Mazogs

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 8/10

Chris Bourne 8/10

CLASSICS FROM BUG-BYTE Dictator Memory: 16k Price: £5.95 Invaders Memory: 16k Price: £4.95 Adventure Memory: 16k Price: £5.95 Mazogs Memory: 16k Price: £7.95 One company which has been producing software for the ZX-8] almost from the beginning is Bug-Byte. A number of its titles are still available, and are worth a look in spite of their antiquity. Dictator still ranks as one of the best 'land management' games and may be familiar to Spectrum owners in the version produced by DK'tronics. The original version from Bug-Byte casts you as the despotic ruler of a banana republic. Your objective is to balance the country's factions, setting one against the other, while amassing as much loot as you can from the meagre budget which you transfer to your Swiss Bank Account. Then you must wait for the inevitable revolution and your chance to escape during the turmoil. Dictator is a very funny game, and quite complex - not only must you worry about the factions, peasants' army and landowners, but you also have to contend with guerillas, the Secret Police, and foreign powers. The USA and the USSR are both prepared to lend you solid currency, but your internal policies may not please them. Invaders is a version of Space Invaders. What can be said about the game that has not been said before? The Bug-Byte version has ten different speed-levels which cater for a broad range of skills; at the fastest level it is very difficult indeed. One forgets how enjoyable the game was when it first came out; only a few years have passed, but now nobody would dream of bringing out a version. The game is competent, but only worth buying if you cannot find a more up-to-date space game in the shops. Adventure was one of the early text adventures for the machine, and still retains its appeal. Although the two-word input and lean descriptions seem antiquated today, the game is nevertheless playable with a wide vocabulary of 80 words. Briefly, you must collect three pieces of the royal sceptre and return it. The response time is reasonably fast for the machine, although much of the program is written in Basic with only a short code routine to pep things up. The star in the Bug-Byte range, however, is Mazogs. You must run through an extensive maze in a quest for the treasure. The tentacular mazogs will kill you if they can, but you may defeat them with swords. There are also prisoners in the maze who will give you help in finding your way to the treasure. The game is fast moving, and very difficult at the highest level, where the mazogs move around purposefully and not for your benefit. The graphics are very large - a screen display is pictured above - and the maze scrolls quickly. Mazogs was the company's first big hit, and still compares very favourably with much newer and supposedly more sophisticated products. It has become something of a ZX-81 classic, and would be a worthy addition to anybody's collection.

ZX Computing

Nick Pearce

FOR THE PRAISE OF MAZOG Reviewer Nick Pearce says he remembered seeing something rather blurred on a television screen on the Bug-Byte stand at a recent computer show - and it didn't look very exciting, so he passed it by. Now that he's had a good look at MAZOGS, Nick realises how wrong his first impression was. It's a pity I didn't take the time to study MAZOGS at that show. Since that first glimpse, I've seen mentions of the program everywhere, and now that I've played it I know what a marvellous game it is. A NEW CONCEPT MAZOGS is really a great new concept in computer games for the Sinclair, and in my opinion ranks alongside other such superb programs as J K Greye's MONSTER MAZE and Psion's FLIGHT SIMULATION. It really does show what some imagination, and a fair bit of hard work, can come up with for the trusty old ZX81. Innovation, perhaps, is the key word. The majority of software houses are very clever at writing ZX81 adaptations of traditional games, or producing ZX81 versions of programs that were originally devised for its more expensive relations, but they rarely demonstrate real innovation. This, of course, is not to denigrate the very good and indeed necessary work that continues to be done by program authors. But it is software like MAZOGS that is going to help change the attitude of that quite large body of people who see the ZX81 as just a toy, albeit a quite clever toy. MAZOGS is just the sort of program to impress your friends, and maybe convert a few sceptics into the bargain. I will not explain the game in detail, as that might take away some of the fun. However, to whet your appetite, a very large and complex maze is involved. There are prisoners locked in the maze whose eyes blink, and who can guide you. There is treasure to find, swords for your protection, and - of course - battles to be fought with those nasty creatures, the Mazogs. The instructions lack clarity, but it doesn't really matter. You'll have great fun learning the game by trying to play it. BECOMING AN ADDICT The game should perhaps carry a warning. For once, the description 'addictive' is an accurate one, and you will not feel much like relinquishing the television set to such things as BBC and ITV after you've had a taste of MZG. User-friendly aspects have not been overlooked in the program, and there is none of that frustrating blank screen wait while the computer is 'thinking' or setting up the game. All in all, my conclusion must be that this is one of the tiny minority of programs which every ZX81 owner should possess, even if only to amaze those who are sceptical of the ZX81's computing power. MAZOGS, for the 16K ZX81, is available from BugByte, [redacted], for £10.00.

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

DEATH LURKS IN THE LABYRINTH Warthogs are mild mannered compared to the Mazeogs found wandering the tunnels of this labyrinth. Your quest is to search the corridors of a complex maze for hidden treasures contained within it Bu t as you traverse the confines of the maze there are 30 evil-minded Mazeogs on the lookout for you. Guiding you on your journey are prisoners who have been spared death on their quests. Instead of being killed the Mazeogs have placed them in a state of suspended animation and bricked them up in the walls of the maze. Only when you, the explorer, investigate the maze's corridors do they come to life again. You can recognise them b y their blinking eyes, and they will give you information. Unfortunately, you have been endowed with a poor memory and can only retain this information for 10 seconds. Killing the Mazeogs is possible with the 40 swords which are littered about the underground passageways for you to pick up and use in your defence. But beware, you can only use them once, and can only pick one up if your are unarmed. Three game variations are available on the cassette which can be bought from Liverpool based Bug Byte for £10. It runs on a Sinclair ZX81 with a 16K RAM pack.