Trashman

Producer: New Generation
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £5.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Malcolm Evans

Looking for really original ideas in computer games is almost becoming an art in its own right. New Generation seem to have come up with another in Trashman. Even the cover design is different from anything seen before, with its dirty, over-crowded dustbin.

As a hero, this is likely to be the lowliest character you will ever play - a dustman. Players (there is a one- or two-player option) enter their names at the start and become the Trashman. The object of the game is to walk up and down a street, entering the houses' gardens, collect a dustbin, take it out to the dustcart, empty it and replace the bin from exactly where it came. You must empty five bins in the first road, Montague Road, and do this against a falling Bonus score. When the bonus reaches zero a message comes up to tell you that complaints have been received about your slowness. After the third such ticking off you are fired!

The screen display is a bird's eye view, looking down on a rather well-to-do suburban estate, with the road down the centre, complete with parked cars and the dustcart creeping up the left side. The road is busy with traffic in both directions. Problems encountered include getting killed by a car, walking on the grass in the gardens (your bonus score drops more rapidly), dogs which attack you on later screens and wayward kids riding their bikes on the pavement. If you meet a dog or bike you start to limp. The overhead perspective view is an isometric one, showing houses on either side, the gardens, hedges, even the shadows of the houses on this bright, sunny day. On later screens there are also cafes and pubs; entering them increases your points, but over-eating or drinking too much will cause trouble. Bonus points can be added to your falling total in another way. Sometimes, after you have returned an emptied bin, the householder will come to the door and offer a tip for services rendered. The content of these services is displayed at the base of the screen and replaced with a comment when you leave the house. 'Just give me a ZX81 and I'll control the world,' is a favourite example.

Progressing to the next level (Pulteney Road) requires you to collect six bins. As the trashman's progress takes some time (he's slower when carrying a full bin) he often has to chase after the dustcart which moves up the road a short distance every few seconds. As the playing area is much larger than the display, and the 3D graphics are quite complicated, the screen doesn't scroll up or down but cuts from scene to scene.

COMMENTS

Control keys: cursors
Joystick: Kempston, ZX 2, Protek, AGF
Keyboard play: responsive but more fun with joystick
Use of colour: very good
Graphics: great
Sound: fair
Skill levels: progressive difficulty by screen
Lives: 3 unless hit by a car!
Features: 1 or 2-player games

The first thing to strike you about Trashman is the graphic quality, which is superb. The colours are all bright and solid but a lot of use has been made of NORMAL and BRIGHT to create the effect of shadows crossing paths and grass. The perspective view is also very realistic and reminiscent of New Generation's Escape. It takes a moment's practice to line Trashman up with a gate but once you get the hang of it's no problem. You must be careful when replacing empty bins, since walking to the correct spot will result in the bin being deposited. If you happen to have overstepped the mark, when you turn to leave, you pick the damned thing up again. Emptying a bin into the dustcart is easy enough, just walk up behind it and the emptying occurs automatically. The graphics, then, are wonderful, the sense of humour is also very good, and the game is hugely playable. The only thing I want to know is, what really goes on inside the house when Trashman does a favour?

The cars on the road are excellent, not only are they detailed but they move tremendously smoothly, at different speeds, in different directions, and at random intervals. The entire playing area is drawn very nicely. Amusing comments are put on the screen if you haven't trodden on the grass and therefore been able to collect your tip. I like the small touches like the cyclists riding on the paths and the dogs which chew your legs, leaving you limping. Trashman is an immensely playable game that is very addictive at first, but I think that quality might wear off after a while. Nevertheless, it's the best game that New Generation have produced yet.

This is quite a different sort of perspective for Malcolm Evans, and it works really well. Great use of grey has been made in the colours, not very common in Spectrum games. All the detail, both in the graphics, the way they more and the game content itself, is very good. I found it playable and fun. Oddly, it isn't a very fast game in the playing, but you soon realise that you must move with accuracy or you won't complete before the bonus score reaches zero. Marvellous value for money, I would say. I don't know how addictive it will be in the long term, but I shall carry on playing to find out.

