ZZAP!64 - Issue 3 - July 1985

4 NEWSFIELD PUBLICATION 

No.3 JULY 1985 

MONTHLY 

REVIEW 

NTOMBED f 

Mrhate Sensational game - 

// */# Exclusive competition 

OULDERDASHII Monolith 

: /rsf full reviewof Rockford's Riot 

m

Twenty-five all-new le 

Multi-channel music 

Âutomatic Demo Mo< 

Bounty Bob^returns in this new and exciting foljhgytup 

adventure to Miner 2049er.® This time aroutid it’s evei^g-g* 

tougher than before and Bob needs your heip more than ever 

to guide him through the mine. The mutant organisms have 

multiplied and over-run the mine entirely, making it extremely 

difficult to survive the hazard! of the underground _ 

passageways. Using the high-powered special equipment in 

the twenty-five new caverns is Bob’s only hope of achieving 

his objective of securing the mine and defeating the plans of 

the evil Yukon Yohan! 

^ 

S7H 50'

.Wofc: 

- - -> - rbo 1 ;, 

8 

' 

. 

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:• 

• 

ISSUE No.3 JULY 1985 

JULY SPECIALS 

Dropzone 

Could this Defender-based game 

be the greatest shoot-em-up of all 

tifine? 

Entombed 

' 

' ?r > -''j'iS'c. 

The Ultimate arcade-adventure: 

rave over the review, pore over 

the map, drool over the 

HOTNEWGAMES 

46 

Birth of Paradroid 

Diary of the programmer who's 

developing the big new game 

from Hewson Consultants. 

54 

Airwolf map 

At last you'll know where to find 

all five scientists — and our playing 

guide reveals how you get 

them. 

lill 

58 

The compleat 

Psi Warrior 

illillii: 

Entire game mapped out, plus 

Gary Penn's detailed tips and a £5 

voucher off the price of the game. 

Rockford's Riot 

Sizzling follow up to the amazing 

Boulder Dash, complete with 

Zzap's favourite hero. 

ED 

The boss's boring letter, plus 

the angry column and silly 

facts about BW. 

42 

Kik Start 

- 

8 8 $8: 

/bbxbv.-x/' 

888888 8? 

An addictive motorcycle stunt 

game oozing with lastability and 

selling for, wait for it, £1 .99. 

74 

Strangeloop 

Large, hugely absorbing exploration 

game packed with puzzles 

and stunning graphics. 

Gribbly's Day Out 

One of the wackiest cutest, most 

entertaining games around. Huge 

playing area, hilarious scenario. 

102 

• • 

The great 

• • 

chess battle 

We play off Colossus chess 

against Mychess II in the battle of 

the 64 chequer board giants. 

14 

54 

RAP 

Your letters including mother 

trubble, and more mini 

raves. 

FLASH 

Idiotic Ed Banger tries to tell 

you about the latest 64 news 

and gossip. 

TIPS 

Gary Penn's playing tactics 

on Psi Warrior, Airwolf, 

Sorcery, Mama Llama and 

others. 

82 ADVENTURE 

The White Wizard's complete 

guide to text input 

games. 

90 CHALLENGE 

The Scorelord watches over 

another attempt to unseat 

the Zzap highscore 

champion. 

94 MINTER 

The hairy one speaks his 

mind on life, the universe 

and a naff arcade game. 

PRIZE COMPETITIONS 

Roland's Rat Race 

Draw a cartoon of your favourite 

TV character and you could win 

one of 100 copies of the hot new 

Ocean game. 

SX-64 

from Ariolasoft 

You can win this great prize worth 

some £800 simply by sending us 

a hot tip on an Ariolasoft game. 

88 

The Elite trophy 

If you can use your skills at Elite to 

answer six tough questions, you 

could win a specially-commissioned 

Zzap/Firebird trophy! 

100 

Gribblies 

Yes, we're giving away a ton of 

Gribbly's Day Out, the sizzling 

new game from Hewson Consultants. 

NEXT I5SUE ON SALE 3UCY11H1 — &ET IT/ 

111!! 

Amazon Warrior 

Asylum 

Castle Blackstar (S) 

Chicken Chase 

Ciphoid 9 (T) 

Chopper 

mm 

Circus Circus (T) 

Conan 

Dropzone (G) 

Entombed (G) 

t 

Gates of Dawn 

Ghettoblaster 

Gribbly's Day Out (S) 

Helm 

Hi-Bouncer 

Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy 

Hunchback at the Olympics (T) 

Jonah Barrington's Squash 

Kik Start (S) 

Knockout (T) 

Operation Swordfish (T) 

Operation Whirlwind 

Poker 

Realm of Impossibilty 

Rockford’s Riot (S) 

Roland's Rat Race 

Spitfire 40 

Spooks 

Strangeloop (S) 

III 

Stringer 

Subsunk 

Taskmaster 

The Bulge 

Whirlynurd 

G for Gold Medal 

S for Sizzler 

T for Tacky 

ss 

48 

82 

82 

76 

108 

44 

38 

69 

18 

22 

30 

62 

96 

82 

34 

82 

32 

72 

42 

62 

70 

36 

79 

104 

28 

32 

34 

108 

74 

36 

82 

64 

44 

70 

ZZAP! 64 July 1985 3

• 

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- ;s 

#s§I 

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41 U 

V- ay ; 

Rockin' Rodney stolks the streets of Funky Town with his Ghettobloster. 

He is a messenger for Interdisc Records and his job is to collect demo tapes 

from all the local talent! As he delivers them back to Funky Street he has to 

make all the locals strut their stuff as his Ghettobloster blares out the 

livliest sounds around in his search for the perfect beat! 

Train Games is proud to present "Ghettobloster" from Tony "Gibbo" Gibson 

Harrison who created "Jammin", "Boio's Night Out" and "Seaside Special" 

1 2 completely original tracks of the funkiest Gangsters of the Groove will keep you on the move 

music yet on the CBM 64! 

Lively, colourful and animated street scenes! 

Keep on your dancin' toes avoiding all the 

Mean Dudes out to get you! 

Tone Deaf Walkers, streetwise stalkers 

Bandits of the Beat move fast on their feet 

Notes come out so sweet, they're dancin' in the street 

Available for the Commodore 64 from all good software retailers or mail order 

from the address below. R.R.P. £8.95 Joystick required. 

Virgin Gamas Limited, 

2-4 Vernon Yard, 1 1 9 Portobello Road, London W1 1 2DX. 01 -727 8070. 

Available from Virgin Games Centres 

at the following addresses 

GAMES CENTRE 

22 Oxford Street 

LONDON W1 

Union Street 

ABERDEEN 

94-96 Briggate

I was 

. 

^SYCHePtUC 

CQW^T, 

WO/WMJB 

mmsm 

Empire-ruling triumvirate 

Oliver Frey, Franco Frey, Roger 

Kean 

Zzap Ed 

Chris Anderson 

Ed's sidekick 

Bob Wade 

Sidekick's sidekicks 

Gary Penn, Julian Rignall 

A very nice person 

Lucy Anderson 

Big production chief 

David Western 

Production minions 

Gordon Druce, Matthew Uffindell 

Adman's contact 

John Edwards 

Male order 

Carol Kinsey 

Girl with 3000 subscribers 

Denise Roberts 

Editorial hovel (for reviews, news, 

comps, gifts, etc) 

Zzap! 64, 1 Church Terrace, 

Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1HX 

(Tel. 0935-78511) 

Publishers' mansion (for ads, subscriptions, 

mail order, bills, etc) 

Newsfield Ltd, 1-2 King Street, 

Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 1 AQ 

(Tel. 0584-5620) 

• Pages processed in glorious 

technicolour at Scan Studios, 

Wallace Road, London N1 

• Printing of an unimaginable 

number of copies achieved by 

Redwood Web Offset, Yeoman 

Way, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, 

BA14 0QL 

• Delivery to that newsagentjust-round-the-corner-from-you 

organised by: COMAG, Tavistock 

Road, West Drayton, 

Middlesex, UB7 7QE 

Now for a really juicy bit ofgossip . . . I bet 

you can 't guess where JeffMinter and his 

cuddly toy camel go every Thursday 

evening!!?! You can't? OK, I can't either, 

but having got your attention reading this 

otherwise totally tedious part of the magazine, 

can / iust point out that every bit of 

this monthly publication (even this bit right 

here) is the copyright of our great and glorious 

publishers Newsfield Ltd. So youre 

not allowed to Xerox it, crib snippets from it 

or copy it in any otherdevious way you care 

to think of without ourpermission. Got it? 

OK, OK, so it's not funny — just you try 

writing these little fiddly bits 

© 1985 Newsfield Limited 

Cover by 

One man's meat. . 

a bit disappointed to discover 

this month that our outside 

columnist Jeff Minter doesn't 

actually like Zzap very much! This 

little comment was printed in a 

promotional newsletter which he 

sends out to people on Llamasoft's 

mailing list. Can't be sure, 

but I think his annoyance stems 

from our criticism in issue one of 

his latest game Mama Llama. 

I'd be very interested to hear 

what anyone thinks of that 

review, and of Jeff's newsletter 

comment. No doubt he would 

too. Why not write either to me at 

the address in Zzap Rap or to Jeff 

at 49 Mount Pleasant, Tadley, 

Hants. 

Angry Spot 

Wanna know what drives 

“"PteWV A and utterly 

i^„ T ? s !!' peop,e

I 

think 

I expected 

I bought 

’ 

. 

I 

Your letters to us, plus the ed's idiotic replies 

I've been so busy drowning in sacks of mail this month I haven't had time to do any 

work on the mag itself, so goodness knows what those dreadful reviewers have 

been up to. Never mind, you've kept me smiling with your insane scribblings, and 

I'm proud to award another three games from our lucky dip to worthy authors. 

One kind of letter which ISN'T going to win any games are those which rant on 

for ages knocking other machines. Had rather a lot of those recently owing to a 

certain letter I printed as a joke last month . . . they do get just a teensy-weensy bit 

boring after a bit, people. Especially as we all KNOW the 64's the greatest. For all 

other types of letter the address to write to is: Chris Anderson, Zzap! 64, 1 Church 

Terrace, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1HX. 

Forget fast-loaders 

Dear Zzap! 64 

My pet gerbil's name is 

Fred. 

He spends half his time sleeping 

and the other half biting my 

finger. 

Seriously though, I have a few 

comments to make on your reviews. 

First, why not include a 

'difficulty' rating? It's useful to 

know what level of skill a game 

6 ZZAP! 64 July 1985 

requires. Secondly, why not 

start a 'Playback' section and 

review some of the older 64 

.games compared to modern 

releases, eg. Beach Head. (We 

can't let that CRASH crowd 

outdo us!) 

I've had a lot of trouble with 

some of these fast-loading 

games recently. I don't think it's 

just the C2N at fault here as I've 

been to the shop to replace it 

three times! I it's about 

time that software houses and 

programmers got to hear the 

customer's view on fast-loaders. 

OK, the software houses have to 

protect their games from piracy, 

accept that. BUT they have no 

right to do this by lowering the 

quality of the games they sell to 

their honest customers. Fastloaders 

are far more unreliable 

than normal tapes — 

I have to 

load a Pavloda game two or 

three times before it loads properly. 

Even Commodore and 

Hairy Minter agree! So come on 

software houses, stop fastloaders. 

Thanks for a brill mag. 

Noor Mirza, Streatham, 

London. 

What? You're telling me that you 

enjoy waiting 20 minutes for a 

game to load?! My own feeling 

is that software houses should 

include two versions on each 

cassette, one with the fastloaders, 

one without. This 

would allow people with iffy 

cassette players something to 

fall back on, but wouldn't send 

the rest of us to sleep while our 

programs load. 

Beeb owner 

rave shock . 

Dear Chris, 

your magazine to 

pass the time on a train journey. 

a pretty good magazine. 

But I was wrong. WOW, it 

was sensational. I really enjoyed 

reading it and I expect all 64 

owners will love it 

Ah, you thought I had one. No, 

I own a BBC model B, but after 

seeing your games I'm thinking 

of changing. Now, to get to the 

point of this letter. I was wondering 

whether you knew any VERY 

good adventure programs for 

the Beeb. if so please could you 

tell me. Keep up the fandabadouzie 

work! 

Jonathan Moss, Eastleigh, 

Hants. 

Frankly, / should go ahead and 

change machines. Adventure 

progs tend to get just a teensy 

weensy bit- squeezed on the 

memory-starved Beeb. However 

the kind-hearted Level 9 

have been doing BBC versions 

adventures. 

bd Atari too| t.! f 

i so happens that I own an 

m 

think you’ll find that many 

us will avidly read 2zap! 64 in 

absence of our own dedicmag. 

Much of what you say 

* A 

Rice, Fulbourn, Cambs. 

mmMm 

3ITiCjC f*€*t Xi«liiC| « 

Dear Chris, 

How about having a section 

called Zzap! Trap in which you 

examine as many new games as 

is possible or practical that come 

under a particular heading eg. 

sports simulation, flight simuation. 

arcade/adventure etc. 

fou could put them info order, 

best to worst, slagging off the 

worst ones and praising the best 

m&m, genera® comparing their 

good and bad points. Maybe 

you could even make suggestions 

as to how future ones could 

be improved. 

A variation on this would be to 

show how the different types of 

games of today have evolved 

and improved from those of the 

early '80s, and again looking 

forward to see what the future 

holds. It could be called Zzap! 

Thru Time. 

photograph of the garnet being 

given the main tips: it helps the 

people who haven't got the 

game but like to read the hints (i| 

know I do) to understand what is 

being said. The same is neces-j 

sary on the great Zzap Challenge! 

page. 

You stated at the beginning of 

your first issue that your main 

concern is 64 software, and that; 

hardware talk was out. I hope 

this does not include joysticks, 

and that you will include news 

on the latest joysticks available 

in your news-flash section. 

Anthony Whyte, Sutton Cold 

field. West Midlands. 

PS I am still wondering whether 

having both a Hookability and 

Instability mark is really necessary 

(PCG made do with Lasting 

Interest), and that (game) contents 

might be a better subject for 

considering. 

Hang on. You forgot to comment 

on the size of the dots we 

use on our 'i's. 

A crummy poem 

Dear Sir, 

For ages and ages, 

read through the pages 

Of the mags for the 64, 

Though sadly, alas, 

They were all full of trash, 

Hints that were such a bore; 

But now at long last 

All that's in the past. 

Now that I've purchased Zzap! 

64! 

Kevin Wilkinson, Sheffield 

A lucky dip LETTER-BOMB for 

the next bad bit of 'poetry' we 

receive

had 

cannot 

! 

I 

I 

. 

. 

I get 

I 

beat 

! 

(What 

! 

It's big bad parent trubble . . 

Jv 

— and big bad family trubble 

Dear Zzap! 64 

I write to you concerning your 

'Mother Trubble' item. Spurred 

on by the reward for the 'most 

touching tale of maternal persecution', 

I will now tell my tale 

of woe. 

It concerns not my Mother, 

but my Father. I was playing 

'Impossible Mission' and by my 

standards was doing very well. I 

had all 36 code pieces and 

already completed 3 letters of 

the pass word. 

Feverish with anticipation, I 

searched for the next 'punched 

card' when Zzap! (sorry) . . .My 

Dad TURNED ITOFF! 

I 

This did not go down too well 

with me, as never been 

anywhere near completing the 

game before. 

Robert Cerdran. Colchester. 

Essex. 

PS The mag is great and I am 

giving up buying C&VG to subscribe 

to you! 

rads. Elite for the 64, must get 

that when I get my 64.' 

'Is Chris Anderson that 

young?' I asked. 

Then I found my eleven year 

old sister reading Zzap! 64. The 

last time she read something 

was ... I can't remember, 

maybe she's never read anything 

else. 

The mention of mother 

trubble. Huh! Yesterday ol' Dad, 

who rates computers as much 

as he rates ringworm or potato 

blight (he's a farmer) spent yesterday 

trying to jump off ropes in 

Quo Vac/is. I didn't get a look in. 

Butthemag is great, almost as 

great as the computer page I 

write for the school mag. 

Sarah Teasdale (Miss) (13 yrs), 

Doncaster, S Yorks. 

PS I only have one sister, thank 

God. 

PPS Is there anyone else who 

hasn't mastered Impossible 

Mission? 

Dear Chris, 

Congratulations to Zzap! 64. It's just what I 

I'm a Mother with two horrid boys. 

(No, they're not always our pride and joys) 

When I'm on a screen where no-one has been, 

I'm pushed off and told 'Don't be mean.' 

This may come as quite a surprise, 

(And I promise I'm telling no lies!) 

That I'm zapping all day till the light fades away 

So I'll still stay the best come what may. 

good hi-scores and I THEM by far, 

But they turn on me shouting, 'Hah! Hah!' 

'Just wait for a while,' they sneer with a smi 

'And we'll prove we're the best by a mile.' 

must not buy too many games, 

Or my husband will call me rude names. 

But now that I've ordered your Zzap! 64 

There's nothing can stop me — IT'S WAR! ! 

Beryl Waters, Solihull, West Midlands. 

needed because:- 

/ reckon that's worth the tape I promised for the most harrassed 

Mum. Nice one. Beryl. 

0 Great master Chris, 

I beg of you, please spare a 

moment of your important time, 

to help me in my desparate 

plight. I have the worst kind of 

MotherTrubble imaginable: Not 

only does she turn off my 64 

when I am playing my games in 

her bedroom, I get a 

game in edgeways. If that isn't 

bad enough, she can beat me on 

every game I own! 

Please Masterful Master, send 

me a new game, with a letter 

forbidding herto play it and I will 

be your everlasting servant. 

Yours desperately, 

Martin Haynes, Bude, Cornwall. 

A/0 WA Y creepie-knicksl! 

Well Hi! 

Here was I with supposed 

chicken pox. Then my sister returned 

with Zzap! 64 and a bunch 

of grapes. 

My first impression was 'What 

a daft name for a computer magazine, 

Nnap! 64' (Joke!!) But 

WOW, all the reviews! 

I flicked through the pages 

with great interest and glanced 

at the ratings. What surprised 

me was the bulkiness of Zzap! 

64, unlike other 64 mags. 

Anyway my boyfriend came 

and was (being a Vic 20 owner) 

duly impressed and kept rabbiting 

on about getting a copy of 

Zzap! 64. Then I had to read it, 

well flick through it again while 

Nick (that's his name) gave off 

comments like, 'Brill, no Amst- 

C Funny you should ask . . 

The lights were low. The moon 

shone down onto my joystick as 

was searching for the last puzzle 

piece to complete Impossible 

Mission. People everywhere in 

the World were relying on me to 

save them from the evil mind of 

Elvin. Aha! I've found it! Now 

I've completed the puzzle, all 

that remains to be done is to find 

the control room. 

was lucky, it was two rooms 

away. I was just about to enter 

the control room thus saving the 

terrified world when a head 

peered round the door and said 

'Jamie! How many times have I 

told you to hang up your coat up 

when you come in. DO IT NOW, 

BOY!' 

Oh no! Only a minute to go in 

the game as well! I went downstairs 

to do my job. I rushed upstairs, 

only to find the computer 

laughing at me The world 

was doomed. I could sense 

screams of fear from all sorts of 

different countries. The destruction 

of the world had begun. 

Why, oh why did my mother 

have to do this to our planet? I 

was very, very sad. 

Jamie Phillips, Gosforth, Newcastle 

upon Tyne. 

OK Jamie, you win the promised 

Mother Trubble cassette. I mean 

sacrificing earth was just too evil 

of her. / reach into the sack and 

come up with . . . Gribbly's Day 

Out ! Don 't let Mum at it. 

mat (i.e. stamp on it). While you 

are doing this you must be 

having hysterics and then finally 

2. Upon seeing a Vic 20 user one 

must talk in a loud voice to your 

friend about Vic 20 graphics 

t | | | i \ t* ^ m 

(how terrible they are), Vic 20 

sound (Spectrum sounds better 

than this) and Vic 20 memory 

(the slight lack of it). 

We hope you will wear the 

:ers (Dominic and 

nm know how you spot a Vic 

ner using a word processor? 

tm the Tippex on the screen. 

Saying it right 

Dear Zzap, 

Congratulations on a great 

mag. I think the whole layout 

just brilliant. But here's a few 

ideas. 

Can we have more reviewers 

please — just three isn't enough. 

Instead of selling software in 

Zzap (how do you pronounce 

that word anyway?) why not sell 

merchandise of the software 

houses? For instance badges, 

stickers, posters, etc. It's good 

advertising for the companies 

concerned and you could make 

a few quid too. 

Instead of having the Minter 

column why not call it Programmers' 

Forum. And different programmers 

could air their views 

on subjects they find should or 

shouldn't be in the computer 

industry. 

Matthew Summerson, Teddington, 

Middx. 

Hmmmmmm, not too sure that 

would work — most program 

mers can't write for toffee — at 

least not words, only programs. 

As for having more reviewers — 

that's absolutely out of the question. 

The three I've got give far 

too much trouble as it is. The 

pronunciation ofZzap? — well, / 

think the following letter may 

give you the right idea. 

Dear Ed! 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 

(no I'm not asleep!) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 

(boy, my arm's getting 

sleepy) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzAP!! 

! 

else can you say?) 

Yours Zzapfully, 

K Yamin, Croydon, Surrey. 

To get the name 

That's exactly it. 

right, you have to start quietly 

and work up to a kind of crescendo. 

Makes your newsagent's 

hair stand on end. 


, 

I 

- 

good 

. 

' 

Free Micronet plug 

Sir, 

Loved the first issue, looks like 

you've got yourself a winner. 

Especially good to see Jeff 

Minter writing a column for you 

as he's not scared to say what he 

and our members benefit 

thinks. 

Jeff's right about the distributors 

and his solutions make 

sense. However, Jeff and many 

other software houses have 

found out the benefits of distributing 

their software houses electronically 

via Micronet or even 

Compunet (there I mentioned 

the competition). 

For the price of a cassette, 

software houses can sell their 

products to thousands of buyers, 

from getting 

**/ 

software at discount 

prices. 

A pompous gentleman writes 

Dear Mr Anderson, 

It is with great displeasure that 

I am forced into writing to you. 

When I had heard the whispers 

that abounded before the 

arrival of Zzap! 64 I was quite 

eager to intercept a copy as soon 

as my newsagent obtained his 

set amount. When the moment 

immediately pur- 

finally arrived I 

chased the nearest copy and 

proceeded to flick through the 

pages of this 'revolutionary' 

rubbish! Well, it's ace, megafab, 

zipping . . . oops! he's coming 

back ... I do beg your 

pardon, one of the public servants 

had a slight query over the 

milk payments. I will continue. 

Zzap! 64 is an example of a very 

poorly designed games magazine 

which has none of the interesting, 

stimulating projects 

such as putting the computer in 

control over the cat flap that I 

expected. This is most disap 

pointing {RING — RING) ... 

There, he's on^he phone. Well I 

wanted to write to you, but I 

can't spel. Anyway, Zaps really 

ace yknow, all the detailed reviews 

etc and all my mates luv it. 

Thank 'eaven there's no type in 

listings cos they're **!%* and 

never work and 1 really think 

that this mag'll work cos its got 

all right stuff in it and not piffle 

like another mag i know with 4 

Gone off Super Huey 

read your review of Super Huey 

with interest, having bought the 

program two weeks before your 

magazine. In first playing the 

game I regarded it with the same 

enthusiasm as your test team: 

great 'chokka-chokka' sound 

effects, suitably cluttered control 

panel (I'm fond of flight 

simulators), good 3D ground effects, 

etc. But after a while, I came 

down to earth, so to speak. Of 

the four scenarios, two (Solo 

Flight, Exploration) soon became 

boring and Combat gets 

frustrating when you have been 

shot down at random for the nth 

time as soon as an enemy helicopter 

has appeared. But it is the 

Rescue scenario that is the most 

puzzling, as it seems to be impossible 

to complete! 

The way it seems to work is 

this: if you fly above 120ft you 

will always crash attempting to 

land, but if you fly at less than 

120ft then you can't get through 

the mountains. There are a few 

words in its titles that lives at a 

place called Priory Court wherever 

that is, anyway I was say 

Thank you foryour patience, it 

is well appreciated and will not 

be abused. A further complaint 

is that there are no 'type-in' listings. 

Although as you have 

stated they do not sometimes 

work, it is a great challenge to 

get them to work and very educational 

— excuse me again, my 

copies of the Guardian, Telegraph 

and Financial Times have 

just arrived. 

I hope you will take my criticisms 

to heart and perhaps take a 

leaf out of such excellent magazines 

as 'Electronics and 

Computing', 'Computer and 

Video Games' and 'Readers 

Digest'. This would be greatly 

appreciated and would certainly 

improve your production no 

end. 

Mr Philip Knee, Bolton. 

Dear Mr Knee-jerk, / am delighted 

to discover your enlightened 

and sober reading habits. May / 

also recommend the British 

Medical Journal, the Yeovil Telephone 

directory and Commodore 

User. Sample copies enclosed. 

Also a piece of software 

for that pesky son of yours to 

stop him messing around with 

your type-writer. 

other points, why does the DST 

command (distance from take 

off point) act so erratically? And 

why can you never drop a homing 

beacon? Is it me, or is the 

program flawed? Oh well, it's 

back to Combat Lynx Much 

more dependable than those 

American machines 

Giles Collinge, Hebdon Bridge, 

W Yorks 

The guys here are most puzzled 

by your letter. They tell me the 

secret on combat is to KEEP 

LOW. Provided you have a nifty 

trigger finger, you should be 

able to shoot down lots of 

enemy helicopters. Failing that 

you could try the homing missiles. 

Admittedly the guys 

haven't yet completed the 

rescue mission, partly because 

our copy has been nicked by one 

of those greedy reviewers on 

our sister magazine CRASH. 

What we'll do is print some 

detailed tips on Super Huey as 

soon as possible. Well, as soon 

as we get the tape back. We're 

still firmly of the opinion it's a 

better helicopter simulator than 

Combat Lynx. 

I own a Spectrum 

! 

Dear Zzap 1 64, ^ 

Short but sweet. Great magazine 

but avoid wasting space 

by insulting Spectrum owners 

— remember what CRASH 

does? — and use it to good use. 

—- 

On the reviews side reviews 

but bad layout — keep the 

pictures straight, could you, in- 

.. * a*. .. I A X I _ w . . 4- Lm ** . m # -V ^ 

very good but the bar Values do 

not really 

anlgpasti 

space. A bit more colour in the 

pictures would also help as well 

as more clarity 4n the black and 

white gtbfures. (follow CRASH'S 

lactic# ofRising a $ubWiomtor 

etc) as many pictures are darkor 

blurred. Please use proper cartoon 

style speech bubbles as 

well — - it would make the overall 

appearance neater and easily 

f 

=r#adab^'^ vp/ \ 

A Spectrum/64 owner, Stephen 

A Graham, Carlisle, Cumbria. 

Ptbrneîn impe me wem We

'*». 

—,"W' 

ADVENTUR 

ANDS THROUGH 

1 ! 

« 

! 

USICONT 

»£&%!*! %&. 

V — ,7V-\*£ 

MAIL ORDER: BEYOND, COMPETITION HOUSE 

&

LONDON 

. 

Elite -the ultimate, award-winning space 

challenge. 

Once the privilege of BBC and Electron 

owners, Elite now takes a giant leap forward - 

onto the COMMODORE 64. (There’ll be 

versions for the 48K Spectrum and Amstrad 

soon). 

Already tested by the intrepid explorers of 

the Commodore press, here- breathlessly - 

are just a few words from their advance battle 

reports. 

“The Final Frontier?” 

(Mega Game, Your 64, June 1985). 

“My favourite... as absorbing and 

challenging as the original. ” 

(Commodore Horizons, June 1985). 

“To explain every element of Elite would 

take a book. . 

.you’ll run out of energy long 

before Elite runs out of things to show you.” 

(Commodore Computing International, 

June 1985). 

“A brilliant game of blasting and trading . . 

truly a mega-game...the game of a lifetime.” 

(Gold Medal Award, Zzap! 64, May 1985). 

FIREBIRD 

• 

SOFTWARE WELLINGTON HOUSE 

UPPER ST MARTIN 

• 

S LANE 

WC2H 9DL

can 

. . Gary 

stood 

I 

I see 

I hope 

l 

* L 

H 

. 

bought 

My adventurous 

budgie 

Dear Chris, 

On reading your few paragraphs 

in Zzap! 64 entitled The 

Zzingiest Letters page in town', I 

saw the word 'guinea pig'. Now 

who in their right mind would 

write to a top computer magazine 

about their petguinea pig? 

This brought me to think 

about my pet budgie who is 

called Bibo. Well, about one and 

a half years ago I taught him to 

speak. Now, me being interested 

in adventure games told him 

adventure talk, eg. N,S,E,W, kill, 

pick up, go to, etc., 

One day when I was playing 

Twin kingdom Valley I came 

across an enemy. Me, being an 

inexperienced adventurer then 

didn't know whatto do, Whether 

to go back or to stand and fight 

him. Then Bibo went and 

squawked 'Kill', so I my 

ground and killed him. What pot 

luck. I searched him and found 

money and food. That day he 

got extra millet. 

Now I have been teaching him 

lots of adventure talk, and now 

when I've finished loading an 

adventure in all I can hear are 

'pick up, open, get,' etc, all coming 

from Bibo. It~is all so loud 

that I have to turn the computer 

off and reach for the asprins. 

only play it when I'm 

Now I 

alone in the house. 

Martin Witherden, Pinner, 

Middx. 

PS Please, please, please could 

you send me a box of asprins as I 

am running short. 

Hmmmm . 

reckons you 

should buy some, er, platform 

training shoes. Well, HE thought 

it was funny. 

Leave out politics 

With Raid over Moscow why do 

you have to say whether people 

will find the theme to their 

liking? The graphics are excellent 

and so is the gameplay, so 

please review the game and 

don't bring personal feelings 

into it as there are other games 

like that one. Battle for Normandy 

was reviewed in this 

issue but nothing was mentioned 

about whether people will 

like fighting the Germans. 

Unsigned, Newton Abbot, 

Devon. 

/ disagree. The ideas conveyed 

by some games are important 

and controversial. It would be a 

bad mistake to completely ignore 

these in a review. 


Corny name! 

would like to give my views on 

Zzap! First things first. The magazine 

is brilliant, it looks set to 

become one of the best 64 mags 

ever. 

What l don't like about the 

magazine is the name, Zzap! 

How completely corny and unoriginal. 

I think you could have 

done better. 

Unoriginal?!? How many other 

magazine names have two 'Z's 

High score copy? 

Dear Ed, 

in your editorial that 

you're going to introduce a highscore 

table and feature playoffs. 

(Naughty, naughty — 

we've seen that before somewhere, 

haven't we? 

you're not going to 

waste too much space on that, 

better still don't bother. There's 

nothing more demoralising than 

having spent hours of sweat and 

toil saving the universe or akin 

task and running up what you 

think is a monumentous score 

(together with a very irate wife 

because she missed her favourite 

TV programmes) to see some 

creep has scored twice as much 

and then several pages on how 

easy he found it! 

Great mag — shame about the 

name. 

P F Barrett, Axminster, Devon. 

The history of high score features 

is an interesting one. 

Computer and Video Games, 

back in the mists of time, started 

things off with their Hall of 

Fame, basically a collection of 

(claimed) high scores on a small 

number of selected games. 

Personal Computer Games (the 

mag a couple of us used to work 

for) took things an important 

stage further by staging a 

monthly playoff between highscore 

claimants to help siphon 

out cheat entries. With the 

launch of Zzap and death of 

PCG, / felt a bit more spice still 

could be added by having the 

playoff between a reader and 

one of the magazine team. 

Meanwhile the existing PCG 

idea of a challenge between two 

readers was copied (along with 

various other PCG features) by 

Your 64. 

We may have a strange name, 

but our ideas are our own. 

Where's Star Wars? 

DearZzap!64, 

I'm writing to ask if there are 

any versions of the arcade 

machine Star Wars available for 

our machine, and if so, which is 

the best? 

The Spectrum has a superb 

game, 3D Starstrike, and I 

wonder if a conversion of this is 

likely? 

saw vour magazine 

As soon as Isa Y 

, newson 

the rack

WHITE 

SPIDER-MAN 

HIGH 

PIPE 

ADVENTURE 

KOKOTONI 

BLOCKBUSTERS 

ELITE 

SHOOT 

ROBBER 

PLOP 

THE 

EUREKA 

HOT 

MS 

ROBOTRON 

POGO 

WILD 

LEGIONNAIRE 

AGENT 

FIGHTER 

POLE 

SKOOL 

HULK 

ROLAND 

AIR 

BOILER 

LEMMING 

FIREQUEST 

MUSIC 

DETECTIVE 

IMPOSSIBLE 

POSITRON 

SUICIDE 

SMUGGLER 

SPY 

FLAK 

XAVIOR 

BOULDER 

DIGGER 

PYJAMARAMA 

FOOTBALL 

MUTANT 

ZAGA 

INTERDICTOR 

STAFF 

TRANSYLVANIAN 

QUANGO 

BRAINSTORM 

SAGA 

SNOWBALL 

ZARM 

MYCHESS 

GHOSTBUSTERS 

MANIC 

QUIZMASTER 

SWAG 

ANT 

ZAXXON 

JACK 

SOFTWARE 

STAR 

TALES 

UGH! 

ZENjI 

MASTERMIND 

RAID 

AUTOMANIA 

SCRABBLE 

BRUCE 

STAR 

VIZAWRITE 

ZODIAC 

SON 

JASPER 

MATCH 

AVALON 

NOMAD 

BYTE 

JET 

RATTLER 

CAMELOT 

GOLD 

ZOOM 

TECHNICIAN 

SPACE 

MATCH 

STAR 

OLYMPICS 

ZORK 

TEST 

JINN 

EDDIE 

RETURN 

• • • • 

EN ABYSS QUEST 

• 

USA TRAFFIC CONTROL AMERICAN FOOTBALL 

• • 

ATTACK • 

AVIATOR BATTLECARS BEACI 

• • • 

\D BLAGGER 

• • 

BLUE MAX HOUSE DASH 

• • 

BRAXX 

• • 

feLUFF LEE CASTLE OF TERROF 

• 

DENAME MAT 

• • 

DALEY THOMPSON’S DECATHLON DAN DOOMDARK’S 

• 

REVENGE DRAGON FIRE 

• 

DRELBS 

• 

DUNGEON ADVENTURE KID 

• • • • 

'IP CHALLENGE 

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PILOT MANAGER GIFT 

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FROM THE GODS 

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RUSH GRAND PRIX DRIVE 

• • • • • 

/ZZLER NOON DOT SPOTTER MISSION PILOT • & THE BEANSTALK • • SET WILLY JETPAC • GENII 

• • • 

GHTLORE WILF 

• • • 

SYNDROME LORDS OF MIDNIGHT 

• 

MINER 

• 

DAY POINT MOLAR MAUI 

• • 

ON PATROL MR 

• 

ROBOT PAC MAN MUGSY 

• 

MACHINE MONTY II NATO COMMANDER • • • 

OF TIME 84 ORIOl' 

• 

• • • • • • 

ER PAN LINE POSITION • • • • 

OVER MOSCOW 

• • 

REDCOATS T 

iN RIVER RAID • • • • 

2084 

• • 

GOES DIGGING SABRE WULF 

• 

OF ERIC THE VIKING • 

SCUBBER DIVE SHEER PANIC SHERLOCF 

• • 

P OF THE LINE 

• • • 

THE RAPIDS DAZE SKULL 

• 

SNOOKER • • 

STAR OF BLAGGER 

• 

SHUTTLE SPELLBOUN 

• • • • • 

IEGED SPIRIT OF THE STONES 

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SPITFIRE ACE HUNTER 

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OF KARNATH TRADER 

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DAVIS SNOOKER STOP THE EXPRESS STRIP POKER EXPRESS SULTAN’S MAZE • • • • 

OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS 

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• • 

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• • 

RACE THE THINKER TIR NA NOG 

• • 

TOWER 64 WANTED MONTY MOLE • • 

WEATHE 

• • 

STER 

• • • • 

LIGHTNING WORDS WIZARD OF WOR • • 

MISSION 

• 

MASTER 

• 

PASCAL II ZORK I 

When you are looking for the best games in town look no 

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. 

hear 

i 

Clumsy, opinionated superhack EDWARD BANGER bungles 

games scene's hottest news and juiciest gossip. 

Frankie 

goes computer 

Those new-fangled Liverpudlian 

pop stars who've risen up the hit 

parade are now releasing a computer 

game with the help of 

Ocean. It's called, surprisingly, 

Frankie goes to Hollywood, and I 

still haven't managed to work 

out which one of them is 

Frankie. 

The game is being programmed 

by those clever former 

Imagine people at Denton Designs, 

who also did Shadowfire. 

You can expect another strange 

scenario, and I have little doubt I 

won't get past the opening 

screen. I satisfied myself with 

snatching this sneak screenshot 

from an early copy of the 

game. Why can't someone do 

'Jim Reeves goes to Nashville'? 

Herbert is a wally 

Remember the little horror, the 

uncontrollable baby Herbert from 

Mikro-Gen's Everyones a Wally? „ 

Well, old Ed can tell you that hot 

on the heels of that impossibly 

difficult (I speak for myself) release 

comes Herbert starring solo 

in his own game. 

Herbert's Dummy Run, to be reviewed 

next issue, features similar 

sort of gameplay to its predecessors 

but includes a lot more 

mini arcade-style games like 

Breakout and Space Invaders. 

Great! Those are games I can 

almost cope with. 


Archer Maclean: 

a star is born 

Watched the lads drooling over 

Dropzone this month — a distasteful 

experience, I can tell 

you. Since the game came to 

them from US Gold, they actually 

thought it was American, 

so I thought I'd impress them by 

tracking down the programmer 

who I happened to know was . . 

British. This could explain why 

US Gold have put out this one 

under the label UK Gold. 

The program author, Archer 

Maclean, naturally agreed to 

give the Banger a sizzling 

hot, 

world exclusive, face-to-face 

interview and explain to me how 

he came to write the game 

which is clearly going to make 

him and US Gold a lot of money. 

Dropzone was conceived on 

his Atari 800 back in July last 

year. Astonishingly, despite the 

fact that he'd been programming 

since the late 70s, he had 

never actually had a game released 

— much of his time had 

gone into programming 'brilliant' 

Atari versions of Defender 

and Stargate which for legal 

reasons never saw the light of 

day. The Atari Dropzone, based 

to some extent around these 

earlier games, took four and a 

half months of intensive 18 

hours a day programming. 

'When I showed it around and 

said I was going to convert it to 

the 64, everybody laughed,' 

says Archer.'They said: You just 

can't do that sort of thing on the 

64!. Well that spurred me on further, 

so I went out and bought a 

64 and converted Dropzone in 

just eight weeks.' 

Archer Maclean is 23 years 

old, rather tall, based in Cambridge, 

dislikes Minter games, 

eats nearly anything (but can't 

stand Pot Noodles) and pursues 

many sports such as hang gliding, 

squash and water skiing. He 

also loves driving at very high 

speeds and playing arcade 

games written by Eugene Jarvis 

(Defender, Robotron and Joust.) 

He's now starting work on 

Dropzone 2 and spent a good 

deal of time talking to the lads 

here about what might or might 

not be included in it. Stand by 

for, at the very least, another 

ultra-hectic shoot-em-up with 

far more species of alien. 

¥* Cff ¥ L 7 

XS OTTf 

Take a careful look at this 

picture», because it's an 

exclusive, a first, a nap, a 

scoop — get the idea ? 

Basically this is the world's 

first look atA/iigata's new 

number Match Fishing with 

Jack Charlton as described in 

this column last month. Very 

pretty it looks too. Especially 

in colour. 

The release date will 

coincide with the opening of 

the coarse fishing season, 

June 16th, which means that 

the boys hope to tell you all 

about it next month. 

This tape 

costs peanuts 

Mastertronic and KP (that's the 

crisp lot) have got together for a 

new game/megamarketing 

plan. The game features the star 

of that KP Skips advert character 

Clumsy Colin. 

Mastertronic have had a program 

written round him, which 

they'll be selling at their usual 

cheapo price of £1.99. The big 

Not a 

bonus for them is that the game 

will be promoted on rather a 

large number of KP Skips packets 

— 12,000,000, in fact. 

bad little advertising stunt I'm a- 

thinking. 

Incidentally, I this very 

. . 

journal has also got in on the act, 

with an exclusive competition 

centred around the game. Come 

next issue you'll have the 

chance of winning a disk drive or 

one of 1 0 crates of KP Skips. Seriously. 

The big bonus is that the 

Zzap competition will be promoted 

on rather a large number 

of Mastertronic games 

Betcha can't wait.

