Producer: Heinemann
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £9.95
Software: Five Ways

This game is designed to develop the ability to read, understand timetables, interpret information quickly and make logical decisions based on information in a situation where there are many possibilities. It includes insights into the relative speeds and costs of air and rail travel, and lets children become familiar with the positions and names of Europe's cities and towns.

The game comes in a large plastic folder with the cassette tucked in one side and the large format, colour book (16 pages) in the other. The game is played on a very large scale, and in fact comes very close to a mixture between adventure and strategy games that might well appeal to much older people. Basically you sit in your control centre of spying with a map of Europe. Below the map all sorts of reports come in from secret agents in the various locations. These may be in clear or code (which can be deciphered bit by bit). Information may well be from informers (which must be purchased) or it may tell you a spy has been eliminated. More spies can be hired.

If you decide you must go to a city to make contact with your agent there, a sheet of various timetables can be displayed and journeys may be undertaken by various modes of transport relative to speed, cost and convenience.

The graphics are very detailed and complex, but the game is fun to play, backed up by a heavily illustrated book with background to spies in fact and fiction as well as information on the many cities and towns involved in the adventure. Despite the slightly high price, this is an undoubtedly excellent package for the price.

Producer: Hill MacGibbon
Retail Price: £9.95
Age Range: Older children

Special Agent is a program in the Games to Stretch the Mind series, and was designed by FIVEWAYS, well-known for quality educational software. The player assumes the role of a special agent for M16 based in London, and the mission is to catch a devious enemy spy on the loose in Europe.

The player has to travel by air and rail to a variety of destinations, making the most of all the clues and intelligence reports that flash on the screen. The city from which a report is sent is highlighted - but if the enemy has eliminated your agent in a city, no report can be received! An informer's report can also be purchased for the sum of £100, and the record of your total costs is displayed at the top left hand corner of the map, together with a clock which records the passage of time.

Sometimes, reports are received in code and the player has to choose the cipher option for clues on how to decode it or pay £100 for help from the back-room boffins in London. Money may also be spent in hiring new agents to replace those eliminated, and on making journeys.

The educational possibilities of this game are immense. Learning about the map of Europe, reading timetables and solving codes are only a few of the skills involved. Intelligence reports such as, 'Spy reported in the capital of Turkey' may require a bit of research before the name of the actual city is discovered. The package also contains an attractive illustrated booklet with information about spies and agents such as Mata Han, Burgess and McLean. and the fictional Sir Percy Blakeney; beef descriptions on some of the major European cities; maps showing population and land use; and details regarding the contents of a spy kit - bugging devices, microdots and so on.

This is an extremely well thought-out package which will hold a child's attention and make learning fun. A particularly useful feature is the facility for pausing the game to allow time for thought. Great care has been taken to ensure ease of operation.

COMMENTS

Control keys: an overlay is supplied for the top row of keys
Keyboard play: good
Graphics: very clear
Use of colour: bright and attractive

This is an educational adventure where players travel around Europe gathering clues and information. Its main aim is to teach geography to the 8-12 year old age group.

Peter: There's a hi-res map of Europe which is very good, with the other displays also being very well laid out. It's professional and well presented.

Stewart: There's a good map of Europe, and the various tables are clearly laid out - which all helps to make this a highly professional package in both presentation and program content.

Ryan: The speed of the game is rather slow, but this is only to be expected in an educational adventure.

SPECTRUM LESSONS

Mike Edmunds continues his quest against ignorance and assesses some of the latest educational software packages.

Educational software has, to date, been of a very mixed quality, with often only a limited use in the classroom. Now, with the advent of material such as the Dudley Programs, we find software intended for use right across the curriculum.

The programs, all with the theme of travel, have been designed specifically for use in schools by a team of 24 teachers and advisers from Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in conjunction with Five Ways Software.

Each of the four titles; Punctuation Pete/Wordfinder, Car Journey, Special Agent and Ballooning is a complete package in itself or can be used in conjunction with the other titles to provide a really comprehensive series of resource materials.

Each package comes in an A4 folder with a detailed guide/workbook which not only outlines the aims of the program but also suggests numerous associated activities to be carried out using either the program or the workbook material. There is also a set of keyboard overlays, a summary of instructions and a 'run card'. Loading is straightforward and the pupil is greeted by an illustrated title screen detailing loading time. As with the workbook, the programs are colourful and visually attractive, good use of graphics being maintained throughout the series.

In Special Agent you are recruited by M16, your job being to catch an enemy spy. This is a maddeningly frustrating program - sometimes the spy can be tracked down quite quickly, at other times you can spend weeks (or even months) chasing him around the cities of Europe. Continued lack of success might spoil this program for some children but it can also be very addictive! The strategies required are soon discovered and the various countries and cities involved quickly become familiar. (It is a decided advantage to have several atlases on hand!)

The program also gives practice in the workings of train and airline timetables... all this whilst trying to understand intelligence reports and decipher codes! As a program for older primary children upwards, this is an ingenious way of encouraging quick, logical, decision making based on a wide variety of information. As an alternative to the normal procedure it is also suggested that the game be played with either limited time or limited money!

TO CONCLUDE

Taken singly, each of the programs in this series is excellent. Put together, as a complete resource package, they are outstanding - each having the right blend of interest and skill to ensure continued usage. The programs are well written and overall presentation is of a high quality.

As a theme package they test the child's abilities in all areas. Marvellous - fun whilst learning!

Each of the packages reviewed above costs £9.95 and is published by Heinemann Computers in Education Ltd, 22 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3HH.