C&VG


180

Publisher: Mastertronic Added Dimension
Machine: Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #66

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Mastertronic's done it again! What have they done? They have produced a £7-£9 quality game for only £2.99, that's what.

Yes folks, Mastertronic's 180 is a gaming masterpiece if there is such a thing. It's a darts game which captures all the skill, tension, and pure fun of the real thing.

When you've loaded it up, you choose between practice, tournament, and two player games.

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In practice mode, you play 'around the clock' against the timer. Around the clock is when you hit all the numbers from 1-20 in sequence. Use this game to polish up on your skills.

Next is the tournament, the real game itself. You are placed in the quarter finals, and must win your way through to the final. Your opponents for the Quarter and semi-finals are picked randomly from a group of eight. In the final you must play the world champion, Jammy Jim.

To control your throwing you move a hand around the screen with the joystick. You can only move the joystick diagonally, this is to simulate the difficulty in lining up. Once you are ready to throw, pressing fire will shoot your dart towards the board.

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You start with 501 points, and the aim of the game is to get down to 000. It sounds easy, but you must start and end with a double. I know this sounds obvious to you sonny, but there are some people out there who can't play darts.

After you have thrown three darts, you must watch your opponent have his throw, and this is shown in an animated sequence. If during one of your throws you score 180, a digitised scorer will shout it out. Funny though, if your opponent scores 180, the computer just carries on. Talk about favouritism.

The games are played 'best out of three' style and if you win you will progress to the next stage. Amazing value. Miss it at your peril.

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