Producer: Cheetah Soft
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £6.95
Language: BASIC
Author: Duncan Nightingale

Mediterranean Europe is divided into grid squares. Your aim as emperor is to gain 100 squares of territory as quickly as possible in the graphics strategy game, Conquest. You'll have to contend with barbarian counter-attacks on your flanks, random plague attacks which may wipe out one or more of your legions, and the possibility of civil war.

Conquest is for one player, and the game takes place over a map of Europe and half of Russia. The cassette comes with instructions on screen on one side and the game on the other. The known world is divided into 600 territories, or squares, which include sea. Movement onto land is permitted, but not onto sea squares. The game starts by choosing a location for the capital city, which can support only one legion, commanded by the emperor and coloured purple. As this legion moves it colours the territory occupied red. For every five squares captured, you are awarded another legion, commanded by a general, and these captured territories are coloured black. If territory is lost, so may the legions be, as there may not be enough taxes to support them. The legions are allowed to move one square at a time, controlled by the cursors.

The emperor's legion has unlimited movement within the empire but also makes a single square capture per move. There is a maximum of 16 legions available. Attacks by barbarians on an unprotected flank may wipe out a captured territory. Such attacks occur more frequently as the game progresses.

There are five levels of difficulty, each adding more playing factors such as generals falling in battle, the legions receive combat records indicating their chances of successful conquest, the emperor may also be killed, in which case a general will declare himself and civil war may break out. In between moves the computer takes action like outbreaks of plague and deciding whether legions become disloyal.

COMMENTS

Control keys: cursors, plus three command keys
Joystick: Cursor type
Keyboard play: key layout is hardly important but responses are very slow
Use of colour: very simple
Graphics: good map, but rest very poor
Sound: none
Skill levels: 5

This tactical game set in Europe ages ago is fairly typical of the strategy layout and in its aims. It's also fairly 'typical' in the sense that it isn't exactly very exciting (remember the one about watching paint drying?). The best part of the game is the map of Europe, which is very well drawn. My recommendation would be to avoid it like the plague, especially at £7. Cheetah Soft's catchphrase is, 'Soft we're not'. Well perhaps they should realise that the average Spectrum owner isn't either.

After reading through 48K of instructions I felt I needed a rest. It took four or five months for the game to load and then a key display appeared on the screen and I was asked whether I would like a printout - for the cursor control keys? As suggested, I selected skill level one to get used to the rules of the game and my legions expanded across the continent rapidly. Only it's rather boring, moving legion squares and watching things turn red, and waiting for the slow response time of the computer as it wipes you out with the plague and barbarians. Feeling bored, I broke into the program and went onto skill level five leaving my original conquests from level one intact. Despite the higher skill level it's still boring due to the fact that the plague can take about half a minute to spread. One of the more boring strategy games I've encountered, and in my opinion, a rip-off at £7.

The lengthy on-screen instructions in Conquest manage to make the game sound involved and exciting, although why most of these couldn't have been printed on the inlay, I don't know. Not everyone has a printer. But the game itself is slow and tedious to play. The map is very good but watching squares flashing on and off on it isn't so good. There are strategical elements contained in it to liven things up, but the more that's happening, the slower everything goes. This simply isn't the kind of programming that should be on sale today at this sort of price. In all honesty it's no better than any Mastertronic game at three times the price, and some Mastertronic games are better.

Producer: Cheetahsoft
Retail Price: £6.95
Author: Douglas Nightingale

I remember a few months ago when Cheetahsoft's first advertising started coming through, I thought "well I never - a bit of professionalism at last" just how wrong can you be? Their ads ranked with Imagine's as some of the best in the industry; but their games have more in common with Mastertronic or even (gulp) the dreaded Activision. The only decent thing about Conquest is the map, but these days any idiot with Melbourne Draw could do it... this is a game which, in all its salient features, appeared in at least one computer magazine about a year ago. Fair enough, as a mag prog it's quite a decent little game. But to tart up the map a bit and try and flog it for seven pounds is a bit strong. The game is a very simple form of empire building, where you gain one new legion for each five squares of territory you conquer, the object being to rule 100 squares. At the end of each go, your flanks are assailed by barbarians, plague and other empires. Plague is the worst - because it takes about two minutes between each of your goes to run its course and decimate your empire. In this time you will have picked the fluff out of your belly button, scratched your bum, done sundry other despicable things, and generally wished you were doing anything else but playing Conquest.

CHEETAH LACKS SPEED

Memory: 48K
Price: £6.95

In Conquest, from newcomer Cheetahsoft you have to conquer a sizeable portion of Europe and the Mediterranean. You start as emperor at the head of one legion and, beginning from your capital city, you set out to triumph, conquering whatever you pass over. As your territory expands it can support more legions and the empire grows apace.

The game has five levels, the first few serving as introductory modes. In the full game barbarians will attack the fringes of the empire, plague may decimate the land, rival empires rise to challenge you, and your subordinate generals may revolt if they become too powerful, plunging your people into civil war.

The representation of the map is very impressive and the structure of the game has been thoughtfully worked out to provide a real challenge, as well as a sense of genuine participation in great events.

The biggest disadvantage to the game is that it is very slow, as much of the program is written in Basic. While that does not affect your moves too much, as you need to think about them carefully, the other operations, such as the action of the plague or the barbarian attacks, are painfully long-winded.

Cheetahsoft appears to recognise there is a problem, as the program instructions exhort the player to persevere and try the full game before making a judgement. It would be better by far to have written the game in full machine code to avoid the possibility altogether.

None of those faults, however, renders the game unplayable. If you succeed in controlling an empire of 100 squares on the map, your performance will be assessed in comparison with great imperialists of the past.

We recommend Conquest to lovers of strategy games with a sympathy for the problems of Attila the Hun or Napoleon but the rating must reflect the fact that many people will be disappointed by the slow response time and fussy graphics.

MACHINE: Spectrum
CONTROL: Keys
FROM: Cheetah, £6.95

'Mediterranean Europe is divided into grid squares. Your aim, as Emperor, is to gain 100 squares of territory as quickly as possible - at the same time dealing with Barbarian counter attacks, plagues, civil war and naval Emperors.

After positioning your capital city your one legion attempts to expand the frontiers of your Empire. For every five squares of territory gained you are awarded an extra legion, with a maximum of 16.

Once all your legions have moved, a year passes and the computer shows the amount of taxes gained and other events of the year. If you're lucky you will only lose a little territory to the Barbarians. On the other hand you could be hit by a plague, civil war or even assassination depending on the level of play.

To aid you in your bid for European supremacy, you can build forts to protect land, and ports and canals allowing you speedy transportation of troops.

The game offers five levels of difficulty. In the first you only have to contend with the Barbarians and each further level adds an additional hazard, with the fifth giving you the works, and therefore, taking longer to play.

Graphics are good and distinctive with the map of Europe clear, accurate and well presented. The rest of the graphics, such as the legions, the Barbarians and the forts are simple but well done. Colour has also been used well.

Unfortunately, sound is not up to the same standard. A tune is played at the beginning and end of the game, but otherwise is unused.

If you like strategy this game's for you, rating high on lasting interest and originality. Even shoot-'em-up freaks may be tempted to try their hand at playing the ultimate imperial megalomaniac.