94 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
94 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
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APOLLO 18
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The distinction between simulators and arcade games is often
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blurred. On its face, Accolade's APOLLO 18 is a simulation of the
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entire Apollo 18 mission: the launch of the Saturn V rocket,
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maneuvers, moon landing and walk, spacewalk, and re-entry. But to
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label this program a simulator would be to overstate the case.
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APOLLO 18 is an arcade game; or, rather, a series of small arcade
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games that serve to move the plot along. (This review is based on
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the IBM-PC version.)
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A good simulator (such as FLIGHT SIMULATOR or ORBITER) teaches the
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mechanics of controlling the simulated vehicle. It illustrates the
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way the systems interact and permits you to test, control, and push
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the limits of the simulator. It may even allow you to explore new
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terrain and apply your own techniques. APOLLO 18 offers none of that
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flexibility. Instead, the Apollo 18 mission has been broken down
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into discrete segments, each of which follows the next in a totally
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linear fashion. Most of the segments require the completion of an
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arcade task; botch a segment, and your mission is aborted,
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shortened, or fatally terminated. Some segments require only that
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you input number or flick a few switches. No actual knowledge, no
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careful planning of trajectories is required to run this mission
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from start to finish. And the whole game reflects this bogus
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authenticity; during the moonwalk, random numbers flash by on the
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periphery of the display. It's all window dressing and no
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substance.
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The arcade tasks, while simple to learn, are often very difficult
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to execute. Moreover, they're not particularly interesting. You can
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improve your performance in some of them (the moonwalk and the
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spacewalk); others are matters of pure reaction time. Can you hit
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the button the instant the counter starts to tick away? Can you keep
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the crosshairs centered even though they're being jiggled randomly?
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These tasks will quickly bore adults.
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Part of the problem is that the tasks draw your attention away from
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the graphics (which are not phenomenal, merely interesting at
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times). Because you're concerned with precisely performing the
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arcade tasks -- or risk ending the game there and then -- you have
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little time or attention to devote to enjoying the scenery.
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The game does provide some educational material regarding the
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mission. You learn when stages are separated and what sorts of
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physical changes the ship undergoes during the voyage. You
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experience a sense of movement in space and on the moon during the
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walks. And you find out how long various parts of the mission took
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in real life. But it's all pretty elementary, not esoteric info such
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as how long you'd need to burn your retros to give you a degree of
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pitch.
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The manual has a couple of problems. Certain items are found under
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the wrong headings or not found at all. For example, at one juncture
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you need to keep an eye on your approach velocity as you land on the
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moon. You're told by the manual to keep your speed "below -004." Yet
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the velocity generally maintains itself at around +002 or +000, and
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this is apparently satisfactory. Yet lower the number to -005, and
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the warning buzzer goes off. What does -004 refer to? Why is -005
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faster than -004? None of these details are ever explained. Very
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little technical information is offered other than the bare
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mechanics of performing the tasks. A bibliography refers you to
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other sources of information.
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Accolade has produced quite a number of excellent programs;
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unfortunately, APOLLO 18 isn't one of them. This program may appeal
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to children who have an interest in the history of space
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exploration, but there's little action (compared to most
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space-oriented games), and the arcade aspects are too tiresome for
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adults.
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The IBM/compatible version of APOLLO 18 requires 356K and an IBM
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PC/XT/AT, a PS/2 30/50/60, or a Tandy 1000 series/3000/4000. A
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joystick is recommended (the keyboard interface was sometimes
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dreadfully unresponsive). The game comes on a single, copy-protected
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5-1/4" disk; for an extra $5.00, you can obtain a 3-1/2" copy
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(backups are a ludicrous $10). There are two IBM versions: one with
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MGA, CGA, EGA, and Tandy 16-color, and another with improved EGA
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640x350x16 graphics. The standard EGA graphics are 16-color, but
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320x200. You have to send for the special EGA version (an additional
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$5.00), but it's included on the 3-1/2" disk, so if you upgrade to
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that format, the hi-res EGA version is included. I would say the EGA
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upgrade is of questionable value. If you're going to buy the game,
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play it for a while before you spend another $5.00 to make the
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graphics better.
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APOLLO 18 is published and distributed by Accolade, Inc.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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