Fahrenheit 3000

ZX Computing

Firebird, the BT company who made such an impact with their first collection of SW have added to their range with the introduction of seven new programs in their Silver, £2.50, series. FAHRENHEIT 3000 was originally a full priced program from the Softstone company and is a platform style game. Though nothing special it is a fair effort, and good value for money if you are a fan of this type of game.

Your Spectrum

Dave Nicholls 1/5 MISS

Roger Willis 2/5 MISS

Ross Holman 1/5 MISS

JOYSTICK JURY Our three-ring circus of Roger Willis, Ross Holman and Dave Nicholls is back in town. Watch 'em put all the latest arcade games through the hoops - and have a laugh at the clowning around. What's the score? Well, the marks out of five at the end of each review is a shorthand way of summing up what each reviewer thought of the game. But will it be a commercial success? For that you'll have to check out the HIT and MISS system. Simple, eh? FAHRENHEIT 3000 Firebird £2.50 Ross: How come the software houses are still churning out Jet Set Willy lookalikes? Who knows... but here's another one! The scenario this time is to shut down the Dragon nuclear reactor and prevent it from melting down. To achieve this you've got to close off 64 (count 'em) pressure valves before the core reaches 3000 degrees. Time is obviously limited, what with all that leaking radiation hanging about, but all you've got to do to turn off a valve is to touch them. Of course, if it's already leaking you're in a spot of trouble... At first glance, all of these games look fairly similar - but in play, few come up to the high standard set by Jet Set Willy or Manic Miner. Unfortunately, Fahrenheit 3000 is no exception. The incredible jumping power of our hero makes the game a bit tricky to play - probably the result of too much radiation. The graphics are fairly standard, a bit sparse and flickery too. It's a shame that too much reverance has been placed on the MMs and JSWs of this world - a copy is never as good as the original.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

ZX Computing

Instructions 80%

Addictability 20%

Graphics 50%

Value For Money 30%

ZXC Factor 3/10

David Harwood 3/10

Now we come onto a game of bad taste. A nuclear reactor is about to meltdown and it is up to you to go through the works and operate all the pressure valves in order to release the excess pressure and flood the core, which will hopefully shut down the reactor. Having done all this, if you solve the puzzle presented to you, there is the chance of winning a Mystery Prize. With the jesting in the instructions, "Luckily, the worst that can happen is an enormous radiation leakage that could wipe out half of the South Coast" and "Shutdown the reactor before it shuts you down", I was put off immediately. This sort of idea, much the same as war inducing games, is unnecessary and far better games can be produced without this overhanging threat. To add to this, the game is not very good. The graphics are inferior to even the Manic Miner type and I could not get further than the first screen even after about 2 hours of painful trying.

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 8/10

Sound 8/10

Originality 4/10

Lasting Interest 7/10

Overall 7/10

Bob Wade

Martyn Smith

Peter Connor 7/10

Steve Spittle

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K CONTROL: Keys FROM: Softstone, £5.95 This is a platform game with a social conscience. In the Winifreth Dragon Nuclear Reactor in Dorset core temperature is 2,990 degrees and rising. Meltdown is imminent. Pretty soon there will be an ecological disaster. So, you've got to do something about it, such as switching off the valves in each of the game's 63 screens. Easier said than done, of course - this is a platform game, after all. You get into the first screen after an excellent Bach introduction - J.S. must now be the most popular computer games accompanist. 'Entrance to the Inner Sanctum' is the title of your introduction to disaster. Your man is a plump fellow in a hat, an unlikely-looking candidate for heroism, but very brave nonetheless. You get unlimited lives, but there is a meter monitoring your radiation level: every time you bump into an obstacle your level goes up, until eventually you succumb to radiation sickness. The first room, like the others, is full of platforms, steps and surreally nasty creatures. Things whirr and whine, float up and down and (here are even strange mutant pussy cats - presumably to catch strange mutant mice. Key control is quite straightforward - left, right, jump - and success is mainly a matter of timing and strategy. The rooms have a variety of problems to negotiate, and some will prove easier than others. Getting through all 63, however, will be a dangerous and time-consuming business. Fahrenheit's colours and graphics are well above average and the game is large enough and good enough to keep you at it for a long time. But comparison has to be made with Jet Set Willy, and here Softstone's game loses out in terms of originality and wit. Plus, of course, the complete lack so far of any Pokes for infinite lives.

Crash

Use of Computer 82%

Graphics 80%

Playability 84%

Getting Started 79%

Addictive Qualities 79%

Value For Money 82%

Overall 81%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Softstone Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.95 Language: Machine code Author: Timothy Williams Timothy Williams is probably best known for his first commercial game Odyssey 1, which was reviewed in the very first issue of CRASH. That was produced by Perfection Software, now marketed by Softstone. Farenheit 3000 is set in a reactor, Dragon Reactor to be precise. What's happened is that the reactor has gone critical and is about to 'meltdown'. Visions of atomic bombs and mushroom clouds pass through the minds of the local residents. Luckily, the worst that could happen is an enormous radiation leakage that could wipe out half of the South Coast of England. The coast is in a panic, the ceramic coated Uranium Oxide core has reached Farenheit 3000! There is only one chance. You must locate and operate all the pressure valves in order to release the excess pressure and flood the core... Farenheit 3000 is a 64 screen platform game along the lines of Jet Set Willy. The screens are linked vertically and horizontally, each one filled with a different combination of platforms. Anything flashing is lethal with radiation and kills on the spot, except single flashing character blocks which are the valves. Each room is also filled with radioactive hazards, creatures bouncing up and down and from side to side, which are instant death if touched. In some rooms, enormous pools of radioactive water must be jumped. You are provided with a pretty giant leap and an immunity to long drops as long as you do not hit anything lethal on the way down. The screen display includes a title for each room in hallowed tradition, as well as telling you how many valves are yet to be done, and what the radiation level is. This latter, acts as a time limit for the game. COMMENTS Control keys: Q/W left/right and SPACE to jump Joystick: doesn't need one Keyboard play: very responsive, and simple to use Use of colour: uneven, ranging from very good to definitely odd Graphics: good, smooth, varied and detailed animation Sound: nice tune and mild spot effects Skill levels: 1 Lives: N/A - limited by radiation level Screens: 64

In the Dead Zone, and now the jumping skills are being honed to a fine pitch - or are they?

The start screen from FARENHEIT 3000, and the first one where you discover how hard this game can be.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition