10 Computer Hits 4

Sinclair UserSinclair User Classic

Overall 10/10

Chris Jenkins 10/10

Label: Beau Jolly Author: Various Price: £9.99 Memory: 48K/128K Joystick: various Reviewer: Chris Jenkins Computer Hits 4 is an absolute blast as compilations go. Twelve full-price titles of which in my opinion five are fab, five OK and only two turkeys. Fab ones first: Vortex's Revolution, a 3-D multi-level arcade adventure featuring a bouncing ball, Spindizzy, the original Electric Dreams guide-the-gyroscope-around-the-3D-maze epic, Pyracurse, Hewson's Ultimate style arcade adventure. Sacred Armour of Antiriad, Palace's futuristic romp and Starquake, Bubble Bus' space skit. The OK ones include Ariolasoft's Deactivators, CRL's Bride of Frankenstein, Martech's karate simulator Uchi-Mata, Microsphere's Sam Cruise, and Electric Dreams' Dandy. This leaves only the turkeys: Hewson's City Sticker and Pulsator. Overall, though, wotta collection!

Crash

Dominic Handy

CHRISTMAS COLLECTIONS Dominic Handy reviews compilations. Whether you're still looking for last-minute presents or someone's cheque is burning a hole in your pocket, you're bound to find something to light your candle in the Christmas season's spate of compilations. They come from software houses large and small, specialised and general; they range from £4.99 to £14.95; they come in all shapes and sizes, from boxes a foot long to laminated video-size boxes down to the (now) ordinary double-cassette boxes (for which we still have no racks!). You may not have anywhere to put all these different sizes, but they sure look pretty on the retailer's shelf. But some small independent retailers have great problems with the big, bold packaging of compilations, and when space is tight they usually end up at the bottom of the pile. And some compilations aren't even available in independent shops this Christmas - not because of the packaging, but because they're distributed on limited exclusive deals with high-street multiples. For instance, Gremlin Graphics' Ten Great Games is currently only available from chains like WH Smith and Menzies. It's strange the indies are treated this way when they account for 75% of all software sales... Elite gives its old hits a new lease of life on the compilation label Hit Pak. The latest compilation is The Elite Collection, a strong two-cassette assembly of well-known Elite classics. They're all very playable, ranging from the very old Bombjack and innovative Frank Bruno's Boxing to recent successes such as Paperboy and Ghosts 'N Goblins. And on the second cassette is a previously unreleased Elite game, Battleships - yes, a Spectrum version of the pencil and-paper classic. But to buy it all at £14.95 you'd have to be a dedicated Elitist. Paxman Promotions, a subsidiary of the Prism Leisure Corporation, has released two 'theme' compilations - which Paul Sumner predicted in issue 45 would be the things of the future, after the success of Ocean's Game Set And Match. At £4.99 each Paxman's Thriller Pack and Sports Pack represent good value, but sadly the games aren't that attractive. The six loosely-related games on The Thriller Pack, all previously released, are more memorable for their hype than as actual games. And The Sports Pack is a poor man's Game Set And Match. US Gold's recent compilation Summer Gold is now partnered by Solid Gold - probably the house's greatest compilation yet! Every game is very playable, and the collection covers a wide range from flight simulators like Infiltrator and Ace Of Aces to the CRASH Smashes Winter Games and Gauntle. Sadly Leaderboard didn't hit it off with the Spectrum like the others did, but it still fits in the package well. Hewson is eschewing the more-is-better theory of many compilations and putting just four Smash hits on a tape entitled exactly that. Four Smash Hits includes two of this years top shoot-'em-ups - Exolon and Zynaps - as well as Ranarama and (like Beau Jolly's Five Star Games Vol. 3) Uridium Plus. It's available on +3 disk as well as cassette. Ocean's compilations always provide value for money. In October Game Set And Match sent Spectrum sportsmen crazy, in November the shoot-'em-up collection Live Ammo arrived and now Ocean looks set to have a happy Christmas and a VERY prosperous New Year with the final 1987 release, The