Gilligan's Gold

Sinclair Programs

Rating 55%

June Mortimer 55%

(Strangely, Gilligan's Gold is also reviewed on page 13 of the same issue with a Rating of 50%. The text is identical.) PRICE: £5.90 GAME TYPE: Arcade There you were, innocently prospecting in the mine, collecting bags of gold and putting them in your barrow, when things began to be much more difficult. Green with envy, outlaws are trying to knock you out and steal your booty. It would be easy to avoid them except that the mine is maze-like in its intricacy, and there are pit trucks running out of control along many passages. Gilligan's Gold has you racing against the clock to collect your gold and avoid the outlaws. There are some points in your favour. You can leap into the pit trucks at some points, and thus avoid the outlaws. You can also knock out the outlaws by dropping bags of gold on them as they climb ladders, or by taking a pickaxe and smashing them over the head with it. There are a few minor irritations to the game. Picking something up is very difficult. You seize a pick, rush towards an outlaw with it, only to discover the pick is still lying on the ground and you are defenceless. Moving from screen to screen does seem to confuse the outlaws. One minute they are following you along a straight passage, the next they have vanished. Conversely, one can appear, hot on your trail, as you run onto a screen. Produced for the 48K Spectrum by Ocean Software Ltd, [redacted].

Sinclair Programs

Rating 50%

June Mortimer 50%

PRICE: £5.90 GAME TYPE: Arcade There you were, innocently prospecting in the mine, collecting bags of gold and putting them in your barrow, when things began to be much more difficult. Green with envy, outlaws are trying to knock you out and steal your booty. It would be easy to avoid them except that the mine is maze-like in its intricacy, and there are pit trucks running out of control along many passages. Gilligan's Gold has you racing against the clock to collect your gold and avoid the outlaws. There are some points in your favour. You can leap into the pit trucks at some points, and thus avoid the outlaws. You can also knock out the outlaws by dropping bags of gold on them as they climb ladders, or by taking a pickaxe and smashing them over the head with it. There are a few minor irritations to the game. Picking something up is very difficult. You seize a pick, rush towards an outlaw with it, only to discover the pick is still lying on the ground and you are defenceless. Moving from screen to screen does seem to confuse the outlaws. One minute they are following you along a straight passage, the next they have vanished. Conversely, one can appear, hot on your trail, as you run onto a screen. Gilligan's Gold is both enjoyable and infuriating. You will either be fascinated by the challenge of collecting the gold, or annoyed by the constant repetition of the three screens and your inability to pick things up when you need them. Produced for the 48K Spectrum by Ocean Software Ltd, [redacted].

Crash

Use of Computer 80%

Graphics 77%

Playability 80%

Getting Started 79%

Addictive Qualities 78%

Value For Money 80%

Overall 79%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Ocean Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.90 Language: Machine code Author: R. Rhodes & K. Burkhill Platform-type games have certainly come a long way over the year. Gilligan's Gold is a good example of this development. Three screens, sitting side by side, make up the gold mine where Gilligan the intrepid hero is collecting the sacks and attempting to get them all into his wheelbarrow, which is up on the top level. The mine is a warren of passages and shafts with ladders in them and lifts. Sometimes the gold is behind a blocked wall and here the pickaxe comes in handy. It has a second use too - knocking outlaws over the head, for the mine is infested with them, and they are after Gilligan and the gold. They can also be knocked out by dropping gold sacks down shafts on top of them. At the bottom of the mine a railcar runs up and down along the mine. It's possible to ride in this by hanging from the roof at a few marked points and then dropping onto the car at the right moment. This also works for the other railcars that run on the other levels. Gilligan is not allowed to fall more than a level or he loses a life, and being hit by a railcar isn't much better. COMMENTS Control Keys: Q/W left/right, P/ENTER up/down, SPACE for all actions Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair 2, Protek, AGF Keyboard Play: responsive, but up/down and action keys are awkwardly laid out Use of colour: good Graphics: large definite shapes and generally good Sound: continuous tune Skill Levels: 1 Lives: 3 Screens: 3 Special Features:

Grab the gold and run.

Poor Gilligan, hit by a railcar.

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 6/10

Joanna Pegum 6/10

NO PICNIC FOR BEARS Memory: 48K Price: £5.90 The most interesting thing about Gilligan's Gold from Ocean is the difference between the demonstration and what is actually possible. The game is set in a mine, and you control what looks like a pink teddy bear from marauding green bears as you collect gold. The pink teddy in the demonstration had great fun digging out gold with a pick-axe and dashing up ladders and lifts to deposit his finds in a wheelbarrow. A favourite ruse is to drop a bag of gold down a mine shaft and onto an unsuspecting bear's head, causing him to collapse and see stars. Sadly, our team found it near impossible to pick up the gold or pick-axe or to manoeuvre the wheelbarrow. We could not even make use of the pit bus, which would run down a bear as soon as look at one. The speed and the attractive display show that it can be addictive.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online