North & South

Sinclair UserSinclair User Silver

Graphics 88%

Sound 86%

Playability 90%

Lastability 84%

Overall 86%

Andrea Walker

Garth Sumpter 86%

Label: Infogrames Memory: 48K/128K Price: £12.99 Tape, £17.99 Disk Reviewer: Garth Sumpter Sacre Blu! Ce'st formidable. Only last month, Infogrames picked up a an SU Gold award! ("Mon dieu", he said just before he fainted and had to be resuscitated with a clove of garlic.) North and South is a strategy arcade game that puts you in the trousers of an American soldier during the Civil War. (Well not ACTUALLY in his trousers - they might not fit too well). You can play against another player or the computer and are either North or South, depending upon your political preferences. You must destroy the Confederates (or Yankees) and can start at any year between 1861 and 1864 and the map of America, will show you the correct historical state of the battle at that time and all you then have to do is to unsheath your sabre and charge! The options menu is extensive - there are three optional disaster scenarios; indians which may attack at any time, storms which move around and stop all fighting and European reinforcements which are dropped off to whichever side happens to own South Virgina (Lordy, lord. I just love y'all walking through my lounge!) North and South is a great game that will cover all options for both arcaders and strategists alike, thanks to the optional strategy mode where the computer determines the outcome of battles. There's a wealth of fun to be had here so, as they say in France, "Allez!"

At the bottom of the difficulty level we've got Captain Stark for the North who'll soon sort out the South Corporal Mathias.

Captain Stark lead the attack for the North. Damn Yankies!

Fancy a bit of stormy weather? If raindrops are falling on your head, then you can't fight the enemy.

Free the slaves and get your own back Colonel Saunder's chicken worrying antics!

Here we are the not-so-United States of America; the Confederates ready to go!

INDIANS!! Yes, if you fancy a taste of the old west then just select this option and you're wide open to at lack by Indians.

If you click on this icon then it toggles the game between arcade style where you control the battles yourself and strategy where all conflicts are resolved by the computer.

Need something to reinforce parts of your army that other European supply ships can't reach. Clicking on this icon will have a boat drop men and guns to whoever occupies South.

Now that you think that you're brilliant, just try playing with the North's Corporal Blutch. He still thinks that foot soldiers are an infantry of midgets.

Once you start looking for more of a challenge you can try playing Sergeant Chesterfield who's almost an armchair soldier.

FACTS The American Civil War was a conflict between 11 southern states known as the Confederate States of America and the US Federal government. Because the 11 Confederate states had attempted to secede from the Union, the war was known in the North as, "The War of Rebellion". In the South however, it was known as "The War between the States". The Civil War was a crucial event in American history - it was fought for total objectives. The restoration of the Union or the independence of the South. There was no scope for concessions. The cause of the war was the North's refusal to recognise the independence of the Southern states. A ridiculous reason for bloodshed that would never happen today? Just look as far as Lithuania in the USSR. The real and underlying cause however, was the social and econimic divisions between the North and South. The North of America was industrialised and didn't rely on slave labour; the South American plantation agricultural system did however. The North therefore came to identify the use of such labour as distasteful, whereas in the poorer South, the economy relied on it. The war was decided when the question of expanding slavery westward into the new states came to a head. War began on 12th April 1861 when the Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter (eh?) in Charleston. I was the first time in history that a Sumter had been fired upon. (But not the last!)

Your SinclairYour Sinclair Megagame

Life Expectancy 90%

Instant Appeal 91%

Graphics 85%

Addictiveness 89%

Overall 90%

Linda Barker 90%

Infogrames £12.99 cass/£17.99 disk Reviewer: Linda Barker Cripes! This goes back a bit. Andy and Matt reckon everyone was addicted to the 16-bit game of North And South when YS was still a sister mag to Zero. (Talk about a pair of old cronies, eh? That was over a year ago!) Anyway, here's the Speccy version, so let's jump straight in with the old funkometer and see what's what... Basically, it's French, it's a sort of American Civil War strategy-cum-arcade game, and it uses characters from a comic strip called Les Tuniques Bleues (which is also from France, is supposed to very funny and looks a bit like Asterix in, well, blue tunics really). For those who are crap at History (like me), the Blue Tunics were the Northern, or Union, soldiers (the goodies who wanted to free the slaves) and the Confederacy/Rebels/blokes in grey uniform were from the south (and wanted to keep the slaves and make them pick cotton and horrible things like that). RAAAAIIISE MUSKETS! Right, so what've we got? Well, first there's the option screen (one or two-player, which side, whether you want some disasters thrown in - take a look at the box-off below for more info), and then it's on to the map proper. This is split up into states, and it's where you make all your strategy decisions. Armies are represented by single soldiers, with flags indicating which territories are held by which army (if an area doesn't have a flag then it's unoccupied and up for grabs). As for battles, those come about in one of two ways - either you attack your enemy, or, erm, they attack you. (Simple, eh?) The screen then does a bit of a costume change and we're into... The battlefield. Hurrah? The best bit! It's a sort of oblique bird's-eye-view jobby, with you looking down across either a canyon or a field, and your units (artillery, cavalry and infantry) shown up in little groups. It's basically a case of choosing which unit to fight with and then blasting the peanuts out of all the varmints who are trying to do much the same to you. The graphics are really nice and chunky, but smooth too (the horses are especially good), and when I went charging in over the bridges, well I could fair feel the wind flowing through my hair, I really could (and then I hit Retreat just as soon as General Wotnot came charging back at me! Aargh!) Nope, it's certainly no picnic out there, which means after a few battles you're bound to want to stock up on some more men (well, I did anyway but that's probably 'cos I was so crap!). What you need is money, and this is where the towns come in. If you manage to occupy two towns that are linked up by railway (we're back to the map here, folks) then at the end of your move a train will run between them with some gold. Get five bags worth and blimey! if that's not a new army over there! OI! WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER ARCADE BITS? Hold your horses (ho ho) - I was just getting to those! First there's one with you sprinting along the top of a train trying to get the driver's seat to stop it - it loads when you break up the opposition's railway line by taking over a state between two towns (actually it's rather similar to the bit in Back To The Future 3. Spooky, eh?). And then the other one happens when you snatch a town (which automatically happens when you snatch a state). Again its a horizontal scroller, only this time you're in an enemy fort throwing knives and punches at the enemy, and scuttling along as fast as your merry heart will let you to get to the flagpole and raise your standard. (Phew!) And that's it! Confused? (Well, go back and read it again then!) North And South really is the biz. Most people find straightforward strategy stuff a bit dull (like, say, Crete across the page) - what this game does is show how addictive it can suddenly get when you throw in some juicy arcade bits (After all, if it's you who's actually doing the fighting then its bound to hold your attention for a bit longer.) And it's not just the gameplay that makes the game so spanky - the graphics are excellent! The fort and train bits, the loading and option screens, they're all really colourful and like the original 'strip'. It's full of really nice little touches too. There's the loading screen of a silhouetted tunique doing the bugle call and the crowd scenes at the end (if you win that is - lose and it's a carnaged battlefield). And when you fail in the arcade bits your man drops to the ground and starts crying, pummeling the ground with his fists. Cute! North And South is a lot of fun. And intelligent with it. One of the last things we saw from Infogrames was Sim City of course, and, despite the arcade stuff in here, this has much the same quiet style (and value for money). Jolly highly recommended!

