Bedlam

Crash

Overall 78%

Producer: MC Lothlorien, 16K £5.95 (1) A very fast shoot em up game in which the maze is not a central problem, but the infestation of beautifully animated creatures are. It's supposed to be an asylum planet and you're the only sane inmate (so you think)! Equipped with your twin-firing photon bolt, its quite a task to keep the ravening monsters at bay. They move faster and faster as they dash at you and there are also 'saucerous guards' nipping about. firing at your. The one drawback, perhaps, is that the creatures take a very predictable path towards you, but its still all extemely fast. Could have had more variation to heighten addictivity. User-defined control keys, so AGF or Protek joysticks are usable, pretty good value for money and an overall CRASH rating of 78% M/C.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition

Crash

Overall 78%

Producer: MC Lothlorien, 16K £5.95 (1) A very fast shoot em up game in which the maze is not a central problem, but the infestation of beautifully animated creatures are. It's supposed to be an asylum planet and you're the only sane inmate (so you think)! Equipped with your twin-firing photon bolt, its quite a task to keep the ravening monsters at bay. They move faster and faster as they dash at you and there are also 'saucerous guards' nipping about. firing at your. The one drawback, perhaps, is that the creatures take a very predictable path towards you, but its still all extemely fast. Could have had more variation to heighten addictivity. User-defined control keys, so AGF or Protek joysticks are usable, pretty good value for money and an overall CRASH rating of 78% M/C.

Personal Computer News

Lasting Appeal 4/5

Playability 4/5

Use Of Machine 5/5

Value For Money 4/5

Roger Howarth 4/5

NAME: Bedlam SYSTEM: Any Spectrum PRICE: £5.95 PUBLISHER: MC Lothlorien, [redacted] FORMAT: Cassette LANGUAGE: Machine code OUTLETS: Mail order/Retail BOVRYLL BOVVER Call me narrow-minded, but until recently I thought it was possible to judge the quality of a program simply by its size - ie if it fits in 16K then forget it. I was wrong. OBJECTIVES You're trapped on an Asylum planet called Bovryll. To escape you must move around the planet, or to be more accurate, a maze of cubes as this is what Bovryll looks like on your TV screen, killing things before they kill you. IN PLAY There are three skill levels to choose from. Level 1 is 'easy' and allows you to race around the maze incredibly quickly. Level 3 is 'hard' and simply slows your movement down, making you an easier target. A nice feature of this game is that it allows you to redefine the playing keys. This, of course, means that Bedlam is compatible with absolutely any joystick - what a super idea. Unfortunately, whether you choose to use joystick or keyboard, the control of your laser takes some getting used to. This is because to change direction and run, something that I needed to do quite often, you need to push the joystick once to point you in the required direction, then release it and push again to actually move. This system is sometimes useful but more often just plain troublesome, and totally baffling if you haven't read the instructions before playing. Most of the things that you have to kill are simply kamikaze nutters who hurl themselves at you. However, as you progress through the game flying saucers appear and these actually shoot at you, and quite accurately too. Both types of enemy move within the confines of the maze, the maze being only one screen in size. It is therefore easy enough to develop some sort of battle tactic. VERDICT Though the game plan is not original, it is still enjoyable. The use of sound and graphics is superb, with good animation of the various lunatics. In fact, some of my friends didn't want to shoot them as they were so cute. It's a pity that the game doesn't progress anywhere; with no different screens to work up to and explore, you're left trying to beat the previous high score. Even so, because of the difficulty involved and the excellent use of graphics, it still ends up being fun to play. Top marks too for the redefinable keys, and all this in 16K.

Crash

Use of Computer 80%

Graphics 75%

Playability 85%

Getting Started 75%

Addictive Qualities 75%

Value For Money 80%

Overall 78%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Lothlorien Memory Required: 16K Recommended Retail Price: £5.95 Language: machine code Named, presumably, after a favourite hot drink, the planet Bovryll is an asylum in which you are trapped. Wave after wave of loathsome creatures will attack you, each more vicious than the last. Fortunately someone has had the foresight to provide you with a twin firing photon bolt. The game gets off to a promising start with an exquisitely animated figure dancing on the titles while the computer waits for you to select a level. Once this has been done the planet Bovryll materialises on the screen. Well, it is an asylum of course, which would explain why it resembles a dense but open plan maze. You're at the bottom. One critic has said that he didn't recognise 'himself' but recognition comes as soon as you fire your twin photon bolt. You may zip about the maze if you like. All the loathsome creatures do, and they are beautifully animated. But eventually they start to file down to the left hand bottom corner (if you stay down there) and sadly follow the same route through the maze to be shot. However, as they get shot, the next one speeds up and you have to be very fast to survive. As the game proceeds creatures described as 'saucerous guards' attack. They nip about very quickly and fire at you. Shooting ten of these earns an extra life. GENERAL The packaging is unpretentious and the presentation of the on screen instructions is very good. Control keys are Q/Z = up/down, I/P = left/right. Fire is 0 and K allows user-defined keys, which means this could be set up easily for Kempston, AGF or Protek interfaces. COMMENTS Keyboard positions: good as set but redefinable Joystick options: none offered Keyboard play: very responsive Use of colour: muted, but relies on gem-like sprites Graphics: detailed and excellent Sound:good Skill levels: three Lives: five