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R/+SPECTI
This website contains an archive of files for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Acorn Archimedes, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64 computers, which Dominic Ford has rescued from his private collection of floppy disks and cassettes.
Some of these files were originally commercial releases in the 1980s and 1990s, but they are now widely available online. I assume that copyright over them is no longer being asserted. If you own the copyright and would like files to be removed, please contact me.
Tape/disk: | Home » Personal collection » Acorn ADFS disks » Electron_User_Group » EUG_55.ADF |
Filename: | R/+SPECTI |
Read OK: | ✔ |
File size: | 1951 bytes |
Load address: | 52204556 |
Exec address: | 50532B2E |
Duplicates
There are 5 duplicate copies of this file in the archive:
- AEW website » mastertronic » mastertronic_3_5_discs_Spectipede_HA-SPEC.adf » R/+SPECTI
- AEW website » eug » eug_3_5_discs_Eug-55_A-EUG55.adf » R/+SPECTI
- AEW website » mastertronic » mastertronic_5_25_discs_Spectipede_HD-SPEC.ssd » R.+SPECTI
- AEW website » eug » eug_5_25_discs_Eug-55_D-EUG55.dsd » R.+SPECTI
- Personal collection » Acorn ADFS disks » Electron_User_Group » EUG_55.ADF » R/+SPECTI
- Personal collection » Acorn ADFS disks » Greaseweazled » adfs_EUG_55.adf » R/+SPECTI
File contents
Product: SPECTIPEDE Supplier: MASTERTRONIC Available on Tape, 3.5"/5.25" Disk (CDFS, DFS) Reviewed by (the) Dave in EUG 55 THE BBC/Electron owner is spoilt for choice when it comes to the CATER- PILLAR-style game, and they appear in so many compilations that it's pretty much inconceivable that one of them isn't somewhere in your games collection. SPECTIPEDE is the bug blasting variant from the budget com- pany MASTERTRONIC; a fast-executing but clumsy conversion - and one that kills you off far more often than those of a similar vein! The blaster at the bottom of the screen, the sparse mushroom field becoming more and more overcrowded as the game goes on and the long insectipede winding through them and splitting in two when hit by your bullets is one of the symbols of the true retro age. It's available in almost this standard form on all machines up from the humble GAMEBOY to the most powerful PC, and now you're unlikely to be asked to pay out anything like the `8.95 ALLIGATA thought BUG BLASTER justified, or even the `2.99 budget price this title went for. [At least, not just for it alone. - Ed] So the question is what this particular title has to recommend it from the rest? Regretably, as indicated by the above intro, the answer is not very much. You CHAIN it from the prompt and, after a few seconds' loading, the micro makes an odd twittering sound as the MASTERTRONIC 'logo', which is actually just the word, wriggles over your screen in an S-shape typical of budget 'loaders' and introduces you to "SPECTAPEDE"! Immediately being presented with spelling mistakes like this, a fault of which a few budget companies are guilty, is at best irritating and at worst merely symptomatic of what is to come. After loading the next part, the screen blanks to Mode 6 and you are asked which button you wish to use to fire. This causes two problems. First, absolutely no effort has gone in to making the said screen look attractive and even the cursor is still amateurishly blinking away. Secondly, the message gives the impression that you only need one key to press in order to play the game. So, for instance, you might quite likely press <RETURN>. You must then tap whatever button you have chosen to continue (unnecessary!) and THEN you are informed of the existence of the OTHER buttons: Z - Left, X - Right, + - Up and . - Down. With the <RETURN> key as fire, you're then left with a huge gap between your fingers (stretching over one button on the Electron and two on the BBC) unless you reload the game and choose * or <SPACE> as fire - the only two realistic choices, anyway! And what of the possibility of a player using one of the reserved keys as a fire button? Well, try this and your game will be a chaotic mess where the fire button not only fires but also sends your blaster in the specified direction at the same time! For goodness' sake, MASTERTRONIC! Either have an option to redefine ALL the keys or choose