Producer: PSS
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £7.95
Language: French Machine code
Author: R Herbulot

Macadam Bumper comes back to back with the Amstrad version, which is an increasing trend nowadays, but the striking thing about this game is that it was written by a French software house. PSS are clearly waking up to this fact and not being a company to wait for the tunnel, they grabbed the UK rights. However, Macadam Bumper is more than just a pinball simulation....

Immediately after loading the game you are presented with a menu screen containing six options. If you've got itchy flipper fingers, you can get straight to playing pinball on the built-in table. Alternatively you can modify a table layout, design a new one, save a design to tape or load a previously created table into the program. If the mood takes you, you can redefine the playing keys before you start playing.

In PLAY mode, the table itself occupies just under two thirds of the screen; the rest is taken up with a rather saucy scoreboard the design of which rather inspires the alternative title of 'Madam Bumper' (well, it is French software, after all). To begin play you must insert some money, or rather press the appropriate key a few times. The next pre-game task is to input the number of players any number up to four can join in a game.

Now you are set to begin. The ball is fired by holding down the left and right flipper keys together - the longer you hold them down the greater the force applied to the ball. Once the ball is out into the table it's pretty well at the mercy of the bouncers, springs, bumpers and of course you, and your flippers. There is a 'jolt table' facility in the game, which is rare on pinball simulations and allows very realistic play. The simulation is accurate: jolt the table too much and the 'TILT' light comes on and you lose the game.

All the bonus features are on the standard table, you know the sort of thing, knock down the whole series of targets and you get a bonus million points or get a ball zipping between two bumpers and you can sit back and watch your score increase by a factor of ten. But when you grow tired of the standard table you are only a key press away from designing one of your own.

From the main menu you can enter the DESIGN mode where you can either modify the table layout currently stored in the program or design a table from scratch. In the design mode, the screen displays the table you are working on with a panel of parts in place of the saucy picture. All told there are some seventeen different components including slopes, flippers, bumpers, targets, rollovers and guiding channels. A selection of point values can be allocated to components which affect the score during play.

Each component and score value is labelled with a letter next to an arrow. The arrow points to the spot on the component which is placed over the cursor used to select where parts are to be placed on the table. To place a component, all that you need to do is to move the cursor to the required position and press its identifying letter.

A draw option allows you to change the shape of any part of the table. Y, G, H and B drive a cursor which draws a line in your specified colour in its wake. Pressing caps shift and symbol shift provides a brush which can paint any object that you choose to move it over, except for the bed of the table which must be of one uniform colour.

Once you have settled on a layout you can move onto the page which allows you to alter the characteristics of the table. For example you can change slope and tilt sensitivity, elasticity and the speed of the bumpers. From this page you can also alter the sound output and the rules governing the allocation of bonus points, extra balls and games.

When you have finished designing your masterpiece you can save it to tape and start on the next one, and you can always load a previous design back in and try to improve it. When you come up with the perfect pinball layout you might be tempted to send a copy off to PSS to try and win the pinball table they are giving away as part of the inlay promotion.

COMMENTS

Control keys: playing keys are definable
Joystick: not applicable to the game
Keyboard play: very good
Use of colour: choose your own
Graphics: very good
Sound: average
Skill levels: depends on your design ability
Screens: one playing, two for design

Unlike some members of the CRASH review team I was not able to misspend my youth bent double over a pinball machine. That's one of the reasons why I had difficulty understanding the Elton John song from the film Tommy. I certainly made up for lost time playing Macadam Bumper! The game plays very well indeed but the ball does become a bit flickery when you after some of the table specifications and speed things up a bit. Designing your own table is quite good fun, but practice is needed to avoid producing unplayable tables. This is a very good implementation of pinball, and the powerful design facility adds greatly to its lastability - especially if you are gifted with a warped imagination.

It is very hard to represent Pinball accurately on a home computer. Previous versions have suffered from being slow and unrealistic, but PSS have to put together a reasonable representation of the game. The graphics, though not mind blowingly brilliant, are adequate and serve their purpose well. The option to define your own tables makes it a good package and allows plenty of scope for tough games. Not being a pinball addict I found that Macadam Bumper was instantly playable and quite addictive. Overall, it's a good game and certainly one of the better pinball spin offs.

Pinball wizards will love Macadam Bumper. Playing the basic table provided within the game should provide hours of fun itself, but once you get tired of pounding flippers, it's time to experiment. It's up to you how many skill levels the game has - design yourself harder pinball tables as and when you need them. All in all, a good package, well executed, which you will probably go back to again and again. The instructions, however, are rather poor.

