Developer: R Tape
Genre: Reaction Timer
Platform: Spectrum 48K
Language: BASIC

HOWDY - I'M A COWBOY!! Bang bang bang bang shoot shoot shoot bullet bullet gun!

Actually it's me, Emmet Brickowski, hanging out in The Old West again and I'm super-excited to have discovered this new entry from R Tape.

When I first saw the capitalisation on this loader I had a horrible feeling that this might be a themed version of Arty Pants. Luckily he isn't that cruel and this is something altogether more fun - you know, like stubbing your little toe or plucking a nose hair?

After two short loads the game begins by asking your name, a bit like Skool Daze, but missing the opportunity to have a cowboy sprite walking across the screen to be introduced.

The instructions attempt to provoke you into taking on a 'Fastest Finger in the West' challenge - which reminded me a bit of that scene in Back to the Future Part III where Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen is challenging Marty McFly to a shootout.

"Nobody calls me Yellow" I think (although, funnily enough, they do!) but the 'N' key doesn't seem to do anything?

I begrudgingly hit 'Y' and it's on with the game.

A quick succession of letters appear randomly in the centre of the screen and then, suddenly, stop and flash white. I'm pretty sure I'd understood the instructions, however, I guess I wasn't listening as it's not immediately obvious what I'm supposed to do... Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

[Whispering] Hit the key corresponding to the letter on the screen...

Um... I knew that, thanks.

I start to get a little better with a 1.13, a 1.02, a 1.89 and hell yeah - a 0.96!

Unfortunately accuracy can be a problem when you've got these claw hands and, inevitably, I make a mistake...

... The game doesn't pull any punches while rubbing my face in it!

R Tape says his record was 0.68 so I need to keep trying if I'm going to beat him.

Another 10 shots and I'm doing okay - mostly in the 0.9x-1.1x region but with the occasional lucky 0.7x.

Suddenly BAAAAM! - there it is! 0.6 seconds.

HAHA! In. Your. Face! Am I truly The Special or was it just luck that I happened to be right above the correct key at the time?

We may never know because, short of playing this more and demonstrating a consistently quick reaction time, there's literally nothing I can do.