Reviews

Is there a more intrusive multiload then this one? I seriously doubt it. The title screen comes up, you press a key and load in the next bit. This happens to be a not very interesting intro sequence. After this you have to start the tape again to get to the main menu. Having selected your control method you need to start the tape yet again to load the first event, the high dive.This is incredibly dull and not worth the huge amount of tape loading that preceded it. Before you're given a score by the judges you have to press play on that wretched tape again. At this point if you've got any sense you'll smash the tape to bits with large hammer. And if you think it's any less annoying playing via an emulator, you're wrong.
Utterly, utterly terrible. And of course it scored big in the gaming press back in the day on account of it being a port of a 16bit game.

A nice circus simulation cleverly adapted from the 16-bit original. Plays like a multi-event sport game a la Daley Thompson's Super Test, but with the added novelty value of an unusual setting.

Graphics are a bit sketchy but of course keeping the detail of the original on the Spectrum would have been quite difficult. Sound on the other hand is nice, with several atmospheric tunes. The only real nag is the multiload system even on the 128K, but apart from this FFBTOF is nice and enjoyable.

I had a really hard time with this, from the controls to the multiload. The presentation is there but the game itself seems flawed. Perhaps this was one that should have stayed in 16-bit.

1990 Mindscape International (UK)

A fun humorous circus simulation game were each attraction plays like a sports event.
The game originally appeared on the 16 bit Atari, Commodore Amiga and IBM and later the Spectrum got it's turn with a well designed and well written version.
Graphically the animation is up to par, although a bit sketchy, but all works quite well. The gameplay is the usual for the event type games, you play one event at a time and then get evaluated by a handful of judges, all clowns.
Sound is one of the best features, with several amusing circus themed tunes.

Although the multi loading don't apply no more (this is 2020) unless you're using an actual tape, the sequences of events and in-between judging still happen and even though they are not all that annoying they still spoil the game a bit because of the waiting time.