The Campaign For Mangram To Get A Shiny New Desk is not doing as
well as one would have hoped. The fund has raised the paltry sum of
£00.04p (Those Who Must Be Obeyed didn’t let me keep last
month’s £40 prize). Four measly pence, and that’s only from
raiding the change pocket on the drinks machine. Any Letter of the Month
bribes... erm, contributions would be most welcome. And so, onto the forum
answered from ye olde tattye desk. This month’s Letter of the Month
winner is Patricia Reeve who wins £40 worth of software! You too could be
a winner by penning a great letter, send your missives to: NEWSFIELD, LLOYD
MANGRAM’S FORUM, CRASH.
SQUASHED GRANNY
Dear Lloyd
That’s it, I’m fed up and going out to shoot myself in the left
foot as soon as poss. Here am I, a reasonably intelligent and mature lady, who
could tell you the chemical symbol for silver without looking it up, knows what
‘strange’ and ‘charming’ particles are (do you?) and
never breaks the yolks of eggs. I can drive lorries, answer ten questions on
‘Mastermind’ and find a pair of matching socks in my son’s
room — quite a competent lady you will surely agree. Well, that was
yesterday. Today I am totally deflated, squashed flatter than a bug on a bat
and with zero confidence. Reason? You — or rather you and your adventure
game Karyssia.
Let me explain, for two (ish) years I’ve had a 48K Speccy,
which was given to me with a couple of games. They weren’t very
interesting games so I didn’t bother with that side of things and got on
with trying to learn how the programming worked. Well recently two (ish) years
of being poked and pushed about took its toll and the Speccy announced its
retirement, so I cast about and pretty soon found a 128+2 (yahooo!!)
with quite a few games to boot. Some of them were quite good, so I started
trying to win, and got hooked.... that was in February.
Two editions of CRASH later, and about 40+ games further along I have
yet to win a single game! Karyssia Part One is typical of my
non-progress. All I managed to do there is find Ioinmar, pinch the
mayor’s goodies (not a very honest hero are we!) and get lost, wandering
around the woods meeting uncooperative brokers, rude bowmen, locked doors and
dangerous lakes. Then you lot show me how it’s done on CRASH (April) and
I can see how dim I’ve been. I guess you need a special way of thinking,
which I clearly do not possess. Yours, One squashed granny.
Patricia Reeve
The special way of thinking is known as Being A Little On
The Potty Side. This state of mind usually takes a few years of rigorous
games playing to develop, though DJ Nicko achieved it in a surprisingly short
amount of time. You are obviously far too clever, anyone who can find a
matching pair of socks must be, so here have £40 worth of software, just a
bit more games playing should help!
LM
WHERE THEY GONE?
Dear Lloyd
The reason for my writing was to give this list of games that were previewed
between May 1989 and February 1990 and until April have not been reviewed.
Please explain what happened to them. They are:
May — Outrun Europa June
— Nightbreed August — Garfield:
Winter’s Tail, Lone Wolf: The Mirror of Death, Bloodwych October — Vendetta, International Drugs Bust November — Beach Volley December —
Crossbow: The Legend of William Tell January —
Crackdown, Snoopy (this even has had a solution), Darius+ February — Emlyn Hughes’ Arcade Quiz, Cyberball
Will they appear? Will they not?
Andrew S Collier
Right, Outrun Europa eventually became Turbo
Outrun, Nightbreed is due for September, Garfield we
haven’t seen, Lone Wolf has been delayed indefinitely,
Bloodwych is here, Vendetta is ‘soon’, dunno
about Drugs Bust, Beach Volley was cancelled for being a bit
crap, Crossbow — dunno, Crackdown is out!,
Snoopy and Darius Plus haven’t been seen, Emlyn
Hughes’ Arcade Quiz is a while off and Cyberball is out!
Satisfied?
LM
FINDING HISTORY
Dear Lloyd
Knowing how clever you are (ha ha) I need your help in locating some games.
Back in 1984, May issue 4 of CRASH you had printed a guide to Spectrum games, I
am trying to find out if I can still get hold of these games.
Inheritance by Simon Hessel 48K Spec
Great Britain Ltd by Simon Hessel 48K Spec
1984 by Incentive 48K Spec
Millionaire by Incentive 48K Spec
At one time or another I have played these games, but six years on, I
don’t have any of these, can you tell me, is there anywhere I can get
hold of them.
Oh clever one please tell me.
Martin Rollett
1984 and Millionaire can still be obtained
from Incentive Software. Haven’t got a clue about the other two —
can any readers help?
LM
PRINTER PLEA
Dear Lloyd
I have a Citizen 120-D dot matrix printer and a +3 Speccy. My
problem is that I can’t get LPRINT to work. I use the Artist
II (on +3 disk) and a Kempston mouse to draw, etc. but to print a
screen I have to SAVE it, reset the +3, and COPY it, with: Load "Filename"
screen #: copy which doesn’t print the screen very well. What interface
do I need, or do I need a program? The cable I’m using at the moment is
plugged straight into the back of +3, in the PRINTER socket.
