Thatcher - unrepentant

Horror over red propaganda

THANK YOU for your perversion of the innocent Shopkeeper in your August issue.

It is quite obvious that you are anti-Conservative and anti all other good things. I refer to the picture on pages 78 and 79 of a Mrs Snatcher - looking uncannily like our Maggie - snatching an old lady's cash. It is despicable and disturbing anti-Conservative propaganda.

What will we see next? How about games supporting the Labour party - Dustman Kinnock, or what about Uprise and Overthrow the Government and join the Labour party?

What worries me is that impressionable young people are subjected to this drossy propaganda and are thus influenced by your advertisements for the left. Where will it all lead? Perhaps to the greatness of Communism and the myth that all are equal - ho hum!

Anthony Smith

PS. I don't expect to see this letter published as freedom of speech is not allowed in Communist magazines.

Wrong again, you capitalist running dog! Long live the revolution! You'll be first against the wall when (that's enough. Ed).

Piracy - the growing trend?

YOUR NEWS story - Spanish Connection, August - attracted my attention.

I don't pretend to defend piracy and by no means support companies like Inforpress, who know they are in a market which can't stand the large numbers of imported games at standard prices.

However, while games like Underwurlde and Knight Lore cost 3,000 pesetas, who can resist the temptation of buying a program from a friend at only 150 pesetas?

I am aware of the danger piracy represents to the software industry, but I think software houses should consider the possibility of reducing their prices - and not just complaining.

Fernando Cortés

Mesmerised by a load of ...

THERE ARE plenty of rubbishy rip-offs on the market and your magazine's to blame, encouraging garbage as you do with reviews of games you say are good, but which I think are awful.

One such game is Shadowfire, which Clare gave classic status - I can only think Clare was mesmerised by the pretty graphics! For a start, if a group of Shadowfire characters are attacked, they stand like dummies, with their life-blood seeping away until you instruct them to defend themselves.

The game also supplies a bewildering array of weapons, but doesn't tell us which are the most powerful and whether they have an adjacent location range.

Mick Godwin

You weren't mesmerised, were you, Clare? Clare? Clare! C'mon, wake up. Snap out of it.

Mixing politics and computers

I HAVE just read an article by M J King in Letters - August issue - and I am glad the Ed sorted him out.

However, in this day and age, people are supposed to be allowed to express themselves freely. And if others don't like it, then that's tough.

So my final advice to Michael King is to vote for the Sinclair User Party and leave politics to the politicians.

M Sellars

The Sinclair User party. Now there's an idea ...

No music to relax to

IN YOUR REVIEW of Frankie Goes to Hollywood - July - you state that there is a 15 minute live version of Relax on one side of a separate tape, and on the other side, playing tips by Patrick Allen.

I have bought the game and that is not true - Ocean says there is only five minutes of Relax on each side. I was very disappointed when I received the game.

N Couley

The version we reviewed was, as stated, pre-release, and Ocean assured us at the time that a live Relax would be included. Slapped wrists all round. Still, the game's not bad, is it?

Disgust over Manx review

I WAS amazed when I read Mike Wright's review of Manx Tapes' Classic Bookkeeping System - August.

As a purchaser of the system I must point out some of the inaccuracies and inadequacies of the review.

The most obvious inaccuracy concerns the price of the system. The reviewer states this as £69.95. On page 62 of the same issue, is an advertisement which shows the price of the larger of the two systems to be £69.00. The smaller system costs £46.00.

True, the system requires five further cartridges for storage of data. How else does the reviewer imagine that the large amounts of data which are processed are to be stored?

The system is far from complex. The user is instructed at every stage and each routine follows a logical path.

If you do not have the time or a sufficient understanding of accounting to enable you to carry out a proper review of such programs, then it would be fairer, not only to the authors but also to your readers, if you declined to perform the task at all.

P M Mountjoy

Mike Wright reviewed an earlier version which has since been improved. A review of the new system appears on page 80 of this issue.

Same old story

I AM writing to complain about the review given to Jet Set Willy II. Why did it receive a three star rating? It is very good value for money and has excellent graphics, sound, and an additional 42 new rooms. 1 would recommend this game to all Jet Setters. Apart from the reviews, I enjoy your magazine. Keep up the good work and bring back the Gilbert Factor.

David Little

How much is Gilbert paying you?

High scores on trashy games

WHEN PEOPLE claim to score millions of points on their fourth of fifth go at a game, it just shows how rubbishy and easy those games really are.

Surely, if manufacturers made harder games, the consumer would be more satisfied and more likely to buy the next game brought out by that company. Whatever happened to programs like The Hobbit or Project Future where there is a challenge each time you play the game?

Andrew Grant

Surgery for dead micros

I RECENTLY reversed the polarity on the power supply to my Spectrum.

Referring to an article - August issue - on where to get poorly Spectrums fixed, I noted your enthusiasm for a company called Mancomp.

I arrived at Mancomp with my dead Spectrum and walked out 25 minutes later with a fully repaired and tested machine.

I can recommend Mancomp unreservedly to all Spectrum users.

Gary Woolley

Anonymous programmer

I WAS glad that you published my program in your August issue, however you did not include my name. I would be grateful if you would acknowledge my writing of Isotopes for the 48K Spectrum.

John Pitcher

Jolly good service

TOP MARKS for Beau-Jolly! I bought their Value Pack only to find there were no instructions included and Pedro refused to load.

Beau-Jolly quickly replaced it with a fresh pack - checked before despatch - with the all important instructions. First class!

Ian Nelson