Subterranean Stryker

Your Spectrum

Dave Nicholls 2.5/5 MISS

Roger Willis 4/5 HIT

Ross Holman 3/5 HIT

JOYSTICK JURY Up before the beaks - Dave Nicholls, Roger Willis and Ross Holman - comes all the new games software, from the greatest to the grottiest. Back on the bench again, our joystick jurors are here to pass judgement on all the latest software. Read their sentences before you commit your cash. 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. SUBTERRANEAN STRYKER Insight £6.95 Dave: When I first started playing this game I got that feeling that I'd been here before. On reflection. I decided that though the game as a whole is new, it's blagged a lot of ideas from other games. Your aim is to destroy the enemy's Power Crystal which is situated on the fifth level of an underground complex. Off you go, steering your ship through all the levels, avoiding the nasties and rounding up slave workers. Once you've collected all the workers, you gain entry to the next level. The complex itself is made up of smoothly scrolling caverns - you can see where you are on the screen display as well as other status information about shields and the like. Each level is about eight screens wide and you'll find in them a fair old selection of fully animated flying and earthbound hazards. I can't see that the game's got much to offer the arcade player but the graphics are O.K. Perhaps it's worth a look for the rest of us mortals.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Crash

Use of Computer 82%

Graphics 83%

Playability 38%

Getting Started 79%

Addictive Qualities 40%

Value For Money 50%

Overall 62%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Insight Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £6.95 Language: Machine code Author: Mike Follin Putting new games in a convenient nutshell is always a rather dodgy process, although it does help describe them in a way. So, bearing in mind all the pitfalls of so doing Subterranean Stryker could be described as a combination of a 'Defender'and a 'Scramble' with graphical overtones of a Wheelie. Insight is a new software house, and Subterranean Stryker their first game. The overall object (apart from staying alive) is to descend through eight levels and destroy the enemy underground Power Crystal. The 'Defender' aspect is represented by the requirement to collect human miners from the various levels, in fact you have to collect all humans from a level before the gate to the next level will let you pass downwards. The 'Scramble'element is represented by the torturous caverns through which you travel, avoiding the various nasties, some of which shoot back at you. There is also a City level to compound the similarity. Having said that, Subterranean Stryker is not really a copy of either game. The screen is split into three horizontal layers. At the top is the playing area. Each level contains five screens horizontally with continuous scrolling along them. Next comes a status panel with score, bar codes for shields and fuel level, numbers of humans rescued and lives left. Below is a radar scanner for the entire level which shows the positions of humans, nasties and your ship as well as exits to the next level down. Each level has its own colour, the rocks being drawn with alternating pixels of colour and black (which gives it its Wheelie look). Your ship is fitted with shields which can withstand bumps into the cavern walls and even allow you to pass through them if necessary, although this causes a heavy drain. Fuel may be replenished on some of the lower levels. All the humans and nasties are fully animated in a variety of ways. COMMENTS Control keys: Q to T/A to G up/down, CAPS to V reverse, L to thrust, ENTER to fire Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair 2, AGF, Protek Keyboard play: responsive and very fine movement allowed Use of colour: excellent and very varied Graphics: very good, plenty of animation, bit flickery on your craft Sound: good tune, nice spot effects Skill levels: 1 Lives: 3 plus shields Screens: 40 - eight levels with five scrolling screens each

The first level, showing the radar screen at the bottom and working miners waiting to be rescued.

Your SUBTERRANEAN STRYKER descends to the lower levels.

Personal Computer NewsPCN Star Game

Overall 10/10

Bryan Skinner 10/10

PRICE: £6.95 PUBLISHER: Insight [redacted] This is one tricky little number. It's like a sophisticated Scramble - you pilot a small white jet around a dangerous cavern system. The aim of Subterranean Stryker is to rescue as many humanoids as possible and destroy the underground enemy Power Crystal. The caverns are mostly rocky corridors and space is very tight, especially when you've got mean alien cavern fighters alter your blood. The game kicks off with your fighter hovering above the ground. First task is to rescue humanoids working on the surface, and then get underground. There's only one entrance, guarded by some vicious looking plants. Sadly, you can't redefine the keys, but the ones used for up/down, thrust, reverse and fire are pretty ergonomic. A cross-sectional view of the part of whichever of the five levels you're in takes up most of the display, with the ship always central. Below that is a small-scale view of the entire playing area of that level. From this 'radar' display you can spot the aliens and head off to sort them out - their movement is mirrored in the radar display. These aliens (colourful jellyfish) are extremely nasty indeed.They don't all have entirely predictable patterns of movement for a start. They seem to follow a series of patterns of different lengths, so just when you think you've got one sussed, it breaks out and you're in trouble. Also, they fire tiny white dots, sure to hit anyone who hangs about and which give hot pursuit across several screens. In the caverns there are many hazards, most of which end a life if you don't get your timing and manoeuvring absolutely spot on. Most are a bit samey, however, as the main theme is dodging between moving hazards blocking your way. There are large blue drops of some unpleasant liquid falling regularly, red wiggly snakes in Indian file (and not much space between them), armour piercing drills, unnameable pulsating monstrosities and so on. Some of the hazards don't wipe you out but do sap your shield's energy as you can tell from the instrument display between the main view and the radar display. Also shown is the amount of fuel, number of lives left, depth, score and number of rescues. Fuel is replenished from fuel dumps, but getting at them isn't easy. In fact, getting anywhere takes time, patience and plenty of practice. Rescuing the humanoids is easy - just get close by them and pop, they're on board. They're cleverly animated, regularly hacking away at the rock with tiny hammers. Sound is limited, except at the beginning of a session when it is quite amazing - you'd think your Spectrum had a couple of voices and sound shaping. The only other slight let-downs are the flickering of the plane as it's updated, and the background scrolling leaves a little to be desired. So, whether you're a fan of the type or just into good games, buy it.