Magnificent 7. And guess how many games are on it... eight! If you thought Ocean's previous compilations were hot stuff, wait till The Magnificent 7 melts the snow with Ocean's greatest hits - like the mind-blowing Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Head Over Heels, arcade adventures such as The Great Escape and Short Circuit, leaders in their class like the mindless Cobra, and bat and ball with Arkanoid. And the most interesting addition is Wizball. Reviewed in CRASH issue 45 just a few months ago, it gained a Smashing 92%, and here it is already on an action-packed compilation. Ocean is backing the +3 with a disk version of The Magnificent 7. Gremlin Graphics are the ones to call if you're looking for ten great games... and Gremlins Ten Great Games compilation gets the CRASH award for Hope-Raising Packaging Of The Month! The box measures 38cm x 20cm and looks tremendous, but it holds a measly two cassettes, There's a whole range of Gremlin goodies in those two tapes, though: the attractive Monty On The Run, the gun-toting West Bank and even the original Jack The Nipper. And for those of you who prefer playing with balls they've also included Bounder, Trailblazer, Footballer Of The Year and Krakout. At just a pound per game this little (or should that be massive?) package is great value for money - and it fills the stocking up! Beau Jolly is back on the compilation wagon, and the nouveau Beau Jolly is launching a two-pronged attack on the Christmas market with two collections and a £100,000 TV ad campaign for them. The fourth in the series of 10 Computer Hits includes the Marble Madness clone Spin Dizzy and the Gauntlet clone Dandy. But pick of the bunch is either Pyracurse or Contact Sam Cruise, both CRASH Smashes. And Though Five Star Games Vol. 3 has fewer games than 10 Computer Hits, its probably the better package, it's hard to choose between such greats as Strike Force Harrier, Tau Ceti, Firelord, Aliens, The Way Of The Exploding Fist and Uridium Plus (an improved version of the issue 35 Smash). CRASH Overall percentages and review issue numbers are given after each game. N/R denotes 'not reviewed'. THE ELITE COLLECTION Hit Pak Bombjack - 92% Issue 27 Bombjack II - 71% Issue 39 Frank Bruno's Boxing - 86% Issue 19 Commando - 94% Issue 24 Airwolf - 90% Issue 13 Battleships - N/R Paperboy - 88% Issue 33 Ghosts 'N Goblins - 95% Issue 30 £14.95 THE THRILLER PACK Paxman Promotions A View To A Kill - 76% Issue 18 Friday The 13th - 32% Issue 29 Code Name Mat II - 81% Issue 20 Pyramid - 83% Issue 2 Test Match Cricket - N/R Beaky And THe Egg Snatchers - 75% Issue 7 £4.99 10 GREAT GAMES Gremlin Graphics Avenger - 85% Issue 36 Future Knight - 76% Issue 36 Krakout - 46% Issue 40 Bounder - 90% Issue 29 Footballer Of The Year - 68% Issue 37 Trailblazer - 88% Issue 34 Highway Encounter - 95% Issue 20 Monty On The Run - 94% Issue 20 West Bank - 84% Issue 25 Jack The Nipper - 93% Issue 30 £9.95 THE MAGNIFICENT 7 Ocean Head Over Heels - 97% Issue 39 Cobra - 93% Issue 35 Short Circuit - 71% Issue 40 Frankie Goes To Hollywood - 94% Issue 19 Arkanoid - 59% Issue 39 Wizball - 92% Issue 42 The Great Escape - 96% Issue 35 Yie Ar Kung Fu - 92% Issue 25 cassette £9.95 THE SPORTS PACK Paxman Productions Snooker - N/R On The Oche - N/R World Cup Football - 71% Issue 7 Olympics - 45% Issue 5 St Andrew's Golf - N/R Derby Day - N/R £4.99 SOLID GOLD US Gold Gauntlet - 92% Issue 37 Ace of Aces - 62% Issue 38 Leaderboard - 80% Issue 39 Winter Games - 93% Issue 26 Infiltrator - 72% Issue 35 £9.99 FOUR SMASH HITS Hewson Exolon - 90% Issue 43 Zynaps - 91% Issue 42 Ranarama - 90% Issue 38 Uridium Plus - 90% Issue 35 cassette £9.95 +3 disk £14.95 10 COMPUTER HITS VOL. 4 Beau Jolly Bride Of Frankenstein - 59% Issue 43 Contact Sam Cruise - 93% Issue 36 Spindizzy - 93% Issue 29 Uchi Mata - 36% Issue 39 City Slicker - 65% Issue 35 Sacred Armour Of Antiriad - 89% Issue 35 Deactivators - 85% Issue 34 Starquake - 96% Issue 22 Pyracurse - 90% Issue 31 Pulsator - 66% Issue 42 Revolution - 91% Issue 33 Dandy - 84% Issue 35 £9.95 FIVE STAR HITS VOL. 3 Beau Jolly Uridium Plus - 90% Issue 35 Trapdoor - 88% Issue 33 Tau Ceti - 94% Issue 23 Firelord - 91% Issue 35 Aliens - 84% Issue 37 The Way Of The Exploding Fist - 92% Issue 21 Strike Force Harrier - 83% Issue 33 £9.95

ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment)

Graeme Kidd

Amstrad, £9.95cs, £13.95dk C64/128, £9.95cs, £13.95dk Spectrum £9.95cs ...And two 'free' games makes twelve. Everyone gets a copy of Spindizzy, the first-rate Marble Madness-esque spinning top game and Dandy, Electric Dreams' pitch at the Gauntlet-clone market which came a bit late and proved less than totally impressive. In addition to the aforementioned duo, five games are common to all three formats: Starquake An excellent, cutesy, arcade adventure from the programming parlour of Steve Crow, guaranteed to amuse and entertain. Deactivators A complicated puzzle game that requires you to clear building of bombs and reassemble a computer using Deactivator droids. Plenty of brainpower is needed to solve this unusual game. Sacred Armour of Antiriad A beautifully presented platforms-and-mapping arcade adventure. Collect up the components needed to activate an anti-radiation suit, clamber into it and destroy the alien mothercraft that is terrorising your tribe. Bride of Frankenstein Go off in search of Frankie's missing organs in yet another arcade adventure - this time the action is a little quirky, but fun nevertheless Uchi Mata Probably the only judo simulation so far attempted on computer - and accuracy is the order of the day. To begin with, play is relatively easy, but serious thought as well as serious practice is needed if you are to progress to beating the more skilled opponents. An outwardly complicated game that offers rewards if you persevere. The Spectrum and Commodore collections 'share' three more games: Classic Snooker A straightforward pot-the-balls baize production. Skate Rock An unpolished but playable skateboarding excursion where points are awarded for collecting flags and avoiding hazards on a series of urban courses. Alleykat A fast-action scrolling race game from C64 cult programmer Andrew Braybrook. The Commodore collection is rounded off with: Magic Madness An unusual and appealing subterranean platform adventure. Iridis Alpha The excellent, fast and furious Jeff Minter shoot em up that includes sub-games where you can take a rest from the energy-collecting and alien-killing which forms the core of the main game Spectrum owners can thrill to the delights of tomb-exploration in the 3D arcade adventure Pyracurse or go on a little private investigation all of their own with Contact Sam Cruise. Amstrad owners receive a different set of five games along with the five common titles: Triaxos Sets you a fairly traditional 3D isometric adventure scenario on the quest to rescue a man who is capable of saving the human race. The pace of the game is a little slow and the puzzles less than mind-twisting, but there's enough to keep you busy during a rainy afternoon. City Slicker Off you go in pursuit of the equipment to defuse a terrorist bomb, following a fairly traditional arcade adventure format set in London and featuring many familiar landscapes. Pulsator A straightforward maze game that doesn't impress with the graphics but sets quite a tricky task involving the rescue of five captives. Elektraglide A race game with a difference - you race against time on a set of abstract courses, hindered by spheres, cubes and bolts of energy dropped from the skies. Different, but a bit dodgy... Revolution A tortuously tricky maze puzzle in which the player seeks to cross successive levels that make up a hostile 3D landscape, deactivating two cubes on each level in control of a bouncing ball, the aim is to avoid falling into a bottomless chasm, escape the clutches of a variety of abstract but mobile aliens and touch first one cube and then the other within a rapidly diminishing time limit. Tricky stuff indeed. Verdict: A fairly random selection of games presented here, some classics mixed with some mediocre or less successful titles. Nevertheless, good value for money6 and a reasonable mix 'n' match of gamestyles.