Producer: US Gold
Retail Price: £9.95
Author: Microprose

Ever wanted to be a stunt pilot? Well here's your chance, courtesy of MICROPROSE - the simulator specialists. Up 'til now, the company's efforts have been confined to the Commodore, but at last - starting with Acrojet - they've begun the process of converting their titles to the Spectrum.

Acrojet contains ten events which can be played by one to four players, and these involve flying a BD5J Acrojet around, through, under and over a series of obstacles. There is also a design-it-yourself section, where two or more opponents can design courses and tasks for each other, and then judge each other's performances.

The first event, THE PYLON RACE, consists of racing around four pylons as quickly as possible, and then executing a successful landing. Event two is a SLALOM race which involves the same four pylons, this time flown in a 'figure eight'. The next event is the RIBBON CUT where you use the plane to break two ribbons suspended at 150 feet. After that comes the INVERTED RIBBON CUT - the same stunt flown with the plane inverted. Event five is the RIBBON ROLL: two ribbons are suspended in a row - the aim is to fly under one and then executes a complete roll before going under the next ribbon. That is followed by the UNDER RIBBON RACE: this is a slalom course where three ribbons have to be flown under in sequence. The seventh event is an UNDER RIBBON LOOP: the plane goes under the ribbon, performs a loop, passes over the ribbon inverted, and then descends the back half of the loop to pass under the ribbon again. The next event practices SPOT LANDINGS; the pilot flies up to 2000 feet, and then lands on the runway as close as possible to a marked spot. This is followed by FLAME-OUT LANDINGS, which is a similar stunt, performed without the use of engines. Finally there's the fancy CUBAN EIGHT: this consists of a half-loop over one ribbon, followed by a half-roll, and another half-loop to go under another ribbon before finally finishing with another half-roll to go under the first ribbon once more.

At the beginning, a pilot can decide on how severe the weather is going to be, and what performance he is likely to get from his jet. Sluggish performance is helpful to beginners, but for the experienced pilot, real-time performance helps with some of the trickier stunts.

The screen gives a 'behind the plane' view of the Acrojet. This shows the jet's bank and climb, as well as giving some indication of height by use of a shadow. The view can be switched to the sides or the rear - useful for lining up the jet with the runway, or for checking that an obstacle has been passed.

An instrument panel below the main view contains a series of read-outs. A compass gives your heading while an altimeter and vertical velocity indicator indicate height and show whether the jet is going up or down. A display shows the event which the jet is performing and reveals the obstacles to be negotiated and the jet's position. An artificial horizon gives the pilot an idea of his attitude, and indicators monitor the status of wheel brakes, air brakes and the undercarriage as well as revealing the amount of flaps in use.

The throttle has settings between 55 and 110 per cent thrust. Engine power above 95 per cent causes the engine to overheat. The engines fail if they run above 650 degrees for too long, or break down immediately if the temperature rises above 700 degrees.

COMMENTS

Control keys: 6 left, 7 right, 8 down, 9 up, 0 fire, Q decrease thrust, with a range of individual keys used to access other functions
Joystick: Interface 2
Use of colour: excellent
Graphics: good
Sound: minimal
Skill levels: four
Screens: ten events

I can't really say that Acrojet appeals to me; then again flight simulations usually don't unless there is a good bit of blasting involved. The game is technically quite good - the plane is very manoeuvrable, so it is quite easy to complete the first couple of events (once you've waded through the huge instruction page). The graphics are quite a step forward for a flight simulator - you can actually see your plane on screen. This is very good as simulators go, but I'd only recommend it if you are well into this sort of game.
BEN

I loved Acrojet from the first time that I picked up the joystick. The graphics are fairly simple wireframe objects, but the way that they react to the realistic movements of your plane is very impressive. The BD5J Acrojet performs beautifully, and is very responsive to frantic joystick movements - as when trying to pull out of loops without hitting the ground. The menu options are easy to use and well presented. I loved Acrojet and found it very addictive, although as people seem to be wary of flight simulators I feel that it may not get the success it deserves.
PAUL

Acrojet is a very good simulator. Maybe it doesn't reek of accuracy, but it sure is playable! Some (indeed most!) of this type of game are very boring and unrealistic - or ridiculously accurate and very unplayable. Acrojet has 'a reasonable share of both type's problems and advantages. The graphics are quite good, and the rear view gives a nicer sense of flight than the normal cockpit view. It sounds daft, but there you are! The amount and variety of tasks makes this most addictive. Despite not being very original, Acrojet is one of the best flight simulators so far.
MIKE

Microprose
£9.95

Unlike most flight simulations, where you take off, fly like a bird and then land, in Acrojet learning to fly a plane is just the beginning - then you've got to attempt ten death defying challenges that even Biggles would have trouble with.

Still, all is not lost 'cos there's a series of levels that'll let you tune the controls so they are either realistically fast for the flying aces or completely catatonic for the Gary Numans among us. Added to which you can start each mission when you're already airborne so you don't need to be a whizz at lift off. So, release that throttle 'cos we're ready to take to the skies Dick Dastardly style...

