Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!quanta.eng.ohio-state.edu!rcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu!PAT From: PAT@rcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu (Patrick Plaisted) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games Subject: Armor Alley Message-ID: <5907@quanta.eng.ohio-state.edu> Date: 29 Sep 90 02:32:57 GMT Sender: news@quanta.eng.ohio-state.edu Organization: Ohio State University Lines: 98 Nntp-Posting-Host: eng.ohio-state.edu | | Also, is Armor Alley good? Could someone post a *descriptive* | review? | Well, since no one else has posted a summary yet... I got my copy for $31 at a local computer store (I didn't even have to wait for mail order!). There are some things I like about it and some I don't. First of all, it is a VERY straight forward port from Rescue Raiders. The graphics are a much better (of course), but it still plays the same way. So if you've already mastered it on the apple ][, it's not as fresh on the mac. Not to say that there aren't subtle improvments here and there (there are lots of little things), but it still "feels" like the same old game. The graphics are almost as good as Solarian's. The animation is a little choppy, but acceptable. Acceptable, that is, on a mac II or better. I wouldn't recomend this game if you're playing it on a classic mac. I now see why Ben kept Solarian just on color macs: there ain't enough cpu cycles on a plus or se. This fact makes Armor Alley *quite* sluggish there, but it's plenty fast enough on the bigger machines. I was a little dissapointed about the sound. At least it has sound (which is better than the old days), but it could be better. It's mostly quiet, just an eplosion here, a gun shot there, etc... The computer chopper behaves differently than the Rescue Raiders' one. It's still pretty stupid at low levels, but around level 4 it's taken to ramming me (which is very annoying when trying to provide air cover for my convoy!). It's also harder to louer the the computer chopper into chasing you across the field and away from your convoy. It now avoids my guided missles like I used to avoid its on the apple ][. I think this computer opponent is much smarter than the old one, but maybe it's just because I understood the old one so well. The game also supports up to 4 players on appletalk (2 choppers on each side) or 2 players on modems. I cannot say how the multiple player games work yet as I have yet to find another person who has bought the game. (Yes, in order to play in anything but demonstration mode, all players need to have a game with a different serial number.) Other than this annoying serial number thingy it's not copy protected. The mouse control is excellent! IMHO, one of the big problems with mac games is no good input device. A mouse is great for word processing, but sucks rocks for gaming. At least I used to think that. This is the best mouse controlled game I've ever used. Under the special menu there are lots of nice features. You can control everything about the game, from the type of backround to the speed. A very nice, configurable user interface. They say it's multifinder comptable, and maybe it is if you have four megs of ram, but with two megs I still need to boot up under finder. Things I'd like to see: 1. I have a 13" screen, so why am I only using 9"? This extra real estate could be used for many things, for instance: get my status info out of the playing area and into the extra room. Enlage the playing area, etc... 2. More sounds! And more interesting sounds. 3. Arthur, if you do come out with a version 2 (with all of the nice features promised), what is the upgrade policy? I hate it when I rush out and but something only to find that 6 months later I have to dish out an additional $15 bucks for an upgrade... My conlusions (worth what you paid for them :-) ): All in all, a good game (on a COLOR mac). It's getting a little old for me (as I already played the game to death on my apple ][), but is much prettier here! If you've never played Rescue Raiders on the apple ][, GET THIS GAME. You'll find it colorful, adictive, and it will be fresh for you. If you have played it, you'll find this an excellant port: it maintains the original feel and playability while adding some small features and nice graphics. Now, is there ANYBODY here at OSU (or columbus for that matter) that I can play against? I'm dying to really try this multiple player stuff... | Thanks, | | Zack Pat =========================================================================== Patrick Plaisted |pat@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu System Programmer | or if you want to Ohio Cooperative Extension Service | torture me with unix: The Ohio State University |pat@klingon.eng.ohio-state.edu 2120 Fyffe Rd. Room #109 | Columbus, Ohio 43210 | (614) 292-4338 =========================================================================== I'm not quite sure who's ideas these are; I think they're mine...