Dinky Digger

Your Spectrum

John Hall 5/10

Mark Knight 6/10

Tony Samuels 6/10

Your Spectrum is continuing to scour the country's computer clubs to get the undiluted thoughts, feelings and impressions of dedicated games enthusiasts - thus providing our readers with unbiased evaluations. Any club wishing to offer their reviewing services should contact Ron Smith, Spectrum Soft, [redacted]. This month we visited the Heald Green Computer Club (which meets fortnightly at the Public Hall, [redacted], on Wednesdays from 7.30 to 10.30pm). Three of the club's leading members each played the games we gave them for review and in some cases found them so well-conceived and written, went completely over the top with the superlatives. In others, the games were deemed to be re-hashes of old ideas and evaluated accordingly. The club was formed four months ago, and has already managed to attract over 40 enthusiasts. All members are being brought up to the same standard of proficiency by the more experienced members who are running formal courses in both Basic and machine code. Membership is offered at a very reasonable rate, and all enquiries should be referred to Tony Samuels on [redacted] (after 6pm). Tony, incidentally, is currently working on a new program for the Spectrum (called Ugh - see Rumbles in this issue) which will be available from Softek in the near future. DINKY DIGGER Postern £6.95 The player takes on the role of the Dinky Digger, whose job it is to dig his way underground and eat all the cherries. At the same time, irate chasers are desperately trying to halt your progress, and these need to be stopped.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 6/10

Sound 2/10

Ease Of Use 5/10

Originality 4/10

Lasting Interest 1/10

Overall 2/10

Chris Anderson 2/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K JOYSTICK: No CATEGORY: Arcade SUPPLIER: Postern PRICE: £6.95 The buffoon who wrote this program appears to be one of those people who believe that to make a game challenging it has to be virtually unplayable. Just picture it. You're digging a tunnel and coming down it after you is a succession of monsters. Your only defence against them is to hurl a ball at them. That kills the first one, the rest keep coming, and you have to wait a few seconds for a new ball. What often happens is that even if you're moving away as fast as possible, a second monster catches you up before your new ball arrives. So at best this game is a lottery, and worst it's mass murder of the defenceless. The programmer had some other duff ideas: like including a really awful little tune which after your first few random deaths will make you tear your hair out. Incidentally the aim of the game is to gobble cherries, apples and lime-cake but you'll find it all pretty fruitless. Even if you succeed you only get the same again, except even more unplayable. The cassette inlay tells you that this game is as fast, furious and mean as they come. There is a certain truth in this. The game is extremely mean, and if you buy it you'll fast become furious.

Crash

Use of Computer 42%

Graphics 50%

Playability 23%

Getting Started 30%

Addictive Qualities 30%

Value For Money 25%

Overall 33%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Postern Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £6.95 Language: Machine code As its name implies, this is another 'Dig-Dug' digger game, where you wander the screen, creating pathways along which monsters will chase you. The object is to collect the many cherries on the screen and avoid the chasers by undermining the large apples to either block a passageway or, better still, squash them dead. The ultimate prize for Dinky is the lime cake at the centre of the screen. Clearing a screen results in another with even faster monsters. Apart from apples, Dinky can use crystal balls to throw at the approaching monsters, throwing in the direction of movement but he's only given two to use. COMMENTS Control keys: top row = throw ball, second row = up, third row = down, left & right, alternate keys on bottom row Joystick: none Keyboard play: responsive Use of colour poor, a rather yucky green screen Sound: just average Skill levels: progressive impossibility Lives: 3

Chance would be a fine thing in Dinky Digger.