' 

fc|| 

, 

NfcVfcSTM'S 

mmmm 

lllllflll 

IIIPIIII; 

Blliillf 

S ' •. A 

lies his way through the 64 

Rain won't stop play 

After all these American sports 

simulations, here comes a jolly 

British one. Graham Gooch's 

Test Cricket is being launched by 

Audiogenic who say the game 

features graphics of similar 

appearance and quality to Commodore's 

International Soccer. 

You're given control 

over batting 

or bowling (but not fielding). 

And it includes teams made 

up of famous players, each with 

their own characteristics — if 

you put old Goochie on to 

BOWL, expect him to be hit out 

of the ground, he's as bad as I 

am. 

Price wars 

round 2 

I predict an imminent new joint 

release from US Gold and 

Audiogenic called 'Price Wars'. 

The two companies have been 

preparing the way by tearing at 

each other's throats over the 

marketing of the latest Cosmi 

games Super Huey and Richard 

Petty's Talladega, to which they 

both have the rights. 

First, as I told you last month, 

Audiogenic undercut US Gold's 

price on Super Huey by £3, forcing 

US Gold to follow suit so that 

both companies are now selling 

it 

for £8.95. Now US Gold have 

done the dirty on Audiogenic 

selling Talladega for £6.95, two 

quid less than Audiogenic's 

price. What happened? You 

guessed. Audiogenic have 

dropped their price to match. 

At this rate these two companies 

are going to be undercutting 

Mastertronic before long. 

Well, Ed Banger, for one, isn't 

complaining. 

the Falklands? 

U 

I , 

i 'J„ 

Anirog have a new release this 

month. Jump Jet . Written by a 

fully qualified Harrier Jump Jet 

pilot the game claims to give you 

the realism and excitement of flying 

a proper Harrier. 

The program lets you practise 

take-offs, flying and landings 

before entering into a fullyfledged 

seek-and-destroy mission. 

There are four skill levels, 

reflecting the ranks of the RAF. 

This could well be above my intellectual 

level. 

Jonah 

Barrington's legs 

I bet you've been wondering 

why Jonah Barrington looks so 

worried on the New Generation 

ad for his Squash game? 

Well, pin back your ears because 

old Ed's got the lowdown. 

In order to take that multiexposure 

photograph, Jonah 

had to take his life into his hands 

and charge full speed across a 

court in pitch darkness except 

for the light from a stroboscope. 

Poor old Jonah was scared stiff 

that he was going to fall and 

break his legs, and who 

wouldn't be? 

Never mind, Jonah, everyone 

knows that your legs are insured 

for a lot of money! 

StreetHawk and 

Daley ride again 

Simultaneous with the release of 

Frankie (see elsewhere on this 

page), Ocean are also releasing 

the official StreetHawk game and 

the follow up to the controversial, 

but top-selling Daley Thompsons 

Decathlon . 

StreetHawk puts you in control 

of the megamotorbike of the 

same name and Daley Thompson's 

Supertest gives you a variety 

of sports to tackle including 

tug of war, ski jumping and 

springboard diving. 

BRUNO'S BOXING BONANZA 

Elite's new game promises the 

thrills and spills of the boxing 

ring. FRANK BRUNO'S BOXING 

puts you in the gloves of this top 

British heavyweight. Seven 

opponents from different countries 

stand between you and the 

world champion. You have to 

fight these toughies to be able to 

challenge the champion of the 

When wandering about the grounds of Melbourne House the 

other day I was horrified to hear unearthly screams and crashings 

from within. On closer inspection I saw that the staff were 

all crowded about a computer. 

I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about until I was 

invited to see for myself the company's amazing new game. It's 

called Way of the Exploding Fist and is a martial arts game based, 

so I'm told, on the highly popular arcade game Karate Champ. 

After popping down to the local arcade to compare the two I 

have come to the conclusion that Melbourne House's offering is 

even better than the arcade game! 

There are a full 18 movements available so you can really chop, 

hack and kick your opponent to death, whether he happens to be 

the computer or another player. 

The graphics made even my world-weary eyes pop out, allegedly 

over 600 sprites being used to make the animation as 

smooth and as realistic as possible. I'm now looking forward to 

see the review in next month's issue. 

world, who, as usual, is 

American. 

The game is described by Elite 

as a 'light-hearted' boxing simulation 

which can allow people to 

'learn something of the stamina 

and courage' of boxers. Sounds 

like it could be a real knockout 

hit. Geddit . . . ? Knockout ... hit 

. . . boxing . . . ? What a wit. 

And YOU 

thought vector 

graphics were SLOW 

You may or may not have seen 

Encounter, a game which features 

highly original, fastmoving 

3D graphics and has 

picked up something of a cult 

following among shoot-em-up 

connoisseurs. Well, pin your 

ears back because Novagen, the 

people behind Encounter (and 

also behind that hugely popular 

fast-loader Novaload), are now 

releasing a new game which, 

like its predecessor has been 

months in development. 

Mercenary is also 3D and is 

also a shoot-em-up, but this 

time there are vector graphics. 

Er, I think that means the kind in 

which objects are depicted in a 

kind of wireframe outline, as in, 

say, Stellar 7 or Elite. 

Novagen told me that these 

are in the fact the FASTEST vector 

graphics ever seen on the 64 

. . . oh dear, sounds like another 

game I won't be able to play. 

Stellar 7 is too fast for me by 

half! 


. 

Earth-shaking new game..? 

Details have been filtering the day before the quake is due 

through to me of the new game to occur, hence the game title, 

coming out from Beyond on the Listening to the tone of that, I 

Monolith label. Quake Minus wasn't surprised to learn that 

One. Quite a scenario, to this one of the game's programmers 

one. 

is Mike Singleton, author of The 

It's the late 1980's and on the Lords of Midnight, who special- 

Atlantic seabed lies Titan, an ises in developing new game 

automatic robot-controlled types. This one is described as 

power station. Situated on a — 'icon-driven arcade/ 

thin section of the Earth's crust strategy'. Er, I think icon-driven 

it draws power from the magna means that there are no words 

flows beneath the surface. 

involved, just select the actions 

So far so good, but . . . the from pictures. But there are also 

Robot Liberation Front have landscape graphics similar to 

invaded and have interfered Lords' of Midnight, except . . 

with the earthquake-dampen- they move. Fast. I've seen them, 

ing computer which controls There are in all some 6000 

the whole complex. They de- moving ocean bed locations, so 

mand equal rights to robots or I guess this is another of those 

they will interfere with the games the Banger won't be able 

Quake mode on the computer to play at all. 

causing massive tidal waves Quake Minus One is out at the 

along the whole of both the end of June and will sell for 

European and American Atlant- £9.95. 

ic seaboards. You take control 

Commodore 

to serve up an ace? 

The follow-up to International 

Soccer and International Basketball 

has been revealed. Stand by 

for . . International Tennis. 

Written by Andrew Spencer, 

author of the other two hit programs, 

it will offer a new appr-' 

oach to tennis instead of the 

normal view-from-the-base-line 

like Matchpoint and On Court 

Tennis. Instead the game will be 

a viewed across the court and 

will scroll from side to side with 

the ball. 

The game characters will be 

similar graphically to Spencer's 

earlier games, only this time 

they'll be in the traditional white 

tennis garb. Let's hope they 

don't behave like that horrible 

Yank John McEnroe. 


US Gold 

go for a duck 

Hooray, US Gold 

the rights to my favourite Walt 

Yes people, you'll soon be 

Duck coming to your screens in 

full technicolour. Winnie the 

Pooh and Pluto will be following 

in their footsteps. All these characters 

have had programs written 

around them in the US and 

are to be released over here on a 

new US Gold label called 'Kids'. 

And that's not all. Later on in 

the year there will be official 

computer game versions of the 

new Waft Disney films Return to 

Oz and The Black Cauldron. 

There'll also be a game of my alltime 

favourite films.Jungle Book. 

I can't wait, despite the fact that 

I'm over seven years old. 

VIEW TO A KILL 

Bob Wade takes a sneak preview at the new 

James Bond game on which Domark hope to 

make a killing 

007 

ft 

Bond is back and facing his toughest 

challenge yet— on the 64! The game is 

based on the film released this summer 

and sticks quite closely to the story line. 

My preview was at the London offices 

of Domark (previous release 

Eureka ), the company behind the 

game, where amidst the pre-release 

chaos they had time to show me how 

progress was coming along. They were 

still compiling the various sections of 

the program, which is no easy task 

“Since it features three completely different 

games, speech synthesis, two 

theme tunes and of course a save-theworld-from-a-mad-megalomaniac- 

plot. 

The megalomaniac in question is the 

evil Max Zorin and he's got a nasty 

female sidekick by the name of May 

Day. Zorin wants to corner the world 

market in silicon chips and has a crazy 

scheme to blow Silicon Valley in California 

into the Pacific Ocean, leaving 

him as the sole supplier. As you've 

probably guessed it's Bond's job to 

stop it happening. 

The game action starts with the 

sequence from the film where Bond 

appears reflected in an eye, walks to 

the middle of the screen and shoots 

towards you. This is accompanied by 

the Bond theme tune (you remember: 

doing diddle-da-da dum-dum-dum, etc 

. . .). When the eye has turned red with 

blood and wobbled away, the music 

changes to the Duran Duran theme 

from View to a Kill and the credits scroll 

by. 

The music was converted to the 64 

by Tony Crowther and is excellently 

done using all three channels to the 

full. The speech hadn't been finished 

when / saw the game, but you can expect 

it to say things like 'My name is 

Bond, James Bond', ' You've failed 

Bond', "Well done Bond', and even 

'Damn it!' when he makes a mistake. 

Each of the three games fills the 

memory and so have to be loaded separately, 

but it means you're getting 

three games for just £10.99. Here's 

what happens in each. 

GAME ONE 

This is set in Paris where Bond has 

chased Zorin's female accomplice up 

the Eiffel Tower where she jumps and 

floats off on a parachute. Bond borrows 

a car and gives chase. 

This is where you come in and are 

presented with a split screen view of 

Paris. On the bottom is a plan view 

from high in the air showing you the 

area around you, your car, one way 

streets, the parachute and a number of 

landing points. Your aim is to get to the 

landing point before the baddie. 

You are faced by lots of problems like 

damage to your car from collisions, the 

Gendarmes chasing you for going the 

wrong way up one-way streets and the 

parachute constantly changing course. 

Whether you get to the point or not you 

are given a code Jo enter the next section 

of the game. 

GAME TWO 

The second game takes place after 

Bond and his female friend Stacey 

have been captured. They've been 

trapped in a lift in a burning hotel and 

whilst Bond has managed to escape he 

still has to rescue Stacey and get out of 

the hotel. 

The bottom of the display shows the 

hotel with the rooms on fire, where you 

are and where you've been. The top of 

the screen shows the rooms and contents 

in 3D with Bond in his customary 

evening suit. To get out you have to 

explore the hotel using the masses of 

objects that are lying around. 

The puzzle/adventure element is 

controlled via the joystick and allows 

you to choose an object from your inventory 

and use it in standard adventure 

ways: use, search, drop etc. You can 

also give instructions to Stacey (once 

you've rescued her) to help you. 

You can't walk into a room where the 

fire is already burning but the closer 

you get, the slower you move due to 

the intense heat and fatigue. Fail to 

rescue Stacey and she'll scream as she 

gets frazzled but even if you lose her 

(callous swine!) you can. progress to 

the next stage. 

GAME THREE 

The third stage is set in the caverns 

below Silicon Valley where you have to 

dispose of the bomb that threatens to 

destroy the world's chips. It's done 

Impossible Mission style with Bond 

running and jumping around the caverns 

but these are a bit Quo Vadis like 

and will need mapping. 

Once again there is a strong puzzle 

solving element with stacks of objects 

to find, lifts and ropes to use, and some 

nasty little traps. 

As a package the game looks very 

promising. To see whether it lives up to 

the promise, have a look at our full review 

next month. 

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arcade action AQVARtAEE sixteen screens 

detailed colour graphics 

problem solving scenario 

§Mf 

GHOST CHASER features detailed graphics, sixteen game screens and an action 

oriented, problem solving scenario. You’ll meet Harry the Ghost Chaser and a host of 

weird phantoms as you explore the different rooms of Fairport Manor. Points are 

scored each time you blast the large ghosts that materialize at random. The only way 

to capture these spirit adversaries is to find and collect the 8 keys needed to open 

the ghost chamber. Watch out for the many tricky obstacles and above all avoid 

contact with anything that moves! . . . they’ll send shivers up your spine. 

DISK 

£1 A .95 

CASSETTE 

£0.95 

Selected U.S. Gold software is available from all good 

U.S. 

computer shops and specially selected branches of: 

BOOTS -W.H. SMITH • 

JOHN MENZIES 

- 

WILDINGS -WOOLWORTH 

Gold Limited, Unit 10, Parkway Industrial Centre, 

Heneage Street, Birmingham B7 4LY. 

Telephone: 021-359 8881. Telex: 337268.

Defender in that you're trying to 

protect scientists on the planet 

surface, the task this time is 

more complex. Instead of being 

carried away by landers, the 

men are under threat from Androids 

which are deposited on the 

planet surface by Planters (see 

accompanying box). Your job is 

9 Nine different enemies, furioue action 

9 Brilliant graphics, excellent control 

Afuturistic space battle with 

roots in Defender and Jetpac 

comes to your screens 

in this absolutely brilliant shootem-up. 

The game places you in a similar 

scenario to Defender — 

fighting enemies above a twoway 

scrolling landscape. And 

the character you control is 

straight out of Jetpac — an 

armed space-man equipped 

with a jetpowered backpack. But 

it's the differences that will get 

the blood pounding through 

your temples. 

For a start the graphics: they 

make Defender look prehistoric. 

The single-line planet surface 

has been transformed into a 

realistic, rugged terrain covered 

in volcanic craters and lava 

pools. Yet it scrolls every bit as 

fast and smoothly as in Defender. 

The aliens (there are nine 

species instead of Defender's 

six), your character, and the 

scanner are also graphically 

much more detailed. 

Then there's the scenario. 

Although superficially similar to 

to rescue the men before this 

can happen and to destroy all 

the planters and other aliens. 

Once all are destroyed, you receive 

bonus points and then a 

new, more difficult wave of 

enemies. 

The rescue takes place like 

this: the scientists roll along the 

planet's surface in spherical survival 

pods. By flying into them, 

you automatically pick them up. 

Then you must carry them (one 

at a time) to the relative safety of 

the planet silo. By moving over 

the 'dropzone', a moving crossshaped 

platform, the men are 

automatically dropped off and 

roll into the silo. 

Planter 

Jetman 

accelerating 

right 

Cloak energy 

Scanner 

Smart bombs 

18 ZZAP! 64 July 1985

. 

Dropzone is, quite simply, 

THE shmup on ANY micro. 

The combination of fast 

action , excellent controls, 

brilliant inertial effects and 

alien variety make this a 

compulsive and exhilarating 

masterpiece. Excuse me, but 

/ can 't spend any more time 

writing trivial comments 

when Tve got Dropzone to 

Nmeye 

Jetman accelerating left 

If by any chance you lose all 

your men, you'll be in real 

trouble because the planet starts 

to erupt — the volcanoes spew 

out white hot rocks and all the 

aliens turn into anti-matter 

which bounces about making it 

very hard to stay alive. What's 

more you won't get a new set of 

eight men until the next fifth or 

tenth attack wave. 

Although sounding a formidable 

task your Jetman has excellent 

armament. Firepower is 

superb: massive rapid-firing 

laserpower, space-bar activated 

smart bombs (which, as in Defender, 

destroy everything on 

screen) and an 'inviso cloak' (to 

activate, hit any key apart from 

Simply a dream come true: 

at last a really brilliant shootem-up 

on the 64 which will 

keep any megablaster happy 

for months and months. If 

you are good at Defender 

you'll find your tactics work 

really well here, if you are a 

novice then it'll take time to 

learn how to play this game 

really well. But whoever you 

are you should go out NOW 

and buy it, it's •%?£!!! 

amazing! 

Those evil enemies 

There are nine different things 

which can kill you, eight of which 

rove around the planet. Each 

have special missions which all 

ultimately end in your destruction: 

PLANTERS. These are the most 

basic of aliens, although they 

have the most important of 

tasks. They roam about above 

the planet surface until they find 

a man. When they do so they'll 

produce an ANDROID, a small red 

sphere, which they start to lower 

onto the surface of the planet. If 

the planter reaches the planet 

and drops the android off, the 

planter then mutates into a Nemesite 

(see below). Meanwhile the 

android will roll along the planet 

surface until it finds a man. When 

it does so it'll self-destruct taking 

the man with it. If there are no 

men left on the surface it will roll 

along until it finds the silo and 

enter, destroying a man. Needless 

to say, you should destroy 

the planter before it drops an 

android. You are aided in this, by 

the shrill squeak emitted by the 

planter when an android is produced, 

plus the fact that the android 

appears on your scanner and 

an arrow indicates which way 

you should fly to find it. 

Incidentally on higher screens 

the planters exhibit highly intelligent 

behaviour, hunting for you 

in gangs, but fleeing rapidly 

should you prove a mean shot. 

NEMESITES. These mutated 

planters come roaring after you 

as soon as they develop and will 

track you relentlessly at high 

speeds whilst chucking bombs 

around. 

BLUNDER STORM. Impressivelooking 

clouds which float about 

the planet dropping acid rain or 

belting out huge thunderflashes. 

Needless to say these are both 

fatal to the touch. 

TRAILER. A small spherical, spiny 

horror which floats about harmlessly 

until you shoot it. It thereupon 

bursts into . . 

SPORES. These thin comet-like 

objects follow you about emitting 

excited squeaks. They're 

very hard to hit and should be 

killed on the spot. If you leave 

them you could run into them as 

they're very difficult to see at 

high speeds. 

NMEYE. This evil red alien is 

equivalent to a baiter in Defender. 

Take too long over a wave 

and it will appear track you relentlessly 

at super high speeds firing 

jike crazy. If you start to get 

these (unavoidable on high 

levels) prepare to fight for your 

life. 

ANTI MATTER. This stuff appears 

after you've lost all your men. It 

bounces about dropping bombs 

all over the shop and is generally 

a real pain in the neck. Laser like 

crazy to get rid of this stuff. 

VOLCANOES. These start to 

erupt after you've lost all your 

men. They hurl out deadly white 

hot rocks at a furious and horrific 

rate. If you have to pass them 

then climb to a high altitude. 

-I 

the space-bar) which will allow 

you to go through everything 

including your men! Although 

the cloak is a vital defence, it can 

only be used for a short amount 

of time before the inviso power 

runs out. After each wave it will 

be replenished. 

Underneath the main screen 

display there is a superb scanner 

— a miniature display of the 

whole planet which you can use 

to see all the troublespots and 

where the action is at. The scanner 

is so good, it's almost possible 

to play Dropzone without 

looking at the main display! 

The attack waves are of two 

sorts. NORMAL waves feature 

all the aliens complete with 

androids, planters etc. TRAILER 

INVASIONS come every fourth 

wave (see box). These are very 

tough and require some solid 

blasting to survive. You still 

have to collect the men and take 

them to the dropzone, only this 

time there are no planters and 


iTiob 

androids... well, not until the 

higher levels where the fun 

really starts. 

Fortunately, every 10,000 

points you receive a new life and 

a new smart bomb (three of each 

to start with). 

At the end of a game you are 

also given a rating, from the lowliness 

of 'practice recommended' 

to the highest I've achieved: 

'mega-star'. I'm not sure how far 

the ratings go butthey are many 

and humourous. 

Game feel is excellent and has 

fantastic control potential for an 

experienced Dropzoner. You 

have four-way joystick control 

over the Jetman, but you have to 

allow for his inertia, and also the 

effect of the planet's (weak) 

gravity field. 

Sound too is ace: arcade quality 

blasting which is loud, original 

and varied and really adds 

to the game. 

Any shmup fan who doesn't 

have this game as pride of place 

in his software collection is 

either a total wimp or needs to 

undergo psychiatric treatment 

now! 

Blunder storm 

Trailer 

Volcano 

Pretty frills 

A 

L&fo 

o 

i 

m 

Dropzooe has several touches 

which add real class to the 

game's atmosphere. 

• As your jetman zooms about 

the planet's surface you can see 

him working the controls of his 

jetpack, while his legs are pushed 

back as he accelerates. 

• At the end of a wave he raises a 

hand and gives you the thumbsup. 

Well, you need all the encouragement 

you can get! 

• On the high score table the top 

scorer has his name displayed in 

large, glowing multicoloured letters. 

Really makes you want to go 

for those highscores. 

• When you die you explode into 

thousands of little pieces in a 

great firework display, one of the 

most impressive explosions anywhere. 

Defender has long been the 

ultimate shmup f the best 64 

version being Guardian, but 

now even this classic arcade 

game has been surpassed. 

Dropzone has tremendous 

action and unlike its 

predecessors has inertia 

control that even / found a 

joy. I still found it really tough 

though and will be battling 

with it for months to come. 

f 

Q 

f 

Q 

Excellent opening sequence 

Based 

and high score table. 

Fast, smooth scrolling, 

great planetscape, aliens 

and explosions. 

No music but lots of great 

/ 

Q 

on Defender but with 

new aliens, new scenario. 

Fast blasting that’s so 

compulsive you won 't be 

able to leave it alone. 

f 

f The waves are still getting 

Q effects throughout. 

Shmup fans can’t afford not 

to have this one. 

Q 

harderat one million points. 


I 

RUN FOR YOUR 

WITH 

FOR 

Commodore 64. 

Price £7.95 

Hot Line 

Mail Order Service 

- 0225-3 1 6924 

BARCLAYCARD 

^ \ 

Deep in the steamy Amazon jungle 

danger lurks amongst the swamps and 

creepers. Armed only with a blowpipe and 

a limited number of poisoned darts, your 

£ k journey takes you through some of the last 

A unexplored areas of Rainforest. 

Look out for treacherous headhunters and 

\ scorpions, while above you deadly tree 

snakes wait to strike at easy prey. 

Try and outrun them, but you’ll have to 

stop, load and shoot eventually! 

Your adventures take you through dank, 

eerie caves echoing with the sound of bloodsucking 

vampire bats. Wierd wraithes chase you out to face the 

climax of the game around a ruined temple. 

Dodging the crumbling masonry you must combat 

giant spiders waiting to entwine you in their deadly 

webs. But are you accurate enough with your blowpipe 

to face the final conflict? 

There are 4 levels of difficulty spread over 3 incredibly 

detailed 3D scrolling landscapes and should you be 

- caught out, the end you face is definitely not for 

the faint hearted. 

j 

Realistic sound adds to the thrill of the 

chase - make sure the screams aren’t 

yours if you are dragged away by the 

awesome Quetzalcoatus. 

Load up, and be ready to shoot! 

FREEPOST, Bath BA2 4TD. 

New Generation products are 

sold according to their terms 

of trade and conditions of sale.

As the cassette reaches the 

end, and loading nears 

completion, you say to 

yourself 'I wonder if Ultimate 

have done it again?'. Once the 

game has finally loaded and 

you've pressed the fire button to 

start, your heart sinks and you 

think: They haven't — it's Karnath 

revisited'. 

But they have and it isn't. You 

soon find that getting out of the 

first location isn't quite so 

simple as you initially thought. 

When, hours later, you've fully 

explored and sussed the first 

few levels, you realise that Entombed 

is one of the most 

original and entertaining aardvarks 

(arcade-adventures) ever 

to hit the 64 (or any other machine, 

come to think of it). 

The game retains the character 

of Sir Arthur Pendragon 

and some of the graphics from 

JULY 

The tomb inhabitants 

MOSQUITOES. Materialise in the 

corridors and fly back and forth in 

a predictable up and down pattern 

for a short time. Unless 

whipped or avoided, will deplete 

your lives. 

FLIES. As above. 

MUMMIES. Materialise in a similar 

manner to the above, only 

pace back and forth along the 

corridor, arms outstretched, 

causing problems unless dealt 

with or avoided. 

CROWS. Appear in the same 

fashion as the Mosquito etc. only 

these don't harm you. Fly from 

left to right until they dematerialise 

at the edge of the screen, 

occasionally carrying a lifeenhancing 

'Ankh'. 

SCORPIONS. Appear on the floor 

of the corridors and scuttle after 

you, depleting your life force 

should one hit you. Whip it or skip 

it. 

SNAKES. Found in some of the 

anterooms. Move predictably 

back and forth along pathways 

and must be jumped or avoided 

to prevent partial loss of a life. 

CLOUDS. Found in an anteroom 

very deep in the tomb. Move back 

and forth above ground in a similar 

way to the snakes, only they 

flash lightning periodically. 

Should you be touching the cloud 

when this happens, your lives 

will suffer. 

BOULDERS. Only found in certain 

antechambers. Some roll along 

pathways and harm on contact, 

whilst others can be moved in 

one way or another. 

OTHERS. There are various authentic 

looking statues of Egyptian 

Gods, obelisks, bull-heads and 

sarcophagi scattered about the 

place, none of which harm you, 

but some of which block vital 

doorways. 

mm 

ENTOMBED 

Hk A A PI mm Bilk 

Ultimate, £S.SB case, Joystick with keys 

Oooohh! I'm knackered. I played 

this game for 16 hours yesterday, 

stopping only for food, nicotine 

and the type of coffee that strips 

paint. Exploring and mapping 

this fabulous game is both 

stimulating and tiring, through 

the lows of defeat to the 

exhilaration of finally solving one 

of the many horrendously 

difficult puzzles. A truly classic 

game containing some amazing 

backdrops. Brilliant one, 

guaranteed to keep you in the 

company of owls for weeks. 

0 Incredibly absorbing, addictive, original arcade-adventure 

0 175 screen playing area with atmospheric graphics, ingenious puzzles 

0 Moving platforms, magic whip, controllable torch, gongs, pools, invisibility, etc 

Staff of Kamath, but any similarities 

stop there. Whereas Karnath 

was relatively small. Entombed 

is large and complex — 

the total playing area is some 

175 screens in size. Whereas 

Karnath included puzzles made 

difficult purely by being obscure, 

the puzzles in Entombed 

have logical and sometimes 

spectacular solutions. Indeed, 

the kick you'll get from sussing 

parts of this game is about as 

great as any computer game will 

ever give you. 

The action is set in an ancient 

Egyptian tomb, from which Sir 

Arthur must escape. It has the 

same basic appearance as Karnath, 

except that everything has 

an Egyptian flavour. Highly detailed 

and authentic 3D background 

scenery adorns every 

location — complete with some 

excellent hieroglyphics which 

lend an incredible atmosphere 

to the game. The sprites used, 

unfortunately, are of the same 

quality as Karnath, ie fairly large 

and crude, but with some great 

animation — just watch Sir 

Arthur jump! 


ifii 

' 

' 

Thepause facility is 

useful when you want to 

think 

Some of the detailed 

hieroglyphics 

The friendly crow 

mirll, 

An enemy 

materialising 

iUiliyU. 

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!!f!i! 

Sir Arthur 

flourishing 

the whip 

An attacking 

mummy 

/Vo problem with air in the 

corridors 

The original features 

One of the main things that sets 

this aside from all other currently 

available arcade-adventures is 

the number of highly original 

features it contains: 

THE WHIP. Not only is it used to 

dispose of any nasties you might 

encounter but also to move objects 

around. 

THE TORCH. Just wait till you see 

it in action! Some of the rooms 

are in complete darkness and it's 

only possible to tell what's in 

them by having, and using, the 

torch. You can actually guide a 

realistically revealing torch beam 

around the room and see what 

you're missing! The effect is 

stunning. 

INVISIBILITY. Used in a couple of 

instances to make things a lot 

harder. In one room you're made 

totally invisible and have to find 

your way through a winding footpath, 

collect an object in order to 

leave the room, and then find 

your way back again! 

LAVA POOLS. There are three of 

these in one room— one is deadly, 

one turns you invisible, the 

other makes you visible again. 

You have to figure out how to use 

these pools to get through the 

room and deeper into the tomb. 

SARCOPHAGUS. This is a closed 

coffin, found in several rooms 

and containing an object. The 

problem is how to open it. In one 

such room there's a sun on one 

side and a moon on the other, a 

jar and a green bird that flies past 

dropping glowing 'objects'. If one 

of the objects lands on you then 

you lose energy — so what are 

they for? Aha 

GHOSTS. These appear in one 

incredibly atmospheric room — 

there are four of them (making 

brilliantly effective wailing 

noises) along with a coffin, which 

is too high for you to reach. As 

soon as you step towards it the 

ghosts' cry increases in pitch 

until you get too close when they 

zoom in towards you, knocking 

off energy should they get you. 

Solving this room will send your 

pulse rate into three figures. 

JVIOVING PLATFORMS. They 

appear in several rooms and are a 

key to solving puzzles. The problem 

is how you get them to 

move! 

TRAPS. Some rooms feature 

sliding gates which fall behind 

you. You then have to work out 

how to get through, or get back 

out. 

GONGS. These form the basis of 

another great puzzle. Ring 'em 

right (they have a wonderful ringing 

tone) or you won't get 

through. 

One complete life has 

been lost, and the grey 

colour indicates damage 

to another 

The tomb has several 

levels, 

each composed of a network of 

corridors and antechambers, 

the corridors having many turnings 

and dead ends. Various 

nasties frequent the corridors 

and devious puzzles lie within 

the chambers. 

While in the corridors, Sir 

Arthur can breathe freely. When 

in one of the chambers on the 

other hand, there is a limited 

supply of air to breathe and this 

is indicated by a percentage displayed 

on screen. Should he 

stay in one room for too long, 

and the air percentage should 

reach zero, then one complete 

life will be lost (you start with 

five). 

Contact with any form of nasty 

will deplete one of your lives by 

a certain amount. Each life starts 

off displayed as white and this 

gets gradually darker until the 

life is lost. Needless to say, once 

all five lives are lost the game is 

over. However every fifth crow 

which flies overhead carries lifegiving 

'ankh', which you may be 

able to jump and grab. 

The 3D viewpoint is the same 

as that in Karnath : a sort of cut 

Tells you which of Sir 

Arthur's three actions is 

operational 

Wow! Great! Amazing! 

Incredible! (Get the idea?) This is 

without doubt THE aardvark for 

the 64 or any other home micro. I 

loved the graphics, the fighting is 

terrific and I found the puzzles 

absorbing, devious, frustrating 

and above all addictive. If 

Ultimate keep improving on the 

64 the way they did on the 

Speccy then their next one could 

be miraculous. This one is 

brilliant enough as it is. 

away side-on view of a location 

is shown. As before, when moving 

left or right the screen scrolls 

smoothly in 

the same direction 

to follow the action. It's also 

possible to move 'in' and 'out' of 

the screen as in Karnath, except 

this time a slightly different approach 

is used: When you're in a 

left/right corridor and you move 

into one of the passages visible 

going into or out of the screen, 

the viewpoint flicks round by 90 

degrees. So, instead of showing 

a view of you walking into the 

screen, you are shown moving 

across the screen again, with the 

passage you just left now at 

right-angles to the screen. 

i PLW 

"WC. 

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This game had me thoroughly 

engrossed from the very first 

location. My mind longed to 

explore and my itchy fingers 

ached to map it. I got an immense 

kick out of solving some of the 

excellent and perplexing puzzles, 

but I felt somewhat disappointed 

and cheated by the anticlimatic 

finish to the game. Still, a brilliant 

game and a must for any 

aardvark fan. 

This shuffling of viewpoints 

can prove difficult to get to grips 

with at first and makes mapping 

awkward. But needless to say, 

as with most aardvarks, without 

map you're liable to become 

a 

hopelessly lost (which is why 

we're printing ours overleaf.) 

Sir Arthur is controlled in the 

same manner as before — with 

the joystick plus occasional use 

of the space-bar— only thistime 

there are no spells used to perform 

functions such as fighting 

and moving things. Instead the 

space-bar is used to select one 

of three actions: jump, use the 

magical whip or use the torch. 

Pressing the fire button will then 

perform the action currently displayed, 

although the latter two 

can be used only after you've 

found the relevant equipment. 

The whip is easily found on the 

Now how did 

Sir Arthur 

get that statue 

to move 

away from the 

room exit? 

By jumping??!? 

More helpful instructions 

than usual but same silly 

loader. 

Brilliant hieroglyphics and 

enemies and some 

marvellous rooms. 

Great sound effects on 

whip , 

and some rooms, but 

no game music. 

Even better than Staff of 

Karnath what more can 

you say. 

first level but the torch isn't quite 

so easy to get (sorry, no clues). 

There are a number of objects 

to be found within the chambers 

should you solve the puzzles 

surrounding them. All of these 

are useful, if only to help you 

obtain other, more important 

objects. It's a very long sequence 

of events before you find 

the object you need to escape 

the tomb and end the game. 

Most of the chambers are 

tough to crack and so some 

helpful clues are provided 

throughout the game. These 

clues come in the form of cryptic 

hints on scrolls and aren't given 

away just like that. No, they're 

obtained in the same way as the 

objects — with difficulty! When 

you actually find a scroll, the 

clue on it is displayed at the top 

of the screen for a couple of 

seconds. 

The sound effects are fairly 

good, but nothing to get excited 

about, although there is the occasional 

good and rather unusual 

one. The game loads in the same 

ORIGINALITY 

Initially looks like Karnath 

but in fact has MUCH more. 

Solving the puzzles gives an 

incredible kick. 

Lots of devious puzzles and 

levels that really take some 

working out. 

annoying manner as Karnath — 

it stops half way through loading 

to play a reasonable piece of 

authentic sounding music and 

won't continue to load any 

further until you press a key. 

As is the case with all Ultimate 

games, the packaging is of a 

high standard, and the instructions 

atmospheric but deliberately 

obscure (although I must 

say these were some of the 

more helpful Ultimate instructions 

I've come across). The 

scene is set with an intriguing 

explanation as to why Sir Arthur 

is in the predicament he's in and 

there's the usual tantalising list 

of game features. 

The only real criticism of the 

game, applies to all aardvarks, 

indeed all adventures. Getting 

stuck can be almost unbearably 

frustrating, and once solved, 

you may not want to return to it. 

However there is a clock 

which means you can always try 

to solve it in a shorter time — 

and in any case, you won't complete 

the game without first enjoying 

many, many hours of 

classy, demanding, atmospheric, 

exhilarating action. 

COMP 

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a 

"STAFF 

OF 

KARNATH" 

and 

"ENTOMBED" 

recommended 

retail 

price 

£9.95 

inc 

VAT. 

Available 

from 

W.H.SMITHS, 

BOOTS, 

J.MENZIES, 

WOOLWOKTHS 

and 

all 

good 

software 

retail 

outlets. 

Also 

available 

from 

ULTIMATE 

PLAY 

THE 

GAME, 

The 

Green, 

Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 

Leicestershire 

LE6 

5JU 

fPfifP 

are 

included! 

Tel: 

0530 

411485

Only one diamond to be 

collected on level 1 

Two points for each diam 

ond collected 

None collected so far 

The time limit counting 

down 

Score on zero because the 

game has just been started 

at this cave (M) 

Diamonds 

for collection 

L 

Diggable earth 

Space which has been 

dug out 

et's get the disappoint 

ments out the way first. 

Rockford's Riot, the follow 

up to the amazing Boulder Dash, 

is not what it could have been. 

It's not that it's worse than 

Boulder Dash, it's just that it 

doesn't really take Boulder 

Dash's brilliant originality any 

further. The graphics and 

sounds are the same, the enemies 

are the same, the game structure 

is the same, the objective is 

the same. 

All that First Star have done is 

create 16 new caves, making 

Rockford's Riot very much a 

continuation of Boulder Dash, 

rather than a true sequel. This is 

a real pity in view of what might 

have been done. Having said 

that, the addictiveness and 

game-play in Boulder Dash was 

so immense, that even a 

straightforward follow on has 

got to leave most competitors 

stone dead, and there's no question 

that Rockford's Riot will 

offer most people WEEKS of enjoyable 

play. 

As before the game puts you 

in the role of the Zzap margin 

megastar Rockford, who's trapped 

in a cave filled with dangerous 

toppling boulders, lethal 

fireflies, magic butterflies, 

Boulders which have fallen 

through the blue layer 

Rockford impatiently tap 

ping his foot 

One of these bits of cave 

wall is the exit— how on 

earth do you reach it? 

Boulder Dash II arrives with 16 new caves 

Few new features, but the same great game-play 

enchanted walls, growing 

amoeba and . . . diamonds. The 

idea is to collect a certain 

The blue layer is one of 

the new features 

Hey! 16 more screens of 

boulder mayhem — what 

more could you ask? A few 

new ideas, that's what It's 

every bit as brilliant as the 

original and will keep me 

occupied for months to 

come , but First Star surely 

can 't expect to keep coming 

up with sequels without 

adding some new enemies 

or other features. Still' this is 

amazing value for money 

with both games on one 

tape.

" 

1 ' 

1 » , » 1 1 l 1 1 M* 1 

. 

. 

\ 

The top ieft 

r°am the 

of ** boulders by to anrf^ reachthJ 

^•-Wcr^^sisssr 

/ 

number of diamonds within a 

time limit (which varies from 

cave to cave and according to 

the difficulty level), and then 

escape through the cave exit to a 

new cave. 

The special appeal is that although 

the game's riddled with 

puzzles, there's no single solution 

to each one. Different players 

will develop their own 

approach, and most caves 

needn't be played the same way 

fore very long, rather than having 

to play all the way through 

from the start. However levels 4 

and 5 cannot be started part way 

through. This is an excellent 

game structure, offering enough 

early encouragement while 

holding out a long-term challenge. 

The caves on Rockford's Riot 

include some superbly original 

new layouts. In general they 

present more complex tasks, 

with longer time limits allowed. 

For example, on the very first 

cave you have to sneak past fireflies, 

then use one of them to 

blast an entry into a sealed off 

chamber, seal it again to keep 

out the enemies, clear out the 

space under an enchanted wall, 

set boulders cascading through 

it to turn them into diamonds, 

each time. What is more, to get 

anywhere you must exploit the 

behaviour of the various 

enemies. A firefly will explode if 

hit by a boulder, offering you a 

technique for blasting your way 

into otherwise inaccessible 

caverns. Butterflies, if lured into 

contact with the amoeba, will 

explode into jewels. Boulders 

can be used to seal yourself off 

from chasing enemies. And so 

on. 

Each cave covers several 

screens of playing area, the pic-, 

ture scrolling smoothly to follow 

the action. There are 1 6 different 

caves, all presenting very different 

challenges and five difficulty 

levels where the basic cave 

structures remain unaltered, but 

the position of individual items 

within them is different, creating 

new problems on each level. 

As before, on the first three 

levels you can choose to start at 

cave A, E, I or M, which allows 

you to see a lot of the game be- 

and then dash to the exit past 

any surviving fireflies. 

But despite the extra complexities, 

it doesn't seem any harder 

overall — indeed, experienced 

Boulder Dash players may be 

able to plough straight through 

level one at virtually the first 

attempt. The higher levels are 

another matter. 

One very important point 

worth taking into account in 

judging this game is that 

Beyond, having taken over the 

rights from Statesoft, are putting 

Boulder Dash itself on the 

other side of the tape. This is a 

shrewd move. 

So far Boulder Dash has sold 

surprisingly poorly, probably 

because buyers have been put 

off by the relatively uninspiring 

screen-shots, and Statesoft's 

somewhat lacklustre advertising. 

But now, anyone who 

hasn't got the original can go 

ahead and buy this tape confident 

of getting stunning value for 

money. While people who 

already have the original prob- 

Here's what you 

can expect to find 

in Rockford's Riot: 

CAVE A: See main 

review. 

CAVE B: An 

amoeba growing 

out of three walled 

off silos. Trap it 

(that's easy!), to 

turn it into dozens 

of diamonds, then 

unplug the silos at 

the bottom to reap 

a rich reward. 

CAVE C: Work your 

way through a rock 

wall spiral, past 

scores of boulders 

and an awful lot of 

fireflies. 

cave, but you can't 

reach them 

because a massive 

amoeba is blocking 

the way. So you 

have to blow your 

way through it by 

releasing hordes of 

fireflies. Great 

cave. 

CAVE E: See 'The 

new features'. 

— — 

The contents of the caves 

CAVE F: First you 

must run a gauntlet 

of fireflies (easy, 

once you've 

sussed the pattern) 

to reach two 

massive walled off 

containers packed 

with boulders and 

diamonds. Careful 

manoeuvring 

required to get all 

you need before 

rerunning the 

gauntlet back to the 

exit. 

CAVE G: Once 

again, plenty of 

fireflies 

in 

evidence, but this 

time you have to 

use them to blow 

through a series of 

four separate walls 

before you can 

reach the exit. 

