Pssst!

It's years since the last issue of YS so we've got some serious catching up to do. Companies like Ocean and Gremlin may have bit the dust, but the good old Speccy scene lives on. As always, we begin proceedings with a mixture of news and nonsense. Just how you like it...

Dan Whitehead Martyn Carroll Shaun Bebbington SAM REVIVAL Remember the Sam Coupe? Well, for those of you who still use this 'Super Spectrum', you'll be glad to hear that there's a dedicated publication available called Sam Revival. Better still, the mag has recently turned up some new Sam software. Issue 10's cover disk contains the full game Invasion II, originally written in 1996 but never released. The game itself is a platform-action-adventure-sci-fi-(snip! Ed) romp in which you have to blast the hell outta the oncoming foe. Take a look at www.samcoupe.com for more information. In the meantime, check out these lovely screenshots.      With quality games like this, makes you wonder why the Sam never took off 81 NOT OUT Blimey, it's been a long time since we had any news about the old ZX81, isn't it? In an age when nearly everyone has turned their back on Uncle Clive's monochrome beast, there are some out there who are happily championing the cause. Leading the pack is Andre Baune, who is actively developing new games for the ZX81. Although his games are written in Sinclair BASIC, you'd be surprised to see how fast they run, almost reaching the near break-neck speeds of actual machine code. Even better, these titles have been archived on the Web and will work with your favourite emulator, at absolutely no cost to you.     His latest titles include the puzzle game Thief and the card game Eleuzxis, but his work doesn't stop there. He has also recently developed a text adventure game and is working on a massive puzzle game called Inzxec. Check out Andre's homepage at www.zx-team.de/andre. ZX81 emulators can be found can be found at www.zx81.de      The Chrome in all its glory, with see through naked bits SHINY SPECCY Although real Speccy's are no longer made, there are many Spectrum-compatible clones out there, mostly hailing from Eastern Europe and Russia. One of the more recent ones however is the Italian made Chrome, designed by Mario Prato.     His latest revision is close to being 100% compatible with a real Spectrum, and is able to run many demos which even some emulators can't quite manage. The specification of the machine is also improved, running at up to 7.1MHz with 160Kb as standard. It will even connect to modern TVs through a SCART connection. Full and up to date info can be found at http://aticatac.altervista.org/main.htm.      SHOW OF STRENGTH Saturday 6th November will see the second ORSAM Sinclair Computers Show take place in Norwich. Last year's event witnessed the launch of Cronosoft's mega shoot-em-up Rough Justice, so can we expect similar releases this time around? Organiser Tarquin Mills is keeping tight lipped, but the show will cover a diverse range of machines such as the Sinclair QL and the Sam Coupe. Admission and parking is free, and there's also going to be a prize draw in which you can win loadsa great stuff. Doors open at 10am and for those who are interested, there is a planned evening meal to wind down after the event.      A WORD FROM SIR CLIVE It seemed strange not to celebrate the wonder of YS without getting a few words from the man who made it all happen - shiny-domed boffin Sir Clive Sinclair. After several weeks speaking to directory enquiries, and many latenight expeditions through Alan Sugar's bins, we finally found the great man's phone number...     Sir Clive: Hello?     YS: Hello!     Sir Clive: It's 3am. Who is this. What are you doing?     YS: We're calling about Your Sinclair.     Sir Clive: Yes I am. Now what the hot bloody blazes do you want?     YS: Do you remember Your Sinclair?     Sir Clive: Of course I remember I'm Sinclair. Not likely to forget that, am I?     YS: No, no. We're Your Sinclair. Calling you.     Sir Clive: You're Sinclair?     YS: Exactly!     Sir Clive: You're a Sinclair?     YS: Er...sort of.     Sir Clive: Arthur, is that you? I told you, we're not having Martha this Christmas. You can clean up the accidents for once.     YS: Er...     