Dartz

Your Spectrum

Alan Grier

Alan Hunter

Alex Entwhistle MISS

JOYSTICK JURY On the jury this month are Alex Entwhistle, Alan Grier and Alan Hunter - all members of the Saltcoats Computer Club. Meeting every Tuesday evening (7.10pm) at the Argyle Centre, [redacted]. Contact Daniel Canavin on [redacted] if you'd like to join them. DARTZ Automata £5.00 It's darts night down at the local - Automata style - which means that not only do skill and luck play their part, but also the usual overweight and drunken slobs. Being one of these familiar specimens, you have to beware of getting too pi... drinking too much beer!

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 6/10

Sound 7/10

Originality 7/10

Lasting Interest 5/10

Overall 7/10

Bob Wade

Robert Patrick 7/10

Steve Spittle

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K CONTROL: Keys FROM: Automata, £5.00 I must admit that I was extremely sceptical when I first heard about this game. How, I thought, is the programmer going to overcome those difficulties inherent in computer adaptations of real life sports? C.D.S. made their version of Pool outstanding by going for hyper-realism. Addictive Games made their Football Manager a strategy game but still maintained a fun, graphic element. Automata, in their inimitable style, have made Dartz a reasonable adaptation by forsaking all thoughts of realism for the sake of humour. All you have to do in the game is stop a cross-hair as it flickers around a dart board. This is achieved by way of the best keyboard layout on any game I know of. You only have to press one key and even then it doesn't matter which one. Having aimed, Eric, your player, makes his throw. Eric certainly looks the part, being heavily overweight for such a small graphics character. But his arm moves nicely enough and the dart flies towards the target. It all sounds simple enough but there are some interesting complications. For example, you may be issued a 'warning' which means Eric has to pay a visit to the wee room or he may miss the board altogether. Why you may ask is Eric confronted with these particular problems? The answer is drink. At the start of each game Eric is given a quota of 2mg of alcohol per dart but this increases rapidly. The program operates smoothly and graphics are clear and effective. Normally I'd say that a game this simple would be a good one for the kiddies but with all that drink around, I'm not too sure.

Big K

Graphics 3/3

Addictiveness 2/3

Playability 2/3

Overall "180!"

Steve Keaton

MAKER: Automata FORMAT: cassette PRICE: £5.00 Wonderfully authentic Darts simulation from those wacky Automata people. Now I'm certainly no player myself (the game-play is baffling!) but I can't help but appreciate the attention to detail employed here. All the possibilities of a real match have been carefully woven into the play. Supping generously after each leg my player's alcohol content began to dramatically rise. Warning bells rung as my condition escalated from giggly to dizzy to tipsy. Indeed I got so sozzled that I could barely hold my darts. The game reached a bizarre climax when the tortured floorboards, unable to stand my vast girth any longer, collapsed with an undignified groan. Like I said, very authentic. The presentation is first rate. There's a split screen display showing the score, the board along with a neatly animated cartoon graphic. If you miss the board or take a drink, the cartoon depicts your actions. Very stylish. Likewise the audio track on the flip. Smashing stuff I'd say. Hic.

