Blockbusters

Your Sinclair

Lights 50%

Camera 88%

Action 90%

Cut 75%

Overall 74%

Jonathan Davies 74%

Coming, erm, now actually, to a cinema near you... THE COMPLETE YS GUIDE TO FILM AND TELLY GAMES Knowing full well what a square-eyed bunch you are, we thought it was about time you were given the facts on film and television licenced games. Once again, JONATHAN DAVIES was in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Cough. Deep, manly voice.) 'In the beginning there were loads and loads of Speccy games. Loads of them. They sold all right, but not exactly in enormous numbers. The trouble was, you see, that none of them seemed particularly exciting. They had nothing that caught the public eye. They were just computer games. Had no 'cred'. Then a small cog within a long-since-extinct software house had an idea. "Why don't we give our next game the same name as an incredibly popular film? Then everyone would buy it just because they'd seen the film and they'd foolishly think the game would be just as good. How about i, eh?" "Er, we could do, I suppose." "Great." "But what if the film company finds out? They might sue us or something." "Oh yeah." "Tcha." "I know - we could ask them first." "That's a point. Go on then." "What? Me?" "Yeah. Give them a ring and ask if they'd mind." "Oo-er. Cripes. Okay then." (Dials very long trans-Atlantic phone number.) "Hullo. We'd like to name our new game after your film and we were wondering if it was okay by you. Right... yes... oh, I see." (Cups hand over receiver.) "They want us to give them lots of money." "Erm, well in that case we'd better." (Removes hand.) "Yes, that'll be fine. We'll send you some right away. Bye." "Super." "But. er..." "What?" "How are we going to come up with a game that's anything like the film?" "I don't know really." "How about if we have a bloke walking around shooting people?" "That sounds fine. I'll program it right away." And so the film and telly licence was born. It... cough. Choke. Oops. There goes the deep, manly voice. Anyway, film and telly games, eh? Everyone's doing them these days, as they're one of the few remaining ways of making serious money with computer games. Run a grubby finger down the charts and you'll find nearly all the top-sellers are film and telly licences. (Or arcade conversions, of course.) But why do we keep buying them? After all, just because a game's named after a really brill film doesn't mean it's going to be any good, does it? Surely we aren't buying them simply because of the flashy name on the box? Erm, well in the old days, software houses assumed this to be the case, and chucked out a stream of absolutely appalling games with 'big name' titles. Things like Miami Vice, The Dukes Of Hazard and Highlander were all pretty dreadful, but it was hoped that they'd sell on the strength of their names. But we weren't fooled. Oh no. The games didn't sell well, and the companies were forced to think again. Eventually they came up with... the 'bloke walking around shooting things' idea. And they've used it more or less ever since. Lucky then that they tend to be jolly good all the same, and sometimes come up with the odd original idea to spice things up (like The Untouchables did, or perhaps Back To The Future Part II). RATINGS As always seems to be the case, the trusty YS ratings system doesn't really seem adequate when it comes to film and telly games. So here's what we've put together instead... LIGHTS What does it look like? Nice? Or not very nice at all? (You mean are the graphics any good? Ed) Er, yes. That's it in a nutshell. (Then why didn't you just say the first place? Ed) Erm... CAMERA How does the general atmosphere compare to the film or telly programme the game's meant to go with? Have programmers just taken a bog-standard game and stuck a flashy name on it? Or have they made an effort to incorporate a bit of the 'feel' of the original? ACTION Does the plot follow along the same sort of lines as the film or telly programme? Is there plenty action-packedness? And is the game the same all way through, or does it follow the original's twists and turns? CUT Um, how does the game compare to all the licences around at the moment? Is it better? Or worse? In other words, is it a 'cut' above the rest? (is that really the best you can manage? Ed) BLOCKBUSTERS TV Games Bob fans will find that this one's worth getting it only for the digitised pics of their ageing hero to be found within. They're even animated (sort of), so Bob reads out the questions and grins broadly when you get one right. Everything else is there too, like the signature tune, the Gold Run and even the odd "Can I have a P please, Bob?" if you keep your eyes peeled. And if you find the telly version compulsive, the game should set your adrenalin pumping too. There are one- and two-player versions to choose between. The two-player game proceeds pretty much like the programme, while in the one-player version you only lose a square if you answer a question incorrectly. And there are plenty of questions. Several load-fulls, in fact, with 50 in each so you shouldn't find repetition a problem. Well, question repetition that is. The game as a whole is incredibly repetitive, just like the telly programme. If you like the show then the game is just as good. And if you don't it's, er, just as bad.

