Crash


The Bobby Yazz Show
By Crash
Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Crash #57

Come on down for a life and death experience

The Bobby Yazz Show

Come on down and meet the host with the most, the man you've all been waiting for ... Heeeeeere's Bobby! Yes, gentle reader, you are been given the chance to participate in one of the most popular game shows around - The Bobby Yazz Show. Thrilled, ain'tchya?

Yeti and Teiadon (Issue 51, 61% and 49% respectively) gave Destiny a mixed bag, and game show conversions haven't always done so well. Is this game a sensible move? Find out now, as we sit down to play The Bobby Yazz Show.

The rules are quite simple: you control a remote craft set in orbit around the planet. There are four distinct phases, each one taking place on a grid of squares. Each phase needs a different skill for its completion, and each must be completed within a time limit, or else...

The Bobby Yazz Show

So with joystick nervously held in hand the game begins. First the squares on the grid must be changed from one colour to another. Don't worry if you run over a previously coloured square because it won't be affected. To complete this phase, colour all of the squares before the timer stops. Sounds simple, but I forgot to tell you about the other remotes wandering around bleaching coloured squares. They're a right pain in the R-Type, but they can be stopped by running into hem on a coloured square.

Phase 2 is the Blind Level. There are no visible squares to follow, just your remote, and an arrow. Try and find the way out of the maze by moving in every conceivable direction before the time runs out. This is the toughest level because the allotted time span is too short in my humble opinion. [Humble!? When? - Ed]

The third phase is the key level. Here your goal is to collect 'keys' (red squares with a white centre), within - you guessed it - the time limit.

Apart from the enemy remotes roaming about, there are other objects throughout the game which help or hinder your quest. Frequently icons appear which give you speed, a gun, a bulb (used on Phase 2 to illuminate the hidden path) and a shield (only useful in Phase 3 to protect you from remotes).

The squares are also fraught with danger, because the occasional 'gate' materialises - also help or hindrance. These include glue-sticks your remote on the current square, a question mark -awards an extra remote (you start with four), and an arrow - whisks you onto the next phase.

Fourth and final phase is the bonus level. You collect 18 green squares, within the time limit, to grab a massive 5,000-point bonus. The only problem is that the green slabs revolve, but don't worry if you fail this level, you only lose your bonus. If you survive the game first time round, it's repeated, but this time it is tougher.

I found The Bobby Van Show most enjoyable to play. It certainly lives up to the old saying that the best ideas are very often the simplest. The going is certainly tough, especially on later levels, when the timer whizzes down with frightening speed. But it has enough humour to stop any feelings of frustration ruining your enjoyment.

The appearance is simple and effective, with each level nicely drawn. One annoyance: this may be TV, but after three or four times the commercial breaks become too much. Okay, so they can be skipped, no real problem, and they don't stop The Bobby Yazz Show being a must for all puzzle game fans.

MARK ... 87%

The Essentials

Joysticks: Kempston - and, by defining keys - Cursor and Sinclair
Graphics: nicely-animated sprites on colourful backgrounds
Sound: beepy title tune and functional spot effects
Options: definable keys

Phil ... 83%

Wow, what a smug game show host, Bobby Yazz is (almost as bad as Leslie Crowther!). He always laughs when a remote is lost, and all his poor contestants wind up dead! The game's four phases are all simple but surprisingly difficult, as the remote scampers round trying frantically to complete a screen. The first section is really the ancient Painter concept, and it's just as infuriatingly addictive as all those old games - it sets the scene for the rest. With all this mega-frustration, it would be easy to think of The Bobby Yazz Show as something of a failure, but somehow you've always got to have 'just one last go' - it's so addictive.

Nick ... 87%

The Bobby Yazz Show is a simple but totally addictive and excellently presented game that will bring you hours of fun. It's full of jokes, great graphics and animation. In between the games are commercials for such things as Rocky XI The Musical(?) and Kill 'Em, the nuclear game for all ages (sounds like fun)! This may not be a game that will tax your brain to its limits, or have you shooting mindlessly at loads of aliens, but it's good clean fun and well worth a look.

Phil KingMark CaswellNick Roberts

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