Once you've gained some control over your flying machine it's time to compete in one, five or all the ten missions lined up for you. These challenge you to fly around courses marked out with pylons, cut ribbons with your wing tips, practice the loop the loop (wahay!) and land - dead easy you might think, but it's no mean feat when you've cut your engine at 2000 feet!

I found flying a bit tricky to begin with but even I soon got the hang of it. The hardest part of the game is getting to grips with the instructions! Luckily, you do score points even if you don't complete an event and land up on the runway like a lump of strawberry jam! So, even hapless beginners can compete against two or three mates.

The graphics are quite natty too, though I did have problems keeping my eyes on the controls and the plane. A realistic simulation, Acrojet's a hell of a lot better than flying Dan Air!

Label: US Gold
Author: Microprose
Price: £7.95
Joystick: Sinclair
Memory: 48K/128K
Reviewer: Graham Taylor

Acrojet is one of those programs which was a big hit in America on the C64, which has now been converted across to the Spectrum, and which makes you wonder what the fuss was all about.

What the fuss was all about was supposed to be the 'unique perspective' you get on the action and the ultra-realism of the simulation.

The new view of things turns out to be that you watch the flight action as though viewing it from a plane behind the one you are controlling. The realism is a little difficult for me to comment on but I can say there are a quite astounding number of play options and it was quite a while before I could get the damn machine off the ground. And there's another mark of a program that (maybe) takes itself a little too seriously - no shooting at all.

If you want variety though it's here. An acrojet is a special type of jet stunt plane and there are hundreds of permutations of event, event conditions, skill, beginning from airborne or ground and so on. Screens and screens of the stuff to wade through before you get to the actual playing screen. I found it deeply irritating (and, for what it's worth, ugly to look at - like double-entry accountancy. I'm sure there's another joke in there somewhere).

The name of this game is acrobatics. You select a particular manoeuvre - like flying a certain pattern between pylons for example - each of which is graded according to difficulty (just like gymnastics really) and with a time limit. Then you try to get the jet round the course.

The actual look of the program is reasonable though most of the time the plane you are flying lacks much recognisable detail (it depends on very much on its flight position) - so much so that I spent about fifteen minutes hurtling straight off the end of the runway having mistakenly turned the plane around because I thoughts it was the wrong way around (get the picture?)

Having flowing the plane around finally and even gone round the odd pylon (the easiest of the tricks to do) my view of the program improved a bit but really I still think I'd get bored fairly quickly. Acrojet may well be fairly realistic, certainly there are a fair number of controls to master, and it should be given some credit for being a different sort of flight simulation - both because of the cameras'-eye view and the Acrobatic theme.

I'd say this though, the graphics aren't anything special and I think only those people who rate a flight simulation only in terms of the realism of the simulation will really enjoy it long term.

If your real taste is for a bit of airborne death and destruction you should avoid it.

TONY HETHERINGTON TAKES A SPIN IN FOUR OF THE LATEST SPECTRUM FLIGHT SIMULATORS.

Microprose
£9.95

More high flying antics as man and machine are again driven to their limits, only this time it's a battle against the clock since you're competing in an airborne decathlon - ten events that require supreme control of your BD5-J 200mph jet aircraft if you are to take the championship and enter the hall of fame. Before you write your name into the record books you'll have to learn how to fly.

This is undoubtedly the most difficult of this month's simulators to keep off the ground let alone trying to compete in the acrobatic events. This isn't made any easier when you consider that the instructions were written for the Commodore 64 with a brief and extremely vague errata sheet to explain the Spectrum keys! "Use joystick with Interface 2 or keys 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 for controlling plane" guarantees initial disaster flights as you sort out the controls, and it also rules out the most popular joystick interfaces.

The screen display is custom built for sport flying and contains a bank of instruments and a 3D view that also includes your aircraft as it swoops and banks around the circuit. A plan of the course which also doubles as a radar combines with a compass to keep you on course as you navigate your way around the hazards.

The first event is a relatively simple task to circle four pylons before returning to the landing/take-off strip in the Slalom race things are a tittle trickier as you have to circle the same pylons but in a set order and in the correct direction.

If flying is still more luck than judgment then you should quit now and be grateful for the points you've already got because the next event involves cutting a 3" ribbon strung between two poles. To show that wasn't a fluke you have to cut more ribbons while flying upside down, then in the ribbon roll you must cut one ribbon, roll over and cut another without catching your wings on the ground. If that was too easy why not try the under ribbon low level race, the loop and Cuban eight which contains everything you've risked so far and the insane spot landing in which you must deliberately stall your engine at 2000ft then land with pinpoint accuracy. If you turn on your engine you lose points but if you don't you might lose your plane.

Luckily you're awarded points even if you don't finish the course so even beginners can compete with each other.

Up to now I've perfected my own events including the crash-at-the-end-of-the-runway, the smash-into-the-pylon and freestyle-plummet. It'll take a lot more practice before I can take on Microprose's own Major Bill Stealey.