Guess the game from the review (Spectrum 2.0)

[sn3j]

I think for this thread we're supposed to be using quotes from Spectrum 2.0 reviews - at the bottom of the entry under 'User Reviews (formerly Spectrum 2.0)'. Rather than magazine reviews?

Having said that I know this game, so here's a snippet from one of the Spectrum 2.0 reviews for anyone who wants to guess:

Vixen?

[sn3j]

Haven't read the whole thread (again, forgive me, it's a long one) but see if you can guess this piece of dirt:

ZX Computing: "[software house] had a band of semi-naked girls running around their stand with whips!"
Sinclair User: "All the monsters are bright green, which lends a sinister effect to the game."
Your Sinclair: "[enemies include] Ghostbuster evacuees"

your turn Equinox

[equinox]

Vixen?

Vixen is a very good guess (because of the controversy over the Sun page-three-style girl on the cover), but no, it was actually Twister (or Charlotte, Mother of Whores -- or whatever it was called prior to release -- I don't remember the whole story, but I think Charlotte was chosen as the rhyme for "harlot" -- really strange). Curious 3D run-along-the-path game. Reminds me more than anything else of the MS-DOS "Sky-roads", or 8-bit stuff like Bounder. (Or how about the rather recent raster-chaser [amazing colour hacks] with a Sega Knuckles-type character jumping the 3D roads. Can't remember the dang name. I wanted to say "Whirled" but that was Sweevo... *)

This game was released by System 3, whom you mostly (or at all) remember for the excellent Myth.

So you were wrong but close enough. I got nothing more. Go ahead

* (It came back to me in the end: Roger the Pangolin in 2020 Knurled Tour -- unplayably hard game, but looks really cool)

[sn3j]

Ok, great.
Twister would have been my second guess but I couldn't get hold of the name. It was named in Guess The Screen$ a while ago I think.
What I like about Vixen is the nice music and the cozy atmosphere - back then I used to play it on the ST.

Here's the tune.

If anyone wants to jump in, please go ahead. Otherwise I'll get something up later this day.

[equinox]

What I like about Vixen is the nice music and the cozy atmosphere - back then I used to play it on the ST.

What I like is TURNING INTO A FOX! Actually the AY music/sound is really good, on the Speccy. It reminds me a lot of (since you mention the Atari ST) the Thundercats game.

[sn3j]

What I like is TURNING INTO A FOX! Actually the AY music/sound is really good, on the Speccy. It reminds me a lot of (since you mention the Atari ST) the Thundercats game.

I didn't own Thundercats but remember the music was used in some demos and menu disks.

So....

*** is pretty much two games in one. [...] The game ends when you run out of money. [...]
The nostalgia isn't the only reason why it scores 4 however. The graphics are nice and colourful with some nice detail in the vehicles. The course itself is pretty nice as well. There isn't a lot for sound but for what it is it's quite nice. The title music isn't much as well, in fact some might say it's not even music, but again it's nostalgic.

[Mpk]

I didn't own Thundercats but remember the music was used in some demos and menu disks.

So....

*** is pretty much two games in one. [...] The game ends when you run out of money. [...]
The nostalgia isn't the only reason why it scores 4 however. The graphics are nice and colourful with some nice detail in the vehicles. The course itself is pretty nice as well. There isn't a lot for sound but for what it is it's quite nice. The title music isn't much as well, in fact some might say it's not even music, but again it's nostalgic.

Horace Goes Skiing?

[sn3j]

Horace Goes Skiing?

yes

[Mpk]

Noice.

Next one, taking from a few reviews:
It is a good game BUT I stress that it's a good game depending on the system. The Spectrum port is ugly and bland.

Original idea but weird key disposition and rude graphics ... primitive and graceless .

I'm not sure what's going on with the scrolling in this game. It gives me a headache as it jerks around trying to keep up

[Morkin]

Boulderdash?

[Mpk]

Boulderdash?

Correct!

[R-Tape]

Correct!

But the reviews are all wrong

[Mpk]

But the reviews are all wrong

The scrolling doesn't work. It's ghastly.

[R-Tape]

The scrolling doesn't work. It's ghastly.

I'd say courageous. Most games in history have never dared to let the player disappear from view and let the (not entirely smooth) scroll catch up in its own good time!

[Morkin]

OK, have a try at this one:

Destroying a whole army of [creepy, well-animated, disquieting] spiders and, returning back to the same room, find it all again alive and ready to kill you is a bit tiring and demoralizing

[TMD2003]

...Horace and the Spiders?

There are a fair few spider-related games out there, though, aren't there. Minecraft! Oh, wait...

[Morkin]

...Horace and the Spiders?

There are a fair few spider-related games out there, though, aren't there. Minecraft! Oh, wait...

Nah, not that one.

I'm not sure if the creatures in this game are actually spiders, but they look like them.

[Mpk]

OK, have a try at this one:

Atic Atac?
Surely not.

[Morkin]

Nope. Have a bit more:

Although, to be fair, there are a few spells scattered around which help to improve the flow of the action, and in some rooms you can destroy the lair of the spiders - chests full of bones - making them disappear forever. Still, I'm not captivated, engaged or intrigued. Nice and colourful backgrounds.

[sn3j]

Sounds like a Gauntlet like game but beyond that no idea.

[Morkin]

Sounds like a Gauntlet like game

It is indeed.

[R-Tape]

Dandy. Got to be (just checked and indeed it is, reviewed by WIWC.

[R-Tape]

Another one (AND IT'S NOT BOULDER DASH!)...

Now the scrolling is so poor it barely deserves the name 'scroll' and the in game music is grating but somehow the game survives and it is nicely progressive so that you can get a bit further each session.

[Mpk]

Was it Bionic Commando that had awful push-scrolling?

I'm guessing that.

[R-Tape]

Was it Bionic Commando that had awful push-scrolling?

Nope not that. Good shout though.