Reviews

See the full review at www.rgcd.co.uk/2011/12/byte-me-zx-spectrum.html#more

Jonathan Cauldwell's Byte Me was sold to me by my esteemed colleague (and Editor) on the basis that it would enable me to relive my days as a skivvy at a well-known fast food outlet. Despite this dubious recommendation I was prepared to give it a go and I am pleased to report that it is nowhere near as dull as the aforementioned experience. The one key difference between my (thankfully) long ago slavery to the BBQ sauce-stained masses and this simulated version is that whereas my role only contained a mild amount of peril, this has peril by the bucket-load.

You take the role of a robot skivvy at a futuristic burger joint where the sesame seed buns have teeth and the hotdog rolls dream of your destruction. All you need to know is that bready products are your enemy, as are tomatoes and, presumably, little slices of pickle. These bakery aisle mutants may only be pacified by firing a sausage at them (a solution to so many of life’s challenges) or throwing a greasy burger in their direction. If you match a burger to a bun or a sausage to a roll, then grub’s up! The cholesterol-packed snack will fall onto the serving conveyor belt, ready to feed a hungry punter.

The action takes place on a single screen with the conveyor belt at the bottom and two large buttons that control its direction at the top right and top left. Your enemies will warp into the arena in a random sequence, taking a few seconds to appear to give you time to take evasive action. Skivvybot must collect ammunition (hotdogs and burgers) in batches of six from crates that fall from the top of the screen, using them to destroy enemies or turn them into nutritious meals for customers.

You will see the ravenous faces of customers appear, again fairly randomly, on the right and left sides of the restaurant. Don’t keep them waiting too long for their food, or they go red in the face, and I’m sure something awful happens shortly afterwards. Skivvybot must switch the direction of the conveyor by pressing the buttons to ensure that the prepared food reaches the hungry visitors - if there is no-one there, the meal will be wasted. Once you have fed a set number of customers, you will advance a level, and your task quickly becomes highly demanding (think the lunchtime rush at McDonalds).

The game is well designed, with the player having to find a balance between destroying or evading enemies, making hamburgers and hotdogs by firing the correct filling at the buns, and ensuring customers are fed by controlling the conveyor belt. It is very tempting to let enemy numbers build up while you wait to switch your weapon from sausages to burgers (for instance) so you can turn them all into dinner - but you run the risk of getting cornered and eaten by a mutant bap. A trigger-happy skivvybot will soon run into trouble as well, because an armoury of six sausages or burgers does not last long and you’ll soon need a new batch.

It is a challenging game and can be frustrating, but that’s mainly because the game-play sneakily encourages the player to take unnecessary risks (which is not intended as a criticism). The difficulty curve is a little too steep, I believe, but it is nonetheless addictive and very playable. Each level introduces more enemies and a new challenge - level two has killer tomatoes, and level three introduces bread rolls that jump back into life from the conveyor belt! I am sorry to say that I haven’t progressed further, but it isn’t from want of trying... A more gradual increase in difficulty would allow more of the game to be experienced by the player - although I appreciate that as this is an 8-Bit game it is allowed to be rock solid!

The graphics are clear and well-drawn with the occasional but effective splash of colour. There is minimal clash between sprites and a nice variety in customer types. The main playing arena is clear and uncluttered and the strong game design means the lack of instructions is not an issue at all, it is very easy to pick up. (Although I must admit I do like a game with a back story - "What's my motivation, darling?") The sound effects are minimal and could have been more extensive but I find the 'warping in' sound when enemies are appearing is really effective at building a sense of urgency. The music is skilfully composed and has an appropriate breakneck tempo but for me lacked character and did not feel like it was written with the game in mind.

This is a good quality game that is well worth playing, especially if you are more skilful than me. With some minor improvements, some instructions, and some embellishment - and more of a gentle learning curve - it could be a great game. I really do like the title, too – how many layers of meaning can you fit into two words?

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!

Read the full review at www.rgcd.co.uk/2012/01/streets-of-doom-zx-spectrum.html#more

In many a classic Spectrum game the ultimate goal was to rescue the girl, or to win her heart. But more often or not, when you got her, you realised it wasn't worth all the fuss.

