CPC Attack

CPC Attack! was the successor to Amstrad Computer User. Published by Headway Home & Law, the firm which inherited Robert Maxwell's consumer magazine group after his death, it survived for six issues from June to November 1992. CPC Attack! probably assumed it would pick up all the previous ACU readers and has an interesting little welcome message for everyone possibly firing a few shots across the bow of the only competitor - Amstrad Action.

History

The magazine was originally planned to cover both games consoles and the CPC range. Called simply 'Attack!', it would aim to stay with CPC users as they migrated away from their original computers towards newer 16-bit consoles. In time, the CPC content would have disappeared.

However, this plan was dropped prior to launch, and CPC Attack! (as it became) was released as a much more traditional CPC magazine. Only a series of articles assessing individual consoles survived from the original blueprint.

Six monthly issues were produced before editor Pat Kelly decided to move on, and the magazine was closed. This left Amstrad Action as the sole English CPC Magazine available at the news stand.

Editorial style

CPC Attack! took a more ostentiously youthful style than its (by then) sole competitor, Amstrad Action. However, this did sometimes backfire, as with the famous episode of issue 1 when the best games were given the "Bogus Game Award" - after the editorial staff completely misread the meaning of the then popular slang word.

Another facet of this approach was the frequent appearance of 'Amy Stradivarius', the magazine's cartoon mascot. Amstrad Action enjoyed publicly baiting its new competitor, a tactic privately welcomed by the Attack! staff who felt it gave them extra publicity.

Monthly features included games reviews, an extensive technical Q&A section, and a demo column.

Writers

Pat Kelly (editor)
Rob Scott (technical writer)
Richard Fairhurst (demo columnist)
Richard Wildey (reviewer)

Download

All six issues downloadable in the forum.

Online Issues

1992
CPC Attack, Issue 1, Jun 1992	CPC Attack, Issue 2, Jul 1992	CPC Attack, Issue 3, Aug 1992	CPC Attack, Issue 4, Sep 1992	CPC Attack, Issue 5, Oct 1992	CPC Attack, Issue 6, Nov 1992