1st July 1989
Let's dispose of the re-issues first in this, the penultimate Sam collection - except for the possible all turkey Don't Play It Again Sam compilation we discussed last issue.
And first up is a surprising CDS game - Steve Davis Snooker. Surprising because, like many of the Domark titles and, indeed, like many of the other CDS titles, this is one that seems guaranteed a profitable life being re-issued from time to time, ending its days perhaps as a budget title. Perhaps the recent Orlando-coded 3D Pool has caused CDS to believe that the bottom has falled out of the green baise simulation market - certainly this was the best implementation available until now.
Maybe Steve Davis is no longer the instant celebrity draw he once was; maybe CDS had to license this to Superior as part of a complex bilatoral deal covering the recent CDS budget re-releases of fourteen Superior titles. Who knows? At any rate, this is worth seeking out if you don't already possess it.
So too is Spycat - the 'who wrote this one?' mystery game that was one of the Superior flops of the last couple of years. As Steve Hanson now admits, the humour seems forced and it might well have sold better as a straight spy game, however it was far too easy to underestimate the game at the time. I know I did.
Having returned to it several times, especially in the light of this issue's hints, I now think it's excellent - an intriguingly complex 100 screen arcade adventure full of tricky puzzles and excellent graphics, all revealing Peter Scott's talent and creativity. If you spurned this before, don't make the same mistake again now.
What can one say about Repton? In these pages we've expounded at length about the lizard and so it's probably just worth saying that this compilation's all lizard fun - The Life Of Repton - is another forty fiendishly complex screens of puzzle-solving, this time around the theme of Repton at various stages of his life. Despite the inclusion of the game editor, this is probably just one for the fanatic.
Which might have been the fate of this compilation's only new game - Tony "Quest" Oakden's Camelot, a kind of Quest 2 or Citadel 3, depending on your perspective. Mine, for what it's worth, is that this is probably best known by the new name, thereby not downgrading the memory of the earlier games. In all senses this seems like a lazy contract fulfiller - the graphics are ordinary, the screen design is immensely derivative, the gameplay is equally so and the game's cut down appearance is confirmed by the existence of only sixty screens.
Of course, it may be hard to design a fresh version of an arcade adventure set in a castle. In that case, why try? Let's see a space station or an underwater city or a deserted mine or an aircraft carrier or anything - just as long as it avoids a central hall with twin screen height pillars mocking all previous incarnations of this game.
That said, there is plenty to enjoy here for arcade adventure addicts. Oakden is clearly a name to keep in mind, if only he could find a new approach. In short, then, be pleased that the game is included on this compilation; be equally pleased that you didn't pay full price for it as a standalone game.
Oh yes, this may also be the best place to reveal the contents of Play It Again Sam 10 - look for my all time favourite, Orlando's shoot-'em-up supreme Zalaga (and Orlando fans might be interested to hear that I enthused Superior's Steve Hanson with an idea for a mail order only, Orlando mega-mix compilation of never released demos and unfinished projects - if you're keen too, then drop him a line!), CDS/Blue Ribbon cracker 3D Dotty, lizard mania time with Repton Thru Time and a mystery surprise called Qwak!. (NB. 'Mystery surprise' in journalist speak means that I can't read my hastily scrawled notes.)
