ADVENTURELAND
BATTLEFIELDS
CAVEMAN CAPERS
CHEMISTRY
COMPETITIVE MATHS (Tape)
COMPETITIVE MATHS (Tape)
DIAMOND MINE II
GREMLINS
HAMPSTEAD
TERRORMOLINOS
KISSIN' KOUSINS
LASER REFLEX
WEST
MANIAC MOWER
MATHS WITH A STORY: 2
MEXICO '86
PHYSICS
PIRATE ADVENTURE
QUICK THINKING PLUS
ROBIN OF SHERWOOD
ROBIN OF SHERWOOD
SECRET MISSION
STRIKE FORCE HARRIER
ANSWER BACK SPORTS QUIZ
STAIRWAY TO HELL
THE HACKER
VIEWSHEET
WORD GAMES WITH THE MR MEN
WORKSHOP

Product: ADVENTURELAND
Supplier: ADVENTURE INTERNATIONAL
Available on DFS Disk, Tape
Reviewed by Merlin in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 4

THIS was the first adventure ever to be released for a home computer, and if that isn't reason enough to buy it, let me state it is also an excellent one.

The object of your quest is to collect and store thirteen treasures.

You start the game in a forect and though you aren't a social climb- er the view is disappointing.

The axe is soon found in a sunny meadow and when I tell you that Bunyon's first name was Paul you'll know where to visit when you try some magic.

You might bear this in mind when you visit the quicksand, a definite case of sink or swim!

The chiggers in the swamp will soon get under your skin so protect it. The cypress tree is worth a visit but it is not necessary to do so to finish the game, though it will provide a clue.

Having been given the chop, your next problem is getting down to the main body of the game.

An examination of the room descriptions and a careful choice of wording is as essential here as it can be elsewhere.

Before you go back up you might consider playing the lead in Aladdin!! A score of 38 out of 100 should be your mark and a means of lighting the lamp will also be found underground, though don't go too far!

if you die you will go to limbo and you only have one move you can make here - a Hell of a choice!

By now you are well into the main body of the adventure, and though you will still have to return to the surface several times the answer to most of your problems lies underground.

Scott Adams rates this game at moderate level. I think it is more like beginners' level, especially when you compare it with some of his later games.

That is not to say that it doesn't have some fiendish problems though! What makes it easy is the level of help given.

The seasoned adventurer can expect to finish it within a couple of days, but the novice will find it the perfect introduction to the genre.

An excellent adventure that is worth having for its collectors' value alone. If you haven't got it, you should have!
Merlin

Product: BATTLEFIELDS
Supplier: BBC SOFT
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Roberta Wood in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 5

IN BATTLEFIELDS, a two-in-one deal of two player games, BBC Soft is offering a game of strategy, the American Civil War, and a game of tac- tics, Waterloo.

In case you're puzzled as to the difference between strategy and tactics, strategy is the manipulation of armies, people, politicians and resources to make history go the way you want.

Tactics are how you manoeuvre elements of armies to achieve victory in battles.

Put more simply, strategy is how you win wars, tactics are how you win battles.

American Civil War presents you with a map of the south and east states of America which were involved in the conflict.

The object is to capture a proportion of your opponent's territory and wipe out his forces.

Each side starts at pre-set locations with three fleets and seven armies, details of which are given for both players at the start.

Each turn is equivalent to one year of the war, divided into eight movement phases representing about one month's campaigning.

Players input all eight moves for each turn in secret and the com- puter then does the rest.

You quickly become used to the movement system but planning your moves to cope with what your opponent may do is definitely more chal- lenging.

This is an excellent little strategy game and a good introduction to this type of computer wargaming.

The second part of the package. Waterloo, is representation of the famous last battle of Napoleon which brought the First Empire to an end.

It covers the area around Waterloo and may last for the equivalent of several days. Each turn represents an hour of time.

The armies consist of units commanded by a named general, with most units made up of a mixture of artillery, cavalry and infantry.

Initially the Allies are to the north and east and the French to the south. Each side inputs its movement orders, which are carried out by the computer.

First though - and this is the most interesting part - it reports whether any of your units have sighted or contacted the enemy.

Based on this you plan your next move, but you have to remember that the reports relate to where the enemy was, not where they are now.

When you do clash with the enemy the computer will decide whether it is just a skirmish, and calculates the casualties accordingly.

Alternatively it gives you a close up of the battle area and the battle takes place in 10 minute segments.

I find the last an excellent idea, but wish that more detail could have been incorporated.

As with American Civil War you quickly get used to the movement system, but finding and dealing with the enemy is another problem.

Both games have good, clear graphics bearing in mind and the scale they are working at, and will keep players busy for a few hours.

I do not believe that there is yet a true wargame available for the Electron of a standard acceptable to serious wargames, but BATTLEFIELDS is certainly leading the way.

Roberta Wood

Product: CAVEMAN CAPERS
Supplier: ICON SOFTWARE
Available on DFS Disk, Tape
Reviewed by James Riddell in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 4

IF your idea of fun consists of tearing through the prehistroic wilder- ness standing on the back of a runaway tortoise, CAVEMAN CAPERS is for you.

Press the Spacebar to start the game and the background begins to scroll from right to left.

Balancing precariously on the back of a turbo-charged tortoise, you must leap over the potholes as you career towards almost certain disas- ter.

Some well-timed stabs at the Return key are sufficient to get you past these first obstacles.

Having been broken in gently, you will now be buzzed by pterodactyls while still jumping craters.

With the use of the Z and X keys to move our caveman hero short dis- tances to the left and right, you can avoid nutting the birds.

Section three seems quite easy as there are no craters to jump - just a series of purple snakes hanging down from the treetops.

The problem with the snakes is that they are bobbing up and down.

Should they be in the down position as you pass below, then it's PROCheadache for our hero and shellshock for his transport.

The next two levels are very similar.

The first involves using extended jumps to clear some toadstools and in the second you're jumping logs.

The next stage is the one that is giving me great difficulties at the moment. I'm having trouble with the crabs.

One minute they're lying nice and quiet on the ground, the next thing you know they're doing flipping star jumps at about waist height!!

