Ah! Innit nice when you
finally see a really good game,
eh? Rekindles the old passion
of the early days, dunnit? You
remember, the thrill of loading
up a new game, the wonder of
a new world to explore, of
maidens rescued and hi-scores
attained... snort! Uh!
Wurr... sorry, I was
daydreaming there. What am I
so fired up about? Why,
Spindizzy, naturellement. This
is the closest thing yet to
Marble Madness (that old slot-op
fave rave) on the small yet
humble Speccy. You are a
Reconnaissance Land-Mapping
Device called Gerald,
and you have been sent by the
Corporation (grrr) to map a
new dimension. Time is
money, and you must whizz
around the narrow platforms in
search of power crystals to
prolong your life so you can
finish the mission.
This may sound like a
supercharged pac-thing to you
but once you see this game in
action you'll change your mind
so fast your eyebrows will
catch fire with the friction. This
isn't a new computer game, it
is
the computer game on the
Spectrum. Which ain't bad
considering how stiff the
competition is these days. So
why is this so good, and why is
this guy so excited about it,
hmmm? Well hang on a minute
and I'll tell you.
Firstly the 3D isometric
viewpoint (corner view to you),
standard in such games as
Fairlight and the Ultimate type
games, is the way you view the
Spindizzy world. Not only that,
but you can change the
viewpoint any time you like with
the touch of a key. Useful if you
want to look around any bits of
scenery that may be blocking
your view. You can also
change the form of Gerard from
top, to gyroscope, and yes, to
marble at the touch of another
rubber keypad. (Mmm!) The
speed and quality of the
graphics are truly incredible, as
is the realism of movement.
Your Gerald has inertia, so
when he starts moving it takes
equal pressure in the opposite
direction to stabilise him (I'm
sure you've heard of Newton!)
There's a sort of brake pedal
too which stops you dead on
any surface except ice or water
- handy on those tight curves.
There are interesting puzzles
too, in the form of floor
switches you must activate to
start the lifts going between
levels.
The biggest reason I can
think of to recommend this
game is the fact that it is
addictive! I could barely drag
myself away from it to write this
review.., in fact... yes, I can see
the start screen from here...
perhaps just one more go...
| Ratings given by other magazines |
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| Info supplied by the SPOT*ON database |