Monty is Innocent

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Graphics 7/10

Sound 7/10

Value 7/10

Playability 7/10

MACHINE: Spectrum/keyboard or joystick SUPPLIER: Gremlin Graphics PRICE: £6.95 The adventures of Monty Mole continue in Gremlin's latest release - which also features a new hero, Sam Stoat, star of his own Gremlin game. Here, however, Sam is out to help his mate Monty who has been sent to spend some time among the low life of Scudmore Prison for an act no more dastardly than borrowing a bucket of coal. Sam has to collect keys from the Governor's office and explore the cells of the prison in order to help Monty escape. Monty is Innocent is a novel mixture of maze and arcade adventure games with a few platforms style screens thrown in. Graphics are colourful and the characters well animated - but I didn't find the game met the high standard set by Monty's first release. Having said that, Gremlin are building up a nice set of computer characters - I'll be waiting the further exploits of Monty Mole and Sam Stoat with interest.

Sinclair Programs

Rating 40%

Colette McDermott 40%

PRICE: £6.95 GAME TYPE: Arcade Breathe it softly in games circles, Sinclair Programs was not impressed by Monty Mole. Nevertheless, the charts showed that everyone disagreed with us, and so we were ready to find signs of excellence in the follow up, Monty is Innocent, which had gone unnoticed in Monty Mole. By the beginning of Monty is innocent, Monty is incarcerated for life in a huge prison for liberating a bucket of coal from a coal mine. His friend, Sam Stoat, following his conscience rather than the letter of the law, has decided to break into the prison and free him. This is where you come in. As Sam Stoat, you must break into the prison, move through a variety of three-dimensionally presented screens, fend off a series of opponents such as skulls and reporters by shooting them, collect keys and try them in cell doors until you have freed Monty. For some reason, Sam is not struck by the dubious morality of slaughtering hundreds in order to save one mole. The graphics in this game are its weakest point. They are appalling. Stiff and jerky little characters run around screens which look impressive until anything moves. Then the old attributes problems strikes, and strikes with a vengeance. The resulting mishmash of colours and confusion of colours with background would be funny if it were not so bad. The idea behind the game is good, but it is badly presented. Doors to other screens are often invisible, and the 3D pictures are confusing. On the whole, the game is not a patch on Monty Mole. Produced for the 48K Spectrum by Gremlin Graphics, [redacted].

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 7/10

Clare Edgeley 7/10

MONTY IS INNOCENT Gremlin Graphics Memory: 48K Price: £6.95 Joystick: Sinclair, Kempston In the archives of the most notorious prison escapes is the story of one, Monty Mole, who was slammed in the jug for borrowing a bucket of coal one cold night to warm his frozen paws. "Monty is innocent", thought Sam Stoat and so he decided to arrange his best friend's escape. Sam scaled the high walls of Scudmore Prison and went to sniff out Monty. Had he known of the horrors in wait he would not have set out on his mad caper, for guarding Scudmore were mad axemen, walking skulls and ghosts of past inmates. Once inside, Sam set off to find the Governor's office where the keys to the cells were hidden. Finding the safe he picked a likely key and scampered towards the cells. More frustration followed as Sam could carry only one key and had to return for another each time he opened a cell. The prison was a labyrinth, with some rooms to be avoided at all costs - solitary confinement cells from whose confines death was the only escape. Eventually he found the armoury and, now armed, he despatched many guards to their graves. There was also the phenomenon of the potion, which rendered Sam invisible. Afterwards he confessed that he got very worried when his stomach or head disappeared, which happened every time he ran into one or two of the nasties - the surroundings flickered and merged and lost all their colour and definition. Despite that, he recommended the escapade to all would-be gaol-breakers as a pleasant way of spending a harrowing few hours.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

