Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!umd5!mimsy!oddjob!uwvax!uwslh!lishka
From: lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Christopher Lishka)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: Request for game reviews/comments (long review, plus
Message-ID: <288@uwslh.UUCP>
Date: 12 Dec 87 16:57:28 GMT
Organization: U of Wisconsin-Madison, State Hygiene Lab
Lines: 221

shorter ones at end).
Summary: 
Expires: 
References: <1001@edge.UUCP>
Sender: 
Reply-To: lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Christopher Lishka)
Followup-To: 
Distribution: 
Organization: Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene, Madison
Keywords: 

In article <1001@edge.UUCP> doug@edge.UUCP (Doug Pardee) writes:
>It's Christmas time; time to get myself a present for having been such a
>good boy :-)

Yeah!  That's the spirit! ;-)

>I'm looking for reviews/comments for some C-64 games; anyone able to help?
>
>Any of the various helicopter simulations:
>  Gunship (MicroProse)

	I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  I read a good review
(make that a GREAT review) of this game, so I immediately went out and
bought it.  I have found it to be a lot of fun, in the same way that I
like playing Elite.

Graphics:
	The graphics routines (as mentioned in the ads) are liscensed
from Sublogic, so you get the same, slow feel to the real-time 3-d
world that the flight simulator has (although these might be a
smidgeon faster).  The graphics are also not as complex as the Flight
Simulator, although I believe they are all hidden surface, solid frame
objects.  They are good enough to make the simulation seem somewhat
realistic.

The Helicopter:
	The helicopter itself is one mean machine!  There are four
different types of strategic weapons (air-to-air missiles, guns, dumb
missiles, and air-to-ground heat-sensitive, I believe) and they all
have authentic names and what seems to be acurate descriptions,
although I am not a weapons fanatic so I may be wrong.  They do the
job well ;-).  There are also flares and decoys, a nice radar which
presents different magnifications of the current target in the
computer targeting system (the objects in the radar display look
*exactly* like the ones on the ground when you get close... a nice
touch!), an automatic mapping facility (handy, but not authentic),
screens indicating damage and supplies, and on and on.  To me the
machine seems fairly realistic, but I have never flown in a helicopter
(although I now wish I could fly the real thing!) so take my opinion
for what it is worth.

The Play:
	There are several different scenarios, with different skill
levels and different types of missions (i.e. regular duty, volunteer
mission, volunteer hazardous assignment).  The difficulty ranges from
easy (practice flying on a U.S. training course with dummy bullets) to
downright impossible (attacking the U.S.S.R.!).  Various points and
military medals are awarded to you based on how well you did in many
aspects of the mission.  Personally,  I haven't progressed past medium
level assignments because they can be *really* tough (I am still stuck
running missions in Viet Nam).  As you choose harder missions, the
enemy's weaponry becomes much more advanced, and on really high levels
you are fighting very sophisticated tanks and helicopters that have
the same capability as your craft.  It gets *REAL*HARD*!
	Also, this is not a game that one can just sit down to and
play a few minutes of.  Like Elite, one needs at least half-an-hour to
complete even the most simple missions...much of this time is spent
flying to and from your target area.  Also, each mission is recorded,
so if you mess up, it goes down on your record (i.e. do not play
foolishly with a pilot who you are trying to do well with overall).
It is also very easy to get killed in this game if you are not paying
much attention or you don't know the ropes, especially on higher
levles.  If you are good, however, this depth of play provides much
more challenge than most games.

Instructions:
	The manual is very well done.  It has two training sessions,
fairly complete descriptions of the controls, sections on advanced
techniques, battle strategy, flying styles, etc.  There is also a
description ("briefings") on all the different missions.  Microprose
really put out a good manual for this game.

Bad Points:
	The response is somewhat slow.  In the manual they provide a
small disclaimer by saying something to the effect of "a real
helicopter does not respond quickly, so you should move, wait to see
the effects, and then correct your action."  This may be true, but the
controls are still slow, and in a way such that it usually takes about
1/4-1/3 of a second for the game to read your input.  You get used to
this after a while, but it can be annoying at first.
	THIS GAME IS HEAVILY COPY-PROTECTED!!!!!!  In the time honored
Microprose tradition, they have three (yes, three!) different forms of
this annoying stuff.  The first is one of those new-fangled disk
copy-protection measures that makes it impossible to back the disk up
with on older copier.  The game also writes all the pilot statistics
to disk, so there is a good chance of the disk be trashed, although it
hasn't happened to me *yet*.  Microprose offers replacement disks for
a fee if this should happen.  Also, knowing the problems that their
game "Silent Service" has had on the Amiga, I would be very cautious
about buying this game if you don't like disk-copy protection.
	But that is only the first form.  The second is a
"look-up-the-picture-in-the-manual" type where you must identify a
picture of some military equipment with its name, the information of
which is in the manual.  Not too hard, but it means you will need the
manual close by.  The third form is a keyword scheme that you need
*for*each*mission* (arrgh!).  Just before takeoff, you are given a
keyword and you must look up the password and remember it.  Just
before you land at a base, you are requested for this mission's
password; if you don't type it in correctly, your own forces will
shoot you down (now THAT'S loyalty!).  This has never happened to me,
but then I have never been foolish enough to trash an hour's worth of
flying by typing in the wrong password.

