Big K


Sinbad And The Sailor
By Virgin Games
BBC Model B

 
Published in Big K #9

Sinbad And The Sailor

Look at this, a new-style pack from Virgin to go with their new-style games. In this one, new-style means touching the bad guys instead of avoiding them. The game involves Sinbad the Sailor, you can tell by the name on the packet, and his magic carpet.

In the first instance Sinbad has no control over his carpet as such, it just kind of floats around the screen doing exactly as it pleases. No way for a magic carpet to behave in my opinion, but we're stuck with it.

There's a rope hanging off the side of it and steam-rollered gerbils, inventively titled "Sinbad's Enemies", float about. Sinbad has to jump onto the rope and run up and down it, touching them - but only once - to convert them to his friends. If he touches them more than once they knock him off his carpet. "Eat dirt, Sinbad". When he's converted them all he gets to sit on his carpet and have asteroids thrown at him. If he manages to avoid them all he goes back and converts squashed gerbils. And so it continues.

It's not a bad game, sort of middle of the road, which probably accounts for the beasties having that squashed look.