Producer: Rack-It
Retail Price: £2.99
Author: Dominic Robinson, Michael Sentinella

In Dominic Robinson's latest game, for Hewson's recently-launched budget label Rack-It, the CRASH-Smashing star programmer responsible for putting Uridium and Zynaps on the Spectrum sets the player a shoot-'em-up puzzle with a standard space scenario.

The planet Sentinel 4 has been overrun by rebels who must be suppressed. The only way to do it is by entering the rebels'security complex and destroying their weapons. So you drive an Interceptor unit equipped with cannon through the complex (shown in bird's-eye-view, changing screens horizontally), moving along the passageways created by structural blocks and cuboid weapon-containers.

The containers can easily be blasted - but if you get too close to them with the Interceptor it won't destroy them. And there's a time limit of two minutes for each of the 16 levels.

Deadly rebel security droids patrol each of the complex floors. At first they may be slow, but as more of the weapon-containers are destroyed and you reach higher levels, they become more aggressive and less predictable. The Interceptor's cannon can immobilise them, but the effect is only temporary. When immobilised the guards can be pushed around by your Interceptor's fire power, allowing you to clear narrow passageways that they block.

And every fifth building of the complex houses nuclear weapons; because of their importance, these levels are guarded by special security droids which remorselessly follow intruders.

COMMENTS

Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: clear and colourful
Sound: good spot effects
Options: definable keys; twoplayer option; computer can replay the game for you to watch

Anarchy reminds me slightly of the Boulderdash genre, but in fact it's a novel variation on the well-worn shoot-'em-up theme. Despite very average graphics it's an enjoyable game, with a simple but addictive idea playable from the word go!
ROBIN [70%]

There's lots of fun to be had from this cute little puzzle game - the graphics are neat - and well-coloured, and it's incredibly addictive.
MIKE [80%]

Anarchy is an interesting shoot-'em-up with a touch of strategy. The graphics are simple but smooth and effective, despite some blockiness - and the gameplay is fun, with fast shooting action, spoiled only by having to start each life at the beginning of a level replenished with baddies. The replay mode shows programming initiative, though it's not much practical use, and Anarchy is a great buy.
BYM [82%]

Rack-It
£2.99
Reviewer: Duncan MacDonald

Anarchy is one of Hewson's new 'Rack-It' budget releases and while it was loading I waited in fevered anticipation as, for me, the name HEWSON has always spelt QUALITY GAME (I never was very good at anagrams. Haw haw). Oh, and by the way; it IS brilliant.

An overhead view game (a la Motos or Dandy), the object is simplicity itself. You, a little tank, have to zwizz about an alien complex shooting at weapons containers (well, sort of coloured blocks actually) while avoiding roving enemy droids with whom contact is fatal. Once you've taken out all the blocks the lights of the complex phase on and off (making it hard to see where you're going) and you have to locate a small black 'Exit' icon. Once on it you're safe and can watch as your score is boinged up in proportion to the time remaining on your clock. What? I didn't mention the clock? Oh well, there's a clock! ...you have TWO minutes per level.

The frustrating thing about knocking out blocks is that the tank cannot fire at blocks it's touching, and as some of the gaps twixt wall and block or block and other blocks are just one tank's width, there's an element of logic as to just where to place yourself. Simple logic, admittedly, but not so easy when the clock's ticking away and you've got three enemy droids up your doo-dah.

Another brilliant thing about Anarchy is that it's got a replay facility. I always thought I was a pretty quick thinker, but I squirmed with embarrassment when I sat back and assayed my first few attempts at level three. What a moron - talk about indecision. I promptly burned my application for The Krypton Factor.

The programming of Anarchy is superb, but then what would you expect from Andrew Hewson's protege, Dominic 'Don't-you-think-I-look-a-bit-like-that-whizz-kid-computer-buff-bloke-from-the-Max Headroom-TV-movie-Robinson? Everything's good - the colour, the graphics, the sound, the control response and the difficulty (I'm stuck on level six at the moment but as I said, I'm obviously a moron). One thing I must add is the apparent size of the playing area on each level. I think that it's two screens wide, but thanks to a nifty sort of quarter-screen scrolling technique, it really seems like four. Also the high score table screen is pretty wicked too. All in all this is a thoroughly playable little game, and at just under three quid I'm afraid you'd have to be a bit of a plonk to not check it out: I almost gave it a megagame rating.

-------------- Editorial Scissors

PS Never cook custard in a microwave (cooking hint no. 473 care of YS).

Label: Rack-It
Author: Michael Sentinella
Price: £2.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various
Reviewer: Tamara Howard

Graphics aren't everything and, in a way, that's the whole story behind Anarchy. One of the new budget Rack-It releases, Anarchy is only OKish to look at, but it doesn't matter. The gameplay is terrific! And if anyone remembers it - it's a bit Boulderdash-like.

It's a plan-view game. You're looking down on a sector of some rebel base and there's your rather measly tank with a pop gun on the front. You've got just two minutes to rush around and clear out all the weapon dumps on that floor before you go on to the next one.

Slightly Pac-Man like methinks?

The gameplay is similar. It's a question of chasing around the place, dodging things that just want to bump into you, knocking out innocent little blocks for mega-points. And after that? On to the next level of course.

Nothing's actually firing at you, which is a good thing. You can get on and wipe out the weapons, no sweat. Apart from the horrible little security droids which follow you around in an incredibly ill-mannered fashion, bumping into you and depriving you of one of your three valuable lives.

You can't afford to lose them. There's an awful lot of destruction to get on with.

So that things aren't simple, there's a hint of maze-ness about the game. Scattered around the playing area are solid blocks which can't be shot. Nestling unhelpfully behind, beside, around these blocks are the weapon dumps. Can you suss out the best way to get them?

It's certainly hard in the time limit. There's always a way round them, it's just a question of finding it.

If you manage to destroy everything on the floor in the time the air-lock to the next level opens and you can proceed to the exit. However, it's still possible for you to run out of time, and it's still possible to be hit by the droids.

As you can't fire at this point to stun the droids, things are pretty unfair. But show me where it says life has to be fair?

Shooting things is not easy either. You need a good tank's length between you and the block in order to destroy it. Getting your muzzle right next to the block and hammering the Fire button doesn't work. At first it seems that there's no way you can destroy the blocks which are close to the walls. There is a solution, it's very simple, but I'm not going to tell you what it is!

Worra great game! if only all budget games could be as good as this.