REPLAY

For keeping out the radish patch, YS can offer the best in re-released software as a generous consolation...


Codemasters
£14.99 cass
Reviewer: Rich Pelley

Michael Aspel (leaping out from under nearby table): Yes, you thought that you'd walked into this branch of McDonald's for a Big Mac, Large Fries and a Coke but no, Richard and David Darling, the founders of Codemasters, this is (broad grin) your life...

DIZZY

(Back in the studio): First to see you tonight is that game which spurned a thousand (divided by 200) follow-ups. It was the first arcade adventure to create that unique CodeMasters' feel and was well worthy of its rave reviews. But I'm afraid to say that since then it has been greatly surpassed in graphic, sound and playability departments. It's a shame we couldn't have had one of its follow-ups with us this evening instead.
59°

SLIGHTLY MAGIC

Do you recognise these quotes? "Better than the Dizzy games", "Probably due to the addition of spells as well as objects; you have to think quite a lot more about what to do, rather than simply using the correct object in the correct place", "And the graphics and presentation are excellent too","In fact, all in all, Slightly Magic is, well, absolutely 'magic' really."" Yes, that was Your Sinclair talking about our old friend Slightly Magic. And here he is... (clap clap).
94°

SPIKE IN TRANSILVANIA

And please welcome Spike in Transilvania (applause): You'll have to sit on this special 3D sofa if you will Spike, which we've moved into the studio specially to accommodate the fact that you are the only 3D game here tonight. You are still a good old cartoon puzzle game of course, so don't feel too left out.
84°

CJ'S ELEPHANT ANTICS

(Michael looks anxious): All the games tonight have been classic flip-screen arcade adventures, maybe all a bit too similar for my liking. So a bounce around platform game which is easy on our brains could be what were looking for here. Sort of like a scrolling Rick Dangerous. And maybe with a few elephant references. In fact, I don't think that I'd even mind it it had atrocious scrolling, blurry graphics and a crap two player mode. Hmmm.
84°

SEYMOUR GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

Unfortunately Bernard Manning wasn't able to be with us tonight, so he made this video earlier.

"Hi there. Bernard Manning here. I'd just like to say what a great game Seymour Goes To Hollywood is. It's brand spanking new, it still plays like Dizzy but what the heck, eh? Seeya."
90°

And that's the end of the show, and the end of my crap review which wasn't even funny. A great compilation all in all; the only snag lying in the fact that all the games are a teensy weensy bit the same. It's still great val for mon if you haven't got any of the games though. (Bit unlikely, Ed)

Label: Codemasters
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £9.99
Reviewer: Big Al Dykes

What's up Doc? The Cartoon Collection from Codemasters with five excellent games all packed on it.

Apart from Seymour and Spike the collection includes the first of Dizzy's adventures, a genuine classic, Slightly Magic the story of a young sorcerer and C.J.'s Elephant Antics, the second part of which (C.J. In the USA) was also reviewed last month.

The graphics are colourful and the games are all extremely playable as you enter into a variety of search and solve worlds that are archetypically Codemasters. Boom, whizz, whoosh and watch out for those natty trolls.

GARTH:
Ha! Codemasters really are putting together some very good stuff lately and the Cartoon Collection is Eggactly what Codie fans need for Christmas!