Zzap 64 Issue 1

Zzap!64 Issue 1

Editor

Chris Anderson

Publisher

Newsfield

Pages

132

Cover Date

May 1985

Release Date

11th April 1985

Previous issue	Next issue
-	Issue 2

This issue was cover-dated May 1985 and cost 95p.

Contents[]

Contents - 1 page (3)

Regulars[]

Zzap!-Ed - 3 pages (7-9)

Zzap! Rrap (Letters) - 2 pages (10-11)

Competition - 1 page (19)

Zzap! Flash[]

Page 25

Mystery of the 'altered' cassette player

Do they know it's Soft Aid: Soft Aid launched to raise money for Ethiopia.

Gremlin Bounce Back: Tony Crowthers departure from Gremlin doesn't stop them announcing two new games. Thing on a Spring and Monty on the Run.

Page 26

Bigger than Quo Vadis: Almazz from The Edge, also Quo Vadis prize still not won.
Everyone's a Wally part 1 & 2: from Mikro-Gen
The PM's CBMs: 2 C64's presented to Margaret Thatcher.
Tramiel Attack: Jack Attack based on Jack Tramiel?
Gryphon, the Nonmythical Bug: Some copies of Gryphon have game-breaking bugs.

Page 27

What's THAT doing under there?: Elite running on a C64 via BBC at LET Show
Alligata Bait: Blagger Goes to Hollywood, Hyper Circuit, Fistful of Fun and Contract Bridge from Alligata Software
Look! No engines!: Glider Pilot from CRL
Great ideas department: Cad-Cam Warrior proves too difficult to map.
James Scoular dies: Person responsible for bringing Elite to the C64.

Page 28

Saga of Swords and Sorcery: from PSS
Imagine playing baseball!: World Series Baseball
Hookability guaranteed!: Jack Charlton's Match Fishing from Alligata
Violence on the keyboard: Slap Shot from Anirog
Ice created by Sparks!: Ice Palace from Creative Sparks
Well hi there, oblivion: The Rocky Horror Show from CRL
Argus go into battle: The Battle of the Bulge
The Brian Jacks exhaustion test: Brian Jacks' Superstar Challenge from Martech
The £150 64: Boots selling C64 £80 less the RRP
Why you need a Y: Y Cable Adapter from Welwyn Systems

Features[]

64: Worlds Greatest Games Machine! - Chris Anderson - 3 pages (12-14)

Comments from:- David Tomkins (Commodore), Tim Chaney (US Gold), Ian Stewart (Gremlin Graphics), Tony Crowther, Andy Walker (Taskset)

Interview with Tony Crowther - Chris Anderson - 3 pages (60-62)

The Zzap Challenge - Julian Rignall defeats Gary Penn and Bob Wade at Impossible Mission. 3 pages (86-88)

Zzap 64 Top 64:- 3 pages (89-91)

1-Boulder Dash, 2-Impossible Mission, 3-Decathlon, 4-International Soccer, 5-Psi Warrior

Top ten tackiest top-sellers:- ½ page (92)

1-Valhalla, 2-Alice in Videoland, 3-Daley Thompson's Decathlon, 4-Kokotoni Wilf, 5-Jet Set Willy

Jeff Minter Column - 2 pages (120-121)

Reviews[]

Note: Zzap reviewed the Atari version of Bounty Bob Strikes Back.

