REVIEWS COURTESY OF ZXSR

The Planets
by Ian McArdle, Jason Austin, John K. Wilson, Malcolm J. Smith, Mark Alexander
Martech Games Ltd
1986
Crash Issue 30, Jul 1986   page(s) 30

Producer: Martech
Retail Price: £9.95
Author: John Wilson, Ian McArdle, Jason Austin. Graphics by Malcolm Smith

Natural disasters have devastated the planet Earth and the human race is in danger but a missive from an alien race may point the way to salvation. A metal canister hurtles through the void of space with a secret computer code inside it. When the program tape it contains is loaded into an Earth computer, a complex game is revealed - but there are no instructions.

It becomes clear that other capsules have been deposited on each of the nine planets in the Solar System, and your mission is to pilot a solo craft, find these capsules and unlock their secrets. First your lander must be sent to Earth to collect the canister there and a long-range map of the solar system so that your mission can begin.

The main game is controlled from the cockpit of a Type 224 Explorer craft. Messages from Control scroll across the top of the main viewscreen, round which icons are grouped. These allow you to manipulate the lander, explore the planets you visit, travel through the depths of space, and access computerised mapping and database systems. At the bottom of the screen is a chart showing the time and the star-date. Underneath this is a panel showing what your next destination is and how long it will take to get there.

A tractor beam controls the lander automatically during descent and ascent above a height of 10 kilometers from the surface. The lander is affected by the gravitational pull of the planet which it is attempting to land on or leave, and manual manipulation of the boosters is vital to ensure a safe journey. A limited quantity of fuel is available, and if too much energy is expended during the landing you'll be stuck planetside for the rest of your days.

During travel between planets, various hazards including space debris in the form of meteorites is encountered and to avoid damage to the ship, an arcade sequence involving some nifty application of the on board lasers has to be played through.

Once the lander has arrived on a planet's surface safely it's time to find the alien capsule and attempt to open it. A robot explorer is available for short range sorties, and once the capsule has been located a locksystem has to be cracked before it reveals another part of the alien puzzle.

Each of the codes yielded by the capsule help to solve the ultimate puzzle set by the aliens - and playing the strange alien same is likely to assist in cracking the problem. Martech hint that the Solar System itself is a clue - and promise a prize to the first person to contact them after completing the game. Get with it...

COMMENTS
Control keys: Lander and weapon controls: N left, M right, A forwards, Z backwards, SPACE vertical; lock controls: N select position, A turn combination, SPACE to try opening capsule
Joystick: Kempston, Interface 2
Keyboard play: without problems
Use of colour: some very attractive sequences
Graphics: very good
Sound: great title tune plus spot effects
Skill levels: one
Screens: main console with viewscreen


Zoids is easily one of the best games on the Spectrum, and Martech's latest release, The Planets, is quite an admirable attempt, though I don't think it's as good as Zoids. The graphics are quite nice, though they are far better in some parts than in others, and the sound during play is a bit boring, though the title tune is a masterpiece. I found the game very hard to get into, but it was well worth the effort. The instructions could have been far better, as they go little further than explaining the function of the icons and basic gameplay. Getting down to the planets is both difficult and frustrating, as not only do you have to leave enough fuel in reserve for the journey back up, but you have to keep a very careful eye on your speed, and it can get quite tough at times. Really, I have played better games, though I think Martech have polished this one to its limits and come up with a very respectable game.


The Planets is one of those games which you can't just jump into aimlessly. It requires a thorough read of the instructions, and patience in introducing yourself to the techniques of the game. The game can be either very involving or frustrating if it suddenly ends as the result of a misplaced twitch of the finger. Landing the craft is a very tricky procedure and requires excellent hand-to-eye co-ordination. Once you've landed you can really get going! The graphics are very good on the planets and good use of colour has been made throughout the whole of the game. The Planets is a very involving game which deserves a good look at from arcade players who like to dabble in the strategy side of things now and again.


