Xanthius

Your Sinclair

Overall 7/10

Tony Worrall 7/10

There are mounds of cheapies on the racks this Chrimble, some good, some indifferent and some terminally pitiful. We asked the Joystick Jugglers for their thoughts (the printable ones, at least) on some of the more recent offerings... XANTHIUS Players £1.99 Reviewer: Tony Worrall Flip-screened multi-platform arcade adventure in which you (ass a maintenance droid) must repair several processing units within a set time limit. The well animated graphics are a treat for the eye, while the game itself is more than a mite playable. Bright, colourful, well designed and ever such good value.

Crash

Presentation 70%

Graphics 74%

Playability 55%

Addictive Qualities 48%

Overall 60%

Ben Stone 45%

Paul Sumner 66%

Producer: Players Retail Price: £1.99 Author: Andy and Martin Severn Once upon a time on the planet Xanthius, many atmosphere-processing (AP) plants were constructed by a crew of mechanoid navvies. But at eight of these plants the generators have developed faults, and in Xanthius you are sent to carry out essential repairs. Ensconced in a spindly biped Protopod, you start working your way through the multiflooted world where antigravity beams and automatic platform lifts connect levels. Froth creepers and snuffling crustaceans occupy the pathways; some of this assorted crawling maggotry adds to the Protopod's energy, but some diminishes it. And as the jerry-built generators fail, corrosive gases are formed that slowly decay the Protopod - with lethal consequences. Your Protopod's state of health is shown at the top of the screen. To repair a generator, inject energy and wait for the protective outer weather shield to part. Then move the Protopod onto the generator's uncovered centre, where a read-out can be obtained. Once faults have been diagnosed, replacement parts can be called up from the spares division (and with labour costs that'll easily be 60 quid, guv). So stop leaning on your shovel, and get on with it. Graphics programmer Martin Severn, much praised by the CRASH reviewers, has also done Antractuos and Joe Blade (loading screen), and is working on Riding The Rapids (see this month's previews). COMMENTS Joysticks: Kempston, Sinclair Graphics: large and colourful platforms with detailed characters Sound: spot effects

Xanthius: the gasman cometh.