ALTERED BEAST 

 ALTERED BEAST is an action/arcade game from Sega and Electronic
Arts. A hit at the local video room (as well as on Nintendo
systems), BEAST offers decent graphics and animation, five levels, 
two-player mode, joystick control, and copy protection. (The
Commodore 64/128 version is the basis of this review; Atari ST and
Amiga version notes follow.) 

 The best thing I can say about ALTERED BEAST is that it's the
fantasy equivalent of DOUBLE DRAGON -- not exactly high praise, but
then again, DD is so contrived and unbelievable that it could be a
fantasy game, too. Although both packages fall squarely within the
run/jump/punch category of gaming, BEAST lets you transform yourself
into different creatures and take on extra powers, such as flight
and bad breath. (Halitosis in an arcade game? Now that's
innovation!) 

 I think Sega invented the plot of BEAST so that the box would look
valuable. It certainly makes a mess of the ancient myth: Known as
Minerva to the Romans, Athena sprang (fully armed and ready for
battle) from the brain of Zeus. What's more, because she was a
warrior, she carried a shield -- one that bestowed divine
protection. So I ask you: How could Neff, the Lord of the
Underworld, have kidnapped her? That's what happens here, though, 
and now Zeus has summoned you from the grave to free the lovely
Athena from hellish captivity. 

 The object of AB is to make your way through the five levels, 
battle the grave masters, chicken stingers, cave needles, crocodile
worms (the innovation goes on and on), hammer demons, and spirit
wolves, and rescue Athena. Killing the wolves releases spirit
balls. They float around, which means you'll have to chase them. 
When you've captured three of them, you'll be transformed from your
initial incarnation of Strongman into a Werewolf. Subsequent
transformations, each of which requires three spirit balls, are
Weretiger, Weredragon, and Werebear, who knocks out enemies with
morning mouth. 

 The C64 graphics display is a left-to-right scrolling background on
which you move your character. Below the action screen are three
energy blocks that change color (blue to yellow to red to black) as
you absorb injury; when all three blocks are black, a life is lost. 
You begin with three lives; when they are gone, the game ends. The
life icon, which is beside the energy blocks, will look either human
or beastly, based on the most recent transformation. 

 BEAST is joystick-controlled. Move the stick left or right and the
character moves likewise; move the stick straight forward, or
forward on the diagonals, and the character jumps; move the stick
backward and the character crouches. Press the button and the
character will kick or punch in the direction indicated by the
stick. To use the gnarly breath of the Werebear, move the stick on a
diagonal and press the button. The Shift/Lock key toggles the pause
feature; Run/Stop restarts the game. 

 The ALTERED BEAST package comes with one copy-protected disk and an
instruction manual for all versions. 

 The graphics of BEAST on the Commodore are okay when the screen is
not flickering (which is rare), and fair when it is flickering: The
flicker is constant but it isn't really so bad that the game becomes
unplayable. The colors are washed out and pale, but everything is
reasonably recognizable, even if it isn't state-of-the-art. If
you're currently a Weretiger and you lose a life, you'll remain a
Weretiger, regressing to Strongman only when all three lives are
gone and you're forced to start again. 

 The fair animation becomes better when you consider the sprites
that form the various characters: Strongman and his incarnations, 
the grave masters that rise up from beneath the ground and shamble
toward you, and the wolves that leap at you, are full-sized
inventions. Screen flicker is the only indication that "advanced
coding techniques" might be lurking within the machine's innards. If
you jump up from the ground onto a pillar or a walkway and then jump
again, the character disappears completely from view. Even Michael
Jordan can't do that. 

 ALTERED BEAST has one more thing in common with DOUBLE DRAGON: It's
ridiculous. The same stuff keeps happening over and over: run, 
jump, crouch, punch, die, restart. This is fine, I suppose, but it
definitely gets real tiresome real fast. If you've played this game
at the arcade (this version doesn't even come close to the coin-op
version) or on Nintendo, then you'll probably want it for your C64
as well. Far be it from me to suggest otherwise. 

 ATARI ST VERSION NOTES 

 The only thing that distinguishes the Atari ST version of ALTERED
BEAST from the C64/128 version is that the ST version (which
requires 512K and a color monitor) is worse. Sure, there is more
onscreen activity, along with additional flying creatures, another
defensive move, and a Continue option. But all of this looks no
better than it does on the Commodore. 

 The additional defensive move is called "Lie Down and Kick"; it
resembles a Canadian Air Force exercise, but it sure does knock the
flying creatures out of the air. Apart from this, the joystick
controls are the same. 

 Lose all three lives and a clock counts down from ten; press the
button before time has elapsed and you can continue the game. This
works only three times, after which you'll have to start at the
beginning. 

 The ALTERED BEAST package for the ST comes with two copy-protected
disks. The instruction manual, which is for all versions, points out
that a second disk drive is supported. Maybe. 

 If you are considering the purchase of ALTERED BEAST, allow me to
recommend the C64 version. It won't work on your ST, of course, but
since both packages belong in the bargain bin, the Commodore version
will probably come closer to giving you your money's worth. 

 AMIGA VERSION NOTES 

 There's nothing particularly _wrong_ with ALTERED BEAST on the
Amiga, but there's nothing particularly spectacular about this
conversion, either. I've seen the game on the Sega Genesis, and
there's no comparison; the Genesis version is much better. The
sprites in the Amiga version are only adequately drawn and often
poorly animated; the backgrounds aren't particularly colorful or
detailed; and the screen is so crowded at times that it's difficult
to even tell what your Beast is up to. 

 The thing that bothers me most is the sprite flicker. Any good
Amiga arcade game by now is completely flicker-free and
smooth-scrolling. While the backgrounds scroll easily enough in
ALTERED BEAST, flicker is used to indicate the magical
materialization of a character out of nowhere. Sega used this
technique early on in their 8-bit SMS games as a clever way of
turning a hardware limitation into a virtue. But there's no need for
it in this version; some other technique representing spontaneous
materialization of a character out of thin air would have been much
more effective. 

 ALTERED BEAST comes on one copy-protected disk, which can be left
write-protected during gameplay. (High scores are not saved to
disk, so there's really no reason to write-enable it.) It is
controlled entirely from the joystick, and like the Atari ST
version, includes the one extra move that Doc characterizes so well
above. (I like this move; it's something Jane Fonda should include
in her next exercise tape.) The game is neither hard-disk
installable nor multi-tasking, and will work with A1000s, A500s, and
A2000s (but probably not with the new A3000s). 

 The one saving grace in Amiga ALTERED BEAST is the soundtrack. Both
music and digitized voices are nicely reproduced from the Genesis
version (though the Genesis has slightly higher-fidelity sound). 
This helps increase excitement in an otherwise run-of-the-mill
design. Save up and buy a Genesis instead: Included with the system
is a better version of this game. 

 ALTERED BEAST is published by Sega of America and distributed by
Electronic Arts. 

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253