Firebird
£1.99

Yeeehaah! Not a bad game this, pardners, and at only £1.99, excellent value for money. Not that it's anything more than a glorified text adventure... coupled with some very imaginative attempts to pretty the whole affair up with simple graphics and sideline 'things to do'.

With only 50 bucks in your pocket, you come across a body lying in the street. You pick up his gun out of interest and before you know it, the local sheriff has taken it into his head that you're responsible for the stiff and sets a Pinkerton agent on your trail. But you know the real culprit is one of the infamous Wild Bunch and you set off to prove your innocence... even if it means you've got to kill everyone in sight!

You've five towns to investigate and, at each one, you can enter the saloon, telegraph office, sheriff's office or local store. At the telegraph office, you can bribe the clerk to give you information on the whereabouts of the gang of desperados and the Pinkerton agent - a good investment as the Pinkerton man arrests on sight. The sheriff's office gives you a chance to check out the descriptions of the Wild Bunch - so that you can challenge them whenever you meet. The store, of course, is full of all the provisions you need for your perilous journeys... such as guns, bullets, food, clothing and so on.

If you wanna have a lot of fun try the saloon. Here, you can play poker against the local gambler and boost your funds. Careful play can double your spending money in no time at all. You'll need it later after all you've spent on provisions and bribes. You can also boost your strength points with a couple of shots of red-eye or beer - slurp? It's here you're likely to come face-to-face with one of the Wild Bunch. You can always attempt to arrest him on the spot or take him out on to the street for a shoot-out.

Travelling between towns can be costly on your resources. For example, on a typical journey between Nuggett City and Bulletsville - a trip that'll take you ten days on foot - I managed to kill a buffalo, a vulture, two bounty hunters, a trapper and a red indian. Obviously the Wild Bunch aren't the only murderers in this game!

There are three levels of difficulty, and the game is extremely difficult at its hardest level. Dying is easy-you can drink too much in the saloon (Typical! Ed), die from exposure up in the mountains, get scragged by all sorts of wandering weirdos on your journeys between towns, or just get shot up in the street by the Wild Bunch.

Overall, though, it's a text adventure - don't look for any wildly exciting graphics. On the other hand, it's an absorbing game... and what do you expect for £1.99. I really can't say anything other than I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed my jaunt into the Wild West of The Wild Bunch.

BARGAINS ARE BOOTYFUL

BOOTY
Memory: 48K
Price: £2.50
Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair, Programmable

VIKING RAIDERS
Memory: 48K
Price: £2.50

THE WILD BUNCH
Memory: 48K
Price: £2.50

EXODUS
Memory: 48K
Price: £2.50
Joystick: Cursor, Kempston

In a bid to capitalise on the computer gaming scene, British Telecom has recently entered the market with their Silver range of games - priced at £2.50.

They are a mixed bag. BT's claim that the games are worthy of a five pound price tag seems to be applicable to only two of the games reviewed here. The remaining two would be expensive at any price over £2.50.

In Booty, you play the pan of Jim the Cabin Boy who finds himself aboard the infamous pirate ship - the Black Galleon. One night while most of the pirates are sitting down to a steady drinking spree Jim creeps round the levels of the ship to steal their loot.

However, life is not always a game and Jim finds himself in the suds when he realises that not all the pirates are drunk - some have been left on guard. To get into their cabins, he has to steal the keys from under their noses.

The graphics are excellent with half the game portrayed in the increasingly popular style reminiscent of Sabre Wulf and Pyjamarama.

Viking Raiders is a different kettle of fish. It is a strategy game set amongst warfaring vikings back in the days of King Canute.

There are four armies, each headed by a Viking chief. The aim is to defeat the other three armies and become victor and ruler of the area. Dirty tricks abound and your catapults can be used to devastating effect.

The graphics are sparse and basic. Each army takes a different colour which is hard on the eyes. Bright blues, pinks and greens may look nice in the programmer's imagination but they look terrible to the player who has to squint to see what is going on. However, there is enough appeal in the game to detract from these basic graphics.

The remaining two games are The Wild Bunch and Exodus. The Wild Bunch is an adventure set in the wild west. Framed for a murder you didn't commit, you are out to nail the Wild Bunch. The game resembles a superior multiple choice with a selection of options given to you at every move.

Adventures written in that style are rarely as exciting as those written in the more conventional mode - they rapidly become tedious. Billed as a graphical adventure, The Wild Bunch has a few scenes dotted around the adventure which are well depicted. For the most part though it appears to be mostly text.

Exodus is your average arcade game packed with characters cloned from other games. Mutant llamas abound, hovver mowers, galleons and TV sets lurk and assorted aliens merely wait to get you. The game lacks excitement, the graphics flicker and the sound is fairly average.

Even British Telecom is trying to get in on the act now by producing computer games under the Firebird label.

The Wild Bunch is one and starts by telling you that one night you hear a gunshot and go over to a man lying in the middle of the road. Before he dies, he mentions that a member of the infamous Wild Bunch has shot him.

You pick up the gun and, at that moment, the sheriff, who has always , got to be late arriving on this type of occasion, sees the gun in your hand. Using his amazing powers of deduction, he accuses you of the murder and you run off to find the Wild Bunch to clear your name.

I hope all that has not whetted your appetite, for if you sample it, you'll probably end up with a bad taste in your mouth. The plot might be quite an original one, but the implementation of it is rubbish!

You have menus for everything! There are five towns where the bunch could be hiding - Dodge City, Dry Gulch, Nugget City, Bulletville and Deadman's Creek. Yes! Very inspiring! In each town there is a sheriff's office, store, telegraph office and so on.

The game is not very rewarding even when you find a member of the Wild Bunch. You can only take him or kill him - personally, I would have liked to have been able to make him tell me where the reSt were.

And you bought British Telecom shares? If their value depends upon tripe like this then I suggest you sell them quick before they become completely valueless!