Producer: Eclipse
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £6.45
Language: Machine code
Author: W. Moore

On looking at the cassette inlay, it's a bit difficult to decide who really is responsible for marketing this game. The copyright says Eclipse, but as the game is part competition this is run by British Micro of Watford, below which is says created and produced by EMS (Holdings) Ltd. EMS (Holdings) Ltd is, among other things, an advertising agency which handles a number of computer and software-related accounts.

Carnival is a fairground sideshow shoot 'em up. You start off with three lines of objects moving in opposing directions, bears, rabbits, ducks and a alphabet letters. At the base of the screen is your rifle, which may be moved left and right. Below that is an allocation of bullets. The yellow ducks have a tendency of breaking line, flying down and robbing you of some bullets. The letters should be shot in the correct order to spell the word B-O-N-U-S oddly enough, this awards some bonus points to your score. Hitting targets on the upper row awards more points than hitting any on the lower row. Above the moving rows is a carousel of clay pipes which must also be shot for bonus scores. The game ends if you run out of bullets before clearing the screen. Bullets may be replenished by shooting two litre blocks with a 5 and a 10 in them, bullets awarded according to the number.

COMMENTS

Control keys: CAPS/Z left/right and SPACE to fire
Joystick: ZX 2, Kempston, Fuller
Keyboard play: responsive
Use of colour: good
Graphics: above average to good
Sound: good with on off option to kill the carnival sound
Skill levels: 6 speeds
Lives: 1
Originality: novel idea for a shoot up, well implemented

Carnival is an excellent shoot 'em up game. Its graphics and sound are very good. Quite a bit of thinking out is required to clear a sheet with the limited bullet supply. There are quite a few features including shooting at a well-animated bear between games, the idea being to keep him on screen by hitting him centrally, which makes him change direction, so hit him again, etc. I found this a very playable game which seemed to have an appeal that kept me playing.

I wasn't very sure at first that you would be able to take something like a carnival rifle range from reality and reproduce it on a computer game, but in fact it's worked quite well here. Graphics move smoothly and quickly and are well drawn. Care must be taken with your aim because of the short supply of bullets; this does add a considerable difficulty to the game. Ducks that tend to dive down and eat your bullets, generally come at once, so one of them is likely to get through your barrage of fire. This game is fairly original, playable and addictive at first, but l think its lasting appeal is likely to wane after three or four hours of play.

This is a good old shooting gallery game where your job is to clear all the targets from the first round, then shoot the prowling bears before moving on.

Owen: The sound sets the right mood for a stint in the shooting gallery, and the graphics spur you on even more. The problem is the game is easy, and soon gets boring. MISS

Ian: The graphics are average and not too exciting, and much the same can be said for the use of colour. The six available speeds help things along a bit, and it's probably very suitable for young children. HIT

Frank: While it might be ideal for computer games novices, it's still just another version of an arcade shooting gallery program. Most disappointing of all is the distinctly unimaginative use of colour. MISS

NO FUN AT THE CARNIVAL

Memory: 48K
Price: £6.45
Joystick: Kempston ZX Interface

The idea of presenting a carnival shooting gallery as a computer game would be interesting and the software would sell in great numbers so long as it was programmed in a moderately competent manner.

Carnival, for the 48K Spectrum, succeeds on the first point but fails miserably on the second. The game involves shooting ducks, owls and rabbits as they move across the shooting rank. You must be wary of the ducks which can swoop and take some of your limited number of bullets.

The bullets can be replaced by shooting a square card which moves with the animals and contains the bonus number of bullets.

The letters b-o-n-u-s also travel round the range and you should shoot them to obtain extra points. If you hit the pipes which spin round at the top of the screen like a windmill you will also get more points.

Points may win prizes but not so far as Carnival is concerned. The graphics are only just presentable and they flicker during animation. The game could have been written as easily in 16K with Basic - it certainly looks as if it has been.

The idea of Carnival is good but more time could have been spent programming it.

If a better version is produced, by all means buy it but we do not recommend Carnival even for children. It can be obtained from Eclipse Software, 4 Oxford Road, London N9 0NA.

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
CONTROL: Keys, Kemp, Sinc, Full
FROM: Exclipse Software, £5.95

Fairground mayhem abounds in this copy of the arcade original. You have a limited number of bullets to shoot cute little ducks, rabbits, owls and pipes but the action is a bit slow.

You can afford very few misses even without the diving ducks trying to steal your ammo. The tune is annoyingly repetitive but you can turn it off.