
well drawn and quite detailed. They're
made even better still by the excellent use
of colour; they don't dazzle too much, and
overall it's a very pleasant screen display.
The only thing wrong is the
speed at which you fire.
Alan H: This is a direct copy of an arcade
game, but there's nothing like it on the
Spectrum and it's also a good replica.
Technically, it can't be faulted; the
graphics are clear and flicker free, the
colour is bright and interesting, and there's
a tune playing constantly. The speed's
sometimes a bit fast which makes it
difficult to play, but a joystick would
improve matters
considerably.
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| BEAKY AND THE EGG SNATCHERS
| Fantasy Software / £5.50 |
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Beaky, a member of the Andromedan
Armed Condors, has chosen to lay her
eggs on the planet Crackit. Unfortunately,
this is the home of the egg-snatchers, so
the first thing is help Beaky recover her
eggs, then assist in brooding and chick
rearing.
Alan G: Originality, in this case, doesn't just
apply to the idea, but also to the design
and movement of the graphics. They're
super smooth, flicker free, and include
excellent detail. In fact, it takes 120 frames
of animation to move Beaky alone.
Although the colours aren't the brightest
possible (black background),
they're easy on the eyes.
Alex: The graphics are generally very
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impressive, especially Beaky (when she's
in flight) and the egg-snatchers
themselves. However, the use of colour
could have been better - it's a bit dull to
look at; a little more sound might have
helped as well. Nevertheless, the
originality of the idea, and the fast action,
make this an extremely good game to play.
The option of defining
your own keys helps.
Alan H: The screen display is somehow
lacking, offering little to maintain the
player's concentration, which is one
reason why this game is so difficult to play.
Another is the speed, which is sometimes
so fast that Beaky flies out of control. Still,
the graphics are of a very high quality, and
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not adversely affected by the high
speed. The actual idea
is as good as it is novel.
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| TEMPLE OF VRAN
| Incentive Software / £5.50 |
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On the eve of your execution, having been
framed for murder, you're given the
chance to either do or die. You're sent on
a mission with
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an assassin bug called
Edgar hanging on to your neck; he'll sink
his fangs into you if you do a bunk.
Alex: This adventure is a follow up to the
Mountains of Ket, and extends an
originally good idea even further. The fact
that it's text-only doesn't matter in the
least, because the content is so good that it
just makes you want to play on and on.
However, you need to be a bit of an
adventure nut and I suspect it could take a
very long time indeed to succeed. Good
game, very addictive, and
should provide aeons of fun.
Alan G: It's full of the stuff adventures are
made of, but tends to offer just a little bit
more. Like having to battle against
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extremely vicious warts and having Edgar
on your neck certainly prevents you from
doing anything crafty. The actual aim is to
find the Temple of Vran and destroy its
evil inhabitants, a task for which you are
suited - you're convicted
of murder, remember?
Alan H: It's the content of this game which
makes it better than most of the other
adventures and the idea of displaying your
statistics at the start of the game is
particularly useful when you go into battle
later on. Another nice feature is the way
the objects you are carrying are displayed
in simple block graphics. Some adventures
are better than others;
this is a better one.
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| J O Y S T I C K J U R Y
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It's darts night down at the local -
Automata style - which means that not
only do skill and
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luck play their part, but
also the usual overweight and drunken
slobs. Being one of these familiar
specimens, you have to beware of getting
too pi ... drinking too much beer!
Alex: The cassette insert claims that
animated cartoon graphics are included,
but that's being pretty presumptuous as
the only time they're present is when the
player goes to retrieve his darts; even then
they only occupy a quarter of the screen.
Overall it's generally quite a good idea,
with the usual Automata novelty value,
but the content and execution leave a lot
to be desired. Another fault is the claimed
skill factor; your efforts hardly
relate to your final score.
Alan G: Use of graphics is well above
average,
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especially the animated figure of
the player throwing his darts. These are
improved by the choice of colours which is
just about right for a game of 'arrows' in
the pub. There's also some very good
sound included, but it
gets boring after a while.
Alan H: This computerised mixture of darts
playing and getting drunk at the same time
is a superb idea, and very funny into the
bargain. Like most Automata games it
relies heavily on novelty value.
Nevertheless, it does feature a well laid-
out screen, adequate speed and some
interesting graphics. Best of all, though, is
the humour, which pokes fun
at beer-bellied darts players.
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| CLEVER CLOGS STAR TRUCKER
| Argus Press Software / £7.95 |
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This is an easy learning program for the
over-nines where the pupil (player) has to
answer simple questions before becoming
a space pilot. Then the aim is to trade
beyond hyperspace to find the power
crystals. Strategy and clear thinking are
necessary as you overcome such assorted
hazards as asteroids, leaking fuel tanks and
dust belts.
Alex: The idea is to answer the questions
correctly and get the fuel you need to
search for the power crystals. That done,
movement is via the cursor keys, one
character block at a time; of course as it's
meant for nine-year olds, the speed is very
slow. However, the graphics are quite
clear, and made better by the simple but
pleasing use of colour. There's also some
nicely applied sound to
increase enjoyment.
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Alan G: The originality factor is very high,
but it's doubtful whether this program has
any real educational value - or any degree
of playability. It's very colourful, but the
speed is far too slow (even for nine-year
olds) and the sound can only be described
as poor. Just because a program is aimed
at the young is no reason
for slap-dash presentation.
Alan H: It might appeal to nine-year olds,
but at nine-and-a-half you'd be too old for
this one. The graphics are basic and
uninteresting, the speed is too slow, and
the colour fails to attract or excite. The
packaging's
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attractive and there's an offer
of a Clever Clogs poster
and a competition to enter.
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| * YS HIT * WORSE THINGS HAPPEN AT SEA
| Silversoft / £5.95 |
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The title's quite right, they do. The ship's
sprung a leak and the sailor-robot needs to
stop it - at the same time keeping the
vessel on course, pumping out the water
and oiling the engine. Remember to keep
the hatches closed, or you'll perish sooner
rather than later.
Alex: The ship is drawn very well, with
clear and entertaining graphics. Judging by
the number of screens that appear as you
travel round, the size of the ship must be
enormous. It's certainly quite a headache
trying to stop the flood, but it gets a bit
easier with practice. Overall, a program
that'll keep you
glued to the screen for ages.
Alan G: Not only is the idea behind the
game very original, there's lots of things to
do to keep you interested as well as busy.
The graphics are highly detailed and the
sailor-robot moves very smoothly. Most of
the time it feels like you're fighting a losing
battle, with the water
flooding in.
Alan H: The superb graphics are unaffected
by the excitingly high speed of the game -
which is just about right - and the
colourful display is also enjoyable, while
still being reasonably realistic. But it's the
idea which makes this program something
special; there's really nothing like it
available anywhere else. There's just one
disturbing 'fault' (if that's what it is) which
allows the boat to successfully make its
first crossing without the player actually
doing anything. Messing
around in boats is great fun.
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| This part of the screen shows you how far you've managed to get across the sea.
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| This rather complicated looking area lets you know what state the ship's in.
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| The water is going to swallow you up and sink the ship if you're not nimble enough with the patching process.
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| This is the playing area and is where your droid repairs the leaks and closes the hatch doors.
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