Producer: Starzone
Memory Required: 48K
Recommended Retail Price: £5.50
Language: machine code
Author: N Mardon

Probably the most talked about arcade game of the year has been Zaxxon, the complex scramble type game with amazing 3D graphics. Its cult following has probably been helped along by its scarcity. Of course there are favourable versions available for Atari (very good in fact), but it has been a cherished dream of Spectrum software houses to have a go. So it's only fair to say at the outset that this version - the first of its kind for the Spectrum, is much simpler looking and moving than the arcade or Atari version. But it's pretty good anyway.

For a start off Starzone haven't been frightened of reproducing the three quarter angle view in blocky 3D; the shadow is there, and so are the features of the arcade original.

Your basic objective is to take your attack fighter through the formidable defences of the Zaxxan fort and destroy it. These include numerous gun emplacements, fighter aircraft, laser force fields and walls of varying heights. As the walls approach you must fire your guns - the explosions give you the best indication of your flying height. Fuel runs out rapidly and is replenished, as in scramble games, by shooting up fuel dumps.

COMMENTS

Keyboard positions: good
Joystick options: Kempston
Keyboard play: responsive, but character movement makes it a little hard to judge accurately
Use of colour: very good
Graphics: nicely drawn and detailed, but jerky movement
Sound: fairly good
Lives: 5

Here we have a Zaxxon copy, the first for the Spectrum, and which takes the same form as the original. The movement is a little jerky and the individual graphics are fairly small but easily identifiable. Colour is well used and the keyboard play is good, though the perspective makes it difficult. Zaxxon fans should enjoy this one.

Your fighter is a single character size so it doesn't do all that lovely banking on the turns that the original does, but in most respects this is a very good copy and difficult to play well. The character movement is jerky but not to its detriment, I thought, you soon get used to that. Perhaps it makes fine tuning a little hard. But how nice to have a Zaxxon copy for the Spectrum at last.

Pretty triffic on the whole, not as smooth as the original and still plenty of scope for improvement over the next few months, but I wouldn't miss out on this one! My one grouse is that they chose dark blue for the floor, the black shadow tends to get a bit lost. It helps though if you have your contrast right up on the telly.

Producer: Slarzone, 48K
£5.50 (1)
Author: N Mardon

With a change of one letter, the game everyone has wanted to get their hands on has reached the Spectrum at last and caused a stir at the 9th ZX Microfair where it was to be seen on the Crash Micro stand for the first time. The compiled machine code graphics are surprisingly smooth, considering how much detail has to keep scrolling diagonally across the screen. The object is to take your attack fighter through the increasingly dense defences and destroy the Zaxxan fort. Features gun emplacements, fuel dumps, enemy aircraft, laser beams and walls with force fields - and of course the shadow of your fighter on the floor. Colour is well used and the sound is fairly good. Good control keys and Kempston joystick. Good value for money, addictive to play and a must for 'Zaxxon' fans. Overall CRASH rating 74% M/C.

Producer: Slarzone, 48K
£5.50 (1)
Author: N Mardon

With a change of one letter, the game everyone has wanted to get their hands on has reached the Spectrum at last and caused a stir at the 9th ZX Microfair where it was to be seen on the Crash Micro stand for the first time. The compiled machine code graphics are surprisingly smooth, considering how much detail has to keep scrolling diagonally across the screen. The object is to take your attack fighter through the increasingly dense defences and destroy the Zaxxan fort. Features gun emplacements, fuel dumps, enemy aircraft, laser beams and walls with force fields - and of course the shadow of your fighter on the floor. Colour is well used and the sound is fairly good. Good control keys and Kempston joystick. Good value for money, addictive to play and a must for 'Zaxxon' fans. Overall CRASH rating 74% M/C.

FLYING FORTRESS FAILS

With the many hundreds of games now available for the Spectrum almost every arcade game that ever saw the light of day has been converted for use on the Sinclair machine.

One exception to this though - is Sega's graphically superb game - Zaxxon.

It is probably because of its exemplary 3D-style graphics that the software houses have, so far, shied away from trying to recreate the beautiful floating blue fortress.

Now a new software house, Starzone, has been brave enough to make an attempt and they ought to be congratulated for taking on such an adventurous project.

That is where the congratulations have to end as the final product is far from satisfactory.

The ship is a crude graphics block and moves in jerks - none of the smooth scrolling graphics of the arcade game or other conversions for other home systems.

The missiles are dreadfully slow taking several seconds to move across screen and connect with the target.

The lack of speed also makes it too difficult to fly over obstacles - which is intentionally difficult in the real game - but annoyingly so in this version.

The ground-to-air missiles - which were such an impressive feature of the arcade game are also crude - Pike pipes coming out of the ground.

Sound effects are also poor an odd clicking sound as the missiles move at a snails pace across the screen, Anyone who has ever seen arcade Zazzon knows what a superb game it is - unfortunately this home version does not reproduce the feel of the game, or come close to its excellent graphics.

Available at £5.50 from Starzone of Wantage.