Key for table:- Val: Value for Money

Game Title	Publisher	Reviewer(s)	Pgs	Pg No(s)	Val (%)
Elite	Firebird	BW	3	16-18	95
Pastfinder	Activision	BW, GP, JR	2	20-21	85
Rock 'n' Bolt	Activision	BW, GP, JR	1	22	61
Seaside Special	Taskset	BW, GP, JR	1	33	61
BC's Quest for Tires	Software Projects	BW, GP, JR	1	34-35	57
Web Dimension	Activision	BW, JR	1	34-35	27
Shades	Durell Software	BW, GP, JR	1	36	37
Bounty Bob Strikes Back	US Gold	BW, GP, JR	2	38-39	89
Spy Hunter	US Gold	BW, GP, JR	2	40-41	87
Aqua Racer	Bubble Bus	BW, GP, JR	1	42	66
Software Star	Addictive Games	BW, GP, JR	1	43	43
Tim Love's Cricket	Peaksoft	BW, GP, JR	1	44	58
Super Huey	US Gold	BW, GP, JR	1.5	48-49	87
Penetrator	Melbourne House	BW, GP, JR	1	49-50	56
Pole Position	US Gold	BW, GP, JR	1	52	70
Airwolf	Elite	BW, GP, JR	2	54-55	88
Dark Tower	Melbourne House	BW, GP, JR	1	56-57	41
Caverns of Sillahc	Interceptor Micros	BW, GP, JR	1	56-57	60
Jack Attack	Commodore	BW, GP, JR	1	58-59	58
Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom	US Gold	BW, GP, JR	1	58-59	38
Shadowfire	Beyond	BW, GP, JR	2	66-67	91
Give My Regards to Broad Street	Mind Games	BW, GP, JR	1	68	65
Tir Na Nog	Gargoyle Games	BW, GP, JR	2	80-81	87
Lords of Midnight, The	Beyond	BW, GP, JR	3	82-84	91
Cauldron	Palace Software	BW, GP, JR	2	110-111	87
Frak!	Statesoft	BW, GP, JR	1	112	71
Battle for Normandy	US Gold	BW, GP, JR	1	113	74
Combat Leader	US Gold	BW, GP, JR	1	114	63
Mama Llama	Llamasoft	BW, GP, JR	1	116	59
Master of the Lamps	Activision	BW, GP, JR	1	124-125	58
Up 'n' Down	US Gold	BW, GP, JR	1	124-125	71

Other Details

Key for table:- Pre: Presentation, Ori: Originality, Gra: Graphics, Hoo: Hookability, Sou: Sound, Las: Lastabilit

Game Title	Pre (%)	Ori (%)	Gra (%)	Hoo (%)	Sou (%)	Las (%)	Summary
Elite	94	87	91	95	52	98	Even at £14.95 it's a must.
Pastfinder	83	66	84	75	48	91	Despite Activision's price, an excellent buy.
Rock 'n' Bolt	75	76	74	81	93	67	Expensive, but almost a really good game. Not quite enough variety.
Seaside Special	72	78	75	70	61	48	Fun for a while especially if you vote Labour.
BC's Quest for Tires	71	61	71	72	40	57	US software showing its age again.
Web Dimension	75	64	54	42	81	32	Very little to offer apart from the music.
Shades	69	64	42	24	35	48	Not enough arcade or adventure to be satisfying.
Bounty Bob Strikes Back	93	42	68	91	62	93	May well be as successful as its predecessor.
Spy Hunter	61	67	66	91	73	87	Another truly addictive title from the US.
Aqua Racer	64	42	65	58	58	68	Enjoyable action for water sport fans.
Software Star	82	68	15	48	3	41	Not nearly as good as Football Manager.
Tim Love's Cricket	65	57	42	34	4	68	Higher if you really like the sport.
Super Huey	86	72	87	82	78	92	One of the cheapest flight simulators around. A great buy.
Penetrator	73	21	58	54	81	45	Basically a good, but very old game.
Pole Position	68	50	72	73	65	69	Aging idea, but still the best race game money can buy.
Airwolf	60	67	82	88	58	86	Hours of frustration and jubilation guaranteed.
Dark Tower	76	12	49	58	86	56	It's too expensive for old hat.
Caverns of Sillahc	52	21	57	49	59	63	Cheaper than Fort Apocalypse but not as good.
Jack Attack	71	75	46	55	35	71	Unfortunately expensive as it's on cartridge.
Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom	68	18	48	54	51	35	Not so much the 25th century as the 15th.
Shadowfire	93	94	92	88	82	93	Stunningly impressive program - experienced gameplayers will rave over it.
Give My Regards to Broad Street	88	81	74	52	56	73	Some very nice features.
Tir Na Nog	83	87	88	79	6	91	One of the great arcade adventures.
Lords of Midnight, The	96	95	83	84	0	92	Worth it if ever a game was.
Cauldron	65	74	82	83	73	87	An excellent combination of zapping, leaping and exploring.
Frak!	64	62	74	72	41	70	An excellent British release from Statesoft
Battle for Normandy	86	50	42	44	36	83	Expensive but worth it for war gamers.
Combat Leader	88	68	26	43	29	76	Expensive even for this slick package
Mama Llama	76	62	51	49	63	72	Plenty there, but we suspect even Minter fans will not take to it.
Master of the Lamps	77	55	68	67	94	55	Our reviewers disagreed strongly on this one - try before you buy!
Up 'n' Down	73	65	61	70	60	74	The upper price range but well worth it.

