Soft Aid

Sinclair User

With the exception of the 1984 classic Ant Attack, almost none of the programs on this compilation tape is outstanding. And yet the sum is greater than its parts. Masterminded by ex-Quicksilva supremo Rod Cousens, Softaid was launched in February and remained in the top ten throughout the summer, raising, by August, well over £350,000 for the Ethiopian Famine Appeal. The 10 games on the Spectrum version - Spellbound, Starbike, Kokotoni Wilf, The Pyramid, Horace Goes Skiing, Gilligan's Gold, Ant Attack, 3D Tank Duel, Jack and the Beanstalk and Sorcery - cost a mere £4.99. One of the first collections ever released, Softaid could arguably be judged the most important games tape of 1985.

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Graphics 10/10

Sound 10/10

Value 10/10

Playability 10/10

MACHINE: Spectrum/CBM 64 SUPPLIER: Quicksilva/CTW PRICE: £4.99 Softaid, the £4.99 games tape consisting of ten best selling games for the price of one, was launched in February at the LET show at Olympia. Based on the Band Aid project founded by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, Softaid was launched jointly by Quicksilva and industry newspaper Computer Trade Weekly. Softaid is a compilation tape of the best games around for the Spectrum and CBM 64. The Spectrum version comprises Spellbound (Beyond), Star Bike (The Edge), Kokotoni Wilf (Elite), Ant Attack (Quicksilva), Gilligan's Gold (Ocean), Horace Goes Skiing (Melbourne House/Psion), 3D Tank Duel (Real Time), Jack and the Beanstalk (Thor) and The Pyramid (Fantasy). The Commodore 64 version comprises Pitfall (Activision), China Miner (Interceptor), Star Trader (Bug Byte), Falcon Patrol (Virgin), Fred (Quicksilva), Flak (US Gold), Gumshoe (A 'N' F) and Gyropod (Taskset), along with Gilligan's Gold and Kokotoni Wilf. For each tape sold, £3 upwards will go directly to the Ethiopian Appeal. The tape is great value for money - even if you have one or two of the games on it already.

Sinclair Programs

Colette McDermott

PRICE: £4.99 There are some excellent games available on the Soft Aid cassette, and it is worth paying £4.99 for any of the ten games on offer when you know that your money will go to help Ethiopia. The ten games included in the spectrum Soft Aid cassette are: Spellbound, Starbike, Kokotoni Wilf, The Pyramid, Horace goes Skiing, Gilligan's Gold, Ant Attack, 3D Tank Duel, Jack & The Beanstalk and Sorcery. One or two dud games in that list, but they are more than counterbalanced by the good games. The Pyramid from Fantasy, for example, is a first-class arcade game which is no longer on sale. But it is wrong to single out any of these games out for particular praise. They have all been top games, each one of them successful in their own right. Whether you have seen them before and want to replay them, or whether you have only just bought a computer and have so far missed these games it is worth buying Soft Aid. This cassette probably represents the best value in the market at the moment. It deserves to go straight into the charts at number one. All money raised by Soft Aid will go to the Bob Geldof Band-Aid Ethiopian Appeal Fund.

Personal Computer NewsPCN Star Game

Overall 10/10

Bob Chappell 10/10

PRICE: £4.99 PUBLISHER: Microdealer (UK) [redacted] Moved by the tragedy in Ethiopia, Bob Geldof set up the now famous Band-Aid appeal fund. The set about obtaining the voluntary services of a host of famous names in the pop world, culminating in the release of Do They Know It's Christmas? The record was one of the biggest sellers ever and raised staggering sums. The Soflaid compendium costs £4.99 and contains not only ten eminently playable games but the original BandAid hit record too. At just under fifty pence a game and with the record thrown in free, Softaid is excellent value. But, more important, all proceeds go to the Bob Geldof Ethiopian Appeal Fund. Kicking off the Commodore 64 compendium is Gumshoe (A & F). This platform game has Gumshoe searching a tower block for the kidnapped daughter of a millionaire. If a space shoot-'em-up is more your style, try Beam Rider (Activision), where your craft can only fire along the lines of a grid. Still in space, interplanetary trading for up to eight players - with a dash of arcade action thrown in - is the theme of Star Trader (Bug-Byte). Another space battle, Gyropod (Taskset) sports some superb graphics while China Miner (Interceptor) is a highly challenging platforms and ladders game that should have you playing into the small hours. Up in the air, but closer to home, Kokotoni Wilf (Elite) has you flying through dinosaur country in search of the legendary Dragon Amulet. If trundling a gold-laden wheelbarrow through caves while pursued by outlaws is your cup of tea, Gilligan's Gold (Ocean) should appeal. Fred (Quicksilva) is a delightfully drawn explorer who tramps the catacombs while avoiding comical animated spooks. In Falcon Patrol (Virgin), you must prevent jets destroying your installations by taking to the skies in your own superbly animated fighter plane. The last game brings no relaxing wind-down: Flak (US Gold) is an all-action game in which you fly a plane over various fortified strongholds in an attempt to reach and destroy the enemy's computer control centre. The Spectrum compendium also contains Kokotoni Wilf and Gilligan's Gold. In a sort of witch's Q-Bert, Spellbound (Beyond) has your toad hopping around a pile of cubes, dodging demons and the witch's blast. You can swap a witch's broom for a space-going super-bike and shoot anything that moves in Starbike (The Edge). The Pyramid (Fantasy) has you encased in a space bubble and blasting through 120 chambers on 15 levels. On the piste again? Horace Goes Ski-ing (Melbourne House) takes you across motorways and down ski slopes. Ant Attack (Quicksilva), famous for its instantaneous four camera angles, has you rescuing your partner from a giant-ant infested walled city. Great stuff. What must be the best of the battle-Zone type games is here with 3D Tank Duel (RealTime), a superbly animated tank battle. This game alone makes the compendium worth buying. To complete the half-score, comes Jack and the Beanstalk (Thor) with colourful and imaginative graphics and Sorcery (Virgin), a multi-screen arcade adventure. Excellent value and all in a most worthy cause. Buy one.