Icon has really gone to town on the graphics with this game as every character is drawn on a grand scale and in the brightest of colours.

One character who has not yet played a part in the game is a rather large dinosaur who keeps poking his head on to the screen and grinning mischievously. I'm sure he's up to no good.

CAVEMAN CAPERS is an excellent game. It's got fast action, simple controls and is just brimming with humour.

James Riddell

Product: CHEMISTRY
Supplier: LETTS KEYFACTS REVISION SOFTWARE
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Rog Frost in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 4

THIS chemistry package follows the standard format for Letts' revision programs.

You get two cassettes crammed full of programs, along with a small booklet explaining how the software can be used - all in a neat library case.

As usual there are ten programs. The first deals with atomic struc- ture and bonding and is a Cloze activity.

This means aspiring O-level or CSE chemists must complete a piece of text by typing in the missing words.

They can choose whether to have only a few of the chosen words miss- ing or the whole lot.

If they get stuck, pressing X enables them to see all of the text.

Activities like this are not only considered educationally sound, they should also be of real benefit to a revising pupil.

Program two moves on to the centre pillar of inorganic chemistry, the periodic table. Students are expected to enter various elements on to a blank table.

Options include entering chemical symbols, atmoic numbers or electron structures. The idea is good, but the presentation could have been im- proved. Nevertheless it is a useful revision program.

Formulae and equations come next. This is another very important topic and any fairly friendly help from a micro is a good thing.

This program considers various reactions and you have to balance the equation.

Alternatively, a list of chemicals is given and you decide if they are reactants or products.

The equation for the reaction is then given and you must balance it.

There follows a program called deductions. Here you are presented with a series of clues as to the identity of a substance.

Some clues are mathematical and calculator, pencil and paper will be needed. If you an't get the substance within five guesses you are told what it is.

The last program on tape one is concerned with electrolysis.

With a choice of molten electrolytes or solutions, you must identify the ions present and to which electrode they move. The ion equation must then be completed. Tape two begins with two related programs on apparatus. In the first of these you must put together the equipment neded to prepare the gas of your choice.

This is done by selecting the correct pieces from a collection and swapping them around. This is very fast, smooth and fun.

When completed, all other bits of apparatus are cleared from the screen and then you label your diagram and complete the equation for preparing the gas.

The second program gives you a wrong diagram. You identify the fault and label it.

The third program, acids, bases and salts, returns to the Cloze idea.

There are four pages of text to complete.

Then in a separate section you must decide whether a reaction goes in the direction shown. You are also asked a few questions about it.

Pupils actually get marked on this section which is surely helpful when revising.

The third section introduces the concept of molarity and then asks you to predict titration results. It's a little complicated.

The package ends with two programs on organic chemistry. The first is a series of Cloze procedures, enlivened with diagrams to illustrate the principles involved.

Working through this program certainly reminded me of the organic chemistry I used to know.

The second program requires identification of isomers and homologues.

I found this the weakest program on the tapes. There were just too many CHs on the screen for me.

The instructions suggest that this program is to test your powers of observation. Mine obviously are not good enough.

This is without doubt what it says - a revision package. Don't expect it to teach you if you known absolutely no chemistry, because you will end up very confused.

Despite the large amount of material here, the price of 11.50 seems a bit steep.

It is, however, fit for its purpose and pupils taking chemistry at 16+ levels could find it useful.

Rog Frost

Product: COMPETITIVE MATHS (Tape)
Price: 5.95
Supplier: DUCKWORTH, The Old Piano Factory, 43 Gloucester Crescent,
London NW1.

THIS is one of those programs you might tend to dismiss on first sight.

However on persevering I became quite addicted to it.

The idea is to choose a mathematical subject out of addition, sub- traction, multiplication and division. You are then asked for the level of difficulty - there are three.

Now sit back and prepare yourself for the next sixty seconds of quickfire mental arithmetic questions as the compuer prepares its bar- rage.

I found I could cope well with the addition and multiplication ques- tions, but when it came to subtaction or division I has some catching up to do.

That's where the program came into its own for me. Due to its com- petitive nature you feel that you can't stop - not yet anyway, just got to beat that last score.

After a while the questions became easier for me and I moved to lev- el three. The levels of difficulty are well worked out. Each time you achieve a maximum score of 39 you move up a level.

On level 3 I have as yet been unable to better my high score of 27.

One complaint I have about this program though is that in the rush to type your answer in, it is often easy to hit a wrong key and this causes a point to be deducted from your score.

I suppose this helps to train your reflexes but I still found it somewhat frustrating.

This is an addictive game, that is both fun and educational for children and adults alike.

Robin Nixon

Electron User Vol. 3 No. 7

Product: COMPETITIVE MATHS (Tape) Supplier: Duckworth
IMPROVE your mental arithmetic by beating the clock to a new high score.

The idea is to answer as many quick-fire questions as possible within a minute. You can choose any of addition, subtraction, multiplication or division - with varying skill levels.

"Quick Peek" From Electron User Vol. 3 No. 3 Product: DIAMOND MINE Supplier: BLUE RIBBON Available on ADFS "Blue Ribbon Games 1" Disk, Tape Reviewed by Pat Hillery in Electron User Vol 3 No. 6

AT just two pounds fifty, this program is aimed quite definitely at the "pocket money" market.

However, the low cost is well matched by a low interest level, little originality and little in the way of addiction.

It's not that the program is particularly bad, but just that I cannot really find very much to get enthusiastic about.

Imagine a mine - which is essentially a vertical maze - and at the top is the beginning of a pipeline.

You must guide the pipeline through the mine in search of diamonds.

There are a number of rather cute bugs which have a disconcerting habit of eating the pipeline and these must be avoided using the usual Z, X, *, ? combination of keys.

The walls of the mine must also be negotiated, or else a length of pipeline is lost.

Having said that, there is remarkably little to add. It is not a particulary easy game to play, although naturally success comes with practice.

Sadly, I found that boredom also set in, although the game might keep some younger players interested for a few hours.

The Electron has been around a long time now, and the level of much other software makes this particular program look rather poor in compar- ison.

