102 lines
6.1 KiB
Plaintext
102 lines
6.1 KiB
Plaintext
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
|