In the same series as Special Agent, Car Journey involves decision- making and skills of calculating time, distance and money. The program has 4 levels: levels 1 and 2 involve driving a car around the country with or without road hazards, while levels 3 and 4 are based on running a delivery service, again with or without the road hazards.
On all levels you have to choose from which town the journey is to begin, and then select the vehicle you are going to drive. The smaller vehicles travel faster and cost less to hire for the day (when you are playing Delivery Service), and of course each has a fuel tank with a different capacity. A histogram displays the fuel consumption at various speeds, and you have to fill up with petrol before the journey can commence.
On levels 3 and 4 a progress chart can be shown on the screen and this registers the cost of the fuel purchased. An overlay placed on the top row of keys allows the player call up status information and also contains the commands for driving the vehicle chosen.
The Delivery Service games are quite complex as there are so many factors to be borne in mind. The tee for delivering some contracts, for instance, is larger than for others, though the more valuable contracts have to be delivered very quickly. Journeys have to be planned carefully, and petrol can be saved by carrying more than one load at a time. An additional problem is that whenever the clock reaches 19.00 tours, you must stop for the night and this incurs overnight costs unless you are in your home town. Penalties also have to be paid if the vehicle is overloaded or if a load is not delivered in time.
The accompanying booklet gives information about the history of roads and how a car works, as well as containing the extract from The Wind in the Willows where Toad becomes car-crazy.
Control keys: a keyboard overlay ensures ease of operation
Keyboard play: responsive
Graphics: an attractive and sensible screen display
Use of colour: effective