A&B Computing


Apollo
By Software Invasion
BBC Model B

 
Published in A&B Computing 1.03

Enter Lunar Lander Mk ?, fanfare and all. This one calls itself Apollo and pretends more than most to be a simulation of the spectacular television views of the Apollo missions. We begin by circling in orbit trying to find a suitable object on which to land. Next come three levels of descent for us to negotiate, long and medium ranges - which are fairly easy - and finally a close-up of the lunar surface.

The graphic representation of the lander is convincing and the controls handle as you might wish on the real thing. The Shift key fires the rockets which slow your descent and the Z and X keys control your sideways motion, Z takes you right, X left, which is strange considering the relative positions of those two keys on the keyboard.

The sound facilities of the BBC are severely under-utilised however, and perhaps a bit more imagination where the graphics are concerned wouldn't have gone amiss. The moonscape was somewhat crudely drawn and the presentation suffered from a disproportionately large area of unused screen.