FAST BREAK

 Accolade's FAST BREAK is an attempt to combine an arcade-style basketball game
with a strategy/stats-style basketball game. In fact, its simple graphics belie
a rather complex simulation of one of the most difficult sports to capture on
the computer screen. Whether or not you enjoy the game will have a lot to do
with how much you know about basketball, as well as how good you become at
handling the joystick. This review is of the Amiga version.

 When you boot up the game, you first encounter a couple of quick pictures of a
hoop and a sneaker, neither of which is particularly impressive artwork. While
some of Accolade's games include wonderful startup music, there are no
soundtracks for FAST BREAK: Sounds are limited to the dribbled basketball, the
squeak of sneakers on the court, the cheers of the crowds upon scoring, and the
whistle blown during fouls -- all of which are quite good.

 Once past the startup, you can configure the game for mouse, joystick, or
keyboard input (with joystick-joystick, mouse-joystick, or mouse-keyboard
combinations in the two-player mode). Spend some time figuring out which
controller you're most comfortable with; while the joystick seems the easiest to
use, the mouse and keyboard give better fine control of your player on the
court.

 You then choose the length of the quarters (three, six, or twelve minutes), the
team you'll be playing (Slammers or Jammers), and whether you want to play
against the computer or a human opponent. The teams are imaginary; each consists
of three players on the court, and three more to choose from at appropriate
points during the game. (Your players will become tired, although you won't be
able to discern _how_ tired, except between quarters or during a timeout.)

 If you start the game at this point, you'll get to configure your three-man
team, and this is one of the places where strategy comes into play: In order to
establish an effective balance of the team's qualities, you'll have to select
from among speed, skill in ball-handling, and scoring ability for each player.
Also, if you bring out all your star players at the beginning of the game,
you'll run into trouble later on. Statistics for each player include brief
Scouting Reports, and once into a game, the following are available: Fiel Goals
made vs. Field Goals attempted; Total Points Scored; Personal Fouls; Steals; and
Turnovers. You'll be able to see how each player is doing at quarter's end, and
replace him if he's not up to snuff!

 Before beginning actual game play, you may choose a Practice mode (no defensive
pressure), or a trip to the Playmaker (one of FAST BREAK's most sophisticated
features). Playmaker lets you select from 14 pre-designed offensive plays and
five pre-set defensive plays (maximum of four each, per quarter); you can also
design your own play. Once in the game, you can call a play at appropriate
moments, and then attempt to execute it successfully.

 The gameplay itself? Well, screen graphics are fluid and adequate, but not
astonishing. You can choose to control any one of your three men on the court,
and your selection is highlighted by displaying black socks on the controlled
player. Even so, it's often hard to determine whom you're controlling, and where
he is in the middle of the action. You may find your controlled player jumping
and waving at the crowd while everyone else has dashed off to the other side of
the court, since the jump and player-select button are one and the same.
Sometimes you'll think you've selected control of a different player, when you
haven't. And scoring against the computer is very difficult (the trick is _not_
to release the "fire" button until your player is at the top of his jump).

 The screen is in "network TV" or two-thirds mode, so maneuvering your player
across the court isn't always as intuitive as it could be (same problem as in
THE LAST NINJA, but not as severe). Still, the pace, rhythm, and flow of a real
basketball game are nicely simulated, and after a while, you'll learn to make
the right choices at the right moments using the joystick fire button -- at
which point, the game really takes off.

 I strongly suggest playing against someone who's as inexperienced as you are,
at first; the computer opponent is quite tough, and almost impossible to cover
when he's on the offense -- great once you've mastered the game, but very
frustrating when you're starting out. Accolade would be doing game players a
great service by incorporating the ability to select difficulty levels, though
the Practice mode is a bit of a help in that respect. As for copy protection,
the program comes on a protected disk that you won't be able to duplicate.

 FAST BREAK is a basketball game for basketball fans with arcade game
experience. If you're already knowledgeable about plays, and you have the
patience to deal with the initial frustrations that any fast-paced arcade game
presents to the new player, you'll love the game. If you're more of a
stats-oriented sports fan who'd like to see more simulation of real seasons and
teams -- and who wants to go easy on the joystick -- look elsewhere.

 FAST BREAK is published and distributed by Accolade.

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