THE DREAM TEAM Review
 
Whenever I play a review copy of a game, I pull out a stack of 3 by 5 index
cards. As soon as I think of something that I might want to say in my
review, I write it down on a single line of the card. Usually, I have very
few facts; most of my review is written from my memory and opinions. But,
after just five minutes of playing THE DREAM TEAM (which is a three-on-three
basketball game), I already filled four of these cards with nothing but
negative comments.
 
Normally, I don't get upset with installation programs.  But of course,
this one was an exception, or I never would have said anything in the first
place.  There are a total of 5 low-density 5-1/4" (360 K) disks, although
3-1/2" disks are available in a separate package or from Data East for an
additional fee.  Somehow, the designers managed to put over 200 very short
files over these disks.  The game installation program is nothing but a
batch file with the COPY command in it, so it is extremely slow (since it
has to access the floppy at least one time per file). Unfortunately, due to
the way DOS stores files, many small files take up much more space than a
few larger files with the same information.  In terms of THE DREAM TEAM,
this means that 1.3 megs of data can take over 2 megs on a hard drive. There
is no reason that the game has to use so many files, and it is hard to
believe that anyone would even consider using so many for a game so small.
But, unfortunately, the problems with this game have just begun.
 
There is no way I could ever fit all of the information on my index cards
into one review, so I will just have to point out a few of the "highlights"
of the game.  THE DREAM TEAM features a fairly standard manual look-up
routine for its copy protection; you have to find the score given at the
bottom of a certain page.  But, when you get ready to type in the correct
answer, there's no way to back up in case you make a mistake, and the
program doesn't even echo your input as you type it in. Also, even with
off-disk copy protection (and no on-disk copy protection), Data East will
not provide any back-ups or replacement copies of the game after the 90-day
warranty has expired.
 
THE DREAM TEAM does run in VGA mode, and does support the AdLib card.  The
program outputs any attempts at voice synthesis through the standard PC
speaker; no provision is made to use a Sound Blaster or other DAC.  Owners
of faster machines will have to adjust the speed of the sound before playing
if they wish to hear anything that is being said (assuming that anything can
ever be understood). There is no way to change the volume, and the sound can
only be turned off by returning to the setup menu (after pausing the game).
 
Additionally, the display is cluttered.  The player under control is
indicated by a colored patch by the feet of that player. In a three-on-three
game, other players may "step" on the patch, making it very hard to find the
controlled player, except through trial and error.
 
THE DREAM TEAM might have still held a bit of promise if the controls were
not so pathetic. After all, it does let you role play as famous professional
players.  But the shooting percentages are very unrealistic. In practice
mode (which is just an opportunity to learn the controls), it is nearly
impossible to make a shot.  However, in a real game, a 2-point shot will
almost always go in, no matter how far away the shot is from or whether the
player is being guarded.  True, pros do have high shooting percentages, but
not so high under more difficult conditions.
 
However, the worst part of the game is in trying to get a loose ball or
rebound. You must position your player exactly in the proper location, or
else he will not get the ball; there is almost no margin for error. However,
it can be nearly impossible to interpret a two-dimensional image to figure
out how high the ball is and where it will "land." So, you can forget about
going for rebounds for loose balls.
 
There is also a play editor, but you can only keep four out of sixteen
plays active at one time. You must also create your plays by combining a
limited number of individual player rotations. And, finally, you must call a
play before passing the ball, even if you don't want to call one. The
players without the ball follow their play rotations religiously, and never
make an intelligent effort to get open for a pass.
 
For some of the selected minor complaints, selections at the menus can only
be made through the keyboard arrows, regardless of what controller has been
selected.  The manual hardly explains general rules for basketball.  And
there is no way to turn off the sound or exit to DOS without starting a new
game and pausing it. I could go on for a few more paragraphs with picky
little comments like this, but there would be no point.
 
Obviously, the programmers paid little attention to overall design, leaving
plenty of little holes and a few very large holes in THE DREAM TEAM. With
the exception of a few big name stars on the package, and possibly some of
the graphics, this game contains nothing that couldn't be done by shareware
programmers.  In fact, many shareware programmers could write a much better
program with hardly a thought. In case this matters, I could find no
mail-order company or store that sold this game, although this should come
as no surprise to anyone who has seen the game. I can't even give THE DREAM
TEAM a qualified recommendation to the most dedicated fans of basketball,
much less to the average game player.