CAVE D: There's a 

stack of jewels on 

the right of the 

CAVE H: Nice one, 

this. On one side a 

row of butterflies 

rushing round a 

square. On the 

other side a 

rowing amoeba, 

he problem is 

how on earth to 

persuade the 

butterflies to break 

out of their square 

and go and hit the 

ably won't need too much convincing 

to buy themselves 

another 16 caves! 

Meanwhile, we at Zzap, including 

Rockford, are doing our 

best to convince Beyond and 

First Star to release a Boulder 

Dash III complete with a facility 

to design your own screens — 

the lastability on that would be 

mind-boggling! 

Everyone here had a hernia 

when it was revealed that 

there was to be a 

Boulderdash II. Except me. 

OK, so Boulderdash is a good 

game, but it's not that good, 

is it? Anyway, this is very 

similar to its predecessor and 

could well be part of the 

same game. If you liked 

Boulder Dash you'llprobably 

like this, if you didn't, this 

won 't convert you. 

PRESENTATION 

Q r- 0/ 

Q^ /O anc/ 9ame structure. 

GRAPHICS 

Goodpackaging, options 

mm w 4 Q/ Same as before, a bit crude 

amoeba (where 

they explode into 

jewels). 

CAVE I: A score of 

walls, each topped 

by a row of jewels 

and earth and 

patrolled by 

fireflies. Grabbing 

the jewels — you 

need almost every 

one — is just a 

matter of sussing 

the 

fireflies' 

pattern. Not our 

favourite cave. 

CAVE J: Has similarities 

to the 

amazing cave N in 

Boulder Dash. No 

jewels in sight. Just 

eight pairs of 

boulders each 

sealing off a firefly 

and a butterfly. So 

how do you use the 

boulders to smash 

the butterflies 

without being hit 

by a firefly? 

CAVE K: 

Guaranteed to get 

your pulse racing. 

Plenty of diamonds 

in easy enough 

positions to collect. 

Only trouble is you 

can't start without 

releasing a long 

queue of fireflies 

who stay on your 

tail throughout — 

there are no 

boulders to use 

against them. 

CAVE L: Jewels 

hidden in stacks of 

boulders and 

packed into a 

network of 

walled boxes 

21 

— 

easy to get 

boy is it 

trapped. 

CAVE M: See 'new 

features'. 

CAVE N: 

Entertaining 

screen featuring 

jewels adjacent to a 

firefly patrolled 

passage, plus two 

open spaces 

teeming with the 

evil creatures. 

Plenty of scope for 

firefly bashing. 

CAVE O: See 'new 

features'. 

CAVE P: Classic 

screen in which 

you have to extract 

the jewels from an 

absolute mountain 

of boulders. Very 

tricky indeed. 

Perhaps / was expecting too 

but / came away after 

much , 

a few games feeling 

somewhat disappointed with 

this follow up (or rather 

follow on). / would have liked 

to have seen some new 

adversaries and maybe a 

screen designer to make 

things more interesting. Still 

it's not a bad game but I .. 

Ouch! Sorry Rockford!! 

Don 't take it to heart, I .. !! 

Alright, Alright, I admit it, / 

like it 

ORIGINALITY 

0 vJ /O 

B f /O Ût ûnct'onal. Q C" O/ 

SOUND 

f— q 

/ Tinkling ofgems, rumbling 

°f boulders, 

f 

explosions and 

w w / kj amoeba. 

VALUE FOR MONEY 

0 0 / 

>< ft y°u baven 't got 

/ v> /f% Boulderdash the VFMisout 

KJ / U of this world. 

Too dose to Boulderdash 

f°r comôrt- 

HOOKABILITY 

X n /ri 

LASTABILITY 

Totally absorbing, unless 

y°u ve bad your fill of 

U Boulderdash. 

O A O/ 16 ver y different multi- 

^ ‘ 

/C\ screen caves, and five 

f ^ difficulty levels. 

V 11 1 q Goup MfcpqL,// 


UiihttUi 

Uf% 

m 

ave scavenging has been in my blood ever since I can remember. That's what Spelunkers do, 

you know. A cave's lure can be strong, especially when it's loaded with treasure, like this 

one. But be warned . . . this one is different. It has a reputation for swallowing people up. 

“First of all, it was black as the ace-of-spades down there. Everywhere. And sticky-hot, with fire 

pits and steam shooting up out of volcanic vents. That steam can cookyou like a lobster in less 

than 10 seconds. I steered clear of it. 

“There’s bats, too. Charming creatures -I carried flares toscare them off. I had a good supply 

of dynamite ready to blast the rock piles that sealed off the main shaft. I had to watch it, so I 

wouldn ’t blow myself to bits. Don 't laugh - guys have done it! 

“Spelunkers before me left ropes, ladders and railway tracks. That helped me get around until 

I hit the underground falls. At that point I had no choice but to go over in a barrel. A fall I’ll 

never forget. 

“Deep inside the main shaft, there were artefacts and treasures everywhere. But the keys ... 

without the keys, I would have been trapped behind the doors in those musty shafts. Come to 

think of it, that might have been better for my health. 

“You see, it all happened so fast. I could actually see the glow from the most priceless treasure 

of all- the Hidden Pyramid! That's when they hit me from behind. Spooks! The spirits of old 

Spelunkers. It was curtains for me - 1 didn 't stand a chance. So now, all I can do is give a 

warning: Keep a sharp eye, friend, when you're down in that hold. Because now I’m there too. 

Waiting for some poor unsuspecting Spelunker. 9 

“Just waiting...’’ 

j 

m 

jj 

fm 

6 Levels of 

increasing 

challenge 

intricate 

subterranean 

caverns 

Realistic sound 

effects 

Joystick control 

AVAILABLE FROM ALL GOOD SOFTWARE RETAILERS - If it's not there , 

please order it - or in case of difficulty send your crossed 

cheque/P. 0. made out to Ariolasoft U.K. Ltd. including your own name and address, to Ariolasoft U.K. Ltd., Suite 105/106, 

Asphalte House, Palace Street, London SW1E5HS. 

Spelunker Cassette £9.95. 

Spelunker Disk £1 2.95 - includes VAT & p&p. U.K. orders only. 

HIGH PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS

; 

Win Roland's Rat Race! 

100 copies of the slick new Ocean game to be won by cartoon creators 

Yeeeeaahh rat fans! TV-AM's rodent superstar has popped up in a new arcade 

game from Ocean in which he returns to his former life in the sewers. 

You'll find the review elsewhere in the issue but here we're giving you the 

chance to get your mits on the game itself. How? By drawing a cartoon. All you 

need do is draw Roland in an amusing situation linked in some way to the 

Commodore 64 or a computer game. The 100 cartoons that most make us laugh, 

groan or just appreciate your artwork will win a copy of the game. 

With so many prizes, you've an excellent chance of winning if you're anygood at 

cartoons. And incidentally, the best of the cartoons may just get printed, so get 

doodling. 

-'r 4^ . 

MAKE THE 

Pits GREAT 

„ OR IU- 

SQUIP>&E

T 

his is a conversion of an 

arcade game of the same 

name. You may not have 

seen the arcade original and 

after viewing this reasonably 

accurate copy you'll know why. 

It bombed. 

The original game was released 

to cash in on the sports simulation 

boom caused by Konami's 

Track and Field. Now released 

for the 64 after Decathlon , Summer 

Games and Hesgames it 

seems rather a pointless exercise. 

Especially since it's a terribly 

inferior example of the 

genre. . 

The idea of is to go through 

eight events of a decathlon, 

qualifying for each event by 

reaching a set standard. You do 

this by either hammering at a 

key or moving the joystick backwards 

and forwards as fast as 

you can. The faster you do so the 

faster the hunchback will run, 

throw or jump. In the field 

events you also have to time a 

jump or throw at the right 

moment. 

HUNCHBACK 

OLYMPICS 

attempt at joyatick-waggling sports action 

The eight 'events are: 100m 

sprint, long jump, shot put, 

discus, javelin, 110m hurdles 

and high jump. Each one requires 

a reasonable speed to qualify, 

although in the field events 

the speed of runup is rather erratically 

judged: sometimes you 

have the maximum speed and 

perfect angle of takeoff and you 

won't qualify. 

Graphics and animation are 

pretty appalling — for example, 

none of the things thrown follow 

a realistic trajectory. Another 

laugh is at the long jump*. 

Hunchy run's up to the board, 

makes a little jump and sails 

along about a foot off the 

Certainly should have 

a mtfng lust for 

the mental effects of 

sitting through the 

'funny' screens a few 

times (ne\$ definition 

ofthe word funny}. 

Rubbishy gamepfay, 

pathetic graphics and 

boooring sound gives 

thissomething special 

amongst the elite 

ranks pfZzap tackles. 

- 

Tres, treshorriblea 

>DKY 

ground on a perfectly horizontal 

plane until he lands. 

In between screens, if you 

qualify, Esmerelda will come 

and give you a great big smackerooni. 

If you don't qualify 

there's an amusing screen 

where Hunchback is attacked by 

something or other. The first 

time you see this it's quite funny, 

the second time yawn, the third 

aaagh and after that the temptation 

to reach for the off switch 

is huge. 

JR 

ROLAND 

Ocean, £7.95 case, joystick only 

RAT RACE 

Enjoyable, but easy collection game 

T 

he lovable (?!) little furry 

rodent from TV-AM finally 

hits the computer games 

scene in this simple arcade 

adventure. 

The scenario: Roland is late 

for work and his decrepit car 

won't start. So, being a city rat, 

he decides to go below ground 

and make his way through the 

maze of drains and tunnels to 

get there. To make things worse, 

his two friends (Kevin the gerbil 

and Errol the hamster) have 

been caught by the nasties 

who've sworn to stop Roland 

from getting to the studio. 

If Roland wants to free his 

chums and get to work on time, 

he must get past the blocked 

tunnel exit. To do this he has to 

collect the nine pieces of door 

and take them to the exit. These 

pieces are randomly placed 

around some 32 screens of 

pipes, drains and tunnels (see 

panel). 

Also frequenting the drains 

are pairs of Wellington boots 

and a train. The wellingtons 

appear on all screens (except for 

the connecting pipes) and must 

be avoided or stopped momentarily 

by Roland's instant glue 

gun (activated by a quick press 

of the fire button). 

This gun is also used to stop 

fir 

Roland's on the railway line in the depths of the 

sewer with a piece of door just in front of him. He'd 

better watch out for the train or his energy will go t 

tumbling down. 

the train which runs along the 

bottom level. A quick spurt on 

the track when the whistle blows 

will stop the train. Climb aboard, 

and Roland can travel the length 

of the lower level with speed and 

comfort. Should Roland miss 

the train, through either lack of 

glue or bad timing, then a large 

quantity of energy will be lost as 

it runs him down. 

Roland's energy is shown as a 

bar at the top of the screen and is 

continually diminishing due to 

his worry for his pals. Energy 

can be replenished though, by 

eating one of the various goodies 

lying around (delicious blue, 

glowing hamburgers and 

apples. Blue!? Well he is a rat.) 

The wellingtons too, deplete 

Roland's energy if run into. 

Should Roland run out of glue 

(shown as a bar at the bottom of 

the screen) then he must find 

one of two spare packs lying 

around to replenish his supply. If 

he's not too careful where he 

squirts his glue, then he'll get 

stuck in it for a while. 

If Roland collects all nine 

pieces of the door and the key to 

free his buddies, then he moves 

on to the final screen - the disappointing 

inner sanctum! This 

is a very poor finale, consisting 

of a single platform across the 

length of the screen. Roland has 

to run across this platform. 


; the 

• * * * » 

r * r 

i 

any worse than Daley 

Thompson's 

Becamm.:untllt'cf 

V nas to throw 17 

putt 

metres lo qualify^?" 

1 DDPCnPiUTATiniy ODiniiyALlTY 

HU 

|— r" O/ 

Humorous interludes annoy 

QQ 'Vq A r\ Q/ 

Another decathlon game- 

after a while. yawn bore. 

| 

GRAPHICS 

Q q / Ridiculous main character 

KX v yn 

q 

animation even fora 

^ hunchback. 

•OUNO -vr 

. 

HOOKABILITY 

/ Waggling fans may get 

s / yrj some pleasure from 

^ sussing events. 

v. 

LASTABILITY 

4 a/ Bad event noises and tacky 

< 

KJ 

1 

^ /r\ tune on high score and title 

A aq/ The humour and events will 

/U screen. 

y y yQ 

rapidly bore you. 

VMLAIE r-l-ilf mUIMBv t v *-y; - 

tes :enD•••lift 

• 1 

r\ A C\/ Even at this price it's oldand 

bad- 

24% 

Sewer structure 

The playing area in Roland's Rat But pieces of door and food are 

Race isn't exactly large but it's occasionally found on these 

quite easy to get lost to start screens. 

with. It basically consists of an On the upper level, moving 

upper and lower level each of 12 traffic is visible above ground 

main screens containing plat- level at the top of the screen inclforms, 

ramps, and ladders. Some uding a cute Sinclair C5. The 

of these screens link directly to lower level, which you reach by 

each other (via exits at the sides), going through a man-hole on one 

others are also linked via separ- of the screens, is much the same 

ate screens of pipes which are as the upper, only the exit to the 

accessed via tunnel entrances on TV-AM studio is situated on one 

the main screens. 

of the screens, the traffic is miss- 

The pipe screens are very ing and a regular train service 

simple, consisting of two or three runs along the bottom of the 

pipes that run across the screen. level. 

avoiding two measly worms and 

electrically charged areas (both 

of which kill on contact, but 

don't seem to if you quickly run 

across), to get to the other side 

and free his friends. 

On doing this the TV-AM 

theme tune is played and all 

three chums are transported to 

the surface on a lift. The game is 

restarted with no noticeable differences. 

Both graphics and sound are 

very good. Roland and co. are all 

small, but well defined, outlined 

sprites and animation and 

colours are good throughout. 

A boppy little number plays 

through the game, but can 

become annoying after a while. 

Other tunes and sound effects 

are great, especially the 

BLEUGHI! noise made on squirting 

a glob of glue, and the 

boogie beat played while entering 

your name in the high score 

table. 

1 soundand a V 

nable amount of 

}nge. This might 

9 for the kiddies : 

you rescue your 

next level is 

7 harder and 

GP 

PRESENTATION OifllKI AI ITV 

Interesting instructions and 

scenario but no options. 

72% 

54% 

iRAPHICS unr)i# m B9i i i rw 

mm l O/ 

! Q /q 

87% 

71 % 

Great 

Rolandmbst be proud ofhis 

animation and these sewers 

' and drains look good. 82% 

Great tunes especially when 

riding the train , 

plus good 

effects. 

short term enjoyment 

although you may not come 

back to it after completion. 

Basically just a collect and 

drop game but with the 

infamous rat himself. 

The action is immediately 

enjoyable and addictive. 

iSTAB 8LITY 

Q / Suss economy on food and 

W v //> nh to anH the* name* hammoc 


'. 

: 

yC^WjR «CM4^'« .4« , 

•• 

! 

: 

. --V* -.4 V;- 

; 

Mirroreoffc, £9.95 case, £12.95 disk, joystick with keys 

• Flight simulation with Battle of Britain combat 

Taking off 

and landing 

The controls are mostly from the 

joystick and the increase/decrease 

power switches.'Taking off 

is quite easy: use the instrument 

panel to get the revs to the correct 

rate. High revs are needed but 

once in the air they should be decreased 

to cruising speed. Landing 

is quite tricky until mastered. 

Approach the runway, put down 

flaps, decrease the throttle and 

gently drop your altitude. 

T 

he advertising blurb leads 

you to believe that this is 

the closest you'll ever get 

to flying the classic Spitfire aeroplane. 

If this is really what it was 

like, it's a miracle we won tfte 

war. 

The flight simulator puts you 

slap bang in the middle of the 

Battle of Britain during World 

War II. Three modes are presented 

to you on loading: practice 

flying, combat practice and 

proper combat. Practice puts 

you on the runway giving you 

the opportunity to take off, fly 

and land the Spitfire and generally 

get the feel of how the aircraft 

handles. 

The two combat modes pit 

you against the enemy. The 

combat practice mode will put 

you in the air directly behind an 

aircraft which you can shoot 

down. Once the plane has been 

shot down another will appear. 

This is all very easy and the 

enemy hardly try to shake you 

off. 

True combat mode will 

start 

you on the airstrip. You have to 

take off, seek and destroy the 

enemy using the map and onscreen 

details. Once you have 

shot the intruding plane return 

to the airstrip and land safely. If 

you are successful you can save 

your experiences on tape and go 

out on another interception run. 

If you do well you will earn 

promotion according to your flying 

experience and the number 

of kills you achieve. If you do 

really well you will rise through 

the ranks rapidly and with great 

skill you will gain the coveted 

position of Group Captain, VC, 

DSO, DFC. 

Unfortunately the 3D effect of 

the approaching airfield and the 

enemy planes is unconvincing. 

The view from the cockpit is boring 

and uninspiring, although 

the instrument panel is a masterpiece 

- even better than the 

J 

olly! Mr Bounce in his 

own arcade game — 

what fun! In fact, boys 

and girls, this jolly little game 

not only stars Mr Bounce but 

also his friends, the Mr Men. 

The game takes place over 

four different screens and eight 

levels. Each of the four screens 

have Mr Bounce rolling and 

bouncing around a different part 

of town, giving his friends a 

helping hand in different ways. 

Mr Bounce loves to bounce. 

He can bounce high and low, left 

and right, by use of the joystick 

or keys — isn't it clever?! As he 

bounces around town he must 

be very careful not to bump into 

any of his friends. If he should be 

so silly then he will be bounced 

around the screen and lose one 

of his four lives. 

If Mr Bounce loses all four 

Colourful arcade fun for kids young and old 

lives then ... all the fun will be 

over and the game will end. 

Never mind, you can always 

play another time. 

If you help Mr Bounce score 

enough points then you can type 

in your name and see it at the top 

of the screen — isn't it exciting? 

When Mr Bounce finishes 

helping one of his friends he 

bounces merrily round the 

screen to a jolly little tune. He 

then moves on to another part of 

town to give help to his other 

friends. How nice. After helping 

all four friends, he starts again 

but this time there's more to do. 

GP 

r* \V ’ 

v> 


i 

ones on Dambusters\ 

You can switch to the map 

screen to help you find the 

enemy planes, although the 

map is very poor and is no real 

guide to where the plane actually 

is. There are two maps, one of 

the south of England, the other 

close up of the area around the 

airfield. The enemy plane is 

usually shown on both of these, 

but it's still very hard to find. 

The sound is a reasonable 

drone, which grows to a horrendous 

pitch if you over-rev your 

engine. There are also shooting 

noises during combat, but little 

else. 

As a flight simulator this is 

pretty poor. The program updates 

the external view only 

about once a second. Not only 

does this rob the program making 

judgement of manoeuvres 

very difficult. Oversteering is 

terribly easy to do — in fact I 

found it easier to fly looking at 

the instrument panel than using 

the horizon. 

f 

Q 

/ 

Q 

Excellent instructions and 

game package, plus good 

in-game options. 

Superb, detailed cockpit but 

appallingly slow screen 

update when flying. 

/ There are plenty of other 

flight simulators but this 

qw has an instrument display 

( 

q 

Not a great deal to grab you 

besides the cockpit. 

/ Very ineffective engine and 

Q machine gun f L ess absorbin g than man y 

noises. other flight simulators with 

Q 

no long term mission. 

There are much better flight 

simulators than this — even 

Glider Pilot has faster graphics. 

Mr Bounce jumps for joy but he hasn't got Mr Tails 

scarf yet. 

The Zzap labels 

GOLD MEDAL AWARD: Our 

biggest rave of the month. Get 

it. 

clear. 

The Zzap ratings 

PRESENTATION: Packaging, instructions, 

loading, play options, 

program facilities, onscreen 

impression - everything 

except the game itself. 

GRAPHICS: Variety, detail and 

effectiveness of screen pictures, 

quality of animation, smooth- 

SIZZLER: we think it's very hot 

indeed - normally must score 

80% or more in value for 

money. We reckon any Zzap 

sizzler is a great buy, unless you 

really hate that particular type ness of movement. 

of game. 

SOUND: Variety 

TACKY: in our view, a lousy 

piece of software. Steer well 

and effectiveness 

of sound effects, quality of 

music. Also: does the sound 

annoy? 

ORIGINALITY: How similar is 

this to programs already available 

on the 64? 

HOOKABILITY How strongly 

does the game make you want 

to keep playing? 

LASTABILITY: How long will it 

keep its hold on you?. 

VALUE FOR MONEY: Takes into 

account the price plus all the 

above ratings, especially the 

last two.

Addictive Games, £6.95 cass, joystick only 

• Simple, single-screen arcede chase 

T 

his game stars a distinctly 

down-market hack reporter 

who is sneaking about a 

hotel trying to get a flash photo 

of Polly Platinum in her penthouse 

suite. Which explains 

why he wears a dirty raincoat. 

To get the picture, you have to 

collect a camera, flash bulb, 

press pass and also nick the key 

to Miss Platinum's room. Tut, 

tut! These objects are hidden in 

the rooms of the hotel and you 

have to find them by opening 

each door in turn. 

The hotel itself is depicted on 

a single screen. There are four 

floors with rooms appearing on 

the top three. Polly's room is 

always at the top left and if you 

open the door she will sit and 

pose for the camera. 

You move between floors by 

using the stairs (well, ladders) or 

the lifts that appear on later 

screens. Beware though since a 

fall of even one step loses you a 

life. You can jump over holes in 

*9 "V* * ou re ^ idire ; 

stillneed three items” 

30 ' SOlated P'atfc 

OPERATION WHIRLWIND 

Ariolasoft, £9.95 cass, £1 1.95 disk, joystick only 

#4 Capture an enemy town in this state-of-the-art war game 

War games are starting to 

become more popular 

and in the wake of last 

month's Gold Medal game 

comes another excellent battle 

simulation. 

You command a reinforced 

infantry battaFon and have to 

cross a scrolling battlefield and 

take control of a town. Pitted 

The four, fun screens 

Screen One: Oh no! Poor Mr Tall! 

His scarf and gloves have been 

blown into the road by a rotten 

gust of wind. Mr Bounce had better 

quickly catch them and return 

them to Mr Tall. Oops! There is 

falling fruitto avoidon laterlevels 

— watch out Mr Bounce! 

Screen Two: Tsk! Tsk! Dozy Mr 

Lazy is just too idle to finish building 

his house — gosh! How lazy! 

Mr Bounce gets things moving by 

jumping on the see-saw and catapulting 

the windows into place. 

Mind he doesn't step in the 

puddle! 

against you are hidden enemy 

units and the problems of the 

terrain. 

The battle area is shown on 

screen through a scrolling 

'window', the overall size being 

over three times the window's 

width and twice its depth. You 

start on the left hand side with 

the town to be captured in the 

BOUNCER! 

Screen Three: Poorold Mr Bump! 

He's feeling too bruised and battered 

to knock any more apples 

off the trees. Well done Mr 

Bounce! He will give Mr Bump a 

rest by catching the falling fruit 

and putting it in the basket. Better 

be careful though, that puddle is 

back again! 

Screen Four: My! What a sunny 

day! It is so hot that Mr Snow is 

melting — fast! Still, Mr Bounce 

will help by collecting the clouds 

and covering the sun with them. 

Thanks Mr Bounce, but watch out 

for the birds! 

bottom right. On the map are 

woods, roads, buildings, 

streams and clear ground. 

Your battalion is split into 31 

groups each with a different rating 

for movement, fire-power, 

range and strength. You have to 

control all of these and try to 

eliminate the enemy forces. 

There are four levels of game 

66% 

q 

56% 

A Q O/ 

/O 

64% 

Playful instructions but no 

game options. 

IORM3INAUTY 

and in each one you have to take 

the city in 35 turns. These turns 

are made up of five phases of 

action. 

The first phase is the COMM- 

AND PHASE where you can decide 

whether a unit should dig in 

to regain strength or be combat 

ready to advance and fight. 

Second is the MOVEMENT 

“7A O/ Cute MrMen characters and 

/ /q some unusual gameplay. 

fciMmiauBilJffv 

Colourful with some anim- Q* 

O stion and recognisable Mr O/ Cuteness of the game 

provides 

^ Men. oy /cQ humour and 

interest. 

Few sound effects and a 

simple tune throughout the 

game. 

Good fun for all kids - we 

liked it! 

IT C" 0/ The screens are easy but 

there are increasing 

|jQ /Q 

difficulty levels. 


••ONTovicibRy/"

. 

and 

\ 

- 

/ found this simplified 

cross between 

Gumshoe andBurger 

Time as stow and 

boring as the hading 

(never heard ofa fast 

loader. Addictive?}. 

The graphics were 

quite good, but the 

soundsparse and 

what httie of it there 

was, wasn't worth 

the floor and the animation of 

this and your walking is quite 

good for your large character. 

You are working against your 

editor's deadline (aren't we all) 

and this ticks down at the bottom 

of the screen. If you don't 

get the picture in time you're in 

big trouble (OK, OK I'm writing 

as fast as I can). 

Things are made difficult by 

the hotel staff who chase you 

about. If they catch you they'll 

boot you out and you'll have lost 

PHASE where you can move any 

units that aren't digging in until 

you want to stop or your activity 

points are depleted. Be careful 

though since a depleted unit 

cannot fight in the third phase. 

The COMBAT PHASE is where 

you can attack any enemy units 

that have revealed themselves 

although you may come under 

artillery fire yourself. Some 

units have stronger fire power 

than others and their range also 

varies. 

Next come the ASSAULT 

ORDER and ASSAULT PHASES 

where you can order units to try 

All out to get you 

Up to six characters may chase 

you round the hotel. 

COMMISIONAIRE: Always trying 

to throw you out. 

MR ANGRY: If you open the door 

to his room he wakes up and tries 

to put you to sleep instead. 

MANAGER: Tries to stop you 

cluttering up his precious hotel 

a life. The bottom floor is used 

for the hotel staff and this is 

where they appear. The number 

of hotel staff that chase you is 

determined by the level that you 

are on. You can jump past them 

sometimes but should risk this 

only in emergencies. 

A simple, single-voice tune 

plays throughout the game 

which you may find boring after 

a while and there are creaking 

door sound effects. 

BW 

to overrun adjacent enemy 

units. However enemy units 

may also move at this stage and 

fire again on you. 

Your objective is to control the 

town, which is particularly difficult 

to take and on later levels you 

may even have to defend it 

against a counterattack. Another 

problem on the higher levels are 

mines which can halt a unit in its 

tracks and end its movement 

phase. 

^ 

A O O/ 

H-Z /c 

59% 

A horrible long loader f will 

bore you stiff 

o 

Horrible tune and very few 

effects. 

43% 

A nO/ 

/Q 

. 

and scaring away the guests. 

CHEF: Looks like a sailor with a 

beard and silly cap. 

BARTENDER: A real poser with 

bouncer's muscles. 

RECEPTIONIST/BELL BOY: Bit of 

a wimp in his silly hat but can* still 

Reasonable animation but rr A 0/ 

simple screens. 

|j I /q 

o 

A very simple game that 

looks dated and won 't 

inspire. 

This is good for a war 

game: nice scenario , 

reasonable graphics 

. ; anda multi-level 

phaifenge made b 

Standout from most I 

quite enjoyedplaying 

this ope as the game 

m quite fastandwas 

rast anawas 

easier to use than 

some of the 

mieiiMAUTY 

I 0/ 

I /O 

/ found this to be 

:ade 

new 

too 

and 

okay 

tt*s\ 

cheapo game but not 

for the prtce currently 

lit does ge 

but ( found the Tack of 

variety and originality 

inmgage Wm 

disappoint 

A cross between Gumshoe 

ar,d Burgertime. 

The different layouts 

provide interest but you 

won 't get too excited. 

Increasing difficulty but that 

doesn't improve the game. 

play, the more iseem 

y to enjoy and 

understandthem. 

This struck me as a 

sort of cross between 

Combat teader and 

Battle for Normandy 

andproved just as 

fascinating , 

, compulsive and 

lengthy to play. 

it doesn't have 

will provide war 

gamers with hours of 

p/eame. The game 

, 

variations are endless 

each new battle 

willprovide different 

Immrnml 

mm. 

unit to protect it 

- from enemy f/re 


wecflNT 

Droll scroll 

Firebird, £2.50 case, joystick only 

Fruetrating, 

platform 

When you first appear on screen 

all you can see is yourself and the 

animals. To make the rest of the 

scenery appear you have to move 

left or right and the screen will fill 

in. 

There doesn't seem to be any 

real purpose in this and it bee 

omes distinctly tiresome after a 

while. Frustration like that led to 

the discovery of a cheat method 

of warping through the screens. 

We won't tell you what it is (yet) 

but try experimenting with the 

keyboard. 

'A ready tacky 

platform game 

'ftdom and 

sible 'situations 

CnttX, 

fwhen Mied. 

ê^mphtcs, 

f£§j§ssg?: >> o' - - -4 

Mmwm 

f you were expecting lots of 

circus tricks and acrobatic 

I action - forget it, this is a platform 

game. 

You play Sid Chip who must 

get through 20 screens of 'circus 

rings' filled with the usual form 

of platform obstacles and nasties. 

On each ring there is an exit 

which is extremely tough to get 

to and leads to the next screen. 

Sid can only move left and 

right or jump and has to work 

out the exact route to the exit 

because there is only one correct 

one. 

There's a variety of platforms 

and creatures to bar your way 

and contact with anything that 

moves is fatal. Disappearing 

platforms can cause problems 

and often drop you into the 

clutches of an animal or some 

waiting man trap. 

All the animals follow regular 

patterns, some moving in 

circles, 

others straight across 

screen. Most are easy to avoid 

once you've got your jumping 

timed right. Animals like the 

kangaroo which hops across 

screen are well done but for the 

most part the graphics and 

animation are crude. The tune 

also is pretty horrible and you'll 

rapidly turn the sound down. 

OPERATION WHIRLWIND 

^ 

Nice cheat if you can find it 

and short instructions. 

4 A/ Yukky blocky graphics 

* except for the odd nice 

animat. 

AQ O/ ^ ma V 

yQ 

Nauseating tune and few 

effects. 

cêaP but it's 

nasty too. 

You have an energy bar which 

runs down from nine to zero and 

once it runs out, you explode in 

the same way as when you 

Simple platform game with 

little new. 

20% 

4 AQ/ Find thee 

I 

You might be inspired to 

see a screen... or two. 

H /Q 

the 9ame 

Find the cheat mode, forget „ 

touch an animal. You start with 

five lives and an extra one is 

awarded every five screens. 

BW 

qiwtf 

a 

sa 

Know your forces 

The units you control all have different 

characteristics. 

BATTALION HQ: crucial unit, DO 

NOT LOSE IT. Scores big points if 

in town at end of game. 

’ 

RECONNAISSANCE UNIT: 

moves fast to draw out enemy 

units. 

Infantry company: slow and limited 

range but great for mopping 

up and assaults. 

ENGINEER COMPANY: excellent 

fire-power close in and essential 

as they repair the blown .bridges 

' 

over the streams. 

LIGHTTANK PLATOON: fast with 

good range, an excellent vanguard. 

Heavy tank platoon: again fast 

and great range, essential forward 

unit with big fire-power. 

ARTILLERY BATTERY: massive 

range and fire-power but susceptible 

to enemy fire, hold back 

behind lines. 

ENEMY INFANTRY COMPANY: 

similar to yours but very dogged. 

ENEMY TANK OR ASSAULT 

GUN PLATOONS: outgunned by 

your armour but also very persistent. 

Q^ Q / 

Excellent instruction W- A 

fr\ bookletplus choice of O/ 

Original mix of strategy and 

u difficulty level. 

/q 

real time war games. 

O *1 0/ 

Bangs, 

y 

| 

A nice scrolling map with 

character square graphics. 

Bangs, crashes and warning 

/q noises 

7 O/ 

Great value for a war game 

! Q /q and easy to play. 

78% 

Enormous challenge to take 

the town and master the 

battlefield tactics. 

^STABiLmr 

"T 0/ 

/q 

J | 

Increasing diffit 

levels of victory 


J.Ntn 

>acrlb 

•r. 

•* 

.f,. 

5 

bH 

30 

5 tt 

W 

% V***S>V? 

Argus Press 

SoftwareGroup 

P* i' PPSHi Liberty House, 

222 Regent Street, 

London W1R 7DB 

Telephone 01-439 0666 

I OTHLOR1EN 

5990 

S 

t 

f/m 

Mp y 

ft ^ V i 

zy v i 

gj-^nr i 

w 

W

I 

"vMO'Won 

this page!

I 

Bas 

i 

f 

a rvthpr tremendous 

TAPPER; 

Anoth^ ^ arcades 

conversion 

^ a ârrassed 

Y °u *6^ 

P'sV t0 keep an ever 

bar-tender try 9 i 

custo mers 

growing croêrsjo n features 

superb 

SSvS^danV^ 

SPY HUNTER. This too was a 

aâh IZZ er ,n May 

' 

/ 'cally it's 

inn ^ ,Ute,y su Perb conversvou 

you h 

9ama in 

the arcade 

bump which 

and blast enemy cars 

lsnd 

*" 

and 

I cadP^ h, 

' tS 9reat 

arcade 

' authentic 

feel, lt 

makes 

Bond look 

James 

like Noddy 

Subscribe to 

Zzap!64 

and you can have 

any two 

of these 

sizzling games 

for just 

three quid!! 

If* 

l * 

FORBIDDEN FOREST. Another 

great US classic, reckoned to be 

one of the most evilly atmospheric 

programs of all time. You 

are alone in a mysterious forest, 

armed only with a bow, and 

night is falling. Savage spiders, 

a serpent, a dragon and spearwielding 

skeletons are among 

the horrors you must face. Terrific 

music puts the seal on a program 

you'd better play only during 

daylight hours 

nat more can we 

amazing game? 

review makes it 

r we reckon it's 

st siôot-em-up 

I 

* effectively for 

^ ear'ier'^ latest - 

I 

! e» r0 £ „ ' our arrant 

^ L_ 

CP 

n Zzap! 64 sizzling subscription offer 

Yes, I want to subscribe to Zzap! 64 and receive two US Gold games. 

(Offer closes July 31st, 1985). 

et0^ 

\nfl P 0St Je3 per 9®^W't 

saving ve to d°'s 

ê form 

^ o° 

v° T*e top0 our nar ' 

°e 

addres^ qU

T 

his overlooked and underrated 

game, originally put 

out by Mr Chip software, 

has been a personal favourite of 

mine for some time. Now that 

it's been re-released by Mastertronic 

at a ridiculously low price, 

it'll hopefully prove the same for 

a lot of other people. 

It's a motorcycling stunt 

game, complete with simultaneous 

two-player action (or 

just one player against the clock) 

and a high frustration and addiction 

element. 

There are eight obstacle 

courses to choose from and you 

must guide your rider as quickly 

and carefully as possible over 

any combination of three of 

them. Your bike is controlled 

through joystick or keyboard 

and can accelerate, decelerate, 

wheelie and jump. 

Two people can race simultaneously, 

thanks to the split 

screen display which independently 

shows one player's progress 

on the top, the other's on 

the bottom. Each course is 

roughly eight or so screenwidths 

long, so the picture 

scrolls smoothly from right to 

left to show the various obstacles 

and hazards to be crossed 

as they come. 

There are a variety of hazards 

and the skill lies in selecting the 

right form of control for each 

combination of hazards. Some 

need to be taken slowly, others 

quickly, and you have to. learn 

the right timing for your jumps 

and wheelies. 

If you get it wrong your rider 

will be ejected from his bike, 

complete with a WEEEOOW! 

noise, and lay comatose for a 

frustrating couple of seconds. 

You will then be moved along 

the bottom of the course until a 

suitable re-entry point (determined 

by the computer) is 

reached. However sometimes 

the computer restarts you at a 

position where it's impossible to 

complete the next stunt. This is 

extremely annoying, but it's the 

price you pay for falling off. The 

thrill of having a fast, clearr run 

more than makes up for it. 

The time for each individual 

course is displayed at the top of 

each player's screen along with 

the combined time for all three 

courses. If your combined 

course time is fast enough then 

you can type in your name for 

the high score table. This displays 

the top five players' names 

along with the three individual 

course times and the total time 

achieved. 

As well as playing a simultaneous 

two player game you 

can play a one player, or alter- 

The different 

obstacles 

HEDGES, PILES of TYRES and 

BARRELS. All of these must be 

either driven over very quickly or 

jumped where possible, so as not 

to get stuck. 

ROUGH GROUND, GATES, 

BRICK WALLS and SCREEN 

WALLS. Must be driven over 

fairly slowly to clear them. Rough 

ground can usually be jumped, as 

can some of the gates and screen 

walls - brick walls, unfortunately, 

cannot. 

LORRIES and BUSES. These can 

be either simply driven over at 

any speed or jumped, whereas 

CARS, VANS, TELEPHONE 

BOXES, WATER and DIPS along 

the courses, must all be jumped. 

OTHER FEATURES of the courses 

include steps (to go down at, at 

high speeds) and ramps (as an aid 

to jumping). 

The best way to play this 

game is with two players 

simultaneously. Even 

without a friend to challenge 

you this provides an 

incredibly addictive and 

frustrating game as you 

zoom , leap and bound over 

all the obstacles. Going for 

those low, low times will 

keep you coming back to this 

game for months. The most 

incredible thing about it is its 

price: £1.99. Go get it NOW. 


i 

. . and 

, 

point 

SOUT'S 

1 . MOTOR MADNESS. After a fast 

start over some tyres, plenty of 

cars, yans, buses and lorries to 

jump. At the end of the course a 

nasty set of barrels lead up to a 

particularly tricky set of jumps 

over a bus, van and car (length 

ways!). 

2. RIDE IT ROUGH. Some rough 

ground at the start is followed by 

a ioad of tyres and barrels, five 

continuous pot-holes to jump 

over and a further, final bumpy 

ride. 

3. BITS 'N' PIECES. A slow ride 

over a brick wall starts the course, 

followed by some hefty jumps 

over screen walls and six telephone 

boxes. Four sawtooth style 

ramps lead up to a treacherous 

water jump and the finish line. 

4. JUMPS GALORE. As the title 

suggests, plenty of things to jump 

in this one. Water, vans, buses, 

and a lorry are all there for the 

jumping plus the added bonus of 

a great ski jump at the end of the 

course. 

5. UP '1ST DOWNER. Plenty of difficult 

jumps throughout the 

course - over water, rough 

ground, tyres and more water. 

6. STRETCH OF WATER. It starts 

with a water jump . it 

carries on with more along the 

7. 

way. Highspot of the course (and 

source of much annoyance) is the 

long set of water jumps near the 

beginning. 

PICK 'N' MIX. Water jumps, 

gates, pot-holes, steps . . . nearly 

everything nasty there is, is 

thrown in this one. 

. 

3 SELECTION. Named 

after the programmer, Shaun 

Southern, there's a great selection 

of nasty bits throughout. 

Starts with a 'just about possible 

to jump' gate and ends with a 

jump over some telephone 

boxes, and a quick spurt down 

some steps, to cross the line. 

nating two player game. The 

option also exists to have an uninspiring 

one voice rendition of 

the television program's theme 

tune played during the game. 

There's a better piece (the Can 

Can) played on the title screen 

and there are fairly realistic 

motorbike drones throughout 

the game. 

Apart from some unrealistic 

clouds, the graphics are excellent. 

The definition of bike, rider 

and course hazards is good, with 

a great use of colour all round. 

GP 

Even though it may prove a 

frustrating game to play initially 

, Kik Start is certainly 

worth sticking with. The 

simultaneous two player 

option gives the game an 

excellent competitive and 

compulsive element. Even if 

you play on your own, once 

you start to crack the courses 

and the urge to improve 

times sets in, you won't want 

to stop. 

Simple, but concise, 

instructions and excellent 

in-game options. 

Nice bike and scenery and a 

good use of colours. 

Vrrooomy bike noises, 

wheeooy sounds and 

reasonable music. 

The most impressive 

cheapo game we've ever 

coon 

A new type of stunt game. 

HOOKAB8LITY 

Despite being frustrating it 

still proves addictive. 

Eight difficult courses plus 

the constant challenge of 

improving times. 

This game is incredible value 

for only £ 1. 99 and / would 

thoroughly recommend it. / 

found there was great skill 

needed to improve at the 

game and with eight 

different courses there was 

no lack of variety. The fact 

that you can have two player 

races was also a major plus 

for me with terrific 4 

excitement as you battle it 

out neck and neck.

, 

Argus P 

ULG 

/Lothlorien, £9.99 case. Joystick or keys 

Real-time war game set in World War S 

T 

his is another of the new 

genre of war games that 

dispense with the complicated 

charts and figures and 

become user friendly. 