On the 'ed, Bob! On the 'ed! (That's a clock, you idiot, not a ball! Ed) Oh.

AS NEAR AS DAMMIT EVERY FILM AND TELLY GAME EVER 3-2-1 - Microcomputer Airwolf - Elite Alien - Mindgames Aliens - Electric Dreams Aliens - US Electric Dreams Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes - Global A View To A Kill - Domark Back To The Future Part II - image Works Basil The Great Mouse Detective - Gremlin Batman - Ocean Batman The Caped Crusader - Ocean Batman The Movie - Ocean Battle Of The Planets - Mikro-Gen Benny Hill's Madcap Chase - Dk'Tronics Biggies - Mirrorsoft Big Trouble in Little China - Electric Dreams Blade Runner - CRL Blockbusters TV - Games Blue Max - US Gold Bob's Full House - TV Games Bruce Lee - US Gold Buck Rogers - US Gold Cobra - Ocean Count Duckula - Alternative Danger Mouse in Double Trouble - Sparklers Danger Mouse in Making Whoopee - Sparklers Death Wish III - Gremlin Dukes Of Hazard, The - Elite Eastenders - Tynesoft Empire Strikes Back, The - Domark Flash Gordon - MAD Flintstones - Grandslam Ghostbusters - Activision Ghostbusters II - Activision Gilbert - Escape From Drill - Again Again Give My Regards To Broad Street - Argus Press Software Goonies, The - US Gold Highlander - Ocean Hong Kong Phooey - Hi-Tec Howard The Duck - Activision Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade - US Gold Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom - US Gold Inspector Gadget - Melbourne House Knightmare - Activision Knight Rider - Ocean Krypton Factor - TV Games Licence To Kill - Domark Live And Let Die - Domark Living Daylights, The - Domark Max Headroom - Quicksilva Masters Of The Universe - Gremlin Miami Vice - Ocean Mickey Mouse - Gremlin Mike Read's Computer Pop Quiz - Elite Minder - Dk'Tronics Monty Python's Flying Circus - Virgin Moonwalker - US Gold Munsters, The - Again Again NeverEnding Story, The - Ocean Nightbreed, The - Ocean Orm And Cheep - The Birthday Party - Macmillan Pink Panther - Gremlin Platoon - Ocean Popeye - DkTronics Postman Pat - Alternative Postman Pat II - Alternative Predator - Activision Rambo - Ocean Rambo III - Ocean Real Ghostbusters, The - Activision Red Heat - Ocean Return Of The Jedi - Domark Road Runner - US Gold Robocop - Ocean Roland's Rat Race - Ocean Scooby Doo - Elite Short Circuit - Ocean Sooty And Sweep - Alternative Spitting image - Domark Sporting Triangles - CDS Spy Who Loved Me, The - Domark Star Wars - Domark Street Hawk - Ocean Tarzan - Martech Terrahawks - CRL Thunderbirds - Firebird Thunderbirds - Grandslam Thundercats - Elite Top Gun - Ocean Total Recall - Ocean Untouchables, The - Ocean Yabba Dabba Doo - Quicksilva Yes Prime Minister - Mosaic Yogi Bear - Piranha Yogi's Great Escape - Hi-Tec Young Ones, The - Orpheus Zorro - US Gold

