Orion

Your Spectrum

Ian Simmonds 7/10

Jon Warner 6/10

Simon Cox 5/10

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. ORION Software Projects £5.95 After an attack by the Dark Horde, 100 of your Beta Class androids were kidnapped. Your mission is to rescue them from the maze of underground passages beneath the palace of Nedab, leader of the Horde.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Personal Computer News

Bob Chappell

SPECTRUM SPILLS The thrill or the chase gripped Bob Chappell in these action games for the 48K Spectrum. INFERNAL COMBUSTION £5.95 Strange Loop, [redacted] Fighting raging fires hasn't figured in many games I can recall so this may be the first. The scene is the inside of a multi-storey building, each floor joined by ladders. Scuttling around the uppermost floors are the occupants who appear to be in a bit of a flap. No wonder - fire has broken out on several of the floors. Down on the ground floor, standing quite fortunately midway between a tap and a bucket, is our little hero. Grabbing the bucket and pausing only to fill it from the tap (this boy is no fool), he has to sprint around the building hurling water at the outbreaks. The idea is to extinguish all the fires and proceed to the next tougher screen where the arsonist has struck again. While you are busy firefighting, the occupants try to make good their escape by fleeing, in their own haphazard, panic-stricken way, down to the ground floor exit. However, they can't get past any blazing area nor through any locked doors - you must help by opening doors and all this while nipping back and forth to refill your bucket. The sample tape lacked a cassette inlay (still at the printers), so I don't know why strewn around the floors were several cans marked with an F, and other odd objects. Possibly for bonus points? From time to time, what appears to be a pink elephant cavorts across the top floor, but for what purpose I am unsure. Should you come into contact with the flames, you are immediately turned into an angel, a fitting reward for your heroic efforts. Despite having no instructions for play, I thoroughly enjoyed this game. Movement of the hero was just a trifle stiff in one or two places, but that apart, the animation and effects were of a pretty high standard. Quite addictive, too. This original and entertaining arcadde chase is well worth seeking out. BORZAK £6.95 Channel 8 Software, [redacted] A funny-looking purple alien with a proboscis that Cyrano De Bergerac would have gasped at, Borzak is a stranger on a strange planet. The creature has to stroll along the surface, dodging various vagaries of nature as he goes. There are six levels of play, all much the same except for the hazards. Borzak has no defence systems and can only jump or duck to avoid oncoming traffic as he moves. At ground level, he must avoid holes, large speckled frogs, snakes and grasping hands. Above are flying ducks, dragonflies and dangling spiders. The game is quite good fun but difficult to complete without skipping levels since the hazards are generated randomly, often resulting in a combination that Superman couldn't beat, let alone a pacifist with a big nose. It's worth buying - Borzak's a lovely character. STOP THE EXPRESS £5.95 Sinclair Research, [redacted] Chasing games have a habit of taking place either in a maze or somewhere dank and dismal underground. Bringing fresh air to this species is Stop the Express. An express train has been hijacked by the Redmen (no, this isn't cowboys and Indians). Your job is to make your way along the carriages, unlock the motorman's cabin and stop the train. You control a cute, ginger-headed lad who starts out on the roof of one of the coaches of the moving express. Hang about too long and the first of many Redmen (similar to our hero but beetroot coloured) appears on the scene and hurls a knife. Fortunately, not only can you duck down but also run, jump and (your trump card this) release a snakebird. With a bit of luck, the latter will knock any pursuing Redmen off the train to earn you a respite. You run along ten coaches, leaping gaps, dodging birds and tunnels, until you can safely climb down inside a carriage. Stage two has the Redmen as before, aided and abetted by strap-hanging nasties and bouncing objects. You can also do a bit of swinging on the straps. I never survived this stage and so didn't reach the driver's cabin. The only drawback is that there are nine keys controlling your hero (each with an alternative) - playing with a joystick (ZX II interface only) makes it easier. Graphically, the program is superb. The train's headlong rush and the animation of the characters are delightful. Sound effects are minimal but with such an original environment and exciting action, this has to be among the top chase games. ORIEN £5.95 Software Projects, [redacted] That's enough wind through your hair; now down to more familiar territory with Orion. Back in maze country, you control a small rocket-car which has to roam around 25 caverns in search of stolen androids. Each cavern is an aerially-viewed maze, populated by creatures and four of your androids. Green meanies must be avoided as they are lethal on contact unless your shields are activated. White meanies are quite nutritious but gobbling one up causes your scanner to malfunction, making the wall of the maze invisible. A simple game with decent graphics and sound, it won't set the world ablaze but offers a good chase, nonetheless.

