128 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
128 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
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BAR GAMES
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Anyone who's ever been to the local pub, tavern, or watering hole
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will appreciate the effort put forth by the folks at Accolade. BAR
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GAMES has enough of what makes bars fun to satisfy everyone -- from
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the die-hard "barfly" to the most conservative teetotaler. The
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program consists of five games in one, as described below. Each game
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allows you to play either a single event, or a tournament of all
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events. One to four players may participate in either mode. High
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scores are kept for tournament play. (This review is based on the
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IBM-PC version.)
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LIAR'S DICE
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This is the classic dice game played for fun and/or profit
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(depending on your state's laws) in bars from coast to coast. The
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object of the game is to bid the highest set of dice (two sixes,
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three fours, etc.) in both your hand (which you can see) and the
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bartender's hand (which you can't see), without falling short on the
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bid. You may also bid more than you think you have, attempting to
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force the bartender to bid more than she has so you can "call" her
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and catch her in a lie. Of course, if she really makes her bid, you
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will lose. Not to worry, though: It's all in fun and no money
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changes hands; the bids are for chips only (this is a respectable
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place). During the course of the game, you are privy to the
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bartender's thoughts, and you're also the butt of her derisions
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regarding game play. Don't get distracted, and you just might put
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her in her place.
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AIR HOCKEY
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You must play a best-of-three set against four opponents of both
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genders to win this one. Each player becomes successively more
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skillful while the goals on either side of the table get smaller.
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The animation and game play are smooth and challenging, but be
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prepared to use a joystick. Keyboard control on this one -- unlike
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the other games in this package -- is practically impossible.
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WET 'N' WILD
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This game is by far the most enjoyable in the group and worth the
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price all by itself! The object is to soak the contestant on the
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stage with a bucket of water from a catwalk above. You have a
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maximum of 16 buckets of water and 60 seconds on the clock. If
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you're able to get the person on stage at least 80% wet without
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running out of time or water, you can move on to the next
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contestant. Each contestant gets more attractive and wears flimsier
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clothing, producing more "revealing" results when totally soaked.
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There are eight contestants in all, and you may choose between
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either male or female contestants (lest someone think this game is
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sexist). Each contestant gets a little harder to hit with the water
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and is more erratic in his/her stage-walking. In addition, you must
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contend with electric "chaser-lights" that shock you when water
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touches them, and former contestants who come up on the catwalk and
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knock off your buckets! The joystick and keyboard interfaces are
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both excellent in this game.
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PICK-UP ARTIST
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Okay, I know I just said the game isn't sexist, but this particular
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segment could be considered so. It's certainly the poorest
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implementation of the group. When the game starts, it's Wednesday
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and you have just received a note informing you that a girl at the
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bar is watching you with interest. You'll know her by the flower she
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wears in her hair. When you get to the bar, all the women have their
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backs turned toward you, so you must talk to each of them to find
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out who has the flower. After selecting which girl you'll talk to,
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you have to converse in the form of three question-and-answer style
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conversations. If you successfully ask the right questions and give
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the right answers (and the girl is wearing the flower), you'll
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return on Thursday night for a one-on-one drink. The conversation
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continues the second night, and if you are flawless again, you'll
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have dinner on Friday. If dinner goes all right, your next encounter
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will be at the beach on Saturday, and finally, the big "Weekend
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Reward" (as the manual so eloquently states).
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All of this is fine, and even addictive at first; however, the real
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downfall of the game is that the same girls respond to the same
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questions every time you play. Once you know which questions and
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answers are correct, you'll be able to get all the way through the
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game each time. I was able to solve the mystery of all three women
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in just over an hour, so I'll probably never play it again: What
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would be the point? Perhaps an option should have been included that
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would shuffle the responses; then the challenge could begin all over
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again. Since this game is so easily solved and is targeted toward
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only one gender, it has very limited appeal.
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LAST CALL
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The object of this game is to serve all the patrons at a
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three-tiered bar all the beer they want and to try to meet your
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quota in one simulated hour of bar time. Sound easy? Don't believe
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it! It gets busy. It gets confusing. You must watch the sequence in
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which customers order their drinks and serve them in that same
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sequence. You must slide the drinks down the bar just right: too
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slow and they fall off the bar before reaching their target; too
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fast and they tumble over the customers' outstretched hands,
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spilling. You are limited to a certain number of glasses, so be
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careful. This is a very challenging game with good animation. After
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your shift behind the bar, you'll feel as if you've just run
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yourself ragged for an hour.
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The IBM-PC version of BAR GAMES supports EGA/VGA, CGA, Tandy
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16-color, and Hercules MGA. It employs off-disk copy protection in
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the form of a non-copyable sheet displaying pictures of glasses that
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you must identify at the start of the game. (JACK NICKLAUS GOLF
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owners take note: This is _much_ easier to read than the similar
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protection used in that game!)
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BAR GAMES from Accolade is a well-conceived, well-planned, and
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well-executed piece of gaming software. It is an excellent value,
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considering that you get five packages in one (even if "Pick-Up
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Artist" falls short). The game carries a "recommended for mature
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audiences" warning label, due to the revealing nature of "Wet 'n'
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Wild," as well as a few voluptuous women in "Pick-Up Artist." The
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documentation is short, entertaining, and easy to understand.
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So sit back, have a cold one, and get ready for lots of bar fun.
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Hey, where are the hors d'oeuvres?
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BAR GAMES is published and distributed by Accolade.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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