Future Publishing
17th August 2008
This is not really a game; if it were a game you would could call it an educational game... This is almost a quiz game with some extras thrown in.
Flags Slideshow
Flags Slideshow is coded by Nich Campbell of CPC Reviews and Area 51 fame. I thought this game was the only flag type of program on the CPC but there is another called Flags Of The World coded by Andre Coutanche and Stuart Gascoigne.
Originally coded in 1997, Flags Slideshow has been updated in 2002 and now contains 227 of the worlds flags. It's a good quick reference guide on world maps and also contains a slideshow, a quiz game and a memory game.
The slideshow runs through all the 227 flags, and it's broken into two parts.
The first part shows a list of six flags on the left hand side of the screen with a country name beside it. The second part shows a six by eight grid, 48 flags in all, bunched together in Mode 1, but has no names of countries next to it. Pressing space allows the player to see another six by eight grid until all have been uncovered.
A quiz game can be played by selecting the amount of questions you want to answer (from 10 to 200) and you try to guess the flag as it appears on the screen. Get it correct then a small sound and message will appear, but get it wrong and a different sound and message appears. At the end it gives you a score and percentage.
The final game is a memory game, just like the card game snap. Press copy key to uncover a flag and then move the cursor around the six by eight playing board to find the matching flag, a total of 24 flags to match up.
It's interesting that all the flags were drawn using OCP's Advanced Art Studio and the program can only be loaded with 128k settings as the flags are stored in the extra 64K of memory.
In contrast to Flags Of The World, Flags Slideshow has a little more going for it, but then Flags of the World states it has almost double the amount of flags than Flags Slideshow.
Graphically, Flags Slideshow has been drawn well, but Flags of the World uses a larger Mode 1 screen to display the flags and it looks more impressive. The extra options in Flags Slideshow will help keep an interest in the program: with four options to learn about the different world flag designs.
Second Opinion
Now this more like it, something different instead of all those clones and platformers. Flags is an unusual game, a sort of reference, memory and quiz game all in one. Options are surprisingly varied for such a game. Difficult though, you really need to know your flags!
First Day Target Score
Answer five correct flag questions.
Verdict
Graphics 50%
P. Adequate graphics and layouts.
Sound 10%
N. A few short sounds.
Grab Factor 40%
N. Erm....
Staying Power 40%
N. ...Has a few different options.
Overall 40%
A good flag reference with a few extra options.
Screenshots
