Golden Oldies

For the benefit of new ZX-81 owners we look retrospectively at some chart-toppers of the past

IT IS unfortunate but true that the ZX-81 seems to have slipped from the minds of software authors who look at it with embarrassment and wish it would go away. If anyone were to suggest that more software should be written for the black-and-white, low-resolution machine the instigators would be regarded as mad and informed quietly that the ZX-81 is no longer commercially viable.

That is to forget, however, that there are still thousands of users who want to be satisfied in terms of software and that their ranks are increasing every day. It is for those people who still hold the ZX-81 in esteem that we look back at products which are still on the market and about which new owners may not know.

The most prolific software house for the ZX-81 which is still manufacturing for the market is New Generation. It has great pride in its products because it produced the first 3D game, 3D Monster Maze.

The game puts you into a three-dimensional maze, using conventional ZX-81 graphics speeded with machine code. The effect is incredible and the program could be for a black-and-white Spectrum. It gives the effect of high-resolution graphics.

You are not alone in the maze, as you will find when you discover the footsteps which are plodding slowly towards you. If you are lucky you will lose the owner of those big feet, or he will lose you. If you are not so fortunate you will see Tyrannosaurus Rex moving towards you along the corridor. At that point it might be a good idea to run or you will be eaten.

Contrary to popular belief there is a way out of the labyrinth and when you find it you will be shown a pretty graphics display along with a 'you got out of this one' message. The game can be made more difficult but the initial playing level is sufficient for beginners.

The only criticism of 3D Monster Maze is the long wait, in FAST mode, while the maze is set up. That is a time of seemingly unending boredom but it is soon forgotten when play begins. 3D Monster Maze is essential for all owners of the 16K ZX-81.

Another famous name in the ZX-81 market is Orwin Software. Michael Orwin, the compiler of a number of games tapes, appears to take a less active role in the company now but his ZX-81 software is still selling well.

There are five cassettes in all but only the first takes the 1K ZX-81 into account. It includes 11 programs, seven of which are in machine code. The good thing about the software is that the same games are recorded on both sides but not in the same order. That means you can always reach a particular program quickly, so long as both sides will load.

The games include several old arcade favourites, such as Invaders, Planet Lander and Maze of Death. They are all fast in action although, even with the ZX-81 keyboard, they are easy to play.

The other programs on the cassette are also very inventive and include I Ching, a Chinese prediction program, Codebreak, which is self-explanatory, and an unusual program, Bouncing Letters. Cassette One costs £3.80 and is worth every penny.

The rest of the ZX-81 cassettes from Orwin are for the 16K machine. One of the best is Cassette Four which contains eight games. All of them should be familiar as either arcade or traditional games but each is well-thought-out and the graphics are good for a ZX-81.

Gunfight is the best game on Cassette Four so far as graphics are concerned. It pits you against a gunfighter you must kill in a shoot-out. The other obstacles in the duel to the death are two cacti and a wagon which moves continually up and down the screen. The computer is fast on the draw and you will need precision timing to survive.

ZX Scramble is another good arcade game in the package. It includes three stages in which you have to fight your way through the passages of alien subterranean caverns.

You gain points for destroying the aliens which fly at you and also for bombing the aliens which are on the floor of the cavern. You must, however, beware of the ceiling which will dip to meet you as you travel from left to right on the screen. Because of the speed at which your spacecraft travels you are likely to be destroyed more by low-flying ceilings than by aliens.

Other games on the cassette include a 3D version of Noughts and Crosses, two invader-type programs, a version of Conway's Game of Life and Snakebite, in which you have to avoid a poisonous reptile which wants to cut short your life. Cassette Four again provides value for money and costs £6.

Another company which was to the fore of the ZX-81 software boom was Quicksilva. It produced a remarkably good version of Defender which is still around, called Defenda. Unlike space invader games, your craft moves across a landscape from left to right on the screen, destroying all in its path or being destroyed by the aliens which drop bombs or crash kamikaze-style into your battleship.

Adjustments can be made to the program if your television set cannot keep pace with such a fast game and you will usually have to make some kind of adjustment to get rid of a screen display which might bend or flash.

The game is fast, furious and almost impossible to play. It should cater for all arcade addicts who still hanker for new versions of original arcade games. Defenda from Quicksilva costs £3.95.

Horses take over in heavenly joust

BELIEVE it or not, you have been put in a saddle in the sky in Winged Warlord for the 16K Spectrum. The horse you are riding has wings and you have a lance with which you must unseat the blue warriors from their winged horses.

Unseating the blue devils is not sufficient to kill them as they float to the ground, as if they had parachutes. You must run them through with your lance before their faithful steeds come to the rescue.

The game is similar to arcade Joust which has stormed the States and is finding favour in Britain. The ostriches used in the original version have, however, been replaced by horses.

There are two ways in which you can die during the game, when you will lose one of your four lives. You can be unseated by an enemy knight or you might encounter the Evil Bird of War which looks more like a duck than a personification of evil.