S Wilson
I’m afraid I can’t be of much help here, but anyone
with some advice for Mr Wilson can write in...
LM
WANT, WANT, WANT
Dear Lloyd
I get:
Speccy +3
Cassette lead
+3 disks
Light pen
You get:
Educational Software (under 4’s)
Fab game ideas
Stunning graphics
Sound for games
You receive all copyright.
Richard J Moore (age 10)
I get: the picture. You get: thick ear.
LM
NOT SO CONSOLE CRAZY
Dear Lloyd
On the 25th December 1989, I received a Sega Master System with three
games. The old Speccy was put away, and most of the games were sold
(sniff, sniff). I enjoyed this new console, but after a while the games became
boring, and I had to fork out £30 to buy a new game. Soon I grew
bored of that, and became depressed. I decided to go deep into the loft, and
recover the two year old Speccy and the few games I had.
I wired it up and loaded up R-Type: the enjoyment of games
immediately came back. With only eight games I spent £1.70 on my old mag
(which had changed somewhat) CRASH. Now with four new wholesome games, I
played for ages. The problem now was what to do with my Sega, the loft found
the answer. The moral of this story is stuff expensive consoles, when you can
have a Speccy.
Simon Jones
Exactly — there’s more gameplay in Speccy games than
you’ll ever find in a console!
LM
BOREDOM RELIEF
Dear Lloyd
I would like to praise you on the formula for the mag. While I was on the dole
last year, it was nice to be able to buy a mag plus games for one price, not
only that but four games which help relieve the boredom of staying at home with
no money for anything else.
Now I am back in work and can buy new games, I still support my favourite
mag because of the good selection of articles, the silliness of Jetman
(which has a cult following around my works) and the very helpful tips and
cheats section. Far too often other mags are too expensive and boring, and
somewhat biased in their outlook. Keep up the good work, and once again I
thank you on my, and many others, behalf who I know are still on the dole but
can still enjoy computing thanks to yourselves.
Yours forever a fan
Colin Skilton
Thanks, it makes it all worthwhile when you get a letter like
this. And now this month, should anyone be going hungry at the mo,
there’s a chewy bar too! In the future we hope to be cover-mounting Range
Rovers for people who can’t afford British Rail’s expensive fares.
Oh, and I’ve passed your query about the game Rockfall onto Ian
Collier, the author, who has coincidentally penned the next letter.
LM
ROCKFALL 2?
Dear Lloyd
I’m writing this letter because I’m glad you liked my game
Rockfall. My brother thinks it would be a good idea to have a
Rockfall 2 with levels sent in by readers. Do you?
(suggested guide lines:)
each level to be drawn on squared paper inside a rectangle measuring 64
squares across, 32 squares down.
each level should be surrounded by outer walls and may contain any graphic
you see in the game, but there should be exactly one
main character one exit. Suggested backgrounds are
all grass
black
grass with a random scattering of rocks (what a lot of numbering systems!)
I don’t want to be a judge!
Ian Collier
Yes — why not? If you’ve got
any ideas for a Rockfall 2
game, send them in and we’ll
take a look.
LM
Well, that’s it for this month, and what an interesting
bunch of letters they are! Remember, be outrageous, controversial and
intelligent — if you want to win £40!
CAN SPEAK TO MEL CROUCHER!
Not content with assaulting everyone with the written word
Mel Croucher (he of the SAM Coupé manual, many CRASH
features and all round entertainer) can now be listened to on the blower! The
Mel Croucher Computer Fun Line was launched a while ago and offers
information and heaps of fun on all computer things. You can listen to his
deranged ramblings by dialling 0898 ****** (calls cost 25p per minute cheap
rate and 38p per minute at all other times). A new three-minute show is on-air
every week and promises heaps of fun for all the family!
A GRAND SLAM FOR ENGLAND
Just in time for the World Cup (Oh no! Here we go again?
— Ed) Grandslam is releasing a footy game with a licence deal tied
up with the England team. Players can select their squad from 22
different footballers such as John Barnes or Bryan Robson, and
take the team through to win the World Cup — just like England will in a
couple of months (Hem, hem).
GAMING FOR CHARITY
There’s an exciting event happening in Hull on the
weekend of June 30 and July 1 — it’s the Compute For
Charity exhibition. Everyone from retailers to the big software houses such
as Ocean will be there, and competitions from US Gold and
Psygnosis are planned too! The objective is to raise money not only for
the BBC’s Children In Need appeal but also for a donation towards
the Portobello Scout Group mini-bus appeal, and to provide a computer
for Kingston Special Needs Scout Group. Compute For Charity
admission prices are £1 for adults, 50p for children and Blue
Peter badge holders get in free! Doors open at 10am both days, so if
you’re in Hull that weekend the place to be is: The Portobello
Hall, The Broadway, Holderness Road, Hull.
