Connect 4

Crash

Use of Computer N/A

Graphics N/A

Playability 74%

Getting Started 48%

Addictive Qualities 75%

Value For Money 80%

Overall 72%

Unknown

Unknown

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Producer: Atlantis Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £1.99 Connect 4 is simply a computer version of the well known plastic wall divider with holes around which the family crowd all screaming in unison as one player's counters complete a line of four. The package states that 'Connect 4 is a board game for 2 players or for one player against the computer. When playing against the computer there are four levels of difficulty....' When you load the program the opening screen tells a different story in so much as the only option is to play the computer, which is not really an option at all. After you have digested the 8 lines of instructions you are invited to press any key whereupon the display shows a blue board with black holes, numbered one to seven along the bottom. The prompts appear under the board in a yellow border, the first one asks for a difficulty level, again this is at variance with the cassette case as you are only offered a choice of 1 to 3. The next choice is whether you would like to play first or second, having made that decision you can begin to play the game. If you select the computer to play first you will see a green counter drop past all of the other holes accompanied by some rather elaborate noises. Your turn: answer the prompt with a number that corresponds to ,the column of your choice and a white counter will fall into place. The computer responds with the witty message 'I'm thinking…' the length of time the message remains will depend on the level of play you have chosen but that can be as long as ten seconds. The object of the game is to be first in getting a straight line of four counters vertically, horizontally or diagonally, and of course trying to prevent the computer from doing do. If the computer wins it simply says so and plays a little jingle offering you a choice of another game. The routine is exactly the same if the player wins, only the message is different. COMMENTS Control keys: numeric input 1-7 Joystick: not necessary Keyboard play: simple, although thinking time can be slow Use of colour: yellow, white and green Graphics: hardly applicable Sound: just a few beeps Skill levels: 3

That's a winning line of four counters for the player, but try it again on a higher skill level and the computer will probably win.