Dragon User


Manic Miner

Categories: Review: Software
Author: Jason Orbaum
Publisher: Software Projects
Machine: Dragon 32

 
Published in Dragon User #026

This game never made an appearance in the arcades. The original (written for the, spit, Spectrum) was wriiien by Matthew Smith and has become one of the biggest selling games ever released.

The recently released sequel, Jet Set Willy, is better than this game, and this game is of a very high standard indeed!!

The object of the game, for those who have been fortunate enough not to come into contact with a Spectrum for prolonged periods, is to help Miner Willy through 20 caverns (actually, the Dragon version is rumoured to have two extra screens, but I have never reached them!), collecting a variety of keys, dials, snow-shoes, and other silly objects whilst avoiding a set of equally silly creatures (the most famous of which are the man-eating toilets!).

The game would be good value with four or five screens; with 20 (22?) screens it's ridiculously good value.

But those amongst you (myself included) who can go from start to end on the Spectrum version, will find a much more difficult task on the Dragon. The game, whilst undergoing translation, has been made faster and more responsive. This, coupled with the fact that old Spectrum timings and patterns do not always apply, makes it almost like playing a new game.

The game, like its excellent successor, is almost sure to become a classic, and its sales on the Dragon show that Roy Coates has taken Matthew Smith's formula and implemented it as well on the Dragon, as the latter did on the Spectrum.

Jason Orbaum

Other Reviews Of Manic Miner For The Dragon 32


Manic Miner (Software Projects)
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