Astrocode (lost ZX Spectrum game; 1984): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 23:31, 29 September 2024

Short review of Astrocode from ZX Computing.

Status: Lost

Astrocode (Not to be confused with Astrocade) was a puzzle game developed by Finsbury Software and released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984. The game was mentioned in Popular Computing Weekly magazine in its June issue released the same year. The December/January 1985 issue of ZX Computing magazine on page 123 has a small section, calling the game "tantalizing" and "frustrating", comparing it to the game Master-Mind.

Finsbury Software and it's founder, Max N. Brooker, developed a few other games such as Andromeda Trophy, Prince, Princess and the Wicked Witch, a compilation cartridge, as well as games for other systems such as the Commodore 64, all of which seem to be lost as well.

Gameplay

The game has you repairing a damaged circuit in a spaceship in order to progress. As previously stated, the game was compared to the game Master-Mind, a game that involves a player taking guesses of a string of code created by another.

Availability

The game was released sometime in 1984, though only advertised in a single issue of ZX Computing along with it's other games. It's unclear how many copies were sold, all that's known is that it was released seemingly only in the United Kingdom.

Gallery

Astrocode review in ZX Computing.

Sources

Popular Computing Weekly magazine article (Archived). Retrieved 27 Sep '24

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 |status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
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-'''''Astrocode''''' (Not to be confused with ''Astrocade'') was a puzzle game developed by Finsbury Software and released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984. The game was mentioned in ''Popular Computing Weekly'' magazine in it's June issue released the same year. The December/January 1985 issue of ZX Computing magazine on page 123 has a small section, calling the game "tantalizing" and "frustrating", comparing it to the game ''Master-Mind''.
+'''''Astrocode''''' (Not to be confused with ''Astrocade'') was a puzzle game developed by Finsbury Software and released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984. The game was mentioned in ''Popular Computing Weekly'' magazine in its June issue released the same year. The December/January 1985 issue of ZX Computing magazine on page 123 has a small section, calling the game "tantalizing" and "frustrating", comparing it to the game ''Master-Mind''.
-Nothing much is known of Finsbury Software, when it was established or whether it still exists today. The developer for ''Astrocode'' is currently unknown.
+Finsbury Software and it's founder, Max N. Brooker, developed a few other games such as ''Andromeda Trophy'', ''Prince, Princess and the Wicked Witch'', a compilation cartridge, as well as games for other systems such as the Commodore 64, all of which seem to be lost as well.
 ==Gameplay==
-The game has you repairing a damaged circuit to a spaceship in order to progress. As previously stated, the game was compared to the game ''Master-Mind'', a game that involves a player taking guesses of a string of code created by another.
+The game has you repairing a damaged circuit in a spaceship in order to progress. As previously stated, the game was compared to the game ''Master-Mind'', a game that involves a player taking guesses of a string of code created by another.
 ==Availability==
-The game had released sometime in 1984, though it is unknown how many copies were sold or what stores carried it. The game was said to only be released in the United Kingdom. No copies have surfaced in recent years, nor has any gameplay footage been posted online.
+The game was released sometime in 1984, though only advertised in a single issue of ''ZX Computing'' along with it's other games. It's unclear how many copies were sold, all that's known is that it was released seemingly only in the United Kingdom.
 ==Gallery==
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 ==Sources==
-* [https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-06-21/page/n55/mode/2up Popular Computing Weekly magazine article (Archived).] Retrieved 27 September '24
+*[https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1984-06-21/page/n55/mode/2up Popular Computing Weekly magazine article (Archived).] Retrieved 27 Sep '24
 [[Category:Lost video games]]
 [[Category:Completely lost media]]