I fought past motorcycle gangs and knife-wielding thugs in Renegade, then took one look at my date and decided I should have run off with one of Big Bertha's leather-clad minions. The cover artwork for Athena promised a heroine both buxom and scantily-clad, but when it loaded up we got a blobby dwarf rather than a statuesque goddess. As for Daisy, of Yolkfolk fame, well – she certainly had curves, but they weren't in the right places to make her appealing to the gentleman gamer!

Yes, you could argue that the lack of attractive ladies in Speccy games has something to do with the graphical limitations of the machine. However, Rafal Miazga has shown me with Streets of Doom that it is possible to have an in-game love interest that provides a little genuine motivation for the player. Much of this action adventure involves trying to win over prospective girlfriend Alice, your 'pretty neighbour' who you rescued from the flaming Skyscraper of Doom in the first game of the series.

In Skyscraper, to be honest, I thought Alice was a bit plain, but it would have been churlish in the extreme not to help her escape. Well, lucky I did because she appears to have had a makeover between the two games and, in the introductory cut-scene at least, is quite the smouldering temptress. And, even better – our hero has a date with her.

Now, unfortunately, your character, Ron, is something of a bad-boy who by his own admission has little success with women. So when he turns up at Alice's flat having slept in an alleyway and smelling like a brewery, he gets short shrift from her. Thankfully, you saved her life yesterday – so you get one more chance. Your mission is to clean yourself up, deadbeat!

There's a lot more to the story than this – it's an atmospheric, pleasingly noir-ish mystery involving supernatural forces that gradually unfolds across the two games, with the third game still to come. It's not essential to play Skyscraper first, but I would certainly recommend it to maximise your enjoyment of the story. In terms of game-play, the emphasis lies heavily upon problem solving by interacting with characters and objects. There's not much actual action, but plenty of trudging back and forth with different items! I don't mean this as a criticism, as I love this kind of game, but if you do get a bit stuck, it can quickly become tiresome. The game is reasonably close in style to Ceasefire (which had more action but suffered from very awkward object manipulation) and much earlier, Tir Na Nog and Dun Darach.

Graphically, the game is superb, with colourful, attractive, flip-screen backdrops throughout the game. The central character, Ron, is well-drawn and animated, and in my opinion – if not Alice's – very much looks the part in a sweeping black trench coat. Other characters are static and of more variable quality, with some of the lowlifes in the slums looking a bit less convincing. The story and significant interactions are relayed using 'comic strip' style cut scenes – which are of excellent quality of such that I do not remember seeing in another Spectrum game. There are also some really creative backdrops that give the game strong individuality. I loved the rooftop escape from the burning building in Skyscraper, and in Streets, the dockyard scene with the statue of Uriel, God of Flame, dramatically looming in the background. Although I have to say I wasn't so sure about the stereotyping evident in the Red Light District's 'Big Johnny' gay club, where all the clientele sport leather waistcoats and caps!

Use of sound in the game is absolutely minimal, with only the occasional bleep when actions are performed and the plod of Ron's footsteps to be heard. This is one area where the game could be improved, although the silence does help to create an eerie atmosphere for the story.

Ron can carry two objects at once, and there are many more in the game, so it is soon necessary to choose a location as an object repository. Some objects are in plain view but most must be uncovered by searching scenery, speaking to characters, or solving problems. What I really like about the puzzles in this game is that some of them require Ron to be carrying two objects at once, which does add a level of sophistication that many graphic adventures lack. The solutions are logical and pitched at a sensible level of difficulty, being challenging enough to provide a sense of achievement when progress is made.

I really enjoyed Miazga's narrative voice in this story. Ron is a 'me against the world' kind of a guy, existing on the fringes of society, and because of his rough edges, it makes him a more compelling hero. The story is very well written, but one or two minor errors have crept into the text – of the sort that only a non-native speaker would make. I would suggest that with a quick proof-read by a native English speaker this could easily be remedied. 'Ron' is not a commonly used name for heroic characters – but perhaps these games can help fight the prejudice that it is a name only for grandads...