DIFFERENT SORTS OF FILM AND TELLY GAMES FILM GAMES These form the largest category by far. Just about every major film has a game to go with it, and as there are lots of films that means lots of games. What they're actually like tends to vary though. In some cases they're just ordinary beat-'em-ups or shoot-'em-ups with a very tenuous link with the film {generally just the name). Cobra and Highlander both went for this approach. Or they might be much the same sort of thing, but divided up into levels which are meant to refer to scenes from the film. Since most films are just beat-'em-ups and shoot-'em-ups anyway this tends to work pretty well, as with Robocop and Total Recall. Last of all are the games which are split up into completely different levels, like the early Bond efforts. There might be driving bits, walking bits and puzzle-solving bits, and they're usually pretty faithful to segments in the film. They do tend to pay a heavy price in terms of quality though (so be careful). (Er, the obligatory warehouse level in Beverly Hills Cop.) CARTOON GAMES Moving into television territory here, and these are generally the most popular telly games, especially on budget labels (witness Hong Kong Phooey, Count Duckula, all that sort of thing). The licences are probably pretty cheap to acquire, especially if the cartoon hasn't been on for about 20 years, and they're a doddle to convert to the computer. Cartoony graphics are about the easiest to pull off successfully on the Speccy, so they always look good. What you get under the surface though tends to be a very ordinary beat-'em-up or arcade adventure. (Hong Kong Phooey, faster than the human eye! (Sort of.)) QUIZ GAMES Another popular category, this, as television game shows are just begging to be computerised. They're mainly just a case of answering silly questions and filling in spaces on a scoreboard (or something), both things the Speccy is ideally suited to. There's usually the odd digitised piccy of your 'host' thrown in for luck, and lots of irritating tunes from the telly programme. Whether they're any good or not is very much a matter of opinion. The programming's usually well up to scratch, and they're always faithful replicas of the telly versions. But, as TV game shows are utter dross, the games tend to be too. Check out Sporting Triangles and Bob's Full House (if you must). (Sporting Triangles - er, a bit of a boring game really.) OTHER TELLY GAMES There are all sorts of things left over, of course. There are the Gerry Anderson puppet programmes, which have formed the basis of the odd decent game. There are crusty old series like Flash Gordon. There are modern(ish) American programmes like Knight Rider and Miami Vice which haven't proved too successful on the Spectrum. There are 'cult' programmes like The Munsters and Monty Python. There are kiddies' shows like Postman Pat. All sorts of things really. (And here's Sooty And Sweep.(No, it isn't.) Yes. It is. (Etc.))

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A FILM AND TELLY GAME? Here's a list of essential ingredients to incorporate... - A bloke walking around shooting things. - Er... - That's it.

THE FIRST-EVER FILM AND TELLY GAME (Purses lips and inhales very slowly.) That's a tricky one. It ought to be pretty easy to pin down Film and Telly Game Number One, as they haven't been around for too long compared to other sorts of game. Well, I reckon (but don't quote me on this) it was Terrahawks from CRL, the game of the puppet programme. The thing is, though, I'm sure there was a Blue Thunder game floating around quite a long time before, but I can't find any references to it anywhere. So we'll stick with Terrahawks, eh? And, as was usually the case with these 'first-ever' games, it was pretty useless. There weren't actually any puppets in it for a start, just a whole bunch of 3D wire-frame building things which you had to explore (in a spaceship) in the hope of finding a vortex through which to exit. The 'Joystick Jury' (forerunners of today's Jugglers) weren't too impressed and gave it 2/5. Still, the pioneering spirit was there, and the game was a few months ahead of the first-ever film game - Activision's Ghostbusters. That was pretty hopeless as well, but did extraordinarily well.

TOP FIVE CINEMA ADS 1) The Butterkist one (ra-ra-ra). 2) The Kia Ora one. 3) The really crap one for the local tile centre. 4) The Sunshine Coaches one. 5) The insurance one with the crummy jingle.