Pat Hillery

Product: DIAMOND MINE II (Tape)
Price: 2.50
Supplier: BLUE RIBBON, Silver House, Silver Street, Doncaster.

Tel: 0302 21134.

ANOTHER budget label game from Blue Ribbon, DIAMOND MINE II not sur- prisingly carries on the scenario set in their earlier game.

This is - surprise, surprise - a diamond mine, but one with more to collect, more problems to overcome and quite a bit more "stickability factor".

Actually, I wasn't over-impressed for quite some time, and only came back to load it in again because I found I had a review to write.

Then I found I hadn't read the instructions on the cassette inlay properly.

I had been trying to guide my vacuum cleaner pipe down through the mine, collecting diamonds, but my lives went quickly because the var- ious monsters kept touching the pipe.

Then I read that Return would retract the pipe, and the game alter- ed completely!

It was not a frustrating but possible assignment to collect all the diamonds from one level, on occasions having to retract a long length of pipework as a monster appeared near the top of the screen.

Still, there was always the revenge of sucking it up in the vacuum for some bonus points.

The direction keys can be used in conjunction, so corners could be negotiated simply and swiftly, but that didn't make the game any easier to win.

Should the pipework clear a screen a harder mine soon appeared and after ten such, the screens become invisible.

However, I will have to take Blue Ribbon's word for that as I've not got there yet.

But I'll keep playing until I do!

Sound ........................... 6
Graphics ........................ 8
Playability ..................... 8
Value for money ................ 10
Overall ......................... 8

Phil Tayler
Electron User Vol. 3 No. 7

Product: GREMLINS
Supplier: ADVENTURE INTERNATIONAL
Available on DFS Disk, Tape
Reviewed by Merlin in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 4

I SUPPOSE I'm the wrong person to review GREMLINS, for I haven't seen the film and I can't finish the adventure - despite the hint sheet that came with it!

The promotional material says the game is based on the film so I sus- pect that anyone who has seen it will have a decided advantage.

The object of the exercise is to kill all the gremlins. To encourage you, your mission starts in your bedroom with a gremlin throwing darts at you.

Unless you are quackers, you make a quick exit into the living room where you'll find a gremlin too, but he soon gets the point.

A quick visit to the kitchen will probably find you as baffled as me, so it's off down the road to explore the town.

The cinema is showing GREMLINS (wouldn't you know it!) and the real McCoy are as interested in the ending as you are.

The petrol station is a useful hiding place, and the department store is well worth a look but don't let those new-fangled gizmo's loose you.

I must admit that I felt there was something different about this adventure all the time I was playing it.

But somehow the atmosphere just didn't seem to be there, and I was left feeling slightly disappointed.

I haven't finished the game, and to be honest I don't think it gene- rates enough interest to make me want to.

Overall, a capable enough adventure that is not quite up to the stan- dard of the others from Adventure International.

Merlin

Product: HAMPSTEAD
Supplier: MELBOURNE HOUSE
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Merlin in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 5

THIS is not so much an adventure as a way of life. Superficially, the game seems to be an ordinary text adventure that requires you to get to Hampstead Heath to complete the game.

However it is less a case of solving the game and more a case of attaining the solution.

Hampstead Heath is one of the posh parts of London, and since you start the game in a slum your problem is not just finding your way there but becoming the type of person who deserves to be there.

I confess that I didn't get very far and so I'm obviously doomed to remain a total slob forever. Nonetheless I can give you a few tips to get going.

The first thing you have to do after leaving the house is to sign on the dole.

You'll obviously need your UB40, but also make sure you have some transport or you're liable to get mugged. Since you start the game naked you will need clothes, unless you want to get arrested for in- decent exposure. You'll find the edge of the Heath close by and it pays to sit back and admire the scenery.

A nearby maze is easy to map, though if you manage to use what you find then please let me know how you did it.

I used my money to buy another means of transport and thus found my way to another section of the adventure.

Apart from satisfying my appetite - though I must have done a "run- ner" as I had no money to pay for my meal - I only managed to get my pockets picked in the cinema, so any help from readers would be welcome.

I found it difficult to relate to the game. It took anout five minutes before I realised what a UB40 was!

There are some extremely witty thinks in the program and I didn't get most of them first time either. If you manage to solve the game you can send off to Melbourne House for a diploma in social climbing, though I hope you'll also send me the solution.

Overall, I was left feeling somewhat baffled by this game, though I hasten to add that the problem is obviously mine and not the program's.

I would suggest, however, that you try before you buy.

Merlin

Product: TERRORMOLINOS (Tape) Supplier: Melbourne House A text adventure of a holiday spoof set on the Costa Brava, in which you must survive a two-week package holiday and return home with ten snap- shots to prove it. In this witty game every holiday disaster can and does occur!

"Quick Peek" From Electron User Vol. 3 No. 3

Product: KISSIN' KOUSINS
Supplier: ENGLISH SOFTWARE
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Rog Frost in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 6

THIS is a good old fashioned arcade game containing two vital ingredi- ents for success - it's addictive and it's fun.

The aim of the game seems to be to navigate the male cousin past all manner of hazards until he meets his female counterpart.

It all looks very simple. You move the little chap straight across the screen on a road, jumping him over the odd bush and post box.

The quality of the background graphics is so good that you may find your mind wandering from the task in hand.

Another problem is the severe shortage of time. You lose a life if you don't cross the screen quickly enough. Not only that, you are being bombed as well.

It won't be long before you manage screen one with confidence and can then tackle screen two. Success here leads you on to the bouncing kan- garoos, and by shooting these defenceless beasts you can obtain bonus points.

By now the road has led to the wooded countryside, and you encounter bats and moving mushrooms. These are pretty taxing, and avoiding them requires a lot of practice.

Screen six brings you to some rather cute frogs, but also to a long, dissolving bridge. This one defeats me so I don't know what happens next.

I have two criticisms. Firstly, a multi-screen game like this should give you the option of starting on any screen.

Secondly, the game lacks a high score table, merely keeping a record of the highest score.

Those points apart though, this is an entertaining family game. The graphics and the animation are of a superb standard and the sound is adequate.