A field of..... mutilation, how lovely. (I've nearly won the battle - just got to get that horse...)

A-ha - the fort sequence! I'm the sweet-looking one with the hunchback. (Knife ahoy, Quozzy!)

Hurrah! The train sequence! (If that red boot at the bottom reaches the right-hand corner before the clock then you've done it in time.)

Right, here's your strategy screen where you direct your side of the war. And it's the Union to start! (That's me!)

AND FOR ENTREES, SIR? Here's what you get on the Option screen. Pick 'n' mix the various ingredients and, bingo, you've got your very own 'customised' game... If you're playing for the North then it's here you choose which character you want to be. There's Sergeant Chesterfield, Corporal Blutch and Captain Stark. Corporal's the most difficult level, Captain's the easiest. (This chap here's Captain Stark - he lives for battle, a real blood-and-guts man. Chaaarrge!!) You can change the date and fight at any point during the war (except 1865). The strategic map shows actual historical conditions - but you can soon change that! The Confederacy characters. Choose from Corporal Mathias, Sergeant Cancrelat (the most horrible man ever!) or Captain Philip. The Union flag - this shows which side I'm playing. Hurrah! Up the Union! If you're happy with all your choices then click on this! (Simple really.) The computer always plays the South. When you're in two-player mode this space is filled by the flag of your opponent's team. Aha - disasters! If you want a more difficult and interesting game click here for Indians who can attack and wipe out entire armies. (You know when they're coming 'cos they send out smoke signals - how jolly nice of them!) Storms - if a storm cloud settles above an army then it can't move. The ship equals reinforcements. Whoever owns South Virginia will recaive an army from Europe. If you're into a pure strategy game then click on this - it gets rid of all the arcade bits. (But we're on arcade mode so we're alright. Ha!)

Read it at Your Sinclair Rock'n'Roll Years

CrashCrash Smash

Presentation 95%

Graphics 93%

Sound 90%

Playability 91%

Addictivity 91%

Overall 96%

Mark Caswell 97%

Nick Roberts 95%

Infogrames £12.99/£17.99 Take part in your own American Civil War in this masterpiece of Spectrum programming from Infogrames where comic strip heroes created by Lambil and Cauvin, 'Les Tuniques Bleues' or 'The Blue Jackets' (who they?) come to life. The objective of the game is simple. Eliminate all the enemy armies across America to ensure victory for your side. You do this by moving your troops around the States, launching surprise attacks on your enemy's forts, hijacking trains and having full scale battles across blood stained fields. There are four main parts to the game, each packed with excellent animated graphics, lots of colour and real toe-tapping tunes. You start with a map of the USA. The armies are shown by soldiers representing good and bad on each State. The type of flag there shows who it belongs to. Running around the edge of the map is a railway line and on the coast ships sail up and down. If you attack a fort you go into an arcade sequence where the fort scrolls along and you have to dodge the guard dogs, ammo boxes and knives coming from the enemy to reach the flag at the far end. Roles are reversed with you defending if an enemy decides to have a go at you. Intercepting a train is done in a similar way to the fort. The train runs by and you climb up the side and run along the tops of the carriages, jumping the gaps to make it to the driver. Watch out for those knives again though! Engaging in battle is a funny game too. The foot soldiers, horse and cannon operators are all shown on a large field with bridges and rivers separating the two sides. The first army to be totally destroyed by the other is the winner and that state becomes the prize. North and South really shows up a lot of other games by being just so slick in presentation and graphics. There are animated sequences as an introduction, and when you win and lose a game, as well as all the excellently drawn and animated arcade sequences. Play is a little puzzling at first but you easily get the hang of it and you can vary the difficulty. You do this by selecting options at the beginning of a bout. You can choose to have the ships on or off, an important decision, as they bring reinforcements from Europe. You can have Indians on or off to save being attacked and change the weather conditions which stop an army moving. For those of you who don't like playing arcade sequences all the time there's also an option to stop them: battles are then decided for you by the computer. North and South is not to be missed. If more games were like this there wouldn't be talk of the Spectrum dying. Three cheers for all those involved (hip, hip, hooray!). NICK 95%

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition