textfiles/games/REVIEWS/fountain.rev

 FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS

 If you liked WASTELAND, you'll love to hate FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS from Electronic
Arts. And if you loved WASTELAND, you'll find the shockingly pastel world of
FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS disturbing but familiar. Weapons, armor, skills, and
attributes are similar (in some cases, identical) to those found in WASTELAND,
but most of the really neat features have been diluted or changed in FOD,
resulting in less excitement and more frustration than WASTELAND created. (This
review is based on the IBM-PC version.)

 The game world is New Miami, an island of mutants, crooks, and partisans that's
just ripe for some gung-ho adventurers. Gameplay is menu-driven from the
keyboard, and combat is a smooth-scrolling report of damage done and sustained
(after strategy has been selected from the menu). This particular implementation
of a now familiar interface is pretty much like the day-old stubble of a certain
"Miami Vice" cop: somewhat attractive, but irritating in a clinch.

 Your characters have two types of skills, and there are two categories (regular
and mutations) within each skill type. You can use "active" skills from the
menu, but the "passive" skills just kick in when needed. You can't practice
these "kickers," nor can you select the time to use them. Lockpick is an active
skill that develops rapidly as you use it; perception and gunsmithing are two of
the kick-in variety. Given the inordinate number of times automatic weapons jam
in this game, failure of gunsmith skills to kick in can make you crazy.

 Aside from the fabled rejuvenatory powers of the Fountain itself, there is no
magic in FOD. There are, however, mutations that provide characters with some
pretty amazing skills! Shrieking and Stunning your way around the island can
make up for some of the social and physical deprivations associated with
becoming "different."

 Being "different" is one of the most irritating features of FOD. None of the
available curative skills works unless the character who needs them is already
unconscious. If a character has mutated, the character will _not_ heal at all
unless drunk or drinking. Drunk characters cause the entire party to stagger
around the screen (and bump into monsters). Level 1 Doctor, Pharmacist, and Folk
Medicine skills do not work at all: "So-and-so is beyond your help" is the
constant message. If you receive that message during combat, you get no credit
for practicing the skill, either. Once a character is afflicted by being a
mutant, the name of the character is highlighted in inverse text. Unfortunately,
this is also how the game notifies you of major, potentially deadly injuries and
conditions, like "poisoned" or "rabid." This is really a serious defect in the
game, because it is next to impossible to prevent mutations, and once they have
occurred you could go DED without even noticing an injury.

 The graphics in FOUNTAIN are...well, pretty -- stunningly pretty, in some
cases. Various "monster" animations are delightfully fey: OhOh's catch and eat
flies while you set up the combat sequence; dobermutants drool, and snakes
strike. Punks and bad guys abound, and the beach brigade has to be seen to be
believed! Unfortunately, they are seen far too often. They do not advance the
story line, but they do result in resource depletion, which is a critical factor
in this game -- critical because the supply of ammunition is _very_ small, and
most sources of material, armor, and ammunition are not available when you need
them!

 To play FOD, you need an IBM-compatible or Tandy PC with at least one disk
drive, MS-DOS version 2.1 or later, and 512K of RAM. There is no copy protection
whatsoever: The message regarding piracy that's inside the front cover of the
manual is both witty and cautionary.

 FOD can be installed on several configurations of floppies, or a hard drive;
you'll need at least 1.2Mb of space on the hard drive. If you elect to use
floppies, you'll need either: one 1.4Mb or 1.2Mb HD diskette; two 3-1/2" 720K
diskettes; or four 5-1/4" 360K diskettes. I installed the game on two HD
floppies and alternated the disks so that I had two versions of the game in
progress at all times. I did this because the program saves the game at some of
the least opportune times! I also installed FOD on the hard drive and copied the
floppies to that version at the end of each session. Regardless of the
configuration you choose, FOD can be played on _one drive only_. I imagine that
this would be annoying in a 360K setup, but it's no great inconvenience when
using a high-density or hard drive.

 FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS is supplied on two 5-1/4" disks; there is an order card
included that allows you to acquire 3-1/2" disks for $10.00. (This is more than
20% of the cost of the game -- quite a surcharge!) A cluebook is available from
Electronic Arts for $15.95.

 FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS supports Tandy, EGA, VGA, or MCGA graphics. The graphics are
nice to look at, but don't have a real VGA appearance in the VGA or MCGA modes.
(I assume this is due to the Tandy 16-color limit.) No mouse, joystick, or other
controller is needed, and no sound cards are supported.

 As a stand-alone game independent of comparisons, FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS is a
reasonably entertaining, moderately difficult, linear CRPG with a logical (if
sometimes arcane) story line. The artwork is lovely, and the animation is
entertaining. There are rich character attributes, practicable skills,
consistent monsters, beautiful graphics, smooth interface, and logical combat.
What more could we ask for? (How about an interesting game?)

 FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS is fun to play, once you overcome the tedium of building a
party that can survive the rigors of New Miami. If you're expecting WASTELAND
II, this is _not_ the game for you. And if you're easily annoyed by sadistic
program quirks, spend your game dollars on something else. But if you want a
couple of hundred hours of entertainment, and you don't mind frustrations along
the way, by all means, seek the FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS.

 FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS is published and distributed by Electronic Arts.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253