HEAT WAVE

 HEAT WAVE is a boat race simulation from Accolade. Subtitled OFFSHORE SUPERBOAT
RACING, HEAT WAVE offers good graphics and race animation, six courses, four
superboats, practice mode, joystick control, and copy protection. The Commodore
64/128 version is the basis of this review.

 Although there isn't much to it, HEAT WAVE comes across as a decent package,
even if you don't put any value on the public figures (Don Johnson, Malcolm
Forbes, George Bush) who have taken to superboat racing. It probably won't fill
the gap between now and the time you become rich enough to purchase a 40-foot
superboat with 1300-horsepower Lamborghini engines, but it looks good and it's
easy to learn and play.

 There are six courses: four of them in and around the shores of Miami, one in
San Francisco Bay, and another in the Mississippi River. There are four boats:
the Don Johnson Special, the Cougar Cat, the Warlock Catamaran, and the Top Gun
Cigarette. Both course and boat are selected from the Main Menu, where you can
also register for a race, make a pit stop, practice a course, enter the time
trials, attend the Driver's Meeting, watch a demo, start a race, and check the
Winner's Circle, which keeps track of the ten fastest times.

 The only time you can make a pit stop is before the race begins, and it is this
option that lets you fuel your boat and stock up on spare parts (shafts and
propellers). Practice mode lets you race any of the boats on any of the courses,
without the pressures of qualification or competition. After you've selected a
course and a boat, you must enter the time trials; you must also run the trial
course in record time in order to qualify for the real race. Assuming you do
qualify, you can then choose to race.

 The C64 screen display consists of the vertically scrolling course, which is
marked off by buoys. There is scenery in the background. Below the course is the
control panel of your boat: compass, clock, tach, speedometer, temperature and
fuel gauges, trim and bilge indicators, and starter.

 There are also three status key indicators: Navigation, Time Sheet, and Damage.
When an indicator flashes, you can see what's going on by pressing the
appropriate number key. Navigation will show you where you are on the current
course; the Time Sheet records your times as you pass marker buoys and keeps
track of time lost through penalties; and Damage lets you change broken shafts
and propellers (if you have spares), tells how much gas you have left, and lets
you disqualify yourself -- which is what you'll have to do if you run out of gas
or if you can't repair your boat.

 HEAT WAVE is controlled with a joystick and a few keystrokes. The stick
accelerates and brakes, and turns left and right. As a boat approaches its
maximum speed, it all but flies over wavetops, and it is the trim adjustment
(hold the button, move the stick) that smooths out the ride. The Return key
starts the engines; the Tab key kills the engines; the Spacebar pauses;
keystroke B activates the bilge pump; and Control-Q (or Disqualify from the
Damage screen) sends you back to the Main Menu.

 The HEAT WAVE package comes with one disk that's copy-protected, an instruction
manual, an American Power Boat Association sticker, and an APBA application
form. There is no save option.

 HEAT WAVE looks good on the C64: The graphics are bright and clear, and race
animation is smooth. The joystick works fine as a controller, the game plays
easily enough, and at the Driver's Meeting, you can get answers to questions
concerning boat capabilities. Basically, HEAT WAVE is a road race simulation;
the difference is that the road is liquid. And that's all there is to it. It
might help to think of the package as 24 separate games -- six courses, four
boats -- but don't expect to have a lot of trouble with any of them.

 HEAT WAVE is published and distributed by Accolade.

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