Knight Driver

Your Spectrum

Ian Simmonds 4/10

Jon Warner 6/10

Simon Cox 6/10

Sticks at the ready, the Chiltern Computer Club buckled down to some concentrated critique as they sifted through the latest bundle of software to give us their unbiased evaluations. Any club wishing to offer their reviewing services should contact Ron Smith, Spectrum Soft, [redacted]. This month, the reviewers in the YS jury hot-seat are all members of Chiltern Computer Club, Eaton Bray, near Dunstable. They are (in alphabetical order) Simon Cox, Ian Simmonds and Jon Warner. To be honest it wasn't an easy job for them, with many of the latest offerings falling short of an acceptable level - in fact, sheer crud in some cases. Read on to find out what (and what not) to buy. The Chiltern Computer Club was formed around two years ago, and usually it manages to attract about 35 members - ages ranging from 13 years to near senility. Membership is currently £4 per year, for which potential members can expect practical help with their computer problems, and guest speakers and lecturers from time to time. Club contacts can be made via Steve Betts, [redacted]. Finally thanks go to Steve for the ultra-fast speed at which he pulled the test together. KNIGHT DRIVER Hewson Consultants £5.95 A 'plan view' racing game in which you carefully steer the car left and right, accelerate and decelerate to keep it on the track.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Your Computer

Overall 2/5

Spectrum 48K Racing £8.95 Hewson Consultants A breakneck racing game which gives you a downward looking view of a tortuously-twisting race track. Accelerate, decelerate turn accurately left and right. Don't hit anything. Good for your reflexes, but I found I tired of it somewhat rapidly.

Sinclair Programs

June Mortimer

This month we focus on a selection of games and on the new range of software for students of Shakespeare from Penguin Books. ENJOYABLE VERSION OF AN OLD RACING FAVOURITE Knight Driver provides its players with a birds-eye view of the car to be controlled. The aim is to drive the car round a complicated circuit. Controls are accelerator, brake and steering to left and right. The road is very narrow and attempting to remain on it at speed is no simple task. Learner option allows players not to lose a life when they steer off the road but limits time allowed to complete the circuit. That time is short and any player who can negotiate the course at sufficient speed to complete it in that time should choose the professional option. Professional limits players to five lives, one of which is lost whenever the car is steered off the road. Beginners will find it difficult to move more than a few inches without losing all five. Automatic option allows the computer to guide the car round the course. It gives some idea of what the course is like, how long it is, and where the most difficult bends and obstacles are. Racing car games are not new but this is a difficult and enjoyable version. Knight Driver is produced for the 48K Spectrum by Hewson Consultants Ltd, [redacted] and costs £5.95.

Micro Adventurer

Mike Grace

TESTING DRIVING SKILLS MICRO: Spectrum 48K PRICE: £5.95 FORMAT: Cassette SUPPLIER: Hewson Consultants, [redacted] Knight Driver, by Hewson Consultants, is a driving simulation which requires a red car to be driven round a narrow track. This becomes quite fiddly after a while, especially as the keys produce slow response. Instead of four direction keys there are two keys which swivel the car clockwise and anti-clockwise, and two keys for accelerate and brake, all of which are conveniently displayed on the loading picture. This method of swivelling the car is fine at the start, but when the car turns round and comes backwards it gets a bit confusing. There are two skill levels: learner and professional. In learner mode there is a fuel limit, whereas in professional mode only four crashes are allowed but there is no fuel limit. Each has its disadvantages. In learner mode the car has to be driven at full speed making it difficult to stay on the road. In professional mode the car must be driven very carefully, made more difficult by the awkward control. The screen is split into three sections: a score section, a section in which is displayed a picture of a car and the game section: Despite being well set out, the graphics, and indeed the game itself, is rather simple. Instead of a head-on three-D view, like the pole position-type games, the player is presented with a plan of the track which scrolls as the car moves. On either side of the track are extremely simple trees and houses - looking distinctly user-defined and amateur in style. Thus far, although the responses are a bit frustrating, the game has been quite playable. The player is curious to see more of the track and to explore more features, producing a just-one-moregame syndrome. As I ventured into this land I expected to see more interesting features, like fuel cans, road works, or even petrol stations, but my curiosity was cut short when I saw the finishing line, where the track started again. After that I didn't feel like playing much because all the excitement had gone, only having lasted half an hour. The game was fun for a while, but I wouldn't call half an hour's play good value at £5.95. With the already excellent standard of Spectrum software rising every week, I am rather surprised that Hewson Consultants think they have a chance of selling many copies of a game of this calibre.

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 6/10

Sound 5/10

Originality 3/10

Lasting Interest 4/10

Overall 5/10

Steve Cooke 5/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K CONTROL: Keys FROM: Hewson Consultants, £5.95 Knight Driver puts you behind the wheel of a small car, confined to a small display on the right of the screen. The rest of the screen is taken up with either a fuel gauge or (at the higher skill level) information on lives remaining and a large flashing panel which looks pretty but doesn't add anything to the game. There are two levels of play - learner driver and professional - and a demo mode. As a learner driver you must steer your car round the track while your fuel runs out steadily. When it runs out you finish and will be presented with a progress report based on the score you managed to clock up. As a professional driver you don't have to watch the fuel gauge, but you have five lives and must avoid all collisions if you don't want to lose any of them. The trouble with Knight Driver (apart from the cramped display) is that the progress reports take so long that waiting for another chance to play becomes rather frustrating. The first time they flash on the screen they're mildly amusing. The tenth time they're not. The controls are rather fiddly, you need quick reactions to get round the bends. Sometimes it's more fun not going round, but crashing through the barrier and driving off through some rather crudely displayed trees and buildings. Knight Driver is one of those games that would be great value at £2.50, or if it could fit into 16K, but must otherwise be considered a rather uninspiring game, unlikely to have the motor-power to keep up with the competition.

Crash

Use of Computer 53%

Graphics 73%

Playability 60%

Getting Started 65%

Addictive Qualities 45%

Value For Money 57%

Overall 59%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Hewson Consultants Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.95 Language: Machine code and some BASIC Author: Clive Brooker Knight Driver is not an attempt at' Pole Position' and is content to more resemble some of the earlier Spectrum road games, which is not to say that it is primitive at all. In essence, you must steer a car along a fairly lengthy series of roads which appear to be set in a seaside resort town. The view is seen from directly above and the roads are defined with double broken white lines as though the painter from Double Trouble has visited the place before. These roads twist and turn energetically past tree-filled parks, between houses and shops, past parked cars, round traffic islands and even turn into cul-de-sacs and car parks. The object, quite simply, is to get all the way through to the 'finishing' line without steering off the road. There are two levels, Professional and Learner. If you select Professional you lose one of your lives every time you veer off the road, whereas Learners don't, but have a time limit imposed on them. There, is also an Automatic mode, which is really a demo. The screen display is divided into three areas. The two larger squares at the top are the town map and a large graphic device of your car flashing. Running along the bottom is a large report strip. When you have finished, or run out of time or lives, this reports back on how well or badly you did. COMMENTS Control keys: Z/CAPS SHIFT = left/right, BREAK/SYM SHIFT - accelerate/brake. ENTER to start Joystick: none Keyboard play: sensible keys, but the response is a bit slow and car control is difficult Use of colour: very good Graphics: nice and big, detailed and smooth with excellent scrolling Sound: good Skill levels: 2 Lives: 5