Prowler

Your Sinclair

Overall 4/10

Nat Pryce 4/10

BARGAIN BASEMENT And down in the Cheapies Emporium this wee (nothing over £3 considered), is Bristol's answer to Billy Idol, Nat Pryce! PROWLER Mastertronic £1.99 Reviewer: Nat Pryce You are the pilot of the new Northall Q-15c attack 'copter, and it's your mission to defend the planet Ursa Minor Delta-V, against the evil menace of the bloodthirsty Peradusins, (though why Earth has sent one little chopper to defeat a whole alien attack force is beyond me). Your helicopter is covered in weapons and techno-gadgets, to help you root out and kill the alien scum, though actually seeing one of the enemy is pretty rare. You have a full collection of AAMs and ASMs, as well as a rapid-fire cannon. Your controls are simple, at least they would be simple if the instructions told you what they really were, but they think that the Speccy has function keys - weird! When you don't see the enemy, (which is most of the time, since they travel much quicker than you,) nothing moves on screen except your dials - there are no landmarks or mountains you can fly past, everything is white and flat. The game seems very dull because of this. I think that it tries to be a simulation with arcade elements, or preps an arcade game with simulation elements. but it fails to be any good in either category. Sorry, I can't recommend this game at all.

Read it at Your Sinclair Rock'n'Roll Years

Sinclair User

Overall 7/10

Chris Jenkins 7/10

Label: Mastertronic Author: Icon Design Price: £1.99 Memory: 48K/128K Joystick: various Reviewer: Chris Jenkins Prowler is probably the best futuristic helicopter simulations/shoot-'em-up budget game you'll see, oooh, this afternoon. It's a good combination of depth and straightforward shooty fun. The time; the future. About 4.30. Nasty aliens have invaded absolutely everywhere, and your task is to defend your planet using a heavily-armed helicopter. Your out-of-cockpit view shows the (oddly featureless) background scrolling by happily as you zip about your mission. You have some spiffy weapons to help you out. The Stinger cannon with 999 shells to expend, the Hornet missile which can knock out up to five targets at once, the Dragon heavy duty missile for taking out motherships, the Wolfpack air-to-ground missile for destroying groups of tanks, and the Hammer short range air to ground missile for anything that might be left over. Weapons are selected with appropriate keys, and the instrument display tells you which is currently armed. Instruments also give you readouts for altitude, vertical velocity, ground speed, coordinates, heading and power. A targeting computer allows you to select the nearest baddie to home in on, while key F switches on your tactical display. This divides the planet into a grid, each box of which is marked with the number of enemy fighters, tanks and motherships it contains. By moving the highlight to the desired box, you can bring up a heading display. On returning to the main screen, you can launch remote missiles into the sector, or head towards it and engage in close combat. One of the best features of the game is the radar display. This can be zoomed in and out using the space bar and CAPS SHIFT key, so you can use it to locate concentrations of enemy ships at a distance, then step up the magnification to engage when you see the whites of their eyes. There are several skill levels and six types of mission to choose from. Some of the missions are training flights which allow you to master the controls without getting killed (although you can still crash the ship). Others are horrendously difficult, with every sector crammed with enemies. An updated version of the sort of Star Trek or Codename MAT prototype. Prowler is excellent value for money. A pity, then, that the instructions are full of mistakes - command keys duplicated, references to mysterious "function keys" on the Spectrum, a Help page which refuses to appear - and it seems quite possible to spend ages chasing down targets without coming into contact with so much as a stray Hoover. Still, worth checkin' out.

Crash

Presentation 40%

Graphics 25%

Playability 10%

Addictive Qualities 8%

Overall 14%

Kati Hamza 13%

Paul Sumner 20%

Producer: Mastertronic Retail Price: £1.99 Author: Icon Design The outpost planet Ferantoo is under attack from a wicked force of alien Peradusians. Taking control of Prowler, the Northall Q15-C assault craft, the player can choose from a selection of ten different missions and five difficulty levels (Rookie to Top Gun) as he attempts to protect his planet from the invading alien ships. The mission is viewed from the cockpit of the Prowler aircraft, looking over a 3-D environment of mountains and sky. Complex instruments, including an altimeter, vertical velocity and ground speed indicators are at the pilot's disposal, plus full control over the craft's height, speed and direction. The position of the enemy is indicated on an adjustable radar screen. Once alien craft come within visible range they can be eliminated via a targetting system using five different types of missiles. Shields provide extra protection; a status display shows their current strength. COMMENTS Joysticks: none Graphics: appalling. No animation on a poorly drawn landscape Sound: simple blips Options: five difficulty levels and ten different missions