Producer: Incentive
Memory Required: 48K
Recommended Retail Price: £5.50
Language: machine code
Author: Ian Andrew & Ian Morgan

Ian Andrew, who created Quicksiiva's best seller Mined-Out, seems to take some delight in being referred to as, 'over the hill,' at the ripe old age of 22. To prove how agile a senile programmer can be he has struck back with this new maze type game, which attempts to splatter you against the walls of your tv screen. He also introduces us to a new hero called Zippy who, despite his name, proceeds through life at a relatively calm pace. Not that this should put anyone off, for Splat has the same nail-biting qualities as Mined-Out. It creeps up on you sneakily, turning something that you thought was going to be easy into something that is definitely not.

Put simply, Zippy has to move around a maze and escape on level seven. Zippy can eat grass for points (and invisible grass too) and plums for more points. He must avoid the water hazards and nasty spikes. So far, so good, now for the problems. The maze which Zippy inhabits is a great deal bigger than the visible playing area, and it's unstable. From the moment the game starts it begins gently scrolling in any direction it fancies, changing direction at any time. Should Zippy encounter the walls which edge the screen it's Splat!

The maze has been specially designed to tempt you into vile little dead ends because that's usually where the juiciest clumps of grass are to be found - and without those points you can't get out. It's all quite deceptive; you can guide Zippy into what looks like a safe position and start happily chewing the cud, when all of a sudden the wall scrolls down on top of you. From this quiet country house scene, panic can set in at a moment's notice.

Progressing satisfactorily to a second screen the maze becomes less helpful still and a river with narrow bridges appears. On the balance side there are plums to eat and invisible grass which signals the fact it has been eaten with a bleep. At higher levels the maze moves much faster and there are spikes dotted around, which although not much trouble to avoid can be very nasty if a panic sets in.

This is a game for points and in fact the makers offered a points competition which closed 14 January 1984. The winner received £500. The game already contains a system which awards you a code for your new high score (over 500 points). The entry with the highest score code was the winner. I see from our notes that it says. 'Level three - Hi Code appeared, 715 points, code: DD1R. Unfortunately died at that moment.'

GENERAL

All three reviewers playing and writing independently were very impressed with this game. You can play with Kempston or AGF and Protek joysticks, use cursor keys or user-defined keys. The graphics are very smooth and the scrolling in four directions is excellent. Colour was commented on favourably. Packaging and instructions are first rate. If you get through a screen the computer shouts out Yippee!

COMMENTS

Keyboard positions: user-defined - excellent
Joystick options: excellent as provided, but with user-defined keys it's suitable for almost any controller
Keyboard only playing: positive, smooth movement
Use of colour: very good
Graphics: good
Sound:good
Skill levels: seven
Lives: three

Perhaps Splat suffers from the random maze movement because it lessens the skill factor, on the other hand it keeps you on your toes.

Because of the continuous scrolling of the maze you will never get tired of going round the same old screens.

This is a game with growing appeal and a thoroughly mean, ornery streak which guarantees its addictivity.

Producer: Incentive, 48K
£5.50 (1)
Author: Ian Andrew & Ian Morgan

Put simply, Splat is dangerously addictive! The hero, called Zippy, must move round a large maze, eating clumps of grass, invisible grass, and plums, whilst avoiding the spikes, water and the edges of the maze. This would be child's play if it weren't for the tact that the maze scolls all by itself, in any direction it fancies. If Zippy gets trapped between a wall of the maze and the wall surrounding the edge, then it's SPLAT! Escape is on level 7 but with each level cleared the next becomes more difficult and the maze scolls faster. Panic sets in at a moment's notice. When you get through a screen the computer yells out Yippee! Simple, effective graphics, smooth movement, user-defined control keys, joystick: Kempston, AGF and Protek. Highly recommended, overall CRASH rating 82% M/C.

Producer: Incentive, 48K
£5.50 (1)
Author: Ian Andrew & Ian Morgan

Put simply, Splat is dangerously addictive! The hero, called Zippy, must move round a large maze, eating clumps of grass, invisible grass, and plums, whilst avoiding the spikes, water and the edges of the maze. This would be child's play if it weren't for the fact that the maze scolls all by itself, in any direction it fancies. If Zippy gets trapped between a wall of the maze and the wall surrounding the edge, then it's SPLAT! Escape is on level 7 but with each level cleared the next becomes more difficult and the maze scolls faster. Panic sets in at a moment's notice. When you get through a screen the computer yells out Yippee! Simple, effective graphics, smooth movement, user-defined control keys, joystick: Kempston, AGF and Protek. Highly recommended, overall CRASH rating 82% M/C.

As summer poises, ready for the onslaught of fab new games around Christmas, CRASH takes a look back at some of the major games we have reviewed in the past to see if they (and the reviews) stand the test of time. MATTHEW UFFINDELL and LLOYD MANGRAM take keyboard and reputation in hand...