An extra bonus is that the tape contains both BBC and Electron ver- sions of the game. (Make sure you load the right one.) Recommended for arcade addicts of all ages.

Rog Frost

Product: LASER REFLEX
Supplier: TALENT COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Jon Revis in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 5

AS the commander of a deep space fuel dump, you are a vital part of Earth's exploration project. You are also an excellent target for any passing alien who wants a cheap tank of four star.

Your constant struggle with these thieving aliens forms the theme of LASER REFLEX.

The fuel dumps' defences take the form of a mobile laser base sit- uated beneath a plasti-steel roof.

Through this roof you can observe the descending aliens. But if you tried to shoot at them directly you would make a nasty mess of the roof.

The fuel dump designers solved this problem by leaving one end of the dump open. They then built a large curved mirror at this point.

By moving your laser base left and right you can alter the angle at which your beam strikes the mirror. By altering this angle of incidence you also alter the angle of reflection - sounds just like school, doesn't itR

So as you move your base closer to the mirror the beam fires higher into the atmosphere and vice versa.

The aliens fall from the sky in no set formation and are therefore quite difficult to hit.

To encourage you to move the laser base around, the instructions tell you that bonus points are awarded for hitting the aliens while they are at the top of the screen.

It is tempting to sit at the far left of the screen firing laser bolts at a very shallow angle and stand a chance of hitting more aliens.

Basically, this is an attempt to squeeze a little more life out of the Invaders/Galaxian theme. It is a nice idea but it will never be a classic.

Jon Revis

Product: WEST (Tape) Supplier: Talent Computer Systems
It is the year 1884 somewhere in the Wild West. You are on the track of a notorious gang of robbers who have gone to ground near an abandoned mining town, deep in Indian territory. Your objective is to gain promo- tion to the rank of Marshal by outwitting the robbers and collecting as much of their loot as possible.

"Quick Peek" From Electron User Vol. 3 No. 3

Product: MANIAC MOWER
Supplier: KANSAS CITY SYSTEMS
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Rog Frost in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 6

IF you fancy a peaceful job like mowing a lawn, then this is the program designed to put you off. Mind you, the rewards are quite high, with more than a thousand pounds - in points - to be earned by the keen and care- ful operator.

Your garden is, presumably, right next to Taunton Cricket Ground with Ian Botham in full flow. Quite an amazing number of cricket balls join the elastic bands and other debris lying about.

Any contact with these harmless looking bit and pieces means a new mower is required and you've only got three. A further problem is that your mower gets ruined if you venture on to grass that's already cut!

The biggest danger to life and limb is the rival mower. This little beast is hell-bent on colliding with you, or on making you bump into the garden walls or one of the nasty objects. You can do the same and try to trap the maniac mower for additional points.

To complete the misery a karate expert is practising in the garden and he is very keep to give you the chop.

This game ought to be fun to play but it is too slow for real arcade action. There is a lot of strategy involved in keeping your mower going and trapping your rival, andthe game is enjoyable at that level. But one bad feature is that the chosen colours are awful, producing moving diagonal lines on black and white or colour TVs. Needless to say, all is well if you have a monitor.

As seems to be usual with Kansas games, the instructions are excell- ent and a model for other software houses to copy. A feature of the program which I like is that it is written in Basic and listable, which means you can modify it to your heart's content. I'd also recommend the game to BBC Micro owners where the speed of action is good.

Arcade addicts will unfortunately find this game a disappointment, but if you prefer a little slow action strategy problem and enjoy tin- kering with programs then why not consider MANIAC MOWERR

Rog Frost

Product: MATHS WITH A STORY: 2
Supplier: BBC SOFT
Available on Tape
Reviewed by John Daddy in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 5

MANY alleged educational programs are not worth a glance and for good reason: it's doubtful if good educational software can be written with- out recourse to experienced teachers who can validate and help with de- velopment.

MATHS WITH A STORY: 2 is an example of the quality which can be achieved by an experienced writer supported by good field work.

This package develops spatial awareness through coordinate geometry and pattern recognition combined in four captivating games.

The first game, PIRATE GOLD, is a treasure hunt. An island is super- imposed on a grid where hidden gold can be found by moving a cursor using X/Y coordinates.

A mutlicoloured barometer and a changing bleep tone shows how "warm" the hunter is. Further help is given by the coloured squares appearing over coordinates already visited.

The object is to be the first to fill a chest with gold, and the shorter the route taken the greater amount of gold there is to be found.

Turnflex exploits the concepts of reflection and symmetry by present- ing the player with two picture tiles, the second being a reflection of the first.

At the first level the picture is composed of numerals, but higher levels allow the user to design th pictures.

The game starts by the removal of the reflected picture, and the player has to show an understanding of mirrors and reflections to win it back.

Dice Squares is a game of chance and strategy for one or two players, where rows, or squares, are positioned to fill a grid. The size of the rows and squares you can fill is determined by a simulated dice throw.

Thelastgame, Tile Stretch, introduces the concept of stretching and enlargement using tiles to fill a grid in order to capture as large an area as possible.

In each game there is the option of turning the sound off, a choice of one or two players and a range of difficulties.

Simple screen prompts, along with optional demonstration runs, make the comprehensive booklet supplied with the tape superfluous, and good protection from michievous fingers enables the programs to be used by pupils without supervision. Highly recommended.

John Daddy

Product: MEXICO '86
Supplier: QUALSOFT
Available on DFS Disk, Tape
Reviewed by Phil Tayler in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 6

HAVING played a variety of football management simulations, I eagerly loaded the first of these twin cassettes, which deals with the qualify- ing stages.

Actually it also includes a couple of European friendlies and the South American tour, which give ample opportunity to review your strengths and weaknesses. It also gave me the ideal opportunity to do the same to Qualsoft's program.

In some respects I was a little disappointed, for I began at the easiest skill level where the results seemed just too random and often incredible.

The sound effects are not particularly exciting, but these can be turned off. The most disappointing aspect was that when I actually man- aged to reach the final where England beat Italy, there wasn't a cup in sight - merely a one word message of congratulations!

The graphics, however, do give the impression of a football match, with 22 little match men rushing up and down the pitch with great effort although poor skill. This is, naturally, computer-controlled so you can just watch the action for a minute or so.

