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SOME simulations are fun, others can be downright boring. Juggernaut fits snuggly into the second category with a trip around town in a container lorry, trying to pick up cargo.


The loads include fruit, veg, timber and coal of which you must take enough to meet targets set by your manager.

Your trip starts at a depot picked at random and shown on your map as a flashing square. Putting the truck into first gear and pressing down the accelerator will give forward movement. Moving too fast may take you into a wall, or through the trees.

The first move should be to find a telephone and make a call using the main icon-driven option. A map appears and you are told where your cargo may be picked up. To load cargo you must back into the docking bay and press the load icon.

Although the simulation bears some resemblance to real life - you may end up with a feeling of road fatigue - the graphics are minimal and the action slow. No wonder CRL did not put any other cars on the road. With their way of handling interrupts on the Spectrum the action would come to an abrupt halt.

As it is, the truck floats along the lonely road bearing a striking resemblance to a Gillette GH razor. If that is vector scan graphics you can keep them.

A lot more thought could have made it an original simulation. At present it is just a bad simulation of a simulation.


Publisher CRL Price £9.95
Memory 48K Joystick Kempston, Sinclair, Cursor
***

John Gilbert

JUGGERNAUT
CRL / £9.95

Dougie: It must be everyone's dream to drive a massive juggernaut around the streets ... but if this game's anything to go by, there were extremely lucky pedestrians out there the day I made the decision not to get behind the wheel.
Once you've had a good drive around in practice mode (the easy bit), you're ready for the real thing. You're trucking for McNab & Sons, a company that deals in coal, oil, fruit and veg, and timber. Random targets are set up for how much of each commodity you've got to go and collect, and you're now ready to head off into the maze of streets; the street map is generated randomly and the pick-up points are different each time.
Handling the two forward and one reverse gears are tricky, and manoeuvring a juggernaut around the roundabout with the steering wheel can be a scream.
Re-fueling and undoing the truck's damage is done at the garages, and you can even 'phone up for help once per game if you can't find a particular commodity. One useful feature is being able to toggle between the street map and the road screens if you get lost ... I mean, have you ever tried to read an A-Z whilst driving a juggernaut at 40mph round a tight corner?
Don't try and look over someone's shoulder to try and find out what the game's like - this is one that you'll have to sit down and play before you find out how absorbing it is. The vector graphics are clever, although sprites might have been nicer. But what the hey, it's a great game. 8/10
Rick: The GLC only let you play this during the day. Just as well as it takes a while to master this lorry and its load. Top gear if trucking's the name of your game, but I managed to melt several Yorkies before I got the truck rolling 10/4? 5/10
Ross: It's a bit tricky to master the controls, but once done this is a game to spend a good few hours with. Good smooth graphics and lots of options keep the interest alive. Well recommended. Keep on truckin'! 7/10