H.E.R.O.

Your Spectrum

Dave Nicholls 4/5 HIT

Roger Willis 1/5 MISS

Ross Holman 2/5 MISS

JOYSTICK JURY What's on your software shopping list for Christmas? Let Ross Holman, Dave Nicholls and Roger Willis help you make your mind up! This month, our motley crew of Joystick Jurors include Dave Nicholls, a self-confessed adventure fanatic and seasoned hacker; Ross Holman, ace games player and winner of the Jet Set Willy prize; and, last but by no means least, Roger Willis, a relative newcomer to the Spectrum scene. Dave and Ross you'll already know from our monthly major games reviews. Roger Willis, on the other hand, is probably more at home in the saddle of a massive motorbike... but that was before he discovered the thrills and spills of the Spectrum. Check out what they thought of the latest in games software... H.E.R.O. Activision £7.99 Dave: H.E.R. O. is a game in which, as the name implies, you get to play the hero - Roderick Hero to be precise. Roderick's job is to rescue trapped miners caught when Mount Leone erupted. To help him he has a miniature helicopter thing strapped to his back which allows him to fly up and down the vertical shafts, a microlaser helmet for shooting nasties, and several sticks of dynamite which are capable of 'removing' any thin walls that happen to get in the way (if necessary the laser can also be used to break through walls, but this uses up a lot of power). As well as having to shoot his way past spiders, bats and other mine-dwelling creatures, Roderick also has to contend with lamps that can be put out by careless shooting or flying and, in the later stages, 'molten lava' walls that kill on contact. Graphically the game is simple. The walls are large blocks, and the control of the backpack leaves a lot to be desired. But it has got that 'one more time' addictive quality that keeps you playing and, because after level 17 the mines are randomly generated, there's no way it'll be mastered.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Your Computer

Overall 3/5

Activision Shoot-'em-up Spectrum £9.99 Assuming anyone ever goes down a coal mine again, you may be called upon to rescue them if they get trapped. Our hero has to drop down mine shafts, blowing up a wall here, zapping a nasty spider there, and so on till he saves his man. Sounds simple enough, and it is to start off with. However, each successive shaft is harder. In some the walls are deadly, in others you can't even see the walls!

Crash

Use of Computer 76%

Graphics 72%

Playability 79%

Getting Started 75%

Addictive Qualities 79%

Value For Money 70%

Overall 75%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Activision Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £7.95 Language: Machine code Author: John Van Ryzin Roderick Hero (R. Hero for short) is an all-round American good guy whose greatest joy in life is to go around rescuing people. In the case of this particular game it happens to be a bunch of miners who are trapped in the deepest recesses of a nightmare mine. The object is to rescue as many as possible before dying! The miners, resembling shipwrecked mariners, are obviously pleased to see R. Hero when he arrives because they raise a weary hand and wave at him as much as to say, 'Go away.' As R. Hero you are equipped with a reasonably heat resistant suit and mini helicopter blade on top. The suit also has a head-mounted micro laser for blasting the varied nasties that thrive in the warm depths of this mine complex. The mine seems to have been okay until volcanic activity released lava into the shafts and tunnels with the result that some of the walls and floors are red hot and kill on contact. The other useful device Rod has considered is dynamite - six sticks of the stuff. This is dropped near to a wall and blasts it away. Alternatively walls can be blown apart with the laser except this takes up time and uses energy, which is limited. The mines are large with each screen only showing a small area of the total. The object is to rescue a miner at each level of play. Level one is dead simple to get you used to the idea. By level 4, however, you are finding much more complex mazes, more creatures, more magma walls and the fact that in some places the lights don't work. You can also put out the lights accidentally by touching or shooting one. In this event feeling your way around is the only alternative, unless you have some dynamite left - lighting a stick is rather like lighting a candle. Rod Hero, of course, having lit a stick, must retreat quickly or get caught in the blast. Points are scored for killing nasties and for rescuing miners, with a bonus being added in the form of how many sticks of dynamite are left. An energy bar is situated under the display area and failure to rescue a miner before this runs out will result in the loss of one life. Rather as in River Raid there is a level starting option to allow more skilled players to enter the game at higher levels - 5, 9, 13, or 17. COMMENTS Control keys: 2/A thrust/dynamite, O/P left/right, E for laser Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair, Protek, AGF Keyboard play: reasonable positions although fire is slightly odd, but responsive once used to slow thrust Use of colour: good, bright and lively Graphics: simple but effective, smooth moving Skill levels: 5 actual entry levels but many overall on progressive basis Lives: 5 Screens: numerous

Hello frail, abandoned miner, I'm here to rescue you. You don't know me, but my name's HERO - Roderick Hero.

Rod HERO boldly faces up to some aliens and a magma wall.