62 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
62 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
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CENTAURI ALLIANCE
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CENTAURI ALLIANCE is a science fiction computer role-playing game by Michael
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Cranford, the author of THE BARD'S TALE and THE BARD'S TALE II. The game is set
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in the year 2247, and pits up to eight characters from the six Alliance races
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against a rebel organization known as the Daynab. (This review is based on the
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Apple II version of the game.)
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Character generation is fairly straightforward. After deciding which of the
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races to generate, you review potential characters until one with the desired
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combination of stats and discipline is found. Then, choose an initial skill from
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the menu and type a name for the new character. When all desired characters have
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been generated, you band them together and set out.
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Each of the six races has capabilities in one or two of the four disciplines:
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Combat, Technical Skills, Psionics, and Metamorph. Combat is divided into melee,
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thrown, sidearm, and master. The Tech skills are weaponry, bio (medicine), and
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ancient. Psionics consist of mind, body, matter, and energy. Beyond the
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initially chosen skill, a character can be trained in any skill open to his/her
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race. The number of experience points required to train is displayed on the
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character screen, and this appears to be based on the average skill level in all
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skills where training has been received.
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Unlike many games of this sort, money is not a driving force. Aside from
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capital expenditures on armor, weaponry, mechanoids, and the occasional clone
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replacement of dead characters, the main expense is on ammunition. The official
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stores sell only a limited variety of items, in any event -- much more
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interesting things are found as loot after battles or on the black market.
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And there are a lot of battles. For the most part, the encounters are random
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and hostile, though there are some set encounters, and occasional alien
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volunteers. Battles are fought on a hex map which has a size based on the size
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of the room where the encounter occurs. After deciding whether the overall party
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will attack, move, or run, you decide whether each character will make a melee
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attack, fire a weapon, reload a weapon, dodge, make a psionic attack, or
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activate an item. Once all commands are entered and confirmed, the fighting
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proceeds on its own.
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The game takes up both sides of three 5-1/4" floppies, all but one side of
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which are copy-protected. Even the unprotected side, which actually has to be
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copied, requires a bit-copy program. It requires 64K and is designed to run on
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an Apple II+ or better. Given those limitations, the graphics and sound aren't
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anything spectacular. The graphics are similar to the ones in THE BARD'S TALE or
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POOL OF RADIANCE; the sound is limited to the occasional beep for attention.
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Documentation is good, consisting of a reference manual, a background book, a
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quick reference card, and a star map.
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But enough about facts. The question is, is this game any good? The answer is
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yes. The puzzles -- the heart of this sort of game -- are subtle, but adequate
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clues are provided. The player interface is comparable to that of a WIZARDRY or
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BARD'S TALE. The ability to change from a normal 3-D picture of the surroundings
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to an overhead view, and to play the entire game in that mode, is very helpful.
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The character generation process is relatively simple and relevant to the game
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as it is played. I strongly recommend CENTAURI ALLIANCE. It has already given me
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many hours of enjoyment!
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CENTAURI ALLIANCE is published and distributed by Broderbund.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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