Bump Set Spike

Copyright : Entertainment USA | Reviewed by : Malc Jennings

With every other type of sport being converted to the home computer in the early ages it was only a matter of time before someone decided to release sporting games of those not quite so popular in the UK, these of course include Beach Volleyball. Which, unless you want to play in the human excrement soaked beaches of Blackpool (UK joke) is a much more hygenic way of playing the game.

Graphics

Bump Set Spike is one of the few Mastertronic games to not look much better in colour as it does on the much less expensive Amstrad models of the time. The game is mainly all one colour and various tones of that colour, in this case its blue with a hint of white dashed about the place to give some realism to the image.

On the plus side however the characters are far and away better than the messy characters we have seen in some other volleyball games on machinens that for now at least will remain anonymous. The arena you are playing in has been given some great detail and the game itself plays at a fairly nice pace, not fast but acceptable non the less.

Sound

Sound is a little bit of a let down, there is no introduction music to get the game started but then considering the type of game and the sport it covers this is hardly much of a surprise. The game itself on the other hand has plenty of noises to keep you happy, these include the roar of the crowd when either you or the computer scores and the usual match sounds you would here in a game like this.

Not bad.

Gameplay

Well, Bump Set Spike is certainly a fresh change from the usual football or tennis games we get on the CPC but it hasn?t been handled with the best care. Sure the game does the trick but you can?t help but feel that a little more effort here and there could have made a dramatic change to the game itself, for the better that is.

The graphics look a little dated unless you are playing on a green screen monitor, in which case you wouldn?t know the difference and would probably be quite impressed by it. Controls are simple enough but if you don?t know the rules of the real game or own the cassette with an inlay of instructions then it could well be a little tough to get into. The only real thing missing from the game however is the ladies that are illustrated on the front cover, shame on you Mastertronic.