Producer: Software Projects
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £5.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Patrick Richmond

Underneath one more of Software Projects lively inlay covers is a colour entry code card and THE STORY: After weeks of waiting the Space Freighter has nearly reached your settlement on Planet CS - but disaster…

A sudden meteor shower has devastated the ship, and its cargo of Resource Blocks has been scattered over the planet. The people have elected you to journey outside the settlement and round up the Blocks. Unfortunately this is unexplored terrain and there are many dangers - naturally.

In fact there are 15 varying screens in what is basically a novel platform game with very simple control keys. At the base there is the flashing transporter base onto which the Resource Blocks (three per screen) must be pushed. These blocks appear in awkward places on the screen and Astronut moves them by pushing against them until they fall from one level to the next one down and so on until they can be pushed onto the transporter block, at which poin the next one appears somewhere. Volcanoes or stairs automatically whisk Astronut upwards and he may jump down from any height. Various aliens waft about causing mayhem, but Astronut may leave behind bombs to destroy them, although the bombs have a time delay on them.

Any of the 15 screens may be entered at the start of a game by the select menu, and each of these is quite different from any of the others, with its own distinct problems.

COMMENTS

Control keys: not stated anywhere, but they are Z/X left/right and ENTER to drop time bomb
Joystick: Kempston
Keyboard play: very simple, and responsive
Use of colour: excellent
Graphics: very good, varied and detailed
Sound: continuous, but with on/off facility (Q)
Skill levels: only 1 but each screen has a different problem
Lives: 3
Screens: 15

Astronut lives up to Software Projects' standards. It has some excellent graphics (and imaginative ones). The game itself is very playable and has that magical addictive quality about it. Not MM or JSW but it is still excellent (in some ways even better, like bigger more colourful graphics) Another winner from Software Projects . (It's a pity the screens don't have names - a competition perhaps?

Astronut is one of those magical games that looks simple to play and indeed is simple to play but difficult to get through! The combination of volcanoes which whoosh you up but only at a given second, and the opening/closing platforms that get in the way, often stopping you half way up when you wanted to go all the way up, makes for a very jolly game with plenty of addictivity. Its a pity that Software Projects forgot all the instructions to tell you the keys, they're neither on screen nor the inlay. The level select menu says to use Z and X, which indicates those keys for left and right, but I spent a while looking for up and down before realising they weren't needed, and did a lot of dying before I realised you could drop bombs. Still, an excellent game.

The first thing that really strikes you about Astronut is the lack of instruction. Well, after sorting out the key problem I could start playing Astronut which is similar in appearance to JSW but plays in a way similar to a 'Pengo' game. I quite enjoyed playing this one which is both challenging and fun and has quite a few screens to keep you happy for a while. Overall Astronut is a standard platform game, graphically very good and a good game generally.

Astronut is produced by the same company responsible for Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy, although it's not billed in any way as a sequel to Matthew Smith's games. Written by Patrick Richmond, the game is attractive and colourful - but as a 'platform' game, I'm sure Software Projects are hoping that their reputation for this type of package will help this one on its way to the high street shelves.

The lack of instructions both on the cassette sleeve and on-screen (at least with the copy I've got anyway), didn't actually inspire any confidence that it was a particularly polished piece of software. To start the game, you need to press the 'S' key - and the 'Q' key is used to turn off the terrible sound effect (you'll find this is probably the most useful key in the whole game!)

Astronut's a game of some 15 screens; the object of the exercise on each screen is to push three resource blocks from various platforms down to ground level. You control the little two-cursor man and can move him left or right, or get him to drop bombs. To move the figure up the screen, you have to position him above a volcano and wait for it to erupt or, on the later screens, you can manoeuvre the figure up the ladders. Beware though, once you've started to climb there's no turning back.

Stopping you gathering the power capsules and moving the resource blocks are, of course, many assorted meanies which have to be negotiated. There's also the problem of extending platforms, which have an annoying habit of collapsing just when you want to use them!

The sprites move fairly smoothly by one or two pixels and come in the usual horizontally and vertically moving varieties; some are even more tricky and cascade back and forth along the platforms, defying gravity more often then not. The stationary graphics characters aren't your average run-of-the-mill platforms either - you may encounter dragons spitting fire and amazing castle towers - and they certainly go some way to brightening up the game.

Despite the pixel movement of the sprites, our man moves by cursor block stages, although the figure is animated within each stage. Unfortunately, this, coupled with the 'attribute collision detection' routine used, sometimes causes your figure to be pronounced dead even when there's lots of clear air between you and your killer.

