Mutant Ant Attack

Crash

Use of Computer 55%

Graphics 55%

Playability 82%

Getting Started 76%

Addictive Qualities 83%

Value For Money 74%

Overall 71%

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Producer: Calisto Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.95 Language: Machine code Author: S. Allaway Your miniaturised laser tank is under attack from marauding ants which have mutated into a super-species. Your mission is to destroy them, wave after wave as they relentlessly march towards you bent on your total destruction. So says the inlay. It's a little misleading as it conjures up the idea of animated ants homing in on your tank, which isn't quite what happens. Mutant Ant Attack is actually a grid game played out on a screen which wraps around both vertically and horizontally. Your tank and the mutant ants all move along the green lines of the grid. Should you fire, the missile travels off the screen and re-enters on the same line from behind. It's therefore essential to get off that line as fast as possible after firing if you don't want to blow yourself up. The ants are character blocks with detail in them. They form up in lines and march about, the line gradually breaking up into clumps of individuals. The ants don't actually make a beeline (sorry) for you and content themselves with marching around, performing neat military manoeuvres along the grids. COMMENTS Control keys: cursors and 0 to fire Joystick: Kempston, Protek, AGF Keyboard play: very responsive, the cursors make life hard though Use of colour: adequate, and bright Graphics: small, simple but fine in context Sound: very good Skill levels: 1 Lives: 3

Beware the mutant ants and flying missiles.

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 5/10

Sound 6/10

Ease Of Use 2/10

Originality 6/10

Lasting Interest 7/10

Overall 5/10

Steve Cooke 5/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K JOYSTICK: No CATEGORY: Arcade SUPPLIER: Calisto PRICE: £5.95 Mutant Ant Attack is the perfect example of a great game almost ruined by a poor choice of movement keys. Action takes place on a screen of intersecting lines along which march the so-called Mutant Ants. You control a tank which rotates and can move or fire in the direction in which it is pointing. Unfortunately the keys chosen for this control are absolutely ludicrous. Try manoeuvring a small tank about the screen using '5' for rotate left, '6' to move, '7' to fire, and '8' to rotate right. Okay, so you can eventually get used to them, but if you've just forked out a fair sum for a game, you don't expect to have to waste your time on the controls when you could be developing your tactics instead. This is a great pity, because Mutant Ant Attack would be a winner if it was more comfortable to play. The point is that every shot you fire goes off the edge of the screen (if it doesn't hit anything) and re-enters from the opposite side. It will continue on its course until it hits something. This means that you can have any number of shells in the air at once, picking off the ants as they make their way in resolute formation across the screen. And of course you have to keep dodging your own shells as well as the ants. A simple but addictive game that will only give of its hands.