Personal Computer News

Overall 7/10

Bob Chappell 7/10

PRICE: £6.95 PUBLISHER: Gremlin Graphics [redacted] As the follow up to the successful Monty Mole, this chase-me-round-the-rooms game from Gremlin Graphics introduces a new superhero - Sam Stoat. You won't see much of Monty because he's been incarcerated in the bowels of Scudmore Prison. It's Sam's job to find Monty and set him free. There are 45 playing screens, each featuring part of the prison. Move Sam up a rope or ladder, behind a wall, through a door, down a hole, or simply off the left or right of the screen and a new part of the penitentiary appears. Sam has to collect a key from the Governor's office. Since there are eight keys and eight cell doors, it is a matter of luck if he stumbles on the key that will open Monty's cell first time. If Sam isn't careful, he could be as badly off as Monty by getting trapped in solitary confinement with no visible means of escape. The prison is full of nasties like walking skulls, ghosts and mad axemen. Sam can become invisible for a short while by grabbing one of the bottles of potion that lie around the place. If he finds the armoury, he can also arm himself with a gun and five bullets. The variety of screens and the illusion of 3D depth (passing behind pillars and sprinting down corridors, for example) are the highspots of the game. The animation is fairly minimal and slightly jerky and there are the usual colour attribute problems when hero and enemy collide. Not bad, and good value for money.

Crash

Use of Computer 76%

Graphics 86%

Playability 76%

Getting Started 80%

Addictive Qualities 75%

Value For Money 74%

Overall 78%

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Gremlin Graphics Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £6.95 Language: Machine code Author: Chris Kerry Sequels being all the rage lately, it is important at the outset to say that Monty is Innocent is not a sequel to Wanted: Monty Mole. The game is entirely different in look and style and features a new hero, Sam Stoat. So what's the connection with poor old Monty? After stealing a bucket of coal and getting caught by Arthur's flying pickets, Monty has been imprisoned for five years in HM Scudmore along with murderers and arsonists. But on the outside, powerful friends are working to free him, among them Monty's best friend Sam Stoat. The object of the game is guide Sam around the halls, corridors, tunnels and exercise yards of Scudmore in search of the Governor's office and the eight keys that will open the eight doors to get to Monty. Monty is Innocent is not a platform-style game like its predecessor, but a linked multi-screen 3D maze type which uses solid, brightly coloured graphics to draw the locations. It isn't proper 3D despite the perspective drawings but relies on the drawn spaces to define near and far away, rather like some of the Thor games. This is not, perhaps, very surprising as Chris Kerry the author is the same Chris Kerry who did Jack and the Beanstalk etc. Keys can be picked up from inside the Governor's office safe and used by Sam, and it is one of those games that requires learning the layout to get around quickly, because Sam needs to constantly return to the Governor's office for more keys. COMMENTS Control keys: Q/W left/right, O/K up/down, P to pick up keys Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair 2 Keyboard play: slightly odd combination, but it works well and response is good Use of colour: colour plays an important part as it defines the 3D effect - drawback is with the attribute problem at times Graphics: moving characters are neat and detailed with reasonable animation Sound: good tune between games, spot effects Skill levels: 1 Lives: 4 Screens: 48

Your Computer

Overall 2/5

Paul Bond 2/5

Spectrum 48K Gremlin Graphics Arcade Adventure £6.95 Gremlin Graphics' character Monty first came to prominence in Monty Mole - a game which trod on a few nerves with its references to the miners' strike - especially in view of the fact that the author was the son of a pit safety officer. In an attempt to redress the balance, we find Monty has been reduced to stealing coal and has been imprisoned for this. The aim of the game is for Monty to get the key from the prison governor's office and escape. He rushes around various screens being pursued by prison officers, ghosts and so on. He can move from screen to screen by rushing off the side sliding up and down ropes or by falling down holes. Plenty of imagination has been used to create the backdrops - there are a couple of good 3D mazes and an ingenious sequence in a gymnasium. Money received front sales of Monty Mole was destined for donation to the Miner's Welfare Fund - though at the time of going to press, this body still had not made up its mind to accept the gift. The Miner's Welfare Fund is an established charity which existed prior to the strike. No such donations are planned this time. A competent and graphically inventive game.