Streets is clearly run on the same engine as Skyscraper, but a number of improvements are clear to see. The puzzles are better and there are no objects secreted in obscure places, frustrating the player. The graphics have improved, including the central character, and the occasional bugs evident in Skyscraper do not appear in the second game. One or two niggles remain – chiefly that in some instances you need to stand in exactly the right spot to perform an action, but the only way to tell where is trial and error. I would also like to see trudging back and forth minimised – perhaps by using shortcuts (hail a cab?) or being able to transport more items at once (using a backpack). It would also be positive if more use were made of multiple levels in the game, which would add some variety. Ron can jump very nicely, but it's rarely necessary to do so. Streets can be a little cruel; our poor hero can be killed at the drop of a hat – but in the days of emulation a regular snapshot can circumvent this issue.

I really enjoyed this game: it is slickly presented and well designed, with an excellent storyline that holds the attention. If you like fast-paced games full of action, however, you need to look elsewhere. I look forward to the next instalment, where with any luck I will rescue (and no doubt win the heart of) the lovely Alice.

Read the full review at www.rgcd.co.uk/2012/02/maritrini-freelance-monster-slayer-zx.html#more

As a self-proclaimed 'super-fan' of The Cure, I am somewhat ashamed to confess that I played Maritrini, Freelance Monster Slayer for three days straight before a rusty cog in my brain turned and I made the following observation. Maritrini's five stages, each made up of four levels, are named after famous songs by the band. This certainly called into question both my commitment to Smith and the boys, and my so-called powers of deduction – especially as it took Stage 3, Lovecats, to finally make it click. I'm not proud, but still, bonus points for Maritrini from this reviewer!

Maritrini has been unceremoniously sacked as the star of her own TV show Maritrini, Monster Slayer. Like any good entrepreneur she is undeterred and sets up as a freelancer, only to be contacted out-of-the-blue by the former Director of the series, Paul Duran, who asks her to rescue his kidnapped daughter. She has been taken by an evil organisation – the type that specialises in genetic manipulation and turning human beings into bloodthirsty monsters. She heads to the grounds of Mr. Duran's mansion, and strikes out into the woods (A Forest, Cure fans) to get her back.

Maritrini is a top-down blaster in the vein of Gauntlet. Each level is a sizeable, beautifully presented maze full of detailing appropriate to the setting, whether it's a deserted schoolhouse or a secret laboratory. Maritrini must find the exit to progress, but to get there a horde of monsters must be slain and keys to the locked doors blocking her path must be found. Each level is populated with numerous spawners – or generators – that spew forth a variety of monsters at a reasonable alarming rate. The game is heavy on the trigger-finger, especially as each spawner takes around 10 to 12 shots to destroy and those pesky monsters do tend to get in the way of your bullets! Each maze is well designed, but progression does tend to be rather linear until you reach the later stages.

The graphics and presentation in Maritrini are superb throughout. Unlike many similar games, including Gauntlet, the levels are hugely detailed and extremely colourful with not a hint of the dreaded colour-clash. I would argue that some of the texturing of floor areas is unnecessary and, although the game does avoid feeling cluttered due to its excellent design and presentation, it is rather tough on the eyes. This is mainly due to a slight judder in the scrolling, which becomes noticeable because of the high level of detail.

The soundtrack to the game is fabulous, with four in-game theme tunes that are highly atmospheric as well as title and interlude tracks. A particular highlight of the game is the stylish introductions to each of the five worlds which feature an action shot of Maritrini, a snippet of storyline and a tremendous Cure-inspired ditty. The in-game sound effects are weaker; they lack the punch required for a shooter of this nature.

This is a fine game that makes good use of the hardware at its disposal, but nonetheless it does have a few weaknesses. Firstly, I found the controls slightly less responsive than I would have liked, slightly spongy, making both rapid fire and switching direction when in battle irksome. This is a long game, with 20 large levels, and although there is good variety graphically and in terms of enemy type, there is no variation in game-play. There's a lot of shooting to be done, and it gets quite repetitive, especially as diagonals aren't used for either firing or for enemy movement. In fact, without exception, the monsters you face will pretty much line up for you to shoot them and their movement is entirely predictable.