It's a re-creation of the second 

world war battle of the Bulge in 

which the Germans made their 

last ditch effort to smash the 

Allied advance on the Western 

front. All the action takes place 

in real time — in other words, 

the situation is being updated all 

the time; the computer doesn't 

stop while you're thinking about 

your moves. 

It's your responsibility to control 

all the Allied or German 

forces. The playing area is four 

screens long and three high. On 

it are shown both side's forces, 

the terrain and towns. The allies 

have three types of armoured 

units and two types of infantry 

while the Germans have Panzer 

units, infantry, motorised infantry 

and moving and stationary 

artillery. 

9 Simple four-stage shoot-em-up 

/ was sceptical at first 

about a real-time war 

game but after a 

couple ofplays / was 

familiar with the 

landscape and action 

so that it wasn 't much 

of a panic. Playing the 

Allies , 

you are 

constantly under 

pressure until near the 

finish , and fighting 

this rear guard action 

appealed to my spirit 

of the underdog— 

particularly satisfying 

when you win 

The fighting and moving 

potential of all of these is determined 

by the terrain, infantry 

being best in towns and armour 

on open ground. 

You start with most forces on 

the east of the map and the 

Germans have a large superiority. 

Each unit has a strength rating 

which goes down in engagements 

and cannot be replenished. 

You engage enemy units by 

being adjacent to them and ifthe 

strength of either reaches zero it 

is wiped out. 

Unit movements can be ordered 

using a cursor but these 

moves are limited by the type of 

terrain and unit involved — 

some may take several 'days' to 

complete. 

The game starts on December 

16, 1944 and continues till January 

3, 1945. On each new day 

you are informed of the weather 

conditions, which affect movement 

and Allied aircraft, and 

whether reinforcements are arr- 

Battleground 

Terrain 

MOUNTAINS/HILLS: appear in 

large numbers on the north-east 

of the map and severely hamper 

movement of all units. 

FORESTS: restrict movement of 

armour and appear as single 

trees. 

RIVERS: also restrict armour 

movement unless crossed at a 

town with a bridge. 

OPEN GROUND: units can move 

very quickly and breakouts are 

much easier. 

TOWNS: can be of several different 

types and the larger ones 

have greater points values when 

possessed. 

iving. If the weather's clear. 

Allied aircraft will reduce the 

supplies reaching German units. 

You can use the cursor to investigate 

the current status of 

enemy units and towns. Towns 

are worth points if in your possession, 

some more than others, 

as are your units still fighting. 

The points score on January 3rd 

T 

his very simple Scramble 

type game puts you in 

control of a helicopter. 

You have a mission to destroy 

what is supposed to be a virtually 

impregnable enemy base 

built into the side of a cliff. 

The screen scrolls from left to 

right smoothly and your helicopter 

is placed on the right 

hand side of the picture. It can 

simply move up, down or fire. 

There are four types of action 

screen. The first puts you under 

fire from advancing helicopters. 

Shoot these and also shoot the 

non-firing jets and helicopters to 

gain bonus points. 

Next comes a bonus screen. 

You have to refuel in mid air by 

guiding your fuel nozzle into the 

fuel pipe of the giant aircraft. Do 

this and you'll gain a huge 100 

point bonus, fail and you'll lose a 

life. 

The third screen involves 

dodging balloons, airships and 

evil swans. As they move up and 

down you have to thread yourself 

between them. You can't 

shoot anything, so swift manoeuvres 

are of the essence. 

Once you've dodged everything 

you return to the bonus 

screen, which is exactly the 

same only this time the plane is 

a little lower. 


i 

i 

l 

i 

r 

\ 

> 

) 

I 

* 

I 

I 

.. 

this 

) 

' 

, 

" 

will determine who has achieved 

or claimed a victory. 

There is a pause command to 

give you time to think and a two 

player option where both sides 

plan moves at the start of the 

day which are then enacted. The 

computer is a tough opponent 

but you may find a human one 

less predictable. 

A global map allows you to 

view the whole battle area and 

there is also a save option. At the 

end of each battle you can examine 

the situation and see just 

where you might have improved 

your strategy. 

BW 

/ Historical background in the 

instructions options on 

qv/ colours, 1 or 2 

47% 

players. 

Good landscape and unit 

63% q 68% 

characters. 

Fast and furious war 

simulation, unlike the 

normal slower-paced 

ones. This is the sort 

of war game you can 't 

leave for more than 

two seconds , 

and you 

have to concentrate 

non-stop. Nice , big 

dear graphics and 

uncluttered \ 

simple 

instructions makes 

this a good one for 

novices. 

ORIGINALITY 

The battle of the Bulge has 

been done before and 

gamep/ay isn 't that new. 

Quite absorbing as you 

H familiarise yourself with the 

u battle. 

12% 

f 

0 

Three opening drum beats 

and an update noise. 

65% 

Once you've had a major 

victory the attraction may 

fade. 

63% 

Great sussing out the battle 

plan but once cracked may 

pall. 

You then move to the final 

the enemy's re- 

screen. This is 

actor and you have to destroy 

this to accomplish your mission. 

The reactor lies embedded in 

rock, and there are three helicopters 

guarding it. Two move 

up and down tracking your 

moves and the other one takes 

off from the bottom and moves 

up the screen firing at you. You 

have to shoot three bombs into 

three small inlets which lead directly 

to the reactor. This is quite 

tricky since a) the helicopters are 

tracking your moves and therefore 

blocking your bombs; b) 

There's another helicopter rising 

up the screen firing at you; 

and c) the gaps to shoot the 

bombs in are about 2 pixels 

wide. 

Even so it can be done. When 

you do complete the mission, 

you simply start again, moving 

up a skill level (there are six). As 

you progress through the levels 

everything becomes faster and 

you have to survive for a longer 

time before finishing a screen. 

JR 

As it stood, I thought 

was quite a good 

game when it first 

came out for the Oric. 

Now that it's made a 

delayedjump up to 

ithe 64, 1 don 't think so 

highly ofit The 

graphics and sound 

are okey dokey but the 

repetition of the three 

stages of action (well, 

three and a half 

including the 

refuelling stage 

meant my interest in 

the game dwindled 

quite rapidly. Still, not 

too bad for £2. 50. 

> 

t 

) 

* 

N 

5 

on the 'orrib/e Oric 

for improving the 

levels I found it 

entertaining and 

pretty tough too. 

Certainly a great 

game on the Oric and 

a reasonably cheap 

one on the 64. 

of action to enthrall 

you this doesnf goal! 

make an impact Qf§ 

v so the graphics are 

challenging and it s 

only £2,50,\ hut there 

are othergames 

around which are 

cheaper and better. 

score table and six skill 

69% levels. 

A A Q 

In-game instructions, hi- 

Great refuelling plane and 

Sikorsky helicopter, 

otherwise plain. 

Simple blasting noise 

good chopper sound. 

39% 

Q I 

Simple shmup with nothing 

a very new except refuelling 

u screen. 

fy ^ Q/ Four different screens 

yQ 

which can be difficult to 

master. 

a A q 

/ Once sussed the screens 

start to 

/q '/Q 

l°se their appeal. 

: 

VAUJE FQFtMONSY 

f— fy O/ ^ n,ce °liea P shmup but 

530 /O pretty ordinary. 


) 

can 

, 

I 

I 

THE BIRTH OFA 

PARADROID 

Over the next few months we're running a 

special series of featured covering^ Tn detail 

the way a computer game is developed. We 

shal[ be following its programming, production 

and promotion actually through the eyes 

of the people concerned. The game we've 

selected Tor tHe Job 7s tHe new one planned Hy 

HEWSON CONSUL TANTS. provisionally 

caded PARADROID\ which is due for release 

in the autumn. Ids being written by Hewson’s 

ANDREW BRAYBROOK, whose previous 

game ORIBBL Y'S DAY OUTgets a Sizzler review 

in this issue. This month we're printing 

of several extracts from Andrew^ 

the first 

diary. By the time the series is complete you'll 

have obtained a umgue insight into t]ie waya_ 

software house goes about its work. 

Wednesday May 1 

Zzap 64 have asked me to keep 

a diary and today I have to start 

it. Feel like a mega-star. Decide 

not to let it change my life. 

Design form on which to lay 

out my robot data detailing 

which sprites make the picture 

and other bits and pieces. Feed it 

into Easyscript and run off a few 

copies. Feel pleased because it's 

cheaper than photocopies. 

Decide I need a bank of words 

to choose from to describe each 

robot. Write a Basic program to 

load in the codes. Rediscover 

how much I hate Basic programs. 

Spend half an hour at end of 

day trying to think of something 

interesting to write in new diary. 

Fail. 

Thursday May 2 

Must prepare working copy of 

game to date to give to Robert 

(chief test pilot) for his comments 

before weekend. Suddenly 

realise this means writing and 

debugging complete console 

log-on procedure. Decide not to 

panic. 

Grill Steve (Steve Turner is 

another Hewson programmer 

on how he did the scroll in 

Avalon. Decide to do console on 

same lines. Have to design 

meaningful looking icons. Not 

easy. True test comes when 

someone tries to identify them. 

Friday May 3 

Get menu screen working so 

that icons appear and are correctly 

highlighted. Feel pleased. 

Find error in robot display 

routine. Fix it and a six-sprite 

robot appears in all its glory. 

Great! 

Program is just about stable 

enough for Robert at end of day. 

Everything has gone well. Too 

well. Robert has a habit of 

mangling things that I write. 

Tuesday May 7 

Arrive fresh and keen after the 

extra day off. Have bought my 

own C64 at last. No need to stay 

behind 'til ten o'clock playing 

games any more. Only cost me 

£139. Feel a bit disloyal towards 

my old Dragon 32. 

Got comments back this 

morning from Robert (our chief 

Test Pilot). Not too bad considering. 

Scribbled some notes on 

the changes necessary. The 

main robot graphic was indistinct 

on his TV and as this will be 

on the screen nearly all the time 

it will have to be enhanced. Also 

wrote routine to display the 

small scale map. 

Also in the post was a new 

IS going to be high-tech. It is easiest inmg msiyoutHmw* 

based around a large space ship. 

It's not really an arcade adve 

What you actually play on is a ture — it leans more towar 

scrolling large-scale view of one arcade. Gribbiy's I wanted to I 

of the decks, seen from above. a non-violent game. AH of ti 

You'll be able to access a plan zapp^ and; glance that 

of the whole deck but you won't couldn't get into Gribbiy s w 

Another screen wiil be a side Last week we designed 

view of the ship so you can see game's 20-deck spaceship 

where the deck is in relation to I'd like to actually build one jt 

the whole ship. Other views inc- to make sure it alt works — 

luding logging on to the ship's the lift shafts tie up and 

computer. 

decks fit together. Maybe Til 

The things you actually play using Lego, Dunnof it 

with are robots shown from work, 

above. There's going to be lots So far I've got a tittle 

of them. If you want to know skating about inside a test dt 

more about a particular robot plan. You can log onto a cc 

what you do is log-on to a com- so/e, select an option t 

make 

puter terminal. From there you enquiry on the testrobot and gi 

can sift through all the robots a big picture ofit Thepiccteuse 

and get large side view pictures aft eight sprites combined it 

~nd you can select things to get maximum available on the 64 

more information. 

any one time). Despite being 

I've been working hard on it view from above, 1 intend y< 

n about four weeks, but I was won't be able to see anythif _ 

orking on utilities - programs: behind a wall. You'll have to go 

into a room to actually explore it. 

help make the finished game 

for a couple of weeks before 

cartridge Monitor program 

which I'd ordered. (A Monitor 

program lets you look at what 

the C64 is doing by displaying 

memory and registers , 

etc on 

the screen — Ed.) Perhaps it's 

my lucky day? It looks useful 

with lots of juicy commands in it. 

However the game must be 

altered a bit internally to fit the 

Monitor — it'll have to save 

some of its variables elsewhere. 

Haven't decided where yet. 

Overall the day has been a bit 

slow but pretty good nonetheless 

because of the arrival of the 

new tool. 


Mapped out the side elevation 

of the ship and designed some 

graphics to display decks and 

lifts. Worked hard on the routine 

which draws the deck plan to 

convince it that it can also draw 

the side views. It listened to me 

in the end. At least I think it did. 

No doubt it's got some nasty 

trick up its sleeve even now. 

The space ship had to be 

shortened to fit the full side view 

on to the screen — I used a bit of 

artistic licence and felt happy 

with the result. 

Oh no! The first accident with 

the new Monitor. All today's 

graphics in jeopardy when the 

Monitor decides to lock up. I hit 

the reset switches (both of them 

— one on the Monitor cartridge 

and one on the C64) to try and 

rescue things but to no effect. 

sit fuming at the machine. 

Up jumps Steve Turner with a 

bright idea. Two or three times a 

week we get a mains spike 

(courtesy of the electricity 

board) which causes the C64 to 

crash but with its memory still 

intact. Perhaps if we generate a 

spike of our own I regain 


) 

7 

control of the machine 

Decide against ringing the 

CEGB to ask them to switch off a 

power station or two. Instead 

Steve starts leaping round the 

room switching the fan heater 

on and off. Very entertaining. 

Needless to say it doesn't work. 

Eventually Steve begins to 

tire. I give up and pull the plug 

out. Nothing for it but to key the 

stuff in again 

At the end of the day I start 

coding the map of the side elevation 

of the ship in hex (a 

number system used extensively 

in machine code programming). 

This time I do it on paper 

first. I'm not going to trust that 

Monitor again for a while. 

Thursday 9 

Continued with the hex of the 

side elevation and keyed in 

some new routines which decode 

the deck data into a plan 

view. Did some other mods 

which Robert suggested. 

More fun and games. I discover 

that my Assembler ( 

the 

program which generates 

machine code from the programmer's 

assembly code won't 

work with the new Monitor despite 

claims to the contrary by the 

manufacturers. Consider merits 

of abusive phone call. Decide 

such action would not fit my 

image and wouldn't do any 

good anyway. Resign myself to 

lots of plugging and unplugging 

of the cartridge every time I want 

to assemble. Lay plans to wire 

up or buy some hardware to fix 

the problem. In the meantime 

write myself a note in capital letters 

REMEMBER TO UNPLUG 

BEFORE ASSEMBLY. I only 

forget every other time. 

Despite problems cartridge 

works quite well and has already 

rescued me from one screen full 

of rubbish. 

Time to assemble and have a 

look at progress to date. Aha! 

The small deck plans are not 

appearing on the screen. I scrabble 

through the code and after 

some head-scratching I discover 

the, er, deliberate error in the 

plan routine. Assemble again 

and Bingo! There they are. 

Wrong colours but still encouraging. 

Most other fixes appear 

to have worked, ie. not working 

as planned but not crashing the 

machine either. 

Modern technology fails 

again. I attempt to straighten my 

shatterproof ruler and it shatters. 

Middle section flies past 

Steve's ear and frightens the cat. 

Can't find where it landed. 

Monday May 13 

Back to grindstone. Tackle 

deck plan and get it looking respectable 

but side views could do 

with dressing up. Not pretty 

enough yet. 

Major graphics update takes 

most of afternoon. Design a new 

robot. It comes out looking like 

Kenny Everett with short legs. 

Ponder — do robots have 

beards? Decide to leave it for the 

moment. 

Rage and frustration! Something 

in machine is eating characters 

and gobbling sprites. 

Decide to remain cool, calm and 

collected. 

Doesn't make any difference. 

Nasty munching continues unabated. 

Tuesday May 14 

More frustration. About to test 

program when one of data files 

disappears from disk. Inspect. 

Machine tells me there are 667 

blocks out of a possible 664 on 

disk. Decide this is not logical. 

Wonder how Dr Spock would 

cope. 

Missing file is lost in seventh 

dimension of Commodore brain 

cells. Return to back up and key 

data in again avoiding Monitor 

in hope of not repeating this 

fiasco. 

Back to graphics. Steve 

suggests my subtle grey colour 

scheme for side views is boring. 

Debate ensues. I lose. Try new 

psychedelic combinations. 

Eventually agree grudgingly to 

white, yellow, orange and red. I 

grumble. 

Add some more graphics. 

Now diagonal lines are causing 

herring bone effect. Horrible. I'm 

going to have to change all 

graphics. Bleaaahh! 


Right. Today's the day. Can't 

delay any longer. Have to write 

the routine that hides the robots 

except when they're within sight 

(a bit like hiding the ghosts in 

Pacman except when they're in 

your corridor). Idea comes from 

a game called Survive which I 

wrote a few years ago on an IBM 

mainframe. Up to six players all 

trying to ram or shoot one 

another with two computer controlled 

assassins. You knew 

when there was another player 

on your level but you couldn't 

always see them. Never knew 

what was around the next 

corner. Great stuff! 

Oh joy! Mid-afternoon and the 

routine is in and works first time. 

Steve claims that he was the one 

that thought how to make it 

work. Typical. 

'HAS KENNT EVERETT 

PUT A HEX ON 

RNPREW'S FRoO?/ 

iajiu- stev/e stop 

TM£ DAT FR.OM ERTlM & 

THE RULER 

\WILL"THE PRRflNOlP' 

PORI ' 

TRES£ iftjpalREfc 

QUESTIONS 

BE ANSWERED . 

nextawth/t 


. 

— 

STAGE ONE (jungle): Red and 

yellow snakes which come in at 

angles from the top of the screen. 

STAGE TWO (jungle): scorpions 

appear from both sides of the 

screen and sting you with their 

tails. 

STAGE THREE (jungle): headhunters 

and spears. Shoot the 

former horizontally and avoid the 

latter. 

STAGE FOUR (caverns): vampire 

bats suck the blood out of you and 

move around a lot. 

The Amazon Hazards 

grounds. The first area is the 

jungle where you have to defeat 

three types of enemy. The 

second and third phases are the 

Caverns and the ruined Temple 

each of which have two types of 

(increasingly 

tiresome 

enemies). 

Your man appears at the bottom 

of the screen carrying his 

blowpipe and 40 darts. You have 

to load the pipe first and then 

shoot the oncoming creatures. 

The pipe can move through an 

arc of firing positions from low 

left to low right. 

Shooting enemies is very difficult 

at first since the shooting 

angles aren't at all obvious. You 

can get the hang of shooting 

STAGE FIVE (caverns): wraiths 

come in from half way up the 

sides of the screen and carry you 

off by the head. 

STAGE SIX (temple): spiders and 

blocks of rubble fall vertically 

from the top of the screen. Shoot 

the former (or they wrap you up) 

and avoid the latter. 

STAGE SEVEN (temple): quetzalcoatus 

is a large flying dragon 

who will carry you away in his 

jaws. 

When l saw the title 

screen, heard the 

music and played the 

game , 

my suspicions 

were confirmed— 

another Forbidden 

are the only thing to 

have been improved 

— sound and 

gamepiay have 

deteriorated badly. In 

my view Amazon 

Warrior tarnishes not 

only the reputation of 

the original game, but 

that ofNew 

Generation 

n numerous aspects this 

game is incredibly similar to 

that superb US classic Forbidden 

Forest. It has the same basic 

scenario, a similar opening 

sequence, similar sounding 

music and similar looking 

graphics. New Generation tell us 

the programmer, having had 

only a single sighting of Forbidden 

Forest (and being possessed 

of a photographic memory) 

set out to improve on it. We 

don't think he succeeded. 

The action is set in the 

Amazon rain forest where a lone 

native (you) has to survive seven 

challenges. You are armed only 

with your trusty blowpipe and a 

limited number of poison darts 

with which to fend off the deadly 

forest inhabitants. 

The game takes place on a series 

of three scrolling back- 

AMAZON WARRIOR 

New Generation, £7.95 case, joystick only 

• Attempt to improve on 'Forbidden Forest' 

each of the beasts but some of 

the angles (and misses!) are 

quite surprising. 

You have to shoot a specified 

number of animals on each 

stage to progress to the next and 

the number increases on each of 

the four skill levels. At the start 

of each stage, except the last 

two, you are given a fresh set of 

three lives and 40 darts. 

The backgrounds scroll really 

smoothly and in perspective 

with a near background and a far 

background. The graphics are 

nice and colourful, and while the 

music isn't up to Forbidden 

Forest's superb standard it's still 

reasonable. 

BW 

p — j a 

Four levels of difficulty and 

Appalling rip-off of 

K J 'yQ a high score table. Forbidden Forest 

IUTY 

Excellent scrolling 

jr- A A/ Difficult blow pipe control 

background and good K/j 

characters. 

'/Q 

makes progress tough. 

LASTABIUTY 

K 

j 

Music isn 't as good as 

Forbidden but one or two 

good effects. 

f— a r\/ If you’ve got Forbidden 

Forest forget it. 

yQ 

it's a year too fate and 

far too like you-knowwhat 

for comfort. I 

found the controls 

annoying and the 

constant similarities 

to FF insulting to the 

original. It wouldbe all 

right if it offered better 

gamepiay, but it 

doesn't. Once you've 

worked out a level, 

you can do it more or 

less the same way 

each time. 

60% 

HHViV 

i 1—«— 

/% a / Very tough but unaddictive 


“whoops - io«oN6

; 

iW 

_ 

EXPERIENCE ONE TO ONE AIR COMBAT WITH MAJOR BILL STEALEY 

UNIQUE TWO PLAYER COMBAT- 5 SIMULATED KOREAN WAR AIR BATTLES 

m 

f 

T 

; 

J 

ATi 

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G.S. Gold Ltd., Unit 10, The Parkway Industrial Centre, Heneage Street, Birmingham B7 4LY. Telephone: 021-359 3020. Telex: 337268 

—

I 

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Everyone who buys a Red Arrows computer 

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you are at Scampton you will be invited to sit at 

the controls of a Hawk. 

Now on sale at: 

BOOTS cowter Currys Dixons 

John Menzies 

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ORDER FORM 

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The program comes with a detailed flight 

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Put yourself in the pilot's seat 

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A gripping, realistic 

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Spectrum 

Amstrad 

Electr 

BBCTUlcro 

aWP 5

I 

I 

I 

^ 

” 

“parr msi cuvr on this one. / 

——" 

P page. V 

V, \M 

*' 

:*«r to qive away » * - f these va.u»~- Arl0 »asou y“ 

' 

~ 

aîTdrWear1^ colour 

P'« in9 "P °" 

^ wi„ realty ub«e1>«2 

re looking.** 

-iSsH»S;K^5iS 

advice 

. M fll 

The 

h Terrace 

Miss 


I 

. 

rPSCue 

The games to 

give tips on 

Here'S a ran down of Ariol»softS 

tremendous range of US titles 

the 64. 

classic 

JSjS!Sy7ste?t& 

^d, rn“erjrro.Ta r ,‘ 

forms^Pea^dd ladders. A Zzap 

sizzler. 

gnps with asvou tv 

ipate 

COMP 

l Up to four players can take p 

I a sometimes frantic game. 

ARCHON 

rhess theme, 

New variant on th 

ne 

*» came layout as the age 

U^9 ^ssr Control strange 

old clas 

different movening 

a n

I 

i 

. 

I 

I 

Rescuing the 

scientists in 

Airwolf 

Gary Penn sorts through your mountain of 

cheats , strategies and tactics. 

The trickle of tips that had come in prior to the launch of the mag 

has now turned into a flood since its launch - and I'm real 

pleased. Keep them coming in. But please, no more on GHOST- 

BUSTERS, SPY V SPY and BRUCE LEE unless they're cosmically 

original. Oh, and no more PYJAMARAMA solutions either, 

please. 

Now I've got that off of my chest, here are this month's tips. 

(Next month I'll be revealing which three super-tipsters have 

won our prize disk drives. Some of their tips may be among 

those in this month's section . . .!) 

I've been deluged by AIRWOLF 

(from Elite Systems) tips and 

maps this month — many 

thanks to all 

of you, especially 

Garry Cuthbertson of Gosforth, 

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Garry's 

map and tips were quite simply 

the most impressive and detailed 

set that I received. Take it 

away Garry 

At the start of each of your five 

missions, Airwolf is at the base 

in room A, at the top right of the 

map. Initially the door of this 

room is closed but it can be 

opened by simply shooting 

where the helpful arrow points. 

When through this door, in area 

B, there are three ways down. 

Avoid the big red boulders 

which destroy Airwolf instantly, 

by positioning the helicopter 

above either the tube or wall in 

this area. Don't go down the 

middle passage as this is a dead 

end. 

On each of the five rescues I 

always shoot wall 1, making a 

sufficient gap for Airwolf to fly 

through. This is because whenever 

you have rescued a scientist 

you have to return to base 

via room C which contains two 

'shield diminishing Martian type 

creatures'. Therefore shooting 

wall 1 allows you a safe passage 

straight through this room, thus 

saving shields. 

SCIENTIST ONE 

The first scientist is in room E. To 

get there, leave your base, go 

through area B and shoot the 

wall as outlined above. Then, 

avoiding the red boulders, fly 

down passage D and into room 

E. 

Lower the helicopter into area 

F where the scientist is, avoiding 

the bouncing bullet in the process. 

To return to base, do not 

attempt returning up passage D 

as this leads to your destruction 

through a boulder. Instead, 

shoot wall 2 and fly up passage 

G following the deadly lift to the 

top. Once at the top, fly quickly 

to the right to assure minimum 

shield loss from the lift. 

Now shoot wall 3 and fly 

through room C, area B and back 

to base using the previously 

mentioned methods. 

SCIENTIST TWO 

Fly to passage G by the same 

route as the first scientist (remembering 

to shoot wall 1) and 

follow the lift up with Airwolf 

facing left. This time fly left into 

room H. Even though you may 

be able to see the scientist, don't 

try rescuing him yet as you will 

bump into the sides of the walls 

and lose shields. 

Instead, avoid the bouncing 

bullet in this room and shoot at 

arrow J. This floods the scientist 

bay causing him to float to the 

surface, where he is easier to 

rescue. 

You may have noticed that the 

door to this room has now 

closed and you are locked in. 

Don't worry - if you now shoot 

arrow K, the bouncing bullet 

stops and the door opens. Now 

return to base through room C 

as before. 

SCIENTIST THREE 

First of all shoot wall 1 when you 

are in area B. This time though, 

you take a different route by 

flying down passage L, avoiding 

the boulder, and fly around the 

corner at the bottom. Now shoot 

switch 4 on the right to remove 

the force field below you. Descend, 

and you will see a buggy 

passing below you along a 

double thickness track (Area M). 

What you have to do here is 

position Airwolf in the forward 

position and shoot a hole 

through the track, big enough 


. 

for the Airwolf to fit through. 

Descend through this hole and 

place Airwolf at point N, facing 

left, and as close to the right as 

possible. 

Drop down and shoot switch 5 

but fly directly up again as the 

big brown boulder starts rolling 

and will destroy Airwolf. When 

the boulder is far enough away 

drop down again, turning Airwolf 

right, and shoot button 6 

(Previously covered by the 

boulder). This will open up two 

doors at point 8. 

qIpioinim 

I've had some pleas from people 

who can't quite finish SORCERY 

from Virgin. Despair no longer 

for MICHAEL DAVIS of Wetherby, 

Yorks has sent me the complete 

solution. So here it is 

A: THE WOODS. Go straight 

through the dooratthe left hand 

side. 

B: THE WOODS. Go straight 

across and through the bottom 

left door. 

C: THE WOODS. Pick up the club 

at the bottom left hand corner of 

the screen. Go through the door 

at the top left corner. 

D: THE WASTELANDS. Directly 

in front of you as you enter will 

be a face on what looks like a 

piece of wood. Stand on top of it 

- 

the face will disappear and you 

can go down and through the 

door at the bottom left of the 

screen. 

E: OUTSIDE THE CASTLE. Go up 

and across the screen, through 

the top left door. 

F: THE CASTLE. Pick up the 

sword and go through the 

bottom left hand door. 

G: OUTSIDE THE CASTLE. Swap 

the sword for the gold on the 

other side of the tree. Go back 

through the top left door. 

H: ABOVE THE CLOUDS. Swap 

Breaking the Sorcery spell 

K J I 

_H 

the gold for the key and return 

through the bottom right hand 

door to G. Swap the key for the 

sword and kill the monk at the 

bottom of the screen. Collect the 

key again and go through the left 

hand door. 

I: BY THE RIVER. Go across the 

screen and land on top of the left 

hand door. Now here's the tricky 

bit - You have to get through the 

door without touching the water 

below, or you'll drown. 

J: BY THE RIVER. Push the joystick 

straight up oryou'll fall into 

the river. Go across the screen 

and land on the face on the log - 

the face should disappear. Now 

go down and through the door 

to the left. 

K: IN A DUNGEON. Go through 

the bottom left hand door. 

L: DARK DUNGEON. This room 

is in total darkness except for the 

flash of lightning. Go about 

three quarters of the way across 

the screen and you will go down 

and land on the cauldron. This 

will replenish your energy, and 

also give you a potion. Go back 

through the top right hand door 

into K. Then go up and through 

the top left hand door into M. 

M: THE WILDS. Go through the 

bottom left door. 

f G FIEIDICIBIA 

N: THE SWAMP. Push the joystick 

straight up as you enter (to 

avoid drowning) and go and collect 

the candle. Go through the 

bottom right door into M, using 

the same method as used in I. 

Go through the top right hand 

door into K again, and through 

the bottom left door into L again 

(It will now be visible as you 

have the candle). Exchange the 

candle for the key, avoiding the 

water, and go back out of the 

room into K. Go through the top 

left hand door into M, across, 

and through the bottom left 

door into N. Go straight up or 

you'll drown, and go across and 

through the top left door. 

0: NEAR STONEHENGE. Go to 

the face on the log, drop down 

and collect the poison. Go up 

and through the top left door. 

P: NEAR STONEHENGE. This 

screen can be difficult. Go down, 

avoiding the water, and swap 

the poison for the wand. Keep 

the fire button pressed to dispose 

of the ghost. Take the 

poison and go through the left 

hand door. 

Q: AT STONEHENGE. Simply go 

and land onthemiddletableand 

you will have completed the 

game - Wow. 

. . 

Now fly left and shoot switch 7 

eliminating the force field. Go up 

and collect the scientist from 

area P. 

To return to base fly back to 

area M but instead of going up, 

fly left along passage W and up 

until you reach, and shoot 

through, wall 9. Airwolf can then 

return to base as before, following 

the lift etc. 

SCIENTIST FOUR 

Shoot wall 1 in area B as before 

and fly to room E. Shoot through 

walls 2 and 9, avoiding the lift, 

and fly down into room Q. You 

now have two choices: 

Firstly, you can shoot through 

the walls and shoot the two 

switches at point R. This is very 

hard - if you manage to succeed 

however the satellite S falls 

down on your power switch 10. 

If it reaches the switch, Airwolf 

explodes. Therefore, you have 

to shoot it in mid-flight. You can 

now get to passage T. 

The easier option is to position 

Airwolf in a forward position 

approximately at point X. You 

may now be able to fly up past 

the satellite. However, all the 

time you are in this room you 

have to watch out for the bullets 

shot by the two face-shaped 

rocks on either side. 

When in passage T you have 

to fly around to area U, avoiding 

the 'pinball bumpers', which fire 

bullets along passage V, as best 

as possible. In area U you will 

notice falling rocks near the 

scientist bay, making it impossible 

for Airwolf to rescue the 

scientist. However, if you shoot 

through wall 11, and shoot the 

top button, the force field 12 will 

be eliminated. You can now fly 

back up again and rescue the 

scientist. Return to base by flying 

back to wall 9 and use the 

methods described earlier. 

SCIENTIST FIVE 

Shoot wall 1 in area B as before. 

Fly down passage L but this time 

quickly turn right into room Y. 

Once inside you are safe from 

the red boulder but now a flying 

saucer will quickly attack you. As 

soon as you shoot it though, it 

stops. 

You then have time to shoot 

through walls 14 and 15. If 

you're not quick enough, the 

saucer comes to life and will 

have to be shot again to save 

shields. Now ctescend down 

passage Z, trying to avoid the 

bullets. Stop Airwolf's descent 

near the bottom as there is a 

shooting force field. Turn Airwolf 

left and by quick up-anddown 

movements and good 

timing, shoot a way through 

wall 16. Fly Airwolf through as 

the force field disappears and 

shoot wall 17, move up and 

shoot wall 18. 

Keep shooting even after this 

wall has gone, as each extra hit 

knocks the steel bullet into the 

wall opposite. During this time, 

avoid the diamond shaped object 

which flies around by keeping 

it off the screen. 

Now drop down again and fly 

through the hole you made in 

wall 17, fly up into area 19 and 

rescue the scientist. Return to 

base by flying back past the 

saucer in room Y, out of the 

room and down. Shoot switch 4, 

eliminating the force field, fly 

left along passage W and up. 

Now use the same method for 

returning to base as previously 

explained. 

If you're wondering what the 

buttons in room 20 do, they are 

in fact no help to the mission 

whatsoever: one closes the door 

to room 20, the other closes the 

door to room Y. 

Thank you, Garry. Right. Now 

you've absorbed that lot, let's 

see some massive high scores 

sent in to the Scorelord! 


: POKE1 

' 

Over 

. 

and how 

to cheat! 

Graham Robertson from Kirkintilloch, 

Glasgow was among the 

many other readers who sent me 

tips and maps on Airwo/f. But he 

also enclosed something rarely 

seen on 64 games today - POKES! 

Yes, some great pokes for cheating 

at Airwo/f - and it doesn't 

mean blowing up your 64 by 

attempting to reset it! 

First you must start loading the 

game by typing LOAD (RETURN) 

instead of pressing SHIFT/RUN- 

STOP. 

Wait for the tape to stop and the 

'READY' message to come up, 

after which you should type: 

POKE1010,141 :POKE101 1,5: 

POKE1012,128:POKE1013,76: 

POKE1 014,226: POKE1 01 5,252 

Check you have typed it correctly 

and press RETURN. Now 

type in RUN (RETURN). The tape 

recorder will now start moving 

again and Airwotf will start 

loading. 

After some time (just before the 

coloured lines appear) the tape 

will stop and the 64 will reset itself 

as if it had just been switched on - 

don't worry, just stop the tape. 

You can now type in any combination 

of the following three 

things: 

One: 

POKE1 301 3,1 69: POKE1 3014,6: 

POKE 1 30 1 5, 1 4 1 : POKE 1 30 1 6, 1 43 

301 7,34: POKE1 301 8,234 

(Move the cursor up one line and 

press RETURN) 

This will give you infinite 

shields to practise going through 

the whole course. But, you can 

still get killed by the boulders so 

press RESTORE to restart the 

game if this should happen. 

Two: 

POKE5026,252 (RETURN) 

This enables you to fly straight 

through walls, letting you see the 

whole course. 

Three: 

POKE501 9,221 :POKE5020,248 

(RETURN) 

This stops you getting killed by 

any sprites (moving objects) 

enabling you to practise flying 

through the caverns. 

After typing in any, or all, of the 

above you should type SYS4096 

(RETURN) to start the game - 

don't worry about the fouled up 

title screen, as the game should 

be OK. 

Brilliant stuff, Graham. Anyone 

else out there got any more like 

this? 

Now onto a very serious set of 

tips from Michael Caldwell of 

forest town, Nottinghamshire. 

us here at Zzap! so It was with 

some interest these tips went 

round the office . . 

When I received my 64 from selling 

my Beeb, I set out to find things in 

common with all games, IMPOS- 

SIBLE, I hear you cry - well it's not 

-the last two months l tee 

been researching my theories and 

secrets and will now show them to 

the world! (Well, wouldn't you for a 

disk drivel). I may add that I have had 

100% success and I would like to hear 

from anyone who fails with my tips. 

REMEMBER - these secrets are exclusive 

to Zzapl, so let's keep it between 

rgte, the gatepost and the two and 

half million other readers. 

UNIVERSAL TIP 1. Find the round, 

black three pin plug and insert this 

into the socket marked POWER, 

Then, follow the black lead until you 

meet a heavy, square box. Go over 

Regarding 

Broadstreet 

Christopher Juckes of Leicester 

describes Mind Games' Give my 

regards to Broadstreet as easy 

and he says he can do it every 

time. In the words of Chris himself, 

'Here are some tips for confused 

people about the game': 

1. Always go to Kilburn first to 

catch Harry and Ringo in Maida 

Vale. 

2. George always starts off at 

Heathrow and arrives an hour 

later at Holland Park. 

3. Linda will always tend to go 

to Bond Street first and return 

to Holland Park later. 

4. Steve will usually leave his 

house about lunchtime and go 

to Covent Garden. 

5. Barbara usually goes to 

Sloane Square after leaving her 

home and then returns to West 

Kensington. 

6. Sandra goes to Victoria a lot 

and will always return to the 

Elephant by 7:30 pm. After this 

she stays in all night. 

I won't tell you how to do the 

final screen, you can solve it 

yourselves. (Gee thanks, Chris!) 

this box and continuejdown the black UNIVERSAL TIP 3. Having done the 

line until an obstacle is reached. above you must do this quickly: Find 

Pick this obstacle up, taking care the keys SHIFT and RUN/STOP on 

not to touch the three deadly pins, the keyboard and quickly press both 

and look around until you spot three 

at the same time. If this is done corholes. 

Place the obstacle in these rectly then your TV screen will blank, 

holes (only if it fits ! h When this happens you are safe. 

From the obstacle, follow the route 

back which you have already taken. UNIVERSAL TIP 4. The hard part is 

You must now activate the main now over and all that remains is to 

power source by pushing the switch take control of the machine. There are 

next to the plug into an upright pos- two weak points which will give you 

ition. 

control * both look the same. 

Now, providing the main energy Providing you have the control 

source has no timer on it (mine stick you can dock at either 4 port one' 

hasn't), you should have provided or ‘port two'. Beware, the computer 

the computer with endless energy sometimes swaps from port to port 

{beware as this energy needs paying on different games - this is to stop 

for at a later date). 

you getting control for a moment and 

} assume that most readers know can often result in death, 

how to switch their TV on, but if not Once you have control you are 

consult expert advice. ! have end- totally safe unless you you press any 

osed a simple map showing the buttons. If you do, you do so at your 

'' 

above. 

\ SSEK cwn risk #$ Shave howesearched 

ÎVERSAI||[IP/'M*ake the gafhe 

tape and place it in the machine to be 

found by following the lead from the 

six pin strip on the back of the computer 

{don't forget to re-insert the 

connector to the strip after you have 

found it or you will get lost on the way 

back). Now press play’ on this 

machine. 

Skywalking in Star Wars 

Over to Zzap's JR for tips on the 

Parker Brothers conversion of 

the arcade classic. 

On the first screen play safe. 

On STAR WARS there are a 

maximum of five ships or laser 

blasts on screen. Let four tie 

fighters come on screen and 

they will only shoot one laser 

blast. Pick this off each time and 

your shield will be in no danger 

of depletion. Therefore DONT 

shoot the craft. If in some circumstances 

only one or two 

ships appear on screen, shoot 

them as quickly as possible and 

then four will appear. 

On the run across the Death 

Star try to shoot all the tower 

tops. This will give you a nice 

50,000 point bonus. Be careful 

not to run into any towers or 

stray laser blasts — there isn't 

avoiding 

too much difficulty in 

them but it's easy to get 

careless. 

The trench run is the most 

tricky part of the game and it's 

easy to lose all your shields. For 

a start don't bother to fire: not 

firing at anything apart from the 

exhaust port will give you a 

'force' bonus. 

• Concentrate on dodging all 

the trench shields, and don't 

come 

v 

oversteer. Skim over and under 

the shields cutting it as fine as 

possible. 

• Dodging the laser blasts isn't 

too tricky, just move to the left 

or right at the bottom of the 

trench or up and down if the 

trench shields allow you. 

• When you see the exhaust 

port put your firing cursor in the 

middle of the trench and fire 

madly. You should be able to hit 

it with ease. 