The graphics are amusing and the game is fun to watch as well as play.

Winged Warlord has a two-player option. That means only that you can take turns to spike the enemy and notch high scores. It is a pity players cannot challenge each other using different parts of the keyboard. The game would have been slower on that option but more interesting. It can be obtained from CDS Micro Systems.

Old favourite is right on target

THE GUARDIAN, for the 48K Spectrum, is the first version of the classic arcade game Tempest for the machine. You are in a spaceship on the edge of a vortex into another universe. Through the doorway flit groups of aliens intent on destroying you. Each has its own attack patterns which you must study closely if you are to survive.

To destroy the aliens you must use your laser bolt gun. You will also have the opportunity to use two secret star smasher weapons which will fizz down the sides of the vortex and destroy everything trying to exit.

The Guardian, from PSS, is a spirited attempt at producing a version of Tempest, a game from which everyone else has shied away. It is a difficult game to run at a reasonable speed and, although the author has simplified the game, it is still worth playing.

It is not often that we would recommend a take-off of a game found in arcades as the market is becoming more sophisticated and demands greater originality. The Guardian provides nothing spectacular in innovation but it is easy and fun to play.

Graphics redeem maze game

YET ANOTHER three-dimensional maze. It is incredible that anyone with a sense of what the market expects should produce another maze game in which you move round collecting treasure and gaining points.

The damning criticism may be just a little too harsh - but only just. In Skull, for the 48K Spectrum, you also have to avoid the skulls with jewelled eyes which inhabit the complex and make sure that you do not get stuck in corners of the maze where bars fall from the ceiling.

One other problem you may encounter is the trapdoors which will open and close as if they had minds of their own.

If you solve one level of the complex the computer will transport you to another more difficult floor. When the game finishes you may be able to put your name on the high score table which takes your level number into account.

The graphics and the quick and easy response of the game are two factors in its favour. It is, however, difficult to find the instructions when playing. Skull is produced by Games Machine.

Apeing the antics of Donkey Kong

MONKEY BIZNES is not a new version of the famous Marx Brothers film but a game for the 48K Spectrum. The monkey in the game is King Kong and, if you had not guessed already, it is another version of the classic arcade game Donkey Kong.

You have to rush up the scaffolding to rescue the fair maiden in distress. To do so you have to hammer the barrels which are thrown at you by Kong or dodge them if you do not have a convenient hammer to hand. If you fall from the scaffolding and you have one of your umbrellas handy you can float down a level and try again.

If you manage to reach the top of the scaffolding on one level a ladder will extend heavenwards and you will climb up to the next level. You will continue to risk your life climbing until all your four lives have been lost.

Monkey Biznes, from Artic Computing, is an amusing and colourful game. It would have been much better if released several months ago, as there are several similar games on the market. It can also be a bit tedious after you have been through several levels of play.

Snowman all set to melt the ice

THE SNOWMAN, for the 48K Spectrum, is a game based on the best-selling book of the same name by Raymond Briggs. It is based loosely on some of the action in the book but it centres on the building of the snowman. It should appeal to young children because of its non-violent nature.

To build the snowman you have to collect snow and avoid the flames which will chase you so that you can turn it back into water.

In some ways the game is like Jet-Pac, from Ultimate, as there is a drop site on the left of the screen which you must reach to mould the snowman's body and dress him.

There are four stages to each round. The first is to collect the snow, the second to put on the features, the third to dress the snowman and the fourth to collect ice cubes to prevent him melting. Once all of those phases have been completed you will move to round two and a different screen layout.

There are two ways of winning points. You could forget about building the snowman at the first stage and collect objects such as crackers, stockings and Christmas trees. That will boost your score considerably, so long as you do not fall from the ice structure. If you do, or your energy level is depleted too much, you will fall back into bed.

The alternative is to build the snowman but risk the wrath of the sleep monsters, which can only be combated using the special alarm clocks.

The game is attractive and is a change from the violence of Space Invaders and the like.

The Snowman, from Quicksilva, combines the best of many games already on the market.

May the force be with you

ADD-ON ELECTRONICS 3D Star Wars might even win a prize as the worst piece of software on the market. The least of the criticisms cover the instructions which are far too long and, perhaps for copyright reasons, give a different plot on the cassette insert and the game. For instance, on the cassette insert the hero is called Luke Clearthinker but in the game the hero has obviously changed his name by deed poll to Luke Skywalker.

The real criticisms focus on the game. There are too many keys with which to control your ship and, if you try to remember where each one is, you could easily forget which button you have to press to fire your lasers. With a little experimentation we managed to find the key just before we were eventually destroyed with a score of zero.

The graphics are lifeless and produce one of the poorest versions of 3D we have seen. Because of the mess of graphics darting in all directions on the screen, which are supposed to be rebel ships, it is difficult to tell in which direction you are moving even if you have your finger on a particular movement key.

The screen looks more like a patchwork of coloured blobs than a spacescape. If you buy the game, may the force be with you. You will need it.

