Sinclair User


Geoff Capes Strongman
By Martech
Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Sinclair User #46

Geoff Capes Strongman

Are you as strong as a horse, built like a mountain with muscles like a pile driver? Probably not, but if you attempt Geoff Capes Strong Man you will certainly sprout some muscles in your joystick arm.

The idea is to pretend Geoff hasn't got a brain. You take its place and while he proves his superior strength by towing lorries, chucking barrels and rolling over cars, you must send the stimulae to his muscles enabling him to perform those mighty feats.

Firstly, build up his muscles in a short training session which lasts all of ten seconds. Waggle the joystick back and forth, Decathlon style, to get his muscle rating as high as possible. You then have a few more seconds to designate some muscle to eight drawings round the side of the screen. Those are depicted as a foot, arm, chest, leg, and so on.

Geoff Capes Strongman

You will soon learn which events need more muscle and designate more to the arm or chest accordingly. If you are a wimp and can't even manage the training sessions, just press the fire button and you will be given some muscle, though not very much.

The first event is towing a lorry. As Geoff moves, the muscles he uses are outlined in yellow. Rush the pointer to that particular box and press the fire button. If you make it in time, it will flash green, then hurry onto the next muscle. There is a pattern to follow as arm, chest and leg muscles are brought into play. It is fast and you have to be on your toes. If you run out of energy on a specific muscle, Geoff collapses and you have to start all over again.

Next, the log chop - which is simple. just wait until the blade whizzes over the section of wood you have chosen and press the fire button. The blade comes down and knocks off a chunk. Some areas are softwood, others are hardwood which may need two or three chops of the blade. The only thing that can go wrong is running out of time.

Rolling the car follows the same mode of play as towing the lorry, but putting barrels on a truck is more difficult. The remaining two screens portray Geoff hitting a fairground bell and doing some Sumo wrestling.

Geoff Capes Strong Man is unusual, but it soon begins to pall as the events are merely repeated each time at higher difficulty levels. Granted, another famous name has been dredged up to lend credence to the game, but at least Strong Man is different from the run of the mill sporting simulations. You couldn't call it exciting, but it will test your staying power.

Clare Edgeley

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