This is a very large game indeed. Not only do you get a separate little alien game, Weird, but the Solar System has to be loaded in three chunks - all the data won't fit into 48K. (128 owners get the whole lot in one long load.) There's plenty of accurate information about the Solar System contained in the game, thanks to the advice and assistance Heather Couper the astronomer gave Martech, and you're bound to come away with something of an education when you play The Planets. Overall, it is a nice blend of arcade and strategy/puzzle sequences and should keep most gamesters well and truly busy for quite a while. Worth checking out.

Use of Computer84%
Graphics87%
Playability84%
Getting Started75%
Addictive Qualities85%
Value for Money83%
Overall85%
Summary: General Rating: A large and complex game that takes some playing through!

Transcript by Chris Bourne

Your Sinclair Issue 7, Jul 1986   page(s) 62

Martech
£9.95

Remember those really boring Physics lessons where you sneakily read a Science Fiction book under the desk instead of listening to Sir rant on about the Solar System? Well now you can catch up on all that lost knowledge and have a bit of fun into the bargain.

I previewed this game in YS and I reckon I know even less about it now than I did then. That's not to say it's not good - it's excellent. But it is very complicated and it'll take you some time just to figure out what you're supposed to do, let alone actually do it!

The Planets is a two tape program - there's over 125K in that there game! On the first tape there's the main game itself and Weird, a very peculiar arcade game that's designed to be as mind boggling as possible. On the second tape you'll find the data for each of the planets in the Solar System including information about each planets physical properties, orbiting moons and so on.

You start off in search of eight capsules that provide clues to help you save the Earth from destruction. But in order to find them you must visit each planet in turn, search for the capsules, land and then work out how to open them by decoding their descriptions.

And by Jupiter it ain't easy! Landing poses a bit of a problem 'cos you have to take into account each planet's physical properties, such as gravity and atmospheric conditions and adjust the speed of your craft accordingly. If you touch down faster than 20m/s you're a gonner and you have to go through the whole process again.

Once you've discovered the secrets of one black metal box it's off into space to find another - that's if you've remembered to leave yourself enough fuel. Select the long range navigational chart and move the cursor to the planet of your choice and away you go. Now all you've got to contend with is the barrage of asteroids and meteor storms. All, I say!

If this wasn't enough you've also got to play the alien game, Weird, as solving it will provide you with clues to help you in the main game. It took me nearly an hour to work out I wasn't actually playing the game but changing the joystick control option!

It's a dead cinch to operate even on the keyboard as everything is icon driven. And as for the amazing graphics - they're amazing. You get a satellite eye's view of each planet and all in glorious technicolour.

If you're looking for a great game that's both informative and fun to play, look no further. The Planets really does you work, rest and play!


REVIEW BY: Teresa Maughan

Graphics9/10
Playability8/10
Value For Money9/10
Addictiveness9/10
Overall9/10
Award: Your Sinclair Megagame

Transcript by Chris Bourne

Sinclair User Issue 52, Jul 1986   page(s) 37

Label: Martech
Memory: 48/128K
Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair
Reviewer: Jerry Muir

Ah, the sun drenched shores of Jupiter, the storm tossed majesty of Mars... the sheer boredom of a wet weekend on Pluto.

In The Planets - a package tour of several small games rolled into one - you're the lucky commander of a spaceship cruising the solar system in search of adventure.

Your mission to visit planets and hunt out mysterious deadly capsules, open them and put the clues together to save the world. This Cook's Tour calls for a variety of skills, and leads into the first game of the bunch, how to land successfully. The Explore icon leads to a Surface Lander option which calls up a map of the approaching planet, a glowing block indicating your target. Yep! This is like Lunar Lander!

The aim is to balance the rate of descent with fuel consumption. You have to hit the ground at less than 20 metres per second so you counteract gravity with thrust. That's fine but if you use too much Esso you'll never get back up to 10 kilometres and the waiting Tractor Beam.

Out in space you're likely to encounter the odd shower, but don't bother with your umbrella because it's meteors. In fact it's an Asteroids shower as that age-old arcade classic makes a welcome reappearance, endangering extra-terrestrial travel. Suffer enough damage and the only place you'll get repairs is Earth.

When you're safely on the surface you'll want the other Explore icon, which chooses your Robot. Unluckily its graphic capabilities aren't as sophisticated as the travel brochure picture of the planet that first greets you. All you get is a colour-coded pattern of squares to indicate the type of terrain.