sensible ones and be done with it! More loading and a similarly sighworthy screen asks "KeyBoard or Joystick (K/J)?", "High/Low Resolution" and "Fast, Medium or Slow Game" in turn. Now there's no doubting the usefulness of these features. Far too few games have the joystick facility and the resolution factor means simply that you can play in either Mode 1 (High) or Mode 5 (Low) which is both easy on the eyes of respective players, helps vary the action of a style of game which can seem to go on (and on!) and also makes the game a little easier as the "pede" occasionally has a longer breadth of screen to cross in Mode 1. You can even look upon this option as giving you TWO conversions of the game; the only differences between some of those put out by other companies was the Mode. Speed of game, of course, also helps those whose arcade prowess is not up to that of the hardened arcade addict. But unfortunately the author has blown it again! In practice, the game speed has little effect on how tough it actually is to play and the options must be chosen before ANY game is commenced. So the screen is forever flashing up and demanding input. Even this would be bearable were it not that, after inputing F, M or S, you were not forced to sit through a truly awful string of blips for fifteen seconds before the game started. The same is also true on death, except the tune lasts twice as long! The game itself although it runs well on the Electron, goes far too fast on the BBC, even on the S(low) setting and, also as mentioned in the intro, death is a frequent occurence. Often you 'die' not as a re- sult of a collision with any of the insects in the field (actually a garden in this clone) but simply AFTER blasting the last portion of the pede. This is extremely frustrating and means you can probably not survive beyond level three...and it's not the only bug. On death, your previous blaster stays on screen and becomes an obstacle to be avoided, but can also be used to shelter behind from a pede on the bottom level of screen coming at you from the side. If it's a feature, then it's one not seen on other conversions, not one you'll like and LOOKS like a bug! After a while you'll be dead and invited to enter your name (by a left-justified message that simply appears obliterating the background) at a "?" prompt. As the keyboard buffer isn't cleared, you'll be staring at a row of Zs and Xs so, to make your mark, you must first delete them! Having rather emphatically berated this product by now, it does find some saving grace in its graphics, which do all the right things and are animated quite smoothly. A wriggling worm, bouncing spider and mushroom- laying spider (!) invade the screen quite regularly and keep the player on his toes. There's no getting away from the fact that this is a flop though, even though it was published at a time when budget titles were not ex- pected to be of a very high standard. It was originally published quite early into the life of its respective machines (1984), and, as ALLIGATA and SUPERIOR's versions were doing the rounds at almost a tenner, with a little thought could have provided serious competition at its reduced price. But it doesn't, it wasn't, it isn't...and it never will be. For any bug blasting, stick with the aptly-titled BUG BLASTER! Dave Edwards, EUG #55
00000000 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 | | 00000010 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 50 72 6f 64 75 63 74 3a 20 | Product: | 00000020 20 20 20 20 20 53 50 45 43 54 49 50 45 44 45 0d | SPECTIPEDE.| 00000030 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 | | 00000040 20 20 20 20 20 20 53 75 70 70 6c 69 65 72 3a 20 | Supplier: | 00000050 20 20 20 20 4d 41 53 54 45 52 54 52 4f 4e 49 43 | MASTERTRONIC| 00000060 0d 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 41 76 61 |. Ava| 00000070 69 6c 61 62 6c 65 20 6f 6e 20 54 61 70 65 2c 20 |ilable on Tape, | 00000080 33 2e 35 22 2f 35 2e 32 35 22 20 44 69 73 6b 20 |3.5"/5.25" Disk | 00000090 28 43 44 46 53 2c 20 44 46 53 29 0d 20 20 20 20 |(CDFS, DFS). | 000000a0 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 52 | R| 000000b0 65 76 69 65 77 65 64 20 62 79 20 28 74 68 65 29 |eviewed by (the)| 000000c0 20 44 61 76 65 20 69 6e 20 45 55 47 20 35 35 0d | Dave in EUG 55.