Here at the Computer Condo a lot of software passes my way. I get more than 500 new packages a year, and there`s a numbing sameness about much of it. Military-inspired software is the worst. You`d have to be a contractor for the Defense Department to know the difference between F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Strike Eagle II and F-19 Stealth Fighter.
Lately the big rage is tank simulations, like Abrams Battle Tank, M1 Tank Platoon, Tank Commander and-yawn-Steel Thunder. Wake me when the war is over. Fortunately, my eyes are opened by the unusual and offbeat software products that I occasionally receive. Some of these programs are so inspired that they reawaken my faith in the creativity of game designers. Some are so lame or strange that they at least provide me with a good laugh or two.
Here, then, is a roundup of Software that Dares to be Different. Good, bad or ugly, these programs at least push the game design envelope to its limits.
The prices listed are suggested retail; prices are less at discount software houses. Phone numbers are included for a few packages that might be difficult to find in local stores.
The good
Star Saga: One (MasterPlay; Apple II, Apple IIGS, IBM; $79.95).
”Unique” is a word that is often misused, but if any computer game qualifies for this adjective, Star Saga is it. An ”interstellar, interactive, role-playing space opera,” it`s a cornucopia of unexpected delights. Most computer games these days come packaged with little more than a disk, a thin booklet and plenty of air. But the Star Saga game box is so jammed with goodies that I thought I`d need a forklift to raise it.
At first glance, the plot of the adventure seems familiar enough: One to six players explore some reaches of space where no one has gone before. It`s the execution of this plot that is so special. At the start of the game, you take the role of one of six space explorers. You then open a sealed booklet to find out background information on your character and his or her goals.
You explore space by issuing commands at the keyboard, and you keep track of your location in the galaxy by moving a token along a colorful foldout map. At numerous times throughout the game you`ll face a decision point, such as do you trade with the locals, attack them or negotiate? Here`s where the real fun starts: After you decide on a course of action, the computer directs you to read a passage in one of 13 game text booklets. The passages are a wondrous mixture of mystery and suspense, with plenty of comic relief as well.
The net effect of playing Star Saga is like being in the middle of a stylish and witty science-fiction book where you control your character`s fate. At a time when too many computer games are concentrating on producing sensational graphics at the expense of playability or plot, Star Saga offers no graphics at all but is easy to play and artfully constructed. And as for graphics, no collection of pixels on a monitor have yet matched the pictures that a good writer can conjure up, or the pictures our own imaginations can paint.
Life and Death (Software Toolworks; Amiga; Apple IIGS, Atari ST; IBM, Macintosh; $49.95). Wanna play doctor? Life and Death simulates the duties of a first-year resident surgeon, and comes packaged with everything you need, including a surgical mask and a rubber glove. Though the well-written manual warns that the game is ”for fun, not education,” you`ll learn all about such medical arcana as bradycardia (abnormally slow heartbeat) and premature ventricular contractions.
You`ll guide the resident through his or her daily rounds, attend classes, diagnose patients, select operating teams and perform surgery. To succeed you`ll need to master the use of such tools as scalpels, cauterizer, clamps and forceps; otherwise you`ll be burying your mistakes.
Though cleverly constructed, Life and Death isn`t for everyone. The packaging warns ”Do not buy or play this program if you are faint of heart,” and the ghoulish back cover photograph, of a bloodstained doctor dropping a human brain on the floor, will make many would-be buyers queasy. Indeed, the whole packaging appears to be geared to sadists. ”YOU WILL HAVE TO PICK UP THE KNIFE!!” large red letters scream. Another line talks of cutting ”into living flesh!” If that sounds like fun, then Life and Death is just what the doctor ordered.
Journey (Infocom; most systems; $49.95). The most frustrating thing about playing a computer adventure game is not knowing what to do next. Inevitably in even the best of games there comes a time when you find yourself butting your head against a brick wall, where nothing that you type in seems to work. Journey is the first in a new line of text/graphics adventure games that solves that problem in a simple but elegant way.
The plot is stolen from Tolkien: You and an intrepid band of questers need to save the world from an evil sorcerer. At various points in your journey you`ll face important decisions, such as do you approach that sprite by the stream, or should you watch her for a while first? You need not type long commands to perform actions, though, nor must you guess what steps to take; all of your options are available off a menu. You push only a single key or click a mouse button.
