Reviews

Trashman was a fairly unique title at its release - who would have thought of making a game about a dustman's job? Malcom Evans did, and he made a very playable and engaging game out of it.

The task is straightforward - in a limited time, walk the neighbourhood, gather the bins, and empty into the dustcart. But this being the 80s, there are some complications... no traffic calming schemes, so it's all too easy to get run over when crossing the road by a speeding car - and it's all over when you get run down. There's the perennial problem of cyclists riding on the pavement, and being hit by one of those will make your hero limp and move more slowly. Trashman seems to share the same problem as the postman - being chased by dogs who bite (and make him limp).

But there are friendly neighbours, who invite you in for a cup of tea, and this extends your time.

Graphically, the game is clean and well presented, showing a rendition of a typical British suburban main road - complete with lawns that must not be stepped on (on pain of losing time and possibly getting bitten by the family dog) and bins stuck in the most inconvenient place the homeowner could think of. Many of the messages that you get when a home owner invites you in are amusing. The game gives the impression of being well written - the game is responsive to your inputs.

The only annoyance I personally have with this game is that it completely unnecessarily uses a "cursor through each character to enter your name" system when you start a new game, when the Spectrum has a perfectly usable keyboard where you could enter your name ten times more quickly.

Another iconic game on the Spectrum. Forget five out of five this is ten out of ten material. Absolutely fabulous.

1984 New Generation Software (UK)
by Malcolm Evans

Personally I think that next to Skool Daze, Trashman was, and still is, one of the most original games ever made to the Speccy. Probably inspired Paperboy a couple years later! A landmark game of the Spectrum era!

This is a game part of the classic pick-up-the-can genre, and it's as exciting as one might expect it to be. You just can't stop picking up those trash cans. You want to try it again and again. And again. That said, it's very colourful and well designed, the little sprites are cute and allow the view to be more comprehensive of the surroundings, people will invite you in, and if you do it right, you will be compensated with extra time, which is quite handy, because it passes rather fast, especially if you DON'T KEEP OFF THE GRASS and things like that. Beware of the dog.
4/5