Alphaprobe

ZX Computing

Nick Pearce

THE ZX81 SOFT SELECTION Nick Pearce looks over the latest (and some of the greatest) software available for the ZX81. Two new cassettes feature in this article, together with re-reviews of three popular cassettes to give new ZX81 owners an insight into the software available for their machines. All the cassettes are for the ZX81 with 16K RAM. ALPHAPROBE Artic Computing Alphaprobe is a new game from Artic to add to the already impressive range of software marketed by that company. It is an interactive game in real time in which, as commander of the NSS Alphaprobe, your mission is to explore strange new planets. You are transported by the mothership into alien skies and dropped toward the planet surface. The object of the game is to guide your descending ship and land safely on the planet, to reach fuel dumps and replenish supplies, and to launch pads to be taken to new planets. The game ends if you run out of fuel or crash and you are awarded a score at the end of each game. There are five grades of difficulty - at the hardest level you also have to contend with dangerous spores in the skies above the planets and, as a different planet surface is generated for each game, the game is different every time. However, Alphaprobe is not a particularly inspired game. It runs well and should be fairly readily mastered - but do keep an eye on the fuel level. I also thought that the screen displays were somewhat primitive for a game of this sort. Alphaprobe costs £3.95 and is available from Artic Computing Ltd, [redacted].