Whenever you take an action, the menu of choices changes to reflect your new situation. If you ever get hopelessly lost, online hints are available. Purists might say that a game like Journey takes the challenge out of playing a text/graphics adventure, and highly experienced players will probably find it too easy. But for those of us who don`t have 200 hours to invest in playing a single game, Journey is a welcome change.
Modem Wars (Electronic Arts; Commodore, $34.95; IBM, $39.95). Though I began this article by mentioning the sameness of so many tank games, this is one tank-battle game that held my interest. It does not attempt to be a realistic simulation of a big piece of military hardware; instead it`s a fun and engrossing high-tech version of Capture the Flag.
The concept is simple: Two opposing armies face each other across a field. The goal of each is to locate and capture the opponent`s Command Center. But grand strategies develop from this simple premise, and you`ll need all your wits to defeat the enemy.
Though you can play this game alone against the computer (and the computer is a worthy opponent), as its name implies Modem Wars can also be played over the telephone lines against a friend-if you both have modems. Here the game really shines, as you maneuver in real-time battle, never fully knowing where the enemy is located or will strike next.
Beyond the Black Hole (Software Toolworks; IBM; $49.95). Okay, I admit it: I`m a sucker for 3-D glasses. And this game includes not one but two pairs. The first-the traditional red-and-blue model-is used for reading the witty manual, which includes a history of 3-D technology, complete with three- dimensional illustrations that jump off the page at you. You`ll learn all you ever wanted to know about such 3-D classics movies as ”Bwana Devil.”
The second pair of glasses, called GrenoVision Goggles, are worn while playing the game, which is a space arcade romp. Though you can play the game with the glasses off, without them it`s just a rather ordinary shoot-`em-up. With the glasses on, Beyond the Black Hole is a dizzying visual trip. You`ll find the action on the screen mesmerizing, as all sorts of unexpected goodies and ghoulies pop out at you.
The bad
Tracon (Wesson International; IBM; $54.95; 800-634-9808). This simulation of the job an air traffic controller is so realistic that it will raise your blood pressure, give you the jitters and cause you sleepless nights. What fun. But isn`t that what being an air traffic controller is all about?
Tracon has plenty of good points, though. Handsomely packaged with an eminently readable manual, it even includes a cassette demo tape to help train you in air traffic controller procedures and jargon. Private pilots and would- be controllers should find the simulation of great interest; for the rest of us who use planes only as passengers, Tracon is simply too intense. An hour of playing this pressure-packed ”game” will leave you drained and exhausted. And set aside a special niche in the Software Hall of Shame for this nifty little feature of Tracon: When your errors at the radar terminal cause a plane to crash, a message appears on the screen indicating how many people died in the crash, as well as a recommendation that you enter psychological counseling ”for killing those poor unsuspecting passengers.” Cute.
The Computer Comic (Keyboard Comedy; IBM; $24.95; 800-289-8773). This laff-a-minute program lets you pop up a joke on the screen anytime you hold down a special Joke Key. Unfortunately, the best joke in this anthology of one-liners is the first one you see: ”Dan Quayle always said he would have scored much higher on his SATs if the fellow in front of him had applied himself more diligently.”
The rest of the jokes are standard knocks against lawyers, mothers-in-law, doctors and other easy targets. Though the packaging says ”No offensive ethnic or racial material is included,” the beauty of Russian women is a frequent target of fun, including this joke: ”I don`t want to say Russian women are ugly, but in Moscow they have signs that say `Curb Your Sister.` ”. All right, so I laughed at that one.
The ugly
Axe of Rage (Epyx; most machines; $34.95-$49.95, depending on machine).
”Hide this game from the nerdly and the squeamish!” the back cover of this game proclaims. But most nerdly ones won`t even make it past the front cover, with its picture of some blood-splattered goon who looks like he was the reaaaaal bad kid in Freddy Krueger`s family.
You have to wonder why Epyx, a middle-of-the-road software firm famous for such family offerings as Summer Games, got involved in this game, where the object is to master 10 different ax moves on ”18 gross creatures in 80 weird dungeons.”
But maybe that`s because there is a herd of adolescent males out there who flip over a game with ”max whacks” like this one. Did I mention that an Axe of Rage tattoo is also included? Don`t say I didn`t warn you.
