[1] There is only one key ("M"), and pressing it mows one square of lawn. [6] The game also inspired some homebrewed games whose titles include the word "simulator". For more info and download check the gamehere. . It was written by (at the time) well-known Your Sinclair writer Duncan MacDonald. There's, of course, a lot of strategy involved in this decision. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator This site is a copy of my old website, www.youmustbejoking.demon.co.uk, retained for historical raisins. The first reviewed would be âAdvanced Lawnmower Simulator The Trilogyâ (named as such despite including four games within), as developed by one Rodney Sproston. advancedlawnmowersimulator.com Website coming soon⦠Advanced Lawnmower Simulator is a 1988 simulation game for the ZX Spectrum. Digital ploughing, planting and sowing is so January 2010. [8] It has been ported to the Amstrad CPC and Amiga. The game has been noted as extremely unusual by IGN and Geek.com. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator is a Simulation game, developed by Gardensoft and published by Your Sinclair, which was released in Europe in 1988. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator is a 1988 simulation game for the ZX Spectrum. This time I randomly selected a game from Aminet and ended up with something obscure called âAdvanced Lawnmower Simulatorâ. All change requests are actioned [5] It was also awarded a nine out of ten and given the magazine's MEGAGAME accolade. [6][2][1] The game parodied Codemasters' habit of including the word "simulator" in its game titles. In a parody of the established "simulator" cliche, Your Sinclair released a game titled Advanced Lawnmower Simulator in 1988. The lush title screen lets you select one out of six mowers. You'll just have to make do with this screenshot. 151 likes. Lady Priest Lawnmower â Windows PC Feeling in a bit of a retro mood I spent a couple of hours coding a spiritual successor, pseudo sequel and pretend remake to Advanced Lawnmower Simulator, a phenomenal ZX Spectrum game by famed taxidermist and Jazz dancer Duncan MacDonald, of Your Sinclair fame. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator is an Amiga miscellaneous simulation game released in 1994 by Amiga Power. Future Publishing Limited [16][17], "5 More Video Games You Won't Believe Somebody Made", "The Weirdest Simulation Games of All Time", "10 MUNDANE JOBS THAT GOT TURNED INTO GAMES", "Codemasters' racing history, from BMX Simulator to GRID 2", "How 'Your Sinclair' Magazine Changed Video Games Journalism Forever", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Advanced_Lawnmower_Simulator&oldid=952154979, Video games developed in the United Kingdom, Articles using Infobox video game using locally defined parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 April 2020, at 20:33. You have the Campari Grassmaster, the Oaf Turfomatic, Acme Mega-Cut 3000, Acme Lawn-Ace, The Flymo Grasschum or the Patio Sprintette. In April 1990, it was reviewed in YS and was promptly awarded a YS 'Megagame'. Java isn't enabled or isn't installed. And its little wonder too, for the game is magnificent. Quay House, The Ambury, [2] After a lawn is completely mowed, the player is rewarded if it was done well enough. All rights reserved. Written by Your Sinclairs own Duncan Macdonald, and awaded a YS MEGAGAME by himself, the game is described as "A powerful and accurate Lawn Mowing Simulator". Title : Advanced Lawnmower Simulator II Publisher : J. Aron Software Ltd Release Year: 1990 No. [8], Your Sinclair revealed the review and game to be an April Fools' joke in August 1990 (after a series of letters about the game were supposedly posted to the magazine[9][10][11][12][13][14]). Bath [2] Vice described the prank as "one of the strangest incidents in mainstream publishing. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator by Steve Checkley Publication date 1999-10 Topics hypercard, hypercard_stack, hypercard_games-humor-fun Originally converted for a course of articles with my now defunct fanzine (1994). That's the power of computer technology, folks. The player is tasked with mowing lawns in exchange for rewards. Smashing! [3] All lawns are identical. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator. [3], Advanced Lawnmower Simulator appears on an IGN list of "Video Games You Won’t Believe Somebody Made",[1] and a Geek.com list of "Weirdest Simulation Games of All Time". A visual novel based on the game Advanced Lawnmower Simulator. Your hero will even walk forwards on his own accord, taking the hassle of learning new confusing controls out of the game. It's the 'classic' ZX Spectrum game all spruced up for Facebook, based on the original version by Duncan MacDonald. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator (or ALS) was quite simply the best game to appear on the Spectrum. And its little wonder too, for the game is magnificent. Visit our corporate site. The piece finished with the words "Utter crap. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator Remix Share 0 0 × One moment⦠We're building your program and it will be downloaded shortly. Excellent graphics for the time, Outstanding gameplay and nerve-racking tension makes for a truly special experience. The following month, it was 'featured' on the Covertape. 3. [5][6] It was also stated that Advanced Lawnmower Simulator is "ACE!" credit simulation games beginning with Will Wright and SimCity in 1989, the true It has also received a cult following, has received remakes, and has inspired other games with similar titles. It was developed by Phil Devaney in AMOS and released in 1997. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. "[4], In 2008, Retro Gamer jokingly stated that Advanced Lawnmower Simulator "has been hailed as THE best game on the Spectrum", and made jocular judgements on the gameplay and graphics as "Outstanding" and "Excellent" respectively, and of the game as "a truly special experience". BA1 1UA [5] The supposed developer and publisher Gardensoft were introduced as "a brand new publishing house that looks set to carve quite a niche for itself in the simulations market",[5] and the piece claimed that they were going to release more games in the coming months, including a spring-cleaning game, a washing-up simulator (including a drying-up simulator), and a laundrette simulator in which players supposedly have to clean bags of various colours and materials. First off, you can choose from 6 different kinds of lawnmower. [1], After a few lawns have been mowed, the player gets killed automatically (according to Your Sinclair, the mower "hits a rock and blows up"[4]) and the game starts over. So sell your PS3, throw away your Call of Duty, and……….. Retro Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. The player is tasked with mowing lawns in exchange for rewards. At the end of each level, if you have done a good enough job, you are rewarded with a prize, usually taking the form of a Corned Beef Sandwich. According to the info on The game was developed as an April Fools' joke by Your Sinclair, who published a joke review lauding it, and released the game on a cover tape. ALS2TROKZ! [7] The game was coded by Your Sinclair writer Duncan Macdonald,[1][3] and released on a cover tape in the next issue. And it is. Players: 1 Entry Type: Simulation You can request changes or additions here. [1], Advanced Lawnmower Simulator of first conceived as a prank in the April 1988 issue of Your Sinclair. Advanced Lawnmower Simulator is a ZX Spectrum classic. The issue also claimed (with screenshots) there are three sequels to the game: one written by Rodney Sproston in which "alien grass has invaded the moon", Advanced Lawenmower Simulator III, in which the player inadvertently enters a nightmare whose only escape from is by mowing through a "dream hole", and ALS Part Four - The Revenge Of Mow, in which the player has to collect money after it falls out of their pocket after purchasing a new mower.