Beamrider

Your Spectrum

Dave Nicholls 2/5 MISS

Roger Willis 1/5 MISS

Ross Holman 2/5 MISS

JOYSTICK JURY From their bench on high, our regular panel of jurors - Ross Holman, Dave Nicholls and Roger Willis - pass judgement on the latest games software! You're probably getting used to our joystick jockeys by now but, for the record, there's gamester supremo Ross Holman; the hairiest of hackers, Dave Nicholls; and the fastest reviewer on two wheels, Roger Willis. WARNING! Just in case you find our scoring system too confusing, here's what it's all about. The score out of five at the end of each person's review is based on their own experience of the game. But that's pretty subjective... so they also use the HIT and MISS system to indicate its potential as a commercial success. BEAMRIDER Activision £7.99 Dave: Beamrider is a 'skim the surface of the planet (or, in this case, Restrictor Shield) shooting things that appear over the horizon' game. There are few other games of this type around and, I'm afraid Beamrider is nothing really very special. That said, it's an above average 'Zap 'em' with quite a lot going on... In order to progress up through the screens, you have to shoot 15 of the flying saucers that come down the grid, but there are several other types of alien flying around which sometimes get in the way. Some of the aliens can be destroyed with your 'laser lariats', but others can only be blown up by a torpedo. As you only get three torpedoes and you need at least one to destroy the sentinel ship that appears at the end of each screen. I found myself dodging more often than shooting. Different meanies appear on the higher screens and, by about sector seven, you'll find yourself very busy indeed! If you're looking for a fast shooting game, then Beamrider is probably worth a look - but it's not exactly state-of-the-art stuff.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Crash

Use of Computer 74%

Graphics 70%

Playability 76%

Getting Started 69%

Addictive Qualities 73%

Value For Money 54%

Overall 69%

Unknown

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Producer: Activision Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £7.99 Language: Machine code Author: Dave Rolfe Some months back we reviewed a game called GForce by Eurobyte. Beamrider is a 3D version of the game and more resembles the arcade original on which it is based. It is a shoot em up in which you control a fighter which can move left or right at the base for front) of the screen. You are sitting on a grid of lines which travel in semi-perspective towards the horizon. Down these beamed grids come enemy alien ships of various types. Hazards encountered (depending on sector) include White Saucers which hop from grid line to grid line before settling down, Red space debris which can only be dodged, Yellow Chirper ships, Green Blocker ships, Green Bounce craft, Blue Chargers, Orange Trackers and Red Zig Bombers. The hazards invulnerable to your laser must be avoided or torpedoed, but you only have three torpedoes per sector and these should be saved for real emergencies and the large Mother ship that crosses the horizon from time to time and earns a huge bonus. The antics of the hazards are not random, green Blockers will lock onto the beam on which you are sitting, swarms of them appearing if a Mothership is about to appear. The saucers fire down the beams at you and the Blockers absorb your shots. Each sector contains fifteen saucers which are ostensibly guarding the Mothership. A counter at the top left tells you how many are left. When they have all been destroyed the Mothership for Sentinel Ship) will appear. There is also a way of earning additional lives by allowing a Yellow Rejuvenator ship to make contact with your craft. Shooting it will turn it to red debris which kills if it hits you. COMMENTS Control keys: O/P left/right, Z to fire laser, Q to fire torpedo (forward on joystick) Joystick: A poor point about Activision games is that they fail to mention joystick options on the inlays, but you can use AGF, Protek, Kempston, Sinclair 2 Keyboard play: very responsive and well laid out Use of colour: very good Graphics: above average, not too detailed, but fast Sound: very good and plenty of it Skill levels: 3 (level 1 starts sector 1: level 2 starts sector 5, and level 3 starts sector 10) Lives: 3 plus rejuvenator Screens: 1 Special features: 1 to 4 player option

Two white saucers approach down the beams towards in Activision's BEAMRIDER.

Sinclair Programs

Rating 35%

June Mortimer 35%

PRICE: £7.99 GAME TYPE: Arcade Feeling mentally exhausted by a surfeit of adventure games? Fingers itching to kill something? Looking for a game which brings the electronic slaughter of the arcades into your home? You are? Strange. Beam rider sets you flying through fifteen levels of grids, on each of which you have fifteen ships to blast into oblivion. This starts off fairly easy but, as the levels progress, the screens become littered with space debris, unassailable ships and all sorts of dangerous objects. The graphics are not amazing, in fact they are small and pathetic. The speed of everything is very fast, so fast that you are likely to leave the game after an hour or so with a severe case of eye strain, and twitching fingers. It is fast, it is furious, but it is not original, and it does not even approach excitement. Arcade freaks may find it appealing, no one else will. Beam rider is produced by Activision, [redacted].