Love

ZX Computing

Clive Gifford

READERS REVIEWS More of your thoughts about the software you buy. This feature provides you space to air your views on any software, be it for the ZX80, ZX81 or Spectrum. If you've had a good or bad experience with any of the commercial software packages available for your micro, why not write in and tell us? Your reviews should contain your critical thoughts about the software and the relevant details concerning the availability of the package, its price, etc. You should aim to produce something like 250 to 500 words per package, depending, of course, on how enthusiastic you are about the software. Any reviews published in this section of the magazine will be rewarded with the price of the tape you review. So, if you buy a cassette and send in a review which gets published, you'll get your software for free! LOVE Remsoft Clive Gifford Love is an adventure game set around a house with many rooms and relies on the player entering commands which are then acted upon. At this point, any similarities with other ZX adventures stop for this game is just for women! The cassette comes with a detailed inlay card and leaflet explaining the story of the adventure and the basic instructions that you need to play it. Loading was perfect and the program auto-runs. The main difference between Love and other adventures is that Love uses emotional responses as commands instead of the usual 'Go West' or 'Take Treasure' which are found in many adventures. These responses are classified into six groupings; communicative, such as talk; intimate, such as kiss; distressed, such as cry; happy, such as laugh; thoughtful, such as think; and cold and annoyed, such as scorn. As well as the many emotional responses, there are a few system commands. These extra commands are very handy indeed and include 'SLEEP' which gets you out of any situation and back to your bedroom where you fall asleep and lose a day. 'FAST' and 'SLOW' are other system commands which alter the game speed and affect the screen presentation as they do in normal ZX81 programs. 'QUIT' allows you to end the game with the very useful option of SAVEing the position that you are in onto tape for a later date. This to me is a feature that all adventure programs should have as there is nothing more annoying than having to switch off and lose a good position in an adventure only to start at the beginning again at some other time. The game is set round the infamous Poke Hall at the time of a large house party. Your aim is to fall in love as quickly as possible in the time you are there. Your only possessions in the early stages are a pair of pyjamas and a handbag. The odd assortment of guests include the Indian Mystic, Mr Ram Pac (what a pun), and your old friend Tom who you have secretly admired and loved for many years. You start the game in your own bedroom in Poke Hall on day one and must progress by use of the various commands, some of which you are told about and some you have to discover. I played the game several times but my male chauvinist instincts must have impaired my chances as I got nowhere after several hour's play. I invited several girls to play the game but they faired no better and we all agreed on our conclusions that the game could get a little tedious. It does have some good things going for it such as its speed, which due to the small amount of machine code within the program is fast, and a vocabulary of over 200 words. Generally, this program is difficult to play and the responses to your commands and actions do not help you at all. I found the reply, 'I have no action for... (whatever I had just entered!', coming up nine times out of ten and your available options seem very few indeed. I tried everything imaginable and as a final protest typed in 'UNDRESS' which worked and left me naked. On listing the program I found the number of locations and situations that you can find yourself in is a much larger figure than you would expect considering the limits of 16K memory. More importantly there is a clever plot underlying the whole adventure, and it is a pity that this cannot be better explained to the player before the game is started. The program can be considered a 'clean' one for the family and at £5.00 is a standard adventure at a standard price.

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Keith Campbell

WE'RE FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN... The other evening I found myself in a green bedroom wearing pyjamas and carrying a handbag. Feeling somewhat weary I decided to have a short snooze, so I undressed and hopped into bed. Imagine my embarrassment when, stark naked, I suddenly awoke in a crowded room where a party was in progress! All the guests turned and stared at me, and I froze to the spot. Regaining my senses, I returned with all haste to the bedroom, had a good wash, and feeling much better, put on the lovely silk dress I'd found in a trunk in the corner. There was no doubt that I looked fantastic in it. Good, I thought, putting on some make-up, Tom should find me quite seductive. Before you jump to any conclusions, let me explain that I was sitting in front of a computer, playing Love, an Adventure for women. The action takes place in Poke Hall, and the object is to fall in love with a character called Tom. This Adventure runs on a ZX81 with 16K Rampack. I played it in a mixed group with Barbara, Steve and Peter, who provided the computer. I soon got the impression I was already in love with Tom, as I found his cigarette lighter in my handbag. Perhaps I ought to seduce him? Well, I obviously lacked a woman's intuition, because I couldn't even find Tom. Meanwhile, Barbara was busily suggesting what clothes to wear and how to apply lipstick. Steve and I were by now getting a trifle bored, and thinking up some fairly direct suggestions, which, being gentlemen, we refrained from mentioning in mixed company. The game is certainly very suggestive, but Peter took the tape home to examine the listing and assured me that there were no naughty words in the program. On the whole, Barbara felt that Love would be great fun played by a group of women. Personally, I would prefer to eavesdrop on those women than to actually play the game, but then it is advertised as an Adventure for women. Strange, isn't it, that in these days of sexual equality, there are games especially for women, but not for men? Does this mean that all games not billed as "for women" are suitable only for men? Love is available from Remsoft of [redacted].

Sinclair User

LITTLE LOVE FROM REMSOFT The manufacturer of a new adventure game for the ZX-81 specifies that it is for women. Love, from Remsoft, casts the player as an amorous woman in search of some fun. The player starts in the bedroom wearing pyjamas. There is a chest of clothes which the player can open and investigate. The game is amusing at times although whether that is intentional or not is difficult to determine. There are hints about sex throughout the game, although the program vocabulary does not stretch that far. Love is produced by Remsoft, [redacted]. The game costs £5.95.