A-Z of Sinclair ZX Spectrum Games

Kieren Hawken

Description

The A-Z of Sinclair ZX Spectrum Games: Volume 3 features reviews of three different games for each letter of the alphabet. The games range from the very earliest releases at the start of the eighties to the modern homebrew games of today. This book shows you just how diverse the library of titles is for the ZX Spectrum and how it became one of the popular computers of all time.

Sujets

• Indoor games and sports

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 12 septembre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785389832
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The A-Z of Sinclair ZX Spectrum Games
Volume 3
Kieren Hawken






First published in 2018 by
AG Books
www.agbooks.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2018 Kieren Hawken
The right of Kieren Hawken to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AG Books or Andrews UK Limited.
Game screenshots are included in this publication legally under applicable fair use law which allows such material for the explicit purposes of commentary and criticism.



Introduction
The follow up to the hugely successful Sinclair ZX81, in fact it was originally named the ZX82, the ZX Spectrum was created as a computer for the masses rather than the classes and advertised as the first colour computer that could be purchased for less than £100 (the 16k model anyway). Thanks to its affordable price, wide range of software, easy to learn BASIC language and easy set-up, which needed nothing more than a standard TV and tape player, the Speccy, as it affectionately became known, went on to become the best selling computer in the UK and revolutionised the region’s games industry. Many big people who head up today’s billion dollar worldwide games industry still proclaim that they owe their career to Sir Clive Sinclair’s revolutionary rubber keyed wonder. In fact it was the Spectrum that started off my very own journey into home computing and video games, helping me learn the programming skills that got me through college and igniting the passion that saw me become a full-time games journalist.


In this second book in the series I once again take you through the life of the ZX Spectrum range looking at a varied cross section of the 10,000+ games available with a small review and screenshot of each one. This is not a list of the best games, a list of the worst or indeed a complete guide to what’s available. The A-Z of Sinclair ZX Spectrum Games: Volume 3 is just that, the third volume of my look at a selection of Speccy games in alphabetical order. There are three games featured for each letter and these range from the earliest ones released at the start of the eighties, to modern homebrews and even unreleased prototypes. Hopefully this book gives you some inspiration to try games you’ve never played before, bulk up your personal collection or just replay some of those all-time classics. You might even find it that brings back happy memories of unwrapping Christmas and birthday presents or inviting your friends round after school for a bit of multi-player madness. Most of all though I hope you enjoy reading it and remember what makes the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer so great.
Kieren Hawken
Author





A
Alien Destroyer
Kuma Computers - 1984


Anybody who (like me) got a ZX Spectrum +2 for Christmas will be more than familiar with Kuma’s Alien Destroyer as it was included as one of the Sinclair branded pack-in titles. This was the first game I ever played on my new machine and, at the time, I couldn’t work out why the graphics were messed up if I loaded it in 128k mode. Surely I shouldn’t have to load a game branded for my 128k +2 in more limited 48k mode? Of course, I later found out that this was because the game was written entirely in BASIC and used the 48K user defined graphics (UDG) set, some of which were replaced with extra instructions in 128k BASIC making it incompatible. Back then I thought this blatant rip-off of the classic Namco arcade game Galaxian was the bee’s knees and played it to death, but after taking off my rose tinted specs in the modern day I sadly discovered it was rather pants. Another childhood memory totally ruined! The game’s many issues include the flickery visuals, slow unresponsive controls, horrendous sound effects, predictable enemies and a really stupid looking ship. I always thought it looked like some kind of ice-cream sundae! It does let you enter your high scores however, which is pretty surprising for a game written in BASIC, and features a pretty decent title screen, so it’s not entirely bad. But Alien Destroyer is definitely a huge case of “it seemed really great at the time”.
4/1 0
Alien Syndrome
Ace - 1988


Hot on the heels of Atari’s hugely popular maze-based dungeon crawler Gauntlet came another similar arcade game in Sega’s Alien Syndrome, which many people at the time described as Gauntlet in space. It’s not an unfair comparison in all honesty, but there is a little more to this game that. The levels are smaller and more linear than Gauntlet , being much less maze like in nature. Before you can go into the exit you must also rescue all the hostages too. There are also end of level bosses to be defeated in this game as well as weapon upgrades, making the combat a bit more advanced than Atari’s game. Like Gauntlet though, this can be played by more than one player. In this case two of you can team up to battle the xenomorphic hoards and save the day. Graphically the ZX Spectrum port is fairly good but the push scrolling can get a little annoying. The sound is absolutely pathetic though with just a few farty noises for gun shots and no 128k enhancements. Alien Syndrome is a bit of a lost gem, it’s a lot of fun to play and has some cool gameplay features too. If you are a fan of these types of games then this really is a title you should hunt down. It’s also worth noting that this game has, somewhat surprisingly I might add, been resurrected fairly recently by Sega themselves for modern machines in glorious 3D. So if you like this Speccy effort, then look up those versions too.
7/1 0
Ant Attack
Quicksilva - 1983


While isometric 3D adventures are pretty commonplace on the ZX Spectrum, and indeed something the computer became highly regarded for, Ant Attack was the very first of its kind and is also widely considered to be one of the very first open world adventure games too. Another very unique feature of this game, especially for the time, is that it allows you to play as a male or female character. The idea of Ant Attack is to rescue your boyfriend/girlfriend (depending on who you choose) from a ruined city solely inhabited by giant ants. Once you find them you have to lead them back out of the city and then you do the same all over again, only much harder. If one of these nasty creatures bites you then you lose some energy and the quest must also be completed within a specified time limit too. Thankfully your character is armed with an unlimited amount of grenades with which to take out the enemies, but be careful not to blow up your significant other! The ruined walls of the city can also be used to hide behind and catch your breath. Graphically the game is pretty amazing for the time with a great illusion of 3D and well defined sprites. The sound is also pretty good with both effects and some short pieces of music. There’s no doubting that Ant Attack is a real landmark title for the Spectrum and one that’s also aged very well. This is one piece of history that every Sinclair fan should have in their collection.
8/ 10



B
Badlands
Domark - 1990


Originally released in its huge multi-player cabinet form (complete with three steering wheels) just a year before, this conversion of the very last game in Atari’s classic Sprint series was released as part of Domark’s popular Tengen label and is a highly enjoyable affair indeed. Unlike its more famous predecessor Super Sprint this game only allows two players to compete at once but does add several new gameplay features, which more than make up for it as I will explain. The most notable addition is the weapons that can be used to take out your opponents in most violent fashion! Other racer’s projectiles aren’t the only thing to worry about though, there are also obstacles on the track which are just as lethal including boulders, road blocks and huge oil slicks. In a feature more like the previous games you can collect spanners from the track and by winning races. These can be traded in for upgrades after each race is completed. Among the improvements at your disposal are shields, turbo boosts, special tires and upgraded missiles! Graphically this Speccy port is surprisingly colourful and the sound effects are pretty decent for the most part too. Badlands is kind of the forgotten game in this classic series but if you dig top down racing games, especially titles such as Super Sprint and Super Off-Road , then I would say that you’ll get a real kick out of this, I know I certainly did.
8/ 10
Batman: The Movie
Ocean - 1989


This was actually the third Batman game to be produced by Ocean but the very first to be based on a movie, in this case the iconic Michael Keaton/Tim Burton reboot that famously starred Jack Nicholson as The Joker. It also followed on from two highly successful Ocean movie licenses in Platoon and Robocop , which had previously defined a template for all futures titles to follow. So with Batman: The Movie this tried and tested template is followed once again. For th