BARGAIN BASEMENT

This month, Bargain Basement is brought to you by YS's two (almost) resident heart-throbs (or so they keep telling us) JONATHAN DAVIES and RICH PELLEY. Hoorah!

Players
£2.99
Reviewer: Rich Pelley

If dodgy pinball sims are your bag, then Macadam Bumper could be just your ticket, cos spookily enough, pinball's exactly what this little trolly's about. Of course, it's all been done before (and with knobs on) but as a pinball sim it serves its purpose, so I suppose we can't complain. This one sneakily pretends to be like the real thing, making you press a key to 'insert a coin' to start and allowing you to cheat by jolting either side of the imaginary table so the ball'll go all wobbly! It's also got this kooky little editor jobby which allows you to design your own layout and things - perfect for whiling away those long, cold, winter nights. Hmmm, but what to say next, eh? Well the game itself isn't that thrilling (ie it's a bit crap to be honest), but designing your own courses and whatnot does liven things up a bit, so if this sort of thing appeals to you, get out your coppers and get buying!

Rick: WEll, flip me, what a bumper treat for pinball and programming wizards. This is the pinball game in excelsis!

But not only that, this game has the facility to let you design your own pin ball table. Mind you, there's nothing wrong with the programmed one. And if you come up with a beaut then PSS will build it and give it to you. If you don't win their competition it'll still provide you with endless permutations of bumpers, bells and ripples.

Right from the loading screen this game captures all the thrills of those nights manically flexing your flipper fingers. But there's no seven foot lurch behind you ready to top yer if yer beat his score.

Like all the best games its simplicity itself. Six flippers are controlled by two keys. For a little ambience, press C to put your money in. (No bent 10ps allowed). Punch up the number of players you want then release the ball at the pace you like to pin those posts or pot that special. As a simulation its uncanny. The flippers have the deftness and delicacy of the best of the real thing. You can jolt - but gently, or else, of course you tilt. You can catch and hold the ball for precision shooting - or flip as frantically as your reflexes allow.

You don't have to be a Tommy to enjoy this - nor, indeed, to have played pinball before. But I bet you'll be deaf, dumb and blind to any other Arcades once you're hooked on this! 9/10

Publisher: PSS
Price: £7.95
Memory: 48K

Flick the flippers, flip the floats and tilt onto the triangles as PSS tries to do for computers what Bally and Sega did for pinball machines.

Not only can you play a sample game with three pairs of flippers but you can construct your own table using all the traditional components.

There are two construction modes. The first will alter the existing table and the second will allow you to start from scratch.

When you enter the design phase, the left side of the screen displays each type of component together with a letter of the alphabet. To position a piece on the board just move the cursor to the desired location and press the appropriate letter.

Once you have finished your table, you can save it to tape. Alternatively, you can put a coin in the slot, for five balls, set the number of players and press both flipper controls to set the ball in motion.

As a pinball wizard in my youth the PSS game had much to prove to me. I was not, however, disappointed and quickly notched up a score of 59,660 - not to be sniffed at. The only thing missing is the dull thud and clack as the steel ball is bounced between wood, plastic and metal.

PSS
£6.95

It is hard to simulate the old pin table, bumpers, buzzers, bleepers, nudges and all the paraphernalia of the arcade on a home computer. I love pinball tables and have awaited a good computer version for some time.

This one is as close as I think it is possible to get, all the usual features are implemented and you can almost feel the balls bouncing around, giving them just that gentle nudge at the right time. Not only is the standard program very playable but there is also the option to design your own pinball table layout and play it. This is a simple matter although to get the best results a little planning is required at first. The screen is split into two, vertically, and the playing area is on the left while a typical pinball picture is on the right. This also shows scores and players turns etc. In design mode this picture is replaced by the graphic components of the table and they are selected and placed on the playing area as required.

Once designed and completed you can save your work to tape, you can even send it to PSS as an entry to their competition and win your very own real pinball machine. Not bad. As a pinball program it is very playable, and with the option of making your own designs the life of this program is extended greatly. Get bored, design a new game.

I must admit I enjoyed the fact that I didn't keep losing a game when an overenthusiastic nudge would usually produce a 'tilt' message, this feature does not seem to have been included. However I keep getting the annoying feeling that I've cheated in some way...