COVERT ACTION

    When there's a crime being planned somewhere in the world and the national
security is threatened, the President starts to worry.  When the best agents
in the CIA come up with dead ends and can't make sense of the sparse clues
they've found, the President starts to sweat.  When it becomes obvious to the
President that disaster is imminent, he tells the chief of his security bureau
simply to "Get Max Remington".  Much as the chief dislikes the idea of calling
upon a rogue agent whose past is a mystery, whose background is nearly unknown,
and who answers to authority only when it's convenient, a Presidential order
can't be ignored.

    Max is probably the best secret agent in the world, and is rumored to have
actually worked for the agency in the past.  Frustrated with having to work
within the confines of the system, Max left the agency and did freelance jobs
for the Western Powers.  Max built a formidable reputation for solving even
the toughest cases, making friends and valuable contacts along the way and
creating a loose organization within the intelligence agencies of the free
world.  After also building a sizable bank account, Max now only takes those
cases of personal interest or great importance.

    When the President calls for Max, asking for help, Max employs the "unique"
skills not officially condoned by law organizations - Tapping phones, decoding
messages sent and received, gaining inside information from contacts around the
world, as well as breaking into the headquarters and hideouts of the suspected
criminals and their allies to rifle their files.  All this and more is termed
COVERT ACTION - working beyond the law to catch ruthless criminals and the
ingenious Masterminds who launch their plots behind the scenes.

    COVERT ACTION is another simulation by Sid Meier, and like his previous
games it can be terribly addicting.  In fact, I found it difficult to tear
myself away from it to write this review!  Although there are a limited number
of plots and the procedures become routine, I kept finding myself wanting to
get "just one more" enemy agent, and when a case was finished I just had to see
what the next one was.

    A single game involves capturing all 26 Masterminds, each of whom heads an
international organization.  Each Mastermind will keep planning crimes in order
to achieve a certain goal, using operatives from his own organization as well
as those allied with his.  Stopping a single crime, or even foiling several,
will not stop the Mastermind from pursuing his objective, but each time you
break up his current plan you gain clues to his identity, organization, and
location.  You finally track him to his hideout with enough evidence to make
the arrest, but the next Mastermind is waiting in the wings to put his plot in
motion.  Thus, a single game can conceivably consist of a hundred individual
cases before you earn Max a place in the Hall of Fame.

    You begin your career by choosing whether to play as either Maxmillian or
Maxine Remington.  The game is non-sexist, complete with an assistant at CIA
headquarters named Sam(antha).  You are then asked to provide your code name,
useful for distinguishing between different ongoing games.  Your next decision
is to choose the level of difficulty: Local Disturbance, National Threat,
Regional Conflict or Global Crisis.  The level chosen affects the amount of
information you receive at the start of each case as well as how hard each of
the four parts of game play are.  Local Disturbance is very easy and is good
to learn the ropes during your first case, but be aware that the difficulty
can only be changed after capturing a Mastermind, and that you can't go back
to a lower level once choosing Global Crisis level.

    Finally, you must select the amount of training you want to have in each
of four game play categories:Combat, Driving, Cryptography and Electronics.
This is one of the best features of the game for me, as it allows you to make
the best of your natural playing abilities.  Each skill is initially Average,
and you may spend four training "points" to raise an ability to Good, Excellent
or Awesome.  The combination of overall game difficulty and skill levels will
determine how hard each section of the game is.  If a skill is left at Average,
that part of game play is more difficult than the overall game level.  A skill
level of Excellent or Awesome will make that area of the game easier.  In my
case, I was able to survive at Global Crisis level by training in Combat to
Awesome, Driving to Good, and leaving Cryptography and Electronics at Average.
Someone who is better at arcade action (Combat and Driving) might choose to
train less in those areas and more in the areas requiring logic (Cryptography
and Electronics).

    Combat is probably the most important skill, if neccessary, you can play
the entire game using it alone.  Breaking in to the criminals' hideouts and
fighting the guards can yield all the information needed.  Inside the building
you can photograph files, desk drawers, wall and floor safes, bathroom sinks
and even toilets to gain clues and gather evidence.  Break ins also allow you
to plant listening devices (bugs), access the criminals' computers, and make
the arrests.  You choose five items to carry with you depending on whether you
want to gather evidence or move in for a collar.  Items include an Uzi loaded
with tranquilizer bullets (no blood and gore in this game), a Kevlar vest for
added protection, grenades, gas mask, a camera, bugs, and a safecracking kit.