| 000000d0 0d 54 48 45 20 42 42 43 2f 45 6c 65 63 74 72 6f |.THE BBC/Electro| 000000e0 6e 20 6f 77 6e 65 72 20 69 73 20 73 70 6f 69 6c |n owner is spoil| 000000f0 74 20 66 6f 72 20 63 68 6f 69 63 65 20 77 68 65 |t for choice whe| 00000100 6e 20 69 74 20 63 6f 6d 65 73 20 74 6f 20 74 68 |n it comes to th| 00000110 65 20 43 41 54 45 52 2d 20 20 0d 50 49 4c 4c 41 |e CATER- .PILLA| 00000120 52 2d 73 74 79 6c 65 20 67 61 6d 65 2c 20 61 6e |R-style game, an| 00000130 64 20 74 68 65 79 20 61 70 70 65 61 72 20 69 6e |d they appear in| 00000140 20 73 6f 20 6d 61 6e 79 20 63 6f 6d 70 69 6c 61 | so many compila| 00000150 74 69 6f 6e 73 20 74 68 61 74 20 69 74 27 73 20 |tions that it's | 00000160 0d 70 72 65 74 74 79 20 6d 75 63 68 20 69 6e 63 |.pretty much inc| 00000170 6f 6e 63 65 69 76 61 62 6c 65 20 74 68 61 74 20 |onceivable that | 00000180 6f 6e 65 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 6d 20 69 73 6e 27 |one of them isn'| 00000190 74 20 73 6f 6d 65 77 68 65 72 65 20 69 6e 20 79 |t somewhere in y| 000001a0 6f 75 72 20 67 61 6d 65 73 0d 63 6f 6c 6c 65 63 |our games.collec| 000001b0 74 69 6f 6e 2e 20 53 50 45 43 54 49 50 45 44 45 |tion. SPECTIPEDE| 000001c0 20 69 73 20 74 68 65 20 62 75 67 20 62 6c 61 73 | is the bug blas| 000001d0 74 69 6e 67 20 76 61 72 69 61 6e 74 20 66 72 6f |ting variant fro| 000001e0 6d 20 74 68 65 20 62 75 64 67 65 74 20 63 6f 6d |m the budget com| 000001f0 2d 0d 70 61 6e 79 20 4d 41 53 54 45 52 54 52 4f |-.pany MASTERTRO| 00000200 4e 49 43 3b 20 61 20 66 61 73 74 2d 65 78 65 63 |NIC; a fast-exec| 00000210 75 74 69 6e 67 20 62 75 74 20 63 6c 75 6d 73 79 |uting but clumsy| 00000220 20 63 6f 6e 76 65 72 73 69 6f 6e 20 2d 20 61 6e | conversion - an| 00000230 64 20 6f 6e 65 20 74 68 61 74 0d 6b 69 6c 6c 73 |d one that.kills| 00000240 20 79 6f 75 20 6f 66 66 20 66 61 72 20 6d 6f 72 | you off far mor| 00000250 65 20 6f 66 74 65 6e 20 74 68 61 6e 20 74 68 6f |e often than tho| 00000260 73 65 20 6f 66 20 61 20 73 69 6d 69 6c 61 72 20 |se of a similar | 00000270 76 65 69 6e 21 0d 20 20 20 54 68 65 20 62 6c 61 |vein!. The bla| 00000280 73 74 65 72 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 62 6f 74 74 |ster at the bott| 00000290 6f 6d 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 73 63 72 65 65 6e |om of the screen| 000002a0 2c 20 74 68 65 20 73 70 61 72 73 65 20 6d 75 73 |, the sparse mus| 000002b0 68 72 6f 6f 6d 20 66 69 65 6c 64 20 0d 62 65 63 |hroom field .bec| 000002c0 6f 6d 69 6e 67 20 6d 6f 72 65 20 61 6e 64 20 6d |oming more and m| 000002d0 6f 72 65 20 6f 76 65 72 63 72 6f 77 64 65 64 20 |ore overcrowded | 000002e0 61 73 20 74 68 65 20 67 61 6d 65 20 67 6f 65 73 |as the game goes| 000002f0 20 6f 6e 20 61 6e 64 20 74 68 65 20 6c 6f 6e 67 | on and the long| 00000300 20 0d 69 6e 73 65 63 74 69 70 65 64 65 20 77 69 | .insectipede wi| 00000310 6e 64 69 6e 67 20 74 68 72 6f 75 67 68 20 74 68 |nding through th| 00000320 65 6d 20 61 6e 64 20 73 70 6c 69 74 74 69 6e 67 |em and splitting| 00000330 20 69 6e 20 74 77 6f 20 77 68 65 6e 20 68 69 74 | in two when hit| 00000340 20 62 79 20 79 6f 75 72 20 0d 62 75 6c 6c 65 74 | by your .bullet| 00000350 73 20 69 73 20 6f 6e 65 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 |s is one of the | 00000360 73 79 6d 62 6f 6c 73 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 74 |symbols of the t| 00000370 72 75 65 20 72 65 74 72 6f 20 61 67 65 2e 20 49 |rue retro age. I| 00000380 74 27 73 20 61 76 61 69 6c 61 62 6c 65 20 69 6e |t's available in| 00000390 0d 61 6c 6d 6f 73 74 20 74 68 69 73 20 73 74 61 |.almost this sta| 000003a0 6e 64 61 72 64 20 66 6f 72 6d 20 6f 6e 20 61 6c |ndard form on al| 000003b0 6c 20 6d 61 63 68 69 6e 65 73 20 75 70 20 66 72 |l machines up fr| 000003c0 6f 6d 20 74 68 65 20 68 75 6d 62 6c 65 20 47 41 |om the humble GA| 000003d0 4d 45 42 4f 59 20 74 6f 0d 74 68 65 20 6d 6f 73 |MEBOY to.the mos| 000003e0 74 20 70 6f 77 65 72 66 75 6c 20 50 43 2c 20 61 |t powerful PC, a| 000003f0 6e 64 20 6e 6f 77 20 79 6f 75 27 72 65 20 75 6e |nd now you're un| 00000400 6c 69 6b 65 6c 79 20 74 6f 20 62 65 20 61 73 6b |likely to be ask| 00000410 65 64 20 74 6f 20 70 61 79 20 6f 75 74 0d 61 6e |ed to pay out.an| 00000420 79 74 68 69 6e 67 20 6c 69 6b 65 20 74 68 65 20 |ything like the | 00000430 60 38 2e 39 35 20 41 4c 4c 49 47 41 54 41 20 74 |`8.95 ALLIGATA t| 