Producer: Bug-Byte
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £5.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Adrian Sherwin (Graphics: Matthew Smith)

As a game type, The Birds and The Bees is a sort of 'Scramble' cum 'Defender' with 'Centipede' connections. It's all about Boris Bee from Birkenhead, who has discovered a fabulous field full of flowers, and dragged his hive into the field ready to start collecting nectar. Unfortunately there are a number of problems. For a start off the birds aren't too happy about the bee's intrusion, and the more nectar Boris collects, the more they chase him. Centipedes also appear, and a bear, which tries to steal the nectar from the, or rather the honey being made in there. Towards the end some wasps make an appearance. Boris's life is hard!

The screen display shows the blue sky and green ground. The sky is full of clouds, some raining, and the sun. It's also full of various birds which fly back and forth. On the ground ducks waddle about, centipedes and caterpillars crawl up and down, and of course there are the flowers. If Boris manages to land properly on a flower, it opens up and releases its nectar. Below the main display is a bar code which shows how much nectar Boris has collected on his trip. There comes a point when he is fully loaded and must return to the hive to deposit it. The more flowers he visits, the slower he flies, and the more birds home in on him. There is also a 'Scramble' style radar screen which shows Boris's position and that of other creatures. The playing area is totally shown on this screen with the landscape scrolling back and forth as Boris flies about.

The game is compatible with the Currah Microspeech unit, which enhances the sound enormously, as well as providing spoken comments like 'Nectar' when a flower is touched, or 'Oh dear' when a bird is run into.

COMMENTS

Control keys: sensible, Q/Z up/down, I/P left/right, B drops nectar to speed Boris up in an emergency
Joystick: Kempston, Protek, AGF
Keyboard play: responsive when used to it
Colour very good
Graphics: excellent
Sound: very good
Skill levels: 1 gets harder
Lives: 5
Features: Currah Microspeech compatible

With a micro speech unit on, the sound is very good, but I tried it without, and it's still very good. The title tune, 'Flight of the Bumble Bee ' of course, sounds marvellous. At first I thought the controls were soggy, but it becomes apparent that this is done on purpose, and simulates real life better. Boris has to slow before he can turn, and before he can change height. The more nectar he has on board the more sluggish he gets, so flight tactics and radar watching become very important to honey production! If it looks a little simple at first, don't be misled, it turns out to be very difficult to play, and satisfyingly frustrating too.

The graphics, as one might expect of Manic Miner's author, are very good. The bee is nicely animated, legs and wings on the go, so are the ducks and other birds, and the flowers when they snap open. Every character is big, and drawn with lots of detail. The game is a lot of fun to play, because of the graphics, and because the basic idea is quite original. I think it will prove to be quite addictive too.

This isn't one of those massively complex games to play, but the problems are sufficient to make it interesting and the graphics are powerful. It takes a bit of getting used to the way Boris is controlled, but once you can fly him about, you can get to be clever at avoiding the birds until they all gang up on you.

Producer: Bug-Byte, 48K
£5.95 (2)
Author: Adrian Sherwin & Matthew Smith

Boris Bee from Birkenhead has spotted a field full of flowers and has dragged his hive in there. Your job is to take him back and forth, collecting nectar from the flowers, whilst avoiding the somewhat annoyed birds. It takes several trips because the more flowers Boris visits, the heavier he gets. The mote nectar he collects, the more the birds home in on him and the slower he flies. Eventually centipedes and honey bears appear. Controlling Boris isn't easy, he's something of a soggy flier and it takes practice to get used to him. The graphics are very good (Matthew Smith of Manic Miner) and the game is compatible with the Currah Microspeech. Good control keys, joystick: Kempston, Protek and AGF. Gets progressively harder, 5 lives, general rating: addictive and recommended CRASH Overall rating 83%.

BIRDS AND BEES REVEAL TRUE FACTS OF LIFE

The name The Birds and the Bees may conjure idyllic images of peaceful summer days but the new Bug-Byte game for the 48K Spectrum finally will reveal how tough life can be for a bee.

On a screen which scrolls left and right, you must pilot your bee from flower to flower, picking up pollen to earn yourself points, and avoiding hostile birds and centipedes. The more pollen the bee picks up, the heavier it becomes, making it increasingly easy prey for the birds. There is also a limit to the amount of pollen it can carry, so that it has to make periodic trips to the hive to shed its load.

As your score mounts, new hazards will appear, first a swarm of bees and then a bear intent on raiding the hive for its store of honey.

This is not only a genuinely original game but a very entertaining and appealing one. The graphics are attractive and the movements, with the bee swooping uncontrollably up and down and the birds dive-bombing with deadly accuracy, are an ingenious reproduction of real-life conditions in the fields.

Details such as an animated title page, the aircraft which flies a Bug-Byte banner, and the flowers which open as the bee lands all show that a great deal of thought has gone into the product.

The game also offers a degree of difficulty which will satisfy experienced players and lure less-experienced ones to try to improve their skills.

The Birds and the Bees is sold by Bug-Byte Software, Mulberry House, Canning Place, Liverpool L1 8JB. It is obtainable from computer branches of W H Smith and costs £5.95.

Although insects often prove to be very annoying - the insect star of the new game quickly changed my mind (although he tends to be frustrating at times). You play the part of Boris the Bee - one of the busiest bees yet. Upon loading the game, the title screen (accompanied by the music of The Flight Of The Bumble Bee) appears. Pressing a key again launches you into the game - the object of which is to do what a bee does best - collect nectar and then take it back to your hive. Of course it is not easy - there are various hazards such a viciously swooping blackbirds, wasps and Venus fly-traps to hinder any progress - not exactly my idea of helpful neighbours.

Naturally you will need warning to help you avoid these pesky creatures - so a radar is present at the bottom of the screen showing your's and the hazard's positions. There are relatively few controls to master - four direction keys and, for emergencies, pressing any key from B to Space releases any nectar Boris is carrying to enable him to make a quick getaway. (The program also caters for most popular makes of joystick interface - Kempston etc.) Pressing the left or right key and holding it down makes Boris accelerate making it harder to swerve. Also the more nectar you are carrying the slower you fly easy prey for birds.

The graphics are excellent (done by Matthew Smith of Manic Miner fame) and are well though out - a bright yellow sun shining, clouds drifting past slowly, flowers opening when Boris lands on them and there is even a small plane flying the Bug-Byte logo. You the bee, are a cute little bit of graphics design - antennae waving with legs and wings moving convincingly.

Motion is smooth while sound effects are negligible - but how much sound do you need - certainly no zaps and pows. There is also a speech option if you have a Currah micro speech module attached to your Spectrum. Although this game is not quite as good as Manic Miner (my favourite game) it is highly recommended at £5.95. An excellent, original game - bound to Bee another sweet success for Buy-Byte.

A game with cartoon-style graphics involving Boris the bee's attempt to collect nectar while facing opposition from the local birds who are none too pleased about the invasion of their air space. It arrived at a time when Melbourne House was consolidating the popularity of its Horace character and cute games were all the rage.

The game was an instant success because it was different from anything that Bug-Byte had done before. It also showed that a simple plot concept could be turned into an original and engrossing game.

Position 30/50