Incredible Shrinking Fireman

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Graphics 6/10

Sound 6/10

Value 7/10

Playability 7/10

MACHINE: Spectrum SUPPLIER: Mastertronic PRICE: £1.99 Meet Shuffling Sid the amazing shrinking fireman. He owes a lot to old Wally, the original suburban arcade adventurer. But he's still pretty cute. Whilst beating back the flames of a blazing fire in a vast shrinking plant, Shuffling Sid, tripped and fell into the jaws of a powerful shrinking machine and, not surprisingly, was shrunk. To unshrink shrunken Shuffling Sid, stretch him! To do this you will have to find the five parts of the stretching rack and put them together. After which Shuffling Sid will return to his original size. Not all the objects that you find will be useful! Not all exits will be obvious - try jumping up through the ceiling of some rooms and they lead into different areas of the factory - and some of your exits will not be open until you have found the right object to let you pass through. But most of all beware of the ghosts and ghouls that haunt the factory! At first the game is pretty confusing to play. There are arrows at the top of the screen which indicate which directions you can move in, But sometimes where there's an arrow you still can't move. It must be the "having the right object rule"! And sometimes when you jump on an object to avoid a nasty you find yourself mysteriously transported to a room above. Not as brilliant as Spellbound - but quite a nice game.

Crash

Use of Computer 65%

Graphics 78%

Playability 68%

Getting Started 77%

Addictive Qualities 66%

Value For Money 72%

Overall 68%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Mastertronic Retail Price: £1.99 Author: A Mitchell and Dave K We begin the sad tale of shuffling, shrunken, Sid. Why is he shrunken I hear you cry? Well, Sid was a fearless fireman until one day when he was fighting a blazing fire in a vast shrinking factory. Not looking where he was going, Sid toppled head first into a powerful shrinking machine. Life's not much fun when you're less than a foot high so the object of this game is to some how unshrink poor shuffling Sid. You can restore Sid to his former glory by stretching him which sounds rather painful. To do this you must find the five parts of the stretching rack and put it back together, and once you have done this Sid should return to his original size. Sid scampers from room to room in a seemingly endless building searching for the various parts of the stretching machine. The rooms are filled with a strange array of furniture ranging from snooker tables to fire engines, and smaller objects such as French onions, digital watches and fire hoses. However useless they may appear some do have a purpose. Certain objects collected enable you to move from room to room, whereas some are numbered parts of the stretching machine. These are obviously the ones to go for. Sid, however can only carry five objects with him as he scuttles around, resulting in the usual swapping business and retracing your steps to collect again a useful object dropped earlier. When you come across an object on the floor you have several options. Sid can either just pick it up and continue or he can identify it and then decide whether he wants it or not. He can also discard any unwanted objects at this point. Some ceilings can be bounced clean through leading into previously uncharted rooms or into the Shrinking Plant which is where Sid finds the various parts for his stretching rack. As well as collecting different objects, Sid must also keep an eye open for the various ghoulies and ghosties that haunt the complex. These come in several forms and are easily identifiable by their sinister appearance. They either destroy Sid outright or gradually sap his energy levels, reducing his four lives with every encounter. Will Sid be able to locate the stretching machine before his lives expire or will he remain Shuffling Sid, the Incredible Shrunken Fireman forever? As usual - its up to you. COMMENTS Control keys: definable Joystick: Kempston, Interface 2, Cursor, Fuller Keyboard play: simple and effective Use of colour: bright and distinctive Graphics: large, detailed and smooth moving Sound: average Screens: lots

ZX ComputingZX Computing Globert

Overall Good

Mastertronic £1.99 The incredible expanding Mastertronic catalogue has been enlarged further by the Incredible Shrinking Fireman and although incredible is not exactly the word that comes to mind to describe the game, it is a passable 'seek-out-the-objects' game. Shuffling Sid the fearless fireman has had an accident. While fearlessly fighting a fire at a huge shrinking plant he's been reduced to microscopic size after blundering into a shrinking machine. Determined to enlarge himself back to normal size he must seek out a stretching rack which is in five parts scattered around the factory. Objects are strewn around the place, represented by diamond shapes and only by referring to the menu and examining the object can you find out if it's worth picking up. The shrink factory houses objects such as digital watches, a night shade, french onions and an ID card. Only some of these should be held onto but the choice is far from obvious Sid is an accomplished jumper and some seemingly aimless leaps could propel you though the ceiling to another part of the complex. It's a question of jump and see. To thwart in your aims are a number of hovering ghouls and ghosts but they don't present too much of a threat to Sid and fail to give the game a challenging edge. The graphics are simple, but adequate for a budget game and Sid himself is a pleasing enough character. Small in scope and small in ambition Incredible Shrinking Fireman certainly won't fire the imagination but if you want a game that will be mildly diverting for an hour or so it will do - at a stretch.

Your Sinclair

Graphics 7/10

Playability 8/10

Value For Money 9/10

Addictiveness 6/10

Overall 7/10

Rick Robson 7/10

Mastertronic £1.99 Reviewer: Rick Robson The fireman hero featured in Mastertronic's latest, is not Hissing but Shuffling Sid. And you'd be shuffling too if, like Sid. you'd been shrunk in a shrinking plant fire. Being only half the man he used to be (bit like the Ed really) and only on half pay (like me), it's your job to find the stretching rack that'll return Ski to normal. A silly scenario, true, but it's one arcade adventure that's offensive to nobody unless you're a dwarf! Although a cheapo, it's got nowt taken out when it comes to the basics of a satisfying game. Sure, it'd be better to know how much energy the nasties knock from you on contact, and, okay, his leaping about is a most peculiar movement - but this is Shuffling Ski after all. Otherwise the graphics are cute, Sid cuddly and the thinking behind the game fairly thorough. The objects you need to collect to open doors are not always the most obvious - maybe the very fat mouse is of more use than the axe! Most access to the different rooms is up and down fireman's poles (yup, it's a multi-screened maze), but with the right objects on you, short cuts can be bounced through ceilings. It's not as easy as it always looks, this fulsome family fun, and if you pass this over 'cos you think it's a cheapie, then that'll be your loss, - this Sid's not for hissing or missing.

Read it at Your Sinclair Rock'n'Roll Years