Producer: Martech
Retail Price: £7.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Electronic Pencil Company

A warlike race inhabited the planet Zoidstar, building complex fighting machines, Zoids, which eventually allowed them to defeat all their enemies in battle. Once the potential for real war was over, the organic life forms developed androids to control their Zoids and one-on-one battles were fought for the entertainment of the populus. Then a freak meteor storm destroyed all living organisms, leaving only immensely powerful fighting machines controlled by sophisticated androids to inherit the planet.

A standby Zoid battleforce patrolling a far flung galaxy attempted to return to Zoidstar after the meteor storm with the intention of recolonising the planet, but their transport ship crashed on Zoidstar's cold Blue Moon. Only the Zoids survived, and they soon discovered that the freezing temperatures on the moon meant they'd have to redesign themselves... and thus the Red Zoids were formed, gaining their colour from heat which they radiate.

The Red Zoids learnt how to operate as a unified fighting force and decided to return to the Zoidstar and completely destroy the old breed of Blue Zoids. Red Zoid battle squadrons were made ready and the attack followed.

The few Blue Zoids that survived initial onslaught regrouped and set about building a new Blue Zoid they called Zoidzilla; the ultimate fighting-machine, capable of challenging the might of the leader of the Red Zoids, Redhorn the Terrible. The Zoid war raged.

Then a small and insignificant space craft plunged into the struggle, crashlanding on Zoidstar. Blue Zoid patrol was the first to reach the wreckage and it picked up a humanoid survivor, who was to become known as The Earthman. He soon became skilled in the art of Zoidthought, the means by which a pilot communicates with the Zoid which carries him - indeed he proved to be a fearless and cunning adversary, better than an android when in control of a Zoid.

The Earthman drew up a plan which, if successful, would win the war for the Blue Zoids. He volunteered to merge minds with the mighty Zoidzilla and be transported to the middle of the Red Zoid city complex with the aim of destroying their entire base and production factories.

Disaster struck - as the Blue Zoid spacecraft containing Earthman and Zoidzilla descended, a missile struck it destroying the craft and scattering pieces of Zoidzilla over the landscape. The Red Zoids recovered the six pieces of Zoidzilla and buried them under six different city domes. With the Earthman presumed dead and with the loss of their mightiest fighting machine, the Blue Zoids seemed doomed...

All was not lost, however. The Red Zoids failed to spot a small Spiderzoid scuttling away from the wreckage ... It contained the Earthman. You.

You begin the game in that Spiderzoid, your mind merged with the machine's consciousness and in control of its functions (annotated on the main picture). Your mission is to roam the planet, entering the Red Zoid city complexes in order to collect the six pieces of Zoidzilla. Each time you collect a segment of the mighty machine, your Zoid will be upgraded to a more powerful, stronger machine until finally, with all six pieces in your possession, you will be able to merge minds with Zoidzilla. Then you must seek out Redhorn the Terrible and do battle.

There are ten Red Zoid strongholds, each containing a number of cities, a mine, a powerplant and a distress beacon. The domed cities are guarded by Slitherzoids and contain other, more powerful Red Zoids which will be released upon you. Spending too long in one stronghold is dangerous - the distress beacon summons Redhorn and Mammoth the Destroyer, if you remain in one place too long, life will get very short!

Remember, you are not in control of your Zoid - you have merged minds with it, and use the keyboard or joystick to operate the interface between your mind and the mind of the machine. When you use the icons, windows will pop onto the main display, in the same way as thoughts pop into your mind. Heed them. Occasionally your Zoid will not do exactly as it is told - it is programmed to survive if at all possible. An excellent feature of the game is the fact that a game can be saved out for future playing. The only problem is that the game can't be saved if your Zoid feels threatened...

