Bubble Bugs

ZX Computing

Nick Pearce

THE ZX81 SOFT SELECTION Nick Pearce gives us his critical views on some of the latest ZX81 software. BUBBLE BUGS AND BANK ROBBER Romik Software I thoroughly enjoyed Bubble Bugs. It is, I suppose, an invaders-type game. Your base ship is at the bottom left hand corner of the screen (where it remains during the game) and is under attack from the bubble bugs. You race backwards and forwards along the bottom of the screen firing missiles and "popping" the bubbles. The bubble bugs drop bombs which can damage both your craft and your base ship. Your ship can tolerate a certain amount of damage but eventually is destroyed whereupon the game ends. Not only do bubble bugs bomb you but when hit, they shatter and the debris can also inflict damage. When your craft is hit, a rescue vehicle is automatically sent out from the base ship to carry out repairs. You consume a unit of fuel each time you fire a missile and as you can only carry ten units, you have to return to the base ship regularly to replenish stocks. Alternatively, the rescue craft will come to your aid should you run out completely. You can select an attack speed from 1 (easy) to 10 (impossible) the screen display is good and the action is smooth and responsive. Quite an impressive game. In some respects Bank Robber is similar. You rush along the bottom of the screen taking money from the bank on the left and depositing it in your house on the right. As usual, life just isn't that easy. You operate in a street constantly bombarded by meteorites which you must avoid, and occasionally bricks and pills drop from the sky. If you catch a brick, a protective building will be rebuilt and a pill gives you another 'life'. The protective buildings resemble the shields in an invaders type game. It is worth trying to keep them built (the meteorites quickly destroy them) in order to facilitate your dashes between the bank and your house. Unfortunately, you can only enter your house or the bank when the doors are open: they occasionally close during the game. There are twenty levels of play and the density of the meteorites is selectable froml to 3. Another good quality action game from Romik Software. Both Bank Robber and Bubble Bugs are 16K games. They include on screen instructions and each has a "freeze frame" whereby if the action all gets too much you can freeze everything while composing yourself. Romik Software, [redacted]. Mikro-Gen, [redacted]. Software Farm, [redacted]. Fawkes Computing, [redacted]

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 6/10

SPACE GAMES TO KEEP YOU FIRING Memory: 16K Price: £4.99 Recent releases from Romik Software all seem to follow roughly the same well-tried shoot-them-before-they-shoot you formula. Galaxy Jailbreak for the 16K ZX-81 features a prison somewhere in space. You have captured some evil alien generals whose soldiers are trying to free them by nibbling away the walls of the jail. You control a stellar base which fires five missiles at a time and can attempt to shoot the soldiers before they get the generals out; if they get out, the generals start dropping bombs on you, making your life much more difficult. Another mysterious law of outer space also decrees that if you shoot a general, he turns into five soldiers. You score 50 points for hitting a general, 20 for hitting a soldier. Although the concept is not brilliantly original, Galaxy Jailbreak is enlivened by some fast action, and easy-to-use control keys - half the bottom row moves you left, the other half moves you right - are an additional bonus. Make sure you read the opening instruction screens carefully, as the game does not give you a second chance to see them without reloading. Galactic Trooper, also for the 16K ZX-81, is in a similar vein. Again, you must be careful to read the instructions, as the graphics are a little confusing and they will not be explained again once the game has started. The idea is to amass as high a score as possible by destroying a galactic attacking force and prevent it landing on earth. If a landing craft touches down, you lose your firing base. The screen display shows the enemy mothership, worth 500 points, ranging back and forth above the ranks of drones; drones give you 20 points if you shoot them before they drop, 40 points if you catch them in mid-air. A mystery score is attached to the saucers, otherwise known as landing craft. You receive an extra ship if you reach a score of 10,000 points. Unless you are an experienced player, you may not find that easy. Although it is easy to increase your score quickly at the start - just keep firing - stopping the saucers landing and putting an end to your activities is a good deal more difficult. Again, not a strikingly original game, but one which should appeal to addicts of the fire button. Other games for the 16K ZX-81 from Romik Software include Bubble Bugs, which entails firing spiked missiles at enemy bubble bugs to burst them before they destroy you with their bombs. Bank Robber, for a change, does not take place in space - or does it? - but involves removing as many money bags as possible from the bank and getting them home, while avoiding the meteorites, bricks and pills some unexplained force is hurling at you. The game also features open and closed doors to negotiate, and you can choose the number of meteorites and speed with which you would like to be confronted. All the games are available from Romik Software, [redacted].