Loony Zoo

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 6/10

NO ESCAPING ALIEN TRAP Memory: 48K Price: £5.95 If you suffer from feelings of being trapped with nowhere to go, Loony Zoo, produced by Phipps Associates, is not calculated to offer relief. The storyline is that while surveying another planet, you have been captured by its vastly superior inhabitants and put into one of their zoos, together with various other alien specimens. It is possible to escape by jumping from ledge to ledge to reach the door pressure-pad located at the top of the screen. It will let you into another cage with new and more menacing inmates, and another, and another. More than likely, however, you will not need to worry about the next cage as you will find it extremely difficult to get out of the first. In spite of its relatively simple graphics and slow pace, Loony Zoo manages to be infuriatingly addictive, especially if you enjoy a challenge to your reflexes. In a similar vein from Phipps Associates is Killer Knight, in which, because of a freak time-slip, an evil knight has dragged away your girl friend whom you must try to rescue. The medieval trappings cannot disguise the basic Kong pattern. The hero's flea-like hopping movements are novel but otherwise the difficulty of getting very far into the game without starting again, and the fact that it is possible to notch a high score by running back and forth along the bottom level, make it slightly inferior to some variations on theme.

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Sinclair Programs

June Mortimer

WELL-WORN THEMES RE-APPEAR The trend in software production appears to be to take stock, build on successful ideas and await new developments. New games tend to be new variations on well-worn themes rather than startlingly original concepts. The number of games based on the premise that all computer owners love shooting as many things as possible is decreasing and giving way to games which need thought and strategy as well as fast reactions. Unfortunately for ZX-81 owners, although their computer has remained consistently among the top five bestselling computers, new software for the ZX-81 is almost non-existent and W H Smith is not intending to accept any new ZX-81 software for sale in its shops. Due to the shortage of new software, no ZX-81 programs have been received for review this month. THE SNOWMAN The Snowman - Quicksilva, 48K Spectrum - is based loosely on the book of the same name by Raymond Briggs. The aim is to collect snow and build a snowman. The wandering flames must be avoided, as they melt your snow and turn it to water. Falling off the ice structure of pathways and ladders will result in the player being sent back to bed, as will running out of energy. On the higher levels, sleep monsters must also be avoided or confronted with alarm clocks. The Snowman combines the best of many games already on the market and should become a best-seller. The latest sequel to Pimania, Pi-Eyed and other Automata productions is Pi-Balled - 48K Spectrum. Once again the Pi-man is the hero of the game, this time accompanied by two bouncing balls and Sid the Snake. It is a fairly straightforward arcade game. The mystical pyramid of Pi must be changed in colour by jumping from square to square. Sid the Snake must be avoided, as must the bouncing balls, which can also change the colour of the pyramid but not necessarily in a way which is helpful. Pi-balled has lively graphics; the bouncing balls and spinning discs are particularly convincing and the degree of difficulty is well-judged to suit beginners and experienced players. Shades of Manic Miner are apparent in Loony Zoo - Phipps Associates, 48K Spectrum. The storyline is that, while surveying another planet, you have been captured by its vastly superior inhabitants and placed in one of their zoos, together with various other alien specimens. It is possible to escape by jumping from ledge to ledge to reach the door pressure-pad at the top of the screen. Needless to say, you escape only into other cages from which it is more difficult to escape. Despite its simple graphics and slow pace, Loony Zoo is a difficult and addictive game. Killer Knight - Phipps Associates, 48K Spectrum - thinly disguises a Kong-type game with medieval trappings. The player must climb from platform to platform, using ladders and avoiding rolling objects. Beginners will find it difficult to progress very far, while experienced players will soon realise that a high score can be obtained simply by running back and forth along the bottom level. MONKEY BIZNESS In a very similar vein is Monkey Bizness - Artic, 48K Spectrum. The monkey mentioned in the title is King Kong and the object is to rush up the scaffolding, dodging or destroying the barrels which Kong rolls at you, to rescue the woman at the top of the scaffolding. Monkey Bizness is an amusing and colourful game, although many Spectrum owners will find they already possess similar games. Like Donkey Kong, Pac-man is a game which spawned a multitude of imitations. Dinky Digger - Postern, 48K Spectrum - has a distinctly Pac-man-like air to it. The object is to clear the screen of cherries and grab the cake in the middle, while avoiding the monsters which are trying to eat you. One monster is followed quickly by another and the game is so difficult that it should be attempted only by the experienced or very nimble-fingered user. 3D Star Wars - Addon Electronics, 48K Spectrum - is one of the less worthwhile pieces of software on the market. The graphics are lifeless and confusing, the three-dimensional effect is jumbled, and the number of keys to be used complicates the game still further. THE GUARDIAN The Guardian - PSS, 48K Spectrum - is the first version of the arcade game The Tempest to appear for the Spectrum. The site is a spaceship on the edge of a vortex to another universe. Aliens appear through the doorway and must be destroyed by the use of laser bolt gun or star smasher weapons. The game has had to be simplified for micro-computer use but it is easy and fun to play. CCS has begun its Games for Girls series with three games for the 48K Spectrum. Hicksted, a simulation of a show jumping event; Diamond Quest, which is a straightforward adventure; and Jungle Maze, in which prizes are won with a Mastermind-style guessing game which is fun, although unoriginal. Apart from a tenuous link with show jumping in one game and a heroine rather than a hero in another, it is difficult to see in what way CCS has changed its strategy to aim it at females rather than males. Computers are bound to affect everyone's future in some way, so encouraging more people to use and understand them is a worthwhile project. To attempt to increase a software company's market vastly by selling to women is unlikely to succeed unless the software market is changed substantially.

