Computer Gamer
1st August 1986
Published in Computer Gamer #17
One year on from the Spectrum Collection, Tony Hetherington picks the best Spectrum games
The Spectrum Collection: Update
Exactly a year ago in the Spectrum Collection I selected fifteen classic games that all Spectrum owners should have. Twelve months later it's time to update the collection with another fifteen games that have been released in the last year. This illustrates the increase in quality of Spectrum software as the games selected immediately came to mind without searching through past issues of Gamer.
For the record, the games selected last time were Football Manager (Addictive Games), The Hobbit (Melbourne House), Jetpac (Ultimate), Manic Miner (Software Projects), Atic Atac (Ultimate), Dungeon Adventure (Level 9), Scrabble (Psion), Ant Attack (Quicksilva), Scuba Dive (Durell), Bugaboo (Quicksilva), Match Point (Psion) and Codename Mat (Micromega).
Way Of The Exploding Fist (Melbourne House)
This was the original kung-fu game and is stil one of the best.
It's fast action, superb animation and easy joystick control ensured that it did well not only in the charts but also in our Game Of The Year awards, coming second overall and winning the Sports Game category.
Tau Ceti (CRL)
A mixture of arcade skils and strategic planning are necessary to complete this challenging game. Your mission is to collect and assemble reactor rods from sub-stations spread throughout the planet's thirty cities while battling against the planet's defences. Your Galcorp skimmer is equipped with lasers, missiles, anti-missiles and flares, as well as a scanner, planetary map and reactor rod manipulator.
Swords And Sorcery (PSS)
This game was finished over a year behind schedule but it was definitely worth the wait. Duck-shoot menus controlled your character as he battled his way through a four level dungeon seeking the pieces of the legendary armour of Zob.
During his quest the player can complete minor quests as well as progress in the way of the Sword or that of Sorcery.
Batman (Ocean)
The caped crusader stars in one of the latest arcade adventures. This one, the basic format pioneered by Ultimate in Knight Lore, has been expanded by offering Batman the chance to gain special powers (essential to success in the game) if he can find crucial objects such as the bat-bag and the bat-boots.
Heavy On The Magick (Gargoyle Games)
In a departure from its popular Dun Darach/Tir Na Nog style of game, Gargoyle has produced a real winner in this superb animated adventure. Standard adventure style commands (shortened to single key letters to speed up input) are entered by the player that are then actioned by the game's animated hero Axil the Able. So if you tell Axil to examine a box he will wander over to the nearest to him and pick it up and look at it. If you ask him to do something impossible then he'll just shrug his shoulders in disbelief.
Spindizzy (Electric Dreams)
Inspried by the success of Marble Madness, Spindizzy is the pick of the home computer marble games. The game consists of a network of 386 screens through which you must guide your marble (or spinning top) through narrow passageways and along steep slopes in an attempt to map it all before your time limit expires. This can be extended by collecting jewels which all seem to be placed in the most inaccessible places.
Bombjack (Elite)
A fast action version of the arcade classic in which our leaping hero must clear screens full of bombs while avoiding aliens. The aliens begin at the top of the scren and gradually drop down the screen. When they hit the bottom, they mutate into a variety of even nastier flying critters.
Luckily you can also collect discs to temporarily freeze the aliens as well as bonus points and even extra lives.
Winter Games (US Gold)
Seven gruelling events to get joystick athletes in shape for the next Winter Olympics. This excellent conversion of a C64 game features bobsled, free and figure skating, hot dog aerial (ski acrobatics), ski jump, speed skating and the testing biathlon of cross-country skiing and target shooting.
Spellbound (Mastertronic)
One of the first of the superb M.A.D. range of budget games, Spellbound closed the gap between budget and full price software. The game features a new style of adventuring where commands are selected from window menus that guide Magic Knight as he attempts to free himself and seven other characters from one of Gimbal the Wizard's misfired spells.
Zoids (Martech)
You play a single human caught in the battle between the red and blue Zoids. Your mind is melded with a Spiderzoid as you enter into the battle. Your mission is to find the pieces of the mighty Zoidzilla that are scattered throughout the enemy city networks.
Armed with missiles, scanners and guns you must seek and destroy enemy Zoids and destroy their cities. Find a piece of Zoidzilla and you meld with a more powerful Zoid. Find all the pieces and you control Zoidzilla himself in a duel with deadly Redhorn the Terrible.
Elite (Firebird)
This classic space exploration and combat game made its debut on the Spectrum at the end of last year and immediately leapt up the charts and won our Game Of The Year award.
Who Dares Wins II (Alligata)
The pick of the games inspired by the arcade classic Commando which features our machine-gun firing, grenade throwing hero blowing up the enemy troops as he takes checkpoint after checkpoint.
Later on he also has to rescue comrades facing firing squads and avoids tanks and airstrikes designed to end your game.
The Worm In Paradise (Level 9)
This is my own personal favourite of the adventures released by Level 9 this year. It's the conclusion of the Silicon Dream trilogy and not only features horrible problems to boggle your brain, but also a fascinating storyline and graphics as well, all incredibly jammed into a single cassette.
Quazatron (Hewson)
Quazatron is a superb arcade game inspired by the C64 game Paradroid. Instead of producing a straight conversion Hewson have actually improved it. The game is played over a 3D robot city populated by robots out to get you. However, you are armed wth a laser that can worry some of the lesser robots. However, before you can take on the stronger enemy forces you will have to grapple with lesser ones, fight to take over their circuits, then plunder any power packs or weapons they have.
Kirrel (Addictive Games)
At first sight this looks like just another 3D arcade adventure. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. Kirrel is in fact a race against time to defuse a bomb before the fuse burns down and the bomb explodes, taking our hapless hero with it. To get to the bomb, Kirrel will have to move the blocks around that form the maze while avoiding the nasties.
Other Spectrum 48K/128K/+2 Game Reviews By Tony Hetherington
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