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Agent X
Mastertronic £1.99 Mar 1987 YS15
Graphics: 8/10
Playability: 7/10
VFM: 7/10
Addictiveness: 7/10
7/10 Overall

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Rachael Smith
Ka-thud! Pee-owwww! Ker-splonk! The X-rated Agent's at it again. Not that, silly! Saving the world's what, in a plot which is well stirred with the satire spoon.
The peace loving president of the USA has been kidnapped by a Mad professor, who's busy washing his brain and turning him into a warmonger. Success with the cerebral Persil means one thing and one thing only - World War Three. Only a budget game from Mastertronic can save the world now.
This is one from the cheap 'n' cheerful department, featuring multi-load action but not too much gameplay. Part one is a simple swerve and dodge driving game, seen in 3D from above. Score points for shunting other vehicles off the road. Not much to it - but then again, did you see Street Hawk?
Then there's a shooting gallery game. Geometric objects fly out of the walls to explode unless you hit them with your crosshairs. Finally, if you free the President, there's an escape through the caves.
Agent X looks great, and has some wacky touches, such as the life indicator, which consists of a little figure moving towards a gravestone. If only they'd been used to slightly better effect this could have been a Mastertronic classic.
As it is, it's unlikely to keep you hooked for weeks, but at this price most Agents wouldn't give a XXXX for anything else!

Agent X, also known as Agent X in the Brain Drain Caper is a computer game released in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum.

The player takes control of the eponymous Agent X in a multi-load game made up of a number of sub-games.

Story

The President has been kidnapped by a mad professor, who has left a ransom note telling of an evil dastardly plot to brainwash the leader into a warmongering maniac. Agent X must find the professor's lab, rescue the President and take him to safety, before picking up a bomb and destroying the professor.

Gameplay

In-game screen from the ZX Spectrum version of the game
There are four sections of the game, each loaded separately. The first level sees Agent X driving a car which travels along a diagonally scrolling road, and is under constant attack from other road users who try to ram it off the road or trap it behind obstacles. The player can make the car jump to avoid crashes. The next level is a basic fighting game; enemies approach from the left and right and must be defeated by kicking or punching them. The third level is a first-person target shooting game in which various objects are hurled towards the screen and must be shot. The final level involves the player controlling Agent X in a helicopter, avoiding missiles and crushers. The player must negotiate a cave complex using the helicopter, collect a bomb, then return it through the caves to destroy the professor's headquarters.

Score

CRASH 85%
Your Sinclair 7/10
ZX Computing Great

Reception

Reviews were fairly positive, with CRASH giving it 85%, Your Sinclair rating it at 7/10, and ZX Computing rating it as Great.

CRASH said of the game "Wow! For £1.99 this has got so much content. The graphics are all fairly neat, but I dislike the need to continually restart and reload.",[2] Rachael Smith from Your Sinclair said that "Agent X looks great, and has some wacky touches, such as the life indicator, which consists of a little figure moving towards a gravestone. If only they'd been used to slightly better effect this could have been a Mastertronic classic." and ZX Computing said that "... the graphics are good, the game is nicely presented, and the programmer's clearly kept his tongue well into his cheek.".