Adventure[]

Reviews

Key for table:- Atm: Atmosphere, Int: Interaction, Las: Lasting Appeal, Val: Value for Money

Game Title	Publisher	Pages	Pg No(s)	Atm (%)	Int (%)	Las (%)	Val (%)
Valkyrie 17	RamJam Corp.	1	71	80	65	75	67
Emerald Isle	Level 9	0.50	72	65	55	78	85
Castle of Terror	Melbourne House	0.50	72-73	83	70	68	67
Witch's Cauldron	Mikro-Gen	0.25	73	50	58	72	65
Hobbit, The	Melbourne House	0.50	73	90	80	80	75
Ripper	Eclipse Software	0.25	74	65	50	58	50
Mindshadow	Activision	0.38	74	70	70	68	60
Tracer Sanction, The	Activision	0.38	74	55	70	65	60

News - 1 page (76)

Back to the original: Colossal Cave Adventure, Time Search, and The Mountain Palace from Duckworth Home Computing.
Going beyond Midnight: Mike Singleton working on Doomdark's Revenge and The Eye of the Moon.
Enter the castle: Castle Blackstar from CDS
Do you own graphics: The Illustrator from Gilsoft
Artic sees the light: Adventure A: Planet of Death, Adventure B: Inca Curse, Adventure C: Ship of Doom, and Adventure D: Espionage Island from Artic Computing
Magra 64 arrives: The Wrath of Magra and Black Crystal available from Mastertronic
Twin for Kingdom Valley?: Rumoured sequel on the way from Bug-Byte
Soul Gem of Martek from Anirog

Features

The White Wizard's Top Ten Adventures - (76-77)

Tips

Twin Kingdom Valley, Urban Upstart, Questprobe Featuring Spider-Man, Heroes of Karn & Empire of Karn - (78)

Other Reviews[]

Melody Makers - 3 pages (106-108)

Julian Rignall looks at six very different programs all of which can turn your 64 into a music machine.

Key for table:- Pre: Presentation, EoU: Ease of Use, Sou: Sound Potential, Val: Value for Money

Software Title	Publisher	Pre (%)	EoU (%)	Sou (%)	Val (%)
Music Maker	Activision	93	91	88	85
CMK49 Keyboard	Seil	78	69	94	84
Multisound Synthesizer	Romik	37	39	68	44
Dancing Feats	Artic Computing	72	87	21	69
Ultisynth	Quicksilva	76	34	71	46
Music Maker	Commodore	88	86	65	72

Tips[]

Maps for:-

The Lords of Midnight - 2⅔ pages (82-83,98-99)
Staff of Karnath - 3 pages (102-104)

Tips for:-

Impossible Mission - Gary Penn - 1¼ pages (96-97)
Zaxxon - (97)
Bruce Lee - (97)
Aztec Challenge - (98-99)
Ghostbusters, River Raid, Crazy Kong - (100)
International Soccer, Raid over Moscow, Guardian - (101)
Guardian, Raid on Bungeling Bay, Pitfall 2 - (105)

Adverts[]

Moon Cresta - 1 page (2)

Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Street Hawk, and Daley Thompson's Super-Test - 2 pages (4-5)

Gribbly's Day Out - 1 page (6)

Blagger Goes to Hollywood - 1 page (15)

Master of the Lamps - 1 page (23)

Cauldron - 1 page (24)

Other Credits[]

Deputy Editor

Bob Wade

Staff Writers

Gary Penn, Julian Rignall, Steve Cooke

Production Editor

David Western

Contributor

Jeff Minter