textfiles/games/REVIEWS/viper.rev

 DAY OF THE VIPER 

 In DAY OF THE VIPER, you play the role of a Viper/Nexus Android
operator. Your job is to direct the Viper in penetrating a large
complex that has been overrun by hordes of robotic opponents. These
hordes carry out the orders of a non-biological mad-being named
GAR. Your Viper must get through 25 levels in the complex and
restore the computerized defense systems. Success means not only the
liberation of the complex, but a turning point in the war between
GAR and humanity! (This review is based on the IBM-PC version.) 

 VIPER is an action adventure with an interesting twist: The action
takes place using first-person perspective graphics. This gives a
nice sense of immediacy to the game, as you walk around corners and
spot GAR forces lurking in ambush. 

 Of course, you are prepared for these little encounters. You begin
VIPER with a Laz gun and a Shield. These are fairly feeble, though
adequate. You will find stronger replacements for them as you go
along. You will also find various objects that will help in the
quest, including several one-shot weapons that can usually deal with
foes your Laz gun can't handle. 

 Speaking of Laz guns, you must watch how your attacks fare. Each
opponent in VIPER has a specific weak spot. You will need to spot
these to be successful. In some cases you can defeat the robot
without hitting its weak area. In other cases you will not be able
to damage the robot except in that spot. 

 Something else you must watch is your energy. Each action costs
some energy, and Laz gun shoot-outs burn up energy fast. This is
another reason to find those weak spots: Inefficient firing consumes
energy quickly. 

 In the beginning of the game, you'll only be able to replenish your
energy by finding energy balls. These come in different colors that
denote the amount of energy each has. These same colors are used to
delineate the relative power of most of the objects in the game, 
including your Laz gun and shield. 

 As you wander around, the game automatically creates a map for you
of the places you have been. This map shows doors and objects, as
well as the hallways. Moreover, the maps are permanent, so as you
leave a level and then return, you will still have the map of your
earlier travels. All in all, this auto-mapping feature is one of the
best I've seen. 

 Another nifty feature is the Scanner. If you are willing to spend
the energy, you can scan the surrounding area. This scan penetrates
walls and doors and augments the map you have been creating as you
walk around. This can help you determine where you should head
next. 

 To accomplish your mission, you need to find 25 floppy disks
scattered around the complex. These must be read into a floppy drive
and uploaded to the Main Computer. So, in addition to the floppies, 
you must find various computer components and fit them into your
circuit board. You will need to find a disk controller chip to load
the floppies. You also need a Computer Interface Chip to enable
communication with the Main Computer. 

 In VIPER, these things are found lying around...literally. 
However, many are behind color-coded doors. To penetrate the doors
you need a pass card of matching color. These cards are scattered
throughout the complex. So, you will have to skip many rooms until
you find the proper card, and then backtrack to open those rooms. 

 In some of the rooms, you'll find locked storage compartments. 
These were sealed before GAR's forces could get to them, and usually
contain several valuable items. To open them, you must find the
proper combination for each. These combinations are scattered
throughout the complex and may not be on the same level as the
storage compartment they open. 

 Fortunately, VIPER provides a nifty note mechanism for recording
these combinations. This allows you to keep the combination without
using a valuable storage slot. 

 There are no real puzzles in VIPER, apart from matching the
combinations to the appropriate storage vaults. Nor are the arcade
bits particularly challenging. You simply aim the Laz gun and fire
at the opponent as it moves from side to side. The only real trick
is figuring out where to aim for each one. This can involve some
timing, though it's not too bad. 

 The IBM version of DAY OF THE VIPER bucks recent trends toward VGA
support by using a basic 320x200x16 EGA graphics mode. As a
consequence, the graphics in VIPER are fair, but not spectacular. It
does, however, provide excellent mouse support. In fact, I think the
game would be very hard to play without a mouse, as targeting the
Laz gun is much too slow with the keyboard. 

 DAY OF THE VIPER supports EGA (320x200x16), CGA (320x200x4), 
Hercules monochrome, and Tandy graphics modes. It requires 512K of
RAM (384K for CGA and Hercules), and may be installed on a hard
drive. A coded slide rule is used for copy protection. The mouse is
supported, as well as the keyboard. However, only one of the two may
be used; they may not be combined. AdLib and Soundblaster boards are
supported, in addition to the PC speaker. DAY OF THE VIPER comes on
5-1/4" disks (3-1/2" disks are available for $5.00). 

 While VIPER can provide some hours of enjoyable fun, there are a
variety of minor annoyances that detract from play. For instance, 
although the display indicates that players can see at least two
squares ahead, only the next square is in fact displayed
accurately. Also, your Laz gun can only hit targets in adjacent
squares (!), and as I mentioned above, if the mouse is chosen, the
keyboard will not work. This is particularly annoying in movements
where the arrow keys would be very useful (and quicker). Finally, 
there is no way to skip rapidly through the opening introductory
screens. This sequence takes about four minutes, and most players
will want to skip it after the first iteration. 

 I also found DAY OF THE VIPER to be a bit longer than I would have
liked. After the second or third building, the game seems a bit
tiresome; the action doesn't really change. The opponents are a
little tougher, but you find the same items, and do the same
things, that you did on the very first level of the game. 

 On the plus side, the mouse interface is well-done, and the game
plays with reasonable speed on all PCs. The auto-mapping and note
facilities are well-done, too, and would be welcome additions to
many games. Thematically, DAY OF THE VIPER presents something a
little different from the average dungeon-crawling expedition. Its
use of first-person perspective is also unique to the
action-adventure genre, and is a nice change. 

 For those who like action adventures, I give DAY OF THE VIPER a
guarded recommendation. It is fun and interesting at first, but the
action is a little repetitious. For role-players or adventure
gamers, I advise steering clear of this one. There are no real
puzzles, and the role-playing aspects are muted. 

 DAY OF THE VIPER is published and distributed by Accolade. 

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253