Astronut is visually appealing, but it's too easy! Dropping bombs to protect yourself and timing the jumps to collapsing platforms do add an element of skill, but overall I didn't find it challenging enough. Each of the screens can be reached independently of the others by instructing the program to start on a specific screen - in my view, this spoils any suspence for the enthusiast.

ASTRONUT
Software Projects
Memory: 48K
Price: £7.95
Joystick: Kempston

Software Projects, a company responsible for bringing out more repeat plots than Dynasty, has done it again with a new space hero called Astronut.

He is a galatic Willy but without the bounce to get him out of trouble. His chums in the space freighter, headed for home planet CS, have thrown him out to collect resource blocks, blown from the ship in a meteor storm.

Luckily, the ship bas crashed on an unknown planet, which has ladders and levels, so you do not have to swing around in space. You can also select which level you want to enter, unlike Manic Miner or Jet Set Willy.

The monsters include jiving robots, jumping green fish and spinning rotary saws. To destroy them you drop bombs but be careful as explosions have a time delay of several seconds.

When you reach a block push it down the levels to the ground and onto the flashing transporter pad where it will be beamed over to the ship. When you have placed one block on the transporter another will appear and you repeat the process.

The game is difficult enough, and high scores are a luxury, but when first loaded there are no instructions for travelling to the various levels or for getting into the game. You are not even told how to drop bombs, though with a joystick it is easy. An attempt should have been made to include minimal instructions.

MAKER: Software Projects
FORMAT: cassette
PRICE: £5.95

The object of Astronut is to push three blocks onto matter transporters at the bottom of the screen but there are many things to stop you. Unlike Software Projects other game you don't have the option to jump, you rely completely on two little erupting volcanoes which will throw you up to the first bridge or ledge you reach.

You can drop bombs which will kill the enemies but there is a time delay before they explode making it difficult to time the destruction.

Astronut contains 15 screens, every one better than the next. If you can't clear a sheet you have the option to go directly to any other after the game.

Graphically it is excellent bu unfortunately the instructions don't tell you which keys to use. This is one game I will add to my collection.

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
CONTROL: Keys, Kemp
FROM: Software Projects, £5.95

Software Projects are renowned for their platform games and this one should be a worthy addition to the line.

There are 15 screens, on each of which you have to collect three 'resource' blocks by pushing them onto a matter transporter. The blocks appear one at a time and, as usual, there is a wide range of monsters and obstacles to stop you.

You can start at any one of the 15 screens so it's a high score challenge. This does have one advantage: you don't suffer the frustration of mastering the first screen just to be killed off in the next.

Also, it's not a matter of passing over objects since you have to move the blocks around the screen.

You cannot jump, so your only way up is to stand on top of an erupting volcano which will boost you up to the first platform you come across. You can also travel up by using a red escalator which moves automatically, so watch out for dangers at the top before you decide to use it.

Fortunately, you are allowed to fall any distance in pursuit of your blocks hut a missed step may have you trying to hoist yourself up to the top again.

The monsters come in all shapes and sizes, from enormous dragons blowing fireballs to yo-yoing spiders and dipping ducks - Many of these can be disposed of with your handy time delay bombs. These will only destroy the beasts so it won't matter if you drop one accidentally.

As with any platform game there are different floors and this one has an extending platform which flashes and then disappears. All this means that most screens require good timing to complete and with the time limit on each one you are continually under pressure to act quickly.

It seems that Software Projects have laid a claim to the platform game and Astronut is another example of this. However, they have not forgotten that originality is the spice of a games player life and this new game contains some nice touches which make it fairly special.

I especially liked the volcanoes which throw you into the air and some of the graphics are very good, agreeably surreal and typically zany.

Though not a classic like, say Manic Miner or Jet Set Willy, this is still enjoyable and you probably won't regret paying for it.

ROBERT PATRICK

Are Spectrum programmers really so lost for ideas that they have resorted to combining elements of previous platform games to make new ones?

I mean, the monsters are more than a little reminiscent of Jet Set Willy and as for the volcano - well, substitute them for springs and you've got Frank N Stein.

This is not to say that Astronut isn't enjoyable; it's certainly a worthwhile game in its own right. The graphics are large and brashly colourful, whilst, the 15 often difficult screens should prove quite addictive. Sound-wise however, things aren't so good.

PETER WALKER