49 lines
2.5 KiB
Plaintext
49 lines
2.5 KiB
Plaintext
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PIPE DREAM
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Never have I seen a more blatant case of false advertising! Lucasfilm Games is
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the guilty party. Lucasfilm claims the following: "PIPE DREAM is the perfect
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desktop stress-buster." Stress-buster, they say? Hah! PIPE DREAM is driving me
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nuts!
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An action/strategy tour de force, PIPE DREAM was designed and programmed by
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Akila Redmer and Stephan Butler; the IBM-PC version (reviewed here) is by Peter
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Lincroft. The object of the game is incredibly simple: to speedily lay a
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pipeline that will divert a relentless flood of green sludge ("flooz"). Stay
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ahead of the flow, and your score will climb.
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Did I say "simple"? Well, maybe so. But the program generates a random
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assortment of pipe shapes, and you must select from what's available. Here's an
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example of the problem: That yucky goo is coming straight for you. You need to
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direct the sludge to the right, but all you can put down is a straight pipe. At
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the same time, you must determine where that straight pipe might come in handy
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later and place it there. You hope that the particular pipe you need will appear
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next. Fortunately, you can see the first pipe as well as the next several pipes
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you'll have to use, but you're scrambling and thinking ahead with every move.
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PIPE DREAM offers three modes of play: basic single-player, expert
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single-player, and two-player competitive. Additionally, for arcade klutzes
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(like me), there's a practice mode that slows down the flow of sludge. The game
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has thirty-six levels, each more advanced than the previous one.
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PIPE DREAM for the IBM PC and 100% compatibles requires 256K and supports CGA,
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MCGA, EGA, VGA, Hercules, and Tandy 16-color graphics. CGA looks a bit drab: The
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sludge isn't green, it's brown. EGA is the best you can get with this program.
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(MCGA, EGA, and VGA all look the same.) With EGA, the graphics are good, and you
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can easily see what is going on.
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The sound is what you'd expect from the little IBM speaker. There's no mention
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of any sound card support. The game is supplied in both 5-1/4" and 3-1/2"
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formats. You can use the keyboard, joystick, or mouse to control movement of the
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pipes. Copy protection consists of a code wheel; you must match pipe pieces and
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colors on the screen to shapes on your "Pipe Fitters Guide" wheel. The program
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installs easily on a hard disk.
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Whether or not this game busts stress, it's certainly a lot of fun. Fans of
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TETRIS will also appreciate PIPE DREAM.
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PIPE DREAM is published by Lucasfilm Games and distributed by Electronic Arts.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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