EDDIE AND THE SPECTRES

Spectres is a game with an original approach to the Pac-man concept for the 16K Spectrum. In this excellent game the ghosts are of the white sheet variety and the player takes the part of an electrician putting light bulbs around the haunted maze. The bulbs are lit when the electrician, Eddie, reaches one of the generators set in the corners of the maze.

The light generated in the maze weakens the ghosts and gives the electrician more time to plant light bulbs.

Spectres is available from Bug-Byte, 98-100 The Albany, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9IP. It costs £5.95.

Memory Required: 16K
Price: £8

Spectres from Bug-Byte gives a novel twist to the Pac-Man concept. Eddie the electrician has to rewire a haunted house. Instead of eating or picking up objects in his path he lays down light bulbs. Reaching one of the four power generators enables him to illuminate the house and drive off ghosts.

The game has a highly individual flavour. The characters which glide around at a fairly leisurely pace, are engagingly different from the standard Pac-Man figures. This is one of the more original games yet to appear for the Spectrum.

The latest offering from Bug Byte for the 16K or 48K Spectrum is Spectres. For the price of £8 I was certainly expecting an excellent copy of a "certain arcade game', and I am pleased to say that although it is slightly different to the arcade game, in my opinion it is better!

Before I tell you some of the details of the game. I would like to comment on the packaging, which is first class. A colourful artworked cover (obviously to attract prospective buyers) and detailed instructions which blend a storyline in with the objectives of the game.

As the game is being loaded into your computer, a message appears in the 'PAPER' area of the screen telling you to wait. From then on, the game is run automatically and the Break key is disabled.

The objective of the game is to help your little man, Eddie the electrician, re-wire the mansion (the maze) by fitting light bulbs. There are, however, four Spectres in the maze which have to be avoid ed. Eddie is aided in his task by four light generators which change the hunters into the hunted. The duration of how long the generators are kept on for is determined by how much fuel Eddie has collected.

Spectres is fast, colourful and very addictive. When I first received Spectres, I spent nearly six hours trying to clear the first maze! Each Spectre had a different colour, name and character. The graphics are outstanding and obviously a lot of thought has gone into deciding the shape of the Spectres.

Sound is used effectively throughout the program, but due to the internal speaker inside the Spectrum it is difficult to hear. (I especially like the 'sparking' noise when a Spectre is ignited.)

After the first maze has been cleared, a totally different structured maze has then to be cleared with your score and men left carried over. Altogether there are three different mazes.

However, I do have a few quibbles. First up, on my copy a bonus 'man' is awarded every 3,000 points and not every 2,000 points as stated on the inlay card. Also, when you reach a certain level (either 9,000 or 12,000 - I can't remember which as my Spectrum is with Uncle Clive at the moment) you get a full set of 'men' and from then on, Eddie is invincible.

But even with these quibbles, Spectres will become a standard by which other similar games will be judged.

Spectrum Spectres adds a few novel twists to the maze race range of games available for the Sinclair Spectrum.

You play the part of Eddie the electrician lumbered with the unfortunate task of rewiring a mansion which is haunted by four ghosts.

You travel through the corridors placing light bulbs to score points. If you can touch one of the four generators in the maze you can then send the ghosts back to under the stairwell to score bonus points.

Once you have cleared a complete floor you can move upstairs to the next.

There is an added twist in that the generators only have a limited amount of energy which is shown in points at the top of the screen.

This is a most entertaining and coloursful maze game with variety in the mazes and game play.

Spectrum Spectres is manufactured by Bug Byte at £5.