COMMENTS

Control keys: definable
Joystick: Kempston
Keyboard play: responsive
Use of colour: very good
Graphics: excellent, with a very fast and effective windowing system
Sound: reasonable
Skill levels: gets harder as you start to cause trouble to the enemy
Screens: main display console, with windows and a scrolling map

Zoids is simply the best game I've played on the Spectrum. There are games with better graphics, better sound and ones which have amazing features, but this one with the sheer depth of game and fabulous on-screen presentation, overshadows them all. The objective of the game seems pretty simple, but actually achieving the task requires a combination of arcade skills and strategy. After playing the game all morning I found myself still discovering aspects of gameplay that I'd overlooked completely. The program offers a huge challenge, but the task it throws down is by no means an impossible one, it just requires a lot of learning and experimentation. Unlike most games the reward for finishing is one which makes the game well worth persevering with. The graphics are excellent, with an amazing windowing system and excellent 3D when you have to guide a missile to its target. Zoids is a game not to be missed.

If you can only afford one game this month then this is the one to buy! The Electronic Pencil Company have improved vastly on their first game, The Fourth Protocol, and have produced one of the most addictive, engrossing and innovative games to appear for quite a while. Following the style of some of Denton Designs' games they have included icons, windows and arcade action to produce a game that has much to offer the player. The depth of play is astounding. Graphically the game is very good, but the sheer scope of Zoids makes it a winner. As well as being a massive game it is also very easy to get into: the icons are very straight forward and in no time at all you are running around doing battle with Red Zoids. This game could take a couple of months to play out, and if you want a lot of entertainment for your money, get it!

The most prominent aspect of Zoids is the strategy element. There are snippets of arcade action too, and when they do come up they're very good. The icons are simple and easy to use and the graphics are very good. Sound is the only thing that the game lacks, as is the case so often with Spectrum games, but it's not really that important, is it? I'd recommend Zoids to any- one who likes a good challenge, because it's not a '10 minutes play and it's finished' job unlike so many of the games these days.

REPLAY

WHy not let Jon Pillar and Stuart Campbell guide you through this month's re-releases? Oh, go on. Please! You won't regret it.

Alternative
£3.99 cassette
0977 790243
Reviewer: Stuart Campbell

Uh-oh. Apparently someone wrote in and complained last month that I was single-handedly killing the Speccy by giving some rubbishy old re-releases some crap marks, so I'm under instructions from Linda to be really positive this month. Which gives me a bit of a problem, because this game's completely useless. What on Earth am I going to do?

I suppose I could wibble on harmlessly about the plot for a few lines, I can't get in much trouble with that... Zoids is a game licenced from a collection of little plastic robot toys that were slightly popular for about five minutes in 1986 or thereabouts. You control a little Blue Zoid who's searching for the lost and scattered pieces of a really big and tough Blue Zoid in order to attack and destroy a horrendously evil big and tough Red Zoid. This you do by destroying little Red Zoid cities (with the aid of remote-control missile attacks) and searching through the rubble to see if there are any Big Blue Zoid bits lying around. Um... (drat, ran out of plot)

(I guess I could always try to sound constructive by going through all the game's good points...) There's a slightly entertaining sub-game where you fire a missile at a bad guy and actually have to direct it to the target in a fast-moving 3D-view sequence which is quite good fun, and, er... (drat, ran out of good points.) (Maybe I could mention the bad points really quickly in the smallest number of words possible and hope nobody was really paying attention...) It's incredibly repetitive: the way that your Zoid will refuse to follow your commands if it feels endangered is really annoying; the pixel-perfect accuracy you have to use on the totally invisible boundary of a destroyed city if you want to find the missing bits of the big Blue Zoid is stupendously ridiculous; the whole thing moves painfully slowly; the graphics are totally crap, just black screens with the odd blue oval shape and lots of pointless icons; nothing very much ever really happens; it's one of the most frustrating games you'll ever play; if you do suffer it for long enough to get to the end, it isn't worth it; it's completely... (drat, ran out of space.)

BATTLE OF THE ZOIDS

Alison Hjul boosts her brain power by merging minds with the ultimate fighting machine. Dare to go where no humanoid has been before with our paranormal review of Martech's Zoids. It'll blow your mind!