BARGAIN HUNTING
The last two All Format Computer Fairs have been so
popular that yet another is planned!! On the weekend of June 9 and 10 the doors
of the New Hall of the Royal Horticultural Society, Greycoat and Elverton
Streets, Westminster, London fly open at 10am allowing bargain hunters in
to a computer paradise (as long as they’ve paid the £3 admission
fee).
MENZIES GET SAM COUPÉ
If you haven’t already got your SAM Coupe you can
now run along to your local Menzies and check it out. Menzies, convinced
that there will be high sales of the Coupe, have decided to support it while
chucking the Atari ST and Speccy (!!!!) out. Awww, the
rotters!
FORGOTTEN AGAIN!
Following Dark Century (see previews)
Titus’ next project on the Spectrum will be Fire And
Forget II. As the driver of an all powerful combat vehicle you chase and
blow the socks off a vicious gang of terrorists. But this isn’t any old
vehicle you’ve got your hands on, because with a flip of a switch you
take to the air and fly around. This all sounds great fun, expect a preview
very soon.
BUILDING LARKS, AHOY!
Ever fancied building your own town or city, well very soon
you’ll be able to do just that! Infogrames’Sim
City is coming to the Speccy. You become a Mayor/City Planner who must
keep all of the people happy all of the time, and so builds plenty of houses,
recreational areas and parks, but must keep crime and pollution down. But if
the population isn’t already restless enough, Mother Nature occasionally
takes a hand with earthquakes, tidal waves and various other natural disasters.
If you fancy yourself as a bit of a dab hand at the DIY building game watch out
for Sim City from Infogrames very soon.
ARCADE SNIPPETS
US Gold have signed up Capcom’s UN
Squadron, the one or two player horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up battle
against crime cartel Project 4. Pick a character out of three, pilot a
craft out of three, then destroy the heavily defended base! Heavy, man...
Activision are busy bees too: hot on the heels of Ninja
Spirit, Dragon Breed and R-Type II comes Atomic Robo
Kid. Based on the Irem coin-op, it gets you playing a small robotic
hero who must survive wave after wave of robophobic creatures. Where’s
the spirit of glasnost?
COMIX
Mark Caswell unearths more strippy delights...
The Spectacular Spider-Man
Marvel, 70p Monthly
From bats to creepy crawlies this month! Everyone’s
favourite web slinger, Mr Parker. It’s amazing, the amount of
comics available: Spectacular Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man, Web of
Spider-Man and Marvel Tales (reprints of old Spectacular
and Amazing stories) and the soon to be released Spider-Man,
written and inked by Todd ‘major weirdness’
McFarlane. This month’s tale sees Spidey’s old foe, The
Beetle released from jail with a not surprising fear of super heroes,
especially a certain arachnid. A man known only as The Arranger wants
the web slinger dead, but Beetle refuses the offer, and The Arranger is forced
into contriving a fight between the two: who will win? Will Spiderman succumb?
One of the weakest stories for a while. Writers seem to be hard pushed for new
ideas. Disappointing.
ROBOCOP
Marvel, £1.05, Monthly
Movie Robocop 2 is in production, and in the meantime
the further adventures of the No 1 cop of the future are here.
OCP’s dream city is almost complete and Old Detroit is
demolished to make way for Delta City. While the skyline changes one
thing remains the same: half a ton of titanium steel with a human brain and
computer-fast reactions patrols the streets. Robocop is after
Cybex, cybernetic genius designer of Delta City, now insane. Robocop
isn’t the only one who wants Cybex — mysterious Darkstone
has brainwashed an assassin-for-hire and sent him to Cybex’s lair.
Problems for both Robocop and the assassin appear in the shape of cybernetic
apes. One huge specimen captures Cop and — well read it yourself! The
comic brilliantly captures the grim and brooding atmosphere of Old Detroit
— I just hope the second cinematic outing is as good. Script writer
Alan Grant of 2000 AD fame, along with Lee Sullivan and
Kim DeMulder, has come up with a winner.
THE NEW EAGLE
Fleetway, 45p, Weekly
Old stalwart Eagle has just undergone a re-vamp.
It’s now on glossy paper with more colour than ever. Pilot of the Future
Dan Dare is centre stage again, sporting new uniforms, weapons and
spaceship, the Eagle. Rumours have it he’s turned vegetarian
— and will get married! Heroes don’t get married!
The weekly sports strips on horror, urban survival, and of special interest,
computers: Computer Warrior pits your typical boy next door against real
life scenarios from current games. Nicely drawn, — and a dangerous
experience! Check this out now.