Butterfly

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 4/10

John Lambert 4/10

Memory: 48K Price: £1.99 Butterfly, from Pulsonic, is a simple game programmed entirely in Basic and consequently is rather slow when compared to other modern arcade games. You are a spider, chasing and eating a minimum of 12 butterflies per minute to survive. The hazards of life on the windowsill are represented by the purple spider eater which lurks behind the curtains and who looks like an over-fed Pac-man. A joystick would help in raising the game from the level of mediocrity but unfortunately it is not designed to be joystick-compatible. Being in Basic, that could be remedied easily. Also the spider is a little slow to react and though it is possible to catch your prey, a good deal of practice would be necessary to enable you to catch the required 12. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to producing an interesting screen layout. The spider is fairly convincing but the butterflies are somewhat lacking in sparkle and the background is dull. Although the program costs only £1.99, it is what one would expect to find as a magazine listing, not as a commercial program.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

Crash

Use of Computer 28%

Graphics 15%

Playability 10%

Getting Started 40%

Addictive Qualities 1%

Value For Money 10%

Overall 17%

Unknown

Unknown

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Producer: Pulsonic Retail Price: £2.99 Language: BASIC Author: Hugh Davis Butterfly shows a simple looking window with one vertical and one horizontal dividing it up into four panes. Curtains hang on either side, and the sill contains an electric wire. You are a spider who must eat at least twelve butterfiles per minute and watch out for the purple spider eater that lives in the curtains. There are usually two butterflies visible at any one time. That's it! COMMENTS Control Keys: Q/A up/down, N/M left/right Joystick: None Keyboard Play: unresponsive and slow Use of colour: fair to average Graphics: very poor Sound: very poor, just a few beeps Lives: 1

A purple people eater lunges out from the curtains while another million butterflies go free.

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 2/10

Sound 1/10

Originality 5/10

Lasting Interest 1/10

Overall 2/10

Steve Cooke 2/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K CONTROL: Keys FROM: Pulsonic, £2.99 Another cheapo game from Pulsonic, who are to be congratulated for lowering software prices, but severely reprimanded for offering this particular specimen to the general public. A spider must eat butterflies to stay alive. Sparse graphics, jerky movement, Basic program. For far better value for money, try typing in one of the PCG listings.