Mirrorsoft
£7.95
Well, I'd just like to be the first to say sorry for harping back to the Jet Set Willy classics but, although this game is completely different, its very similar. (I'm sorry I'll write that again!) What I'm getting at is that the JSW games were an exercise in getting Willy to just the right place at the right time, jumping at just the right moment, and it was the same each time you negotiated that screen. Yes? And it's the same with Action Reflex, only this time you're controlling what looks like a football...
The scene is set in a series of underground caverns, full of strange obstacles, and its your task to get around 25 screens before the time limit is up. Once you've done that, you set out on the next of the three mazes. Don't ask me what happens on the third maze - I've yet to get there!
The movement of the football is wonderful - whatever algorithm the programmer has used mimics the real thing perfectly. You can move the football left and right, and bounce it up and down. It does take a bit of getting used to, though, as the ball slowly accelerates and decelerates according to an exponential or parabolic curve, gathering momentum as it moves - ask your local mathematician if you're not sure what I'm talking about. Whatever... you'll soon get the hang of it within about five goes.
Moving around the screens, there are all sorts of things to watch out for - like the ball disappearing into lakes, being destroyed by fire burst, being punched up to the ceiling and shot with an arrow, hitting overhead magnets and, of course, the various coloured wobbly meanies that shuffle about generally getting in the way. Within the time limit, you have an infinite number of lives - but each new life means that you lose a couple of valuable seconds... making it very difficult to get around all 25 screens before your time runs out. Points can be picked up on the way by 'walking' the ball through them - these are then accumulated so you can gain objects, such as a ring, hammer and key. These'll come in handy later on.
Which brings me around to my original point about the game being a little bit like JSW and, in particular, Manic Miner (if you can bring yourself to remember that far back). When I first played Action Reflex, it took me my full time limit to get through the first five screens of the first maze. After five or six attempts, I'd sussed out a 'safe' route and managed to get through about 12 screens... and so on... until I'd cracked the first maze. But the most frustrating bit is having to get through the screens you know well, especially if you keep making silly mistakes, until you get to a screen you haven't seen before.
Yes, it's very clever, and it's one of the most addictive games I've played... but I think a better title would've been 'Learned Response'.
Spectrum
Mirrorsoft
Arcade Adventure
£7.95
With hundreds of new games entering the market each week and software houses struggling to meet the rising demand for new games, it seems inevitable that, eventually, programmers will run out of names for their creations.
That would explain why the first game from the new Mirrorsoft Medusa label has the unlikely title of Action Reflex. Even though it sounds like a medical term for a muscle spasm, the game is very enjoyable.
It involves guiding a bouncy ball through a maze of screens filled with everything from green monsters and spiked gloves to wall speakers and vacuum tubes. At various intervals along the floor of the maze there are certain places which, should you roll or bounce on them, will lead to your doom. Only trial and error will identify the safe areas, so making a map as you proceed is a very good idea.
The idea of the game is to complete the maze. As you progress deeper and deeper, obstacles such as glass walls and lakes are encountered. Only by collecting certain objects along the way can they be overcome. A counter on the screen records your progress. If you lose a life, a time penalty is imposed, reducing the chance of completing the game.
There are three skill levels with 25 screens on each level, a real challenge for those who can face the embarrassment of going into a software shop and saying "Action Reflex, please".
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