Your three robots are controlled rather like Logo turtles, with forward and turn commands, rather clumsily effected from the ubiquitous icons. Keep track of your movements or you could get stranded on Saturn which would be a real pain.

You get three surface scout robots but only one lander so be careful or you will experience that terrible 'The Earth is doomed... message with its unspoken conclusion '...and it's all your fault'.

You may wonder how you're ever going to find a way into the other capsules. That uncanny good luck seems to have deserted you (ie the instructions don't give you any more hints!).

Time to power up your on board Spectrum and play Weird. Never has a game been more accurately named. Weird looks like Jeff Minter at his most manic. It's a sort of psychedelic Grid Runner game with lots of coloured blocks. I've got as far as the fourth screen, but don't ask me how or why.

The Planets is a novel combination of older elements (Lunar Lander. Asteroids, Moonbuggy) making up a unique whole. It's not the most action packed game, though concentrating more on scientific credibility and simple simulations of the strategy of controlling a space craft.


REVIEW BY: Jerry Muir

Overall5/5
Summary: Combines a few old ideas with some nice graphics. For thinkers rather than trigger happy universe savers.

Transcript by Chris Bourne

C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 57, Jul 1986   page(s) 21

MACHINE: Spectrum
SUPPLIER: Martech
PRICE: £9.95

Prepare yourself to boldly go where no computer game has gone before. Martech's Planets take you on a trip through our galaxy and actually down to the surface of these heavenly bodies.

Created with the assistance of Heather Cooper, president of the British Astronomical Association, the game takes you on a trip across the galaxy in search of some alien capsules which contain clues to help you save the Earth from destruction.

The scenario goes like this. Life on planet Earth is coming to an end. A series of monumental natural disasters has thrown the Earth's climate into a deadly spiral - a second Ice Age has already begun.

A metal capsule plummets through the atmosphere. It contains a map of the Solar System and shows the position of eight similar capsules, one for each of the Earth's planetary neighbours.

A radio signal is received from deep space. When decoded it is found to be a computer program. The program is loaded into a suitable microcomputer. A strange game unfolds which appears to obey certain complex rules.

You are on a routine mission within the solar system. For the past month the problems which beset Earth have intensified. As each day passes the news which reaches you worsens. Is life on Earth coming to an end?

News of the signal from deep space and the mysterious capsule are communicated to you. The capsule has landed in a mountainous region of Switzerland.

This is where you come in. The first task in this game is to land on Earth, decode the capsule's security device and get back to orbit around your home planet. Only then can you continue with the rest of the game.

Planets is really four games in one. There's the landing and take-off sequence, the planetary search sequence, the separate "weird" or alien puzzle game, and the decoding the capsule game

Once you've landed you can send out your robot craft to retrieve the alien capsule.

Once back in orbit you call up the interplanetary chart and decide which planet you wish to visit first.

Notes of tape counter positions will be useful. There's no explanation of this on the instruction sheet, so beware.

At your chosen destination it's back to the lunar lander routine - after you've taken a few potshots at oncoming asteriods.

The game is controlled by icons in an extremely effective fashion and features neat "windowing" techniques.

It's not instantly addictive and won't appeal to arcade addicts currently into Commando/Uridium - BUT Planets does present a true challenge and will reward anyone who takes the time to REALLY play the game.


Graphics8/10
Sound6/10
Value9/10
Playability8/10
Award: C+VG Game of the Month

Transcript by Chris Bourne

Your Computer Issue 7, Jul 1986   page(s) 44

Spectrum
Martech
Strategy
£9.95

Just as you thought you had seen your very last lunar lander game, The Planets proves that what can be programmed into a 1K ZX-81 and use two keys can be produced as a multi-load Spectrum game with icons, umpteen keys and plenty of pretty but ultimately meaningless graphics.

The Planets challenges you to explore the solar system - wot, no galaxy? - in a bid to save the earth from imminent destruction, not from any aggressive aliens but from a cocktail of acid rain, radioactivity and other gunk.

Alien capsules have landed on the planets: you must recover them and decipher their contents. Then, as the game instructions put it enigmatically, you will know what you must do to save the world.