At the higher skill levels the whole idea becomes far more interest- ing with the players' strengths and weaknesses taken into far greater account. Great skill is needed, as I found it very easy to lose many a critical game.

However, when the England team does eventually qualify it is necess- ary to save the data on to a blank cassette, which can then be reloaded into the second part, that dealing with the finals in Mexico.

Once there, a squad of 20 is selected from the players used so far.

Yes, there is an option to add extra players, so you too can play for your country! The stages here are really very authentic, but when you've won the cup once I would strongly suggest that you try at a more com- petitive level in order to capture the real challenge the program offers.

Sadly, although the qualifying cassette can obviously be reused, there is no save facility elsewhere, and the whole program is a bit monotonous at one sitting. Still, it is a credit to Qualsoft to see just how complex an idea can be programmed into the Electron.

Phil Tayler

Product: PHYSICS
Supplier: LETTS KEYFACTS REVISION SOFTWARE
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Rog Frost in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 5

EACH year a crop of 16-year-old students get into a panic over O-level or CSE exams. The aim of this package is to assist pupils taking any exam in physics at age 16+.

Its content has taken into account the new GCSE courses as well as the more traditional ones.

I was sent this package to review because I am a teacher of physics.

The obvious course of action was to try it out on my present fifth year students.

I was very pleased that the programs run on both the BBC Micro and Electron. Virtually every school, of course, has the faithful BBC Micro.

With two whole tapes full of programs on both sides, my pupils could not cover much of it in school time. We concentrated on the first prog- ram, called the diagonistic test.

This consists of forty multiple choice questions covering the full spectrum of physics work. It certainly seemed appropriate to the O level syllabus which I teach.

If a pupil gets a question wrong, a hint is given. If the question still can't be solved, the answer is given.

At the end of the test, the pupil's performance is analysed. Areas of weakness are highlighted and a revision program is suggested.

The verdict of my students was that this program was rather dull and needed a degree of dedication to work through. The analysis of their performance, however, was rated useful.

The next program on the first tape deals with relationships. If you think that sounds physical rather than physics, it really means equations.

In this section a number of graphis are drawn to show how one thing depends on another, such as volume and temperature.

You then have to pick the correct relationship from a choice of four (volume is proportional to temperature).

A student who was really involved in revision would find this section useful but rather limited in approach.

The motion programs on side two of the first tape are very hard to understand, in fact I don't understand them myself.

They are meant to cover velocity, speed, acceleration, force, energy, work, power and momentum. I can only recommend O level or CSE students to leave them well alone.

The program on ray optices is a good, tidy revision program. There is nothing startling about it though. It presents some information on re- flection, refraction and eye defects.

The problems which follow are neatly constructed, and even suggest that you should draw out ray diagrams on paper.

Turning to the second taoe we come to the best program of the lot, on radio-activity. This topic is usually covered poorly in schools and little real practical work can be done.

It simulates an experiment to detect the various forms of radiation.

You have a source of unknown radiation and a geiger counter.

These can be moved around the screen along with various blocking mat- erials (paper, aluminium and lead) and a magnet.

By reading the counter, with or without sound, it is possible to work out whether the source is emitting alpha, beta or gamma radiation.

As an enhancement, you can use the information gained to work out decay products.

This particular program makes the user adopt investigative methods and is suitable for use in schools as well as by revising pupils.

A multiple choice test on waves follows.

The help and hints are well put together and our revising pupil may well find them useful. The same could also be said of the two programs on electricity and magnetism.

One is a multiple choice test, the other a lesson comparing the flow of electricity with that of water.

The last program is about heat. It is poor and the screen display is muddled - quite the weakest program in the package.

One criticism I have of the entire package is that the programs drive the operator. It would all be better if users could have some peace while thinking.

The system of entering responses is distinctly poor. My pupils com- plained that they got answers wrong because the text cursor moved on to the next possible response as they pressed Return.

There's a lot of program here to summarise. The first point is that you get your money's worth as far as the quantity is concerned.

It's a pity that a couple of the programs are very poor, but the package as a whole is worthwhile for 16-year-old physics students.

Certainly a number of mine are going to buy it now they've seen it.

Rog Frost

Product: PIRATE ADVENTURE
Supplier: ADVENTURE INTERNATIONAL
Available on DFS Disk, Tape
Reviewed by Merlin in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 5

IN this, the second in the Scott Adams series of adventures, your task is to collect and store treasures, though there are only two in this game.

You begin your quest in an apartment in London and an immediate search of the premises should be your first task.

Strangely, there seems to be only one room though the stairs do lead to an alcove. The bookcase has only one book - well worth a read and then a second look.

The duffel bag is soon found and a window is very interesting. Don't try any magic yet unless you've realised that the ledge is very slippery.

Several things will be confusing you, but if you remember the sea shanty you may realise that the pirate runs true to form.

That rug will have to be left until later and provides a key to the solution of a later problem.

By now you should be fully equipped to visit the desert island and so you go off to the main body of the adventure.

This is a beginners' adventure and classed thus by Scott Adams him- self.

Although it has only about twenty locations it has its full share of problems. This was one of the first adventures available for a home computer, and still manages to compare favourably with later ones.

An ideal adventure for the novice and one worth having on anyone's shelf. Recommended.

Merlin

Product: QUICK THINKING PLUS
Supplier: MIRRORSOFT
Available on 3.5" Disk, Tape
Reviewed by John Woollard in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 3

THIS package by Mirrorsoft contains two games for youngsters, Sum Vaders and Robot Tables. Both programs are designed to give practice in number skills.

Sum Vaders requires you to use some quick thinking to stop the in- vasion of robots.

Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems are pre- sented and you have to get the answer right first time.

An alien spacecraft bearing a number moves across the screen. It re- leases a robot invader which also has a number.

The object of the game is to destroy the robot before it reaches the ground. To do that you have to type the correct response to the sum.

In the addition option, you have to add the two numbers, while the subraction option has you taking the smaller number from the larger.

The product is entered in the multiplication option and the smaller number is shared into the larger in the division option.

