Your Sinclair


Hit-Pack 2

Author: Jon Pillar
Publisher: Zeppelin Games
Machine: Spectrum 48K/128K

 
Published in Your Sinclair #80

Hit-Pack 2

Another compilation with more games than you could count on three fingers, cos there are four of em. Nobody here can quite figure out the connection between them, but that's nothing new. Let's get on with the review, shall we?

Las Vegas Casino

Casino games rank second only to fruit machine sims in terms of blithering uselessness. What is the point of a gambling game without money? Tsk. Anyway, Las Vegas Casino has four games a-sitting in its lobby - Blackjack, Craps, Baccarat and Roulette. All four are very nicely presented with smooth graphics and all four are terrible. Blackjack is good for about two minutes, craps seems to play quite happily on its own, roulette soaks up another couple of minutes and baccarat is totally incomprehensible. Bleugh. 40%

Pro Go-Kart Sim

Sort of WEC Le Mans in a car put together with string. Go-Kart is a rather natty little racer with one infuriating fault. But first, the good bits. It's blazingly fast, with sharp graphics and four track layouts. And now, the infuriating fault bit. The screen is small and the graphics large, thus preventing you from seeing clearly what's going on. The limited track space also makes it pretty difficult to dodge the billions of obstacles. It's fairly good fun. and the high frustration factor bolsters your determination to beat the dratted thing. Not bad. 60%

Sabotage

Completely undistinguished vertical scroller with power-ups, masses of aliens and end-of-level baddies which bobbles along pleasantly until you get killed, whereupon it sends you right back to the start of the level. A real pity, as there seems to be a lot to it. Not only is there an attainable goal - beat eight levels and you've won the game - but also secret rooms, and a serviceable plot! You're a secret agent, y'see, and you have to sabotage an enemy army by filching all their blueprints. Tsk. It's addictive stuff in a lazy afternoon sort of way. 55%

Jocky Wilson's Darts Challenge

Darts has always struck me as rather a sad old game, but there you go. On the Speccy it's been well served by 180, Wacky Dads and indeed Jocky Wilson 1. This 'un can hold its head up high among that respected and some what obese company, featuring as it does head-to-head or Speccy vs human play. There are the usual Round the Clock or Straight Darts options with the even more usual wobbly cursor control method, and the whole thing is very smartly presented. Fun to play, if you've got nothing better to do. such as have a bath or something. 65%

Verdict

Basically, the sort of compilation your aunt would buy at that nice Mr Butler's corner shoppe. You can't really find anything about it that's blatantly crummy, but at the same time there's nowt to make you hop from one foot to another. Solidly average.

Jon Pillar

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