ZX Computings - OpenLibra

Software
Orwin strikes again
Cassette Two contains 10
games in BASIC, dubbed on
each side of the cassette in a
different order. My first impression
of Cassette Two was one
of slight disappointment after
reading highly enthusiastic
reviews of Cassette One.
However, after going through
the programs for a second time,
and taking a closer look at
them, I feel there is much to be
said for Cassette Two. There is
a good selection of games, and
the clear graphics show what
can be done when you have
1 6K to play with. All programs
need more than 1K.
The games on the cassette
are by P.Canter and C.Panayi,
except for Laser Bases and Rectangles
by Mr Orwin himself,
and P.Rushton's Roulette. I
found no trouble loading the
programs, which all start
automatically. The instructions
are included in the programs for
all but two of them, and rules
for these are supplied in an accompanying
leaflet.
I'll go through the games one
by one.
OTHELLO: The programming in
this case is unwise (as in most
of the other games on the
cassette) with the rules at the
beginning of the listing, rather
than the end, thus slowing
down every GOTO and GOSUB
access. You get four options at
the beginning of the game: "Do
I play my best?", "Fast or
slow?", "White or black?" and
"Do you want to go first?". The
square chosen by the ZX81 is
flashed off and on a few times
before it makes its move, to
show clearly where it is playing.
The program points out how
many pieces the ZX81 is capturing.
There are polite comments
on attempted illegal
moves and a comment on the
game when it is finished. The
program display is great, but
the program does not play particularly
well. There are much
stronger (and more expensive)
Othello programs on the
market.
AWARI: This is a game of
strategy, again with a clear,
full-screen display. The ZX81
plays quite well, but there is no
option on the level of play, and
the whole game is over fairly
quickly. This program is fairly
easy to beat. It provides a good
game if you don't think too
hard.
Graham Charlton spends an afternoon
with Michael Orwin's Cassette Two and
finds that although the graphics for
all the programs are good, the games
themselves are a mixed bag.
OTHELLO J
IT"5 MY TURN
YOUR LRST
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MY LRST NOUE
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>>> I RM THINKING < <
THE GAME OF RUhRI
YOUR SIDE
YOUR MOUE
HI - IT"S RRINING PENNIES TODRY
. 3U MRKE ME SHOOT RT THEM EX-
PRESSING RNY KEY AFTER THEY
EEGIN TO DROP.
. -JU HFIUE SO SHOTS TO FIRE.
HFTESS ANY KEY TO PLAY
O
LASER BASES: You and the
ZX81 each have 10 laser
bases. The object — needless
to say — is to destroy your opponent's
bases. On each turn
you have the option to fire,
shield or do nothing at all. You
are supposed to make your
decisions at the same time as
the ZX81, when it displays its
decision and then asks for
yours. After this it displays
what has happened to each
base and the new positions. I
found it hard to resist the temptation
of cheating by changing
my decisions after seeing what
the ZX81 had done. Perhaps
the game could be written so
that this cheating was not
possible.
WORD MASTERMIND: This is a
nice variation on the numerical
Mastermind games. It has a
vocabulary of over 100 words
which can be changed fairly
easily. The vocabulary is not in
the visible program, but you
won't find it very hard to get the
ZX81 to reveal what words it is
holding. This is a very good program,
and it really got me thinking.
RECTANGLES: Horrorsl The instructions
for this game come
on a separate sheet. They read
like a script for the Monty
Python Show. I haven't a clue
how to play the game, despite
repeated attempts, and I can't
work it out from running the
program. Perhaps an example
in the rules would have helped a
little. In its favour, this program
has a full-screen display, and a
little machine code is included
to speed it up.
CRASH: You use the cursor
keys to steer your chequered
worm to try and trap a black
worm, controlled by the zany
ZXB1, to ensure that it cannot
move without hitting you or
itself. It is trying to do the same
thing to you. Very addictive,
although a touch on the slow
side. However, if it was any
faster, I'm sure I'd lose every
time.
ROULETTE: This is a great way
to try out your betting system
before going to Monte Carlo.
There are 10 different ways of
betting, and the system to
enter your bets is easy to understand.
Although the game
seems to simulate the rules of
'proper' roulette properly, I
found that a system I invented
enabled me to amass a vast for-
ZX COMPUTING SUMMER 1982 106