    Driving skill is used to tail suspects or to arrest them by running them
off the road.  It also may be neccessary to lose pursuers when you leave a
building after setting off an alarm.  Cryptography is used when in the CIA
building to decode messages found during a break in or thru a wire tap.
Electronics is used for tapping phone lines and installing tracers on the cars
you want to follow.

    A case begins with the Chief briefing you on a situation that the President
thinks that only Max can handle.  You are given a brief description of what is
happening, and depending on the game level, you may receive additional info on
the area of the world the operation is happening in and the name of a criminal
organization known to be involved.  The Chief then gives you the clues that his
bureau has collected, the amount of which also depends on the difficulty of the
game.  The rest is left up to you, to find out what crime is being planned and
who the participants are, then to gather enough evidence to arrest them.

    When the case ends, the Chief debriefs you and you receive an efficiency
rating.  Points are awarded for arresting suspects, confiscating evidence, and
preventing the crime.  You are penalized for allowing double agents to remain
undected in the CIA, allowing the crime to succeed, and allowing the Mastermind
to continue.  Your total is compared to the maximum possible, giving a rating
from 0-1000.  It is possible to rate nearly 1500 as you receive double points
for "turning" a suspect, getting him to work for you by finding incriminating
evidence inside his home.  The suspect continues to play his part in the crime,
reporting back to you.  If the criminal was an important participant, arresting
him may cause other agents to go into hiding, unable to fulfill their roles.
If the Mastermind senses the game is up, he'll go into hiding until he can plan
another crime.

    After the debriefing, your rating is multiplyed by the game level (1-4) to
gain a final score which is put in your career record.  This score also will
determine the location of Max's vacation and the quality of the company.  You
see a scene ranging from the laundromat to the casino, populated by members of
the opposite sex ranging in number and attractiveness.

    The copy protection is manual based, requiring you to match a Mastermind's
picture with his organization.  This was a little difficult, as the pictures
on the screen are in color and those in the manual are black and white.  You
are only required to make the match at the beginning of each case.

    COVERT ACTION comes on 4 5.25" or 2 3.5" floppy disks and may be played
from either one or two floppy drives or a hard drive with at least 1.5 MB of
free space.  The game comes with a batch file for hard disk installation, or
the disks may be copied and played from backup disks.  If you play using only
one floppy disk drive, you will sacrifice some of the graphic animations.
Your game position may be saved on any disk, four positions per disk.

    COVERT ACTION requires an IBM PC/XT/AT, PS/2, Compaq or Tandy 1000 model
computer, or any other 100% compatible model computer.  You must have a version
of DOS 2.0 or higher, and a minimum of 512K RAM.  With higher versions of DOS
than 3.1, or when using MCGA graphics, 640K RAM may be required.  If your
computer has a Turbo speed, it is recommended that you switch it to normal to
run the game.

    Your computer must have a color monitor, and the game can be run using CGA,
EGA, MCGA, VGA, or Tandy 1000 (16 color) display cards.  I really would not
recommend CGA, it looks terrible and it becomes difficult to distinguish the
various objects.  The music and sound effects may be played using an IBM
internal speaker, Tandy sound chip, Ad Lib Sound Board or Roland LAPC-1.  There
is also a Custom Driver option for use with other sound drivers which may be
supplied by Microprose in the future.

    The game is played using the keyboard only or a joystick with the keyboard.
The joystick may be chosen before the game loads or switched on during game
play.  Because of the arcade nature of the combat, players may want to use the
joystick/keyboard combination.  The keyboard commands were a bit confusing at
first, but quick to become accustomed to, and a reference card is provided.

    This is an enjoyable simulation, although you may find it repetitive after
a dozen or so cases.  The manual doesn't agree with the game in some minor
areas, but I was told by Microprose that the information for the manual was
written before the game was complete.  There was supposed to be the option to
review your career at any time, but the only time you can see the list of cases
you have completed and the Masterminds arrested is at the end of each case
after the debriefing.  There are a couple of logical bugs, but in this complex
a simulation I suppose it's not possible to catch everything.  If you do find
the scenarios too often repeated, just try setting the game aside for a week
or two (if you can) then return to it and resume the chase.

COVERT ACTION is published and distributed by Microprose Software, Inc.