No escaping alien trap

IF YOU SUFFER from feelings of being trapped with nowhere to go, Loony Zoo, produced by Phipps Associates, is not calculated to offer relief. The storyline is that while surveying another planet, you have been captured by its vastly superior inhabitants and put into one of their zoos, together with various other alien specimens.

It is possible to escape by jumping from ledge to ledge to reach the door pressure-pad located at the top of the screen. It will let you into another cage with new and more menacing inmates, and another, and another. More than likely, however, you will not need to worry about the next cage as you will find it extremely difficult to get out of the first.

In spite of its relatively simple graphics and slow pace, Loony Zoo manages to be infuriatingly addictive, especially if you enjoy a challenge to your reflexes.

In a similar vein from Phipps Associates is Killer Knight, in which, because of a freak time-slip, an evil knight has dragged away your girl friend whom you must try to rescue. The medieval trappings cannot disguise the basic Kong pattern.

The hero's flea-like hopping movements are novel but otherwise the difficulty of getting very far into the game without starting again, and the fact that it is possible to notch a high score by running back and forth along the bottom level, make it slightly inferior to some variations on the theme.

Ghost rider rules in duel of death

FIND the ghost rider and race to death in Wheelie, a motor-cycle game for the 48K Spectrum. Before you can take part in this death race you will have to hunt through the many strange roads in the cavern scenario for the mysterious figure on a motor-cycle who will be your opponent.

In the caverns you will find hazards such as buses and cars to jump over, ice and gas to avoid, and ramps to pass over to reach the various parts of the cave system.

Your machine has all the latest equipment and will accelerate to phenomenal speeds. You should be careful, however, as many of the roads in the ghost rider's world are dead ends.

When you crash your rider will fly from his machine and skid to a halt on the road. While the animation is excellent, during those effects the crash sequence is a little too graphic and some people might find it tasteless.

Wheelie can be obtained from Microsphere Computer Services Ltd, London.

A bridge for the novice player

BRIDGEMASTER, for the 48K Spectrum, is nothing to do with the programs which claim to play full versions. It fulfils the worthier aim of teaching the player how to play Bridge.

The course is split into a series of lessons using the Acol system, based on hands dealt by the computer. It starts simply by giving the user a chance to see play in action and you can follow play on the screen with an audio cassette which provides background narrative.

When the narrative is finished you have a chance to play the hands discussed in the lesson and the computer will inform you of any mistakes you make. There are 55 deals which you have to run though in that way, although the package makes each interesting in turn.

Also included with the four tapes, two for software and two for commentary, is a short instruction book which is helpful in setting up the course and letting the user know about the standards used, and a book by expert Terence Reese. The book is not related to the software but it shows that an expert has faith in the package.

As well as providing an easy introduction to the subject, Bridgemaster will make people who would not normally be interested in the subject into addicts. It is a product which will make you feel you want to gather some friends and get out the cards. It is a welcome change from programs which would have you play Bridge with them.

Bridgemaster can be obtained from the usual computer outlets, including W H Smith and Boots.

Sun burn can be terminal

IF YOU do not take adventure games too seriously, you might enjoy Here Comes the Sun from Alligata Software. In this somewhat tongue-in-cheek tale, you play the part of the last great hero who must try to prevent his space station colliding with the sun, failure resulting in a solar explosion which will wipe out the universe.

That is the theory, but in practice playing the game more often seems to result in the hero suffering some ignominious disaster, such as turning purple from lack of air and being pronounced "seriously dead".

The game starts in the airlock of the spaceship, whence you must trace your way to the retro-rockets which will enable you to pilot the ship to safety. Unfortunately, giving perfectly sensible commands does not often elicit a sensible response.

Simple graphics do not add a great deal to the game and in time the humour may pall, but the adventure provides a reasonable amount of entertainment.

Here Comes the Sun is produced by Alligata Software, Sheffield.

Digger takes the cake

DINKY DIGGER from Postern may well remind you of Pac-Man but this time the monsters are trying to eat you, and probably succeeding most of the time.

The object is to clear the screen of cherries, eventually grabbing the cake to be found at the centre. The Pac-man-like monsters meanwhile are doing their best to prevent you achieving your aim, but it is possible to eliminate the monsters by throwing a crystal ball at them, or by running under an apple in the hope that it will fall and flatten them.

Even if you succeed in getting rid of a monster or two, unless you have extremely nimble fingers you are unlikely to progress very far into the game. One monster is followed quickly by another and slow response to the movement keys makes it almost impossible to out-run them.

Most people will find they have lost a life in no time and it is a pity that the authors have added to the frustration of the game by making the player wait for an infuriating little tune to finish before embarking on another attempt. When the game is finished, a score table is displayed which features an action sequence of the hero throwing a ball at one of the monsters and, appealing though that may be the first time, it serves only to slow the action when it is repeated.

Dinky Digger is definitely not for the novice; although it might appeal to experienced players eager to improve their keyboard skills.

Sinclair User
April 1984