116 lines
6.7 KiB
Plaintext
116 lines
6.7 KiB
Plaintext
SECURITY ALERT
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SECURITY ALERT is a strategy/arcade adventure written by Mike Livesay,
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published by First Star Software, and distributed by IntraCorp, and it
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offers fine graphics and animation, excellent sound effects, three
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difficulty levels, five scenarios, joystick control, and copy protection.
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The Commodore 64/128 version is the basis of this review.
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ALERT lets you play the role of a master thief, and it does so by way of
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nicely-integrated strategy and arcade actions, an easy to use point-click
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interface, a variety of screen views, and a fine array of sound effects. To
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be successful, you'll have to outwit robot guards, use tools, crack safes,
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rewire circuits, and make off with the loot. SECURITY ALERT is a nifty and
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suspenseful piece of work that fits perfectly into the Commodore 64.
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ALERT features five buildings, and the goal of the game is to break into
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each one, search its rooms, grab the goodies, and get away before the
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guards catch you or the timer runs out, which is the same as being caught.
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From the Jewelry Store, you must heist the diamonds; from the Museum you
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must steal the King Tut exhibit; the Bank has gold; the Research lab has a
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secret formula; and the foreign Embassy has war plans.
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Some buildings have more than one level; all have robot guards that
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patrol the corridors; all have some kind of detection device: heat, sound,
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motion, and weight sensors, cameras, and infrared beams. Along the way,
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you'll find money (for additional points), useful tools, and memos that
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reveal dangers and provide useful information. Doors might have standard
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locks, electronic locks, or special number-coded locks. Tampering with
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doors or devices might set off alarms. Attempting to rewire a circuit might
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or might not disable it.
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Once you've taken the treasure, you must find a large gold key, which is
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the only key that can open the exit door. Both treasure and key must be
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found before the timer runs out or the guards will grab you and put you in
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a police van, which signifies the end of the game and the beginning of
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incarceration.
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From the Assignment Screen, you can select any of three difficulty levels
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(Novice, Intermediate, Expert) for any of the five buildings. Regardless
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which difficulty level you choose, though, the Jewelry Store is considered
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easy and the Embassy is considered most difficult, which makes for a
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variety of gaming challenges. The difficulty level affects the number and
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speed of the robots, as well as the items you start the game with.
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The Game Screen comprises six areas: Main Window, Close-Up Window, Tool
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Boxes, Map Display, View Controls, and Memo Pad. The Main Window is a view
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of the corridors and rooms, through which you move your character; the View
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Controls toggle between top and side views. The Close-Up Window lets you
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zoom in on and manipulate objects, such as safes, detection devices, and
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control circuits; the Tool Box holds the items you'll need (six is the
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maximum you can carry); the Map Display keeps tabs on your location and the
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movements of guards; and the Memo Pad holds timer and coordinates, passes
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along messages and clues, and informs you of the items and loot you've
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found.
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As you move your character in the Main Window, the building scrolls to
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reveal new areas; your location is updated in the Map Display as well. When
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you reach an object and click the joystick button, the object will appear
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in the Close-Up Window; you can then grab a tool from the Tool Box, move it
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into the Close-Up Window, and manipulate the object. Opening a safe, for
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example, might provide tools you'll need later, such as drills (for
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electronic locks), mirrors (to fake out cameras), other keys and key cards,
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screwdrivers and hammers, infrared goggles, alligator clips, wire cutters,
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flashlights (for unlighted rooms or corridors), dynamite (to blow holes in
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walls), and even a spray can that will cool off heat sensors.
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There are four levels of alert, which rise as you tamper with devices and
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set off alarms. If you're detected by a security device, an alarm will go
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off. Although the guards are always moving, as indicated on the Map
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Display, they will, depending on the alert level, patrol randomly, respond
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to alarms, or chase you. Their speed, line of vision, and whether or not
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they enter rooms also depends on the alert level. Alarms can be shut off by
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taking an appropriate action, such as moving out of range, making less
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noise, or even by smashing the device with a hammer.
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ALERT is controlled with a joystick. The stick moves the character in all
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directions; button presses followed by stick actions set movement to any of
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three modes: walking, crawling, or jumping. Crawling and jumping are useful
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for cutting down on noise or bypassing certain devices. Button presses
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examine objects and grab and use tools. Moving the pointer from the
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Close-Up Window to the Main Window constitutes a return to movement.
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Keystrokes can be substituted for certain joystick functions, but the
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Spacebar-invoked Pause feature and the numbers that select its Abort,
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Replay, and Resume options are really the only keystrokes you'll need.
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The SECURITY ALERT package comes with one double-sided disk that's
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copy-protected, an instruction manual, a map of the Jewelry Store and a
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template for making more maps, and a code card that's used for
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documentation checks. The length of time for a scenario depends on the
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scenario. There is no save option. The manual explains all facets of the
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game, and gives clear examples of cracking a safe and rewiring a control
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circuit.
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The graphics and animation for ALERT are fine on the C64: colors are
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bright, objects are distinguishable, everything moves smoothly and without
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flicker or breakup. Sounds are not only effectively-used but extremely
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useful: the Map Display tracks the robot guards but if you're busy cracking
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a safe, paying no attention to the Map, the mechanized hum of the guards as
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they pass close by will catch your attention. As for the many detector
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alarms, well, I think they heard them down the block. When you wear the
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goggles, you can see horizontal and vertical infrared beams, which can then
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be avoided by using different views and specific movements.
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With Novice, Intermediate, and Expert levels, five buildings, 1400 rooms
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(according to the package back), SECURITY ALERT provides many games of
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varying difficulty. Each game is tense and suspenseful, what with the time
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limit and the need to avoid detection, and the Close-Up Window really does
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give the impression of safecracking and circuit-jumping, just like the
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movies do before Rambo steps in and blows everything to smithereens.
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SECURITY ALERT is a cool game that's also a lot of fun.
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SECURITY ALERT is published by First Star Software and distributed by
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IntraCorp.
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