Producer: Firebird
Retail Price: £1.99
Author: Zeit Corporation

All that practising on your BMX would make even the hardest bottom saddle-sore - but it's worth it if it helps you beat the BMX Kidz.

Six tracks await your wheels. Each has a series of undulations and leaps for you to negotiate and a clutch of fellow BMXers to compete against.

Riding your bike brings on quite a sweat, and every pedal rev uses more of your energy. Those falling reserves need to be promptly replenished with some hefty swigs of Coke. Cans of this brown, fizzy beverage stand on the track and these are collected by riding into them.

But energy isn't all that you have to worry about, for though your wheels are sturdy, they can't stand too much punishment. Crash down hard on them after a high leap, and the spokes break very easily. Replacement wheels, like the cans, can be gathered at various points along the way. The number of spokes that your bike has available are shown at the top left of the screen.

And there's always that ticking clock, counting away those precious seconds that remain to complete the course. If the first track seems hard, it's an easy ride compared with what comes after. Each extra foray on the BMX course becomes much harder, and your fellow competitors have become much better, jostling you for the Coke cans and spokes which they can all too easily deprive you of. To add further to your difficulties, you need to complete at sufficient number of 'tricks'such as wheelies and other stunts to qualify for the next round. However spend too long performing and all the Coke and wheels are taken by the others.

COMMENTS

Joysticks: none
Graphics: confusing and inaccurate
Sound: none

I've seen a lot of games (particularly budget games) using the theme of BMX racing bikes, but BMX Kidz is actually enjoyable to play! It incorporates many smart touches such as riding straight through larger-than-life cans of Coke for more energy. The game gets really addictive when your energy is at its full potential and whenever you go over a ramp your rider just flies over all the other competitors. Though BMX Kidz is extremely addictive the graphics get a little confused when the race is at its most exciting, and the game needs a rousing tune. But BMX Kidz is one of the best budget bicycle motocross games on the market.
ROGER [68%]

The small play area cramps the game and the graphics. Had more room been allocated to the game and less to the scores and energy meter it might be easier to enjoy BMX Kidz. Despite this the game is still great to play. Controls are responsive and the cute graphics are fun to watch. Desperation is the main part of the game. You rely on no-one drinking your Coke (spot the product placement). So when your energy brings you close to a halt and all the other riders drink your Coke the situation gets dire.
BYM [71%]

Firebird
£1.99
Reviewer: Tony Worrall

Why do all computer game programmers think only kids ride BMX bikes? I have been known to pop the odd wheelie now and then, and I'm well past the sell-by date. I suppose BMX Adultz doesn't have the same ring about it.

Actually I'm surprised anyone buys BMX games if they are all as boring as this. BMX Kidz looks and feels like the conversion it is - in this case from the Commodore. That version was saved by an excellent sound track. Unfortunately, the Spectrum version can only afford a couple of beeps for FX once in a while.

The game is a race against the clock and is very much in the mould of Milk Race and Tour De Force in the way the action progresses. To complete a lot of the courses, points have to be earned by performing wheelies. Ramps are scattered across the course just for this purpose, but every time a wheelie is attempted your bike suffers a spoke loss. Luckily for you there are a few extra spokes waiting to be picked up, but grab 'em quick before the rest of the bikers nab them.

All that pedalling saps energy so collect the free coke to refresh tired limbs. Funny, coke always made me sick when I was bouncing on a bike!

BMX Kidz is below average even for Firebird Silver. Poor keyboard response coupled with gaudy, confusing graphics are not the ingredients of a classic computer game. This is really BMX junk, only fit for desperate BMX junkies. To put the skidz on BMX Kidz take my advice and leave it on the shelf.