As your skills increase, so does the difficulty, the attackers coming in lower and faster. Your turn ends when five aliens get past and land on Earth.

There are five levels of difficulty for the adding and subtracting options. Only three levels are available in the multiplication and div- ision options.

A nice feature of this program is that two people can play in compet- ition, each player at his own level of difficulty. This enables a child to compete with an adult, yet still be able to win.

In the two-player game, high scores are separately recorded.

The second program, Robot Tables, is based upon a manic machine de- signed to frustrate the would-be mathematician.

The aim of the exercise is to create robots - in contrast to Sum Vaders, where the object was to destroy them.

The robots are produced from lumps of raw material that is fed in from the left-hand side.

Each lump contains a number. You have to decide whether that number is the next one in the sequence that is displayed below.

If you reject good material - a correct answer - or if you accept bad material - a wrong answer - the machine makes a damaged robot.

If the material is OK and it is accepted by you, a perfect robot is produced. If you correctly reject bad material, it's recycled.

Points are credited for material recycled and each undamaged robot produced.

Bonus points are given for every sequence of ten robots that are created.

There are two modes for the game - learning and testing. In the learning mode the correct sequence of numbers is first displayed.

There are much longer response times and answers are displayed after each robot is made.

The testing mode is much faster and points and lost for incorrect responses.

I'd be happy to use the programs with most youngsters.

John Woollard

Product: ROBIN OF SHERWOOD (Tape, DFS Disk)
Price: 7.95
Supplier: ADVENTURE INTERNATIONAL, 85 New Summer Street, Birming-
ham B19 3TE

IT isn't unusual for me to get stuck in adventures, but to do so when a cheat sheet is enclosed with the game certainly is, which goes to show the quality of Adventure International's ROBIN OF SHERWOOD.

While the plot of the game is new, the characters and some of the events in it follow the recent TV series closely.

You, of course, play Robin of Locksley, the Hooded Man and your task is to find and safely store the Touchstones of Rhiannon.

You start the game in the Sheriff's dungeons, awaiting trial for killing deer. Escaping is difficult and probably one of the most well constructed puzzles I have seen.

Once you are free you should save the game - exploration of the cas- tle is risky, though necessary.

It shouldn't be too long before you manage to get out of the castle and when you do you'll find yourself in the middle of a 60-odd room maze. I suggest you save the game again at this point.

The usual maze-mapping methods won't work here as the objects you have seen so far can't be collected.

The maze is logical, though, so you can map it linearly. Moving two moves east and then two west will bring you back to your start position providing you haven't tried to go off the map.

If you find you need less moves on your return journey then you have reached the end of the map and should, by reducing the number of moves, be able to find where the edge is.

Eventually you'll manage to map it all.

I was a bit disconcerted to find myself dumped in the forest maze so suddenly, and this put me off the game for a while.

Once I had got further into it though, I found it to be one of the best adventures to have come my way for a while.

Atmosphere ...................... 6
Complexity ...................... 6
Presentation .................... 5
Value for money ................. 6
Overall ......................... 5

Paul Gardner
Electron User Vol. 3 No. 7

Product: ROBIN OF SHERWOOD (Tape, DFS Disk) Supplier: AInternational UK
IT is over a hundred years since the Normans conquered England, but re- bellion still flares. Many English secretly believe a Hooden Man - a fugitive - would be chosen by Herne the Hunter to lead the English against the Norman tyranny. This time is now ready for the appearance of the Hooded Man - you. This Scott Adams' adventure includes features such as the stringing together of commands and input of complete sentences. A free hint sheet is included with the game.

"Quick Peek" From Electron User Vol. 3 No. 3

Product: SECRET MISSION (Tape, DFS Disk)
Price: 7.95
Supplier: ADVENTURE INTERNATIONAL, 85 New Summer Street, Birming-
ham B19 3TE

READERS may remember a TV program called Mission Impossible in which the leader of a government spy team always received his instructions on a tape, which after being played, self-destructed.

SECRET MISSION (Adventure International) is the third in the Scott Adams series of games and is based on that TV series.

You, like the leader of the spy team, have to play a tape to find out what your task is.

Your mission is to prevent the destruction of a nuclear plant. A saboteur has planted a bomb in the reactor and it is up to you to defuse it.

On playing the tape in the briefing room you discover that the sabo- teur has been there before you.

A quick exploration shows that you have only got access to eight lo- cations.

Several security doors bar your way, though a visit to the grey room should give you the means of getting through one of them.

You now have a visitor's pass and a means of getting into the white room. Wait until you hear a noise though, the saboteur is suicidal and will provide vital additions to your inventory.

The window is now the place to go and the tape recorder will help you here. You'll have to fool that camera, so think you you'd send for here, to repair the window.

You should now have another key and a return to the console should help you to get through another door. A floor cleaner is soon found and therefore, two objects that will put you well on the way to finishing the game.

I think this is the hardest of the Scott Adams games I have tried.

An excellent adventure that I highly recommend.

Atmosphere ...................... 5
Complexity ...................... 7
Presentation .................... 4
Value for money ................. 6
Overall ......................... 6

Paul Gardner
Electron User Vol. 3 No. 7

Product: STRIKE FORCE HARRIER
Supplier: MIRRORSOFT
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Roland Waddilove in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 4

IF you've ever wondered what it would be like to fly one of the world's best combat planes then take a look at STRIKE FORCE HARRIER.

Mirrorsoft would probably agree that it's not quite as good as the real thing, but then it's about five million pounds cheaper!

The display is quite impressive, with excellent graphics.

Your instruments cover the lower half of the screen and consist of a map and radar, thrust and fuel gauges and the status of the under- carriage, flaps and brakes.

The windscreen covers the top half of the screen. This is where the action takes place. Through it you can see the ground, horizon, sky and clouds, plus a few more instruments.

Flying the Harrier is fairly easy. Within ten minutes I was looping the loop and doing barrel rolls.

This is only a small part of the game though. The place is armed with bombs, missiles and cannons to defend youself from surface to air miss- iles, anti-aircraft fire and enemy aircraft (MIG 23s).

Your mission is to destroy the enemy HQ 500 miles from your starting position. This is achieved by blasting enemy tanks on the ground with your cannons and bombs.