Sinclair Programs

June Mortimer

WELL-WORN THEMES RE-APPEAR The trend in software production appears to be to take stock, build on successful ideas and await new developments. New games tend to be new variations on well-worn themes rather than startlingly original concepts. The number of games based on the premise that all computer owners love shooting as many things as possible is decreasing and giving way to games which need thought and strategy as well as fast reactions. Unfortunately for ZX-81 owners, although their computer has remained consistently among the top five bestselling computers, new software for the ZX-81 is almost non-existent and W H Smith is not intending to accept any new ZX-81 software for sale in its shops. Due to the shortage of new software, no ZX-81 programs have been received for review this month. THE SNOWMAN The Snowman - Quicksilva, 48K Spectrum - is based loosely on the book of the same name by Raymond Briggs. The aim is to collect snow and build a snowman. The wandering flames must be avoided, as they melt your snow and turn it to water. Falling off the ice structure of pathways and ladders will result in the player being sent back to bed, as will running out of energy. On the higher levels, sleep monsters must also be avoided or confronted with alarm clocks. The Snowman combines the best of many games already on the market and should become a best-seller. The latest sequel to Pimania, Pi-Eyed and other Automata productions is Pi-Balled - 48K Spectrum. Once again the Pi-man is the hero of the game, this time accompanied by two bouncing balls and Sid the Snake. It is a fairly straightforward arcade game. The mystical pyramid of Pi must be changed in colour by jumping from square to square. Sid the Snake must be avoided, as must the bouncing balls, which can also change the colour of the pyramid but not necessarily in a way which is helpful. Pi-balled has lively graphics; the bouncing balls and spinning discs are particularly convincing and the degree of difficulty is well-judged to suit beginners and experienced players. Shades of Manic Miner are apparent in Loony Zoo - Phipps Associates, 48K Spectrum. The storyline is that, while surveying another planet, you have been captured by its vastly superior inhabitants and placed in one of their zoos, together with various other alien specimens. It is possible to escape by jumping from ledge to ledge to reach the door pressure-pad at the top of the screen. Needless to say, you escape only into other cages from which it is more difficult to escape. Despite its simple graphics and slow pace, Loony Zoo is a difficult and addictive game. Killer Knight - Phipps Associates, 48K Spectrum - thinly disguises a Kong-type game with medieval trappings. The player must climb from platform to platform, using ladders and avoiding rolling objects. Beginners will find it difficult to progress very far, while experienced players will soon realise that a high score can be obtained simply by running back and forth along the bottom level. MONKEY BIZNESS In a very similar vein is Monkey Bizness - Artic, 48K Spectrum. The monkey mentioned in the title is King Kong and the object is to rush up the scaffolding, dodging or destroying the barrels which Kong rolls at you, to rescue the woman at the top of the scaffolding. Monkey Bizness is an amusing and colourful game, although many Spectrum owners will find they already possess similar games. Like Donkey Kong, Pac-man is a game which spawned a multitude of imitations. Dinky Digger - Postern, 48K Spectrum - has a distinctly Pac-man-like air to it. The object is to clear the screen of cherries and grab the cake in the middle, while avoiding the monsters which are trying to eat you. One monster is followed quickly by another and the game is so difficult that it should be attempted only by the experienced or very nimble-fingered user. 3D Star Wars - Addon Electronics, 48K Spectrum - is one of the less worthwhile pieces of software on the market. The graphics are lifeless and confusing, the three-dimensional effect is jumbled, and the number of keys to be used complicates the game still further. THE GUARDIAN The Guardian - PSS, 48K Spectrum - is the first version of the arcade game The Tempest to appear for the Spectrum. The site is a spaceship on the edge of a vortex to another universe. Aliens appear through the doorway and must be destroyed by the use of laser bolt gun or star smasher weapons. The game has had to be simplified for micro-computer use but it is easy and fun to play. CCS has begun its Games for Girls series with three games for the 48K Spectrum. Hicksted, a simulation of a show jumping event; Diamond Quest, which is a straightforward adventure; and Jungle Maze, in which prizes are won with a Mastermind-style guessing game which is fun, although unoriginal. Apart from a tenuous link with show jumping in one game and a heroine rather than a hero in another, it is difficult to see in what way CCS has changed its strategy to aim it at females rather than males. Computers are bound to affect everyone's future in some way, so encouraging more people to use and understand them is a worthwhile project. To attempt to increase a software company's market vastly by selling to women is unlikely to succeed unless the software market is changed substantially.

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 4/10

DIGGER TAKES THE CAKE Memory: 48K Price: £6.95 Dinky Digger from Postern may well remind you of Pac-Man but this time the monsters are trying to eat you, and probably succeeding most of the time. The object is to clear the screen of cherries, eventually grabbing the cake to be found at the centre. The Pac-man-like monsters meanwhile are doing their best to prevent you achieving your aim, but it is possible to eliminate the monsters by throwing a crystal ball at them, or by running under an apple in the hope that it will fall and flatten them. Even if you succeed in getting rid of a monster or two, unless you have extremely nimble fingers you are unlikely to progress very far into the game. One monster is followed quickly by another and slow response to the movement keys makes it almost impossible to out-run them. Most people will find they have lost a life in no time and it is a pity that the authors have added to the frustration of the game by making the player wait for an infuriating little tune to finish before embarking on another attempt. When the game is finished, a score table is displayed which features an action sequence of the hero throwing a ball at one of the monsters and, appealing though that may be the first time, it serves only to slow the action when it is repeated. Dinky Digger is definitely not for the novice: although it might appeal to experienced players eager to improve their keyboard skills.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online