00000440 68 6f 75 67 68 74 20 42 55 47 20 42 4c 41 53 54 |hought BUG BLAST| 00000450 45 52 20 6a 75 73 74 69 66 69 65 64 2c 20 6f 72 |ER justified, or| 00000460 20 65 76 65 6e 0d 74 68 65 20 60 32 2e 39 39 20 | even.the `2.99 | 00000470 62 75 64 67 65 74 20 70 72 69 63 65 20 74 68 69 |budget price thi| 00000480 73 20 74 69 74 6c 65 20 77 65 6e 74 20 66 6f 72 |s title went for| 00000490 2e 20 5b 41 74 20 6c 65 61 73 74 2c 20 6e 6f 74 |. [At least, not| 000004a0 20 6a 75 73 74 20 66 6f 72 20 69 74 0d 61 6c 6f | just for it.alo| 000004b0 6e 65 2e 20 2d 20 45 64 5d 20 53 6f 20 74 68 65 |ne. - Ed] So the| 000004c0 20 71 75 65 73 74 69 6f 6e 20 69 73 20 77 68 61 | question is wha| 000004d0 74 20 74 68 69 73 20 70 61 72 74 69 63 75 6c 61 |t this particula| 000004e0 72 20 74 69 74 6c 65 20 68 61 73 20 74 6f 20 0d |r title has to .| 000004f0 72 65 63 6f 6d 6d 65 6e 64 20 69 74 20 66 72 6f |recommend it fro| 00000500 6d 20 74 68 65 20 72 65 73 74 3f 0d 20 20 20 52 |m the rest?. R| 00000510 65 67 72 65 74 61 62 6c 79 2c 20 61 73 20 69 6e |egretably, as in| 00000520 64 69 63 61 74 65 64 20 62 79 20 74 68 65 20 61 |dicated by the a| 00000530 62 6f 76 65 20 69 6e 74 72 6f 2c 20 74 68 65 20 |bove intro, the | 00000540 61 6e 73 77 65 72 20 69 73 20 6e 6f 74 20 76 65 |answer is not ve| 00000550 72 79 0d 6d 75 63 68 2e 20 59 6f 75 20 43 48 41 |ry.much. You CHA| 00000560 49 4e 20 69 74 20 66 72 6f 6d 20 74 68 65 20 70 |IN it from the p| 00000570 72 6f 6d 70 74 20 61 6e 64 2c 20 61 66 74 65 72 |rompt and, after| 00000580 20 61 20 66 65 77 20 73 65 63 6f 6e 64 73 27 20 | a few seconds' | 00000590 6c 6f 61 64 69 6e 67 2c 20 0d 74 68 65 20 6d 69 |loading, .the mi| 000005a0 63 72 6f 20 6d 61 6b 65 73 20 61 6e 20 6f 64 64 |cro makes an odd| 000005b0 20 74 77 69 74 74 65 72 69 6e 67 20 73 6f 75 6e | twittering soun| 000005c0 64 20 61 73 20 74 68 65 20 4d 41 53 54 45 52 54 |d as the MASTERT| 000005d0 52 4f 4e 49 43 20 27 6c 6f 67 6f 27 2c 20 0d 77 |RONIC 'logo', .w| 000005e0 68 69 63 68 20 69 73 20 61 63 74 75 61 6c 6c 79 |hich is actually| 000005f0 20 6a 75 73 74 20 74 68 65 20 77 6f 72 64 2c 20 | just the word, | 00000600 77 72 69 67 67 6c 65 73 20 6f 76 65 72 20 79 6f |wriggles over yo| 00000610 75 72 20 73 63 72 65 65 6e 20 69 6e 20 61 6e 20 |ur screen in an | 00000620 0d 53 2d 73 68 61 70 65 20 74 79 70 69 63 61 6c |.S-shape typical| 00000630 20 6f 66 20 62 75 64 67 65 74 20 27 6c 6f 61 64 | of budget 'load| 00000640 65 72 73 27 20 61 6e 64 20 69 6e 74 72 6f 64 75 |ers' and introdu| 00000650 63 65 73 20 79 6f 75 20 74 6f 20 22 53 50 45 43 |ces you to "SPEC| 00000660 54 41 50 45 44 45 22 21 0d 49 6d 6d 65 64 69 61 |TAPEDE"!.Immedia| 00000670 74 65 6c 79 20 62 65 69 6e 67 20 70 72 65 73 65 |tely being prese| 00000680 6e 74 65 64 20 77 69 74 68 20 73 70 65 6c 6c 69 |nted with spelli| 00000690 6e 67 20 6d 69 73 74 61 6b 65 73 20 6c 69 6b 65 |ng mistakes like| 000006a0 20 74 68 69 73 2c 20 61 20 66 61 75 6c 74 20 6f | this, a fault o| 000006b0 66 0d 77 68 69 63 68 20 61 20 66 65 77 20 62 75 |f.which a few bu| 000006c0 64 67 65 74 20 63 6f 6d 70 61 6e 69 65 73 20 61 |dget companies a| 000006d0 72 65 20 67 75 69 6c 74 79 2c 20 69 73 20 61 74 |re guilty, is at| 000006e0 20 62 65 73 74 20 69 72 72 69 74 61 74 69 6e 67 | best irritating| 000006f0 20 61 6e 64 20 61 74 0d 77 6f 72 73 74 20 6d 65 | and at.worst me| 00000700 72 65 6c 79 20 73 79 6d 70 74 6f 6d 61 74 69 63 |rely symptomatic| 00000710 20 6f 66 20 77 68 61 74 20 69 73 20 74 6f 20 63 | of what is to c| 00000720 6f 6d 65 2e 0d 20 20 20 41 66 74 65 72 20 6c 6f |ome.. After lo| 00000730 61 64 69 6e 67 20 74 68 65 20 6e 65 78 74 20 70 |ading the next p| 00000740 61 72 74 2c 20 74 68 65 20 73 63 72 65 65 6e 20 |art, the screen | 00000750 62 6c 61 6e 6b 73 20 74 6f 20 4d 6f 64 65 20 36 |blanks to Mode 6| 00000760 20 61 6e 64 20 79 6f 75 20 61 72 65 0d 61 73 6b | and you are.ask| 00000770 65 64 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 62 75 74 74 6f 6e 20 |ed which button | 00000780 79 6f 75 20 77 69 73 68 20 74 6f 20 75 73 65 20 |you wish to use | 00000790 74 6f 20 66 69 72 65 2e 20 54 68 69 73 20 63 61 |to fire. This ca| 000007a0 75 73 65 73 20 74 77 6f 20 70 72 6f 62 6c 65 6d |uses two problem| 000007b0 73 2e 0d 20 20 20 46 69 72 73 74 2c 20 61 62 73 |s.. First, abs| 000007c0 6f 6c 75 74 65 6c 79 20 6e 6f 20 65 66 66 