Overall Impressions:
	I like this game a lot, as much as I have enjoyed many hours
spent playing Elite.  The game play is good, and the simulation is
realistic enough to keep me on the edge of my seat as I fly between
missile launchers, tanks, infantry, and enemy bases.  There is also an
awful lot of depth so that this game will not get boring too quickly.
Currently, if I have the time to play (free time, what is free time?),
this is the game I usually pick up.  I can recommend highly on this
basis alone.
	However, the copy-protection is a real drag.  If you are
queasy about this issue, then don't buy this software.  Microprose
really blew it on this one by putting so much protection in it that it
becomes a real pain.  I cannot recommend the game to people who do not
enjoy copy-protection.
	Finally, based on Microprose games I have played in the past,
this one seems to be a cut above the rest, up there with Silent
Service.  Compared to some of the earlier ones (F15, Solo Flight,
various really bad flight simulators of theirs), they have managed to
put out a first-rate game this time.  I only wish I could recommend
this game more, but the copy-protection keeps me from doing that.

>  Super Huey II (Cosmi)
(>  I've got Super Huey (Cosmi), and it's a Grade A turkey.)

	Guess what Doug...Super Huey II is also a Grade A turkey.  It
is bad bad bad bad.  The instructions are bad, the graphics are bad,
and the game play is worse.  I have never come close to completing a
mission.  I wouldn't know how to anyways.  Even worse is that the
Amiga version is hard to distinguish from the c64 version...the
graphics are barely imnproved at all.  Lousy programming, if you ask
me. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!

>  I've seen ThunderChopper, and it has the same very slow response that
>     Flight Simulator II does (for good reason, it says right on the box
>     that the graphics software is licensed from SubLogic).

	As mentioned in the review above, Gunship has these same
slow-but-realistic graphics.  I wish someone would do graphics for a
game like this in the same speed as Elite!

>And has anyone tried any of the super-cheapie games?  You know, the ones
>that cost like $7.99 for 2 or 3 games in one package.  Any reason not to
>believe that you don't get what you don't pay for in these?

The Last V8 (Mastertronics):
	This is an interesting game.  You own the last V8 after a
nuclear holocaust and you must try and reach your base underground
before a bomb hits the surface.  Once underground, you must avoid
pockets of radiation that will kill your shield.  Simple and
straightforward.  That is all the game is, and it doesn't pretend to
be anything else.
	The graphics are impressive.  It is hard to believe that the
overhead view of the car and scenery is being produced on the c64.
The game play is fairly quick, and you need good reflexes to handle
the controls (which are a bit awkward at first).  Also, there is only
one scenario; i.e. no depth to this game.  You have one mission and
you must do it or die.  I still haven't completed it.
	Not a bad game for $10.00 .

Elektraglide (Mastertronic):
	Unfortunately, the pictures of this game look better than it
actually plays.  You are driving a futuristic motorcycle, and your
perspective is a 3d view down the highway ala Pole Position (although
you can't see your vehicle).  The graphics are fairly fast and
impressive, but there isn't all that much to do.  Just race against
the clock.  Gets to be fairly boring after a while.
	Spend your $10.00 on a different game.

Hunter Patrol/Ad Infinitum (Mastertronic):
	Hunter Patrol is a dog.  It is too easy, too slow, and
unintersting.  That's all.
	The real prize in this package is Ad Infinitum.  This is a
game on the order of Threshold, where you at the bottom of the screen
shoot the endless waves of aliens flying patterns at the top of the screen.
The graphics aren't too bad, and they are all different, so it really
gets amazing when you are on the higher levels (there are 256 of them)
and each wave has a different alien!  And the entire game fits into a c64!
	The game play is a lot of fun if you like the shoot-em up
variety.  It gets very difficult, and I have only cleared a fraction
of the boards with the normal amount of ships.  However, if you get
frustrated quickly (like me) and you want to see the higher levels,
there is an option to continue the next game where you left off, and
using this you can get to the last level.  Easy, huh?  I have never
gotten that far...the boards get too hard.  Also, the boards all have
different patterns for the aliens' flying styles, so recognizing all
of them is very difficult.  My brother did make it to the last level
using this feature, but it took him four hours (!)...so I would say
there is a lot of play in this game.
	Buy this package for "Ad Infinitum"...it is well worth the $10.00.

Power (Avantage):
	Nice graphics, but the game play leaves a lot to be desired.
You must progress through seven or eight screens fighting aliens along
the way, but the problem is that only one or two aliens attack you at
once.  Boring.
	Not worth the $10.00 (spend it on a Mastertronic game instead).

>-- 
>Doug Pardee -- Edge Computer Corp., Scottsdale, AZ -- uunet!ism780c!edge!doug,
>{ames,hplabs,sun,amdahl,ihnp4,allegra}!oliveb!edge!doug,    mot!edge!doug

Th-th-th-that's all, folks!
					-Chris
-- 
Chris Lishka                    /lishka@uwslh.uucp
Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene <-lishka%uwslh.uucp@rsch.wisc.edu
"What, me, serious? Get real!"  \{seismo, harvard,topaz,...}!uwvax!uwslh!lishka