Roland's Rat Race

Your SpectrumYour Spectrum Ross's Rave Of The Month

Dougie Bern 8/10

Rick Robson 8/10

Ross Holman 8/10

JOYSTICK JURY It's all change again this month as we say goodbye to the irrepressible Roger Willis - you haven't heard the last of him though, you can be sure of that - and welcome Dougie Bern in his place. He joins the other two joystick jurors, Rick Robson and Ross Holman as they pass judgement on all the latest games. It's all change on the scoring system too! Out go the hits and misses and the score out of five. So that the joystick jurors can draw more subtle distinctions between games, they're now giving the scores out of ten. If there's anything else you think they should be telling you, let em know.! ROLAND'S RAT RACE Ocean £6.90 Ross: Roland Rat has many fans, but I'm not one of them, so I didn't know what to expect of this rodent's tale. It turns out to be a ladders and levels escapade, mirroring old Ratty's real life efforts to get up at an unratly hour and make it to the TV studios in time for his early morning show. As any true rat should, Roland starts his day down in the sewers, scrambling about to get out. This is a game for clever rats, that use ladders and assemble keys and other unrat-like activities, but then again Roland has traded in his cage for a TV presenter's chair! His two main worries, are his high metabolic rate which means he gets hungry all the time and the energy gauge drops rapidly. The other major rat-traps are the marauding wellies. Now you know! People may hate rats, but rats hate wellies! Roland can quell his hunger pangs quite nicely with the tit-bits he finds, and he can beat the boots by firing glue pellets to stick the welly to the spot! By exiting to the left or right of a screen, you can take Roland to new levels and pipework. It's an idea to make him a map though, or he could get quite lost in this rat-race. Once he's escaped, other adventures will befall him. A rat's work is never done...

Along the top of the upper level, you'll get a view of what's going on in the real world - but wait this can't be the real world 'cos that's a C5 - and no-one drives around in those! If you're looking for an easy way out of a sticky situation, then one of these doors leads across a pipe to another set of rooms. And fortunately, the meanies can't dog your footsteps. Beware the jet set wellies - they'll sap your energy if you head straight for them. Use the glue to hold em fast for a while - go on stick the boot in!

Your energy level can be topped up with the tasty hamburgers and crisps that Roland fines on his underground travels. This'll have you glued to the set. You're armed with your Stic-o-matic super glue gun - squirt this in the direction of the welly boots before they rubber you up the wrong way! Down on the second level you'll find an underground train. To hitch a ride, fire a globule of glue onto the track and climb aboard. Dotted around the underground system you'll find packets of Stic-o-matic super glue to replenish your supplies as they dwindle. Don't use it all at once or you'll find that you'll run out just as you need it.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Crash

Use of Computer 69%

Graphics 70%

Playability 68%

Getting Started 82%

Addictive Qualities 73%

Value For Money 65%

Overall 66%

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Producer: Ocean Retail Price: £7.95 Language: Machine code Roland Rat, TV AM's furry little superstar extraordinaire, has got problems. It all started when Roland got up, late for work and not exactly feeling on top of the world. As if being late wasn't bad enough, Roly finds out that his rather decrepit car won't start. Disaster! Still, there's always the short cut through the London sewer system which Roly knows so well from his lurid past life as a city rat. He'll make it to the telly studios before nine o' clock, don't you worry. Being late is, however, the least of his problems. A highly disreputable bunch of nasties have kidnapped Roly's friends. Yes, you've guessed it Errol the hamster and Kevin the gerbil are in deep trouble. Out of the goodness of his heart, Roland decides to set out and rescue Errol and Kev. To do this he has to find the key to unlock the door to the nasties' secret hideout. However, before he can unlock the door, Roly has to actually assemble it! Pieces of the hideout door have been left lying around the sewer network careless of the baddies, eh? Unfortunately, due to the fact rats ain't that strong, Roly can only carry one bit of the door at a time. Whenever he collects a piece he has to fit it into place before he can pick up another. Worse still, there are pairs of wellies trotting around the place that weaken Roland each time he runs into them. Fortunately though, Roland is armed with his Instant Stic-O-Matic glue gun that can eject globs of glue with deadly accuracy, a piece of equipment that is definitely not to be sniffed at. It can be used to temporarily stop the wellies in their tracks and can bring Roly himself to a halt with a badly aimed glob. If our furry friend's energy should run out then it's curtains for him and his mates. Throughout the sewer there are apples and hamburgers which Roland can eat for extra energy, but these are in limited supply and must be eaten strategically. A few glue packs are also lying around conveniently, to boost Roly's supply. Way down in the darker depths of the sewer there runs a regular train service which Roland can catch through timely use of his glue gun. If he's not careful though, he'll end up getting run over and lose a lot of energy in the process. Once Roland's assembled the door and opened it to release his chum, only worms and electrically charged areas stand between him, his pals and freedom. But at this point Roly can't use his glue gun! When Errol and Kev have been saved, the trio are transported to the surface and the game starts over. COMMENTS Control keys: definable Joystick: Cursor, Kempston Keyboard play: reasonably responsive Use of colour: good but with some unpleasant clashes Graphics: passable Sound: weak Skill levels: 1 Lives: in the form of an energy bar Screens: around 32

If Roly snuffs it in the sewers, would the Coroner's verdict be Sewercide? Down in the murky depths of London's waste disposal system in ROLAND RAT.

Is that a C5 zooming along topside? Glue and Energy are running low, as Roland seeks his chums in ROLAND RAT. What a delightful setting for a game, eh? The sewers of London. Doesn't anyone know that rates also live in ships?

Sinclair User

Overall 4/5

John Gilbert 4/5

Publisher: Ocean Price: £6.90 Memory: 48K Joystick: AGF, Kempston, Sinclair Rolan Rat, Superstar, renowned for talking the boom off the speed of sound, has forgotten to set his alarm clock. He is late for his regular appearance on TV-AM. The sewers in which he lives, with buddies Kevin and Errol, are also inhabited by mutant wellie boots which stomp their way up and down the levels, kicking everything out of their way. Roland finds that a pain in the tail, and arms himself with a rubber glue gun, which can be filled with glue pots scattered around the levels. The glue puts the wellies into a sticky situation and he needs gallons of it to get to the studio door. To open the door and join Nick, Anne and Wincey he has to collect pieces of glow-in-the-dark material, one bit at a time, and fix it to the door. He must then collect the key and fit it into the lock for the grand finale. To further complicate matters there are two sewer levels. If Roland finds a downward arrow on the first level he can travel to the underground system. The tubes rattle by frequently but Roland, unperturbed, walks at the side of the track avoiding the danger. If luck is on his side he will find a black door into which the glowing pieces of puzzle can be fitted. He must be fast, however, as the time ticks slowly onward and the show will soon be over. Finding the pieces is hard work and Roland has had no breakfast. He must get by on a diet of Big Macs and crisps which will boost his energy level. The game relies heavily on the player's identification with Roland, and those who are not enamoured with the Superstar might find that play can be- come monotonous after more than 30 minutes, although the C5 trundling across the top of the screen with the other rush hour traffic provides some light relief. The various screens look deceptively similar, and map-making is essential if Roland is to avoid running around in circles. The graphics, while not outstanding, are smooth and fast. The scroll from one room to another is particularly impressive. Roland's Rat Race will be of interest to rat fans everywhere. Although he is not his usual verbal his rambling computer adventures give a new meaning to cuteness on the arcade screen. In the final analysis, is it good fun? Yeah!

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online