6f 72 |olutely no effor| 000007d0 74 20 68 61 73 20 67 6f 6e 65 20 69 6e 20 74 6f |t has gone in to| 000007e0 20 6d 61 6b 69 6e 67 20 74 68 65 20 73 61 69 64 | making the said| 000007f0 20 73 63 72 65 65 6e 20 0d 6c 6f 6f 6b 20 61 74 | screen .look at| 00000800 74 72 61 63 74 69 76 65 20 61 6e 64 20 65 76 65 |tractive and eve| 00000810 6e 20 74 68 65 20 63 75 72 73 6f 72 20 69 73 20 |n the cursor is | 00000820 73 74 69 6c 6c 20 61 6d 61 74 65 75 72 69 73 68 |still amateurish| 00000830 6c 79 20 62 6c 69 6e 6b 69 6e 67 20 61 77 61 79 |ly blinking away| 00000840 2e 0d 20 20 20 53 65 63 6f 6e 64 6c 79 2c 20 74 |.. Secondly, t| 00000850 68 65 20 6d 65 73 73 61 67 65 20 67 69 76 65 73 |he message gives| 00000860 20 74 68 65 20 69 6d 70 72 65 73 73 69 6f 6e 20 | the impression | 00000870 74 68 61 74 20 79 6f 75 20 6f 6e 6c 79 20 6e 65 |that you only ne| 00000880 65 64 20 6f 6e 65 20 6b 65 79 0d 74 6f 20 70 72 |ed one key.to pr| 00000890 65 73 73 20 69 6e 20 6f 72 64 65 72 20 74 6f 20 |ess in order to | 000008a0 70 6c 61 79 20 74 68 65 20 67 61 6d 65 2e 20 53 |play the game. S| 000008b0 6f 2c 20 66 6f 72 20 69 6e 73 74 61 6e 63 65 2c |o, for instance,| 000008c0 20 79 6f 75 20 6d 69 67 68 74 20 71 75 69 74 65 | you might quite| 000008d0 20 0d 6c 69 6b 65 6c 79 20 70 72 65 73 73 20 3c | .likely press <| 000008e0 52 45 54 55 52 4e 3e 2e 20 59 6f 75 20 6d 75 73 |RETURN>. You mus| 000008f0 74 20 74 68 65 6e 20 74 61 70 20 77 68 61 74 65 |t then tap whate| 00000900 76 65 72 20 62 75 74 74 6f 6e 20 79 6f 75 20 68 |ver button you h| 00000910 61 76 65 20 63 68 6f 73 65 6e 0d 74 6f 20 63 6f |ave chosen.to co| 00000920 6e 74 69 6e 75 65 20 28 75 6e 6e 65 63 65 73 73 |ntinue (unnecess| 00000930 61 72 79 21 29 20 61 6e 64 20 54 48 45 4e 20 79 |ary!) and THEN y| 00000940 6f 75 20 61 72 65 20 69 6e 66 6f 72 6d 65 64 20 |ou are informed | 00000950 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 65 78 69 73 74 65 6e 63 65 |of the existence| 00000960 20 6f 66 0d 74 68 65 20 4f 54 48 45 52 20 62 75 | of.the OTHER bu| 00000970 74 74 6f 6e 73 3a 20 5a 20 2d 20 4c 65 66 74 2c |ttons: Z - Left,| 00000980 20 58 20 2d 20 52 69 67 68 74 2c 20 2b 20 2d 20 | X - Right, + - | 00000990 55 70 20 61 6e 64 20 2e 20 2d 20 44 6f 77 6e 2e |Up and . - Down.| 000009a0 20 57 69 74 68 20 74 68 65 0d 3c 52 45 54 55 52 | With the.<RETUR| 000009b0 4e 3e 20 6b 65 79 20 61 73 20 66 69 72 65 2c 20 |N> key as fire, | 000009c0 79 6f 75 27 72 65 20 74 68 65 6e 20 6c 65 66 74 |you're then left| 000009d0 20 77 69 74 68 20 61 20 68 75 67 65 20 67 61 70 | with a huge gap| 000009e0 20 62 65 74 77 65 65 6e 20 79 6f 75 72 20 0d 66 | between your .f| 000009f0 69 6e 67 65 72 73 20 28 73 74 72 65 74 63 68 69 |ingers (stretchi| 00000a00 6e 67 20 6f 76 65 72 20 6f 6e 65 20 62 75 74 74 |ng over one butt| 00000a10 6f 6e 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 45 6c 65 63 74 72 |on on the Electr| 00000a20 6f 6e 20 61 6e 64 20 74 77 6f 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 |on and two on th| 00000a30 65 20 42 42 43 29 0d 75 6e 6c 65 73 73 20 79 6f |e BBC).unless yo| 00000a40 75 20 72 65 6c 6f 61 64 20 74 68 65 20 67 61 6d |u reload the gam| 00000a50 65 20 61 6e 64 20 63 68 6f 6f 73 65 20 2a 20 6f |e and choose * o| 00000a60 72 20 3c 53 50 41 43 45 3e 20 61 73 20 66 69 72 |r <SPACE> as fir| 00000a70 65 20 2d 20 74 68 65 20 6f 6e 6c 79 0d 74 77 6f |e - the only.two| 00000a80 20 72 65 61 6c 69 73 74 69 63 20 63 68 6f 69 63 | realistic choic| 00000a90 65 73 2c 20 61 6e 79 77 61 79 21 20 41 6e 64 20 |es, anyway! And | 00000aa0 77 68 61 74 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 70 6f 73 73 |what of the poss| 00000ab0 69 62 69 6c 69 74 79 20 6f 66 20 61 20 70 6c 61 |ibility of a pla| 00000ac0 79 65 72 0d 75 73 69 6e 67 20 6f 6e 65 20 6f 66 |yer.using one of| 00000ad0 20 74 68 65 20 72 65 73 65 72 76 65 64 20 6b 65 | the reserved ke| 00000ae0 79 73 20 61 73 20 61 20 66 69 72 65 20 62 75 74 |ys as a fire but| 00000af0 74 6f 6e 3f 20 57 65 6c 6c 2c 20 74 72 79 20 74 |ton? Well, try t| 00000b00 68 69 73 20 61 6e 64 20 0d 79 6f 75 72 20 67 61 |his and .your ga| 00000b10 6d 65 20 77 69 6c 6c 20 62 65 20 61 20 63 68 61 |me will be a cha| 00000b20 6f 74 69 63 20 6d 65 73 73 20 77 68 65 72 65 20 |otic mess where | 00000b30 74 68 65 20 66 69 72 65 20 62 75 74 74 6f 6e 20 |the fire button | 00000b40 6e 6f 74 20 6f 6e 6c 79 20 66 69 72 65 73 20 0d |not only fires .