Horace Goes Fishing

Break Space

Dave Sloane

Jamie

Mpk

HORACE GOES FISHING Moe, Kerl, Fransouis Free Sloany's Review Well, here's someone who needs no introduction to readers of this fine publication, which makes things a little difficult for someone who has to write one. Anyone who is even remotely aware of the early days of the ZX Spectrum will recognise our hero, generally from his days hitting the slopes, being peckish or hanging out with arachnids. So, what does a semi-retired, (...what exactly was he anyway? Creature? I'll go with creature) do now he's put those days behind him? Why he buys himself a boat, heads out into the open water and does a bit of relaxing fishing. Apparently inspired by the 1958 film 'The Old Man and the Sea', Horace Goes Fishing was written in BASIC by Moe & Kerlas for the BASIC 2025 Competition and comes in two flavours, one in Sinclair BASIC and a compiled version using Mcoder III. Although written in BASIC, the game itself is pretty slick and much like when he first hit the slopes, Horace's adventures are split into two sections, each with its own distinctive gameplay. The first stage sees Horace casting his rod and trying to bag himself a suitable sized catch. This is easier said than done however, as what follows is a frantic battle of man Vs machine unseen since Kyle Rees first took on the T-800. I certainly hope your O, P and A keys are up to snuff as you'll be frantically hammering them for all they are worth in order to land the little blighter. The sickener comes when you land the fish too easily, as 9 out of 10 times it'll be because it's a little tiddler and no good, meaning you have to restart the game. I did eventually manage to land a big 'un a few times, however I only every managed this on Beginner level and only after some Herculean battles that left me drained! Trust me, 316 seconds might not seem like much, but its an eternity when you're approaching 50 and hammering those rubber keys for all they are worth. When you do achieve a suitably sized catch, then it's on to the 2nd stage and much like Horace Goes Skiing, the second section is my favourite. Here you have to protect your big fish from the hungry sharks, hell bent on chomping your catch. This is done by waiting until your shot lines up with one of the rapidly advancing little brutes & releasing it at the appropriate time to get him right between the eyes. The more of these little gits that successfully reach your big fish, the less cash you will get at the market. There are 4 skill levels, although I'm sure skill levels 3 & 4 are unnecessary as I have absolutely no idea how someone can complete the first part of this game on skill level 2 or above! All in all, it is a bit of fun and has a slickness that belies its BASIC origins. It might not be an ofishial Horace game, but it's certainly worth reeling in. Fin.

"a bit of relaxing fishing"

First it was spiders, now it's sharks. Horace just can't catch a break.

Oo-er, that's a big one Horace.

The one that got away