Elite's conversions of Atari's classic coin-op finally arrive in time for the late edition, so Gary Whitta dons his baseball cap and bicycle clips to do the rounds.
Atari's Paperboy has to be one of the biggest coin-op successes of recent years. American suburbs may sound like a place of peace and tranquillity, but for the average paperboy, it's a hell on earth. Super Joe Paperboy knows this only too well, having to deliver The Daily Sun to three of the toughest streets in the suburbs.
Joe's objective is to deliver consistently for a week - if he can do this he's promoted and lands a job in a tougher neighbourhood at the start of the next week. And so it goes on. Tiddly Pom.
Amiga
This is an almost flawless conversion in virtually every aspect. The gameplay has been successfully recreated, and the lack of handlebars hardly makes any difference to the playability at all.
Sound, too, is spot on - Atari's distinctive coin-op sound has been faithfully reproduced, as have the tunes themselves to lend an authentic arcade feel to the proceedings. In fact the only aspect slightly off the mark is the graphics, which are ever-so-slightly chunkier than the original's. A first rate conversion - it was worth the wait.
ST
The gameplay is expected to be identical to the coin-op's. However, the screen display will be slightly smaller and the sound that bit more 'tinkly'. ST Paperboy is due for release in October at the same time as the Amiga.