Reviews

Based on a 1983 arcade game of the same name, which makes it as old as I am, Dingo is actually about a Koala Bear called Ted, who has to clear the mango fields of fruit before all the pesky dingo’s eat them.

Graphically it’s reminiscent of Sabre Wulf, (perhaps no surprise given that the arcade game was made by ACG, who went on to become Ultimate Play The Game, makers of Sabre Wulf) while the sound effects remind me of Skool Daze, and given that those are two of my favourite games on the Spectrum then Dingo has a lot to live up to. So how does it do?

In a nutshell, very well indeed. It successfully recalls what I think of as the colourful arcade era of the Spectrum such as Cookie and Jetpac (both perhaps unsurprisingly by Ultimate Play The Game).

The action takes place on a fruit farm, essentially a grid filled with fruit, which you must empty to get to the next level, where you do the same thing over and over again. Each piece of fruit you collect is worth a different amount, but as you have to collect them all to finish the level it doesn’t really add much to the game.

As you run around the grid collecting fruit the Dingo’s are doing likewise, and when they see you they’ll quickly throw a piece of fruit at you, which you have to avoid or destroy by throwing your own piece of fruit.

The gameplay is pretty unforgiving but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in an era when many games are so easy they’re clearly designed not to overly challenge the fussy gamer (Oblivion I’m looking at you). However it does mean that unless your positioning is spot on you can get stuck on a corner while trying to navigate around the grid. This leads to lots of avoidable deaths as you try rush around a corner to avoid a Dingo and end up pushing against a wall as you get caught by a flying banana.

This is something that happens to me on other games like Space Marine (getting trapped on corners, not being hit by a flying banana) so I think this cross-generational gaming is just revealing to me how bad I am at perceiving corners and getting around them.

Dingo was released at the Replay Expo 2011 in Blackpool and seems to have gone down a storm. This means that sadly all the copies made to promote it are now gone. It’s available for free download at World of Spectrum and on Tardis Remakes’ own website but it is frustrating for collectors that no more tapes will be made. Given that Cronosoft are happily publishing Spectrum games why not allow him to release a new batch on cassette as long as the demand is there?

Regardless, Dingo is a fun slab of fast-paced, colourful arcade action and a welcome addition to what is becoming a vintage year for homebrew first-time Spectrum releases along with Retro Souls’ release of Alter Ego.

The author has said that he has no plans to convert any of his other games to the Spectrum (perhaps partially because some of them originally appeared on the platform), but did mention the possibility of converting Star Castle at some point in the future. Given the quality of Dingo it would be great to see more Spectrum games from Tardis Remakes at some point in the future, especially as they can be ported to iOS with various emulator apps (as Dingo is) so it doesn’t have to restrict the audience to such a degree.

Perhaps a co-ordinated twitter assault can be arranged to persuade him of the demand?

Taken from: http://zombiesatemyxbox.com/2011/11/13/homebrew-review-dingo-on-the-zx-spectrum-a-remake-by-sokurah/

Read the full review at www.rgcd.co.uk/2011/11/dingo-zx-spectrum.html#more

Not being a regular follower (until now!) of the retro games scene I was most pleasantly surprised to see this new Spectrum release at the Replay Expo in Blackpool. The Speccy lives!

Based on the 1983 coin-op produced by Ashby Computer Graphics (perhaps better known as Ultimate Play the Game), in Dingo you take the role of Big Ted, a bear who is extremely fond of fruit – so much so that he has cultivated an enormous melon patch in the jungle. Alas, Big Ted's patch has been invaded by a pack of dingoes who love nothing better than destruction and will stomp poor Ted's fruit patch for kicks. So, Ted is set for his quickest harvest ever as he tries to gather up all the fruit before the dingoes can get to it.

Tardis Remakes' Dingo is a very attractive, colourful and well-executed conversion, with one or two little niggles that I will come on to later. The action in each level is based on a single screen laid out in a grid, with Big Ted's fruit scattered liberally throughout. You must traverse the whole melon patch until you have collected all of Ted's bananas, lemons, blackberries, tomatoes and – of course – melons.

However, shortly after the action starts four stealthy dingoes emerge from the undergrowth and start terrorising the melons. Big Ted is not tough for a bear, and will immediately keel over if caught by a dingo, so watch out. Luckily BT can run pretty fast so as long as you don't get cornered you should be alright. You can also throw the last piece of fruit you gathered to stun a dingo – but beware as dingoes can also throw fruit at you. If BT gets hit he will lose a life – massive softie that he is.

Each level is the same, as far as I can see (only having progressed to level 9), with just a random distribution of fruit for variety. It is a shame that there isn't more of a progression in the game, for example: different level layouts or different enemies. Your goal is therefore to progress as far as you can and score as highly as possible. Even with the addictive nature of the game I can see it eventually losing its appeal due to this lack of variety. One nice touch that adds interest to each level is that BT will be challenged to pick up a combination of fruit to achieve a points bonus (which are chained if you collect multiple sets). This does encourage risk-taking to gain a reward and I think this small touch really enhances the game.

The dingoes move around fairly randomly and are not drawn towards BT or any remaining fruit, which is a blessed relief! If you find yourself on the same line as a dingo it will throw fruit at you, so a good tactic is to 'hover' behind undergrowth and wait for the coast to clear. There is no time limit to the game so patience is the key to success. If BT tries to mix it up with the dingoes too often he will surely come off second best!

The major positive about this game for me is the way it is presented with colourful, well drawn graphics throughout, with minimal colour clash. The sound and music is also well implemented for a 48k game and both enhance the game whilst not becoming annoying.

The game-play is good and BT moves around smoothly and swiftly. The only criticism here is that BT's cornering is not the best, and if you don't get it just right he will get stuck (and potentially be mauled by a dingo!) Once you get used to the controls, this can be overcome as you can hold down two direction keys at once to guide him around obstacles. To begin with it is a little frustrating and my esteemed colleague James was rather vocal in his criticism of this feature! Perhaps an 'assisted cornering' feature could have been included and this would have aided playability.

The only other gripe is that those dingoes can slink out of the shadows at the start of each level right underneath BT, which hardly seems fair! Luckily, they always emerge in roughly the same place, so you can give them a wide berth until they appear.

Overall, Dingo is massively addictive (of the 'just one more go' variety) and the difficulty level is just about right, with a reasonable 25,000 points required for an extra life. It is a shame there isn't more progression in the game to enhance its longevity. However, I really enjoy playing it and I think it uses the graphical and audio capabilities of the 48k machine very well indeed. I can only quote the fruit-lobbing battle-cry of Big Ted in yelling Beee-Yumbly!

2011 by Tardis Remakes (Denmark)
by Soren Borgquist and Mark Jones

I'm not sure how fair it is to compare games written 30 years ago and others with only 1 year old.
Anyway, Dingo is a fairly good arcade game, at first glance it reminds me some oldies like Hyperaction or Revenge of the Killer Tomatoes amongst lots of others.
It has some pretty graphics and colouring, but the maze layout is a bit simplistic. I've only got to level 5, so I cant say much about that. But there is one thing that really annoys me here. Turning corners. The key response is good, but sometimes, very often in fact, our koala gets stuck while turning a corner, and of course that could mean its death.
A games movement should be as fluid as possible, like in Pac-Man, Atic Atac, or even Hungry Horace, just to name a few. Failing that the game gets more frustating than fun.

A nice and colorful maze game, unofficial conversion from a little known coin-op by Ashby Computer Graphics (!) The action is fast but ultimately a bit repetitive. Still, an entertaining title with all the flavor of yesteryear. And it's free!