What that all boils down to is landing on the various planets, walking round until you find the capsule, zapping a few nasties. Landing on the planet is done in the time-honoured fashion. Your spacecraft falls free until you use the retros to slow it. You must land within certain speed limits. When your unmanned explorer has recovered the capsule, it must then rejoin the mother ship. Once again, high-speed docking is not to be recommended.

When landed on the planet, you get a graphic display out the window - different for each planet. They also all have different gravity and rotation periods. Despite the superficial chrome, it will not really provide the games player with much into which he can get his teeth.


REVIEW BY: Lee Paddon

Graphics4/5
Sound2/5
Playability3/5
Value For Money2/5
Overall Rating2/5
Transcript by Chris Bourne

ZX Computing Issue 27, Jul 1986   page(s) 44

ERIC DOYLE GOES PLANET-HOPPING WITH MARTECH'S LATEST RELEASE

Strategy, puzzles, codewords, laser blasting and prizes. Martech's new game seems to have everything. The keyword to describe it is enigmatic.

Set only 40 years in the future, Earth is a dying planet facing the onset of a second Ice Age. All seems lost until the discovery of a strange alien capsule in Switzerland.

This is where you come in. In the guise of a space explorer on a routine mission around the solar system you are called back to investigate the capsule which has a combination lock. The only clue you are given is that you think the word 'LIFE' is the key. This is a pretty heavy clue as you will soon find when you encounter the capsule, but first you must descend to Earth.

The surface lander is simple to guide but difficult to control. Part of the descent is controlled by the mothership's tractor beam but at 10,000 metres steering becomes a manual operation. This means controlling your descent to land as near to the capsule as possible with a velocity of less than 20 metres per sec. With gravity to fight against this is no mean feat as your fuel dissipates at a frightening rate and you must preserve enough to rejoin your mothership later. Successful pilots are rewarded with an attractive view of the Swiss countryside and then it's icon time.

Messages are displayed across the fop of the large, central screen with the bottom panel being reserved for instrument panel readouts. Three icons are arrayed down each side of the screen and some of them open up further icon menus, called sub-icons.

Selecting the EXPLORE icon allows access to the lander and its robotic surface explorer. As we have seen the lander is the shuttle between the mothership and the planet surface. The robot is used to locate and examine the capsule. When a capsule is found the MANIPULATE icon allows you to try various codes in your attempt to break into it. The first capsule has a long range map unit inside which is essential if your mission is to continue.

The next challenge is to rendezvous with the tractor beam. Once again fuel and speed are critical if you are ever to see your mothership again. On returning you are liable to find that an alien transmission has deposited a strange game into your computer's memory bank. This is a game within a game and truly deserves its name: WEIRD! Part of the mission is to unlock its secrets after loading it from side two of the twin cassette package.

Let's not worry too much about this just yet. Time is short so we go back to the icon menu, Selecting the MAP icon displays our solar system and a destination can be chosen using a cross hair cursor. If you want to know something about the planet first the DATABASE icon could prove useful. On the other hand. If you can't guess the logon code you'll be denied access to all the secrets of the planets. After trying several words I hit on one which briefly has a lot to do with Martian technology. Using the HELP facility then listed the database's functions.

The information contained within the database gives the vital statistics of all the planets and space phenomena which you're liable to meet on your odyssey. This is very educational because it includes the information provided by Voyager 2's encounter with Uranus. All of the planet data has been supplied by Heather Couper who, as President of the British Astronomical Association, ought to know what she's talking about.

Logging off from the database allows access to the TRAVEL option which tells you to load your destination's vital statistics from the second tape in the package and you're off on your adventure.

Orbiting around the planet you can use your DATA icon to test the gravitational pull of the planet so you can get some idea of the amount of fuel required to effect a safe descent. From now on, you're on your own. The full purpose of the game is not revealed until you have located and opened all of the capsules and a prize awaits the first person to complete the game. For those who like plenty of challenges in a game this comes highly recommended for its physical and mental challenges as well as its superb graphics.


REVIEW BY: Eric Doyle

OverallGreat
Award: ZX Computing Globella

Transcript by Chris Bourne

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