95 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
95 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
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CLUE MASTER DETECTIVE
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Even among the most sophisticated and well-heeled, murder (as
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Shakespeare would say) will out. And someone, somewhere, will seek
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to solve the perennial mystery: Whodunit?
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Murder -- and the solution to murder -- is what CLUE MASTER
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DETECTIVE is all about. CLUE MASTER DETECTIVE is the computer
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edition of the famous Parker Brothers boardgame that originally
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appeared in England in 1946, and became one of the most popular
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boardgames ever. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version; Atari
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ST version notes follow.)
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CLUE is basically a "whodunit" type of game. Using your logical
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ability, your deductive skills, and -- most of all -- your memory,
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you try to determine who the murderer is, which weapon he used, and
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where he committed the crime. Every time you play the game (board or
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computer), the combination is different. Is the culprit Madam Rose
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in the carriage house with the poison? Monsieur Brunette in the
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trophy room with the horseshoe? Or perhaps Colonel Mustard in the
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library with his revolver?
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The computer edition of CLUE is from Leisure Genius/Virgin
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Mastertronic, a company responsible for bringing several other
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boardgames to the computer. The successful creation of a computer
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version of a popular boardgame is a formidable task; fans of "the
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original" tend to ferret out the slightest deficiency. But Virgin
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Mastertronic has done a superb job with CLUE, and the computer
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edition is an accurate rendition. The only boardgame feature that's
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missing is the inclusion of little tokens (which always got lost,
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anyway) -- guns, knives, ropes, and pipe wrenches.
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CLUE MASTER DETECTIVE allows you to play against two or more
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computer opponents. Two, three, or more human players (with
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additional computer opponents) may also play. You can select the
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level of your computer opponents' ability. The game requires that
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you have a good memory, decent thinking skills, and a willingness to
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take some notes. But this simply adds to the challenge.
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The IBM-PC version supports both CGA and EGA graphics modes. EGA
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graphics are excellent; CGA graphics are good. The colors are
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appropriate, the detailing is fine, and during some segments of
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play, you "zoom" in for a better view of the "on-board" action. (A
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Hercules monographics-compatible version is available for $5.00 by
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mail from the company.)
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The program offers pull-down menus, so a mouse or joystick is
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helpful (although optional). However, keyboard play isn't
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difficult. The IBM-PC version includes sound, the ability to print
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out information about the game, and several other nice features
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designed to augment play. The only (very minor) glitch I encountered
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occurred when I quit the game: The computer rebooted instead of
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returning to DOS.
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CLUE requires 512K of RAM and DOS 2.1 or higher to run on the IBM
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PC/XT/AT or compatibles. The game also runs on the Tandy 1000; the
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Tandy graphics card and music device are supported. No other music
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or speech cards are supported. The program is not copy-protected in
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any way, and is easily installed on a hard disk.
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ATARI ST VERSION NOTES
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The Atari ST version of CLUE MASTER DETECTIVE looks good and plays
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at least as well as the IBM version reviewed above. The basic
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"board" graphics are fine, as are the animated scenes of suspects
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entering rooms. The murder scene that opens the game is so colorful
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and clear, it's downright startling -- even for the ST. It could've
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come directly from an Amiga or an IBM with a VGA card; that's how
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good it is.
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The ST version requires 512K and a color monitor, and except when
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you change a suspect's name, CLUE is completely controlled via the
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mouse and pulldown menus. Also, there are print functions: Print
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Note provides a list of the ten suspects, the twelve locations, and
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the eight possible murder weapons; Print Game provides a printout of
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all suggestions and accusations made by all players up to that point
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in the game.
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Player comments can be toggled. The Fast Game option toggles the
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animated scenes of characters entering rooms, and all players can
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see the notesheets that the computer keeps track of. The package
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comes with one copy-protected disk and an instruction manual.
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Leisure Genius has brought us SCRABBLE and MONOPOLY, as well.
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Although SCRABBLE is the best of the lot, CLUE MASTER DETECTIVE is a
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faithful translation of the popular boardgame, and a really good one
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-- even without the tokens.
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CLUE MASTER DETECTIVE is published by Leisure Genius and
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distributed by Virgin Mastertronic.
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