Humpty Dumpty in the Garden

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 6/10

Sound 5/10

Originality 8/10

Lasting Interest 3/10

Overall 5/10

Bob Wade

Chris Anderson 5/10

Jeremy Fisher

Robert Patrick

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K, CBM CONTROL: Joystick, Keys FROM: Artic, £6.95 each, £16.00 Pack FUN TRIO Here are three new games which all star Humpty Dumptty but definitely aren't for egg-heads. Each is based on a simple, original idea and demands a little brain power as well as finger action. The most enjoyable of the three is Engineer Humpty in which the aim is to put a spanner in the works - literally. Each of 16 screens is a different factory made up of conveyor belts, springs, lifts and various strange creatures. Humpty's task is to drop a spanner from the top of the screen and then guide it through the works to a tool-box. You only have control over the spanner when it's falling - you can deflect it left or right - so you have to use the machinery to do most of the work. The initial problem is to discover a viable route through the factory. This is difficult because after just a few seconds the screen is covered over except for the area near the spanner. So initially you'll find yourself, say, guiding the spanner onto a conveyor belt which leads straight into a shredding machine. On the Commodore 64 version the action is accompanied by a tune which wobbles out of key every time you lose a spanner - nice touch, that. On both '64 and Spectrum, the game is really addictive - not perhaps as hard as a game like Manic Miner, but satisfying nonetheless. Humpty in the Garden is also enjoyable, but is flawed by being too easy. This time Humpty is in a network of pipes ranged above eight flower pots. Four of the pots contain flowers, the rest weeds, and Humpty's job is to turn taps on and off, and block certain holes to ensure that water is diverted onto the flowers, not the weeds. It's a nice idea and good fun for an evening or so. Unfortunately, once you've conquered a level it doesn't hold much further interest, and many players will find they can get through all 20 levels in about an hour. This is partly because you don't have to start from the beginning each time you fail. Artic say the game is aimed at the younger age bracket, but if it's supposed to he a piece of educational software, they should have done their homework better on how water behaves under pressure. Some of the levels clearly violate the laws of physics! I don't recommend buying this game by itself, but if you were going to get the other two, it's probably worth the extra money for the set. Undoubtedly the most challenging of the three games, despite its appalling title, is Humpty Meets the Fuzzy Wuzzies. This is a maze game with the novelty that instead of moving Humpty round the maze, you move the maze round Humpty! To be more precise, you can rotate the entire screen clockwise or, anticlockwise. If doing this means that Humpty is no longer supported, he will fall (or roll) until he hits another part of the maze. The idea is to guide him to a door which will take him to the next, more difficult maze - there are 18 in all. Since the maze is littered with bombs, and the lethal 'fuzzy wuzzies' are also rolling about the screen in the same way that Humpty is, progress is not easy. The maze also has teleport chambers to get you from one section to another but these can only be used once. If Humpty is rolled onto a spring though he could bounce up and down forever, or until you flip the maze again anyway. On both the Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions of these games the graphics and sound are adequate without ever being stunning, but the real appeal comes through the puzzles they pose. If you're worried that computer games are addling your brain, Humpty could be the perfect antidote.