TOP TEN ANNOYING THINGS THAT PEOPLE DO IN CINEMAS 1. Singing along to the Kia Ora advert (and doing the 'I'll be your dog' bit). 2. Sitting on the seat in front of you, making it fold down and squash your feet. 3. Snogging. 4. Eating sweets with noisy wrappers. 5. Giggling all the way through. 6. Asking you to stop giggling. 7. Passing you sweets every five seconds. 8. Telling you what happens next. 9. Trying to suck up the last drop of drink with a straw. 10. Getting up and leaving at the split-picosecond the film finishes, having spent the last five minutes putting on their coat and stuffing all their litter under the seat.

WHAT'S A FILM AND TELLY GAME THEN? HMM? That's easy. It's a game for which the software house producing it has had to hand over a vast wad of money to a film or television company so they can call their game The Sound Of Music or Newsnight or whatever. Distinguishing features are, as you may have gathered, the name of a famous film or telly programme splashed across the box and a bloke who walks round shooting things. Apart from that, though, just about anything can happen in them. They might be shoot-'em-ups or collect-'em-ups. They might scroll or they might 'flip'. They might multiload or they might not. (They usually do though.) So they're not very hard to spot at all then, which makes writing this guide a whole lot easier.

Your Sinclair

Graphics 7/10

Playability 8/10

Value For Money 8/10

Addictiveness 8/10

Overall 8/10

Rachael Smith 8/10

TV Games £7.95 Reviewer: Rachael Smith Ooh, my favourite TV quiz. The one where Bob asks the questions while the teams take the P. If only I could take part. I'd just love an F! Suddenly Domark's new label, TV Games, waves its magic wand. "Yes, Rachael, you too can be a Blockbuster." Whoopee! Where's that dummy Gwyn? I can't wait to thrash him. Actually Blockie has appeared in several computer guises already, but this is an all new version, and comes complete with several blocks of questions, which should keep you busted for a while, as they're all pretty tough. In the two-player game the puzzles appear word by word, just as if the divine Bob Holness was actually saying them. You have to hit your buzzer immediately you think you know the answer if you want to stop your opponent beating you to that section. A lot of the fun comes in blocking their path by getting in fast, or guessing what the L Bob is talking about. The one-player game gives you more time to answer, because the computer won't challenge you, but if you get it wrong or are completely stumped, then control passes to your Spectrum, which seems to choose its letters at random. It's not the ideal way to play the game but it's still more fun than most computer quizzes. If you do best out of three games, you get a go at the Gold Run - and I don't mean the result of eating too much rich food (gold - rich... geddit?). This time two or three word answers are required and you only have a minute to cross the board. All that's missing is the chance to win a trip to Kenya or even a Blockbusters sweat shirt. A lot of thought has gone into getting this right. It's close enough to call a telly simulation, in fact. Fuzzy logic allows for the odd misspelling (and some of mine are decidedly odd); the clock stops when you start typing, so you don't have to be a 60 words-a-minute person (and no - I don't mean Gwyn, who never stops talking) to win. Don't dawdle though or it'll start ticking again. But best of all is the digitised Bob which twitches away as the questions appear. It's not so much the animated graphic that impressed me, but the fact that you can turn him off. If only it was so simple in real life! My only real complaint is that the packaging isn't Spectrum specific. It's meant for all versions and remains rather vague on some of the details. But load up and it won't take long until you're stepping onto the hot spots for that all important Gold Run. Blockbusting fans are sure to want this. But remember - U had better join the Q because I go first! OK?

For those who haven't seen the telly original, you have to cross the playing area by answering questions. Each letter is also the initial letter of the answer. One oddity of following the TV rules is that the red player, who goes across, has to answer five questions, while the vertical opponent only needs four. Either use it to handicap a strong player or swop round between games.

