SOFTWARE eni types of warriors—archer, dwarf,
human—have special qualities that make them more effective against dis similar armies, Pressure stems from the fact that up to three computer or hu
GALLERY
sented in the game, orders are issued on a regimental level with each regi
fear. Nevertheless, the game's strategic
novice to enter his first battle with little
ment having as many as four compo
depth and variety of play options make
nent battalions. Up to four regiments
it one that no serious wargamer will
are grouped into each division, ami the
want to be without (Distributed by Elec
man opponents are doing this at the
typical scenario places you in command
tronic Arts, 1821) Gateway Drive, Sun Mateo,
same time you are.
of three divisions.
CA 94404. &64/$4Q.)
It's very difficult by simply studying
In some scenarios, "off the map" as
the screen to keep track of which play
sistance is also provided in the form of
ers are fortifying, recruiting or deploy
support points that you can allocate to
ing troops. To overcome (his, the
your regiments. This simulates the help
designers have included special sound effects to aid you in determining whai
the Marines would normally gel from
the other players arc doing. Each se
ments in advance of an assault.
lected action has a distinctive sound to
friendly air strikes or naval bombard Each scenario is played on the tra
it, and you'll soon know what's going
ditional, wargaming hexmap, using
on around the map by the unending
icons to represent the forces. The map
parade of blurps and beeps coming
—B()H GUERRA South Boston, MA
Cholo
C
Rescue the Survivors Of a Foreign World The worst fears of mankind have come
from the monitor.
10 pass. Your world, Cholo, has been
Completely destroyed by a nuclear holo
The only time a break in the action occurs is during battle, when two op
caust. Nothing is left living on the surface
posing players try to occupy the same
of the planet. However, a colony of hu
spot.Camera interested in strategy have
mans managed to escape the devastation
the option of letting the computer de
and entered a specially prepared bunker
cide a battle's outcome based on army
where they and their descendants have
size, bonuses and other factors. On the
been for over 500 years.
other hand, arena-style combat is avail
It was planned that when radiation
able for those who are interested in victory gained by the sword. When this
levels were sale, the droids still on the
option
normal life would begin again. Unfor
surface would unseal the bunker and
is chosen, two knights repre
tunately, a serious malfunction has ru ined the communication system be
senting opposing forces appear at the
bottom of the screen and wage battle until a victor emerges. Darkhorn's
tween the bunker and the droids.
documentation
is
thor
ough, yet concise. It is an enjoyable cs cape into fantasy warranting that will both frustrate and delight you. It's rather
To ego your entira battFahcFd in Hallo of
Your job is to take control of the
Montozumo, you must acrall through the
droids,
on-ncroon
bunker. To complicate matters, because
map.
one
by
one,
and unseal
the
all human life is locked in the bunker,
simplistic as strategy games go, but won't
scrolls to reveal the entire battlefield,
the droids are programmed to assume
have you bogged down in the unneces
since you can sec only a portion of the
that anything moving is alien.
sary details of war. (The Avaltm Hill Gams
map on the screen at one time. In ad
Company, 4517 Harford Ril., Baltimore, MD
dition, the program comes with a large,
after playing an hour or so, you realize
21214. G64/S30.)
full-color map that shows the locations of all scenarios and provides a key to
could be a very enjoyable game, but
the 2(i types of terrain.
there are some problems that cause it
—JOHN RVAN
"BII.OXI, MS
Terrain is just one of several factors that you'll have to consider in order to
Halls of Montezuma ... b +
....To the
be a successful corps commander. The weather, time of day, condition of your troops and their supplies are also im
portant to the outcome of any battle-
Shores of Tripoli
Fortunaiely, several different types of reports are available to help yon assess your current battle situation before is
Cholo's graphics are very simple, but that (hey fit the mood of the game. This
to he quite frustrating.
The documentation leaves much to be desired. It includes a fairly extensive novel that gives the background of the holocaust and your mission, but no clear-cut instructions as to how you are U> go about finding the droids. Another problem I encountered was
menu-driven command system devel
suing orders. With two utilities—Warplan and War paint— included on the program disk,
with the erratic control of the speed of the droids. In order to communicate with another droid, you must match its speed and then paralyze it. Once you
oped
Montezuma lets you
have yours moving at full speed, some
Halls of Moutezuiua, a military situ, ulation from the Strategic Studies Group, uses an enhanced version of tile for their
1986 hit, Battlefront.
modify existing
Montc7iima lets you recreate eight of
scenarios or design entirely new ones
the U.S. Marine Corp's most famous
from scratch. The former is a military
battles, from ilic 1847 assault on Mexico City to the Battle of Hue during the
construction kit that lets you design and manipulate all of the forces affecting ihe
1968 Tet Offensive in Vietnam,
battle, while the latter is an icon editor
times it's impossible to slow it down, no matter how hard you pull the joystick or bang the key; yet, at other limes, it teems to work perfectly. (I tried this on several computers to make sure it's a
that you can use to create custom unit
game
symbols and terrain.
problem.)
Battles can be waged against another
human commander or by the computer controlling either side. Although 1-1 dif ferent types
SO
K
of battalions are repre
MAY IBHM
problem
and
not
a
computer
Convenient game menu cards and an
Once you've figured out what you're
excellent manual could prepare even a
doing and have given up several lives