Sir Clive: While you're on - do you want a QL or a C5 this year? I've still got plenty in the garage.     YS: Thanks. Bye!      TRUE SPECTRUM FACTS Army Moves was originally based on TV sitcom Duty Free, before Keith Barron refused to co-operate. The main sprite was redesigned as a jeep and the rest, as they say, is history. The idea for the famous rubber keys came about when Sir Clive was absent-mindedly working on his keyboard and accidentally started typing on his dog's eyes. TV "I don't believe it" funnyman Richard Wilson designed the mole sprite in Nodes of Yesod. If all the Spectrums in the world were piled on top of each other, it would fall down. The ZX in ZX Spectrum stands for Zoological Xodus, the name of Sir Clive's thrash metal band. The Speccy was banned in Austria where the word "Spectrum" literally means "Haddock arse confusion" In a bid to capitalise on playground slang, a Speccy with four eyes was developed. But then they flushed it down the bog and nicked it's lunch. The "K" in 48K does not actually stand for "Kilobyte" - it's a reference to the number of times Manuel uttered his hilarious catchphrase in Fawlty Towers. From issue 11 through to 23, Your Sinclair was printed on human skin in accordance with the Necronomicon. We don't know if hunky movie star Colin Farrell is a Speccy fan. "Feck off, yer eejits!" the shag-happy actor shouted, as he sped off on his golden swan. The special effects for the 1985 BBC series Chocky's Children were mostly done on a Spectrum. Mostly. The fourth Horace game, entitled Horace Goes Dogging, was banned by Mary Whitehouse. If cuddly Animal Magic presenter Johnny Morris had done a voice for the Spectrum, it would have been a highpitched squeaky voice, not unlike perpetual irritant Joe Pasquale. In Friday the 13th Part IV The Final Chapter, Jason Voorhees kills a topless girl by shoving a DK'Tronics lightpen in each ear. Because of union rules, the part of Benjamin Sisko in Deep Space Nine was played by the wizard from Atic Atac. Geese have no concept of Spectrums, though they are excellent at Daley Thompson's Decathlon. Because of the fast beaks, you see. Benny from ABBA is still stuck on the Sherlock text adventure after twenty years. The daft Swede. YS SMASH TAPE Well it wouldn't be YS without a covertape crammed with quality games and demos. But then again, it's not actually a covertape. No siree, it's a shiny cover CD bundled with our sister mag Retro Gamer. On the disc you'll find a kind of virtual Smash Tape containing a mixture of old and new games. Here's what you can look foward to:      BATTY Perhaps the most famous Your Sinclair covergame ever. This Arkanoid-beater was originally given away with issue 22 and later released as a commercial title. Well here it is once again for your playing pleasure. In fact, it's even better than when it appeared first time around because it now loads in seconds rather than minutes!      MOLEY CHRISTMAS Xmas is just around the corner (Doesn't time fly - Ed), so what better way to celebrate the festive season than digging up this covergame classic. Written specially for YS and originally stuck to the front of issue 25, this exclusive Monty Mole game features six screens of platforming fun and a great 128K tune.      MORE TEA, VICAR? So you've read our Mega Preview of this game on page 13 and now you want to give it a blast for yourself. Well it's a good job we've provided a stunning two-level demo then innit? Be warned though - it's a hardcore shooter and definitely not for wimps. You have been warned!      SENSITIVE We've highlighted this great Speccy puzzler at the back of the mag, but if you want to make up your own mind about the game's quality, why not put this exclusive preview through its paces. The game controls are listed on the start screen so that's all sorted then. Enjoy!      Legal bit: Batty distributed with full permission from Elite Systems Ltd. Moley Christmas distributed with full permission from Alchemist Research. Content remains the sole property of the copyright holders and may not be re-distributed without prior permission. All trademarks & copyrights acknowledged. Many thanks to the YS94 crew and Imagine Publishing for providing tons of original material!

Published in the 2004 Special issue of Your Sinclair

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