A ground site can then be set up and your own forces moved up by an airborne drop at a speed of around 600 knots.

Each new base needs defending from tanks as you attempt to set up the next.

STRIKE FORCE HARRIER is more than a single flight simulator, it's a battlefield simulator.

It requires a knowledge of ground attack techniques and skill in air to air combat.

The 27-page manual supplied describes these tactics in details, along with an outline of your mission and tips on flying.

There are several different levels of difficulty, including a prac- tice mode in which you aren't attacked.

After a bit of practice you can try your hand at combat. Far from easy this - it takes a long time to master.

If you're after something more than a flight simulator then Harrier is well worth considering.

The addition of ground and air combat makes this one of the best games of its type on the Electron.

Roland Waddilove

Product: ANSWER BACK SPORTS QUIZ
Supplier: KOSMOS
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Rog Frost in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 3

KOSMOS has developed quite a reputation for its Answer Back programs, and the latest addition to the collection, the sports quiz, keeps up the good work.

What you get for your money is more than 750 questions divided into 26 categories.

These must cover just about every area of sport.

The questions can be multiple choice, or yes/no answers. The whole program is regarded as a sporting contest - you against Kosmos.

Every time you get a question wrong, it's a point for Kosmos. But if you get one right, you will gain the point yourself. [*] For each correct answer, you also get three credits, and these cred- its can be cashed in for a choice of two games - football or tennis.

In football, you keep goal against a very competent Kosmos forward line, while in tennis you score points each time you hit the ball.

Apart from the set questions, the program gives you the ability to create your own quiz.

This doesn't need to have a sporting theme - I've used it to create questions on science topics.

The program is well-written and bug-free. The games, while not ar- cade standard, demand some skill and are enjoyable to play.

The main menu is clear and easy to use.

Rog Frost

[* Evidently, an error occured in printing the original review which reads 'But if you get one enjoyable to play.']

Product: STAIRWAY TO HELL
Supplier: SOFTWARE INVASION
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Nick Rhodes in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 6

BY far the biggest game I've yet seen for the Electron, STAIRWAY TO HELL is basically a graphics action game. But it has been produced on such a scale that it takes on the aura of an adventure program.

It is actually four linked programs - the first three consist of four separate screens each, and the last of these three, making a total of 15 screens, each of which is nearly a game in itself.

The object is to guide your explorer on his journey to the centre of the Earth through the various hazards to the last screen - an audience with the Devil.

T haven't seen this final screen yet, but the preceding fourteen constitute a bewildering variety of detailed graphics and excellent an- imation.

Each is a variation on a familiar theme - climbing over obstacles, up and down ladders, jumping holes or moving hazards and collecting objects for points.

Variation is the key word here, and I can't think of a possibility which has not been covered in some way in one or another of the locat- ions.

Moving is by the usual keys (Z, X, * and ?) and Return for a jump.

Each section of the game has some short instructions, informing you of the environments, how to score points and bonus marks, and what to look out for.

Part 1 takes you down into the subterranean world through mines, the pump room and the grotto, each with its own brand of hazard such as rock falls, trolleys and rats.

From here you move into the realms of ice and snow, which gradually thaws to become a sub-tropical forest with mutant plants.

The temperature rises still further in part three, where snakes abound in the jungle, crocodiles in the swamp and mosquitos in the man- groves.

Should you survive the desert and the entrance to Hell, fire and brimstone are everywhere as your explorer avoids falling lava and jumps flaming pits.

I'd really love to know what the audience with the Devil is like! The instructions do have the strange observation "Is this your journey's end?", so perhaps Software Invasion are keeping something up their sleeves.

My favourite screen is the Grotto, featuring invisible tunnels which you can only enter when approaching from the correct direction. Walking happily along you suddenly find yourself on a different level!

Along the way the very skilful will have accumulated enough points and information to enable them to solve the final screen, and in doing so stand a chance of winning one of the prizes being offered - the first worth seven hundred and fifty pounds!

Sound, however, is only adequate but to be fair this is not surpris- ing when you consider how much has been packed in.

STAIRWAY TO HELL has all the hallmarks of a very classy production.

If you enjoy this sort of game, you'll love this one, and like all good adventures, it will take a lot of time and perseverance to complete.

One final point. The cassette is one of an increasing number with the Electron version on one side and the BBC Micro version on the other. The result is that many shops are now stocking Electron games where pre- viously they only carried those for the BBC Micro. Manufacturers save on production costs as one tape is cheaper to produce than two, and of course more Electron programs in the shops means more tapes sold.

This has to be good for the industry in general and Electron users in particular, and I would like to see this practice adopted by all soft- ware houses whenever it is practial.

Nick Rhodes

Product: THE HACKER
Supplier: FIREBIRD
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Roland Waddilove in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 4

THIS hacker really has little to do with hacking. However it makes an interesting and topical story line for the game.

It's actually a Manic Miner-type levels game. There are twelve screens and man different puzzles and obstacles to overcome.

Your objective is to gain access to the central computer games' library. You are cast in the role of a small man who is able to pass through electrical circuits. It's here that the action takes place.

You must pass through your modem into the telephone network.

Then it's out of the mainframe's modem, into its buffer, down its data bus and into the central processing unit. Then you can access the files.

On each screen are five floppy discs to collect and a time limit in which to do it. The time remaining when you've completed the screen is added to your score.

Any screen can be practised without having to start at the beginning and go through each one. This is a useful feature which I wish more games had.

The graphics are quite nice but the movement of the characters is fairly slow and they aren't very smooth. This spoils the game somewhat.

I should imagine it's much better on the BBC Micro with that little bit extra speed.

However having said that, Firebird software tends to be cheaper than most, so taking that into account it's a reasonable game.

Roland Waddilove

Product: VIEWSHEET
Supplier: Acornsoft
Reviewed by Nick Rhodes in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 4

ELECTRONIC spreadsheets have always had a reputation of being difficult to use, and I'm sure that this reputation, not entirely unjustified, has largely been acquired through unfamiliarity.

At first glance VIEWSHEET looks to be incredibly complex, coming as it does with a 143 page manual and a huge range of facilities.