You are the dustman, and must empty all the bins into the dustcart moving slowly down the road. But watch out, some of the houses have dogs, and if they bite you the result will be a limp - slowing your progress.

Johnathan: This is a very colourful game, with excellent graphical representation. It includes some very humourous moments when you go into the houses, but it's not easy. HIT

Mike: It's a great game with superb graphics, a new idea and an extremely enjoyable theme. You're constantly tempted to do little jobs for the householders - not always being rewarded. HIT

Mark: This game can't be praised highly enough. It's totally original and the idea is brilliant - definitely one of this year's best programs. HIT

Memory: 48K
Price: £5.95
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, ZX Interface

It is a tough life working on the bins in the excellent Trashman from New Generation. The arcade game simulates a day in the life of a dustman as he collects the rubbish bins of suburbia and empties them into the dustcart. Unfortunately there is a time limit on each series of jobs, indicated by a decreasing bonus score. When it reaches zero, the residents complain about you and you get the sack.

The screen displays a realistic view of small-town side streets with pretty red-brick houses in 3-D perspective. When you reach the top of the screen the display moves to the next section of road.

The race against time would be difficult enough without all the extra hazards. If you walk on the grass you lose bonus points fast and there is traffic to avoid when you cross the road. The driver has a mind of his own and will not wait if you are slow, but drives on, forcing you to run after him. There are also vicious dogs which leap out to bite your ankles and slow you.

You can increase your bonus by chatting to friendly residents who may give you tips.

GARBAGE CAN MAKE A GOOD GAME

After all those games ending in 'man', you'd think that you were in for another dose of ghosts and power pills. But you'd be quite wrong with this latest offering from New Generation software.

You play the part of a dustman, and you have to empty the bins by collecting them from the gardens, tipping the contents into the van and then returning the empty bin to its rightful owner.

All this is done against the clock, a little timer ticks away slowly in the corner the screen. Failing to empty the requisite number of bins in the time allotted will prompt a response from the boss to the effect that you're about to be fired unless your performance improves.

However, there are ways of obtaining perks, in the shape of extra time, by staying in the homeowners' good books. You do this by not walking with your muddy boots all over their newly mown lawns. In return, a friendly housewife will invite you in to show you her ZX81 and will reward you with (amongst other things) some extra time points.

The main attraction of Malcolm Evans' previous games was always the stunning graphics; 3D Tunnel is still a talking point, And it's those excellent graphics which really make this game. The view of the street scrolls up the screen, and the player's angle is that of a bird's eye view.

The perspective is perfect, right down to the way the dustman stoops to pick up the heavy bin.

And there's a touch of Frogger in there as well, 'cos he has to collect bins from both sides of the road. To make life difficult, there are the cars which speed along in both directions. Animation is beautifully smooth and outclasses most of the pure Frogger games I've seen for this machine.

The houses are superb, too.

The only slight problem I found is that control is via the four cursor keys, which I don't like and find difficult to use. You can use a joystick, though, if you have one.

The fastest way to lose points in this game is to commit the deadly sin of walking on someone's grass. Doing this will, in all probability, deter the owner from offering you a much-needed tip. In fact, you'll probably wake the dog whose territory you've just invaded. Yes, just like real life, there're dogs too. Accompanied on screen by the phrase 'scat or I'll bite your leg', the dog's appearance necessitates a hasty retreat for our intrepid binman.

Generally, I enjoyed this game. It's not fast by any means but, if you'd rather have a challenge than spend all your time sapping things (no you can't shoot the dog), then you'll love it. Trashman certainly lives up the high standards set by New Generation in the past. It runs on a 48k Spectrum and costs £5.95.

LOVE THAT BIN

MAKER: New Generation Software
FORMAT: cassette
PRICE: £6.95 (CBM 64 - £7.95)

Now humping a dustbin up and down the road may well be fun but it's not really what we've come to expect from New Gen is it? I mean just where are the dinosaurs? I've scoured the streets and ransacked the gardens but have yet to find a single one. Highly disappointing. A Malcolm Evans game without dinosaurs is simply not on.