VJ| 

UR'S * R RfcflL CHAA/VP ON STtt£ UflSS-

: 

' 

SCQREtti 

000002 

LIVES 

SCORED2 

000000 

LIVES HOME' 

HI SCORE 

000050 

power : 

TIME : 

SCORE 

PASSWORD: 

0000^2^18 

M § 

ROOMNUMBER: 

005 

JOH + RNDREN 

HERDRCHE 

BY 

R . E . BRILEY 

+ 

J . K . HEHZIES 

GOGO THE GHOST Arcade/Adventure 

150 different haunted castle chambers 

HEADACHE Arcade 

Nervous Ned’s quest to serve the Brain 

SCORE 815930 HIGH 01O28O 

ENERGY 1 &'/ S COOK . , 

Lhxx xkxkx xxhxx kxhxxxkhxxh xxxxxxxkxkkkk; 

Mm HIMW" 

II 

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SCSCSCSCSCSKCSCSCSCSim^r IX^MSCSCSCSCSCSESCSCSCSCE 

CHICKIN CHASE Arcade 

Ruling the roost can be a hard life 

FIREBIRD SILVER CATALOGUE 

COMMODORE 64 

015 MR FREEZE Arcade/Strategy 

Six compartments, each tougher to de-ice 

017 BOOTY Arcade/Adventure 

Twenty holds full of Dirate loot 

018 EXODUS Arcade 

Strange creatures emerging from the pits 

019 HEADACHE Arcade 

Nervous Ned’s quest to serve the Brain 

020 ZULU Arcade 

100 golden masks hidden in a magic maze 

024 GOGO THE GHOST Arcade/Adventure 

150 different haunted castle chambers 

MAIL ORDER 

Please state name of game (and machine) and 

numbers required. Enclose crossed cheque/PO 

made payable to FIREBIRD SOFTWARE. All offers 

are subject to availability. Orders are despatched 

promptly All prices inclusive of VAT and postage. 

MAIL ORDER: *FREEPOST FIREBIRD, 

WELLINGTON HOUSE, 

UPPER ST. MARTIN’S LANE, 

LONDON WC2H 9BR 

*No stamps required 

CIRCUS CIRCUS Arcade 

Twenty circus rings to escape 

028 ESTRA Arcade 

Recover the sacred statue of Estra the Snake God 

032 SUBSUNK Adventure with Graphics 

Trapped on the sea bed in a scuppered submarine 

034 THE HELM Adventure 

An amusing, stylish text adventure 

038 CHICKIN CHASE Arcade 

Ruling the roost can be a hard life 

041 CIRCUS CIRCUS Arcade 

Twenty circus rings to escape 

VIC 20 (UNEXPANDED) 

002 MICKEY THE BRICKY Arcade 

Four screens packed with fun 

Firebird and the Firebird logo are trademarks of British Telecommunications pic. 

FIREBIRD SOFTWARE, WELLINGTON HOUSE, UPPER ST. MARTIN’S LANE, LONDON WC2H 9DL. TEL: 01-379 6755/5626

__ 

BOUNCE MATS: When landed 

on will bounce you off at the 

same speed and opposite angle 

that you hit them at. Appear as 

solid blue in the game. 

How to be a great Psi Warrior 

Having spent most of one weekend preparing the Psi Warrior 

map printed in this issue, I thought I might as well pass on my 

tips on a game which appears to have put off a lot of people by its 

somewhat complex scenario. Actually it's a lot less complex 

First, a description of some of than it first appears, and well worth getting to know, 

the features of the silo: 

SPEED MATS: Enable you to 

attain high speeds for getaways 

and jumps. Appear as striped 

blue in the game. 

ANTI DAMAGE MATS: You can 

fall onto these without damaging 

your hover plane. Appear as 

striped green in the game. 

DEAD ZONE LINES: Pairs of 

'tram lines' that can only be 

crossed in one direction - INTO 

the screen. Scattered at various 

nasty positions about the silo 

they prove a real problem if you 

get caught inside a 'loop' of 

them, so don't. 

LIFTS: To use a lift safely, move 

over/into it, stop, and push in 

the direction of the lifts arrow(s). 

It is possible to hover above 

them so long as you don't push 

down. 

LEVEL MARKERS: These appear 

on the walls on each level of the 

silo and indicate your position. 

Although they may only look like 

an unintelligible mess they are 

in fact letters and numbers and 

can be figured out from the 

'alphabet' on the final level. 

THE SOURCE: Will always appear 

from the left hand side of the 

screen as soon as you reach the 

final level it frequents. It must be 

netted three times with great 

speed before your controls 

become disorientated by it. Your 

values of Psi and Id determine 

the length of time between 

bouts of disorientation, so make 

sure you're WELL stocked 

before you decide to encounter 

the creature. 

PUPAE: A form of semi-human 

energy that hasn't been broken 

down into its component Psi and 

Id. They wander aimlessly 

around the silo until encountered 

by your warrior where they 

will follow him around. DO NOT 

shoot a Pupae as all hell will 

break loose and you will be 

beseiged by Psi and Id. Any 

wandering Pupae found should 

be coaxed into a transportation 

chamber and sent back to the 

surface. 

The fd is the 

raw energy used for performing 

various physical/mental skills. 

Without the Psi energy to control 

and harness this raw power. 

Id energy loses its worth and an 

imbalance in power is created. 

The continual build up of this imbalance 

is known as the STABIL- 

ITY COEFFICIENT, or SC. If this 

value should reach zero then the 

Psi Warrior will die and the 

game is over and must be restarted. 

Capturing the Psi and Id is a 

fairly simple task providing you 

follow a few simple rules: 

• Don't zip around too fast as 

you'll probably end up running 

into the Psi or fd and losing what 

energy you should be gaining. 

• Keep the volume reasonably 

high and your ears open for 

sounds of approaching Psi/ld. 

As soon as you hear something 

coming, stop, and travel at a 

slow speed, waiting for the Psi/ 

Id to appear. 

• Make sure you're in line with 

the Psi/ld before you shoot — 

it 

fire a few 'line up shots' to judge 

when you should fire. 

• When the Psi/ld has been 

caught in your Psi net you can 

then absorb its energy. The best 

way of doing this is to firstly 

move in 'front' of it, stop, and 

press the fire button to jump 

'into' the energy source a couple 

of times to absorb the energy. 

This proves to be an easier and 

faster method than simply moving 

in and out of the Psi/ld. 

• To collect large amounts of a 

specific energy type, hang 

around the levels at which the 

energy types are most abundant. 

There are several areas of 

large open space where there 

are heavy concentrations of 

either Psi or Id, and because of 

the room to manoeuvre you can 

get lots of Psi/ld quickly and 

easily. 

• Psi energy can be used to develop 

the hidden powers of the 

mind. With a sufficient quantity 

of Id energy to 'tap' four skills 

are possible: 

1. TELEPORTATION: This can 

only take place between the teleportation 

chambers around the 

silo. Before you can teleport you 

need to log the coordinates of 

the chamber you wish to teleport 

to. 

When the need to teleport 

arises you simply press the teleport 

key and you will transport 

yourself to the last logged' 

chamber. The act of teleportation 

will deplete your Id by 20. 

1 usually use this feature when 

in dire trouble, lacking in energy 

or nets, or high in damage as the 

rate of repair is five times faster 

in the chamber, and nets are 

replenished. 

Remember, each time you 

enter a teleportation chamber 

always log the coordinates and 

save the game position. 

2.REMOTE VIEWING: When in a 

teleport chamber pressing the 

relevant key will allow you to 

leave the Psi Warrior's body and 

look around the whole silo with 

the joystick/keys. This is a great 

help in deciding which route to 

take, but now you've got the 

map you won't need to use this 

so often. 

Although you don't need 

much Psi/ld energy to view, 

your Id energy is depleting constantly, 

so keep tabs on your Psi/ 

Id. 

3.LEVITATION: It requires a 

great deal of energy to perform 

the act of levitation - 256 Psi and 

256 fd minimum . Pressing the 

corresponding key will allow 

you to move over obstacles or 

gaps otherwise impossible to 

negotiate. 

The need to levitate will come 

when you reach the 'Levitation 

Zone'. This area (marked on the 

map) consists of a strip of 

bounce mats around a level of 

the silo. Because of the nature of 

these mats, merely dropping 

down on them isn't good 

enough as you bounce straight 

back to where you started. Instead 

of falling down you need 

to levitate, so make sure you've 

enough energy when you reach 

here. It's important to position 

yourself carefully before levitating 

as so much energy is used 

performing this act, 

4.INVISIBiLITY: Pressing the 

necessary key will turn you invisible 

(providing you have at 

least 20 Id) and confuse the Psi, 

They will no longer pursue you 

until you fire a Psi-net, but staying 

invisible for too long eats up 

your Id. 

Not one of the most useful 

functions and not one I recommend 

to bother using often. 


. 

; 4 

> 

v 

; 

Phillip Merchant of Redland, Bristol, who last month ticked us off 

for our lukewarm review of Minter's MAMA LLAMA, offers some 

detailed playing tips on the game. 

To get used to the awkward control of theKilldroid, play a few 

games on the lowest inertia setting. Even after this you may fee! 

as if you haven't got any control over the droid, but at least it'll 

look like it. 

j|w you're feeling a bit more confident, it's time to play some 

Je screens. Here are some tips on 16 of the 100, and I hope to 

get sent manymore: 

ATOMIC WAR. A tough screen this. You have to Killdroid nasties 

dropping from above, while you are still in the air after a jump, to 

. 

fcakefce zap number go down. 

GREMLINS. Killdroid the flying saucer while it's above the Gremlin 

and it will start reproducing rapidly. Pick off the flashing 

Gremlins with the Killdroid to reduce the zap number. 

GRAB THAT YAK! Walk slowly left for about 20 seconds and then 

as fast as you can for a further two seconds. Turn around and 

walk right as fast as you can for about ten seconds. If you see a 

one of your llamas and the zap number goes 

zap reads zero. Do not touch a yak with your 

til 

LITTLE TAIL. Killdroid the wellies while 

LJM. 

approaching the llama from behind. Do not Killdroid the llama. 

RORY SAY BEWARE. Killdroid the yin-yangs while they flash, 

then Killdroid the Rory's, 

RORY IS HERE SOMEWHERE. Killdroid the ghosts - 

if you can find 

' ' 

^ 

*' ' 

them! ; ^ .' ^ 

^ 

- 

: 

";4S 

THE RORYGENESIS DEVICE. Jump up and head butt the Rory 

Genesis device {the flashing heart) with a llama, then blast the 

little Rorys it produces. Do not Killdroid the RoryGenesis device. 

CIPPY AND RORY. Follow Cippy and blast those Rorys! 

RORY ON TV. Stand your Mama Llama behind the TV and watch 

Rory attack the TV, reducing the zap number. 

GRENADES! Killdroid the little clusters before they detonate. 

LLAMA ENIGMA. Killdroid the little yellow llamas. 

GOATEE. Killdroid the goats. 

THE BEAST AND THE BROADSWORD. Killdroid the beasts under 

BEAST1ES. Killdroid the flashing beasties. 

L 9 K 

WARRIOR 

si Warrior at 

o 

halfprice! 

o o o o o o o 

Beyond Software are pretty pleased 

that at last someone's got round to 

publishing a Psi Warrior map. So to 

mark the occasion they've agreed to let 

us offer copies of this remarkable game 

at a whacking £5 discount! 

Do your eyes deceive you? They do 

not! The £5 voucher printed on this 

page will allow you to buy a copy of Psi 

Warrior for just £4.95, instead of the 

usual price of £9.95! That's got to be 

good value by anyone's reckoning. 

This is what you do: Cut out the 

voucher, and post it to us together with 

your name and address, and a cheque 

or postal order for £4.95 made payable 

to NEWSFIELD Ltd. We will then rush 

you the cassette version of the program. 

The address to send off to is: Psi 

Warrior offer, Z2ap Mail Order, 1-2 King 

Street, Ludlow, Shrops, SY8 1AQ. 

K5I 

S\OUCHEKK 

iOn nOS 

O O O O O O O O OTI 


uwtrrqfee 

rt 

roR? 

KNOCKOUT 

Alligata, £6.95caaB, joystick only. 

t Boxing game with very limited action 

' 

Would this be like one of my 

all-time favourite arcade 

games, Punch-Out? ! Er, 

no. This is a very, very simple 

boxing game. 

It puts you in the ring to face 

either a friend or computer opponent. 

You view the ring at rope 

level with the boxers being 

shown in profile. At the start of 

each of the four one-minute 

rounds the boxers are placed in 

their respective corners. When 

the bell sounds they move out 

and you take control of one of 

them. You can move your man 

forwards and backwards only, 

making this effectively a 2D 

game. 

You hit your opponent by 

pressing the fire button and 

moving the joystick either left or 

right for left or right hook. If you 

want to put your guard up then 

press fire button and push up. 

Virgin, £8.95 case, joystick only 

Stmt your funky joystick 

T 

he title of the game gives 

away what it's all about — 

really funky music in a 

streetwise, hip-hop town. 

Funky Town is where it all 

happens and this is represented 

on screen as 3D streets with 

buildings in the background, a 

pavement and roadway. On 

these swinging sidewalks appears 

Rockin' Rodney and his 

ghettoblaster. Rodney has to 

collect ten demo tapes from the 

dancing parties in the town and 

deliver them to the offices of 

Interdisc so that a record can be 

made. 

Our soul brother first has to go 

in search of batteries for his 

blaster from an electrical supply 

store. Once he's got them he has 

to find a tape to play. Tapes are 

found behind the doors of 

houses which are visibly pulsating 

with the beat. 

Once you've got a tape in your 

blaster you can turn it on and 

one of ten funky tunes will 

boogie its way out of the 64. The 

next part is to blast other people 

with the music to get them dancing 

(you just have to fire at 

them). 

When enough people are 

dancing you can deliver the tape 

to Interdisc and set off in search 

of another one. The ten tapes all 

have to be collected before your 

on-screen tape counter reaches 

999 otherwise the vinyl won't hit 


There are no other actions possible: 

no body blows, no ducking. 

As you hit your opponent you 

will see a bar increasing above 

his corner. When this grows to 

its full extent and reaches the KO 

mark your next hit will knock 

him out and win you the game. 

But the rate at which the bar 

grows depends on his stamina 

which alters from game to 

game. 

The idea of the game is to win 

the World Heavyweight title. 

First you have to win the European 

Heavyweight title by beating 

the computer opponent 

three times — each time you 

challenge him he gets harder to 

beat. Having done this, you are 

given a password and you have 

to load the other side of the cassette. 

To win the world title you go 

through exactly the same rigmarole 

as the European title fights, 

but if at the end of the third 

round, if you have a knockout 

win you're given the title of 

Heavyweight Champion of the 

World. 

This game is graphically very 

impressive but sound, like the 

gameplay, is highly disappointing: 

only a good bell sound and 

a whop as a boxer is hit. 

JR 

How disappointing 

this game was after 

seeing the initial 

screenshots. The 

1 gameplay t found 

incredibly limitedand 

ends up being really 

repetitive. The weird 

loading also seems 

your opponents don't 

change drastically. 

“T rry 

Q 

/ Well done title screen and 

instructions. 

J ^ 

QQ 

fy fy Q 

The boxers are large and 

quite well animated. 

Knockout is an 

appropriately titled 

game— it certainly 

put me to sleep. The 

best thing about this 

game was the bell 

noise but there was 

little else in the way of 

sound. The large 

anaemic boxers were 

simple to look at and 

control ; 

and the game 

became boring very 

quickly. 

QLj, 

r* A O/ 

/Q 

a ^ q 

Ann/ The sound of a punch and r\ A Q/ 

£ ! /q £ the bell but nothing else. if. /O 

sy 4 Q/ 

K 

I 

More variety and game 

'“Vq flexibility are needed. 

New sport simulation but 

little new gameplay. 

It's too repetitive and easy 

to get you going. 

- 1 -i 1- 

Not enough game content 

x° make you come back for 

POWERFUL UTILITIES FOR YOUR "64 

THE BEST RANGE OF UTILITIES FOR THE 64. WRITTEN BY PROFESSIONALS—SOLO BY PROFESSIONALS 

< 0*6 QUICKDISC 

Incorporating Menu Maker 

NOW EVEN FASTER 

Speed up your 1 54 1 disc drive with this new 

program. Loads most programs at 4 times normal 

speed. A flexible package that allows you to 

incorporate a menu and fast loading on 

your own discs Also includes a file exchanger 

for programs put on disc with “Disco" (THE 

tape to disc utility), another way of making fast 

load disc programs 

ONLY £11.95 

Now operates with printer or second 

Disc Drive connected. 

DISC DISECTOR V2.0 

At last a really powerful disc copier and utility program. Incorporates a 

range of powerful programs. Includes "Fastcopy". Takesjust 4 minutes to 

read and write a whole disc. "Error Copy" automatically reads and writes 

all error types, now you can make a security back up of those expensive business 

programs. "Quickdisc" more than halves disc loading time, very 

useful. "File Copier" allows selective copying from directory. "Track 

and Sector" a slower but very thorough program. Also includes the following 

useful utilities. Viewbam, Fast Format, Unscratch, Disc Monitor, 

Menu Maker, Index, Retitle, Rename, Scratcher, Disc to Tape 

and Tidy. If you have a 1 54 

1 

you must have Disc Disector. Supplied on disc 

with full instructions. 

ONLY £29.95 

TAPER 

A powerful utility. Works 

with almost all normal speed 

software. 

ONLY £5*95 

All prices include P&P and VAT. Send cheque. 

Postal Order of Credit Card No. Credit Card orders 

accepted by phone. Callers welcome. Wide range 

of goods stocked. Trade enquiries welcome. European 

orders send price as advertised. Outside 

Europe £2.00 for airmail. Mail order to Evesham 

Shop please. 

DOUBLER 

Tape Back Up Device 

Includes hardware and software. This 

amazing new cassette port adaptor allows 

you to make back up copies of "turbo" 

software. Tests have proved 100% successful. 

Requires access to two cassette 

decks. The special software generates a 

brand new machine copy onto one deck 

while loading from the other. Fast and reliable, 

they said it couldn't be done. 

ONLY £12.95 

COMMODORE CONNEXION 

Connect any "Centronics" type 

printer to your '64. Price includes 

lead and software on cassette 

with special disc conversion 

program. 

Simple to use and 

very reasonably priced. 

ONLY £14.95 

3M SCOTCH DISCS 

Lifetime guarantee Box of Ten 

SS/DD. £ 1 6.00 DS/DD. £23.00 

FASTBACK 

Fast Load Utility 

Convert your slow loading software to 

high speed load with Fastback. The 

most sophisticated program of its 

type allows you to produce "turbo" 

loading versions of most single and 

multipart software that load independantly 

of Fastback Simple to use 

no programming skill needed 

Example: Load "The Hobbit" or "Manic 

Miner" in 150 secs. Tried and trusted 

(over 2000 sold). 

A very professional program. 

ONLY £9.95 

ROCKET 

Fed up waiting for programs to 

load and save? Rocket is a utility for 

the programmer, speeds up loading 

and saving by about 8 times while 

still allowing for normal speed operations. 

Does not affect the speed 

of BASIC as no wedge is used. Programs 

can also be saved with high 

speed system to reload independantly. 

A must for serious programmers 

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ONLY £7.95 

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DISCO 

THE TAPE TO DISC UTILITY 

We guarantee that this is the best 

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Very easy to use no programming 

knowledge needed 

Automatically handles device numbers 

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auto load and run once 

transferred and can also be made to 

fastload with Quickdisc Handy 

for making your own disc programs 

auto run. 

ONLY £9.95 

BIGMOUTH 

The superb new speech 

synthesis program for the '64. 

Uses "speak" as a basic command. 

Very easy to use. Can be 

incorporated into your basic programs. 

Words are entered in 

phonetic English, ie. spelt as they 

sound. Therefore vocabulary is 

unlimited. Great fun and 

good for educational purposes. 

ONLY £7.95 

DATA RECORDER 

A dedicated data recorder designed for use 

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Tel: 021 -458 4564 

A 

. • / 


® Seven-screen blast with surprisingly good grephice 

his is one of the two first 

budget releases from 

T Creative Sparks that go by 

the very fitting name of Sparklers. 

It's a simple shmup spread 

over seven different scenes. 

Despite the cliche scenario 

(you have fallen in love with a 

beautiful princess and in order 

to win her hand in marriage you 

must complete seven tasks set 

by her father, the King) the game 

is in fact a cross between High 

Noon and Robotron. 

Before you attempt a task 

you're told what you must do in 

some very classy and authentic 

antique script. You start the 

tasks in the centre of the screen 

and can shoot or move in one of 

eight directions. Each screen 

consists of an appropriate 

graphical backdrop, depending 

on the task, and plenty of 

shooting. 

These backdrops are graphically 

very good, as are the large, 

but fairly detailed and well animated 

sprites. The sound isn't so 

hot though, consisting 

of little 

more than a few 'byoos' when 

you fire. 

On some screens you not only 

shoot anything that moves, but 

you have to pick things up as 

well. On others it's a simple case 

of blasting to survive and on a 

couple the nasties actually fire 

back! 

You have a bonus at the start 

of a task which is 'hit' related - 10 

points are deducted from the 

bonus whenever you miss 

something with a shot, so you 

have to be accurate. If any bonus 

exists at the end of a task then it 

will be added to your score. 

GP 

the streets on time. 

Rodney can cross the street to 

get to the houses on both sides 

of the road or use junctions to 

change streets. He can also 

wander around the two parks 

full of trees, bushes and magic 

mushrooms. 

The longer he takes to deliver 

a tape the more people he has to 

make dance before he can deliver 

the next one. This is made 

even tougher by some of the 

inhabitants of the town who 

Streetwise guide to Funky town folk 

TONE DEAF WALKERS wear 

black and white stripes and travel 

at the same speed as you. If 

bumped into they vandalise your 

blaster. 

BANDITS OF THE BEAT have 

spikey hair and big lips and travel 

as fast as you. They'll steal your 

tape if they catch you. 

THE PSYCHO KILLER has an 

enormous spikey hair-do and 

travels slower than you. If he gets 

to you, you've had it. 

GANGSTERS OF THE GROOVE 

move much slower than you but 

blend in with the other inhabitants 

of the town. They'll also steal 

your tape if they get close. 

JUMPING JACK FLASH wears 

black and white stripes and 

flashes. If you can collide with 

him he transports you to a tape or 

Interdisc, depending on which 

you need. 

BUSTY BLOND appears once 

you've delivered several tapes 

and also ends your game if bumped 

into with the line 'she loved to 

love you baby'(!) 

64 ZZAP! 64 July 1985

. 

. 

» » » i » » 

1. Survive a night alone in the 

valley of the zombies. The sun 

sets behind the castle in the hills 

and hordes of mortified looking 

zombies mill out from the sides of 

the screen. Shoot as many as 

possible and stay alive before the 

sun rises. 

2. Slay the Wizard of Dabbit 

Wood. A fairly effeminate wizard 

materialises at a random point on 

screen, fires at you and then 

dematerialises, leaving you little 

time to destroy him. 

3. The four sacred statues from 

Vampire Mountain are randomly 

placed on screen in front of a bats 

cave. Quickly col lectthem,.avoiding 

or shooting the bats that 

attempt to stop you. 

4. Wipe out the devil worshippers 

of the Temple of Demons. Evil 

monks come out from the edges 

of the screen onto an impressive 

Stonehenge style backdrop, firing 

in all directions in an attempt 

The seven tasks 

Most of the screens 

are quite simple, and 

enjoyable to ofay, 

although the two 

where things fire back 

are rather tricky and t 

found the final screen 

well nigh impossible 

This playability , 

combined with some 

nifty graphics and a 

low price, means 

Taskmaster is one 

cheapo game that 1 

wouldn 't feel 

ashamed to be caught 

buying 

to kill you. Shoot a certain 

number of monks to move on to 

the next level. 

5. Destroy the ancient spirit stone 

of the Runes of Tygorth. It 

appears on screen as a small 

object guarded by large numbers 

of spirits. 

6. Steal the live ritual skulls from 

the village of the Northern Barbarians. 

Walk around the screen 

and try to locate the right five out 

of the many placed randomly 

about. Avoid or shoot the vicious 

Barbarians before they shoot 

you. 

7. Your final task is to get to the 

wedding ceremony at the Castle 

of the Birdmen. The entrance into 

the castle is blocked by aggressive 

birds that kill on contact. 

Shoot and avoid the birds and 

sneak into the castle doorway to 

take the Princess's hand in marriage— 

ah!. 

PRESENTATION 

"7 A 0/ 

/q 

Comment on 

Taskmaster. JR 3 

This cheapo game 

gives plenty of fun for 

your money. Blast 

your way through the 

various screens ofevil 

baddies to win the 

Princess's hand in 

marriage. The 

graphics and 

animation are pretty 

good' but the sound is 

grotty. Plenty of 

challenge to keep you 

killing the meanies at 

a realty low price. 

/ can think of less 

infuriating games 

than this but notmany 

of better value, t 

enjoyed the seven 

screens and good 

animation f providing 

hectic shmup action, t 

thought movement 

was a little slow which 

can be annoying 

when you're trying to 

deaf with a bunch of 

killer monks or 

ruthless barbarians. 

Good value though 

and great to see 

another company 

entering the cheapo 

market. 

ORIGINALITY 

A Q O/ 

Terrific character set and 

Cross (~’ross between Robotron 

silly romantic scenario. 

J I 

/q 

and High Noon 

"l A Goodsprites, well 

Q/ 

animated “7 

/ Li /r\ and some nice 

Q 

/ Plenty of frantic action to 

" r get ' u 

you engrossed. 

backgrounds. 

r\ / Byoo, byoo, byoo, byoo, 

q 

J ^ /q 

"7 Q 

Zo /o'o byoo, byoo. J 

VALUEFORMONEY 

“y "1 Q 

/ Excellent cheap game with 

/ / /r\ enough difficulty to keep 

# # / you busy. 

/ Levels four, six and seven 

are diabolically difficult. 

/q 

may damage the blaster or 

wreck it completely. Damage 

can be repaired at a repair shop 

but a total wreck means game 

over. 

A map of Funky Town is included 

in the instructions and all 

Mound the music 

great and the whole 

game idea really 

refreshing, there's 

even some great 

playability thrown in. 

It reminded me of 

Broadstreet in many 

respects but has much 

more.for you to do. It 

suffers slightly from 

only having the 

number of tapes 

collected as a scoring 

system but still 

provides excellent 

entertainment. 

the streets have song title 

names like Electric Avenue, 

Baker Street and Strawberry 

Fields. 

The display is split into your 

view of the street and a ghettoblaster 

complete with tape 

counter, volume and battery 

strength. A status line between 

the two (the blaster's handle) 

gives updates on the game with 

song titles, cute comments and 

the occasional helpful bit of 

information. 

The tunes in the game are 

excellent and mostly very different. 

They only play when you 

have a tape and batteries. Not 

only that butthere is a completely 

different title tune as well. 

All the characters are done in 

from groover Rodney to 

detail 

76% 

f2QADUirC 

ini si**cl 

Groovy instructions with a 

handy little map. 

Good sprites for all the 

settings. 

the aging fuzzy breakers who 

roam the streets. If you hit one of 

the ordinary people with your 

music they start boogieing 

around the street in sheer 

delight. 

BW 

ORIGINALITY 

79% 

Great characters with 

interesting new gamep/ay 

touches. 

HOOKABILITY 

You'll really turn on to the 

music and streets. 

LASTABILITY 

May become repetitive and 

lacks a real scoring system. 


I 

I 

Good, but not quite as 

stunning a package as we 

were expecting. 

A flight simulator with a 

difference. 

Graphics are superbly 

atmospheric* 

Huge appeal thanks to the 

great graphics, superb feel. 

/ Not many effects but engine 

O 

noiseand machine guns are 

superb. 

/ The whole mission will take 

a lot of cracking. 

q 

An excellent program 

bound to appeal to many 

tastes. 

You may remember that we 

already printed a review of this 

game last month. You may also 

remember a statement in that 

issue, rushed in at the last minute 

(p69), saying that our copy 

had turned out to have bugs in it 

(thereby rendering a couple 

parts of the review, including the 

ratings, a little inaccurate). 

That's why we're now printing 

this addition to that review, and 

a revised ratings box. However 

the discovery of the bugs was 

interesting in itself. This is what 

happened. 

We (and Commodore User) 

were given pre-production 

copies of the game by US Gold. 

When we first saw it, like everyone 

else, we were stunned. 

Great graphics, superb authentic 

atmosphere, etc. But after 

extensive play, certain frustrations 

set in 

: 

you seemed to die at 

random after being hit by a 

single piece of flak, and when 

you died, there was nothing to 

indicate why, nor how well 

you'd done. You just had to start 

again. 

We passed on these criticisms 

to US Gold. They contacted the 

programmers in Canada who 

then telephoned us in some dismay 

for further explanation. 

It was only as a result of that 

phone conversation that it was 

established that our copy (along 

with the other copies in Britain) 

was seriously defective. Unfortunately 

at that stage we only had 

time to rush in our stop press 

statement. But now we've had 

plenty of time to assess the fully 

working, final version of the 

game which was rushed over 

from Canada. 

Basically, two major niggles 

have been cleared up — you no 

longer die from single flak hits 

and the game doesn't just lock 

up on dying. The flak now only 

causes gradual damage so that 

you may eventually lose an engine 

or two, thus affecting the 

plane's performance. 

And now when you die you 

are given a screen showing your 

status when you died with numbers 

of flak hits, planes shot and 

encountered, searchlights shot 

and flown through and barrage 

balloons shot or avoided. You 

are also told exactly WHY you 

died. 

Another thing that wasn't 

evident in the earlier copy is that 

your front and tail gunners can 

be put out of action by the night 

fighters. A hail of bullets shatters 

their screens and you are left 

with the noise of the whistling 

wind. You also don't have an infinite 

runway any more and 

almost perfect take-offs are 

required. 

So basically, the game is now 

significantly more interesting 

and enjoyable to play: we have 

been able to reach the dam from 

Scampton airfield, slipping up 

only on the final bomb run due 

to having a damaged aircraft. 

A couple of minor annoyances 

remain: there's still no score or 

rating given at any stage. And on 

the cassette version, when you 

drop the bomb you don't see it 

skipping across the water or 

exploding, but only a cross 

marked on the dam showing 

where the bomb would have hit. 

Despite this, we reckon the 

game's worth a few extra percentage 

points, and thereby 

clears the 80% barrier value for 

money, turning it into a worthy 

sizzler. Sorry for the confusion, 

but one good result is that the 

bugs we experienced were 

stamped out before the game's 

British release. 


Every pilot has 

the dream of 

flying one of 

these unique and 

complex fighting 

machines. Here is your chance to do what few pilots have the 

privilege to try. 

Depending on your skill, confidence and courage, you have the 

choice of remaining near the landing pad, learning to hover 

and land, or venturing higher to practise your approaches. 

When you think you have mastered these, then accelerate the 

Jump Jet into an attack fighter. Use the radar and range finder to seek and destroy the 

enemy, by launching heat-seeking air-to-air missiles. Beware! His radar and missile 

systems are as good as yours. Reckless pursuit is ill-advised: you must maintain a fuel 

level that will enable you to relocate and return to the aircraft carrier, executing the 

skills you have learned to achieve a successful landing. 

You are now ready to proceed to the next skill level to face additional hazards, such as 

unpredictable swell and treacherous cross-winds. 

Be warned, this program is not a toy or game. You will need to co-ordinate your hands, 

eyes and mind to successfully complete each mission. Do not hope to achieve in a 

short time that which took the author three years to learn as a Jump Jet pilot, and 

over a year to record on this computer program. 

TRADE ENQUIRIES: ANIROG SOFTWARE LTD UNIT 10 VICTORIA INDUSTRIAL PARK VICTORIA ROAD DARTFORD KENT (0322) 92513/8 

Mail Order: 8 HIGH STREET HORLEY SURREY 24 HOUR CREDIT SALES HORLEY 02934 6083 Payment by: P.O. - ACCESS - VISA

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B.A.F. No. 617 SQUADR 

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- 

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flC» I9B9 SYDNEY DEUELOPMENT 

Graphics: 

Sound: **** 

Playability' 

CCI Rating- 

Company: Ub C. 

Industrial Estate, 

lingham.^ 

MMlefor 

spectrum 

mm 

WAKELiN 

It’s 21.15 hours on the evening of May 16th, 1943. A flight of specially 

prepared Lancaster bombers is leaving RAF. Scampton for Germany. 

LANCASTER B. MK I /III (DAM BUSTER) 

After months of planning No. 617 Squadron are at last embarking on an operation destined to change the course of World War II. 

Your objective is to destroy the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams, thus crippling Germany’s industrial heartland. 

This detailed and authentic simulation allows you to play the part of PILOT, NAVIGATOR, FRONT GUNNER, beau GUNNER, 

BOMB AIMER and FLIGHT ENGINEER. 

You fly at low altitude over Europe, on the lookout for deadly ME110 night fighters, dodging barrage balloons, searchlights and flak. At 

the target you’ll need all your nerve and skill to control the aircraft and release your deadly payload whilst under enemy attack. 

Game features include: SUPERB GRAPHICS & SOUND REALISTIC JOYSTICK CONTROL • • 

PILOT’S SCREEN & INDICATORS • 

MULTIPLE SCREEN NAVIGATOR’S MAPS FRONT & REAR GUNNER’S SCREEN • • 

BOMB SIGHT SCREEN ENGINEER’S ^ 

• 

INDICATORS. 

JR 

Game Package includes: Comprehensive flight instructions, maps and confidential documents including authentic material by Barnes flEr 

Wallis and Wing Commander Guy Gibson. 

Designed and Developed by Sydney Development Corporation. Licensed in conjunction with International Computer Group. Manufactured in the 

U.K. by U.S. Gold Limited, Unit 10, Parkway Industrial Centre, Heneage Street, Birmingham B7 4LY. Telephone: 021-359 8881. Telex: 337268. 

mwr 

ff Sydney 

WF Development B^Corp.

. 

CONAN 

US Gold/Datasoft, £14.95 disk, joystick only. 

® Seven screens of platform action 

T 

he latest addition to US 

Gold's 'Famous Faces' 

range puts you in the surreal 

world of the film character, 

Conan the Barbarian. In a similar 

fashion to Bruce Lee you have to 

work your way through various 

platform screens to seek and 

destroy the villainous Volta. 

On each of the seven screens 

there is an exit. On the first two 

screens it is clearly marked and 

all you have to do is run and 

jump your way to it. After level 

two you start having to collect 

gems and put them in their holders 

before being able to go out of 

the screen. Sometimes a door 

may unlock or something may 

appear that you can ride on 

which will take you to the exit. 

The first few screens of the 

game are reasonably easy, but 

later on the going gets very 

tough as you have to ride on 

bubbles and destroy dragons. 

On levels six and seven there are 

Van Der Graff generators and 

stars which need to be struck 

with your sword before turning 

into gems. 

You have three men and ten 

swords at the start but you have 

a chance to earn more of these 

on later levels. You can do this 

by picking up the swords lying 

around and catching the friendly 

bird which flaps about the more 

inaccessible part of the screen. 

The graphics are pathetic — 

they wouldn't go amiss on a 

1982 game. Indeed, they appear 

to have been designed by a 

ZX81 graphics programmer, as 

the main character features an 

annoying flicker. The sound is 

disappointing too: the actual 

notes are great but the voices 

used are unimaginative, reedy 

and grating. 

Animation is appalling — 

Conan looks more like a 70s 

trendy: he's wearing bell ends 

and has long hair. The various 

CONAN'S 

ENEMIES 

There are various wicked creatures 

which lust after Conan's 

blood. There also exist some 

traps in which Conan can lose a 

life. 

BAT : this flaps about and follows 

a distinct pattern. Earn 750 points 

by killing it with your sword. 

DRAGONFLY: The same as the 

bat with similar score. 

LEAPERS: These drop from the 

screen and wander down to the 

bottom of the screen. Kill 'em and 

you'll get 1,000 points apiece. 

DRAGON: Flaps up and down the 

screen and must be destroyed for 

you to continue. You also get a 

meaty 2,500 point bonus for each 

one destroyed! 

EYEBALLS: These chase you 

about and have to be dealt with 

like the dragons. They too are 

worth 2,500 points. 

CRAWLY THINGS: No, not Oric 

owners — scorpions and the like. 

They cannot be destroyed but 

must be jumped over. They kill 

you on touch so don't go near 

them. 

POOLS, LAVA and SPIKES: Jump 

these and don't fall into them. 

nasty creatures trundle about 

with hardly a pixel moving and 

the scenery is drab with few 

colours and details. 

JR 

0 ** water b°tto'n 

and the S spikes though 

Watch 

fo*het 9 aF ^^'ôrm^ndtdd 

much but he's a tittle 

deceptive. The action 

is quite compulsive 

and f wasn'tput off 

too much by the yukky 

graphics. I enjoyed 

some of the ideas like 

bubbles and the 

boomeranging sword 

along with the other 

Bruce Lee-like 

platform action 

ATION 

“7 Z' 0/ 

/ Q '/O A nice disk package and 

instructions but individual 

1 1 1 

, 

. 

lA/h • . 

snake. 

-happily at an advancing dead/y 

WHIRLINURD 

US Gold/Sydney, £9.95 case, £14.95 disk, joystick only 

# SOO screen playing area collect-and-dodge game 

Welcome to the world of 

Hamish Pupkin, Naples 

Yertz, Hooseby Nurd 

and Melvin Lugby. These intrepid 

nurds all have propellors 

screwed to their heads and are 

constantly in search of food for 

their rumbling nurd-guts. 

You control one of the four 

nurd brothers and have to negotiate 

50 rooms of obstacles picking 

up food on the way. Each 

room' is about four screens 

large, the screen scrolling to follow 

the action. 

In each room you have to collect 

four pieces of food — nurds 

eat anything that doesn't glow 

— before you can move onto the 

next room. The rooms come in 

five levels of ten, the last level 

only being accessible through a 

codename gained from the 

previous four. 

You control your nurd in two 

main ways, walking around and 

flying using the propellors on 

his head. There are limitations 

on the flying — you can propel 

T 

he advertising for this 

game may lead you to 

believe that it's the greatest 

3D naval battle since Beach 

Head. Well, it isn't. 

Operation Swordfish puts you 

in command of a submarine 

with the task of destroying the 

so you have to fight off the 

allied invasion fleet before it factor, too much and your sub 

attacks the Mediterranean coast. will sink for good. 

Your sub is slightly crippled: it You have two options to fend 

plane usually brings it down. 

can't dive, only submerge slight- 

them off: a machine qun on the 

That's 

OPERATION SWORDFI5H 

it . . 

ly, 

enemy on the surface. 

There are two types of enemy: 

planes and boats. Boats fire at 

you and drop depth charges. 

Planes drop torpedoes and also 

fire at you. If any of these hit you 

they will add to your damage 

top of the sub and torpedoes 

under water, each controlled by 

a different screen— you have to 

quickly switch from one screen 

to the other so you can dispose 

the allies before they sink you. 

The machine gun gets rid of the 

advancing planes and the torpedoes 

destroy the ships which 

move back and forth across the 

screen. 

When you're in torpedo mode 

you have a cursor under your 

control. Move the cursor over a 

slow moving ship and fire: 

boom, glug glug. Shooting 

down planes is a bit more fun. 

Your gun can move left and 

right. Pulling back on the joystick 

raises the gun and pushing 

forward lowers it. Firing a steady 

stream of bullets towards a 

British Software, £9.95 cass, £1 1.95 disk, joystick with keys. 

Disappointing two-screen shmup 

n q 

/ Simple instructions plus AAft/ 

patriotic title screen 

Qy yg 

GRAPHICS 

A poor imitation of Beach 

ZZ /0 Head 

HOOKABH.ITY 

and 

Alice graphic background 

58% 44% 

H 1 planes but nowt 

Initialpatriotism gives way 

else. 

to boredom. 

Boring boring 

boring. This game is 

baaaaad. Two boring 

only the variation of 

it's all you have to 

wX 

m 

24% Wheeeee . . . sp/opf 

rQ Wheeeee . . . sp/opl 


rij n 

| y 

Q 

Rotten price for a very 

simple game. 

/Q 

Q 

The same old boats and 

planesjust 

/q 

keep coming. 

ping ... ping anda 

few eeeeaaawphukka 

planes trudge over 

and are shot down. 

There's a heap of 

betteAamesat a fifth 

* 

Up of the price. 


. 

- 

' 

, 

Nasty nurd 

nobblers 

These are the enemies to avoid: 

SLINKY SNAKES: move horizontally, 

reverse when they hit obstacles, 

lethal to touch. 

JUMP BUGS: move in unpredictable 

patterns, lethal to touch. 

BUG EYES: rotating eyeballs, 

move vertically, reverse when 

they hit obstacles, lethal to touch. 

GLOBS: move similarly to jump 

bugs, lethal. 

SPUDNIKS: little wriggling 

potatoes, follow patterns, lethal. 

BOUNCING BABY BILLIARD 

BALLS: appear singly (may not 

be lethal) or in lethal hordes generated 

by BLOPPERS and sucked 

up again by ANTI-BLOPPERS. 

NIPPLE OF DEATH: pulsating 

spike, lethal. 

BLINKING BONKERS: regularly 

appearing and disappearing 

force walls, lethal. 

KILLWALLS: non-moving obstructions 

which are still lethal. 

upwards from solid ground, but 

as soon as you release the firebutton 

you drift back down 

again — your propellor can't be 

restarted in mid-air. The only 

way you can reverse a downward 

drift is by using a 'retroboost' 

jet, but you are limited to 

just one of these per room (unless 

you find a 'blast mat' which 

gives you another). This adds 

greatly to the difficulty of dodging 

the various enemies. 