In fact it is straightforward to use, though the complexities may take a considerable time to master.

The manual guides you into the subject gently, showing that it is very easy to set up simple sheets such as the Magic Square, and grad- ually builds up to the more powerful commands.

On my first encounter with VIEWSHEET I was astonished by just how powerful these were, and could soon see why spreadsheets are considered the best way of manipulating data, numbers and calculations.

The program was designed and written by Protechnic, the company res- ponsible for VIEW, with which it is compatible.

Coming on a 16k ROM it is switched in instead of Basic (by *SHEET) and so uses little of your precious RAM.

In common with VIEW it is key rather than menu driven, the ESCAPE key toggling between command and sheet modes.

The sheet has a nominal 255 by 255 size, and is best used in Mode 3.

At the top of the screen is a permanent display of command infor- mation - your current position within the sheet, and the contents of that slot.

The current slot itself is in reverse video - the sheet cursor. This can be moved around at will by using CAPS LK/FUNC and another key for the appropriate direction.

Each slot can contain a label, formula or reference. For example, if in slot A1 you enter PI, you see 3.14159 appear.

Move to B1 and type 2 * A1, and this is calculated and stored in B1 as 6.28319. B1 thus refers to A1, so go back to A1 and alter the con- tents to another number. In B1 that number multiplied by 2 appears automatically.

This is the essential power of the spreadsheet. Any shot referring to A1 will be updated, and likewise any referring to B1 and so on, pro- pagating any change across the whole sheet. Slots can also be accessed by naming the columns and rows, for example "JUNE" Week1" * 0.15.

They can be filled by auto-entry (across or down), replication (across, down or both, and Absolute or Relative) and by editing existing contents.

As for calculations, a large range of functions are available includ- ing summing, conditional operators (including IF), pseudo-list functions such as MAX, MIN, AVERAGE, CHOOSE and LOOKUP (taking lists of slots as one of their arguments), and most of the Basic maths functions with the usual operator precedence.

Up to ten windows can be defined to display information from all over the spreadsheet simultaneously. Printing is also by means by windows and drivers, and save/load windows cmmands mean that one large spreadsheet can be used with several sets of windows.

Other facilities include protection, insertion and deletion of rows and columns, forced recalculation, editing slot formats - decimal places, ranging right or left and altering the column width.

In addition, Plus 3 owners can transfer data between sheets using specially created files, and two or more spreadsheets can be linked, so overcoming memory limitations.

In short, this ROM is sufficiently powerful to provide almost any conceivable planning, modelling and forecasting that anyone could want from an Electron.

Many people don't realise the capabilities of spreadsheets. I'd advise them to go on and try it!

My only reservations are the rather poor bar charts (using rows of asterisks), the lack of an index in the otherwise excellent manual, and the speed of the response times - none serious enough to prevent me from warmly recommending it.

At 29.95 it is now well priced, but beware: some shops are still selling it at double that.

Nick Rhodes

Product: WORD GAMES WITH THE MR MEN
Supplier: MIRRORSOFT
Available on Tape
Reviewed by Phil Tayler in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 5

THIS follows in the same promising steps as the earlier Mr Men programs from Mirrorsoft. Now the number of little characters is reduced to four, but the graphics execution is greatly improved.

Mr Noisy's Word Game features Mr Funny and Mr Silly as well as Mr Noisy, and the intention of the series of activities is to practise opposites and comparatives.

Any of the nine activities can be selected from the menu, and these include options in which the child can conjure up on the screen any of the characters in any given dimensions, so a tall Mr Noisy can stand be- side a wide Mr Silly.

The young children I tried this with obviously enjoyed these activi- ties, yet a great amount of vocabulary was being used, orally and in reading and typing at the keyboard. There is a screen dump facility in- cluded.

My favourite program, and that of many of my fellow players, was Read with Mr Bounce.

Again there is a menu with just five choices and this time the in- tention is to encourage practice in reading through the repetition of a number of phrases.

All in all, a fine program with a very real educational purpose, yet an equally high enjoyment factor. I highly recommend it.

Phil Tayler

Product: WORKSHOP
Supplier: Acornsoft
Available on 3.5" Disk, Tape
Reviewed by Robin Nixon in Electron User Vol. 3 No. 5

WORKSHOP, from Acornsoft, as you might expect, provides the user with a workshop environment in which to build things.

The main fun comes from being able to take objects or shapes such as triangles, squares andcircles,then chop bits off them, drill holes and glue them to each other.

Educationally, the idea is that users set their own aims, develop their own plans and experiment as they explore alternative methods of working.

Experiments are encouraged as their effects can be immediately re- versed by pressing the Delete key thus ensuring no damage is done.

There are four main pages or operating areas: Shelf, Plan, Machines and Look.

At the start you are presented with the Shelf page from which you can select an object to work on - either a circle, square or triangle.

Once you've made your selection you move on to Plan by pressing Escape.

Here your object is shown in a large box in the centre of the screen.

Surrounding the box is a set of icons representing the various machines you can use.

You can position your object around inside the box by using the cur- sor keys and then select a machine from the following: *Drill bores a hole at the centre of the main box, the position of the object being drilled having been selected by the cursor keys. The size of the drilled hole increases with each press of the Return key.

*Paint paints your object in any of seven colours.

*Not acts like a mould which surrounds the chosen shape. The mould then becomes the new shape.

*Scale allows you to enlarge or reduce your object.

*Cut has a blade which can be moved left or right. When Return is pressed the blade cuts down through your object.

*Squash squashes or stretches your object.

*Glue will glue your present object to one you have previously made and stored.

*Rotate turns your object through 90 degrees so that you can work on all sides.

These machines are very versatile and the graphical effects quite clever.

One very good feature is the Look option. As you build your object, each key press you make is stored.

On selecting Look every process you have taken your object through is impressively replayed in graphic detail.

This is a very useful feature for the teacher or parent who does not have the time to work through the program with the user but wishes to review the work later.

The environment provided by Acornsoft's WORKSHOP is definitely con- ductive to logical thinking and closely simulates that of a real work- shop.

Robin Nixon