| software scene |
COMPUTER GAMES are becoming more complicated every month but Quicksilva, the manufacturer of a new game for the 48K Spectrum called Time Gate, claims that the game is the ultimate sci-fi arcade adventure.
The game is loaded in two parts. First, the lengthy instruction manual is loaded. That indicates to the player that the object of the game is to destroy a race of aliens called the Squarm who have invaded and taken over the Earth. The player must locate and travel through a series of time gates to various periods of history to find and destroy the headquarters of the Squarm.
The player must destroy as many aliens as possible in the search for the base, as the score is based on the time the mission takes and the number of craft destroyed before finishing or aborting the game.
If damage is sustained in space battles the player can land on a planet to do repairs and re-fuel. There are three types of planet and four types of alien craft with which to contend.
The most amazing thing about the game is the graphics. The player looks through the window of a space-craft at a three-dimensional view of space. The alien craft and the planet surfaces are also three-dimensional.
The sound effects have an arcade-style quality. The game has a high-score facility but high scores are difficult to obtain and we managed only 330.
Time Gate is available from Quicksilva, Hampshire, and costs £6.95.
A FAST and furious fight through the air is promised with the Mikro Gen Scramble, a better-than-average version of the popular arcade game. The game can be played in fast, normal or slow modes but it is better to play it in slow mode if you are a beginner with this kind of game.
The game goes through four sectors in which missiles, UFOs, meteors and fortresses provide obstacles for your fighter aircraft as it shoots across the sky.
The player is provided with weaponry of laser and smart bombs. Even they are not sufficient to deal with the missiles and UFOs.
Scramble is available from Mikro Gen, Berkshire and costs £5.50 plus 50 pence p&p.
WorkForce has produced a less interesting version for the 16K Spectrum.
This version of Scramble uses only the missile stage. That does not detract from its playability and in some ways it is more difficult than its bigger brother. The missiles are certainly larger and the large player ship is an easy target.
An unusual feature is that you can steer the ship diagonally, although if you use those control keys as well as the others you could become confused. The controls are set out on the keyboard as if a joystick was being used. At some stages you could begin to feel like a contortionist grappling at the controls.
Apart from the difficulties with the controls Scramble is an exciting and addictive game which can be speeded using the thrust control. It is produced by Work Force, Beds, and costs £4.95.
ASTEROIDS seems to be a popular game at the moment for both Sinclair machines and each version is better than the last. Meteoroids is an asteroid-type game for the Spectrum and is produced by Softek, a relative newcomer to the Sinclair scene. The meteors are three-dimensional and are of three types, ranging from small meteorites to large meteoroids.
The game is fast but even though you can score a maximum of 200 points for hitting a large meteoroid, a high score is difficult to achieve.
The player's ship can rotate in both directions, can move across the screen, and go into hyperspace. One added extra is a shield which can be used if the ship is about to be hit by a meteor. Each time the player fires the laser a volley of four shots blasts into space.
The instruction leaflet offers various methods for getting out of tight spots. Meteoroids is produced by Softek, London. It costs £4.95.
PIMANIA is a fascinating adventure game which has the added compulsion of a pride offered by the manufacturer to the first person who reaches the end of it.
The idea is to pass through a series of Pi-gates which exist in different places in space and time and eventually to find the place in space and time where the Golden Sundial, the prize, has been hidden.
To start the game the players must push the proper key on the keyboard. When first confronted with the task, the problems facing the adventurer seem impassable but the answers are so easy. In fact, it takes a child's mind to determine some of the clues.
The graphics are excellent and the Pi-man, a little cartoon character who can help or hinder the player, is an amusing and brilliant creation.
Some people may not buy the game because they think that when the competition is over the game will no longer be fun. That is not true, as it has many twists and turns before the final answer is found. Locating most of them will take months.
It is the best adventure game we have reviewed for the 48K Spectrum and 16K ZX-81. It is available from Automata Cartography-Ltd, Southsea, and costs £10.
NOW James Bond has managed to find his way on to the 48K Spectrum in an adventure game called Shaken but not Stirred. The game is in two parts. In the first part a nuclear missile is abducted and the player, James Bond, must find and disarm it.
The first section of the game is a chase round the world, where Bond is threatened by spies, attacked by muggers and invited into taxis for secret meetings. At various points clues, in the form of anagrams, are given to the player to indicate where Dr Death's hideout is located. Once you have found that you can load part two of the game and visit Dr Death's island.
You must explore the island and attempt to discover the secret entrance to Dr Death's underwater hide-away. If you find it you will find yourself in a three-dimensional maze. You must find the control room and de-activate the deadly weapon.
To add to your troubles in the maze, a villain called Paws will stalk you and try to kill you. If you manage to find the control room and de-activate the missile, you must rush to London for your favourite drink, a Vodka Martini.
The game is a fast-moving, machine code adventure but stage one can be slightly monotonous as it is all too easy to be killed. There are also random elements in the game which hamper the planning of strategy.
Shaken but not Stirred is available from Richard Shepherd Software, Berkshire. It costs £6.50.
MURDEROUS dwarfs, misty caverns and mysterious objects all play a part in the new Abersoft adventure game for the 48K Spectrum, Adventure One.
Anything can happen during the adventure but one thing to look for is a dwarf who throws knives. He could put a quick end to any adventuring.
The adventure is displayed as text on the screen and reads like a book written by Tolkien with shades of Agatha Christie included. It is ideal for a beginner at adventure games because the computer helps the player more than other games so far released for the Spectrum. The game should prove advantageous for the experienced Dungeons and Dragons player who cannot find a Dungeon Master against which to pit wits.
Adventure One is available from Abersoft, Dyfed and costs £9.95.
THE MANUFACTURER of a new adventure game for the ZX-81 specifies that it is for women. Love, from Remsoft, casts the player as an amorous woman in search of some fun. The player starts in the bedroom wearing pyjamas. There is a chest of clothes which the player can open and investigate.
The game is amusing at times although whether that is intentional or not is difficult to determine. There are hints about sex throughout the game, although the program vocabulary does not stretch that far.
Love is produced by Remsoft, Brighton. The game costs £5.95.