| 00000b50 62 75 74 20 61 6c 73 6f 20 73 65 6e 64 73 20 79 |but also sends y| 00000b60 6f 75 72 20 62 6c 61 73 74 65 72 20 69 6e 20 74 |our blaster in t| 00000b70 68 65 20 73 70 65 63 69 66 69 65 64 20 64 69 72 |he specified dir| 00000b80 65 63 74 69 6f 6e 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 73 61 |ection at the sa| 00000b90 6d 65 20 74 69 6d 65 21 0d 46 6f 72 20 67 6f 6f |me time!.For goo| 00000ba0 64 6e 65 73 73 27 20 73 61 6b 65 2c 20 4d 41 53 |dness' sake, MAS| 00000bb0 54 45 52 54 52 4f 4e 49 43 21 20 45 69 74 68 65 |TERTRONIC! Eithe| 00000bc0 72 20 68 61 76 65 20 61 6e 20 6f 70 74 69 6f 6e |r have an option| 00000bd0 20 74 6f 20 72 65 64 65 66 69 6e 65 20 41 4c 4c | to redefine ALL| 00000be0 0d 74 68 65 20 6b 65 79 73 20 6f 72 20 63 68 6f |.the keys or cho| 00000bf0 6f 73 65 20 73 65 6e 73 69 62 6c 65 20 6f 6e 65 |ose sensible one| 00000c00 73 20 61 6e 64 20 62 65 20 64 6f 6e 65 20 77 69 |s and be done wi| 00000c10 74 68 20 69 74 21 0d 20 20 20 4d 6f 72 65 20 6c |th it!. More l| 00000c20 6f 61 64 69 6e 67 20 61 6e 64 20 61 20 73 69 6d |oading and a sim| 00000c30 69 6c 61 72 6c 79 20 73 69 67 68 77 6f 72 74 68 |ilarly sighworth| 00000c40 79 20 73 63 72 65 65 6e 20 61 73 6b 73 20 22 4b |y screen asks "K| 00000c50 65 79 42 6f 61 72 64 20 6f 72 20 0d 4a 6f 79 73 |eyBoard or .Joys| 00000c60 74 69 63 6b 20 28 4b 2f 4a 29 3f 22 2c 20 22 48 |tick (K/J)?", "H| 00000c70 69 67 68 2f 4c 6f 77 20 52 65 73 6f 6c 75 74 69 |igh/Low Resoluti| 00000c80 6f 6e 22 20 61 6e 64 20 22 46 61 73 74 2c 20 4d |on" and "Fast, M| 00000c90 65 64 69 75 6d 20 6f 72 20 53 6c 6f 77 20 47 61 |edium or Slow Ga| 00000ca0 6d 65 22 0d 69 6e 20 74 75 72 6e 2e 20 4e 6f 77 |me".in turn. Now| 00000cb0 20 74 68 65 72 65 27 73 20 6e 6f 20 64 6f 75 62 | there's no doub| 00000cc0 74 69 6e 67 20 74 68 65 20 75 73 65 66 75 6c 6e |ting the usefuln| 00000cd0 65 73 73 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 73 65 20 66 65 61 |ess of these fea| 00000ce0 74 75 72 65 73 2e 20 46 61 72 0d 74 6f 6f 20 66 |tures. Far.too f| 00000cf0 65 77 20 67 61 6d 65 73 20 68 61 76 65 20 74 68 |ew games have th| 00000d00 65 20 6a 6f 79 73 74 69 63 6b 20 66 61 63 69 6c |e joystick facil| 00000d10 69 74 79 20 61 6e 64 20 74 68 65 20 72 65 73 6f |ity and the reso| 00000d20 6c 75 74 69 6f 6e 20 66 61 63 74 6f 72 20 6d 65 |lution factor me| 00000d30 61 6e 73 0d 73 69 6d 70 6c 79 20 74 68 61 74 20 |ans.simply that | 00000d40 79 6f 75 20 63 61 6e 20 70 6c 61 79 20 69 6e 20 |you can play in | 00000d50 65 69 74 68 65 72 20 4d 6f 64 65 20 31 20 28 48 |either Mode 1 (H| 00000d60 69 67 68 29 20 6f 72 20 4d 6f 64 65 20 35 20 28 |igh) or Mode 5 (| 00000d70 4c 6f 77 29 20 77 68 69 63 68 0d 69 73 20 62 6f |Low) which.is bo| 00000d80 74 68 20 65 61 73 79 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 65 |th easy on the e| 00000d90 79 65 73 20 6f 66 20 72 65 73 70 65 63 74 69 76 |yes of respectiv| 00000da0 65 20 70 6c 61 79 65 72 73 2c 20 68 65 6c 70 73 |e players, helps| 00000db0 20 76 61 72 79 20 74 68 65 20 61 63 74 69 6f 6e | vary the action| 00000dc0 20 6f 66 0d 61 20 73 74 79 6c 65 20 6f 66 20 67 | of.a style of g| 00000dd0 61 6d 65 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 63 61 6e 20 73 65 |ame which can se| 00000de0 65 6d 20 74 6f 20 67 6f 20 6f 6e 20 28 61 6e 64 |em to go on (and| 00000df0 20 6f 6e 21 29 20 61 6e 64 20 61 6c 73 6f 20 6d | on!) and also m| 00000e00 61 6b 65 73 20 74 68 65 20 0d 67 61 6d 65 20 61 |akes the .game a| 00000e10 20 6c 69 74 74 6c 65 20 65 61 73 69 65 72 20 61 | little easier a| 00000e20 73 20 74 68 65 20 22 70 65 64 65 22 20 6f 63 63 |s the "pede" occ| 00000e30 61 73 69 6f 6e 61 6c 6c 79 20 68 61 73 20 61 20 |asionally has a | 00000e40 6c 6f 6e 67 65 72 20 62 72 65 61 64 74 68 20 6f |longer breadth o| 00000e50 66 0d 73 63 72 65 65 6e 20 74 6f 20 63 72 6f 73 |f.screen to cros| 00000e60 73 20 69 6e 20 4d 6f 64 65 20 31 2e 20 59 6f 75 |s in Mode 1. You| 00000e70 20 63 61 6e 20 65 76 65 6e 20 6c 6f 6f 6b 20 75 | can even look u| 00000e80 70 6f 6e 20 74 68 69 73 20 6f 70 74 69 6f 6e 20 |pon this option | 00000e90 61 73 20 67 69 76 69 6e 67 0d 79 6f 75 20 54 57 |as giving.you TW| 00000ea0 4f 20 63 6f 6e 76 65 72 73 69 6f 6e 73 20 6f 66 |O conversions of| 00000eb0 20 74 68 65 20 