Producer: Abersoft, 16K
£4.95

Abersoft's maze is a bit more complex than most and the graphics are clear and bright.

Producer: Abersoft, 16K
£4.95

Abersoft's maze is a bit more complex than most and the graphics are clear and bright.

Producer: Abersoft, 16K
£4.95

Abersoft's maze is a bit more complex than most and the graphics are clear and bright.

DINING OUT WITH THE GHOSTS

A stack of Pacman-type games have been cluttering up the C&VG reviews office over the last few weeks. A new maze gobbling game is added to the list of software available for the Spectrum at the rate of about one a week.

We tested a batch of the more obvious straight copies of the arcade original.

First on the screen was Spookyman from Abbex Software of London.

This game got off to a bad start as it did not tell me which keys to move my little man around the maze. A prime consideration in this game!

Although the maze looked fairly good the Pacman somehow failed to convince. It just didn't feel like controlling a little chap with a personality of his own.

Having just borrowed an Atari 400 with a Pacman cartridge I was used to much better player involvement in the game.

If you got caught by one of the ghosts the game paused for an annoyingly long period. There is also an absence of shrinking and gobbling sands and the characteristic gulp, gulp, gulp as you clock 200 then 400 and 800 in the arcade original.

Next up was Mazeman from Abersoft of Dyfed. This was the fastest and most playable of the pile but this too left a little too much to be desired.

The game produced no sound effects, bonus fruits or flashing ghosts.

All of the games would have been greatly improved by the use of a joystick. Playing Pacman without a joystick is rather like Blackpool without the illuminations.

Based on Pacman but with a few twists of its own was Gulpman from Campbell Systems of Essex. This game offered thorough instructions with a comprehensive list of game options.

You could choose one of fifteen mazes and vary the speed of your little man and the chasers.

Another interesting variation on the basic Pacman theme was a laser-gun with a limited amount of energy with which you could shoot the chasers.

On the minus side Gulpman has pretty basic graphics. The Gulpman for example moves around the maze without moving his legs. It would have been more convincing had the program simulated some sort of running motion.

Artic Computing of Hull also produce a Pacman-type game called Gobbleman, which I believe is a fairly close copy of the arcade game. I cannot give you my comments on this game however as it steadfastly refused to load on my Spectrum.

I was not over impressed with any of these versions. I don't know if it's the software or the machine but frankly Spectrum Pacman is not a patch on its Atari and BBC model B counterparts.

But if you really want a Pacman for your Spectrum, Gulpman just pips Mazeman. You might be better advised going for some of the original maze chase games.

Mazeman from Abersoft is a particularly fast version of Pacman. The speed improves the playability considerably - just as it does in the arcade original with quick responses.

One drawback with this version is that joysticks are not widely available as yet for the Spectrum and playing Pacman without a joystick is rather like Blackpool without the illuminations.

Again on the minus side the game from the Dyfed-based firm produced no sound effects, bonus fruits or flashing ghosts.

Despite my reservations Mazeman was a reasonable version at under £5.00. I found it difficult to walk away from!