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ROLAND RAT, Superstar, renowned for talking the boom off the speed of sound, has forgotten to set his alarm clock. He is late for his regular appearance on TV-AM.

The sewers in which he lives, with buddies Kevin and Errol, are also inhabited by mutant wellie boots which stomp their way up and down the levels, kicking everything out of their way. Roland finds that a pain in the tail, and arms himself with a rubber glue gun, which can be filled with glue pots scattered around the levels. The glue puts the wellies into a sticky situation and he needs gallons of it to get to the studio door.

To open the door and join Nick, Anne and Wincey he has to collect pieces of glow-in-the-dark material, one bit at a time, and fix it to the door. He must then collect the key and fit it into the lock for the grand finale.


To further complicate matters there are two sewer levels. If Roland finds a downward arrow on the first level he can travel to the underground system.

The tubes rattle by frequently but Roland, unperturbed, walks at the side of the track avoiding the danger. If luck is on his side he will find a black door into which the glowing pieces of puzzle can be fitted. He must be fast, however, as the time ticks slowly onward and the show will soon be over.

Finding the pieces is hard work and Roland has had no breakfast. He must get by on a diet of Big Macs and crisps which will boost his energy level.

The game relies heavily on the player's identification with Roland, and those who are not enamoured with the Superstar might find that play can become monotonous after more than 30 minutes, although the C5 trundling across the top of the screen with the other rush hour traffic provides some light relief.

The various screens look deceptively similar, and map-making is essential if Roland is to avoid running around in circles.

The graphics, while not outstanding, are smooth and fast. The scroll from one room to another is particularly impressive.

Roland's Rat Race will be of interest to rat fans everywhere. Although he is not his usual verbal self his rambling computer adventures give a new meaning to cuteness on the arcade screen.

In the final analysis, is it good fun? Yeah!


Publisher Ocean Price £6.90
Memory 48K Joystick AGF, Kempston, Sinclair
****

John Gilbert

ROLAND'S RAT RACE
Ocean / £6.90
Ross: Roland Rat has many fans, but I'm not one of them, so I didn't know what to expect of this rodent's tale. It turns out to be a ladders and levels escapade, mirroring old Ratty's real life efforts to get up at an unratly hour and make it to the TV studios in time for his early morning show. As any true rat should, Roland starts his day down in the sewers, scrambling about to get out.
This is a game for clever rats, that use ladders and assemble keys and other unrat- like activities, but then again Roland has traded in his cage for a TV presenter's chair! His two main worries, are his high metabolic rate which means he gets hungry all the time and the energy gauge drops rapidly. The other major rat-traps are the marauding wellies. Now you know! People may hate rats, but rats hate wellies! Roland can quell his hunger pangs quite nicely with the tit-bits he finds, and he can beat the boots by firing glue pellets to stick the welly to the spot!
By exiting to the left or right of a screen, you can take Roland to new levels and pipework. It's an idea to make him a map though, or he could get quite lost in this rat- race. Once he's escaped, other adventures will befall him. A rat's work is never done ... 8/10
Rick: With so much glue about, this ain't a game to be sniffed at. I didn't know Roland was so stuck up. Still you won't come to a sticky end with this winner from Ocean. No- one could feel ratty playing this! 8/10
Dougie: I must admit that I like games that you can map ... and this is a classic. In fact, you're going to be in trouble if you don't. For Roland Ratfans this is a must. For the rest of you - you're missing out! 8/10