Sinclair ZX Spectrum

Neighbours

This racing game is set in the Ramsay Street universe of the Australian soap opera, which was hugely popular in the UK at the time. Nominally you play Scott Robinson, riding his skateboard in races against between one and four fellow characters – Mike Young on another skateboard, Charlene Ramsay in a go-kart, her brother Henry on a lawnmower, and Matt Robinson on a motorcycle. The eight races take in Ramsay Street, the Lassiter’s Complex, Erinsborough High School, and Anson’s Corner. There are three boards available (two on the Spectrum), trading top speed off against manoeuvrability. Gameplay involves guiding your craft through a series of gates around a forced-perspective course. There are three levels of hazard presence available – hazards include kangaroos, emus and other (stereotypically Australian) animals, Bouncer the dog, grotty old Mrs. Mangel, and traffic bollards. Contact with any of these costs you time, and popularity (reflected by a Neighbours logo fading out along the bottom of the screen – collecting litter will restore this).