70 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
70 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
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STUNT DRIVER
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What hath Pole Position wrought? How about STUNT DRIVER, a game so complex that
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13 people worked on the programming; a game that comes with 54 pages of docs and
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six pages of "Addenda"? I feel sort of like Ed McMahon, telling Johnny Carson
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that they couldn't possibly come up with something that gives you more than this
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package does. (And Johnny snaps back, "You are wrong, microchip breath," because
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the folks at Broderbund have just released a similar game, STUNTS.)
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STUNT DRIVER comes with five pre-configured courses. The first, a simple oval,
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is a training course. The other four courses are packed with hazards: oil
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slicks, loop-the-loops, corkscrew jumps, hills, drawbridges. And you want
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options? Have we got options! (This review is based on the IBM-PC version.)
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Choose from three difficulty levels, not to mention automatic or manual
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transmission. You can race your Shelby Mustang against the clock, against any
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one of three opponents (a VW bug, an IROC Z, or a Porsche 911), or go
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head-to-head against a friend via modem. You can follow the action by looking
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through your windshield (front, side, and rear views included), the windshields
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of your competition, the helicopter view, or the various "TV cameras" stationed
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around the track. As you might expect, with TV cameras present, there must be a
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VCR, and sure enough, there is.
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There's a separate Config Editor that lets you change almost every aspect of
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the game. Choose a different car (there are the four mentioned above plus
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others, like the "Bluesmobile" and a Model T: 11 cars in all), or just change
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the color of your car. Specify how much damage your car will receive in a crash,
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how well your tires grip the road, even the amount of gravity!
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And that's not all! Because, as you may have guessed, when you grow tired of
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the five tracks that come with the game, you can load up the track construction
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editor and create your own track. The editor is simple to use: Point and click
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on the type of track section, then place it on a grid.
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The IBM-PC version of STUNT DRIVER comes on four 5-1/4" diskettes (3-1/2"
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diskettes are available separately). It's important to note that although the
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sticker on the box mentions both 360K and 1.2Mb diskettes, the package only
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includes the 360K format. The game can be installed on your hard drive, after
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which a type of manual copy protection is used.
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STUNT DRIVER's "completeness" includes video support, provided for Hercules,
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CGA, 16-color Tandy, EGA, and VGA (either 16-color or 256-color). The screen
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shots on the back of the box don't even represent SD's best mode; they're only
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EGA. VGA graphics are terrific. Audio support is provided for the Ad-Lib board
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and Tandy 1000.
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There are, as you might expect, some major differences between Spectrum's STUNT
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DRIVER and Broderbund's STUNTS. STUNT DRIVER easily offers far more options for
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editing your environment, while STUNTS offers a greater variety of hazards. More
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importantly, I found the car quite difficult to control in STUNT DRIVER: At
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times it seemed too responsive; other times, not responsive enough. The novice
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computer driver will probably have to spend many frustrating hours simply
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learning how to handle the car effectively before really getting down and
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enjoying the stunts here, although the expert driver will probably appreciate
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the level of challenge and skill.
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Of the two, STUNT DRIVER is probably the more comprehensive package, and it's
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the one that seems to require the greater degree of driving "expertise." It
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takes time and patience to master the tremendous variety of controls, as well as
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the basic skill of competently manuevering the car around the track. I have to
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confess that I personally prefer STUNTS, both for the easier driving and for the
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greater variety of available stunts themselves. However, each game is top-notch,
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and each will find its particular fans. If you have the opportunity, check out
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both games thoroughly before deciding which one to buy.
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STUNT DRIVER is published and distributed by Spectrum HoloByte.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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