Visually Trashman the most resplendent offering yet from the Evans pen. The scrolling townscape in which the dinosaur hides is breath-taking, with quite astounding attention paid to detail. Herbaceous borders are painted a delicate mottled green and a variety of vehicles litter the road. It's a real state of the art landscaping.

Your task as the Trashman is to empty all the bins from a specified area before your bonus points reach zero. This is surprisingly hard as tramping across gardens is frowned upon by the points department and dogs weaned on nether regions lurk in the shadows. Seasoned Trashmen can earn bonus points by humouring creatinous residents and taking sustenance in the local hostelry, although this is not to be overdone. It's all highly original stuff. If only I could find that dinosaur...

(*CBM 64 version available through Quicksilva.)

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
CONTROL: Keys, Kemp, Crsr, Sinc
FROM: New Generation, £5.95

Trashman is an entirely original game, with great graphics and some very amusing touches.

You have applied for the job of trashman. Your task is to collect the bins from outside the houses, take them to the waiting van, dump the contents, and return them whence they came. Your first day's work calls for you to empty just five bins in Montague Road.

Well believe me, it IS a day's work. As you frantically rush up and down the street, your bonus is rapidly shrinking. Once it reaches zero you are given a warning that you had better work faster in future or else. You are then given the same assignment all over again.

Every time you tread on the grass or bump into a hedge, your bonus reduces dramatically. The way things are, you have only just enough time to complete the task - and then only if you do it faultlessly.

Imagine my horror then when having finally managed to empty the bins in the allotted time, I was rewarded with the prospect of emptying SIX bins in another road. At that point I gave up in despair.

Trashman has some very nice touches. Some of the houses harbour horribly yappy little dogs that run out and bite your leg. People invite you into their homes for all manner of reasons and cars whizz to and fro along the busy street. The trouble is you're too busy emptying bins to stay in the game to appreciate these finer points of programming.

Emptying bins in real life is hard work. Trashman is no different. Don't expect to do well at this game without putting your back into it.

A game based on rubbish does not seem an auspicious idea for a best selling program, but Trashman has rapidly established itself as a classic since its launch early in 1984.

You are a dustman collecting suburban dustbins and emptying them in your cart. There is a time limit on each street, and hazards include motor vehicles pavement cyclists and vicious dogs.

Featuring tremendous graphics which won New Generation a French Award, the game was designed with the family in mind, having a domestic non-violent theme and little jokes for spectators to enjoy. For sheer originality Trashman is one of the best; there are few games as much fun to watch as they are to play.

Position 13/50

SOFTWARE SCENE

While some software houses are taking the Spectrum to its limits and beyond others doggedly continue to churn out ever more diabolical pieces of programmed junk. John Gilbert present a personal pick of the bunch, and Chris Bourne take an irreverent look at the dwindling ZX-81 software scene. Their talents are combinedd in listing the Top Ten Turkeys of 1984. Let the reader be warned.

SPECTRUM SOFTWARE

A cynic may argue that development within the software market in 1984 was non-existent. The same type of game appeared as those which took the lead in 1983, the most popular being of the arcade variety. The programs were written in the same style and to please the same type of customers.

That is only a superficial view, however, and if you look at the games market as a whole, dividing it up into sectors such as strategy, arcade and adventure, you will see that substantial and sophisticated changes have taken place. Despite what some pundits have said you will find that the world of computer games is still buzzing with life.

£5.95
New Generation

Trashman became well known for its 3D graphics and is a classic in its own right. The arcade game simulates a day in the life of a dustman as he colleCts the rubbish bins of suburbia and empties them into the dustcart. Unfortunately there is a time limit on each series of jobs, indicated by a decreasing bonus score. When it reaches zero, the residents complain about you and you get the sack.

The screen displays a realistic view of small-town side streets with pretty redbrick houses in 3D perspective. When you reach the top of the screen the display moves to the next section of road.

The race against time would be difficult enough without all the extra hazards. If you walk on the grass you lose bonus points fast and there is traffic to avoid when you cross the road. The driver has a mind of his own and will not wait if you are slow, but drives on, forcing you to run after him. There are also vicious dogs which leap out to bite your ankles and slow you down.