The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

PCW GAMES COLLECTION

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

Game Type          : Arcade

Author             :

Standalone Release(s)   : 1984: PCW GAMES COLLECTION, Artic, £4.95

Compilation Release(s) : None

Stated compatibility    : Electron

Actual compatibility    : Electron, BBC B, B+ and Master 128

Supplier            : CENTURY. No further information available.

Disc compatibility     : ADFS 1D00, CDFS 1D00, DFS 1D00

Instructions

"If you are a games addict continuously on the prowl for more and better games or looking for your first collection of BASIC listings - look no further. This sparkling collection will keep you busy for a long time. Some of the best programs that have ever appeared in the well-known magazine Personal Computer World have been converted for YOUR computer and put together here in this prize collection. Each game has been thoroughly tested and comes with full instructions. Test your reflexes on arcade-style games or test your wits on strategy games - there is something here for everyone.

Listings of these games are also available in a companion book which includes a useful description of the programmer's technique to help you pick up some hints as you go."

ROBOTANK - use LOGO-style commands to program your tank to move and shoot on a battlefield

GOLDEN FLEECE - an adventure game with graphics and a surprise guest star!

PURSUIT SHIP - flying through the galaxy, shooting down enemy flying saucers, you have to conserve your fuel and dodge the enemy's fire

MARTIAN ATTACK - you have two missions: to shoot down the aliens with your plane and land your helicopter on the special pad

HUNCHBACK - save Esmerelda by leaping over the spears, avoiding the soldiers and boiling oil and ringing the bells...the bells.

HUNGER ALLEY - gobble up food pills, and killer skulls - but only after eating an energy pill

DOGFIGHT - a two player fight in the sky; choose to be a jet or a bi-place

EULER'S TOURING KNIGHT - visit every square on the board with your knight, but only once each

MISSILE DEFENDER - you have lasers to defend your five cities which are being bombarded by missiles

BLACK HOLES - catch the aliens and trap them in a grid of black holes

MAP QUIZ - guess the names of the towns from the computer-generated dots on a map

TRANK - steer your tank to chase a moving target and avoid the obstacles

CITY SMASHER - raze a city to the ground with your bombs and avoid the defending missiles

BABY MONTY - can you steer the mole out of the flooding caves and avoid the tumbling barrels?

FLAPPA CATCHA - save Ethel from the cannibal which, by catching birds in your hat

FOUR IN A LINE - get four of your counters in a row to win this game

COLOUR CODE - a Mastermind-type game where the computer thinks up colours and you have to guess that and where they are

HELICOPTER RESCUE - fly a helicopter into the gale, along a canyon, with a victim dangling beneath you

ACE HIGH - a Patience-like game where you shuffle the cards to put the aces at the top of the stacks

SIMON - the computer flashes a sequence of colours and sounds which you have to memorize, and copy.

Instructions' Source   : PCW GAMES COLLECTION (Century) Back and Inner Inlay

Review (Electron User)

This is a sparkling collection of 20 strategy and arcade type games, all written in Basic for the Electron. An accompanying book gives full instructions and detailed descriptions explaining how the programs work.  However, although there is a great variety of arcade games their speed is generally slow. Their appeal is not great compared with the more sophisticated machine code games available, but they do provide a good insight into programming games in Basic.

It is an intention of the publishers that users would use the listings to pick up expert hints on programming their Electrons. The variety makes up for any loss in quality.

The strategy games are not affected detrimentally by the fact that they are programmed in Basic and not machine code. Speed of presentation and response is not important. The programs are available elsewhere in various forms; the ideas are not new. This collection enables users to find out how the programs work so I would seriously recommend it for budding programmers.

EULER'S TOURING KNIGHT is a particular favourite of mine. The problem is to move a knight about a chess board calling in at each and every possible square. The computer is programmed to demonstrate a solution then the user can try it out.

One of the other programs, ROBOTANK, requires Logo-type commands. ACE HIGH is a patience card game. Instead of manipulating your own pack you press a letter to deal and another to move the cards. I think I prefer to use real cards, but the simulation is a good one.

I can recommend this collection for those people who wish to increase their powers of programming by seeing how others do it.

John Woollard, ELECTRON USER 2.10