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 3/10

Sound 4/10

Originality 2/10

Lasting Interest 4/10

Overall 3/10

Chris Anderson 3/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K CONTROL: Keys, Kemp FROM: Software Projects, £5.95 Simple maze game in which you rescue androids while avoiding various nasties. You have to go through 25 different mazes in a 5 x 5 grid, but they're all much the same. The characters are small and don't move smoothly. Why waste money on what's basically another Pac-Man variant?

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 5/10

Memory: 48K Price: £6 Joystick: Kempston or Soundstik Your first encounter with Orion, from Software Projects for the 48K Spectrum, will be crucial in deciding whether you want to continue with the game. The laser rifle sound which presumably is meant to encourage you to enter play is excruciating, as is much of the noise during the action. Warning - switch out any amplifier you may be using. The setting, at least as described on the insert, is vaguely galactic, your mission being to rescue 100 of your Beta androids from the clutches of Nedab, a space fiend, and his green Zygon guards who are also aided and abetted by purple power guzzlers. There are 25 grid-shaped caverns through which you must drive your Orion buggy, collecting four frog-like androids from each. You will be destroyed if you come into contact with the Zygons, though the buggy has force shields for protection. Movement is by the keyboard or Kempston or Soundstik joysticks. The program is, in fact, a Pac-man variant, not offering much of any real originality, though the game is well-made and colourful. The graphics can be confusing at times, especially if you have to use the family's back-up monochrome set, and it is all too easy to mix up who you are, who they are and where you are. Despite the professional production, the concept is well-worn and will appeal mainly to inveterate maze-runners hopelessly addicted to guzzling ghosts.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

Crash

Use of Computer 68%

Graphics 78%

Playability 81%

Getting Started 72%

Addictive Qualities 82%

Value For Money 76%

Overall 76%

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Software Projects Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.95 Language: Machine code Author: Ian Beynon After an attack by the Dark Horde, 100 of your Beta Class androids were kidnapped. Your mission is to rescue the androids from the underground maze beneath the palace of Nedab, the leader of the Horde. Twenty-five caverns are laid out on a 5 x 5 grid. Starting from the central cavern, you must journey through all of them collecting your androids. There are four imprisoned androids per cavern. Green Zygon guards are on patrol in the mazes. Although these only wander around aimlessly, they kill on contact. Your Orion buggy is equipped with WX110 force screens (the ones with the whiter-than-white green specs) which, when activated, enable you to destroy Zygons. There are also white coloured Renlim (for faster acting relief) and these can be run over for extra points, but your scanners will become deactivated until you collect another android. This puts it fairly simply, but should you run over a second Renlim before collecting an android, you will be destroyed, and your force field needs replenishing after use. This happens automatically but it does take time, so repeated contact with Zygons will result in death. The screen is split into a large playing square to the left and a taller status panel on the right which shows score, hi-score, time and shield power. Each of the mazes is relatively simple in layout and there are four Zygons and four Renlims to cope with. When you run over a Renlim, only the small squares at each intersection remain (your scanners are deactivated), so it becomes hard to make your way round the maze to collect the next android. When you leave a maze the screen flashes, closes down. then opens up to reveal the new maze into which you have moved, re-establishing the scanners if they were still out. COMMENTS Control keys: Q/A up/down, O/P left/right, B-force field Joystick: Kempston, Hardware Projects Soundstik Keyboard play: very responsive Use of colour: very good Graphics: smooth, fast and detailed Sound: very good Skill levels: 1 but 4 speeds Lives: 3 Screens: 25

Green Zygons and white Renlim fall before the power of you WX110 force field - may you wash whiter than white.