FAX BOX
Game: Zoids
Publisher: Martech
Price: £7.95

When first unleashed upon the universe, Zoids were the fiercest war machines ever known to civilisation. Carrying the Zoidaryans into battle from their desolate planet, Zoidstar, they conquered all known worlds... until, with imperial domination secured, Zoid turned upon Zoid.

Only when threatened by a new, more formidable fighting force from the Blue Moon - the Red Zoids, led by the audacious Redhorn the Terrible - did the Blue Zoids on Zoidstar unite under their new leader, Zoidzilla.

Into this turmoil came Earthman with a plan to merge minds with Zoidzille, infiltrate the Red Zoid city complex and destroy the indefatigable Redhorn once and for all. Bit an enemy spacecraft destroyed his spacecraft, shattering Zoidzille into six pieces, which the Red Zoids buried under different cities. The fate of the Blue Zoids seem sealed, unless Zoidzilla could be rebuilt and the wretched Redhorn destroyed...

Publisher: Martech
Programmers: Electronic Pencil
Price: £7.95
Memory: 48K
Joystick: Any

The Reds must be wiped out! The battle of the Zoids is about to begin. With the odds stacked in the enemy's favour, can you - a lone Spiderzoid - defeat the might of the Red Zoids and their vicious leader Redhorn the Terrible?

The story is long and painful to hear, but if you read the instruction leaflet with care you will learn the pitiful history of the warring Blue Zoids. Stupidly, they wage war amongst themselves instead of keeping an eye on the rapidly growing forces of the Reds, until, at length, the Reds grow in number and strength.

At last, with desperation, the Blues load their fearsome killer Zoidzilla into a space craft to carry it with a humanoid into the midst of the enemy planet. Here the plan goes awry. The spacecraft crashes on landing, scattering six pieces of Zoidzilla, each of which ends up under a city dome - one in each of six hostile cities.

You, the humanoid, manage to eject from the spacecraft in a Spiderzoid and fuse with that machine to become one entity. Your job is to penetrate the Reds'stronghold and retrieve the pieces of Zoidzilla. As each piece is found, your zoid upgrades in strength and speed until at last you mutate into Zoidzilla itself. Now you can take on Redhorn the Terrible and Mammoth the Destroyer.

Zoids - The Battle Begins is a strategic game with an arcade element. You play in a similar manner to Beyond's Shadowfire via the use of windows and icons.

Sitting inside your Spiderzoid, you can see nothing of the outside world. Your only view of the battles which rage are through the eyes of your zoid. Your instructions must be conveyed in a way which the zoid can understand and carry out - hence the need for icons, cursors and windows.

However, you cannot control the zoid entirely - should you make a move into a dangerous area the Spiderzoid may countermand your instructions and move to a safer place.

There are ten cities in all and only six pieces of Zoidzilla, so four are red herrings. Unfortunately, until you have blown all eight city domes in each city out of existence you cannot tell whether you have been wasting your time. Each city is connected by a valley through mountainous regions patrolled by various members of the Red Zoid army.

Each city has one power station - its most important feature - a radio beacon to alert Redhorn and Mammoth of the breach of the city defences, and a zoidar mine to produce more zoids. The eight city domes in each city are protected by a power shield from the power station. Your first job, therefore, in each city is to blast the power station which then draws the power away from the domes to protect itself. That leaves the domes unprotected for about two minutes.

And so battle is waged, with you trying to storm each city, fight off enemy attacks, identify and destroy the Red Zoids and collect any power pods left in the debris.

Play takes place within a long or short range map in the middle of the screen. Using the move icon, place the cursor in the direction you want to travel and press fire. Your zoid, represented by a yellow square, creeps in that direction.

This stage is extremely boring - the square moves at a snail's pace. You can perform other actions at the same time, however. If possible, switch to the Radio Beacon icon - that gives a picture of the short range map. Now identify the power station, and send a signal to your base on the Blue planet, which despatches a guided missile to blast the station. The missile takes about 30 seconds to reach target.

