Cash On The Nail | Objectives | First Impressions | In Play | Verdict | Rating
Computer: Spectrum (16K, 48K, 128K)
Price: £4.95 (Cassette)
Publisher: Llamasoft
Reviewer: Mike Gerrard
Rating: 2/5

Cash On The Nail

With a game called Headbanger you maybe don't expect anything too subtle, which is just as well as you certainly don't get it. The storyline is different from Space Invaders, but the idea is the same, and the main difference is that here you're actually encouraged to get under the missiles raining down on you and let them smack you on the head.

Presumably it's aimed at masochists and those with a mental age of six or under.

Objectives

The man with the iron head is Chico - no relation to Donkey Kong's Mario of course - and you must run him along the bottom of the screen to transport bags of money from right to left.

There are four blocks providing shelter from the hammers coming down from heaven, and each bag of cash successfully moved restores one of the blocks. Chico is moved by the 'n' and 'm' keys.

First Impressions

The review copy didn't come with the four-colour insert that is apparently now ready, but in any case the game itself includes the long and allegedly humorous instructions, about which the best that can be said is that you needn't sit through them if you don't want.

In Play

As Chico runs back and forth he can earn points by nutting the hammers, though he has to be directly under them as a body blow will lose him one of his three lives. He starts to get a headache after ten blows, as who wouldn't, and he must then attempt to nut one of the occasional red hammers, which carry aspirin.

He can in fact hit a red hammer at any time, though the longer he leaves it the more points he scores.

The hammers come down even faster, of course, and with the red ones increasingly difficult to pick out you must eventually succumb and ascend to headbangers' heaven for a score.

However, long runs are rare because the character is too big and clumsy to manoeuvre through the torrent of tools no matter how nimble-fingered you might be.

Verdict

With such a wealth of material available for the Spectrum, it's hard to see why anyone would go out and buy this. You are offered a high-score facility, and your score is graded from Barry Manilow, to Headbangers. Try as I might, and I didn't feel that much incentive. I couldn't get beyond a score of 9,600 which made me a Donny Osmond Class I.

Rating

Lasting Appeal 2/5
Playability 2/5
Use Of Machine 2/5
Overall Value 2/5

Cash On The Nail | Objectives | First Impressions | In Play | Verdict | Rating