72 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
72 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
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PROJECT NEPTUNE
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PROJECT NEPTUNE is a strategy/arcade game from Infogrames and Epyx. It offers a
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topical plot, excellent graphics, realistic animation, three skill levels,
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sharks and an octopus, underwater battles, "Top Secret" documentation, and
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joystick, mouse, or keyboard control. The color-only Atari ST version is the
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basis for this review.
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NEPTUNE concerns Richard Douglas Klein, code-named "Yellow Shadow," who is more
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than inexpressibly ugly. He also controls an undersea mining operation, the
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product of which (uranium) will eventually be sold to terrorists. As Rip Steel,
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you'll be airlifted to the North Sea to rendezvous with the HMS Remora, a
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one-man attack submarine, and head out to sever the links that connect Yellow
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Shadow's bases, thus destroying his operation.
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Obstacles to this goal include defense, worker, and warrior patrols, floating
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mines, kelp, and the rock formations of the sea's bottom, as well as Yellow
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Shadow, who constructs new bases as fast as you sever the links between them.
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The Remora is equipped with torpedo launchers, acoustic decoys, and timed
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Underwater Concussion Devices (UCDs). You can drop UCDs from the sub, or you can
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climb into your scuba gear (complete with spear gun) and deliver them
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personally. Also on the Remora is a laser-armed Propeller Driven Platform (PDP),
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which you'll need for battles with the Shadow's patrols.
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The ST graphics display consists of four screens. The main screen is the
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cockpit of the Remora: viewport, compass, clock, warning monitor, and several
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status and selection icons. SASMAP is an acronym for the Satellite/Aircraft
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Symbolic Map; on activation, it replaces the cockpit and provides details of the
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surrounding seascape, including Allied supply bases and Shadow mining bases and
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patrols. This display also controls Remora's auto-pilot.
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Selecting the SCUBA icon dresses you in your underwater apparatus and sends you
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out for a swim. Selecting the PDP icon does the same, except that you'll be
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strapped to a swift-moving, highly maneuverable undersea sled armed with lasers.
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Either mouse, keyboard, joystick, or all three can be used to control the
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action: Rolling the mouse moves the Remora, PDP, or you (when you're a frogman);
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the left button fires weapons. The joystick performs the same functions. When
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using the keyboard, the arrow keys effect movement, and the spacebar fires
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weapons. Function keys F1-F3 select the difficulty level. The ESC key returns
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you to the cockpit after scuba diving, piloting the PDP, or consulting the
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SASMAP.
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NEPTUNE comes on two copy-protected disks. There is occasional disk access, but
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only one swap. One game at a time can be saved, and any subsequent save will
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overwrite the previous one. The documentation is stamped "Top Secret." It
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consists of a bunch of loose pages that could have been stapled together and
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stamped "Manual," but weren't: Shuffling through these pages is mildly confusing
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at first, but the game is so cool and so easy to play once you get the hang of
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things, it doesn't matter.
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Graphics, animation, and sound effects are consistently excellent throughout:
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Kelp sways with the currents, sonar "pings," air escapes from the Remora with
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its unique sound, and the undersea artifacts waver and appear distorted outside
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the viewport. Scuba diving, swimming, and the movement of the sharks and
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octopuses are perfectly lifelike. Color sometimes seems drab and washed-out, but
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the longer you play, the more natural it becomes.
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PROJECT NEPTUNE is an outstanding game: It's tense, suspenseful, and cinematic;
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it looks and sounds great; it plays perfectly no matter which control device you
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use. Of course, Infogrames (led by Eric Mottet) -- whose programmers do some of
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the best animation work around -- knows all about producing outstanding games:
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CRASH GARRETT, CAPTAIN BLOOD, and HOSTAGE RESCUE MISSION. Their latest effort is
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too good to miss.
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PROJECT NEPTUNE is published by Infogrames and distributed by Epyx.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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