Previous Next

Painter is one of the ever popular graphic games which are so suited to the BBC micro. The player controls the brush which follows a series of boxes which are filled in with colour when all four sides have been printed. Meanwhile you with your brush are being chased by a shape which varies from level to level. Once all the boxes have been filled in then you move on to a harder level.

First impressions of the packaging were disappointing with no futuristic graphic design, or the like. to attract the potential buyer. Instructions were also poor, amounting to one photocopied sheet of loading instructions. However I was won over from the moment the program began to load, since Painter has a colourful title page of instructions which are displayed while the main body of the program loads.

I was further impressed that the program, once loaded, offered three different sets of keys which could be selected depending on the player's preference. All three combinations seemed sensible and easy to operate.

Plus qualities of the package must be the bright attractive graphics and the simplicity of the game. Within a few minutes I found myself addicted and reluctant to leave the computer for food or sleep. Personally I enjoyed the game very much and if you like such machine code graphic games then this one could be for you. Only the packaging might have been a bit better.

Dave Reeder