Manic Miner

£2.99
MAD

Manic Miner must be one of the only rerelease games that has never been reviewed in CRASH. This occurred not because the lads couldn't be bothered, but because this classic platforms- and-ladders game appeared before your fave mag hit the streets. Miner Willy is the star and it is his job to travel the underground caverns of Surbiton(!!) and collect the treasure which lies twenty screens to go through, and all the treasure has to be collected on a screen before you progress to the next. Opposing your progress are such bizarre opponents as penguins, performing seals, dancing rabbits and kangaroos. And there's a time limit too.

Although Manic Miner is one of the oldest games to be rereleased, it's also one of the best. The graphics are sharp and attractive, the in-game tune attractive and playability as addictive as it's frustrating. This is an essential purchase.

Then: N/A Now: 92%

Producer: Bug-Byte, 48K
£5.95

This is the best platform game around, in fact it's probably the best arcade game for the Spectrum. From the moment the full colour title blasts onto the screen accompanied by what sounds like the massed Coldstream Guards band, it's all wonderful. An amazing demo mode takes you through endless levels to whet the appetite. Control keys are simple: left/right/jump, and it seems incredible that Bug-Byte managed to pack so much animated detail into one 48K program. You must take Willie the Miner through the warrens of a long abandoned robot-worked mine beneath Surbiton, collecting keys at each level in order to proceed to the next. Jumping up the platforms is easy - avoiding the slime, poisonous pansies and manic mining robots is not. Some platforms collapse when you tread on them, but forward planning let's you use these on your way back down to the portal. Excellent quality all round and top notch value. Highly recommended.

Producer: Bug-Byte, 48K
£5.95

This is the best platform game around, in fact it's probably the best arcade game for the Spectrum. From the moment the full colour title blasts onto the screen accompanied by what sounds like the massed Coldstream Guards band, it's all wonderful. An amazing demo mode takes you through endless levels to whet the appetite. Control keys are simple: left/right/jump, and it seems incredible that Bug-Byte managed to pack so much animated detail into one 48K program. You must take Willie the Miner through the warrens of a long abandoned robot-worked mine beneath Surbiton, collecting keys at each level in order to proceed to the next. Jumping up the platforms is easy - avoiding the slime, poisonous pansies and manic mining robots is not. Some platforms collapse when you tread on them, but forward planning let's you use these on your way back down to the portal. Excellent quality all round and top notch value. Highly recommended.

Bug-Byte, 1983 – not reviewed

Matthew Smith's brilliant freshman ZX Spectrum release pre-dated CRASH by a few months, but is still revered and respected here in CRASH Towers. Featuring 20 caverns (or screens) and in-game music – a real rarity back then – Manic Miner is also an addictive platformer which incredibly has rarely been bettered since. If you're lucky enough to own one of the few SAM Coupé computers, its version features improved graphics and an extra 40 screens, and scored 88% in CRASH.