Cavern Fighter

Your Spectrum

John Hall 7/10

Mark Knight 8/10

Tony Samuels 5/10

Your Spectrum is continuing to scour the country's computer clubs to get the undiluted thoughts, feelings and impressions of dedicated games enthusiasts - thus providing our readers with unbiased evaluations. Any club wishing to offer their reviewing services should contact Ron Smith, Spectrum Soft, [redacted]. This month we visited the Heald Green Computer Club (which meets fortnightly at the Public Hall, [redacted], on Wednesdays from 7.30 to 10.30pm). Three of the club's leading members each played the games we gave them for review and in some cases found them so well-conceived and written, went completely over the top with the superlatives. In others, the games were deemed to be re-hashes of old ideas and evaluated accordingly. The club was formed four months ago, and has already managed to attract over 40 enthusiasts. All members are being brought up to the same standard of proficiency by the more experienced members who are running formal courses in both Basic and machine code. Membership is offered at a very reasonable rate, and all enquiries should be referred to Tony Samuels on [redacted] (after 6pm). Tony, incidentally, is currently working on a new program for the Spectrum (called Ugh - see Rumbles in this issue) which will be available from Softek in the near future. CAVERN FIGHTER Bug-Byte £5.95 The aim of the game is to protect Watford from hostile attack (Why bother? Ed.), and this is done by taking control of a Gamma 14 flight craft and winging your way through long narrow caverns, shotting out the enemy rockets' fuel dumps and destroying meteors.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 9/10

Sound 7/10

Ease Of Use 8/10

Originality 1/10

Lasting Interest 8/10

Overall 8/10

Chris Anderson 8/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K JOYSTICK: Optional CATEGORY: Arcade SUPPLIER: Bug-Byte PRICE: N/A This is a terrific rendering of Scramble, one which threatens to leave the other Spectrum versions smouldering on the launch-pad. You can read all about the other games in the Scramble comparison on page 40, but right here is where the real action is. Cavern Fighter features a frighteningly narrow cavern which requires constant vigilance if you're to avoid crashing into its twisting walls. Movement is oh-so-smooth, and ah-so-fast. But you don't need a joystick. You can select your own control keys which means you can have a single key to fire your laser, drop bombs, and slow down. So you can concentrate on obliterating everything that moves without tying your fingers in knots. All the usual features are there: rockets, fuel dumps, phizzers, fireballs. Get in there and blast them.

CrashCrash Game Of The Month

Use of Computer 85%

Graphics 85%

Playability 92%

Getting Started 88%

Addictive Qualities 93%

Value For Money 90%

Overall 89%

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Producer: Bug-Byte Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.95 Language: Machine code Author: J.K.J It might seem a little late in the day for a major software house like Bug Byte to be releasing a 'Scramble' type game, but that all depends on how good the game is. 'Scramble' has proved a very durable arcade game as it combines those very skills of timing, speed and hand and eye co-ordination which originally made computer arcade games so popular. As our reviewers, generally 'jaded' experts, found, Cavern Fighter is a worthy addition to the shoot em up tradition. It's a quite classic version with caves, missiles, city, fuel dumps (for fuel and points), defence installation, asteroids and alien fighters. Once a sector is completed, it means that on loss of life you start at the beginning of the sector. The object of course, is to penetrate as deep as you can into the caverns (of Zragg in this case) and destroy the Dictator's lair (and save Watford - for what?) whilst avoiding the automatic missiles and guardians, and without crashing into the zig-zagging walls and ceiling at a reckless speed. COMMENTS Control keys: user-definable, requires up/down/thrust/brake/ laser/bomb Joystick: Kempston, but usable with most via user-definable keys Keyboard play: very responsive Colour: very good Graphics: very good Sound: excellent Skill levels: progressive difficulty Lives: 3 Screens: continuously scrolling - 6 sectors

Entering sector 4 - The City.

Sector 1 of the Zragg Caverns and a long, dangerous journey ahead.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 4/10

Memory; 16K or 48K Price: £5.95 Joystick: Kempston Cavern Fighter, for the 16K Spectrum, is a version of the popular arcade game, Scramble, which is set in the unlikely location of Watford. Your mission is to fly your spacecraft through a cavern filled with enemy fighters. You must destroy the aliens with your laser gun and hit the fuel tanks with your bombs. Points are scored for hitting aliens, or missiles, and extra fuel is allocated for hitting dumps. If you forget about the fuel dumps you will run out of fuel and crash. Another way of crashing is to hit the ceiling or floor of the cavern as you go through it. That is all too easily done. The caverns become progressively more difficult as you advance and when you have finished with the missiles of the first phase the aliens, which look like space invaders, get bigger and meaner. Cavern Fighter is by no means the best version of the scramble-type game on the market. It bears too much resemblance to other games, such as the Melbourne House Penetrator, to be original in either concept or graphics. The screen dispLay is dull and little imagination has been used with the effects which could have been created in the scenario. Cavern Fighter is available from BugByte and can be obtained from W H Smith and John Menzies retail outlets.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online