The big negative, for me, is that the game is too easy, even though it does take some time to play through. I am a huge fan of the sophisticated password system that enables you to save your game and statistics after every level – but it allowed me to complete the game at my first attempt! You begin the game with 200 energy points, but because there is no upper limit, by the time I reached the last level I had 2,000! Maritrini is far too generous with energy boosters. If you clear a level, you receive additional energy based on how many points you scored, so if you wipe out all the spawners you are guaranteed a good return. This is the game's main issue and the difficulty could be easily tweaked to increase the challenge.

Read the full review at www.rgcd.co.uk/2012/03/phantomas-tales-4-severin-sewers-zx.html#more

Our hero Phantomas spends his 25th birthday "jumping in a trampoline with a naked woman eating tortilla," until, in a fit of randomness, he changes tact, pulls out his encyclopaedia, and entertains himself reading a bit of galactic history instead. He reads about the old Metro City, an ancient place famed for its arts, culture and wealth. Now a mouldering ruin, he discovers it is awash with gigantic gold coins. An alternative birthday celebration occurs to him: he will travel to Metro City and go "back to his old ways." By which he means, steal a sackful of gold! This, indeed is the object of the game.

This rudimentary plot tells me two things. One: authors The Mojon Twins do not let anything so distracting as a decent storyline get in the way of a good game. Two: I really need to revisit how I celebrate my birthday this year.

I am going to say something controversial now. The old Speccy, bless her heart, lacked decent platformers. Or certainly, the good ones were few and far between. Some of the acknowledged classics were just far too difficult and unforgiving. Early platformers like Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy frustrated rather than entertained, and many others relied too heavily on pixel-perfect jumping to challenge the player. By the time platform games had their resurgence, with Super Mario Land and then Sonic the Hedgehog, the Spectrum had had its day.

I like to think that Severin Sewers redresses the balance just a tiny bit. It's a creatively designed, challenging, platform-based collect-'em-up – and its difficulty level is pitched just right.

Severin Sewers plunges you straight into the action; you begin the game in the darkness of the deepest sewer, with only a halo of light around Phantomas to navigate by. Being unable to see far, exploration is done gingerly at first, and great care needs to be taken not to fall into the goblin snot at the bottom of the sewer that quickly saps our hero's energy. Beasties such as bats, apes and knights, amongst others, populate the sewers and the ruined city and will drain Phantomas' stamina if they cannot be avoided.

Just as I was thinking that this game was going to be a tough nut to crack, Phantomas emerged from the sewers and into the daylight. The light makes progress a whole lot easier; the game's main challenge is navigating the sewers and finding the coins that are hidden there. Each of the four levels is made up of a 5x5 grid of flip-screens, with ten gloomy sewer screens and fifteen above ground. The objective on each level is to find all fifteen giant coins; as soon as you get them all, you are transported to the next one.

Phantomas must also navigate moving conveyor belts, spiky obstacles and of course make the odd precarious leap. You start each level with 200 energy, which can only be replenished if you come across a burger lying in the dust. Nothing in the game can kill you outright, it can only drain you of power until you die of exhaustion. This means no frustrating repeated deaths in the same spot, and allows you to make mistakes and recover from them, which makes for a positive gaming experience. It doesn't, however, mean the game is easy. You have to be careful to preserve your energy as there is always the chance you will fall in the gloop as you search for coins at the bottom of the sewers.

There are two things I really like about this game. Firstly, the limited visibility in the sewers gives those screens a suitably lonely atmosphere and creates an unusual gaming challenge. Secondly, the elegant controls (left, right, high jump and long jump) which feel natural almost straight away. The two different types of jump add a dimension that most other platform games lack and keeps the gameplay interesting.

The graphics are good quality, especially the attractive backgrounds which give you a sense of the ruins of Metro City, from a deserted train station, to grand buildings and temples. Sprites are small but still full of character. The music and sound effects are spot on, with a different tune for each level that helps to give the game the right feel for one set amongst spooky ruins. Overall, the presentation isn't quite up to the standard of the Mojon Twins' recent Maritrini, but good nonetheless, and I would certainly recommend this as superior in the gameplay stakes.

Each of the four levels is cleverly designed; they are not linear and you never feel constrained by the fact that the screens are arranged in a grid (in fact you barely notice it). My only complaint is that the game is slightly too short and I think an additional two levels would have made all the difference.

Now I've competed Severin Sewers it's time to plan some birthday high jinks... Anyone for tortilla?