the page with all things coupé...

COUPÉ GAMES ON THEIR WAY!

And you thought Defenders of the Earth was going to be the only SAM Coupé game released? Here’s some good news: software house Enigma Variations is set to put out a bundle of SAM games over the next few months. Hurrah! Better news still is that even more are in the pipeline. For now, here’s the low-down on the first batch...

Mind Games 1 is a pack of four arcade style games, especially written for the Coupé. They challenge your quick wits and fast thinking rather than an itchy trigger finger! The puzzles and problems will bend your mind: the more you play the tougher they get! Look at the preview shots and wait for the full review next issue.

The first graphics adventure for the SAM comes alive in The Famous Five on Treasure Island. Based on the Enid Blyton book and officially endorsed by the Blyton Estate, you can play any of the four children or swap between them as you solve the puzzles. While based on a children’s book, don’t expect the game to be easy: Enigma say it’s challenging enough for the most adult of minds and includes over 80 locations and plenty of problems to tackle. Release is set for late September, and Enigma hope to include a copy of the book in the packaging.

SAM Multi Pack 1 is a double-play pack featuring two original games by Rob Holman, creator of Defenders of the Earth. Game one is Futureball, a sports simulation set in the future when the game of football has changed dramatically. Lasers, killer robots and deadly traps are all part of standard play in the year 2090. You’re a new recruit to the team and play through tough training sessions before being accepted. The other game is arcade adventure SAM Strikes Out and features the SAM robot familiar to all Coupé groupies. Loads of screens packed with weird and wonderful creatures make up the scenery and you have to take SAM across the perilous traps and hazards to safety. The SAM Multi Pack 1 is out in September.

In Sphera, Enigma promises a shoot-’em-up to make 16-bit owners jealous! A full-screen vertical blaster, with three layers of parallax and more aliens than you would have thought possible. Hoping to better the classic 16-bit shoot-’em-up Xenon II, Sphere, which is only a working title, is due end of October.

HELP AT HAND

SAM Co, the new company formed by ex-MGT plc directors Alan Miles and Bruce Gordon, has been a great success. The company is committed to continue supporting the Coupé in every possible way and providing advice to anyone who is stuck with a Coupé problem. Alan says ‘Almost 3,000 users have replied to our letter mailed out a month ago and the support we’re getting from all sides, including software, hardware and repairs is fantastic’. For the moment SAM Co can only deal with written enquiries, a phone line is to be installed very soon.

ON THE PHONES

Don’t forget a dose of help on all things Coupé is available on the SAM Coupé Hotline. Information from Alan Miles of SAM Co offers hints, tips and advice for all SAM owners and there’s a new three minute program recorded every week. A call to the Hotline costs 38p per minute peak times, 25p per minute all other times.

SOFTWARE CLUB

Not only is Enigma Variations creating a ton of SAM software, it’s also forming a SAM Software Club. It’s a mail order club which will keep members up to date on the latest releases with a bi-monthly newsletter. A spokesperson for the club said ‘The software selected for the club will be the best available and makes proper use of the Coupé's capabilities — we’re not going to accept just Spectrum games which run on the SAM!’

Details on the SAM Software Club are available from: Enigma Variations.

IT’S A GAME!!

While many software houses are still humming and aahing about producing SAM software, you eager beaver readers have been busy creating your own games! Neil Painton sent us his game called Ditchscape and an admirable piece of SAM programming it is too. The game is best described as Pipe Mania viewed in isometric 3D and plays well once you get the hang of it. Neil’s selling the game for £3.50 on disk and £3.00 on cassette and you can order it from Neil Painton.

TRANSFER THREE

Lerm Software, producers of Speccy and SAM utilities, have released a new version of their transfer-made-easy program SAMtape. SAMtape 3, which allows you to transfer thousands of Speccy programs onto the SAM, has many new features missing from the original. So, what’s new? The Snapshot function has been made more reliable: you can now save a screen or whole program to disk. It’s compatible with programs produced from the Disciple or Plus D disk drives and also features two loading values to help you load in Speccy programs from tape. SAMtape 3 costs £10.99, and owners of the original SAMtapes can upgrade for £4.50 as long as they send back their original tape.