Your nurd initially appears in a 

'synthetic wafer-aided ectoplasmic 

sludge bubble', but 

after that he's in constant 

danger. There are lots of glowing 

obstacles that, if touched, 

will cause his head to fly away 

(under 'auxiliary nurd power 

supply'!) or he may starve if you 

don't get him to food in time. 

You can have up to four different 

nurds with three lives each, 

an extra one being awarded 

after each completed room. The 

fifth level is filled with the Ultimate 

Feasts but it's incredibly 

tough even before then. 

There's a monotonous tune 

that plays during the game with 

the occasional nice sound effect. 

The graphics are mostly plain 

although the monsters and 

obstacles are detailed. 

BW 

when I started playing 

I realised it was just a 

straightforward 

pattern game / found 

tough {with all those 

rooms to solve, it 

would take a very long 

time to finish) but the 

humour is the best 

not really conta 

enough gamep, 

keep us tough B 

gamers interest 

very long. Plen 

explore, outsuf 

from PS: patt 

syndrome. 0> 

learnt you car 

through the san 

screens in the i 

- 

oldway. 

PRESENTATION . 

Q 4 A/ A hilarious instruction 

Q 

booklet all about the nurds. 

| 'fQ 

#58ft A 

p Q q 

QQ 

SOUND 

Simple layouts with some 

good enemies and death 

routine. 

H 1- H P- 

Simple bangs, bumps, 

afraid any ream 

love for this game 

doesn't go much 

further than the 

excellent and 

humourous scenario 

and instructions 

supplied V.nipple of 

death '— l ask you.) f 

found it became a 

touch frustrating and j 

boring after a white, 

due to having to 

repeat the same 

patterns again and 

again every play. 

However the playingM 

area is certainly very 

large, and there are 

some good touches - 

especially the sick bit 

JORIGINALITY 

I 

fy sy q / 

A O Q 

0 0/ 

/q crashes and walking noise. 

VAUJEFORMONEY 

^ r- q/ 

nO /n up to the instructions, but 

'J** /V it’s tough. 

. 

Disappointingly doesn 't live 

Some interesting enemies 

and obstacles with cute 

character. 

Most ofthe screens are very 

samey and won’t get you 

wildly thrilled. 

Aota call ITY 

There are 50 multi-screen 

/ y^/rx rooms and they get 

" ^ irinrerlihlv incredibly HiffinnIt difficult ft 

to manage. 

do. Shoot the ships which 

trundle back and forth across the 

screen, and blast the planes. 

Boring huh? OK, so the game's 

far from easy with your sub usually 

being sunk very quickly, but 

it is so dull with only the two 

screens both containing 

basically 

the same action. 

JR 

but the 

screens d 

m°tZ OVeranddr ° 

°Psa 

move depth across charge 

the while sc 


- 

J 

New 

ONAH BARRINGTON* 

QUASH 

Generation, £7.95 cess, joystick or keys * * ' 

OSports simulation with speech 

T 

ennis has moved from the 

early days of Pong to the 

realism of Matchpoint and 

On-Court Tennis and now 

squash has done the same. 

The game gives you the view a 

spectator would have from behind 

and above the court where 

the two players are. You can 

play against the computer or 

another player or even put the 

game into demo. 

The players are animated 

s 

^ftfrcn 

f enjoyed this new 

sports simulation and 

once (got the hang of 

the timing andgetting 

Mission or 

players, my only 

Jonah 

match. Prep ares forth 

movement 

sfart of the 

quite well with even the sweaty 

creases in the shirts moving 

around. However they don't run 

too convincingly and don't respond 

to diagonals on the joystick. 

The ball can be put on one of 

four speeds with red being t£ie 

easiest. At this speed the computer 

gives a good game while 

on a yellow fast ball it is incredibly 

mean. 

You hit the ball just by pressing 

fire and if you're close 

enough to it, it is automatically 

hit. The timing of the stroke can 

determine the speed and angle 

of the ball, there being six angles 

possible. 

All the usual rules of squash 

apply with obstructions and 

outs. You can play one, three or 

five game matches with the winner 

of each having to reach nine 

points. 

The score is constantly called 

by Jonah Barrington and the 

quality of the speech is pretty 

A 

J 

% 

The 

grating after a while 

and your man falling 

he was hit by a squash 

bail was annoying. 

Control was rather 

but nevertheless this 

is bound to appeal to 

mamj realistic bail 

movementgave me 

some initiafinterest. 

truly controlling the 

shots {especially 

when going for a ball 

morning from the left - 

the racquet stays to 

the right!I This made 

Squali an unrealistic 

and annoying 

wariety. 

% 

good too, although it does 

sound a little muffled. Just like 

he's speaking through a pane of 

glass, which he is of course. 

There isn't much colour with 

the players wearing white and 

yellow but the ball is black and 

big enough to see easily. 

BW 

fr**Hfc5>8SSilSS»f%i 1 8 If-ilM I jf 

“7 Q 

J Q /q 

Q J 

You're told all the rules of 

squash and the speech is 

nnnti 

fy 4 A/ Reasonable animation but 

there's not much else on a 

yQ 

64% 

I 

"7A O/ 

I 0 /q 

squash court. 

Good speech but little else. 

ICS HiMB m mmmwk. ip>%# 

^ good simulation that is 

very playable. 

tT f\ O / 

/q 

ûr USL/el cop-out sports 

simulation rating 

"7 Q/ The computer is a gooc 

/ I y/\ starting opponent and 

" 1 • control is easily learnt. 

"7 A Q 

/ The computer skill level 

/ II /r\ gets really tough and two 

' w 

players is fun.

I 

Trouble In Store for Herbert 

Spectrum 48K £9.95 

i 

Commodore 64 £9.95 

Amstrad CPC 464 £9.95 44 The Broadway, Bracknell, Berks. 0344 427317

I 

i 

I 

I 

i 

Large pipe marks exit to 

room above 

Your man in 

his jet-bike < 

Conveyor 

ir 

Swarf— 

shoot or avoid 

Careful timing 

required to 

pass this crusher 

Oxygen 

supply healthy 

T 

Just two objects in your 

pocket 

he first space-age aardvark 

hits the 64 with this 

250 (25x10) screen epic. A 

long forgotten robot-controlled 

factory situated on the edge of a 

solar system sets the scene. 

The factory has worked away 

automatically for a hundred 

years, the robots harmlessly 

carrying out their menial tasks 

until now. A powerful alien 

Indicates direction of 

control room 

mode allows 

? your position 

force, possibly jealous of Earth's 

riches, has invaded the factory 

and reprogrammed the robots 

so they can destroy our planet. 

Your job is to enter this hostile 

environment and discover the 

Control Centre where you can 

disable all the automatons. In a 

climate suited to robots you 

have to fight your way through 

zero gravity, diverse temperatures, 

floating swarf and through 

the many weird and wonderful 

screens to achieve this. 

Armed with only a space suit 

and a laser you have a formidable 

task ahead of you. There is a 

jet cycle for you to use once you 

have found and collected it. Collect 

it, did I say? Well, the robot 

guarding it isn't going to give it 

up easily, not without a few bullets 

being bounced about, anyway. 

Once you have got the jet 

cycle your mission can really 

begin. Don't spend too much 

time admiring the view, get to a 

pipe and move up or down it (if it 

isn't blocked off). 

At the bottom right of the 

screen there is a scanner/map. 

This shows the adjacent two 

rooms in each direction, a total 

of 25. It doesn't reveal what is in 

the rooms but you can clearly 

see the entrances and exits to 

them, so you are able to plan 

your moves ahead. The map will 

flash a room red if a dangerous 

'megaswarf' is residing within 

and yellow for the control room. 

There are other colours too, but 

you have to work these out for 

yourself. 

The pipes which link the various 

rooms are zero gravity lifts 

forming a large and complex 

system and allowing extensive 

An instant cult classic. Brilliant atmospheric backdrops, plenty of 

action and lots to get your grey matter clanking back into action. 

The sound was slightly disappointing but the music on the title 

screen complements the game perfectly. A huge playing area will 

keep the cartographers happy for a long time, and mapping is 

pretty much an essential part of playing the game. I loved this 

game and although rather obscure at times, should gather a cult 

following. 

A map of the nearest 25 

rooms, with yours in the 

centre. 

exploration and access to most 

rooms. If there are no pipes then 

there are usually doors either in 

the left or right hand walls which 

allow you to enter the adjacent 

rooms. 

On your travels through the 

factory you will see much old 

and abandoned machinery, 

some of which may still be working. 

There are CRUSHERS which 

clang up and down and will 

flatten you if you're careless 

Underneath the main screen 

there is a box containing your 

status report. This is what it 

shows. 

SUIT STATUS: This shows you 

how many leaks you have in your 

suit. The more leaks you have, 

the faster you will lose oxygen. 

Your oxygen is represented by a 

bar above the status box. Let it 

diminish to zero and you're dead 

eat. There are canisters of oxyjn 

which you can pick up when 

)ur air is low. 

\TCH STATUS: Shows how 

any you're carrying. Patches 

e vital to stop you losing oxyn. 

If you have no patches you 

illjose oxygen. You can pick up 

enough to stray under their 

mashers. Odd revolving 

SCOOPS grind away into the 

night and CONVEYOR BELTS, 

harmless but progress-slowing, 

trundle along their infinite 

paths. COMPUTERS too tick 

away the long hours to themselves, 

but most are purely a 

decorative part of the landscape 

There are also rooms containing 

large machines which al- 

patch packages which contain 40 

patches. This will prolong your 

life. One word of warning - if you 

are already carrying between 80 

and 90 patches don't pick up any 

more. You can only carry 99 

patches so if you picked up an 

extra package, most would be 

wasted. 

CHARGE STATUS: This determines 

your laser power. Let it get 

to zero and you won't be able to 

fire. You can pick up extra 

charges but again, no more than 

99. 

POCKET STATUS: This tells you 

what is in your pocket. See main 

review for more details.

. 

1 

was 

f T T 

Despite its slightly dated feel I still enjoyed the exploring and 

blasting of this aardvark. It certainly matches the complexity and 

size of other recent games and provides plenty of challenge. I also 

enjoyed some of the funny and weird touches, except for Marvin 

who depressed me no-end. 

Massive S5Q screen robot factory to explore 

Devious puzzles, classy graphics, long challenge 

though standing static may have 

mysterious purposes later on in 

the game. Large ELECTRICITY 

GENERATORS, a NUCLEAR 

REACTOR and its ENTRANCE 

ROOM are just a few of the highly 

deadly locations. 

Some rooms contain odd 

robots which have escaped the 

ravishings of the aliens and are 

still friendly, and these will help 

you solve the game. 

As you wanderaround thefactory 

you might see an object 

lying around. Move over it and 

you'll automatically pick it up 

and it will fall into your pocket. 

This pocket is represented by a 

box on screen. It shows what 

you have picked up. If you'd like 

to examine the object more 

closely, press space-bar and a 

cursor will appear in the box. 

Move the cursor over the object 

and press fire. You will get a 

read-out telling you what the 

object actually is. 

These objects have to be used 

to so've puzzles throughout the 

game, and the only way to complete 

this game is to use all the 

objects. At first you will only find 

a few objects. But give one of 

these to the correct friendly 

robot and he will give you 

another object. Use this to solve 

another puzzle and you will gain 

yet another piece! Eventually 

after solving many puzzles you 

will, hopefully, be able to gain 

access to the Control Centre and 

then disable the robots. 

When you start the game you 

are given eight lives. You can't 

earn any extra lives but there are 

supplies littered around the 

factory which you can pick up to 

prolong your current life. 

The main cause of death for 

your man is suffocation. 

Throughout the factory there are 

thousands of pieces of razor 

sharp SWARF floating around 

randomly. You have to shoot 

this flying debris: if you touch it 

it will make a leak in your space 

suit. This will be indicated on 

screen. If you are carring some 

patches the puncture will be 

automatically fixed. When you 

run out of patches, though, you 

will start to lose oxygen. 

The more punctures you have 

(up to a lethal maximum of 99) 

the faster you will lose oxygen. 

The faster you lose oxygen the 

less time your man will live, so 

blast that swarf! Occasionally 

you will come across a MEGA- 

SWARF. This giant swarf will 

chase you at high speeds and 

give your spacesuit more holes 

than a sieve. 

If you want to map the game, 

the space bar will pause the action 

and tell you the location 

you're in. It does this by referring 

to the factory layout which 

is 

a 10x25 screen complex. The 

programmers have marked the 

top 0 to 9 and down the side A to 

Y. You can then work out your 

position in the factory: eg M2 

(where you start) is in the bottom 

left hand region of the 

factory. 

Big and boring, I first thought. How wrong I - perseverance 

proved rewarding as I found Strangeloop was big, but certainly 

not so dull. Despite weak sound and little help on the instruction 

side (which didn't make it easy to get into the game), / found the 

excellent graphics and puzzles made it an enjoyable and atmospheric 

aardvark to play. 

When you first start a game you'll wander around for a while and 

then start thinking: what the heck am I supposed to do? A few 

clues... 

Once you have got yOur jet cycle, U6 will give you some 

pleasure. An unhappy robot would like some too. 

A vendromat machine at the bottom of the factory needs some 

cash and tuppence backwards will get you five credits. 

A cassette of Sorcery is for . 

. you'll have to decide. 

Woah, those pickpockets will swipe your stuff so don't go near 

them. 

Eye shields and welding gear reside in the same floor. Find one 

and zoom along the row to find another. 

Listen into C7 . . . there's clues abounding inthere, but nearby 

is Dr Psycho. Onlygothere when you want to hand in your cards. 

One word of warning. Don't venture into the room, that sounds 

like a dog otherwise you'll take a trip to the stars. 

69% 

GRAPHICS 

QQ Q 

qq I 

Unhelpful instructions but a 

nice demo. 

Wonderfully detailed 

/r\ screens with some great 

characters. 

HOOKABIUTY 

Once you start cracking 

/ CL /a problems you can’t stop 

playing. 

LASTABILITY 

,w°riceth* 

indent Pane '*x 

Same weak beeping as on 

the Speccy and a very quiet 

44% title tune. 

VALUE 

MONEY 

One of the best aardvarks 

around, providing lots of 

complexity. 

This is a real toughie. 250 

screens, wicked puzzles. 


I 

-I 

] 

i 

. 

? 

'* 

• ' •. 

« 

''CVHOM 

KLMk 

The humourous 

nature of the game 

gives it instant appeal 

and addictive 

qualities. It's a touch 

repetitive, I'll admit 

but it's still enjoyable 

to play and some 

immense scores can 

be achieved rapidly. 

£2.50 seems a meagre 

sum to pay for a game 

of such class. 

Great fun is this. What 

goes on behind the 

door with the heart 

will not be mentioned 

(there are minors 

reading) but your 

guess is as good as 

mine! Great graphics, 

tune and gamep/ay 

make it a real winner. 

AND it's only £2.50. 

car ryin g the 

a v ‘cioUs wb 

CHICKIN C 

Firebird. £2.50 case, joystick or keys 

A little French number to make Buzby blush 

T 

his is a slightly risque, but 

fun, addition to Firebird's 

growing silver range — 

they bought it from the French 

and it shows. 

Essentially there is only one 

screen although, as you will see, 

there is some important offscreen 

action. The screen is the 

inside of a hen-house, complete 

with nests, grain and door to the 

hen's 'boudoir'. 

You control a cockerel and 

must do all the things that cockerels 

like to do: eat grain, peck at 

rats and worms, and um, well . . 

take part in the aforementioned 

off-screen action which you instigate 

by moving through the 

door to the boudoir after 

Madame hen. 

While in there a jolly tune 

plays, and red hearts appear on 

screen — up to a total of ten if 

you wait long enough! Mon ami, 

what can zis mean? Then the 

cockerel staggers out (yes, literally) 

and must eatthe grain lying 

around. This will give him 

further vigour and speed for 

chasing off nasties and, er, 

doing other things. 

Meanwhile Madame lays her 

eggs in the nests atthe top of the 

screen (there are ten nests in all). 

These must be allowed to hatch 

and need to be protected from 

the various predators that roam 

the vicinity. Snakes, rats, hedgehogs, 

stoats and racoons are all 

after your pride and joy. 

The snakes are the fastest of 

the group and are a real pain. All 

of these nasties can be driven off 

with a swift peck, but increase in 

number and speed as your score 

rises. 

If all ten nests should become 

empty — through either all the 

eggs hatching or being stolen — 

then Madame won't be too 

amused and will let the cockerel 

have it with her rolling pin. 

Occasionally a worm makes 

an appearance from below 

ground, and a hefty bonus is 

awarded if it's caught before disappearing. 

Wonderfully 

irreverent sense of 

humour from our best 

of enemies across the 

channel. / don't think 

it's got a great deal of 

lastabi/ity since in the 

end the action doesn't 

change that much, but 

it's fun and funny and 

worth buying. 

PRESENTATION 

71 % 

GRAPHICS 

0 0/ 

SOUND 

These French people write 

hilarious instructions! 

Good animation on all 

characters but what goes on 

behind the door 

The graphical representation 

of the inside of a hen-house is 

very good. The sprites too, are 

good and although large and a 

little blocky, effective. Another 

high point is the great title 

screen picture of a winking cockerel. 

The sound effects and 

tunes are as good as the graphics 

and are put to good use 

throughout the game. 

Oh, and I mustn't forget the 

game instructions which brilliantly 

and humourously reflect 

the game's French origins. Ooh 

la la. Ees magnifique! 

GP 

ORIGINALITY 

Or 0/ 

Cute little 

pO Q/ 

sound effects all ^ Q 

/q round and a tune. 


/ Great impact 

0 

and excellent 

high scoring potential. 

Q / some really whacko 

gameplay. 

HOOKABILITY 

Wonderful scenario with 

0/10/ Marvellous humour h and 

great action! 

LASTABILITY 

Q / / 

/ Gets hard as the animals 

flood in but a trifle 

monotonous. 


Includes Hit Single on reverse “Everyone’s A Wally” performed by Mike Berry 

Spectrum 48K £9.95 

Commodore 64 £9.95 

Amstrad CPC 464 £9.95 44 The Broadway, Bracknell, Berks. 0344 427317

COMP 

Win a Virgin games bundle! 

Match the pictures and you could pick up five titles , a T-shirt and a 

calculator 

Here's an opportunity to get a nice fat bundle of software through your front door, 

because we're giving away FIVE big 64 titles from Virgin to no less than 20 people. 

Each winner will receive a parcel containing the company's latest releases: 

STRANGELOOP, GHETTO BLASTER, GATES OF DAWN, FALCON PATROL II and 

SORCERY. And in addition, the first five winners will get a Virgin T-shirt and 

calculator. 

Entering, as usual, is a piece of cake. Just look at the five labelled pictures (A-D). 

Each of these is taken from part of the cassette inlay of one of the games (numbered 

1 to 5). Your task is simply to match the picture with the game. 

When you've matched all four, write down the letters in the right order on the 

back of a postcard or stuck down envelope and send it to us, making sure to include 

your name, address and T-shirt size. For example if you think Sorcery is picture B, 

Strangeloop A, Gates of Dawn C, Falcon Patrol II D, and Ghetto Blaster E, write: 

B,A,C,D,E 

Send your entry to: Virgin Competition , Zzap! 64, 1 Church Terrace, 

Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1HX. (You can include this entry with other mail or 

competition entries, provided it is on a separate card or envelope, and is marked 

with your name and address.) 

All entries must reach us before July 15th, when we will draw out the winners 

from the correct entries. Only one entry per household is allowed. 

The games to match 

1. SORCERY. Colourful, multiscreen 

arcade-adventure in 

which you control a flying witch 

and must crack some very 

tricky, energy-sapping puzzles. 

Tips and a map in this issue. 

2. STRANGELOOP. A great sizzler 

of a game reviewed in this 

issue. Explore over 250 screens 

of robot factory, shooting 

enemies and trying to solve the 

puzzles which will give you 

access to the central control 

room. 

3. GATES OF DAWN. Also an 

exploration game, and a very 

unusual one at that. 3D action, 

plenty of locations — but what 

are all those mushrooms doing? 

4. FALCON PATROL II. Great, 

blasting action as you fly over a 

scrolling desert landscape destroying 

enemy aircraft. A 64 

classic, firmly established in our 

top 64. 

5. GHETTO BLASTER. A great, 

funky title from the authors of 

the Taskset classic Jammin'. 

Rockin' Rodney has to collect 

music tapes, and each comes 

with its own foot-tapping tune. 

See our review. 


Garv has tw° 

and will definitely rais* i 

sevens and threes 

Understanding 

your opponents 

Each person in this game has 

certain characteristics, which you 

can discover by carefully watching 

the comments printed on 

screen as each makes his move. 

For example, you'll notice that 

Doc Holliday winks a lot at Moll 

the barmaid when he thinks he's 

got a rotten hand and is trying to 

bluff his way out. 

On the other hand Matt Dillon is 

consistently good and does all 

sorts of things to fool you. 

Once you get the swing of the 

game you can have a really mean 

game of poker and bust the players 

of all their money which is 

S 

moke-filled saloon with six 

dubious characters looking 

slyly at each other and 

you're all alone in this hostile 

environment. Life is as cheap as 

a game of cards and perhaps 

you'll be shot. There's nobody to 

help you and nowhere to run to. 

That's the atmosphere generated 

by this program which offers 

all the features of real-life 

poker, the game in which you 

have to try to obtain certain 

combinations of cards, and then 

make a bet according to how 

good you think your hand is. 

There are six characters who 

challenge you and try to take 

your money. You start with 

$1000 and unless you're as careful 

as they are you'll soon find 

your money disappearing. 

As in real poker everyone 

takes turns to deal and five cards 

are dealt to each player. You can 

then view your five cards and 

sort the hand out. Initial bets are 

made and everyone decides in 

turn whether to stay in, raise the 

pot or throw out their hand. 

Once the preliminary round 

MRBSHMIiiViiHI? 

has taken place the real fun 

starts. Perhaps you're taking a 

risk on a low hand, but who else 

is to know? Bluffing like this 

works sometimes, but don't try 

it too often. If you want, and 

when everyone is ready, you can 

discard up to three cards to try to 

improve your hand. 

Keep an eye on what the 

others are doing too. If someone 

doesn't discard anything it usually 

means he's got a pretty 

good hand. But be warned, 

some of the computer players 

will also bluff. 

/? Vi Q/ In game 

#— 

instructions 

*§ (\ / 

/Q ^ 

and good screen layout. 

isles ACkuir'cs 

nomifUAi itv 

Poker has been done 

before but not with 

six opponents. 

HOOKABIUTY 

O /-n / Nice cards but little 

/y 

25 /o a 0/ 

Money, money and 

Q e,se J /q more money! 

am nun 

LASTABIUTY 

4 Dea * noise r~0/ 

and o “70 Lots of cash to 

/ 

/ ^ /Q occasional gunshot. h) / y /r\ play with and great 

^ * r 

jf yOU pfe cards. 

i 

ic n-mm awienitiev 

The round continues with 

each player either raising the 

stakes (by 8 dollars a time), 

throwing in their hand or asking 

to see the others' hands (and 

matching the current stake). 

This is where you find out who 

really has guts. 

When no one wants to raise 

any higher, all the hands still in 

the game are revealed and the 

highest combination takes the 

pot. 

JR 

Howdy yawl! Ijust 

mosey'd on down ta 

tell ya what l thought 

about that there Poker 

program. Well one 

things fer sure those 

cowboys play a mean 

hand of five card stud 

andI'm sure oV Mollis 

cheatin ' arid tellin ' 'em 

what I've got In fact if 

things git much worse 

I'm a gonna have ta 

start playin' Strip 

Poker cos tt s easier ta 

beat and the 

opposition' samifiM 

CAN YOU WAIT? 

Oo /o 

/"* 

00/ 

Perfect for those with a reckless gambling streak. 

WW6UN6 is 

6ftP 

Ufcfc lotto uoor'

I 

to 

kVIIIIII fvl M m B mJm m m f f | VU 

liUr vMUw 

into your o4 

levels spiral in from the edges. 

Blast them alt to progress to a 

higher wave, each wave getting 

more and more difficult. After 

%r U I f Cmm %#UW Cr 

The trouble with arcades is there's a limit to how many lOp pieces you can keep 

pushing down those greedy machines' throats. Owning a 64 can put paid to such 

problems. There are a stack of excellent arcade clones available on the 64, the 

cream of which are detailed on these pages by arcade fanatic JULIAN RIGNALL. 

Although JR can recommend any of these titles, he's also rated them on their 

graphics, sound and on how well they resemble their arcade 'big brothers'. 

Anirog, £7.95 cass, one or two 

joysticks 

This superb clone of Robotron 

2084 has all the features and excitement 

of the Williams original. 

You are the Cybotron, a mutant 

human, in the not-too-distant future. 

Robots have taken over the 

earth and are hunting down the 

last remains of the human race, 

it's up to you to save them all, 

while blasting the robots to kingdom 

come. 

When you start you are presented 

with a screen filled with 

robots, your Cybotron, and two 

humans wandering about. Pick 

up the humans by running over 

them and bfast the robots, while 

avoiding the obstacles littered 

around the screen. 

You control the game using 

either one or two joysticks. Two 

gives true arcade feel — one is 

one 

tron fire in the direction 

bonus points. 

uveraii, *ik© tuc 

the sound and 

sometbftig to be 

quite adequate. T 

smooth and tie a 

:s leave 

I,. but are 

GUARDIAN 

Alligata. £7.95 cass, joystick and 

keys 

One of the best known and most 

perplexing arcade games, Williams' 

Defender, is cloned in what 

must be the best version on any 

micro. 

Guardian puts you on a barren 

two-way scrolling landscape. You 

have to protect eight humanoids 

from the six marauding weird and 

aggressive aliens. Using the 

scanner, a miniature radar scan of 

the planet, seek and destroy the 

hostiles. If you're careless 

enough to let all your humanoids 

be stolen then your planet explodes 

leaving you in hyperspace 

battle it out with all the aliens 

and the very dangerous mutants. 

The graphics and sound are 

totally faithful to the original 

machine, down to the last pixel. It 

even contains some of the bugs! 

You should only play with keys— 

this gives incredibly realistic 

'arcade feel'— even if the novices 

say that it's better to play with a 

joystick! 

Rignall ratings 

if!* ^**70 G/ 

UidpUIvo f /O 

4 * 10/ na / /q 

Arcade feel 96% 

Accuracy 98% 

JR highscore: 795,000 

The high score table is 

t, with the facility of stortop 

scorers, just like the 

The sound, too, is similar 

TWc IlilO rtflcclr bluOolv/ ulUvU sjhAit UApv* oynonciv/P toiVC w* arc- w 

ade conversion, is a superb implementation 

of the video game enemy aircraft, 

erent stages. Y< 

enrvup 

Anirog, £6.95 cass, joystick and 

keys 

The cute game Pengo has quite a 

few conversions available for the 

64. This version from Anirog is 

the best by far, and is copied 

down to the minutest detail. 

Fetch puts you in the snowshoes 

of a penguin who is having 

the misfortune of being chased 

around an ice cube filled playing 

area. You can shunt the cubes 

around and sling them at the pursuing 

Snow Bees, squashing 

them with a satisfying 'squelch'. 

There are also three magic 

cubes on the playing area: push 

these together in a line for a 5,000 

or 10,000 point bonus. A bonus is 

awarded for speedy disposal of 

the baddies and in between 

screens while your time bonus is 

calculated a set of penguins will 

do a little dance for you. 

Sound and graphics are identical 

to the arcade original, even if 

they are slightly slower. A nice 

tune, Popcorn, plays throughout 

the game and doesn't become 

annoying. 

Graphics 69% 

Sound 65% 


Accuracy 93% 

you have to shoot 



''' 

•• 

’ 

£ 

j 

' 

. , 

: 

I 

• 

< 

. 

>$•>* f . 

. 

a few years ago wiil re 

Phoenix. This ex< 

THLON 

£9.99 cass, £19.99 

>ystick only 

gh no true arcade Track 

id exists for the 64, there 

ie derivatives of this game 

n a way improve upon the 

I 

theme. 

ision's Decathlon is 

y the one most like the 

I arcade game. This is defa 

'raw power' game — the 

e is on the speed you move 

stick left and right. The 

..jw.Wsport 

This is not 

->U do the better you will 

the 10 decathlon events, 

h some of the throwing 

IR.,- , _ nping events also require 

timing skills.. 

graphics and sound are 

ty far better than on Daley 

npson's Decathlon, although 

not as good as the more expensive 

versions from Epyx and 

Hesware. 

in 

Rignail ratings 

78% 

72% 

feel 83% 

Accuracy N/A 

Accuracy 93% 

JR lowscore: 111,000 


siili*! 

1' 

' , > 

. 

ui 

the graphics aren't too hot In fact 

but the tune is great. A variety of 

skill levels make up for the 

graphics. 

Rignail ratings 

Graphics 61% 

Sound 70% 


Accuracy 73% 

'?/; i X 

8 / f ' 

/ '% ty '/< ' ' ' " y / /{ 


' Sy'"'Q'' » £ 'Sr 

The graphics are superb, and 

there's a fantastic mission briefing 

session. Sound is disappointing: 

just a few bleeps and bloops 

and an ear-wrenching noise 

when you are being transported 

to another sector. 

Sound 31% A 

Arcade fee! 84% 

Accuracy 87% 

< t ' y v ^ ' £> 'S' -Xs f s S; 


CAN YOU WAIT? 

kVi 

IT J 


I 

— 

A complete monthly guide by the infamous White Wizarioi 

hat better place to start than with Castle Blackstar, 

one of the greatest adventures ever to 

grace the humble Spectrum and now at last on 

the 64? Using an Infocom-style screen layout, 

scoring and move counter, this classic textonly 

adventure has you roving about the 

'fantastic' Middle Ages. 

I record my early disastrous experiences: 

After waking from my troubled dreams and being told by a 

pretty lady that I should go out and find a certain orb for her, I 

find myself in a dry valley near to a castle. Alas I am also near 

1,n9S 

idvlnw^' 

3TS< 

n0t d i^tcentt\c 

and 

usual e^l' ugh, U 

5*-«r2 

to a large forest and spend many moves blundering round it. I 

have no objects to drop and mark my way, having lost them 

all as (I blush) a penalty for uttering oaths. (This latter is an 

excellent touch, but programmers really should try to discriminate 

between foul-mouthed ores who deserve every 

punishment they get, and those such as I who let slip only the 

very occasional improper remark.) 

After giving up all hope of escape I accidentally take a 

wrong turning and stumble upon a gingerbread cottage. My 

joy is turned to sorrow a few minutes later when I am turned 

by a witch into a small, pink, wriggling worm ! Great goblins 

alive, I am not used to being treated like this! But luckily, after 

being eaten by a bird, a goddess, bless her soul, takes pity on 

me and restores me back to my wise and wonderful self. 

go to the castle only to find that the woodland has 

Back I 

grown over my previous route and I am back to square one, 

lost! Never mind, I relish a challenge. I am pleased to report 

that after a few games I have been able to enter the castle and 

really get going. 

Castle B/ackstar has many interesting locations—there are 

plenty outside the castle as well as within. Indeed in many 

ways it is up to the standard of most disk-based adventures 

both as complex and absorbing. The vocabulary is very good 

with plenty of opportunity to use more than just two-word 

inputs. There's also a good line in responses providing 

variation and interest. Not to mention plenty of sarcastic 

comments which crop up unexpectedly and are quite 

amusing. 

One annoying feature is that it appears impossible to 

restore the game to the start position without actually 

reloading. The White Wizard believes this shows inadequate 

allowance for human failure, especially in an adventure as 

difficult as this. 

But despite this quirk, Castle B/ackstar is a really great 

cassette adventure that should become a classic. I'm 

expecting my mailbag to expand by a few more inches 

because of it. 

CASTLE BLACKSTAR 

CDS, £6.95 cass 

^ 

Atmosphere 

Interaction 

Lasting Interest 

Value for Money 

72% 

79% 

82% 

81% 


isstiesflNp He's

izardfor all 64 owners who prefer games involving typed commands rather than wiggled joysticks. 

ext a look at this month's disk-based 

adventures. I feel I can begin by saying that 

there's now absolutely no excuse not to buy a 

disk drive, other than complete, abject 

poverty. 

Let me explain. I have just spent the last 

seven days in the very back of my cave, 

isolated from the rest of the world, doing 

nothing otherthan to play the latest release from the wonder 

programmers at Infocom, Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

My verdict? Absolutely WIZARD! 

I feel I have no choice but to tell you about it at length, even 

though it is vastly expensive and not yet widely available in 

these isles. My hope is that someone will soon rectify this 

situation. 

Like the other Infocom games. Hitch Hiker's has no 

graphics. Yet it must rate as perhaps the most witty and 

ingenious, adventure ever. For a start it includes one of the 

largest vocabularies yet seen by me. Indeed its handling of 

words is so convincing you often feel you are engaged in 

genuine conversation with it. The most improbable entries 

you can come up with are often greeted with appropriate and 

sometimes hilarious responses. Type 'Kiss Ford' and it 

responds This is a family entertainment, not a video nasty.' 

Type a command afteryou've died, and it responds 'You keep 

out of this, you're dead.' 

The descriptions of the locations and of events which take 

place are also brilliantly witty and perfectly capture the feel of 

the book on which the game is based. 

Another great feature is the Hitch Hiker's Guide itself 

which, once found, can be used obtain useful or at least 

humourous information on almost any of the large number 

of objects and characters mentioned in the game. Even on the 

rare occasions when it has nothing to offer it comes up with a 

suitable response such as 'That section of data was 

destroyed during an office party last night.' 

As is the case with all Infocom adventures the packaging of 

Hitch Hikers is absolutely superb. Included in its price, 

amongst other things, are peril-sensitive sunglasses and 

pocket fluff( !). 

You start the adventure playing the role of Arthur Dent who 

wakes up on the worst day of his life with a tremendous 

hangover, a condition the White Wizard is not unfamiliar with 

after a heavy night on the Pipistrelle '56. 

An aspirin, and a few more moments of exploration later 

and you discover that you are in the same situation as in the 

start of the Douglas Adams book— a bulldozer is about to 

knock down your house, and, more importantly, a fleet of 

Vogon ships are about to destroy the earth to clear the way 

for an interplanetary highway. 

Early problems include howto avoid being killed by a flying 

brick as your home is crushed, and how to escape the earth's 

destruction with your friend Ford Prefect. 

A basic knowledge of the book is helpful at this early stage, 

but before long the adventure takes some highly original 

turns and offers a series of difficult and brilliantly conceived 

puzzles. 

One of the best involves trying to secure a Babel fish from a 

dispenser in the hold of one of the Vogon craft. You won't 

believe the deviousness of it. / don't believe the deviousness 

of it. 

Later still, by discovering and activating an improbability 

drive, you even find yourself taking on the roles of other 

characters in the game in completely different time periods, 

and encountering such beings as the Bugblatter beast of 

Traal which is so stupid it thinks that if you can't see it, it can't 

see you. 

Needless to say the number of locations is vast, and the 

game also features a useful scoring system, which often 

gives clues as to whether you've made a giant step forward or 

a massive blunder. 

I 

did not look too becoming in the peril-sensitive 

sunglasses, which are supposed to protect your eyes from 

any sort of horror by turning completely opaque at the first 

sign of danger . . . not the sort of thing a keen and fearless 

adventurer like me should wear. Mind you, throughout the 

game you could well do with a pair of these zany specs. 


With this game's humour, size and attention to detail, it can 

be only said that it is destined to become one of the all-time 

classics. All I wish is that someone would get a move-on and 

start importing it pronto, preferably at a slightly lower price! 

r 

HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE 

TO THE UNIVERSE 

Infocom, £30 plus, import only 

Atmosphere 97% 

Interaction 96% 

Lasting interest 95% 

Value for money 74% 

ilsoft's adventure generator The Quill is both 

the bane and the bounty of adventurers, allowing 

many more people to create them but 

unfortunately also allowing the odd tacky 

adventure to be released. 

The Helm isn't one of them. It's an example 

of a really well put together game providing 

lots of humour and plenty of depth. Your quest 

is for the Helm of Immortality and it starts in the surroundings, 

most unbecoming for this wizard, of a primitive hut. 

The major feature of the game is that it's full of really cute 

responses which alternately inflated and deflated my ego. 

When waiting for input the computer addressed me as a 

'sylph-like cosmic being', 'your absolute brillianceness' and it 

even said 'I patiently and eagerly await your next wondrous 

command, O all intelligent one.' 

Now this is my sort of computer: obedient, grovelling and 

slave-like. My beard drooped somewhat however when 

asking for help or inputting words not in the vocab list. Both 

are met by unhelpful, if not damned impertinent replies that 

nearly made me choke on a bat wing. 

The humour, good as it was, risked being repetitive but I 

found I just ignored the useless bits of text after a while. The 

actual location descriptions are usually quite good with 

coloured text but no graphics. 

The game is limited to the old-fashioned two-word 

inputting — you have to use simple phrases like 'Tie rope' 

and you're just lucky if you've got the right object to tie it to. 

The puzzles that have to be solved include some codebreaking 

and a rather obscure discovery concerning a thick 

fishing line. 

When the program can't act on an input it has two types of 

response. One is where at least one word appears in its vocab 

list, and the other is where no words are recognised (and you 

get cheekily ticked off for not using the Queen's English). 

It obviously doesn't match the more expensive disk-based 

games but for £2.50 1 think it deserves a place in any 

adventurer's collection, particularly if you enjoy a really 

sycophantic computer doing your bidding. 


THE HELM 

Firebird, 

£2.50 cass 



Lasting interest 60% 

Value for money 73% 

his is the companion adventure to the highly 

amusing Helm, but although it too is written 

using The Quill, and has the same low price, it 

isn't such good value. The game is set on a 

submarine and features graphics and sound, 

although both are on the poor side. It isn't the 

sort of adventure that will appeal to those 

hardened and cynical adventurers who tackle 

such delights as the Infocom series. However it might well 

suit the younger apprentice wizards, as limited interaction 

and locations make it quite a simple game. 

You take the role of Ed Lines (you're a journalist if you 

couldn't guess) and you're writing about life aboard a 

modern submarine. Suddenly (there's always a suddenly) 

you're attacked, and before you can submerge, the enemy 

take the whole crew. Luckily you've hidden and have 

remained undiscovered. Great, until you find thatthe sub has 

been sunk. Find the telex room to send a message and you'll 

be rescued . . . otherwise a watery grave awaits. 

The game features graphics, if you can call them graphics. 

They're very poor indeed, created from the inbuilt 

Commodore graphic set. They don't add to the game 

iiMh s d Mm 

whatsoever. What is more, there is no separate text window - 

the graphics scroll upwards with the messages. 

There are sounds too. These, like the graphics, are horrible. 

After the opening tune the sound reverts to horrendous 

pings, pongs and screeches. Worse still, the noises hold up 

play— you have to wait for the game to go through the sound 

for a location every time you enter it. 

The vocabulary is limited and the responses are very 

unhelpful — 

'I can't' is the standard response for noncomprehension. 

For example 'Examine manual' gives 

'There's writing on it!'. Following that up with 'Read' or 

'Examine writing' will give the stoical 'I can't'. Getting the 

manual, as with all objects, result in 'OK' ... I do hate these 

Americanisms. 

Those of you who rely heavily on the 'HELP' function will be 

annoyed with this adventure - 'You're sunk unless you 

EXAMINE things!' is the reply to every enquiry. 

Certainly one which is well fitted to the £2.50 range and 

overall not that bad an adventure, but one that the White 

Wizard would recommend only to the juniors. 

SUBSUNK 

Firebird, 

£2.50, cass 



Lasting Interest 37% 

Value for money 42%

i 

) 

ow for a completely different kettle of fish in 

the form ofAsylum from Screenplay. This was 

originally a text-based adventure with simple 

graphic displays that first appeared on the 

ancient Video Genie and Tandy TRS80. It took 

place inside a maze-like lunatic asylum from 

which you must escape. 

Now it's been released on the 64 the only 

thing that remains unchanged is the theme. Text 

descriptions, vocabulary and graphics have all been 

improved — especially the graphics. 

The game starts inside a cell with only a bed, box and 

television camera for company. Close examination of the box 

reveals a credit card to be used for unlocking doors. 

You move around the maze, not by typed commands, but 

by using the cursor keys. The maze is shown as a 3D into-thescreen 

view and the walls scroll about convincingly when 

turning or moving in screen. This isn't quite what the White 

Wizard approves of in an adventure game, but there is a fair 

adventuring aspect to it. Figuring out what to do with the 

objects found and how to use them is taxing and tricky work. 