67 61 6d 65 3b 20 74 68 65 20 6f | the game; the o| 00000ec0 6e 6c 79 20 64 69 66 66 65 72 65 6e 63 65 73 20 |nly differences | 00000ed0 62 65 74 77 65 65 6e 20 73 6f 6d 65 20 6f 66 20 |between some of | 00000ee0 0d 74 68 6f 73 65 20 70 75 74 20 6f 75 74 20 62 |.those put out b| 00000ef0 79 20 6f 74 68 65 72 20 63 6f 6d 70 61 6e 69 65 |y other companie| 00000f00 73 20 77 61 73 20 74 68 65 20 4d 6f 64 65 2e 20 |s was the Mode. | 00000f10 53 70 65 65 64 20 6f 66 20 67 61 6d 65 2c 20 6f |Speed of game, o| 00000f20 66 20 63 6f 75 72 73 65 2c 0d 61 6c 73 6f 20 68 |f course,.also h| 00000f30 65 6c 70 73 20 74 68 6f 73 65 20 77 68 6f 73 65 |elps those whose| 00000f40 20 61 72 63 61 64 65 20 70 72 6f 77 65 73 73 20 | arcade prowess | 00000f50 69 73 20 6e 6f 74 20 75 70 20 74 6f 20 74 68 61 |is not up to tha| 00000f60 74 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 68 61 72 64 65 6e 65 |t of the hardene| 00000f70 64 0d 61 72 63 61 64 65 20 61 64 64 69 63 74 2e |d.arcade addict.| 00000f80 0d 20 20 20 42 75 74 20 75 6e 66 6f 72 74 75 6e |. But unfortun| 00000f90 61 74 65 6c 79 20 74 68 65 20 61 75 74 68 6f 72 |ately the author| 00000fa0 20 68 61 73 20 62 6c 6f 77 6e 20 69 74 20 61 67 | has blown it ag| 00000fb0 61 69 6e 21 20 49 6e 20 70 72 61 63 74 69 63 65 |ain! In practice| 00000fc0 2c 20 74 68 65 20 0d 67 61 6d 65 20 73 70 65 65 |, the .game spee| 00000fd0 64 20 68 61 73 20 6c 69 74 74 6c 65 20 65 66 66 |d has little eff| 00000fe0 65 63 74 20 6f 6e 20 68 6f 77 20 74 6f 75 67 68 |ect on how tough| 00000ff0 20 69 74 20 61 63 74 75 61 6c 6c 79 20 69 73 20 | it actually is | 00001000 74 6f 20 70 6c 61 79 20 61 6e 64 20 74 68 65 0d |to play and the.| 00001010 6f 70 74 69 6f 6e 73 20 6d 75 73 74 20 62 65 20 |options must be | 00001020 63 68 6f 73 65 6e 20 62 65 66 6f 72 65 20 41 4e |chosen before AN| 00001030 59 20 67 61 6d 65 20 69 73 20 63 6f 6d 6d 65 6e |Y game is commen| 00001040 63 65 64 2e 20 53 6f 20 74 68 65 20 73 63 72 65 |ced. So the scre| 00001050 65 6e 20 69 73 0d 66 6f 72 65 76 65 72 20 66 6c |en is.forever fl| 00001060 61 73 68 69 6e 67 20 75 70 20 61 6e 64 20 64 65 |ashing up and de| 00001070 6d 61 6e 64 69 6e 67 20 69 6e 70 75 74 2e 20 45 |manding input. E| 00001080 76 65 6e 20 74 68 69 73 20 77 6f 75 6c 64 20 62 |ven this would b| 00001090 65 20 62 65 61 72 61 62 6c 65 20 0d 77 65 72 65 |e bearable .were| 000010a0 20 69 74 20 6e 6f 74 20 74 68 61 74 2c 20 61 66 | it not that, af| 000010b0 74 65 72 20 69 6e 70 75 74 69 6e 67 20 46 2c 20 |ter inputing F, | 000010c0 4d 20 6f 72 20 53 2c 20 79 6f 75 20 77 65 72 65 |M or S, you were| 000010d0 20 6e 6f 74 20 66 6f 72 63 65 64 20 74 6f 20 73 | not forced to s| 000010e0 69 74 0d 74 68 72 6f 75 67 68 20 61 20 74 72 75 |it.through a tru| 000010f0 6c 79 20 61 77 66 75 6c 20 73 74 72 69 6e 67 20 |ly awful string | 00001100 6f 66 20 62 6c 69 70 73 20 66 6f 72 20 66 69 66 |of blips for fif| 00001110 74 65 65 6e 20 73 65 63 6f 6e 64 73 20 62 65 66 |teen seconds bef| 00001120 6f 72 65 20 74 68 65 0d 67 61 6d 65 20 73 74 61 |ore the.game sta| 00001130 72 74 65 64 2e 20 54 68 65 20 73 61 6d 65 20 69 |rted. 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T| 00001180 68 65 20 67 61 6d 65 20 69 74 73 65 6c 66 20 61 |he game itself a| 00001190 6c 74 68 6f 75 67 68 20 69 74 20 72 75 6e 73 20 |lthough it runs | 000011a0 77 65 6c 6c 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 45 6c 65 63 |well on the Elec| 000011b0 74 72 6f 6e 2c 20 67 6f 65 73 20 66 61 72 20 74 |tron, goes far t| 000011c0 6f 6f 20 0d 66 61 73 74 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 |oo .fast on the | 000011d0 42 42 43 2c 20 65 76 65 6e 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 |BBC, even on the| 000011e0 20 53 28 6c 6f 77 29 20 73 65 74 74 69 6e 67 20 | S(low) setting | 000011f0 61 6e 64 2c 20 61 6c 73 6f 20 61 73 20 6d 65 6e |and, also as men| 00001200 74 69 6f 6e 65 64 20 69 6e 0d 74 68 65 20 69 6e |tioned in.the in| 00001210 74 72 6f 2c 20 64 65 61 74 68 20 69 73 20 61 20 |tro, death is a | 00001220 66 72 65 71 75 65 6e 74 20 6f 63 63 75 72 65 6e |frequent occuren| 00001230 63 65 2e 20 4f 66 74 65 6e 20 79 6f 75 20 27 64 |ce. 