Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!samsung!munnari.oz.au!uhccux!uhunix1.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu!jimmy From: jimmy@uhunix1.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Jimmy Chan) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games Subject: Buck Rogers (review) Keywords: RPG Message-ID: <10710@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu> Date: 19 Dec 90 05:37:11 GMT References: <7014@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM> Sender: news@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu Organization: University of Hawaii Lines: 78 Okay, after playing for over a week I am ready to post a more complete review of Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday. First of all, this is about the Amiga version of Buck Rogers. Program comes with a hard disk installation program that can also be used to install the game onto a ram disk for those with memory to burn instead of a hard drive. In my version of the game there is included a paperback book that can also be found in bookstores that is the first of a trilogy, I don't know if all games include this book or not because if I remember correctly, a flyer I received from SSI about this game a month or so ago, only special editions would include a book. The game runs fine with other programs, just like many of the RPG games that SSI makes for the Amiga. The only protection on the game is a look up in the manual for a word protection; you will have to find a word in one of two manuals, Rule Book and Log Book. The game comes on two disks. The setting of this game is based in the 25th Century with you and your band of adventurers have to protect Earth and defeat the Russo-American Mercantile (RAM) forces. In this game you travel though the solar system from planet to planet to asteroid field, while fighting off spaceships in your own spaceship or just planet hopping. There are basically three planets that you can visit, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. There is also the asteroid field beyond the orbit of Mars and also spacestations located on moons or asteroids to visit and explore. This game is set up much like many of the previous SSI games based on TSR rules. There are 7 stats that determines the well-being of your characters - strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, charisma, tech. There are experience points that you have to attain to receive level advancement up to level 8. You choose from 6 character races - Terrans, Martians, Venusians, Mercurians, Tinkers, Desert Runners and also if male and female selections. There are five different careers that you can have for your characters - rocketjocks, warriors, engineers, rogues, medics. There are also skills and abilities that you will have to allocate points for your characters when you first create them, as your characters attain levels there are additional points that you allocate to these same skills and abilities or add new skills and abilities. Game play is pretty much the same as SSI's previous AD&D games but with the exception that the setting is now in the future so, your party will be riding around in a spaceship and weapons are now of the 25th century. In combat you have the option of fighting with bladed weapons: knives, swords, polearms for close up fighting, or ranged weapons: guns, crossbows, rifles, stunners and heavy weapons/explosives: grenades, grenade/plasma/rocket launchers. Armor is basically a space suit or some type of battle armor and goggles. Monsters come in the form of genetically engineered monsters who do not have ranged weapons or RAM forces who have deadly ranged weapons to attack you with. There are non-player characters (NPC) who may join you on a planet at times of a battle in which case you may be able to lead these NPCs as one of your own characters or other NPCs that will join your group for a short period when you are exploring in which case you only can have 2 NPCs in your party. I have only encountered two bugs in the game. One bug is not really that bad but the other could hurt in the long run. The first bug is when encountering a group of monsters and I opted for hiding but the monsters found my group, the game put me into a combat area with one room with the monsters on the other side of the wall. I could not get to the monsters nor could the monsters get to me. There was a door leading out of the room but not towards the monsters. To get out of this situation, I killed all my characters and then restarted the game from last save. Later, I thought maybe I should have tried fleeing from the encounter but I could not redo this bug. The second bug is a overflow error with the bank. This bug could hurt as it has to do with the money used for repairing and restocking your spaceship. The number of credits it says I have in the bank is something like ~460 million and if I try to withdraw or transfer money to this account it always says the number is too high, even if I use 0. If I use the deposit option I can deposit credits but the number still remains the same in the account only making me lose credits. I've since found a way around this but as it might be a spoiler I will not post it, but I will reply to email for any that want to know. I highly recommend this game for those that enjoy SSI's previous AD&D series. Also, this game is supposed to be the first of a series. Combat in this game is resolved very fast unless you have to keep changing weapons, like I do. Also in the Amiga version if you hit Alt-q, this will put all your characters into quick mode for an easy combat instead of having to hit q for each character.