Crash

Use of Computer 75%

Graphics 59%

Playability 51%

Getting Started 68%

Addictive Qualities 28%

Value For Money 34%

Overall 53%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Automata UK Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.00 Language: Machine code Author: Guy J. Brown There have already been several versions of Darts for the computer and while one may well wonder why on earth anyone should want to translate the noble game to the TV screen in the first place, one certainly marvels at the dottiness of doing it for the third or fourth time - until you realise who the perpetrator is! As it says on the inlay, what distinguishes this game from any of its less worthy predecessors is that, 'skill, luck and overweight drunken slobs all play their vital part.' So get yourself a pint of pina-colada and a packet of liver 'n' strawberry crisps and prepare to play Dartz. The game may be played by one or two players with options on a 301 or 501 game. The left side of the screen shows the darts board with a flying cursor. The cursor may be stopped by the player to land in whatever segment is desired. If the dart doesn't miss or bounce off the board the screen cuts to a close up with a flying cursor moving from the bull to the edge repeatedly. Again, pressing the stop key will select the scoring band of the board, ie. bull, outer bull, double, treble or single. Any game, as proper, should end with a double. At this point, any resemblance to any other computer darts game ends. On the right a scoreboard keeps account of each player's score; points left to get, sets and legs won - and alcohol intake! With each dart thrown the player consumes 4 milligrams of alcohol - or alcol as it says on the board. Below the scoreboard is a graphics representation of Eric (that's 'you'), a table supporting a pint behind, and the board in front. After each throw there is an action replay to show you how it went. Adding to the hilarity are various random elements such as fans who buy you drinks and so push up the 'alcol' level in your blood, plus an increasing tendency to miss the board as you get progressively more drunk. The screen informs you from time to time of your condition, starting with giggly, through legless to paralytic. After that, things get really bad! Unless you are exceptionally lucky, alcohol poisoning is likely to kill you long before you win. Watch out for loud noises from the crowd - they have nasty effects. And there is the obligatory free hit single on the flip side of the cassette sung by Eric and the Arras. COMMENTS Control keys: any key Joystick: hid Keyboard play: responsive to start, increasingly erratic Use of colour: good Graphics: animation good in action replay. nice text characters Sound: good where appropriate Skill levels: starts out with 1 and gets worse Originality: an original concept based on a relatively common simulation

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

DART ATTACK! The boys from Automata, the creators of the PiMan and PiMania, are well renowned for their ability to down the odd pint or two. So, it's not surprising that they have launched a computer version of the beer drinker's favourite sport - darts. Obviously, the game is set in a seedy and down and out pub, filled with expert throwers who spend most nights exercising their arms in one way or another. The game offers the option of a 501 or 301 start. You can also play against the computer or a drinking mate, if you can find one that can still stand, that is. The screen comprises a cartoon animation of the inside of the pub and a high resolution picture of the board, or just a section if you want to home in on a vital double. The amount of alcohol you consume will affect your form and the large crowd in the pub will give you plenty of grief if you don't hit those treble 20s. Dartz is available from Portsmouth-based Automata Software for the 48K Spectrum and costs £5.50.

Personal Computer News

Lasting Appeal 3/5

Playability 4/5

Use Of Machine 4/5

Overall Value 3/5

Harriet Arnold 3/5

NAME: Dartz SYSTEM: 48K Spectrum PRICE: £5.00 PUBLISHER: Automata. [redacted] FORMAT: Cassette OUTLETS: Retailers RECKLESS ERIC Eric has a penchant for pints, and a passion for darts. He's a fat, drunken slob who plays under your control. In between knocking back the bitter, retiring to the gents or quietly falling through the floor. OBJECTIVES Eric takes on a 301 or 501 game for one or two players, according to established rules: you wittle away the total, and finish with a double. But the real challenge is to cope with Eric's weakness for the demon drink, and its attendant ills, if you are to finish a game, let alone beat someone else. The champ develops from merely merry through to paralytic and beyond help. Your only hope is to score before Eric has seen the bottom of too many glasses and been rendered dead drunk - literally. To put darts on a micro satisfactorily is well-nigh impossible: Eric represents a compromise by making this a game of chance. IN PLAY No time to pause and get the feel of the darts. You must press any key to stop the cursor as it zips round a yellow and black board. Once you've chosen a segment to aim for, you close in on it and attempt to increase your score by stopping the cursor on a double or treble. But you must first hit the 3 segment to score 25 or a bull's eye. Delay or inaccuracy means the dart simply bounces out of the board, in one corner of the screen is a cartoon, so you can watch the revolting Eric make a throw or swallow another pint with a disgusting glugging sound. The depiction of Eric's activities is exquisite. However, once you've seen one wonky throw, and marvelled, you've seen them all. Practised as Eric is, he's also increasingly squiffy. Each shot increases his blood alcohol level as surely as the beer. Not only is Eric capable of missing the segment you've aimed for, or simply dropping the dart, but his weak bladder will put him out of the picture, as does falling through the floorboards due to his obesity. His environment is no help. Well-meaning fans keep topping up the bitter while other meanies lace it with stronger stuff. The crowd's loud chatter may even blow a dart wildly off course. VERDICT Eric's peccadilloes are amusing for only a limited time. After that they just become irritating and his essential charmlessness shows through. The balance is weighted too much in favour of chance, and for lasting entertainment Eric's score is likelier to be nearer the madhouse than double top.