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Ha| 000015b0 76 69 6e 67 20 72 61 74 68 65 72 20 65 6d 70 68 |ving rather emph| 000015c0 61 74 69 63 61 6c 6c 79 20 62 65 72 61 74 65 64 |atically berated| 000015d0 20 74 68 69 73 20 70 72 6f 64 75 63 74 20 62 79 | this product by| 000015e0 20 6e 6f 77 2c 20 69 74 20 64 6f 65 73 20 66 69 | now, it does fi| 000015f0 6e 64 0d 73 6f 6d 65 20 73 61 76 69 6e 67 20 67 |nd.some saving g| 00001600 72 61 63 65 20 69 6e 20 69 74 73 20 67 72 61 70 |race in its grap| 00001610 68 69 63 73 2c 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 64 6f 20 61 |hics, which do a| 00001620 6c 6c 20 74 68 65 20 72 69 67 68 74 20 74 68 69 |ll the right thi| 00001630 6e 67 73 20 61 6e 64 20 61 72 65 0d 61 6e 69 6d |ngs and are.anim| 00001640 61 74 65 64 20 71 75 69 74 65 20 73 6d 6f 6f 74 |ated quite smoot| 00001650 68 6c 79 2e 20 41 20 77 72 69 67 67 6c 69 6e 67 |hly. A wriggling| 00001660 20 77 6f 72 6d 2c 20 62 6f 75 6e 63 69 6e 67 20 | worm, bouncing | 00001670 73 70 69 64 65 72 20 61 6e 64 20 6d 75 73 68 72 |spider and mushr| 00001680 6f 6f 6d 2d 0d 6c 61 79 69 6e 67 20 73 70 69 64 |oom-.laying spid| 00001690 65 72 20 28 21 29 20 69 6e 76 61 64 65 20 74 68 |er (!) invade th| 000016a0 65 20 73 63 72 65 65 6e 20 71 75 69 74 65 20 72 |e screen quite r| 000016b0 65 67 75 6c 61 72 6c 79 20 61 6e 64 20 6b 65 65 |egularly and kee| 000016c0 70 20 74 68 65 20 70 6c 61 79 65 72 0d 6f 6e 20 |p the player.on | 000016d0 68 69 73 20 74 6f 65 73 2e 0d 20 20 20 54 68 65 |his toes.. The| 000016e0 72 65 27 73 20 6e 6f 20 67 65 74 74 69 6e 67 20 |re's no getting | 000016f0 61 77 61 79 20 66 72 6f 6d 20 74 68 65 20 66 61 |away from the fa| 00001700 63 74 20 74 68 61 74 20 74 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 |ct that this is | 00001710 61 20 66 6c 6f 70 20 74 68 6f 75 67 68 2c 20 0d |a flop though, .| 00001720 65 76 65 6e 20 74 68 6f 75 67 68 20 69 74 20 77 |even though it w| 00001730 61 73 20 70 75 62 6c 69 73 68 65 64 20 61 74 20 |as published at | 00001740 61 20 74 69 6d 65 20 77 68 65 6e 20 62 75 64 67 |a time when budg| 00001750 65 74 20 74 69 74 6c 65 73 20 77 65 72 65 20 6e |et titles were n| 00001760 6f 74 20 65 78 2d 0d 70 65 63 74 65 64 20 74 6f |ot ex-.pected to| 00001770 20 62 65 20 6f 66 20 61 20 76 65 72 79 20 68 69 | be of a very hi| 00001780 67 68 20 73 74 61 6e 64 61 72 64 2e 20 49 74 20 |gh standard. It | 00001790 77 61 73 20 6f 72 69 67 69 6e 61 6c 6c 79 20 70 |was originally p| 000017a0 75 62 6c 69 73 68 65 64 20 71 75 69 74 65 0d 65 |ublished quite.e| 000017b0 61 72 6c 79 20 69 6e 74 6f 20 74 68 65 20 6c 69 |arly into the li| 000017c0 66 65 20 6f 66 20 69 74 73 20 72 65 73 70 65 63 |fe of its respec| 000017d0 74 69 76 65 20 6d 61 63 68 69 6e 65 73 20 28 31 |tive machines (1| 000017e0 39 38 34 29 2c 20 61 6e 64 2c 20 61 73 20 41 4c |984), and, as AL| 000017f0 4c 49 47 41 54 41 0d 61 6e 64 20 53 55 50 45 52 |LIGATA.and SUPER| 00001800 49 4f 52 27 73 20 76 65 72 73 69 6f 6e 73 20 77 |IOR's versions w| 00001810 65 72 65 20 64 6f 69 6e 67 20 74 68 65 20 72 6f |ere doing the ro| 00001820 75 6e 64 73 20 61 74 20 61 6c 6d 6f 73 74 20 61 |unds at almost a| 00001830 20 74 65 6e 6e 65 72 2c 20 77 69 74 68 20 61 0d | tenner, with a.| 00001840 6c 69 74 74 6c 65 20 74 68 6f 75 67 68 74 20 63 |little thought c| 00001850 6f 75 6c 64 20 68 61 76 65 20 70 72 6f 76 69 64 |ould have provid| 00001860 65 64 20 73 65 72 69 6f 75 73 20 63 6f 6d 70 65 |ed serious compe| 00001870 74 69 74 69 6f 6e 20 61 74 20 69 74 73 20 72 65 |tition at its re| 00001880 64 75 63 65 64 0d 70 72 69 63 65 2e 20 42 75 74 |duced.price. But| 00001890 20 69 74 20 64 6f 65 73 6e 27 74 2c 20 69 74 20 | it doesn't, it | 000018a0 77 61 73 6e 27 74 2c 20 69 74 20 69 73 6e 27 74 |wasn't, it isn't| 000018b0 2e 2e 2e 61 6e 64 20 69 74 20 6e 65 76 65 72 20 |...and it never | 000018c0 77 69 6c 6c 20 62 65 2e 20 46 6f 72 0d 61 6e 79 |will be. For.any| 000018d0 20 62 75 67 20 62 6c 61 73 74 69 6e 67 2c 20 73 | bug blasting, s| 000018e0 74 69 63 6b 20 77 69 74 68 20 74 68 65 20 61 70 |tick with the ap| 000018f0 74 6c 79 2d 74 69 74 6c 65 64 20 42 55 47 20 42 |tly-titled BUG B| 00001900 4c 41 53 54 45 52 21 0d 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 |LASTER!. | 00001910 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 | | * 00001930 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 44 61 76 65 20 | Dave | 00001940 45 64 77 61 72 64 73 2c 20 45 55 47 20 23 35 35 |Edwards, EUG #55| 00001950 0d |.| 00001951