Zapper

Big K

Graphics 2/3

Playability 2/3

Addictiveness 2/3

Overall 2/3

Steve Keaton 2/3

MAKER: Anco Software FORMAT: cassette PRICE: £2.99 Give your micro a lobotomy with this endearing but decidedly mindless one-dimensional shoot 'em up. Sixty waves of aliens are marching toward your laser base. You must total them before they total you. There's no original frills of any kind here, as you might imagine, just rapid fire gonzo action. Boredom, though, is unlikely due to both the ceaseless challenge and some nicely drawn aliens, including a swarm of faulty television sets and attacking pocket calculators. My guess is that you'll need digits honed by weeks of Track and Field to be able to stay the distance and defeat all sixty waves. My pinky had pretty much expired come the attack of the Turning Keys (eek!) It's all stunningly unoriginal I know, but passable for those of us with only half a brain. If they knocked a quid off the asking price it would be well worth buying.

Crash

Use of Computer 70%

Graphics 59%

Playability 70%

Getting Started 65%

Addictive Qualities 57%

Value For Money 65%

Overall 64%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Anco Software Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £2.99 Language: Machine code Author: Richard Wright As its name implies, Zapper is a simple alien zapping game, a sort of 'Galaxian' on its side. Your laser base sits on the left of the screen and can move vertically. 60 attack waves of aliens zig-zag towards you and any 'landing' on your base axis will result in a loss of one life. There are 12 aliens in each attack wave, and before each wave the sprite is blown up enormously (like something out of H.U.R.G.) so you can see what it is. Each attack wave features its own animated alien. As you shoot them, and the screen has to handle less graphics, they speed up considerably, making the last few quite hard to hit. There really isn't any more to it than that. COMMENTS Control keys: Q to T/A to G up/down, H to ENTER for fire Joystick: hardly needs one, one reviewer using programmable reports that keyboard is better Keyboard play: sensible positions and responsive Use of colour: excellent Graphics: smooth, varying and detailed Sound: good Skill levels: 1 Lives: 3 Originality: hardly

60 jolly aliens to zap in Zapper.