THE COLONY 

 Every once in a while, you come across a game that defies
categorization. A friend asks you for a thumbnail sketch and you
say, well, it's like an adventure game, but there's also some
role-playing, and it handles like a.... You get the idea. Such is
the case with THE COLONY (reviewed here on the Macintosh; IBM
version notes follow). 

 In THE COLONY, you are a space marshal who's been sent to
investigate a communications blackout with the Delta 5-5 settler
colony. Seems simple enough: It's not as though mankind has
encountered hostile alien races or anything like that...until now. 

 If you've played ARCTIC FOX or the old arcade game BATTLEZONE, 
you'll find THE COLONY's playing environment very familiar. This is
not a typical graphic adventure in which you see only discrete, 
pre-drawn scenes. As you move, the program changes the onscreen
graphics to give the impression of movement (similar to a flight
simulator). 

 Using either a mouse or keyboard, you navigate through a linear 3-D
landscape in order to locate the lost colonists or at least learn
why they haven't responded. Graphics are displayed in a linear
fashion to allow for quick redraw; movements feature spiffy sound
effects. 

 After donning battle armor, you can shoot your way through your
opponents. Aiming and firing can also be controlled either from the
mouse or the keyboard. 

 Aside from firing and movement, the game allows for only minimal
interaction with your environment. You cannot enter commands like
"examine" or "hit" as you can in other games, and there are few
options from the menu bar. The one exception to this is when you
step up to an object of interest: The graphics then change from
linear 3-D to "painted" 2-D. An example of this is a desk with a
computer on it. You move up to the desk in 3-D mode and the scene
shifts to 2-D. By clicking on the screen of the computer, you can
read what it says; by clicking on the drawers, you can open them and
look inside. You still cannot use or pick up objects by entering
commands. However, if for example you want to use a pair of scissors
to open an envelope, simply drag the scissor-image across the
envelope and it will open. The main purpose of these 2-D shifts is
to give information to the player that would be unavailable in the
limited 3-D mode. 

 There are several frustrating aspects to THE COLONY. For instance, 
when you are "terminated" (and believe me, you will be) the game
offers no cause of death. As a result, you usually have no clue as
to why you died or what to do about it. Additionally, during the
arcade sequences I found the flow of graphics too jerky. The action
elements are interesting, but imperfectly presented. 

 The game's copy protection consists of a decoder that permits you
to deciph certain symbols. The decoder must be used at various
points in the game (e.g., to open an airlock), as well as to begin a
saved game. Frankly, consulting a decoder every time I want to play
a saved game is a hassle I can do without. 

 Novice players as well as standard adventure and arcade fans may be
frustrated by this game, which combines elements of both genres, but
ends up as neither. However, THE COLONY is one of the more
revolutionary games available for the Macintosh, and if you're
looking for a new gaming experience, I certainly do recommend it. 

 THE COLONY requires a Mac 512K to run, and needs 1 megabyte of RAM
and a hard drive for full use of the sounds file. 

 IBM VERSION NOTES 

 THE COLONY is an extraordinary game that demands the utmost from
both player and computer. It requires patience and practice to learn
the simple yet unfamiliar interface. And no matter how fast your IBM
or compatible is, you'll probably wish it were faster. The artful
use of spot color, the stylized graphics, and the wide variety of
resolution options make the game look impressive, often at the
expense of speed. 

 For starters, you'll need an IBM-PC or 100% compatible. There are
no specific references to Tandy computers in the manual or in the
program's list of display options. Therefore, Tandy owners should
ensure that the program is compatible with their model _before_ 
purchasing, or should buy with the understanding that the program
may be returned if it proves unusable. The minimum memory
requirement is 640K for all machines. The label says, "Faster
machines strongly recommended," and I underscore that advice. I
tested THE COLONY at 26 MHz, and I still could have used more
speed. Selecting a less-detailed display yielded much smoother, 
quicker animation, but it left me with the feeling that I was
missing out on some of the nicer details. 

 The graphic displays are as follows: AT&T/Compaq 640x400
monochrome, CGA 320x200 4-color, EGA 640x350 gray scale, EGA 320x200
16-color, EGA 640x350 16-color, MCGA 640x480 monochrome, MCGA
640x350 monochrome, and Hercules 720x348 monochrome. Strange: The
CGA mode requires more memory than the EGA modes. I had to disable
my mouse driver in order to free up enough memory to run the game in
CGA. Color in the different EGA modes is wonderful, but is used to
highlight only the special features of each room. With the "polygon
fill" feature, the vector graphics -- the skeletal style of arcade
games like BATTLEZONE and TEMPEST -- become solid and infinitely
more colorful and interesting. 

 The major problem is that the polygon fill cripples the speed and
fluidity of the animation. Running the game at a coarser resolution
and with fewer colors eases the problem somewhat. But at 26 MHz, 
640x350 with 16 colors and the fill on, COLONY was marginally
playable; thus, I cannot imagine a slower machine being able to use
that combination at all. A resolution of 320x200 in 16 colors (with
the fill) was more pleasing than 640x350 without fill. The graphics
modes are not changeable from inside the game, but they can be
forced with command line parameters when you boot the program. 

 Mouse, joystick, and keyboard interfaces are all supported. The
mouse and joystick are by far superior to the slightly odd keyboard
arrangement. I found the mouse preferable to the joystick. 

 The game is easily installable on a hard drive; indeed, a hard
drive will make playing the game easier and quicker -- there are a
lot of disk accesses. The laudably comprehensive IBM reference
manual offers full installation instructions. There are numerous
function key and other key commands, all of which are clearly
documented in the manual and available on-screen as well. 

 I highly recommend THE COLONY, with two qualifications: First, you
should have a more powerful system -- a 286 or 386 equipped as
described above. And second, you should enjoy lots of mapping and
clue-gathering in a highly unusual and compelling science-fiction
atmosphere. 

 THE COLONY is published and distributed by Mindscape, Inc. 

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