About the maze there are doors, objects (usually in boxes) 

and other inmates. The doors are usually locked and must be 

unlocked with the correct card before opening them. These 

doors Ifead to other cells that occasionally house either an 

object or its occupant (all quite mad!) 

Amongst the objects to be found are an axe, a bird costume 

(!), a bean bag (!!) and several different types of cards for 

unlocking doors. 

There are a reasonable amount of responses (but nothing 

outstanding) and the vocabulary is good. There are also 

some wry humourous touches throughout the game. For 

instance, I found hacking an electrician to death with the axe 

proved a successful action, but doing the same thing to a 

hypochondriac . . . well, it did give me something of a shock! 

The White Wizard found that this was one game that 

needed careful attention to mapping in order to get anywhere 

as it was easy to lost in the maze. I found the whole thing quite 

enjoyable but for the high import price, and I think this may 

appeal more to the more arcade-minded amongst you. 

More cryptic clues to tantalize 

you, and hopefully, help you 

enter deeper into your adventures. 

Many thanks to all those 

who've contributed. 

Remember, I'm always waiting 

for those hints and tips to be 

sent in. No matter how trivial 

they may seem to you there's 

always someone somewhere 

that will benefit from their publication. 

Put your tips on the 

back of a postcard, giving your 

name and address, the name of 

the game, a clear and concise 

description of the problem and 

the solution in riddle or cryptic 

form. 

Don't forget to also put the 

solution to your riddle. Sometimes 

you adventurers can be so 

obscure, even my most amazing 

spells will not decipher them! 

CRYPTIC CLUES 

SHERLOCK 

About ten to twelve on Slater Street, 

Someone interesting you might 

meet. 

For Monday night the opium den. 

Can only be entered by Chinamen. 

Basil's safe can be done. 

Without him firing his nasty gun. 

You won't succeed, try as you might. 

If opened in the broad daylight. 

(Kram Nosak, Wolverhampton 

DUNGEON ADVENTURE 

The solution to getting past the 

carnivorous jelly is a dead loss! 

MACBETH 

A carpet up a stalk is your key to south 

of the throne room 

(Tony Treadwell, Oxford) 

COLOSSAL ADVENTURE 

Can't find the Pirate's treasure chest 

in the maze near the orange column? 

It's vaguely east-north-west! 

o 

ASYLUM 

Screenplay/Softsel, £27.77 

CAN YOU WAIT? 

Atmosphere 

Interaction 

Lasting interest 

Value for money 

82% 

73% 

75% 

62% 

tWLmj" i 

THAT wqs 

thought 


. . 

p 

. 

’• 

CRYSTALS OFCARUS 

Annoyed by the troublesome wraith? 

Get cross with him! 

The answer to the riddle is a killer! 

THE HITCH HIKERS GUIDE TO THE 

GALAXY 

Worried about the bulldozer destroying 

your house? A lie might help. 

Keep getting killed by a flying brick? 

What's the rush? Take time to' talk, 

not the towel! 

THE HELM 

Well, well, well. The stork 'ee likes 

fish. 

CASTLE OF TERROR 

Don't lose your head - pin your hopes 

on locking the wheel with something 

found in the mill. 

Can't climb the stairs from the 

banquet hall? — those two knights 

under the hall could do with a swing. 

( Tony Treadwell, Oxford) 

ZORKI 

To cross the falls wave the, oops! - 

nearly told you, 'cept er, I won't! 

(R Garrett, Chelmsford) 

ZORK II 

Getting past the lizard head isn't that 

difficult. In fact it's quite a sweet 

thing! 

The answer to the riddle is . . . Well, I'd 

better not say directly! 

THE HOBBIT 

Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow . 

Time your movements carefully to 

avoid being stung by the pale 

bulbous eyes. 

EUREKA (WAR TIME GERMANY) 

The guards have a sweet tooth. 

Smoking damages your health. 

Get down and dig to the Anvil chorus. 

You can blow the bridge from underneath 

and the eastern side looks inviting 

before using it. 

(Justin Bowyer, Thundersley. 

TWIN KINGDOM VALLEY 

A legendary beast can be killed with 

the staff. 

A third place medal coloured key will 

rescue a damsel in distress 

Following the royal chme will bring a 

handy present. 

(Nevil Michaels, Hull) 

COLOSSAL CAVE 

Fragile pottery needs a soft, downey 

landing. 

A three pointed spear will open a 

tight lipped shellfish. 

Don't be fooled by reflections when 

looking out of windows. 

(David McLaren, Edinburgh) 

THE HULK 

When threatened by ants go blind, 

deaf, use candle material and hold 

your hooter. 

(Steven Brooks, Bournemouth) 

ERIK THE VIKING 

Entering the church is easy if you 

show a little respect. 

To enter the ice cave do an impression 

of Guy Fawkes. 

The dogfighters are afraid of themselves 

so let them see your problem. 

Birds of prey may be hungry today. 

How do you kill the dogfighters? The 


mirror can reflect the problem. (Tony 

Treadwell, Oxford) 

HEROES OF KARN 

A magician's tool and a friend will rid 

you of annoying spirits. 

The witch has a bad case of hydrophobia. 

Your friend can use a religious 

artefact to convert a bothersome bat. 

(Brandon App/ebyt Sunderland) 

CLAYMORGUE CASTLE 

A heavenly body is buried by the 

castle. 

It's PLAIN to see that the walls are not 

all they seem. 

The rats SPELL trouble, unless you do 

first. 

Adventurers should disappear if they 

want to pass a mythical beast. 

(Mark Lewis, Worthing) 

URBAN UPSTART 

Not everything that's thrown away is 

rubbish. 

The local team have nasty supporters 

particularly if you're in the wrong 

colours. 

Fish and rodent catchers aren't good 

for you and Cheddar disagrees with 

you. 

Civil servants just love coloured 

sticky stuff. 

(Mirza the Wolfhunter, Streatham) 

CLEVER 

CONTACTS 

Come all who may! Trouble 

abounds for many who are 

stuck in dungeons, pits, forests 

or are being attacked by foul 

and unmentionable entities. I'm 

sure there's many of you out 

there ready to help them escape 

their plight. 

If you'd like to help them then 

why not drop your name into 

the Wizard's clever contacts 

files? Many poor hobbits, elves, 

dwarves and even humans will 

be eternally grateful. All you 

have to do is put your name, 

address and titles of the games 

you can offer help with and send 

it direct to The White Wizard, 


Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 1HX. 

Make haste! The need is great. 

Remember, if you're taking 

advantage of any of these offers 

of help, you must enclose an 

SAE with your question. 

ADVENTURE NEWS 

What? 

No Doomdark? 

My sources in Beyond Software 

reveal that the release of the 64 

version of Doomdark's Revenge 

follow up to the excellent Lords of 

Midnight, may not now happen. 

Apparently sales of the 64 version 

of Midnight haven't been as high 

as expected, so the conversion of 

the superb sequel to the 64 could 

well be dropped. A great pitYj 3^ 

the White Wizard was so looking 

forward to playing it on his 64. 

Still, no point in getting too 

despondent as Beyond have yet 

another incredibly original and 

innovative title in the pipeline in 

the form of Elindor. It's descried 

by Beyond as a mix of Valhalla 

and Lords of Midnight with text 

Level 9's 

big red moon 

formof/ ?eX0„ VentUre,n,he 

le 

ovII 20 9 a 

0 m,?« aP e r a c °ntains 

Quest fantasy' 

m°° n 

You mn eft 1 

the Crystal 

recover 

of 

castle by ulino ! 

r°m 3 magica 

' 

input. It will have a vocabulary of use of 

notab,e 

maair in f 

around 750 words and complex better S° 

brush 

rd 

upP on 

input will be possible. There will 

my °T' 

ations. lncan t- 

... 

be interactive characters wandering 

around as in Valhalla and the 

landscaping technique as used in 

Midnight will feature heavily. (In 

fact there will be 

Flower 

number of locationsas/M/dmg/)t). 

Elindor is being released first 

on the Spectrum this summer power book 

but should be available on the 64 

nearer the end of the year. 

Antagonists Vei^ê 

- • 

• ! 

.iA ’ ..L' ; - 

? a "ed 

v 

• ' v 

• 

released 

us bv 

* h 

American 

adventure invasion 

êasTs't thea rec'entW lormTd 

label All American Adventures. 

'Ztdus, Ultima Mts-on 

III 

Asteroid, Ulysses and thegolden 

Quest of Merravid, Heroes of Kam, 

Empire of Kam, Erik the Viking, 

Sherlock, Gremlins, Enchanter, Hitch 

Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, Castle of 

Terror and lots more . . 

Tony Treadwell, 41 Fernhill Road, 

Begbroke, Oxford, 0X5 1RR. 

Tel. (08675) 6670 

Heroes of Kam, Empire of Kam, Zim 

Sala Bim, Ring of Power, Eureka! 

(Roman), Valhalla 

Colin Loosemore, 29 Rufus Gardens, 

Totton, Southampton, S04 3TA. Tel. 

(0703) 871960 after 5.00 pm 

Spiderman, Hulk, Voodoo Castle, 

Pirate Adventure, Mission 

Impossible, Adventureland, The 

adventurers is that they are all 

dlS e 

Looks |ike the White Wizard's 

diskdrive will be whirring away 

long into the night in the coming 

weeks. 

Count, Quest for the Holy Grail, Hobbit, 

Classic Adventure, Ten Little 

Indians 

SAWilliams, 32 Hornbeam Close, 

Horsham, Sussex, RH13 5NP. 

Sorceror of Claymorgue Castle, Nuclear 

War Games, Heroes of Kam, 

Empire of Kam, Twin Kingdom 

Valley, Mystery of Munroe Manor, 

Crystals of Cams, Witches Cauldron, 

Gremlins, and most Channel 8 adventures 

Mr G.E.Mitchell, 63 Brownlow Street, 

Haxby Road, York, Y03 7LW. Tel. 

(0904) 27489 between 10.00 to 1.00 

pm and 5.00 and 8.00 pm 

Ring of Power, Hobbit, Heroes of 

Kam, Empire of Kam, Catacombs, 

Eureka! (Prehistoric), Twin Kingdom 

Valley, Aztec Tomb, Forest of Doom 

Simon Gaunt, 52 Ashburton Close, 

MZZT: o bZ e jT r 

3 

fame 6 ' ts is clain 

that it 

w 'th a paper 

mpl 

balTbn l° 

with 

b k info about f 

pac * 

insects and 

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moused. S 

A review V nexu e 

Shoot arrow 

kill sheriff 

Adventure International 

e 

8 

Robin Hood '° P 

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linked to Z Z e eT r 

^ 

tl 

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Adwick le Street, Nr Doncaster, South 

Yorkshire, DN6 7DE. Tel (0302) 

726917 after 4.00pm week days and 

anytime weekends. 

Any Level 9 adventure. Heroes of 

Kam, Empire of Kam, Hobbit, Valkyrie 

17, Witches Cauldron, Urban 

Upstart, Golden Baton, Arrow of 

Death parts I and II, Wizard of Akyrz, 

Circus. Waxworks, Ket Trilogy, Zork I 

and II, Deadline 

Send an SAE with your queries to: 

Nik Walkland, 84 Kendal Road, Hillsborough, 

Sheffield, S64QH. 

Colossal Adventure, Dungeon 

Adventure, Lords of Time, Snowball, 

Hobbit 

Philip Chan, 7 Rushmead Close, 

Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7RP. 

Tel. (0227) 45391 1 between 6.00 and 

9.00 pm only

I enclose 

AVIEW AKILL 

the Computer Game 

J 

YOU will become 

James Bond 

in his first arcade/adventure 

AVAILABLE NOW on 

Spectrum 48K, Commodore 64, 

Enterprise 

and watch out for 

I Amstrad, MSX and others 

© Eon Productions Ltd. Glidrose Publications Ltd. 1985 

Domark Ltd., 204 Worple Road, London SW20 8PN. Tel: 01-947 5624 Telex: 894475 G 

ORDER YOUR COPY NOW! 

CALL 01-947 5624/5/6 

OFFICE HOURSONLY 

NAME: (block letters) 

ADDRESS 

COUNTY 

DOMARK 

To: Domark Ltd., 204 Worple Road, 

London SW20 8PN 

Telex: 894475 G 

POSTCODE 

Please send me 

copies of “A View to a Kill - The Computer Game” 

at £10.99 (includes postage and packing). 

a cheque/P.O. for £ 

My computer is: 

You may order by Access d Visa d American Express d by post or 

telephone (01 -947 5624/5/6). office hours only 

Please debit my CREDIT CARD d Signature: 

Account No: 

Expiry Date: 

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My timetable of bloodshed 

Evil JR blasts 

the Harper challenge off the road 

No, no, no, NQOOOOOO! It cannot be. The accursed Zzap games 

warrior Julian Rignail has done it again. For the THIRD MONTH 

RUNNING he has claimed the title of 64 games-playing champ. 

Swine! Barbarian! My reputation is in ruins. How can I bear to 

show my mask in public when I have again failed to find a 

challenger to beat him? 

I was so confident, so sure. I had summoned one whom I 

thought an invincible opponent to replace last month's ill-fated 

Andrew Clarke, whose scalp now hangs next to the battle-worn 

Kempston above Rignall's computer. My new challenger had 

real class. 

His designation: Paul Harper of Bury, West Sussex. O level 

school boy. 64 owner of more than two years standing. Gameplaying 

fanatic. 

His mission: to utterly destroy the rumbustuous Rignail on 

that evil US Gold arcade game Spy Hunter. 

It is true that the champion himself was no mean hand at this 

particular program, having notched up scores in the hundreds of 

thousands. Yet that is why I chose this game! I wanted to crush 

the champion on one of his own choice pastimes, in order to 

make the defeat all the more bitter! Besides my challenger 

showed astounding promise. He had notched up over 29,000 on 

the so-called 'Impossible' Mission, done all five levels on Boulder 

Dash, passed 100,000 on Suicide Express, and — here's the 

crunch — comfortably topped a MILLION on Spy Hunter. HA! 

What is more ! had not left events to chance but had availed 

myself of a delicious underhand tactic. Read on 

• A sick expression as Rignail 

remembers those chicken legs. 

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enough.

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RignaH, who can’t see the ot 

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immense pressure, weav 

swerves, brakes and

. 

. 

. 

! 

They did not lie 

Last month I drew attention to 

two scores which I was extremely 

suspicious about and poured 

scorn on the two unfortunates 

who sent them in. Both these 

people have since protested their 

innocence to me as a result of 

which I the Scorelord proclaim 

the following: 

1. Paul Broadway of Andover, 

Hants who sent in a score of 

252,600 on POLE POSITION is 

NOT a liar, despite the fact that 

this score is utterly impossible on 

the US Gold version of the game 

— his score was produced on an 

earlier version unreleased in 

Britain which (he now realises) 

has certain crucial differences. 

Cosmic apologies, O Paul, but 

only US Gold/Datasoft Pole Position 

scores from now on, I pray. 

2. Mrs M Chuda's claimed score 

on IMPOSSIBLE MISSION of 

29,959 1 now have no doubts over 

at all. Instead I congratulate her 

on her fine-tuned understanding 

of this game. 

The situation on impossible 

Mission high scores is extremely 

confused even for my infinite 

intelligence. There are slight differences 

between disk and cassette 

versions of the game, plus, 

what is worse, at least one suspect 

technique for obtaining truly 

mega-scores. This technique 

came to light after I had received 

a good number of scores over the 

30,000 mark, which I considered 

quite impossible for a normal 

game where the rooms, robots 

and puzzle pieces have been 

completely reset at random. 

HOWEVER, it has been brought 

to my notice by a Mrs O Brentnall 

of Derbyshire galaxy, that the 

FIRST game one plays is often the 

same every time. Therefore a 

player can get to know exactly 

where all the pieces are and tear 

through the game going only to 

the correct 36 pieces of furniture. 

Indeed it's possible that some 

players use this method without 

even realising it! 

In addition, on some copies of 

My monstrous mail bag 

The hordes of heroes sending 

their scores to me have increased 

to alarming levels. High score 

quality is improving rapidly too, 

although I note with distaste that 

the Zzap upstarts continue to 

hold high positions on several 

games. I eagerly wait the scores 

which will consign them to 

oblivion. 

Enquiries from one Anita 

Weston about Quo Vadis have 

added to my concern about this 

game. She is one of the many 

who have now completed it and 

has sent off her solutions to the 

riddles to The Edge in hope of 

winning the prize sceptre. Three 

letters she's written without, so 

BLUE MAX (Synsoft/US Gold) 

13,520 Philip Desmond, Chelmsford, Essex. 

far, reply. Alas, this game and its 

solution have caused much 

sorrow and frustration throughout 

the land, the true solution, if 

there is a true solution, being too 

obscure even for a being of my 

uncountable IQ. The only 

consolation is that if the game is 

not solved until October, The 

Edge have promised that the 

winner will then receive £30,000 

as well as the sceptre . . 

Following my comment last 

month, I am grateful for a communication 

from Mrs Barbara 

Brewster of Gloucester who 

assures me that there ARE 

plenty of female humans who 

are competent game players, 

herself included. This is wonderful. 

You never know ... a female 

could well be called down to 

challenge and crush the Zzap! 

champ — 

I cannot conceive a 

greater humiliation . . 

Finally I must draw attention 

to the vast quantities of digital, 

inter-galactic electronic mail I 

am now receiving in praise of 

my good looks, powerful dark 

features, etc. It is extremely 

soothing to my brain to receive 

such comments. I congratulate 

both authors on their accurate 

observations . . 

the game, it is possible, by judicious 

use of the RESTORE key to 

return to the same game layout 

again and again, fine-tuning your 

technique to an otherwise impossible 

extent. 

Bear these points in mind on 

reading the new Impossible 

Mission high scores. For a truly 

random game in which each 

room must be explored in full, 

scores oyer about 27,500 are 

astonishingly good. 

CAULDRON (Palace) 

160.000 Darren Smith, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. 

CLIFF HANGER (New Generation) 

29.600 G, Patterson, Northumbs. 

CYBOTRON (Anirog) 

386.200 M. O'Reilly, Rishton, Lancs. 

DEFENDER (Atarisoft) 

3,000,150 Julian Rignall, Zzap! 

2,628,125 Jason Page, Swindon, Wilts. 

DAVID'S MIDNIGHT MAGIC (Ariolasoft) 

1,222,210 Malcom Stretton, Berkhampstead, 

Herts. 

DROPZONE (UK Gold) 


338,160 Gary Penn, Zzap! 

135,750 Bob Wade, Zzap! 

ENCOUNTER (Novagen) 

320.000 Julian Rignall, Zzap! 

283.200 Bob Wade, Zzap! 

213,400 Graeme Mottram, Boston, Lines. 

ENTOMBED (Ultimate) 

Completed 0.50 Gary Penn, Zzap! 

Completed 1 .05 Julian Rignall, Zzap! 

FORT APOCALYPSE (Synsoft/USGold) 

89,950 Julian Rignall, Zzap! 

80.000 Brian Osbourne, Artington, Guildford. 


F15 STRIKE EAGLE (Microprose/US Gold) 

70,350 Keith Rippon, Bailrigg, Lancs. 

38,850 Stephen Minikin, Whitley Bay, Tyne and 

Wear. 

SCORELORD'S SUPERSCORERS 

ANCiPTTAL (Uamasoft) 

16.838.000 NorbertGrey, Drumcondra, Dublin. 

16,034,170 Wulf Grimbly, London. 

10.101.000 Gary Penn, Zzap) 

AIRWOLF (Elite) 

43,291 Brain Cronin, Derby. 

21,610 Larry McGeary, Bishopston, Bristol. 

16,950 Matthew Jones, Pwllheli, Gwynedd. 

BLACK THUNDER/SUICIDE 

(Quicksilva/Gremiin Graphics) 

59,630 Gary Patterson, Northumbs. 

56,170 A. Carter, Camberley, Surrey. 

55,370 Tom McKee, Ross-Shire. 

EXPRESS 

BEACH HEAD (Access/ US Gold) 

498.600 Michael Turner, Brierly Hill, W. Midlands. 

BUCK ROGERS (Sega/US Gold) 

565.600 Julian Rignall, Zzap! 

378,000 Richard Downer, Sharnbrook, Beds. 

352.600 David Carter, êovil, Somerset. 

BEAM RIDER (Activision) 

52,184 Stephen Minikin, Whitley Bay, Tyne and 

Wear. 

48,880 Anurag Sharma, Gateacre, Merseyside. 

BOUNTY BOB (Big Star/US Gold) 


68,358 Jonathan Rignall, LLangeitho, Dyfed. 

CAD CAM WARRIOR (Taskset) 


1,181 Sam Doust, London. 

FORBIDDEN FOREST (Cosmi) 

398,306 Larry McGeary, Bishopston, Bristol. 

GYRUSS (Parker Bros) 


1,369,150 Mrs R. Nicholson, Kimberworth, Rotherham. 

1 , 1 03,250 Jason Wier, Warwick. 

GHOSTBUSTERS (Activision) 

(1 game, starting on $10,000) 

44.900 Bob Wade, Zzap 

43.600 Karen Allaway, Haywards Heath, Sussex. 

42.900 Rachel Watson, Aberystwyth, Dyfed. 


i 

I

GUARDIAN (Alligata) 

795.350 Julian Rignall,Zzap! 

467.350 Khalid Mirza, London. 

396,750 M. O'Rielly, Rishton, Lancs. 

GOGO THE GHOST (Firebird) 

77,701 Richard Andrews, Stonieigh, Surrey 

H.E.R.O. (Activision) 

245,886 Martin Trickey, Bideford, Devon 

218,490 Chris Price, Newport, Gwent. 

Bugs and cheat modes 

There are special methods on 

some games for getting monstrous 

scores, and it is sometimes 

difficult to rule whether such 

techniques are legal or not. 

Obvious cheat modes such as 

typing GOATS in Revenge of the 

Mutant Camels or RED in Zaxxon 

are clearly not allowed. Certain 

other techniques such as shooting 

the on-screen bonuses on the 

tank stage of Beach Head for a 

massive extra score, are fully 

legal. On certain other games I 

have yet to make a ruling. 

IMPOSSIBLE MISSION (CBS) 

30,653 

30,100 J Clair, Tyne-and-Wear 

30,524 M O'Reilly, Rishton, Lancs 

R Baines, London 

INDIANA JONES (US Gold) 

13,200 Stuart Muir, Broughton, S. Humberside RAID 310,000 OVER MOSCOW (US Gold) 

JAMMIN' (Taskset) 

329,750 Gary Penn, Zzap! 

411,922 Tim Burnett, High Wycombe, Bucks 

320,500 Darren Casker, Bargoed, Mid Glamorgan 

It is essential therefore that if 

you do get scores through bugs, 

cheat modes or other special 

techniques you must SAY so, 

along with any other details 

about your scores. It is quite possible 

your score will be valid. But I 

MUST have full details or nagging 

doubts will enter my mind 

... A letter accompanying the 

form will be very useful. 

One final word about that annoyingly 

popular battle-tool, the 

Quickshot II, which features an 

automatic rapid fire facility. In my 

view using this is wimpish. In my 

days at the Proxima University of 

Video we were compelled to use 

our index fingers — ALL true 

video fighter use only a manual 

fire button. The rapid fire wimps 

will not be expelled from the high 

score tables, but from now on 

they MUST STATE on the entry 

form whether they have used this 

technique. 

j 

425,000 KONG II (Ocean) 


427,685 Jonathan Bethell, Eaton Bishop, Hereford 

Glen Hendry, Paisley. 

MAMA LLAMA (Llamasoft) 1,128,119 CF93 Wulf 

Grimbly, London. 

898,924 CF157 Philip Merchant, Bristol. 

806,478 CF158 Dave Hall, Cambeley, Surrey. 

1,469,100 

QUO VADIS (The Edge) 

2,750,650 Michael Shaw, Dukinfield, Cheshire 

1,665,800 Tom McKee, Ross-Shire. 

D. Davies, Altrincham, Trafford. 

POLE POSITION (US Gold) 

199,000 


1 17,300 Terry Bailey, Pencuick, Midlothian 

1 12,050 Mattew Barratt, Beds. 

PITFALL II (Activision) 

Richard Jackson, Loughborogh, Leics 

128,000 

PSYCHEDELIA (Llanasoft) 

'A very pretty pattern indeed' Alan Green, Berk 

hampstead, Herts. 

POOYAN (US Gold) 

Rachel Watson, Aberystwyth, Dyfed 

PASTF1NDER (Activision) 

380,190 Jonathan Bethell, Eaton Bishop, Hereford 

342,690 Paul Montague, Eaton Bishop, Hereford. 

42,350 

Julian Rignall, Zzap! 

ROLAND RAT (Ocean) 

43,050 Gary Penn Zzap! 

Bob Wade Zzap! 

SUPER PIPELINE II (Taskset) 

1 1 1 ,568 Gary Penn, Zzap! 

109,752 Rachel Watson, Aberystwyth, Dyfed 


SPY HUNTER (US Gold) 

1,087,510 Darren Eaton, Horwich, Bolton. 

793,485 Andrew Carter, Stockton-on-Tees, Cleve 

land. 

700,550 Stephen Birchall, W. Sussex. 

STAR WARS (Parker Bros) 

98,000 

36,000,000 Paul Johnston, Eariston, Berwicks. 


11,300,241 Darren Wagstaff, Saeford, Sussex 

SON 918,000 OF BLAGGER (Alligata) 

128,280 Lee Mellor, Blackburn, Lancs 

Dirk Lee, Andover, Hants. 

819,100 

SLINKY (Cosmi) 


Zeno Winkens, Currucloe, Co. Wexford 

TAPPER (Sega/US Gold) 

1,002,250 Brian Cronin, Derby. 

Shaun Noble, Chelston, Torquay 

93,010 Alan Ireland, Currie, Midlothian. TRASHMAN (New Generation) 

27,399 Stephen Watson, Birtley, Co. Durham 

POSTER PASTER (Taskset) 

61,300 David Cutting, Grimbsby, S. Humbs. TOY BIZARRE (Activision) 

ROCK N' BOLT (Activision) 

$4,586.85 Stuart Hine, Green Penn, Bucks 

RIVER RAID (Activision) 

418,510 Stephen Healy, Blackburn, Lancs 

579,330 Mrs D Renny, Hornchurch, Essex. 

519,640 Michael Renny, Hornchurch, Essex 

UP 'N' DOWN (Sega/US Gold) 

175,360 Jason Rogers, Redcar, Cleveland 


How to enter your challenge 

1. State games and scores clearly on the form provided (or a close 

copy). You can give fewer than four games if you wish. 

2. State level achieved at the end of each game, either the wave 

number (if possible), rating or some indication of how far you went 

into the game along with the time taken to complete the game. 

3. In the space provided write further details about the game which 

might help to confirm your score. If it's an arcade adventure then 

write the percentage and if it has a time limit or bonus then state 

how long was left and what bonus was awarded. Other details 

include things like the game crashing because of the high-score 

achieved or whether the game resets at a certain point. Any other 

relevant details will be useful. 

5. Post your entry to: Zzap Challenge, Zzap! 64, 1 Church Terrace, 

Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1HX. 

Yes, I'm ready to challenge the Zzap champion on the following games 

Game Score Level reached 

Other details 

Time taken 

Game Level reached Time taken 

Other details 

Game Level reached Time taken 

Other details 

Game Score Level reached Time taken 

Other details 

Did you exploit any cheats, bugs or special techniques (inc. auto rapid fire) to obtain any of these .scores? (Yes/no) ... (If Yes', give full details on a 

separate piece of paper.) 

I 

promise these scores are genuine. Signed 

Name 

Address 

Postcode 

Telephone number (if poss) 


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The freakiest columnist in the universe. 

128— split 

personality? 

Recently I out at the 

Hanover show (demonstrating 

Atari Colourspace on the Atari 

stand) and I had decent chance 

to check out all the latest stuff 

from Commodore and Atari. 

The new Commodore machine, 

the 128, I really don't know 

what to make of it ... it looks 

immmmmm 

good, zarjaz keyboard, futuristic 

styling, and quite a bit of memory. 

In 128K-mode it certainly 

makes up for a lot of deficiencies 

on the 64: the BASIC is well extended 

with loads of disk commands 

(how kozmicto be ableto 

have a DIRECTORY without 

losing your program) and all the 

Beastly bits and pieces 

• PSYCH fiends out there, you 

should turn on to Activision's 

Master of the Lamps in a dark 

room. The flying sequence on 

that game is really good — sort of 

a 3D tunnel effect done by the 

simplest sprite manipulation, but 

really effective. The second half 

of the game is a fairly soporific 

version of that Simon game we all 

wrote when we were learning to 

program, but it's only really there 

as an interlude between flying 

sequences. Music's not bad 

either. The guy who wrote it was 

interviewed in the US press about 

his next game, he said it'd be 

'psychedelic' . . . Fact is, if it's still 

going to be a GAME, then he's 

missed the point 

• I'm not normally one for 

platform games, but I've been 

playing Bounty Bob Strikes Back 

for old time's sake. I had Miner 

2049'er on my Atari years ago, 

before all those nauseating plagiarists 

destroyed the genre totally 

by flooding our computers with 

endless ladders and platform 

derivatives. If you liked 2049er 

and are not terminally naffed off 

with the whole scene, then you'll 

love BBSB, 'cos it's more of the 

same with more monsters, more 

rooms, more control over both 

Bob and the game's parameters, 

and the most amazing hiscore 

sequence, ever. 

• There's another good 'caverns' 

jumping game around in the 

States at the moment called 

Montezuma's Revenge. It's really 

well programmed and full of excellent 

little humorous touches 

(like going up in a large puff of 

smoke if you jump in the fire). 

Look out for it. 

• Anyone seen that TirNa Nog ? I 

think they should've called it 'Neil 

Goes Shopping' or something, 

because the main figure really 

does look a lot like Neil. I can 

imagine the text: 'Oh no, here's 

an axe, oh, really bad karma, better 

take it though, oh wow it's 

' 

really HEAVY man 

• We've been getting stuck into 

The Empire Strikes Back — I've 

had my Star Wars arcade booth 

upgraded to run the new game, 

and it's totally zarjaz. The first 

bit's a fast snowspeeder ride over 

the surface of Hoth blasting Imperial 

Probots, the second bit is 

Attack of the Mutant Camels- in- 

30 with bonus points for trick flying 

between the camel's legs, the 

third bit is Tie-Fighters in space, 

and the last bit is a demonically 

difficult asteroid field (and you 

can't shoot the asteroids!!) 

• Then that Darth appears to tell 

you just what he thinks of you and 

it's back around for more-of-thesame-but-harder. 

The speech 

synthesis is really excellent . . 

check out your local arcade for 

the conversion, it's well worth a 

few lOp's. 

• You should check out some of 

the MSX stuff out of Japan ... I 

know the MSX tech spec is pretty 

naff when compared to our own 

64, but games like Rollerball, 

Pinball \ 

Hole-in-One Golf and Yie- 

ArKung Fu are being written with 

the sort of attention-to-detail and 

utter playability you'd normally 

associate with the arcade. (Probably 

because the games are 

being written by people like 

Nichibutsu and Konami who 

already write genuine arcade 

games). MSX is alright just so 

long as you don't ask it 

to scroll, 

but I think I the good 'ol 64 

somehow 

graphic commands from the old 

Vic Super Expander (remember 

the Vic?) with some sprite ones 

added, and a load of other commands 

for this'n'that. 

There's also a monitor in ROM 

much like that in the C16/Plus 4 

(which were allocated only a 

teeny bit of the Commodore 

stand . . . were Commodore 

ashamed of them, or did they 

just want everyone to forget all 

about them and go look at the 

C128 instead?) 

With its Z80 second processor, 

the 128 also supports 

CP/M (an operating system 

which runs business software). 

But the main point is that can 

emulate the 64 totally. (Go into 

64 mode and even System Reset 

behaves exactly as on the 64!) 

So all 64 games run without fault 

on the 128 — and the trouble is, 

are any software houses actually 

going to use that extra 64K 

(and thus cut off the possibility 

of selling to existing '64 owners) 

or are they just going to go right 

on writing 64 progs for 1 28 owners 

to run in 64 mode? Business 

progs may be expanded to use 

the extra RAM, but I think most 

games authors are going to stick 

to the 64. 

So you only really end up getting 

the full benefit of the 128 if 

you're a businessman who likes 

the occasional 64game, and has 

a genuine desire to run CP/M. 

Games people who want the 

extra RAM might be better off 

going for the Atari 130XE which 

has 128K and costs about half 

the probable price of the 128 

(you're not paying for a CP/M 

option you'll never use). Still, a 

lot depends on pricing . . . the 

128 at £200 would be really 

good, but if you ask much over 

£300 you might as well pay the 

extra and get the new 16-bit 

Atari, the 520ST, a machine I 

can't wait to get my hands on — 

you could spend a whole year 

just writing one game for it and 

still not fill upthat512K! 

World's worst/greatest game 

Whilst coming home from 

(amongst other places) Egypt 

(where I learned to ride a camel), I 

came across what must surely be 

the Worst Video Game ever to 

make it into an Arcade machine. 

It's BRILLIANT. I'm almost considering 

buying one, it's just SO 

BAD you won't believe it. 

It's in Heathrow Airport — go 

out and see it, it's worth the fare 

just for the laugh you'll have 

when you see it ... It's called 

'Caverns' (or 'Canyons' or something 

of that ilk) and it's apparently 

running on a converted Galaxian 

board . . . although when 

you see it you'll think it's actually 

a ZX81 with a colour board . . 

There's these caverns, y'see, 

made up of great blocks with 

what appear to be (hee hee) 

BRACKETS along the edge of 

them, all scrolling down the 

screen with the most amazingly 

jerky chunk-res scroll — anybody'd 

think they'd never even 

HEARD of our Tony Crowther — 

and all the while great swathes of 

colour move in a random fashion 

down the display . . you get a 

. 

spaceship sprite which fires bullets 

at saucers in the caverns 

which oscillate from side to side 

in a really amazingly interesting 

manner ... if you shoot a saucer 

turns into an explosion sprite 

it 

which for some reason crawls 

sideways off the display . . . then 

you get to a bit of cavern that's 

really too thin for your ship but it 

doesn't matter, 'cos the collision 

detect is so naff you can pass 

through the walls unharmed 

sometimes, and at other times 

you'll be well clear of the brackets 

but still blow up, anyway . . 

Oh yeah, when you blow up, 

you turn into guess what? TWO 

explosion sprites, which BOTH 

crawl sideways off the display 

. . . You have GOT to see this 

game, it could get a cult following. 

I played several games just to 

convince myself that anything so 

dire could really exist, but go to 

Heathrow and see for yourself. 

You'll have the most amazing 

laugh ... I mean forget the £1.99 

megacheapies, if you thought 

they were dire just go play Canyons 

. . . maybe someone should 

(hee hee hee) apply for the home 

computer rights . . . trouble is 

there probably isn't a software 

house in the UK capable of programming 

badly enough to do the 

game justice . . 

Anyway cheerio 'till next time, 

don't believe the ads, the reviews 

or the charts, learn machine 

code, be creative, write your 

OWN games, and keep on Zappin'. 

Go to Heathrow, too, and 

play Canyons . . 


"HONesTLV-Trtttfc 

- \'/v\ sick 

Of *6/Y\...

serve in a 3D glass-backed court to play against your 

computer, or, using the games two player option you can 

challenge a friend. 

Commodore 64 

and all 

48K Spectrums 

£7.95 

There are 4 levels of difficulty, and depending how fit you 

are you can play 1 , 3 or 5 game matches! Check your score 

with the on screen display, but as your eyes are too busy 

watching the ball, Jonah Barrington acting as marker calls out 

the score for you. All this is due to a programming 

breakthrough that enables your computer to accurately 

voice without any hardware 

Bi 

so incorporates a User Defined 

ys option which means that you can 

eyboard to suit you, or play with 

out any make of joystick. 

;et in training for this high- powered 

:tion game now. 

It’s your service next! 

New Generation products are 

sold according to their terms 

'^?of Software 

of trade and conditions of sale.

6 

T 

his is one of the most original, 

cute and playable 

games to hit the 64 this 

year. It features a tremendous 

new character in Gribbly 

Grobbly and lots of ingenious 

ideas. 

Gribbly's task is to rescue, one 

at a time, eight baby 'gribblets' 

from the surreal landscape and 

place them in the safe haven of a 

cave. If he succeeds he tries 

again on a new piece of landscape 

— there are 16 in all, each 

one much larger than the size of 

the screen picture which scrolls 

smoothly to follow the action. 

Gribbly has one big foot, two 

bulging eyes and a big mouth. 

He can hop relatively safely 

around the ground or levitate 

and float about. The gribblets 

are located on flat stretches of 

land and Gribbly has to find 

them and pick* them up. The 

pieces of flat land are often very 

small or hard to get at and can 

float unsupported in mid air. 

Gribbly survives on his reserves 

of psi energy which are 

depleted every time he collides 

with one of the numerous hazards 

about. The jagged landscape 

is one of the biggest difficulties 

because while levitating 

you can run into any rough surface, 

trees, bushes, cans or 

pools of water. 

Another energy-sapping 

danger is the triangular web 

which occupies large areas of 

the screen. However Gribbly, by 

careful manoeuvring over special 

switches, can turn on and off 

sections of the web, and on 

some levels this is essential to 

open up areas of the screen. The 

web will also disappear completely 

when you only have one 

Life on Blabgor 

The cassette is accompanied by 

an extremely entertaining little 

booklet outlining the scenario 

behind the game. 

The action, you read, is set on 

the planet BLABGOR and Blabgorians 

such as Gribbly have 

large heads and only one foot 

, 

because their large quantities of 

psychic energy (obtained from a 

psi-bank) allow them to levitate 

and carry things without hands. 

SEON is a mutated Blabgorian 

who absorbed evil psi 

thoughts when setting up the 

psi-bank and the web was 

created to control this insane 

being. 

Needless to say each mutation 

has its own moronic speciality: 

SEED PODS forget they 

can be bubbled, TOPSIES can't 

see and they have inferiority 

complexes over their lack of a 

brain (which is why they want 

to capture gribblets), and 

STOMPERS blunder around 

falling off cliffs and drowning in 

pools because they think 

they're clever and don't trust 

their sense of touch. 

For once the humour of the 

scenario is perfectly captured in 

the actual game-play. 

more gribblet to collect, allowing 

you free movement. This is a 

mixed blessing in that a dangerous, 

crab-like creature called 

Colourful, addictive game of great character 

1 scrolling landscape areas, excellent control feel 

This game is unashamedly 

cute and benefits greatly 

from it The scenario , control 

methods and characters 

make it tremendously 

original and terrific fun to 

play. The graphics are 

excellent and very distinctive 

and the sound effects 

delightful. The levels get 

really tough and all this 

combined makes a brilliant 

game. 

Seon the mutant 

Blabgorian 

Nasty pools 


— 

Seon is also released and he 

quickly homes in on you. 

The layout is different for each 

level and finding the cave isn't 

always very easy. What's more 

the caves on later levels are 

tricky to get into. Interesting 

Psi grub 

landscape features like waterfalls, 

which you can fly through, 

and tall rocks also appear. 

The other inhabitants of the 

game mutate through several 

stages before trying to grab a 

gribblet and carry it off. They 

start as sycamore-like seed pods 

floating to the ground where 

they turn into topsies. These are 

wormlike creatures with a suction 

cup on each end to flip end 

over end along the ground. 

If they find a gribblet they flip 

it onto its back exposing its 

brain. After a while they turn into 

a chrysalis which produces a 

stomper. If one of these encounters 

an inverted gribblet it transforms 

into a winged creature 

and carries away the unfortunate 

gribblet. 

In the first three stages of their 

lives you can destroy the creatures 

with bubbles from 

Gribbly's mouth. In the fourth 

stage you can only turn round 

the stompers, round while bubbling 

a winged beast will release 

the gribblet it is carrying. As they 

fall they release a heart-breaking 

scream, but you can then catch 

them in mid air or allow them to 

fall safely onto flat ground— but 

a landing on anything else will 

result in its death. 

This fantastic little creature 

appealed to me immensely 

as soon as / met him. What a 

character! He smiles if you 

do well, scowls gloomily if 

you make a mistake and 

stands looking bored if you 

leave him for too long. When 

he moves about he looks 

about excitedly and blinks 

occasionally. Movement and 

the feel of Gribbly is superb: 

collecting gribb/ets has 

never been so much fun. / 

absolutely adored this game 

and / strongly recommend 

that you rush out and meet 

find the greatest character 

since Rockford. 