As a hero figure, Zippy is lacking in charisma by today's heroic figures, people like Willy, Wally and Ziggy, but Splat! got a good review because of the game itself, not for the sprite animation. We said, 'This is a game with growing appeal and a thoroughly mean, ornery streak which guarantees its addictivity.' Were we right?

I still find Splat! an unmasterable game due to the fact that no set route can be taken. Most maze games do have a set route, but with Splat! you never know which way the maze is going to scroll, or what all of it looks like. Oddly enough, nobody else has brought out a scrolling maze quite like this, so it does have a skill factor all of its own. The time has gone when a character like Zippy is not animated to some extent although most graphics (for this type of game) cannot be altered as playing the game becomes too complex. The game is still very playable in itself although I can only play it in short doses. I thought that the majority of its charm had worn off due to more attractive and playable games.
MU

Perhaps the fact that the computer yelled 'Yippee!' at me when I completed a level had a lot to do with liking Splat!. It was almost unique at the time. Splat's originality hasn't really been challenged in the sense that the screen edge is your worst enemy in this game and the scrolling maze idea was certainly novel and gave the game its playability.
LM

(Matthew) I wouldn't give use of computer 95% - not with cursor keys for control, and I think the value for money (90%) was an over-rating.

(Lloyd) I always thought Splat! was fun, so I wouldn't change my mind now, having just replayed it, but perhaps the ratings were over-generous in some respects like use of computer, but I might be tempted to bump the addictive rating (75%) up a little bit.

ORIGINAL REVIEW

Use of Computer: 95%
Graphics: 70%
Playability: 74%
Getting Started: 85%
Addictive Qualities: 75%
Value for Money: 90%
Overall: 81%

SAVE ZIPPY AND WIN £500 BONUS

Splat! certainly makes a welcome change to the usual shoot-em-up games that flood the C&VG offices every month.

Instead of wiping out hordes of mutant invaders or destroying squadrons of bird men you've got to help Zippy, Splat's central character, to eat grass and avoid being squashed.

The game has seven levels but this review only covers the first three - mainly because I wasn't good enough to get any further!

At the beginning of every game Zippy, represented by a flashing cross, is placed in the centre of an area strewn with rocks and the occasional clump of grass. The screen scrolls randomly in four directions. Bumping into the rocks doesn't do you any harm but you have to be careful not to get crushed between a rock and the surrounding wall.

On your travels points are scored for eating grass and on the higher levels an odd plum might come your way. Zippy's progress through each level is shown as a percentage mark. When it reaches a 100 you move onto the next sheet.

The second level includes a river but remember to use the bridges because Zippy can't swim. Level three has spikes which will kill you if they are touched.

Incentive Software, the manufacturers of Splat! are offering a £500 prize to the person who can get the highest score on the game. I'm afraid you can't cheat because each score has a unique Hi-code which can be used to check the authenticity of any Hi-score.

Splat! is one of the most addictive games I have ever played on the 48k Spectrum, it is certainly the most original and at £5.50 is good value too.

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
SUPPLIER: Incentive Software
PRICE: £5.50
FORMAT: Cassette

Splat is the sound tomatoes or small animals make when they hit a wall and it's fairly similar to what the games packaging does to your eye. The cover has a background of silver, reflecting light in garish, spectral tones, and it demands your attention.

The game inside is worthy of this attention - it's a maze game with a difference. You control Zippy, a character that can be moved left, right, up, or down through a maze where the occasional clump of grass lies waiting to be eaten.

Thus far, it sounds like Hungry Horace, and indeed, the sound effects when the grass is eaten are virtually identical. Unlike Horace, Zippy has a maze which has many times larger than the screen.

The screen drifts randomly around the maze, and if its boundaries catch up with Zippy, he's splattered. This can happen very easily - when, for example, he's caught between a maze wall and an approaching screen wall, or if he lingers too long on a grass outcrop.

There are seven levels of play, and a graduation to the next level is achieved by surviving in the last. The percentage of time elapsed is shown and when it's complete, the Spectrum will surprise you by saying 'Yippee', an achievement in itself considering the limited system.

The second level offers plums as well as grass, and the new hazard of water, in which Zippy drowns. On level 3 there's spikes to avoid, and with each level the maze moves faster.

Zippy himself is not much of a character, being merely a cross with feet. He scuttles around quickly, hence the name, and it's easy to move him.

If you don't have a Kempston or AGF joystick, you can define your own keyboard keys. This is an idea so brilliant other software houses should be forced to adopt it.

Incentive Software are offering a prize for the best score before mid-January, but you'll need no incentive to play this game again and again. It's one of those that keep you up well beyond bedtime.

If Horace hooked you. Zippy will amaze you with his moving maze. Splat could well become another classic.