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TRAVELLING IN TIME IS PROVING DIFFICULT

COMPUTER GAMES are becoming more complicated every month but Quicksilva, the manufacturer of a new game for the 48K Spectrum called Time Gate, claims that the game is the ultimate sci-fi arcade adventure.

The game is loaded in two parts. First, the lengthy instruction manual is loaded. That indicates to the player that the object of the game is to destroy a race of aliens called the Squarm who have invaded and taken over the Earth. The player must locate and travel through a series of time gates to various periods of history to find and destroy the headquarters of the Squarm.

The player must destroy as many aliens as possible in the search for the base, as the score is based on the time the mission takes and the number of craft destroyed before finishing or aborting the game.

If damage is sustained in space battles the player can land on a planet to do repairs and re-fuel. There are three types of planet and four types of alien craft with which to contend.

The most amazing thing about the game is the graphics. The player looks through the window of a space-craft at a three-dimensional view of space. The alien craft and the planet surfaces are also three-dimensional.

The sound effects have an arcade-style quality. The game has a high-score facility but high scores are difficult to obtain and we managed only 330.

Time Gate is available from Quicksilva, Hampshire, and costs £6.95.