Read it at Your Sinclair Rock'n'Roll Years

Crash

Presentation 67%

Graphics 48%

Playability 56%

Addictive Qualities 44%

Overall 46%

Bym Welthy 48%

Nick Roberts 47%

Paul Sumner 42%

Producer: TV Games Retail Price: £7.95 Author: Oxford Digital Enterprises Well, what d'you know? Find out by testing your knowledge with the legendary Bob Holness in Blockbusters, the first TV release from Domark's label TV Games. The new label will specialise in game-show licences, and Countdown, Bullseye, The Krypton Factor and Treasure Hunt are planned. In Blockbusters, based on a Central TV series, question master Bob smiles benignly on you from one side of the screen; the rest of the display is a pattern of coloured hexagons. In each hexagon is a letter. Each player chooses a hexagon on his turn. Bob then asks him a question, the correct answer to which will begin with the letter in the chosen hexagon. (The form is 'what D is a small domestic animal?'. Choose an X and the answer is probably 'xylophone'.) If the player answers correctly, the hexagon is 'taken' and filled with a colour representing that player; to win, you must capture a line of hexagons from one side of the display to the other. The spelling of answers needn't be totally correct - and Blockbusters will allow some variations through with the comment 'close enough'. COMMENTS Joysticks: none Graphics: simple but adequate; absurd picture of Bob Holness

Blockbusters: first release from new TV tie-in label.

Take a line of hexagons to win.

Sinclair User

Overall 7/10

Graham Taylor 7/10

Label: TV Games Author: ODE Price: £7.95 Memory: 48K/128K Joystick: None Bob Reviewer: Graham Taylor I have a problem with Blockbusters. The problem is Bob Holness the quiz master on the TV show. He... how can I put this? He makes me go yeeeeearggggggggrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrhahahahahahhhhhhh!!!! I had to overcome a good deal of residual prejudice before I could even Load this one up. That and the fact that the original version of the game was put out by Macsen. Both biggish obstacles you'll agree. Well this Blockbusters is a reworking of the game of the TV series by TV Games - the latest Domark label. The reprogramming has been done by ODE which did Trivial Pursuit and, it has to be said, the firm has done a highly professional job. I'm still not sure though. Here's the game - just like the TV series: you answer questions posed by quizmaster Bob Holness. Each correctly answered question lights up a hexagon on a grid made up from 20 of them - if you can light up a line of hexagons from one side to the other you win the game. The answer to each question is given by the initial letter on the centre of each hexagon. From such humble beginnings began the now majestic Blockbusters which gave us such legendary phrases as 'Can I have a P please Bob?' Bob Holness actually appears in the computer game - he lurks in a corner of the screen all digitised and daft looking - not only that but when you answer a question he gets animated! Your Spectrum flips through a bunch of digitised screens of Bob in different poses, and with my Bobphobia it made me pretty sick I can tell you. Clever though, and evidence of the efforts ODE has gone to. More clever touches - the big problem with this sort of game adaptation is that you have to type in answers to the questions. This means that not only do you have to know the right answer but you have to spell it correctly as well. But that's not what happens here - Blockbusters will try and make sense of whatever you type in and if it is right but for the odd spelling mistake there is a good chance it'll understand what you want. It doesn't work every time though and consequently wrongly spelt right answers still cause much frustration when Bob (despite the misspelling routines) still thinks you've got it wrong. If you win two out of three games then, just like the TV programme you get the 'Gold Run' in which you have to cross the board in 45 seconds. So it goes, there are a lot of questions, your Spectrum really will print 'Can I have a P please Bob?' and the game actually features an animated Bob Holness. Hard to see what else you could possibly expect from the game, really. Personally I think it has a longevity of around three minutes (apart from watching Bob go mad with excitement which is pretty funny). Fantastic job ODE, but I'm not sure there is point.

PROGRAMMERS ODE (Oxford Digital Enterprises) is a programming house working across a wide range of machines. The team consists of Jenny Coles, Dermot Quinn, John Wood, Richard Yapp and David Pringle. The original ODE'd first release was an adventure game for the C64 based on Macbeth! Softography: Macbeth (Thorn EMI, 1984), Trivial Pursuit (Domark, 1986), Sailing (Activision, 1986), Titanic (Activision, 1986), Yes Prime Minister (Mosaic, 1987).