Jumping Jack

Producer: Imagine, 16K
£5.50
Author: Albert Ball

At first sight the extremely simple graphics might be a disappointment - but this is a classic game. Jack's stick figure is beautifully animated. The platforms are merely thin black lines. At first there are only two holes, one moving down level by level, and one moving up similarly. Each successful jump creates another hole, so it gets frustratingly difficult to progress. Should Jack fall down a hole he lies stunned, if he falls through two he's out for even longer. If he falls all the way to the bottom he loses a life. Getting right to the top results in a line from a poem - you have to collect the rest of the lines, but the poem isn't the real reward in this game - it's playing the game. Subsequent levels add more monsters which must be avoided by using the wrap around screen. By the time you're dealing with twenty holes and six monsters it's a nut house. Quite simply one of the most addictive games around and excellent value for money. Joystick: Fuller, Kempston.

Producer: Imagine, 16K
£5.50
Author: Albert Ball

At first sight the extremely simple graphics might be a disappointment - but this is a classic game. Jack's stick figure is beautifully animated. The platforms are merely thin black lines. At first there are only two holes, one moving down level by level, and one moving up similarly. Each successful jump creates another hole, so it gets frustratingly difficult to progress. Should Jack fall down a hole he lies stunned, if he falls through two he's out for even longer. If he falls all the way to the bottom he loses a life. Getting right to the top results in a line from a poem - you have to collect the rest of the lines, but the poem isn't the real reward in this game - it's playing the game. Subsequent levels add more monsters which must be avoided by using the wrap around screen. By the time you're dealing with twenty holes and six monsters it's a nut house. Quite simply one of the most addictive games around and excellent value for money. Joystick: Fuller, Kempston.

Producer: Imagine, 16K
£5.50
Author: Albert Ball

At first sight the extremely simple graphics might be a disappointment - but this is a classic game. Jack's stick figure is beautifully animated. The platforms are merely thin black lines. At first there are only two holes, one moving down level by level, and one moving up similarly. Each successful jump creates another hole, so it gets frustratingly difficult to progress. Should Jack fall down a hole he lies stunned, if he falls through two he's out for even longer. If he falls all the way to the bottom he loses a life. Getting right to the top results in a line from a poem - you have to collect the rest of the lines, but the poem isn't the real reward in this game - it's playing the game. Subsequent levels add more monsters which must be avoided by using the wrap around screen. By the time you're dealing with twenty holes and six monsters it's a nut house. Quite simply one of the most addictive games around and excellent value for money. Joystick: Fuller, Kempston.

"Jumping Jack is quick and bold,
With skill his story will unfold..."

... or so we are told between screens in Imagine's addictive best-seller Jumping Jack. It seems a millenium since Arcadia stormed across the Spectrum screens of Britain and set the scene for games to come. The company has released several notable programs since, and Jumping Jack is one of the best.

The basic theme is to guide your man, Jack, from the bottom to the top of the screen without falling through the multitude of moving holes, thumping into girders or being flattened by the odd nasty on the way. It's a game which is addictive through its simplicity and will be played for years to come. Splendid, often hilarious graphics, 20 levels, fast-moving action and constant excitement all help maintain that 'just-one-more-go' quality.

Jack starts at the bottom of the screen beside the scoreline and lives remaining (up to his neck in letters)! Above him two holes move across a dozen horizontal platforms - but the number of holes increases as play progresses! What you have to do is jump up a level whenever a hole passes overhead, while avoiding plunging down a level through holes travelling on the platform beneath his feet. Each jump creates a new hole (there had to be a catch, didn't there?). Holes travelling left to right move down the levels when they leave the screen; those right to left move up. The most efficient strategy is probably to try to follow one hole all the way to the top and jump up to the next screen. This is often hindered by the holes moving down and the sheer number of aliens (one being added each time you complete a screen). Double holes can be most frustrating!

If Jack falls, or is hit by a nasty, he squirms pathetically on his back seeing stars (literally), thus he is immobile and vulnerable to further holes approaching. Happily, a life is lost only when Jack falls all the way to the bottom line again.

Basically that's all there is to it. There are 10 different animated aliens and Jack himself is a masterpiece. The sound is nice too, and the 'splat' when Jack is paralysed by a nasty is most realistic (to tell the truth, I don't know what it would sound like, but I 'm sure Imagine have come pretty close)!

As a little extra to add to the addiction, further lines to a terrible limerick are added between screens - read it at your own risk! Oh, and there's an extra Jack every five boards. Loading of the game is reliable, and in the middle, an attractive title is displayed. Several Jack-like characters (relatives no doubt) leap on to the screen to spell out the name of the game - it's an hilarious and clever addition. Once loaded, the game starts straight away and there is no mention of a joystick. Oddly enough, Imagine seem to have got themselves a little mixed up with the keyboard controls: while most arcade games use the left hand for sideways movements and the right to fire or jump, Jumping Jack uses CAPS SHIFT to jump and SPACE and SYM SHIFT for movement - most unusual and a little annoying at first.

If you're quick and bold and have enough skill, you might just see what happens after the 20th screen - although five of the bizarre aliens is hectic enough! So buy it, avoid the holes, dodge the snakes, ghosts, witches, aeroplanes and others less identifiable, and above all, have fun. This is one game you won't tire of.