Psi-grubs are also to be found 

and if landed on give you more 

psi energy, which can be added 

to the bank at the end of a level. If 

you don't save at least six gribblets 

you have to repeat a level 

whereas if you rescue eight you 

can advance three levels. 

Control is incredibly easy with 

a lovely bouncing action and 

great inertia and gravity when 

you're flying. The graphics are 

really cute with Gribbly smiling 

when you do something right 

and scowling when you goof up. 

The gribblets are also superb. 

Q 

Q 

90% 

Funny and imaginative 

scenario in a great 

storybook, 

Colourful and sometimes 

garish landscapes. Great 

animation on Gribbly. 

great in 

game effects for gribblet 

flipping and bubbling. 

A brilliantly original game 

with terrific control and a 

demanding task. 

The highly original, unusual 

and humourous scenario 

combined with the cute, 

amusing graphics and 

excellent control methods 

got me immediately hooked. 

/ especially liked Gribbly 

Grobbly's different 

expressions and the way 

everything has individual 

character. I'm still every bit 

as hooked as I was when / 

first played and. ..excuse me, 

a manky little Stomperjust 

whipped one ofmy 

gribb/ets! 

occasionally flipping about in 

the air as they enjoy the sunshine. 

The colours on each level are 

different and often garish but 

merely add to the cuteness of 

the game. There is a title tune 

plus some nice bounce and bubble 

sound effects. 

BW 

O / 

marvellous new character 

' with 

Q 

unusual control and 

scenario. 

/O 

Easy to master contrc 

t^,e scenario strongly 

attracts 

There are 16 diabolical 

levels 

88% 

M| CAN^WflP^VlSr 

UKE G>Ql86L.r/' ZZAP! 64 July 1985 97

i 

I 

> 

I 

j 

) 

. i 

4 . 

1 

. 

I 

j5 

H 

ijl- 

V\ 

i 

r. 

Up to 20 Character Roster A I to 4 Character Party 

Individual Player Movement * 16 Long Short Range 

Weapons 8 Armour Ty pes 32 Magic Spells 1 1 Character 

Classes, 5 Races New Astrological Influences New Combat 

Mode New Ship to Ship or Shore Combat New Advanced 

Dungeon Graphics New Animated Outdoor Graphics 

v New Navigational Strategy full Colour Visuals 

Throughout 

Adventure Style Verb Entry 

OR/G/M 

All American Adventures Limited, 

Unit 10, Parkway Industrial Centre, 

Ifeneage Street, Birmingham B7 4LY. 

Telephone: 021-359 8881. 

Telex: 337268. 

DISK ONLY

I 

I 

. 

kugte bas sounded. 

If? 

to Wtttetrenc 

Am Ailed contest of bra i 

tactics. 

^r^^Z°acr U,eSUPPl 

0,6 

P'ayAeldTwS^0** 

A»ops byfag to do ° 

thing. 

exac tly the san 

.Vou ' ve got rocks, trees 

yo«rspeed aiIS, 

fi ' b,,ton, 

:e y 

on the Iona own shJû Protect y« 

must 

sketches cross 

you 

And there are the mortars. . 

excitement y U hou,s

100 copies of the sizzling 

new Hewson game to be won 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

You've read the review, drooled at the screen shots, laughed at the scenario— now 

win the game! GRIBBLY'S DAY OUT from Hewson Consultants is an addictive and 

amazingly original program, so we're proud to be able to offer 100 copies as prizes. 

Enter the comp and you could soon have the lovable Gribbly bouncing all over your 

The competition is based around the gribblets which have to collected and saved 

during the game. If you've seen the review in this issue, you'll know that these 

cuddly little Blabgorians will one day grow up to look like Gribbly but in this form 

they just like to have fun in the sun. 

What we've done is to print five pictures (A-E) of gribblets doing the various 

things that gribblets like to do. Here's a list of the activities (but in the wrong order, 

ho, ho): 

1. Sunbathing 

Brain burning 

Caught by the stompers 

Falling fast 

Flipping forfun 

Your task is to match the pictures with the activities. The review will give you 

plenty of clues if you can't work it out from the pictures. When you've made up 

your mind, write down the letters in the right order on the back of a postcard or 

stuck down envelope. For example if you think the gribblet sunbathing is picture B, 

brain burning picture E, caught by stompers A, falling fast D and flipping for fun C, 

write: B,E,A,D,C. 

4 

Send your entry, together with your name and address, to: g ribbly Competition, 

Zzap! 64, 1 Church Terrace, Veovil, Somerset BASO 1HX. All entries 

must reach us by July 15th, when we will hold a draw to choose the winners from 

the correct entries. Only one entry per household is allowed. 


COMP 

mr' 

Here are the names of the winners of four of the competitions in 

our first issue— the winners of the Disk Drive comp will appear 

next time. Many congratulations to you all. Your prizes are being 

sent out by the software houses concerned, and you should 

receive them very soon if you haven't already. 

LLAMASOFT COMPETITION 

Prizes: The complete range of 

Llamasoft games for the 64. 

Answers :1)b: Llama 2)d: Sheep 

3)d:Camel 4)c:Mammoth. 

Five Winners: 

Malcolm Laurie, Newton Mearns, Scotland; 

Robert Hunt, Bradford, W.Yorks; 

John Wallace, Co.Cork,Eire; Rajan Naidoo, 

London; Alex Perren, Dartford, Kent. 

MELBOURNE HOUSE 

COMPETITION 

Prizes: Copies of Castle of 

Terror and Penetrator 

Answers: 1)Dr. Watson 2)Bilbo 

3)Horace 

100 Winners: Neil Moore, Ely, Cambs; 

Matthew Gandey, 

Firle, E. Sussex; Paul Fox, Churwell Morley, 

Nr Leeds; Philip Duxbury, Barrow-in- 

Furness; Ian Johnson, Elie, Fife; David 

Estall, Egham, Surrey; Paul Welstead, 

Horseheath, Cambs; Matthew Goodman, 

Staines, Middx; D.Shannon, Bootham, 

York; Stephen Brotherstone, Liverpool; 

Sean McCauley, Co. Donegal, Eire; Donald 

L.Meck, Angus, Scotland; Sean O'Connell, 

Dublin; Richard Agnew, Ballymans, 

Co.Antrim; Johnathan Greenwood, 

Blackburn; S.Micklewright, Pontypool, 

Gwent; Peter Walsh, Cardiff; J.C.Hardie, 

Glasgow; P.Goodrum, Norwich, Norfolk; 

Nigel Harris, Portsmouth, Hants; Julie 

Edge, Walsingham, Norfolk; Michael Rai, 

Birmingham; Reza Tootoonchian, London; 

Lee Stewart, Doncaster; Mark Renshaw, 

Annesley Woodhouse, Notts; Kevin Foster, 

Scunthorpe; Craig Walker, Kincardine, 

Clacks; Justin Edwards, Brookmans Park, 

Herts; P.D.James, Luton; Kenneth Burrell, 

Clive, Shropshire; Austin Davidson, 

Stansted, Essex; Jamie Perry, Shelton 

Lock, Derby; Martin Heap, Huddersfield; 

Edward Brown, Matlock; S. Beech, Derby; 

Sean Lally, London; Alan Dunlop, 

Ballymena, Co.Antrim; Richard Helliwell, 

Nottingham; M.C.Vining, Tisbury, Wilts; 

Martin Beaver, Swindon, Wilts; R.D.Fisher, 

Altringham, Cheshire; Lee Dormon, 

Hounslow, Middx; Colin Doran, Airdrie, 

Scotland; Jared Watson, Newcastle; 

H.H.Sabharwal, Isle of Man; Noor, 

Streatham, London; K.C.Jennings, 

Newport, Gwent; Mark Woolwich, 

Doncaster; Raymond Simpson, 

Huddersfield; J.P.Williams, Wirral, 

Merseyside, Ian Lester, Knutsford, 

Cheshire; Mr Blockley, Nottingham; Julian 

Shaw, Birmingham,; Debbie Evans, 

Cardiff; Kevin Oxland, Tiverton, Devon; 

Darren Rozier, Broxboume, Herts; 

Christopher Caul, Lisburn, Co.Antrim; 

A.W.Kenny, Crewe, Cheshire; Aaron 

Ratcliffe, Wirksworth, Derbyshire; Mrs 

P.Wimpenny, Kettering, Northants; 

K.&S.Dove, Leeds; M.J.Harrison, 

Wilmington, Kent; G.S.Sekhon, 

Southampton; Cengiz Rifat, London; Kevin 

Murphy, Kirkcaldy, Fife; Rebessa Dunn, 

Hull; Stephen Pashby, Hull; A.F.Staff, 

London; Robert Coupland, Henlow, Beds; 

J.Williams, Beaworthy, Devon; Simon Hill, 

London; John ChaseyyCheshunt, Herts; 

Richard Paine, Telford; Steven Cox, Bristol; 

Gareth Burton, Swansea; Jeremy 

Cusworth, Stoke-on-Trent; 

. 

J.Beattie,London; Andrew Kell, East 

Horsley, Surrey; Mark Middleton, Bourne, 

Lines; Simon Hollister, Sale, Cheshire; 

Calum Rudland, Bathgate, Scotland; Lisa 

Marie Burt, Newbiggin-by-the-sea, 

Northumberland; Dawn L. Douglas, 

Seaham, Co.Durham; Zzap Reader, 

Consett, Durham; J.C.Robinson, 

Stonehouse, Plymouth; Nick Boak, 

Northampton; Sally Deakin, London; 

Gavin Jackson, Doncaster; Jim Dalton, 

Brackley, Northants; J.T.Phillips, 

Newcastle-upon-Tyne; A.Gaskell, 

St.Helens, Merseyside; Tim Clitheroe, 

Hornchurch, Essex; D.Tobin, Brighton, 

E. Sussex; Simon Johns, High Wycombe, 

Bucks; Julie Paine, Maidstone, Kent; 

Gregory Bragg, Solihull, West Midlands; 

C.Cunliffe, London; Jason Day, Stockport, 

Cheshire; MarkTrevoskis, Saltash, 

Cornwall; Andrew Dumbrill, Cheltenham, 

Glos. 

PASTFINDER COMPETITION 

50 people receive a copy of the 

sizzling Activision title. The 

winners: 

Ian Campbell, Loanhead, Scotland; Patrick 

Barry, Cork City, Eire; Charles McGregor, 

Glasgow; W.L.Goswell, Harlow, Essex; B. 

Fitzsimmons, Liverpool; Michael Ward, 

Northwich, Cheshire; Philip Heathcote, 

Sheffield; Ian McQuesten, Reading; Kislays 

Agrawal, London; Darren Arkless, 

Newcastle; Simon Davies, Wrexham, 

Clwyd; R.G.Teare, Isle of Man; Michael 

Warner, Merseyside; Paul Whelan, Dublin; 

Sacha Crowe, Nottingham; Paul Osborne, 

Saxmundham, Suffolk; Jason Kelly, 

London; Russell Fascione, South Shields; 

S.Kennett, Gillingham, Kent; Herman 

Tailor, Birmingham; David Ellwood, 

Cockermouth, Cumbria; David Mears, Hull; 

A.E.Webster, Pontefract; Ian Thompson, 

Bonnyrigg, Midlothian; Gary Milligan, 

Carluke, Strathclyde; T.Rouf, London; 

Kenji Takeda, London; Peter Elliott, 

Liverpool; Barry Wakelin, Greatham, 

Hants; Jason Bing, Kirby-in-Ashfield, 

Notts; C. Dibble, Droitwich, Worcs; 

S.M.Liem, London; Ronnie Long, Poole, 

Dorset; J.D.Preou, Braintree, Essex; 

Gregory Bragg, Solihull, West Midlands; 

Stella Glibbery, Stevenage, Herts; 

J.Bonnick, Sandy, Beds; Clive Walsh, 

Mountain Ash, Mid Glam; M.H.R. Burgher, 

Kelso; Stephen Bryson, Folkstone, Kent; 

Steven Cooper, Thurnscoe, Yorks; Claret 

Badgie, London; Robert Rumbell, 

Romford, Essex; L.Burn, South Shields; 

Sui Hung Lee, London; Kristian Terling, 

Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey; Alden 

Brown, Brandon, Suffolk; I.Kitching, 

Hackenthorpe, Sheffield; John Park, 

Rigside, Scotland; Mrs J.BrOomhall, Coven 

Heath, Wolverhampton. 

McCartney competition 

The prizes: one signed copy of 

the Broad Street album signed 

by Paul McCartney himself, plus 

copies of the computer game of 

same name for 50 runners up. 

The Answers: 1)Wings 2)Stevie 

Wonder 3)No more lonely 

nights. 

The Winners: Miss J.P.Smith, London; 

(Signed Album); 

S.Pountney, King's Lynn, Norfolk; David 

Ward, Gourock, Scotland; Chris Burke, 

Harrogate, North Yorks; Robert Edwards, 

Mitcham, Surrey; Alan Hopkins, Epping, 

Essex; Andy Smith, Grimsby; G.D.Benford, 

Merseyside; James Wharry, Larne, 

N. Ireland; Martin Baker, Liverpool; Angus 

Davidson, Marlborough, Wilts; Stephen 

Watson, Birtley, Co.Durham; Martin 

Skovbo, Denmark; R.Taylor, Garswood, 

Wigan; Neil Brown, Gi8llingham, Kent; 

K.Davies, Ammanford, Dyfed; G.Rees, 

Portsmouth, Hants; Jason Rogers, 

Blackpool; John Harnett, Co. Kerry, Eire; 

Stuart Jackson, Maidstone, Kent; Simon 

Sykes, Malvern, Worcs; Simon Eland, 

Cleveland; Stephen A. Graham, Carlisle; 

Stig Andersen, Denmark; Peter Chung, 

London; Mrs Beryl Waters, Solihull, West 

Midlands; Gary Carr, Moray; Arthur 

Janssen, Netherlands; Allister Whitehead, 

Nottingham; Lee Russell, London; Mandy 

Johnston, Larne, Co.Antrim; Stephen Lees, 

Dundee; David Latham, Preston, Lancs; 

James Smith, Milton Keynes; Zeno 0. 

Winkins, Co.Wexford, Rep. Ireland; David 

Chant, St. Annes, Lancs; Ian C. Jones, 

Wigan, Lancs; Neil Gardner, Crewe, 

Cheshire; Andrew Mallandain, Reading; 

R.G.CIark, London; Stuart Watson, 

Edinburgh; M. Mustafa, London; C.S.Yan, 

Rainham, Kent; Mark Ashworth, Elsted, 

W.Sussex; Mary Claire Ward, Exeter, 

Devon; Irfan Latif, London; Francis Bowers, 

Sheffield; Paul Dunlop, London; Mrs 

Hancox, Worcester; GA.Evans, 

Helensburgh. 


' 

1 

Mychess takes on Colossn 

ZZAP DATELINE: a morning in May. In 

the post: a letter from Clive Bailey of 

Beyond Software, taking us to task for 

proclaiming (in our May issue) that 

Co/ossus Chess (version 2.0) from CDS 

was 'probably' the most powerful 

chess program on the 64. Nonsense, 

says Clive. Beyond's Mychess 2 is FAR 

better. 

Not being quite so easily persuaded, 

we decide to stage a grand playoff between 

the two contenders. Well, fairly 

grand. 

THE RULES. Two games on a reasonably 

fast advanced level (1 move per 

minute on average) and two on a very 

low level (1 move per 7 seconds). Each 

program is to take a turn at being black 

and white at each level. 

THE PRELUDE. Loading up the two programs, 

the differences in presentation 

are very obvious. The Mychess 3D view 

The 

is something of a gimmick, being a lot 

harder to use than the 2D view. However, 

the program is generous enough 

to suggest moves for its opponent. Colossus 

on the other hand offers alternative 

input modes, (keys or cursor) and, 

more importantly, a much clearer insight 

into its thought processes, including 

a continually updated report on 

who it thinks has the stronger position, 

and by how much. Hmmmm . . . The 

key thing of course is the play itself. 

GAME 1 . 

We decide to play the high 

level games first and let Mychess 1 take 

the advantage of the white pieces for 

the first game. The game is a long and 

''WJf 

itr 

boring one in which pieces are systematically 

exchanged without either side 

gaining an advantage. Play ends in a 

draw, Mychess seeming happy to 

move its king backwards and forwards 

and Colossus failing to press home the 

advantage of a superior pawn position. 

GAME 2. The second advanced game is 

far more interesting with Colossus taking 

white. It quickly evolves into an 

exciting and complex position, with 

both programs posing numerous 

threats. Mychess appears poised to go 

a full piece up with a neat pawn fork, 

but Colossus has an ace up its sleeve! It 

manages to pin and then capture

. 

ossuiin clash of the giants 

Mychess' s queen. Having secured this 

massive advantage, victory is only a 

matter of time. 

INTERLUDE. Interesting: Colossus 

winning one and a half points to half a 

point on the high level. How will 

Mychess II 

cope with the low levels: 

would it avenge this humiliating defeat 

or be soundly beaten yet again? 

GAME 3. The first low-level game puts 

Colossus on white, and after the opening 

it instantly attacks. Mychess defends 

well and counter attacks. After 

several pieces exchanged Mychess 

moves in and rocks Colossus with a 

swift and decisive checkmate! Perhaps 

the honour of Mychess will be redeemed 

after all! 

GAME 4. 

black pieces in the final game it 

Although Colossus has the 

again 

attacks soon after the opening, and 

ONEOFF 

again Mychess fights back, tearing 

Colossus wide open at the back. 

Mychess advances his queen deep into 

the Colossus 1 ranks and takes a knight, 

rook and several pawns. Then the 

coup. It lines the rook up to checkmate 

the king trapped behind three pawns. 

Colossus having completely failed to 

spot this most obvious of moves! 

ZZAP VERDICT. Mychess II certainly 

appears by farthe stronger program on 

lower (faster-playing) levels, winning 

here by a 2-0 margin. But for a higher 

level game. Colossus appears distinctly 

superior. Sorry, Clive . . 

"&OSH,THt$€: 

MUST 

NO DRAUGHTS

. 

Outwitting the enemies 

GATES OF DAWN 

Virgin, £8.95 cass, joystick with keys 

-sc 

psychedelic arcade-adventure 

STRETCHES OF WATER found in 

some rooms are apparently uncrossable. 

If you try, you die. So 

how do you do it? - the solution 

should be crystal clear. 

SPIDERS' WEBS block further 

progress in some rooms and signal 

lunch to an awaiting spider 

should you get caught in one. 

Unless of course you can figure 

out how to slip past. . . 

FIVE KNASTY KNIGHTS patrol 

back and forth and are deadly to 

the touch - unless you can weave 

your way through to the end of 

the room. 

LARGE SLABS move up and 

down the length of some rooms 

while spinning spheres move 

around in predictable patterns in 

others. 

BATS frequent the occasional 

location and must be avoided or 

killed with your sword. 

TOLL GATES won't let you past 

unless you leave them an object. 

Good arcade 

adventures are still 

on the 64 and this one 

seemed destined to 

become one of the 

few great ones. After 

second thoughts. 

T 

his is one of two aardvarks 

to be released from Virgin 

this month and there's little 

doubt that Strange/oop is the 

hotter of the two. 

The game takes place within a 

maze of 64 locations and although 

this isn'tas large as most 

aardvarks currently available it's 

certainly as complicated. 

Your task, as a knight in notso-shining 

armour, is to discover 

the mystery of the mind. 

To gain access to this phenomenon 

you need to pass through 

the Gates of Dawn with the four 

required objects - iron, stone, 

fire and ice. These, amongst 

other useful objects, are scattered 

about the maze in certain locations. 

Each location is displayed as a 

3D view into the screen with the 

walls bearing garish patterns 

and colours, giving the whole 

thing a 'psychedelic' look to it. 

Most of the locations contain, 

along with any objects, nasties 

of various descriptions. 

As you move from room to 

room a chess board radar/map 

shows your position in the 

maze. An arrow below this map 

indicates the direction you are 

facing and it becomes important 

to keep an eye on this later in the 

game. When actually going 

through a doorway into another 

location you are presented with 

a great, full screen picture of 

yourself running through a 

stone doorway. 

You start the game with five 

lives, a strength of 10,000 and a 

sword. Lives are lost through 

contact with certain nasties and 

strength likewise. If you should 

lose all five lives, or your 

strength should fall to zero, then 

your quest and game is over. 

The sword can be used to fend 

off nasties, providing it's at the 

top of your inventory list. Your 

inventory list is a list of up to five 

objects currently carried, the 

object currently held being highlighted 

at the top of the list. 

This object can be examined. 

dropped or used in some way. 

Pressing the relevant key will 

present you with the menu of 

commands available. You then 

have a short time limit to select 

one of these commands for 

execution. 

EXAMINE gives a small description 

of the object while DROP 

drops the currently held object. 

The USE command allows you 

to perform an action with the 

object held eg. eat, drink, pour 

etc. You do this by selecting the 

option and typing in the action 

you wish to perform at the bottom 

of the screen. 

The graphics in Gates ofDawn 

are good, but some of the sprites 

lack in attention to detail. Sound 

Obscure, unhelpful 

instructions and no game 

options. 

Unusual3Dperspective and 

some good sprites. 

Great corridor noise with 

other weird effects. 

rÂQ/ Not as good as Strangeloop 

ntl 

ar>d Entombed but still quite 

/ tough. 

and 64 locations make 

the game look good 

but it doesn't play 

particularly well. Odd 

3D graphics don't 

always seem to 

behave properly, your 

knight sometimes 

f 

pies when he's miles 

away from a hostile 

object If you're an 

H 

enjoy the puzzles 

involved in this , butf'd 

recommend you look 

*%, at other games first. 

too is pretty good with some 

unusual effects but a grotty title 

screen tune. 

There are several humourous 

touches throughout the game, 

mainly in the form of little messages 

on some of the walls. 

Also, eating a certain mushroom 

gives the very amusing effect of 

seeing nothing but mushrooms! 

Every object, every nasty, even 

the things in your inventory, 

become mushrooms and are 

treated accordingly! 

GP 

Highly original puzzles 

O 

and 

game setting. 

75% 

62% 

It's a bit 

q 

tough to get into as 

the puzzles aren 7 at all 

^ obvious. 

The game isn 't that large 

and may not hold your 

interest. 


Bet you can’t s/ts+\ll when playing 

Guide bouncy ‘Thing’ through this underworld fantasia searching for the armoury to equip himself 

carefully for the final encounter with the evil Toy Goblin. 

Gremlin Graphics, Alpha House, 10 Carver Street, Sheffield SI 4FS. Tel: (0742) 753423

Retailers don't always have everything jn stock you 

might want, but if it is within our power to get it for 

you, then we will. Any of the software reviewed in this 

or any issue of ZZAP! 64 can be ordered using the form 

below — in fact any available CBM 64 software that 

exists we will get for you. 

* 

ZZAP! 64 Mail Order is backed by the resources of 

Crash Mail Order (in association with the Spectrum 

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! 

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Please do not send any mail order correspondence to the Zzap! 64 editorial address as this will only result in delays.

9 Large, excellent value exploration game 

T 

his is the first 64 arcade 

adventure to come from 

Mastertronic, and hopefully 

it won't be their last. 

This particular exploration 

takes place within a large 

mansion and its surroundings. 

You are shown a small portion 

of the plan view of the playing 

area, which flicks to a new area 

when you reach the edge of a 

room. To the sideof this is a box, 

displaying a map of your progress 

through the mansion. 

Within the mansion lie several 

musical boxes, which you must 

find and use to escape. Getting 

these boxes is made difficult by 

the number of locations you 

need to explore, and the presence 

of some ghosts. 

These ghosts can be disposed 

of temporarily by throwing an 

object at them. You throw an 

object by selecting the throw 

option, the object you want to 

throw and the angle at which 

you want to throw it. 

At the bottom of the screen a 

description of the current room 

is displayed along with a com- 

w 

I 

I 

CIPHOID 9 

Monarch Software, £9.95 case, joystick or keys. 

#Flashly-looking, lousy-playing shoot-em-up 

I 

Land of Hope and Glory 

blasts out prior to loading 

the game and you wonder 

whether British software could 

be making a real comeback. 

Then you start playing the game 

and you know why the Empire 

was lost. 

The scenario is the crusty old 

'defend earth against the invading 

alien force'. Ho-hum. You 

are in control of a phaser turret 

on the moon and will face alternate 

waves of fighters and a 

mothership. There are three 

sectors or viewpoints of the 

moon's surface with the earth 

on the far horizon. 

The fighters come in at one of 


ment about how things are 

going - for example when you 

get killed by a spook, the comment 

is 'a ghostly death'. 

Above these comments is an 

indication of your energy (you 

start with 100 units, which decreases 

depending upon your 

exertions), the number of boxes 

found and a decision timer. 

Also scattered around the 

multi-room mansion are various 

other objects, amongst them 

food for keeping up your energy. 

Some of the food is poisoned, 

and you must learn from experience 

that which can be eaten 

safely. 

The other items range from 

hot coals, torches and tables to 

potions, maps and keys. The 

keys are used to go through 

otherwise impassable doorways, 

and the maps give you a 

complete map of the playing 

area on screen. I haven't yet 

found a use for some of the 

other things though. 

When you've collected all of 

the music boxes, you take them 

to the exit (marked on the map 

by an 'E'), and play them to get 

free. Should your energy get to 

zero, through one way or 

another, then the game is over 

and your percentage is displayed. 

The joystick is used in con- 

There is a myth that good BrMidh software m 

becoming a dying breed. This does nothing to 

quell this rumour. Initial expectations are 

high from the title screen and backgrounds. 

Such feelings soon tgrn to revulsion when 

you see the superbly detailed landscape 

scroll body-pop style across the screen. 

Actually playing the game reveals a darker 

mdgrimmer, side that doesn 't exactly inspire 

C' you to play any further. 

the sectors and your view scrolls 

very jerkily to face them. You 

now control a cursor and have to 

blast the incoming craft. In the 

first wave there are 15 ships 

which can shoot back, depleting 

your 50 shields with each hit. 

Your display gives you a readout 

of the sector, wave, ships left 

to shoot, energy and score. A 

panel also gives you messages 

as to your status. Once the 

energy falls too low you cannot 

junction with the keyboard to 

control your character's movements 

and actions. The joystick 

is used mainly for movement, 

and the keyboard for selecting 

an action to be executed. 

When you wish to perform an 

action, such as picking up an 

object, you press the fire button. 

You are then presented with a 

menu of options. These include 

the ability to pick up, drop or 

manipulate an object (eat, wear 

or throw it). You are given a limited 

time in which to make any 

decisions, so you need to think 

fairly quickly. 

* 

GP 

CpmM&ji$MndscapA what's hapf. 

nomirssmmg^ UQHI theiaodi 

turned to jelly.ph welhPon'tbe mi 

screen shots as this game is a prett 

shoot-em-up and didn't turn one ofn 

(And I'm supposed to be the shoot- 

\ Q addict) YA WNM . 

rapid-fire your laser, but only in 

double-shot bursts. 

Once the first wave is destroyed 

you jerk to another sector 

where a mothership (or is it a 

base-star from Batt/estar Gatactical) 

has to be hit ten times in 

the centre. This ship fires 

nuclear shells which inflict 

heavy damage on your shields 

although they can be shot as 

well. On later waves the damage 

per shell increases so things get 

a lot harder. 

The second fighter level has 

25 ships and the number increases 

by five for each successive 

wave. When you do die two 

7 * 

, 

_ ,< t 

when you scroti from 

room to room Apart 

from that it's excellent 

value for money and 

gives plenty of 

playing area and 

things to suss out 

ProSabty aboutJ8 

months ago thm > 

would have sold quite 

well as a normally 

: ewts&mmh 

&„ 

standards 

good value 

here are of 

better j 

arcade adventures but 

if you've got £2 to 

spare you could do 

worse than buy this. 

Simple instructions 

plus an adventure menu. 

Crude graphics and 

horrible room to room 

scrolling. 

Annoying tune 

plays throughout 

game. 

nuclear shells zoom into the 

earth. This promptly disappears, 

except for a two pixel line on the 

horizon suggesting that the bottom 

half is still there. 

got las 

someth 

tty grottyprovides 

?nty omhailenge. 

much better than 

aost of the older 

istertronic games 

t at this price gives 

(cedent value tor 

money, t didn't 

ticufarfy like it, but 

n / dislike this sort 

fgame anywav. 

Ordinary arcade 

adventure. 

Not likely to 

terrify you with 

its ghosts. 

A big play area 

and some puzzling. 

sommhbutthe 

ruined the game 

stand for the mind-numbing 

it calls for, \%ph a bit more 

i work this cpttld have been < 

? programmers seem to havi 

graphic detail and produced 

far from being an example o 

tish software im terrible 

isappointment. 

PRESENTATION anpii v 

q / Great title screen, 

3*\ understandably short 

ORAPHSCS 

S Q /O tîe a 

C\ O Q/ 

‘Save Earth from 

êns ' b°re- 

^ instructions. 

Uflfll/' ADII rvv 

1 IbbI 1 « 

“T >fO/ 

Brilliant until they 

j /Q A (\/ Two or three games 

L.f. start scrolling. 

^ anyone. 

isuru min 91 CSTA IStll IT'V' 

< / ^/ci 

should be enough for 

r\ A Cl / Horrid blasting 

/Q effects. 20% ““ 

•J^ 

Ll v. 

Oh dear. Sadly below the advertising claims. 

The fighters, mothership and 

explosions are nicely depicted 

but the sound effects are monotonous. 

BW 

" DQH P0 6€T upggr. !• 


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54. 

59. (27) BOOTY 

FIREBIRD. £2.50 cass 

60. 

Set in a pirate ship you must explore the decks collecting 

treasures and booty while avoiding the fearsome 

cutthroats and other dangers that bar the way. Good 

value multi-screen game with unusual elements. 

jf 

( ) 

MANIC MINER 

55. 

SOFTWARE PROJECTS, £7.95 cass 

This is the first copy of the original Miner 2049'er 

platform game. It features the now infamous miner Willy 

as he collects keys in order to escape from a succession 

of weird sections of his mine. 

61. 

(-) GUMSHOE 

A'N'F, £7.95 cass 

You're an investigator in a hotel full of gangsters and 

searching fora kidnapped girl. You have to find the girl 

as you shoot it out with the mob who keep appearing 

through doors. You've got to make a profit while your at 

it though. 

\ 

r 

56. 

(-) SUPER PIPELINE II 

TASKSET, £6.90 cass, £9 90 disk 

Frantic arcade style game with great graphics and 

music. Battle to keep the various nasties from bursting 

your pipes and stopping the water flow to the barrels. 

Sacrifice of your workmates is necessary in order to fill 

the barrels and move on to a more complex network of 

pipes. 

57. 

62. 

(52) ONE ON ONE 

ARIOLASOFT, 

£9.95 cass, 

£11.95 disk 

63. 

Basketball game where you can take on Julius Erving or 

Larry Bird. It's just two of you in a high scoring duel 

around the basket. 

2 

(53) BRIAN JACKS SUPERSTAR 

CHALLENGE 

MARTECH, £8.95 cass, £12.95 disk 

58. 

Tacky shirts are guaranteed with this new joystick 

waggling game. Score enough points on the qualifying 

round to challenge the man himself. Eight tough and 

different events will tax your strength and skill to their 

utmost. 

(43) UP 'N' DOWN 

US GOLD, £9.95 cass 

This fun-to-play arcade conversion will frustrate you 

immensely. Rush and jump your car around the rounds 

in search of the coloured flags. On completing a screen 

you progess to an even harder level, and eventually to 

flags that trundle about on trollies. 

(55) MONTY MOLE 

GREMLIN GRAPHICS. £7.95 cass 

Another scrolling platform game where Monty Mole 

goes in search of coal and the legendary Arthur. All sorts 

of hazards face him including flying pickets, hairsprays, 

coal crushers and acid baths. 

(-) FIGHTER PILOT 

64. 

DIGITAL INTEGRATION, £9.95 cass 

One of the earliest flight simulators with six options from 

landing practise to 3D air-to-air combat. Four skill levels, 

good controls and great instrumentation. 

(-) BLACK HAWK 

CREATIVE SPARKS, £7.95 cass 

Flying over enemy territory you have to deal with enemy 

ground installations, helicopters, planes and missiles. 

The screen scrolls Xevious style and there's plenty of 

blasting action to keep you happy. 

( -) TIM LOVE'S CRICKET 

PEAKSOFT, £8.95 cass 

Interesting cricket simulation where you can take on 

another player or the computer. Full control over 

batting, bowling and fielding and choice of all twenty 

two players. 

TOTE YOUR VOTE! 

Help your favourite games into the top 64, and win a great Zzap prize package 

Here's the form on which you 

can vote for your favourite 

games and help build up the 

nation's best chart for 64 

owners. 

Basically you have a total of 

TEN votes which you can allocate 

any way you like - you can 

put them all 

on one game or 

split them between up to FIVE 

different games. This is the best 

way of ensuring that our chart 

accurately reflects people's preferences. 

To ensure that people only 

enter once you MUST use the 

ZZAPI64 TOP 64 VOTING COUPON 

I 

(Please write clearly) 

Name 

Address 

The games I 

£20): 

Post code 

would like to win are (total price MUST be under 

form below. This form also 

allows you to predict what you 

think will be the top three 

games in the next chart. The 

first three people we find with 

the correct predictions will win 

a great gift package consisting 

of a Zzap! T-shirt and games of 

your choice worth up to £20. 

This is an opportunity you 

can't afford to pass over, so get 

voting. Entries to: Chart vote, 


Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 1HX. 

am voting for the following games (up to five): 

Game (and software house) 

No. votes 

My T-shirt size is S/M/L 

1 

predict the top three games in the completed chart will be: 

1 

3 Maximum total votes 10 


CEORCE 

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Commodore 64 & Atari

I 

ZZAPSPEAK 

The workl of computer games has already spawned a language 

all Its own, which can leave non-initiates completely baffled. So 

here's explanation of some of the more commonly used terms, 

including a few we've invented ourselves. We'll be updating this 

glossary with new terms as the need arises. 

/WSDn; 

. , iv-i? 

AARDVARK Useful abbreviation 

coined by the mag Micro Adventurer 

(RIP) for the long-winded term 

'arcade-adventure' (see below). Not 

be confused with the animal or software 

house of same name. 

ADVENTURE In its strictest sense this 

refers to a game in which you control 

the action by entering simple typed 

commands on the keyboard instead 

of having direct movement control 

over a character as in a typical 

'arcade' game. For example, if you 

were trying to escape from a dungeon, 

you might try typing commands 

such as 'Search dungeon' or 'Kick 

door' or (possibly) 'Look through 

keyhole'. If the computer understands 

the command it will either 

carry it out and tell you the result, or 

inform you if the action is impossible. 

A typical adventure would involve 

exploring various locations in search 

of objects to help you on your quest. 

The main challengeof these games is 

working out how exactly to use the 

objects. See also TEXT-ONLY ADV- 

ENTURE, GRAPHICS ADVENTURE, 

and ARCADE-ADVENTURE 

ADVERTISERS' INDEX 

Anirog 

Ariolasoft 

Beyond 

Database 

Domark 

Firebird 

67 

65 

9 

50, 51 

87 

10, 11,57 

Gremlin Graphics 105 

Imagine 115 

Lothlorien 39 

Melbourne House 

79, 81, 83, 85 

Microcentre 63 

ARCADE GAME The most common 

type of computer game in which you 

have direct movement control over a 

character. The term is also sometimes 

used in a narrower sense to 

refer only to games which started life 

in the amusement arcades. 

ANIMATION The movement of a 

character to indicate different actions 

such as walking, running, leaping, 

etc. Animation which is detailed, 

shnooth and realistic (or humourous) 

can add enormously to the graphical 

impact of a game. 

ARCADE-ADVENTURE Basically an 

arcade game (no typed commands), 

but one which is based around the 

adventure themes of exploration, 

object manipulation and problem 

solving. A typical 'aardvark' will show 

on screen only a small part of the total 

playing area at any one time, and to 

solve It a player may well have to 

map out the various locations. Examples 

of such games are Quo Vadis 

(strong on exploration) and Pyjamarama 

(strong on object manipulation 

and problem solving). 

BLOCKY See low-res 

BODYPOP SCROLLING Another term 

for jerky scrolling. (See SCROLLING) 

CVG Stands for Completely Vile 

Game. (Used only in extreme circumstances). 

Mikro-Gen 73, 77 

New Generation 21, 95 

Ocean 

back page 

Software City 13 

Ultimate 27 

US Gold 2, 17, 49, 68, 98, 

99, 113 

Virgin Games 4 

ZZAP! 64 Subscriptions 

40, 41 

ZZAP! Mail Order 106 

FLICK-SCREEN Describes multiscreen 

games where the picture 

jumps to a new location as the character 

reaches the edge of the screen. 

Contrast with SCROLLING. 

GRAPHICS ADVENTURE An adventure 

game in which the various locations 

are illustrated on screen (as 

well as described). 

HIGH-RES Short for high resolution. 

Describes graphics which are finely 

detailed. 

JOYSTICK ADVENTURE Another 

term for 'arcade-adventure'. 

LOW-RES Short for low resolution. 

Describes graphics which are 'blocky' 

and lack detail. 

PATTERN GAME A game where the 

enemies move in regular patterns, 

and where the skill lies in understanding 

the patterns and timing your 

moves accordingly. Many PLAT- 

FORM games are also pattern games. 

PATTERN SYNDROME An unfortunate 

feature of certain pattern games 

where the patterns never alter, and 

the player has to move through 

exactly the same route every time he 

plays. Also known as PS. 

PLATFORM GAME A type of game 

started by Miner 2049'er where much 

of the action involves leaping around 

a series of platforms. 

SCREENS Games are often described 

as having a certain number of 

screens. This only makes precise 

sense in flick-screen games where 

there are distinct screen pictures, locations 

or layouts. In games where the 

picture scrolls the 'number of 

screens' normally refers to the size of 

the overall playing area. 

SCROLLING A very common game 

feature where the screen picture 

moves to show a new part of the 

playing area. It's as if the player is 

looking at the view through a moving 

camera lens. In most games which 

feature scrolling, the picture moves 

in order to keep the character you 

control in the centre of the screen. 

Scrolling can occur in more than one 

direction and may be smooth or 

jerky. 

SHMUP A Zzap-coined term to 

replace 

the long-winded 'shoot-emup'. 

Any game involving stacks of 

blasting and zapping. 

SIMULATION A program which tries 

to copy as realistically as possible an 

activity such as a sport or flying an 

aircraft. 

STRATEGY GAME A term used for 

certain games which are neither arcade 

nor adventure. Typically they will 

put the player in a decision-making 

position such as commanding a 

merchant ship or running a company. 

On the basis of information supplied 

by the computer he will make a series 

of choices in and attempt to achieve 

some goal. Football Manager, speaking 

of goals, is an example of a popular 

strategy game. War games are 

also a type of strategy game. 

TEXT-ONLY ADVENTURE An adventure 

in which the various locations 

are described in words only. The advantage 

of this is that the memory 

space which would otherwise be 

taken up by graphics can be used on 

extra locations or added subtleties. 

TANK To thrash someone at a computer 

game. As in: 'Penn tanked 

Rignall at Dropzone.' 

WIMP OUT To turn in an utterly useless 

performance on the joystick. 

'The ed wimped out again.' 

SEE VoK. 

NC*T , „ 

\S>S>UE' 


| 

: | 

, 

YPER SPORTS 

w %*> 

* * *'*> * »io 

1J-00 

1CM;.#ywn & 

lOonami 

Be only at your peak as 

you enter the HYPER 

SPORTS stadium to compete in six MEW 

exhausting events in this state of the art 

simulation - the officially 

endorsed version of the 

^=/ Mo. 1 arcade game. 

The screens above are taken from the Arcade version 

and may differ from the home computer versions. 

•>- 

Continuing the challenge 

where Track and Field' left off. 

Imagine Software is available from.WOOiWORTH WHSMITH 

. 

EJIJWIAklWl-ll 

LASKYS, Rumbelows, COMET,Spectrum Shops and all good dealers.

7 

, 

SPECTRUM 48 K 

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Extraordinary Arcade Animation 

An amazing journey to the centre 

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Discover the secrets of the 

final screen! 

FREE! FREE! FREE! 

Unique LIVE recording of RELAX, never released in the U.K. 

Exclusively from locecnl j n [data tme ; 

twin cassette pack. 

Ocean Software Limited 

6 Central Street Manchester M2 5NS. 

Telephone: 061 832 6633 

Ocean Software is available from selected branches of: 

IVOOUMXRTH.WHSMITH .nmmm ,(§&) , 

LASKYS 

Rumbelows, COWttif'T, 

Spectrum Shops and all good software dealers.

ZZAP!64 - Issue 3 - July 1985

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