87 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
87 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
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PROJECT FIRESTART
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PROJECT FIRESTART is a science-fiction action adventure from Dynamix and
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Electronic Arts. It offers cinematic graphics, fine animation and gameplay,
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simple joystick control, and a save option. The Commodore 64/128 version is the
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basis of this review.
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Like many graphic adventures released these days, PROJECT FIRESTART owes much
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to the movies. The game has a cinematic structure and uses film devices: zooms,
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close-ups, fades, special effects, and a musical score. FIRESTART breaks no new
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ground -- in storyline, visual appearance, or interface -- but it certainly is a
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blast to play. Although I shuddered for weeks after playing the previous
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Dynamix/EA release (CAVEMAN UGH-LYMPICS), I feel comfortable reporting that
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Dynamix is back on the right track.
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The plot of FIRESTART concerns a genetic experiment gone horribly awry. Funded
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by the System Science Foundation, PROJECT FIRESTART began aboard the research
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ship "Prometheus." Its goal was to produce strong laborers to mine titanium and
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iridium deposits on moons and asteroids.
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Something went wrong, and the genetically engineered laborers mutated into
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flesh-eating horrors. The "Prometheus" no longer responds. Your mission is to
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enter the ship, search its four levels, find out what happened, set the destruct
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mechanism, then leave.
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The "Prometheus" is a maze of hallways, doors, rooms, scientific equipment, and
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elevators. You'll have to access computer terminals, watch "vidtapes," find
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security passes, avoid radiation leaks, and kill the mutations. The mutations
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are a sneaky bunch; they seem to come out of the grillwork. You begin with a
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pulse laser, but it doesn't last all that long, and the mutations are tough to
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kill. You'll have to replenish your weapon periodically, as well as repair the
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damage the creatures wreak on your health level.
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To make matters worse, there's a time limit: If you haven't completed your
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mission and escaped within this limit, the United System States will destroy the
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ship for you, which means you're expendable. What's more, there are survivors,
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one of whom rests in cryogenic sleep.
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The C64 screen display consists of single scenes aboard the "Prometheus." As
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you go through a door, take an elevator to another level, or move to the end of
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an onscreen hallway, a new scene loads from disk. The wait is short and adds to
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the general tension.
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FIRESTART is controlled with a joystick and four keystrokes. The stick moves
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your character in the cardinal directions, and the joystick's button fires the
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pulse laser. Approaching a door, a computer, or a piece of shipboard equipment
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prints a message at the bottom of the screen. Pressing the button selects the
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current choice and reveals the second option.
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The letter "P" toggles the Pause feature; "I" tells you which weapons you're
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carrying and their power levels; "C" lets you change weapons; and "D" brings up
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the Disk Command menu: Format, Save, Load, and Restart.
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The PROJECT FIRESTART package comes with two double-sided disks and a Command
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Summary Card. The Card has maps of all four levels on the "Prometheus." A full
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instruction manual is unnecessary because the controls are simple and the story
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unfolds onscreen.
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The graphic displays look very good on the Commodore. The animations of the
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characters and the mutations are nicely done, and all screen action flows
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smoothly. The film devices are effective maybe two or three times. The first
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time around, some of the sudden close-ups (accompanied by appropriate music) are
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startling. The joystick and the four keystrokes make the game a snap to play,
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even though the mission is not a snap to complete.
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PROJECT FIRESTART is a nifty game, filled with gore and tension. The time limit
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is bad enough, but with much of the "Prometheus" deserted, the tension lever
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rises even higher. The mutations emerge arbitrarily from here and there;
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sometimes it seems they have been waiting for you. It takes at least four shots
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from the pulse laser to kill one, and your health level drops even if they
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aren't chewing on your flesh.
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Many of the areas of the "Prometheus" are filled with dead bodies, which you'll
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have to search. Blood is all over the place. An opening "mini-film" sets the
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stage and gives pertinent information about your mission.
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Dynamix, which hit rock bottom with CAVEMAN UGH-LYMPICS, has more than redeemed
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itself with FIRESTART; in fact, I've even forgotten about the Mate Toss event.
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FIRESTART is nerve-wracking fun. It looks, sounds, and plays wonderfully, and it
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definitely deserves your attention.
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PROJECT FIRESTART is published by Dynamix and distributed by Electronic Arts.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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