Crash

Use of Computer 80%

Graphics 80%

Playability 90%

Getting Started 76%

Addictive Qualities 93%

Value For Money 90%

Overall 85%

Unknown

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Producer: Phipps Associates Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.95 Language: Machine code Author: Tony Barber Whilst returning from one of those interminable journies to the furthest reaches of the known universe to reconnoitre some useless grid you would like to defend against 3D alien attack craft, you are captured by (guess what) - aliens. But these are a superior life form, and seeing as they are interested in other aliens (like you) they put you in their Zoo. The only way out, you discover (from the cassette inlay) is through all the cages in the zoo. Each cage holds a button (to open the door to the next) and a ferocious type of alien as well. There is a time limit per cage, because If you spend too long in there, your jailers will start to chase you in a kind of flying machine. Loony Zoo is a classic type of platform game, where you must make your man jump from level to level within each screen, avoid the rotten old aliens, and thus reach the flashing button to show you where the exit door is placed. This usually turns out to be right at the opposite point in the cage, which necessitates retracing your steps. The demo shows six screens - whether there are more or not will be up to the player since this didn't prove to be an easy enough game for any reviewer to find out! COMMENTS Control keys: 6/7 = left/right, M = jump Joystick: none Keyboard play: very responsive Use of colour: quite good Graphics: well animated, although two reviewers noted a tendency for the man to land not on top of a ledge sometimes, but more 'inside' it Sound: not much, but good Skill levels: 1 Lives: 3 Screens: 6 Loading: 2-part for intersections

Loony Tunes in Loony Zoo - jumping the walking washing machines.

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 7/10

Sound 3/10

Ease Of Use 8/10

Originality 3/10

Lasting Interest 7/10

Overall 6/10

Chris Anderson 6/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K JOYSTICK: No CATEGORY: Arcade SUPPLIER: Phipps Associates PRICE: £5.95 Take the classic Spectrum game Manic Miner, remove the collapsing platforms and conveyor belts, and cut the number of different screens from 20 to six. You're left with Loony Zoo. Instead of picking your way through a mine, you have to escape through a series of cages in a zoo, each of which contains a number of carefully positioned platforms. There are of course aliens to be avoided. And Loony Zoo does have one innovation in that as you near the end of your task in each cage, a different set of very nasty aliens is likely to home in. Loony Zoo is challenging and fun, but it doesn't represent nearly such good value for money as Manic Miner.