With the shields down on the city domes you can afford to use the Missile icon and switch to a spot of arcade action. Having identified your target you can now guide the missile through the mountains to the target - represented by a small red cross on the horizon. Your reactions will have to be lightning fast to dodge the mountains.

If you destroy the target you will be shown the city on the short range map and the blob you hit will disappear. Now move into that area and search it with your Scanner icon. The scanner will automatically pick up a piece of Zoidzilla if it's there plus any power pods or raw materials - vital to the success of the mission. Your power decreases as you move and fight, and anything found in the debris will replenish those stores.

The same technique can be used on the zoids. With your missile ready, move the cursor over one of the tiny moving shapes and fire. A zoid of one type will be shown in the window and you can then blast it. When searching the debris you may well come across ammunition it has dropped to replace your depleted stocks.

Another arcade action sequence follows. The window depicts a 3D tunnel with the Red Zoids coming towards you at some speed. You have two tracers which meet at the far end of the tunnel. Moving these left and right, try to eliminate the Reds before they can crash into you. Should that happen the screen will shake wildly to register a hit and your power will rapidly decrease.

Other icons are Zoid ID, which identifies objects and Red Zoids; Status which gives you a run down on power, ammunition, damage sustained and the number of pieces of Zoidzilla collected; Guns - largely redundant as the only time you need the guns is when you are being attacked and the computer switches to that option automatically; and Info - again redundant as Zoid ID identifies objects as well.

A game with a difference, Zoids is worth a blast if only to see the might of Redhorn the Terrible and Zoidzilla locked in combat. It should appeal to strategists and arcade freaks alike.

MACHINE: Spectrum
SUPPLIER: Martech
PRICE: £7.95

The battle against the mighty Red Zoids begins with this, the best game from Martech so far.

It's another icon driven game - but don't be misled into thinking that your don't need all your arcade skills to beat the game. Fast reactions and quick thinking are essential if you are to succeed in your quest to rebuild the Blue Zoid's super weapon, Zoidzilla.

The basic idea of the game is to use your skills to locate the different parts of Zoidzilla, hidden under enemy City Domes, rebuild the mighty machine then seek out the Red Zoid's leader, Redhorn the Terrible, and destroy him.

Once you've loaded the game you'll see your Spiderzoid's control panel. You begin in a relatively simple Spiderzoid - but as you find bits of Zoidzilla your machine is upgraded and becomes more powerful.

The panel consists of various control icons plus a main view screen which shows various map views of your surroundings depending on which mode your Zoid is operating in. This main screen is your main link with the outside world. You do have a radio link with your home base which is activated by moving your flashing cursor to the appropriate icon.

Above the icons and main screen is an ECG waveform readout which represents your Zoidthought. As you are supposed to have merged minds with the Zoid this is pretty important.

The game uses a nice windowing technique to report any other messages relevant to the player. The same applies when you decide to launch an attack on a Blue Zoid building with your onboard missiles - or if the Reds are attacking you!

Each Red city has a power plant, a mine where more Zoids are manufactured and a radio beacon. All these must be knocked out and the city domes searched for bits of Zoidzilla and the all important Zoidar Power Pods. If you don't get hold of power then you won't last long. You'll also find these inside destroyed Slitherzoids.

It's a good idea to call down an attack from your base on the power plant to begin with. This means power will be diverted from the City Dome shields and you'll be able to attack them with your Zoid's missiles.

Don't bother to waste your missiles before the power station has been hit. It takes about 30 seconds for your base to send a message - in the meantime watch out for enemy attacks and keep moving.

Once you've destroyed a city dome scan the wreckage using your onboard scanner.

You must scan all debris - otherwise you could miss something important. Four of the cities don't have any bits of Zoidzilla - but they may have essential power supplies for your Zoid.

Zoids is one for those of you who like a game that lasts. This one will keep your interest for some time to come if you're not into thinking games or want instant success steer clear - or try Martech's Crazy Comets!