Producer: Dollarsoft
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £5.95
Language: Machine code
Author: R. Stevenson & P. Durbidge

Guide Boris, the bomb disposal expert, around many of the world's greatest Cities. Collect detonators planted by the evil Cyril Saboteur and save the world from its impending doom - it says on the inlay. The detonators are obviously rather big ones, judging from the lively loading screen, which shows a city under the pall of what must be an atomic explosion. The on-screen instructions make all clear as the text scrolls upwards - they're nuclear detonators.

Bombscare is basically a platform game with each screen set around a famous monument such as the Sphinx and Great Pyramid on screen one. On the several platform are purple detonators which may be collected by walking over them. When one goes red, it is about to explode, so it makes sense to try and get those first, as you're not allowed much time. Control is with a left/right and jump key but there are ropes on some screens to be climbed and descended.

COMMENTS

Control keys: O/P left/right, Q/A climb/descend rope, SYM SHIFT to jump
Joystick: none
Keyboard play: responsive but finicky
Use of colour: average although not much
Graphics: some nice drawings of famous sites, playing graphics on the small side
Sound: nice tune and spot effects
Skill levels: 1
Lives: 3
Screens: several

Bombscare is quite a good little platform game. The graphics etc. are not up to the standards of MM but nonetheless they are above average, if somewhat simple. The game is fairly difficult and mildly addictive. I would like a sound on/off control as this begins to get on one's nerves after a while - also the inter-screen/game pause is too long. Overall, well above average.

This is a novel platform game because you can see famous sites around the world as you battle to save them from Cyril Saboteur. The graphics are fine and the sounds are alright. The game itself is quite fun to play and very frustrating, almost to the point of despair - that's the only thing that marred an otherwise good game. It's just a bit too hard to start off with. So, quite a good platform game with some nice graphics, and what makes it even better is that CRASH (in logo form) is the Hall of Fame Slime - or was this just bribery in the pre-production copy!?

This must be one of the most difficult platform games I've played for months, so much so that it seems to me that this will definitely spoil the yability of the game. Colour hasn't been really well used in this game, and everything seemed to be a little bit too small. Sound is well used, but does drive you up the wall and does delay play between lives and screens. Generally, an over-finicky game as far as controlling your character goes.

MACHINE: Spectrum
SUPPLIER: Firebird
PRICE: £2.50

The evil Boris is holding the world to ransom... by planting multi-detonator bombs in the capital cities of the world.

But Sam Short is out to defuse them or get blown up. And when one city is cleared, Sam is off to help out another beleaguered capital.

But is this really a good subject for fun and games? Terrorism for entertainment! Short's Fuse is a cheap and nasty game.

Firebird, the BT company who made such an impact with their first collection of SW have added to their range with the introduction of seven new programs in their Silver, £2.50, series.

SHORT'S FUSE is a simple but maddeningly addictive game in which you have to chase around the screen to reach bombs before they explode.