Gordon Houghton in Retro Gamer Issue 2 Volume 2

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Lloyd Mangram
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Gordon Houghton in Retro Gamer Issue 2 Volume 2

Post by Lloyd Mangram »

Hi folks,

very nice 6-page article about Gordon and his Desert Island Disks.
Some new stuff in there which I was not aware of.

I also spotted a mistake.

Gordon said:
"I remember Paul Glancey and I really liked Arkanoid and wanted to give it a Sizzler, but Jaz flatly refused, and that was the end of it."

Of course, Gordon was talking about TRAZ, not Arkanoid.
Arkanoid was reviewed in issue 24, april 1987, by Gary Penn, Julian Rignall and Steve Jarratt. And it was Gary Penn who tempered Jaz & Steve's enthusiasm for the game. (score 80%) Gordon nor Paul were around at that stage.
TRAZ was reviewed in issue 36, april 1988, indeed by Gordon & Paul, and Steve Jarratt (who was less enthusiastic about TRAZ than Gordon & Paul) and Jaz was indeed editor at the time. It scored 89% missing only JUST Sizzler status.
So, Jaz stepped into Chris Anderson's footsteps... :P
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Post by LeeT »

Well spotted Rob! :)

Though I would think that Jaz didn't want the game to get an award because he simply didn't think it was good enough, rather than the way Chris and Bob Wade went about things... :?
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Post by Lloyd Mangram »

LeeT wrote:Well spotted Rob! :)

Though I would think that Jaz didn't want the game to get an award because he simply didn't think it was good enough, rather than the way Chris and Bob Wade went about things... :?
Thanx! :)
Btw, Jaz, in this case, was totally wrong. TRAZ should have sizzled!!! :o :wink: Kudos to Gordon and Paul. 8)
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Post by gordon »

Mr.Zzapback wrote:
LeeT wrote:Well spotted Rob! :)

Though I would think that Jaz didn't want the game to get an award because he simply didn't think it was good enough, rather than the way Chris and Bob Wade went about things... :?
Thanx! :)
Btw, Jaz, in this case, was totally wrong. TRAZ should have sizzled!!! :o :wink: Kudos to Gordon and Paul. 8)
:D Thanks for spotting it. You know, when I was giving that answer in the interview I kept thinking "it wasn't Arkanoid, I'm sure it was something else, but I can't think what else it must have been, so it must have been Arkanoid..."

Of course, a quick scan of the Def Guide's database would have put me straight... :roll:
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Post by Lloyd Mangram »

Yeah, I thought it was funny.
Arkanoid got released a year before your first Zzap! :)

But why was it that Jaz decided not to 'sizzle' it?
It was an excellent game, and had very innovative features for a break-out game. So?

Nah, neverrrmind. 8)
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Post by Mayhem »

Something we're hopefully about to put right ;)
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Post by Lloyd Mangram »

Mayhem wrote:Something we're hopefully about to put right ;)
heheh :D
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Post by Ant »

Seeing as here in Australia we get Retro Gamer about 37 epochs after it's published I've only just picked up this issue from the newsagents.

I didn't intend on picking it up (I was getting a sufficient retro fix from the internet) but I flicked through it and noticed that Gordo was the one stranded on the desert island this time around. That sounded like it could be a bit of fun but then I also noticed the z107 cover.

Being the total z107 whore that I am I read a little more. Thirty seconds later I had purchased the mag and was happily strolling back through town. I may have even been whistling a little tune.

Anyway, another great article, G (though I liked your WotR even more)! My wife wants me to scan a certain paragraph and have it blown up and framed. She was surprisingly elated. :) Thankyou.
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Post by gordon »

Ant wrote:My wife wants me to scan a certain paragraph and have it blown up and framed. She was surprisingly elated. :) Thankyou.
You know, I can't begin to think which paragraph that was. ;) But credit where it's due. You did a great job.

That interview was spread over six weeks of emails, since I refused to move from my own house. :) But it was a nice piece in the end. Paul Drury is a very pleasant guy to talk (write) to.
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Post by farhan »

TRAZ was reviewed in issue 36, april 1988, indeed by Gordon & Paul, and Steve Jarratt (who was less enthusiastic about TRAZ than Gordon & Paul) and Jaz was indeed editor at the time. It scored 89% missing only JUST Sizzler status.
TRAZ actually scored 87%; it did receive 92% from Mathew Evans when it was re-reviewed as a budget game in issue forty-ish... I do believe it was not only Jaz, but also Steve who didn't want the game to sizzle.

BTW, TRAZ's first page appears to be missing in the scanned issues.
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Post by Lloyd Mangram »

farhan wrote:
TRAZ was reviewed in issue 36, april 1988, indeed by Gordon & Paul, and Steve Jarratt (who was less enthusiastic about TRAZ than Gordon & Paul) and Jaz was indeed editor at the time. It scored 89% missing only JUST Sizzler status.
TRAZ actually scored 87%; it did receive 92% from Mathew Evans when it was re-reviewed as a budget game in issue forty-ish... I do believe it was not only Jaz, but also Steve who didn't want the game to sizzle.

BTW, TRAZ's first page appears to be missing in the scanned issues.
87% indeed.
Matt Evans scored it 93% btw. :wink:

It surely wasn't Steve who stopped it from Sizzling hence the comments and the mugshots AND the fact that he personally scored it 90% for CU later that year. Like Gordon said, it was Jaz who simply didn't tolerate it.
I wasn't there though when it happend, so... 8)
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Post by PeeknPoke »

Dont mention Traz, I always didnt get it

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Post by Lloyd Mangram »

PeeknPoke wrote:Dont mention Traz, I always didnt get it

Lee
Yeah, that's why I kept you out of the final Zzap!back to ...TRAZ. 8)
You're all over the mag though. :wink:
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Post by PeeknPoke »

thats OK, I didnt want to be the Gary Penn of the group - Think Delta. I just dont like it. :oops:


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