Skull

Personal Computer News

Bob Chappell

FRANTIC HAZARDS Bob Chappell rolls out his trusty Spectrum to test five new games cassettes. Skull, £6.95, Games Machine, [redacted], mail order/retail. SKULL As 3D mazes go, this one from Games Machine goes very well indeed. You are presented with a ground level perspective view or a randomly generated maze. Strewn around are crosses, keys, gems and coins which you strive to collect. Keys lock and unlock portcullises while crosses help to deal with huge diamond-eyed skulls that you encounter. Skull is beautifully presented with clear instructions and a range of options. Overall, it's an impressive and enjoyable game.

Big K

Overall 2/3

Richard Burton 2/3

DEM BONES DEM BONES MAKER: Games Machine MACHINE: Spectrum 48K FORMAT: cassette PRICE: £6.95 Just goes to show that there's still life in an old idea treated right. Skull's your basic 3D maze game but gussied up with a whole lot of glossy touches that make it more than halfway decent. Game object is to negotiate an infinite-level maze collecting treasure without losing lives, so racking up the highest score possible. Out to stop you doing this are all manner of hazards; pitfalls, trapdoors, portcullises and, of course, skulls. These giant, creepy effigies (rendered in superb hi-res graphics) lurk round cornets and will suddenly appear in your path. If you hold one or more crosses the skulls will have gems set in their eye socket and you can obtain these by ploughing through the skull. But beware the skull with the empty eyes... confronting it will bring your quest to a swift and bloody end. What sets Skull head and shoulders above other 3D mazes is the attention to detail Games Machine have lavished on the game. Like the plan view of the whole maze that appears on screen at the start of each game, showing where the treasure lies and the skulls lurk, only to frustratingly disintegrate before your eyes after a few seconds. It can be called back again at any time but will cost you 25 points. Other noteworthy features include save and load facilities, printing out of screen images and a unique option to 'merge' high store tables. Graphically Skull is very slick. 100% machine code. Random maze generation. Stunning screen wipes. The whole presentation smacks of professionalism. (Other software houses please note.) A very credible first effort from Games Machine and hopefully a mark of the standard we can expect from future releases.

Sinclair Programs

June Mortimer

This month we focus on a selection of games and on the new range of software for students of Shakespeare from Penguin Books. The Skull, by Games Machine, appears to be a three-dimensional version of Pac-man-type game. The aim is to move round a three-dimensional maze, amassing points by collecting as much treasure as possible. Also wandering round the maze are a series of large skulls, which will kill the hapless player who meets them. They can be killed only if the player has recently picked up a cross. The maze is on several levels. Movement from one to another is by accident through a broken trapdoor, or by design down a ladder. The graphics and screen layout are good, the movement is smooth. Maze games, however, both twoand three-dimensional, have become commonplace on the Spectrum and The Skull has no features which make it stand out from the other games of its type. The Skull is produced for the 48K Spectrum by Games Machine Ltd, [redacted] and costs £6.95.

Your Spectrum

John Hall 9/10

Mark Knight 9/10

Tony Samuels 8/10

Your Spectrum is continuing to scour the country's computer clubs to get the undiluted thoughts, feelings and impressions of dedicated games enthusiasts - thus providing our readers with unbiased evaluations. Any club wishing to offer their reviewing services should contact Ron Smith, Spectrum Soft, [redacted]. This month we visited the Heald Green Computer Club (which meets fortnightly at the Public Hall, [redacted], on Wednesdays from 7.30 to 10.30pm). Three of the club's leading members each played the games we gave them for review and in some cases found them so well-conceived and written, went completely over the top with the superlatives. In others, the games were deemed to be re-hashes of old ideas and evaluated accordingly. The club was formed four months ago, and has already managed to attract over 40 enthusiasts. All members are being brought up to the same standard of proficiency by the more experienced members who are running formal courses in both Basic and machine code. Membership is offered at a very reasonable rate, and all enquiries should be referred to Tony Samuels on [redacted] (after 6pm). Tony, incidentally, is currently working on a new program for the Spectrum (called Ugh - see Rumbles in this issue) which will be available from Softek in the near future. SKULL Games Machine £6.95 This is a 3D maze game in which the player has to collect coins, crosses, gemstones and keys that'll open gates. All the while one has to avoid the skulls that stay in constant pursuit.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Crash

Use of Computer 65%

Graphics 69%

Playability 75%

Getting Started 80%

Addictive Qualities 60%

Value For Money 70%

Overall 70%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Games Machine Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.95 Language: Machine code Author: I.C. Docherty The Skull comes complete with a keyboard overlay which can be cut out and stuck on card to slip over the Spectrum's keyboard, and a very comprehensive set of instructions and objectives. The format is a 3D maze with a claimed 9999 levels of maze and a possible top score of 999,999. You start at the 'top' and always work down. There are two ways of descending a level, the hard way - fall down a pitfall and lose a life, and the proper way - use a trapdoor with a ladder. Other obstacles in the maze are portcullises which are often triggered by your passage, and the wandering skulls which kill on sight. What makes life bearable in this nightmare place is all the treasure lying around. It consists of crosses, keys, bronze and gold coins and pairs of gems. If you pick up a cross you are allowed 15 seconds, during which time the skulls appear with pairs of gems for eyes and are vulnerable to your attack. The keys let you open portcullises, only one per key, but doing so costs you some points. Treasure is picked up by occupying the square it sits in, and to the right of the playing area an inventory is kept. The cross flashes inversely during its last 5 seconds of useful life. Below the inventory a map appears with each new level, showing your location and that of obstacles, skulls and treasure. Unfortunately it only lasts for a few seconds, but only at the cost of some points accumulated. There is also a lucky charm bracelet below the playing area which shows the number of skulls in the maze. The playing area itself shows a simple outline 3D representation of the view ahead of you and coloured objects which may be picked up. Falling through a pitfall results in a series of flashing coloured boxes indicating your fall, whereas using a ladder results in a downward moving ladder to appear, while the next maze is randomly generated. COMMENTS Control keys: cursors for direction, Map = 2, Open = 4 Joystick: Protek, AGF or cursor clip on Keyboard play: responsive Use of colour good Graphics: very smoothly generated 3D although simple in construction Sound: fair Skill levels: 1 Lives: 4 Screens: 9,999 Features: Save facility and 'merge' - hi-score save system

Beware the looming Skull, its eyes may gleam, but its heart is cold.

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 5/10

GRAPHICS REDEEM MAZE GAME Memory: 48K Price: £6.95 Yet another three-dimensional maze. It is incredible that anyone with a sense of what the market expects should produce another maze game in which you move round collecting treasure and gaining points. The damning criticism may be just a little too harsh - but only just. In Skull, for the 48K Spectrum, you also have to avoid the skulls with jewelled eyes which inhabit the complex and make sure that you do not get stuck in corners of the maze where bars fall from the ceiling. One other problem you may encounter is the trapdoors which will open and close as if they had minds of their own. If you solve one level of the complex the computer will transport you to another more difficult floor. When the game finishes you may be able to put your name on the high score table which takes your level number into account. The graphics and the quick and easy response of the game are two factors in its favour. It is, however, difficult to find the instructions when playing. Skull is produced by Games Machine.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online