MODEM WARS

 MODEM WARS is a one- or two-player strategy/arcade game from Dan Bunten and
Electronic Arts. Based on a futuristic vision of football, MODEM WARS offers
decent graphics, seven scenarios of increasing difficulty, game "films," modem
support, no copy protection, and joystick and keyboard control. This review is
based on the Commodore 64/128 version; IBM-PC version notes follow.

 MODEM WARS could have been titled "Kill the Quarterback" because, with the
exception of the QB, all the players of a football team have been replaced by
robots and droids. Since the QB is the human control behind the mechanized team,
he must be eliminated. While the rules for this "wargame for the rest of us" are
simple, the game has strategic depth. Regrettably, however, after such
humanistic wonders as M.U.L.E., SEVEN CITIES OF GOLD, HEART OF AFRICA, and ROBOT
RASCALS, Mr. Bunten's outlook takes a turn for the worse with MODEM WARS.

 The object of WARS is to beat your opponent in either of two ways: Knock out
the command center, or score more points. Scoring more points is accomplished by
getting your players across your opponent's end line, and saving your command
center before time runs out. Knocking out the command center will, naturally,
score more points, but it also ends the game immediately.

 The playing area is an open field made of clearings, plateaus, slopes, forests,
and rivers. Each side has an end line, and the center line is common to both.
Except for you as the quarterback, the players are all robots: grunts, riders,
boomers, spies, and the command center.

 Getting your robots across the end line is done by selecting a robot on the
playing field and setting a destination. When one of your robots comes close to
an enemy robot, combat is automatic. En route to the end line, you might
discover your opponent's command center, which you can then fire upon in hopes
of a quicker victory. Time passes in clicks, with 10 clicks equal to one minute,
and the scenarios range from 63 to 254 clicks.

 During a game, the "Multi Console" can be accessed for game statistics and
command center energy. Also, the current game can be aborted from here. There
are also Battle, Drone Control, and Radar consoles.

 Knocking out a command center means immediate victory. Assuming you avoid
having your command center destroyed, in order to win when time has run out,
you'll have to have more robots across your opponent's end line than he has
across yours.

 The six scenarios (not including Scrimmage, which is used for the tutorial) are
QB Sneak, The Bomb, Face-off, Sluggers, Full War, and Defender. Each increases
in length and difficulty, and offers additional options: reconnaissance robots,
offensive air attacks, missiles, electronic cloaking, digging in, and a speed
blitz.

 Drones are airborne robots launched from the Drone Console. Fuel permitting, a
drone will fly wherever you want. When you select Activate from the Console, the
drone will move one more screen block, then dive. Its explosion covers a
four-space area, immobilizes any robots present for 15 clicks, and drains half
their energies. The drone, of course, is no longer available for more kamikaze
flights.

 The main C-64 screen display consists of three windows. The main window
displays a complete view of the playing field; a smaller, scrolling window on
the upper right contains a zoom-view of the portion of the main window under
which the cursor lies; the third window is below the zoom-view window, and shows
a profile of the robot beneath the cursor, its energy, weapon mode, and current
activity. Messages affecting a robot -- its destination, for example -- also
appear in this window.

 When a game ends, you can go to the Multi Console, select the Miscellaneous
option, and watch a replay. Game films can be saved and reloaded.

 No score is earned until a game is over. Thus, if you lose by having your
command center knocked out, the score will be 500 to 150, no matter how many of
your robots might have reached the opponent's end line.

 The game is controlled with joystick and keyboard. The stick moves the cursor
and highlights selections, which the button activates. The "Run/Stop" key
toggles the Pause feature; the function keys bring up the Battle, Radar, Drone,
and Multi Console displays; and numeric keys 1 through 9 set the speed at which
game films are replayed.

 MODEM WARS is not copy-protected, but there is a map-matching exercise between
screen and manual. WARS also offers 300/1200 baud modem support (Anchor,
Commodore, and Hayes) for a two-player game. The person on the other end must
also have a copy of MODEM WARS (which doesn't mean a copy of your copy). I don't
normally use a Commodore modem, and the 1660 I did use is highly sensitive to
line noise, incoming phone calls while online, and especially "call-waiting."

 I did connect with one local guy -- not too many people around here have MODEM
WARS. After three definitely substandard games, we decided a 2-player game would
have been more fun had we been in the same room. The modem feature did work,
though; perhaps users who have more experience playing the game will find more
online fun than we did.

 MODEM WARS is simple to learn, but in no way easy to master. Strategy is deeper
than the rules suggest; tactics amount to "keep moving." The graphics on the
C-64 are okay and appear identical to the Tandy screen shots on the back of the
package (an insert in the package verifies this). The 50-page manual will tell
you everything you need to know, and then some. Basic instructions and
keystrokes are on the Command Summary card.

 Overall, MODEM WARS is a good game. It makes the brain work, it's nicely
designed and executed, and is much different from the usual Dan Bunten program,
which is to say, more violent. Blowing away robots and droids instead of living
(though not necessarily human) creatures doesn't make it less violent, although
I don't suppose anyone will be upset. The "football-as-war" metaphor is not new
to the world at large, but it is to a computer game.

 The only drawback I found was the modem play. If you are used to online games,
then MODEM WARS will be second nature. If not, expect to spend a lot of time
mastering MODEM WARS before tackling a phone opponent.

 IBM-PC VERSION NOTES

 MODEM WARS for the IBM-PC has the same basic gameplay as its C-64 counterpart.
It requires 384K, DOS 2.1 or higher, and a color graphics card (Hercules, CGA,
EGA, VGA, and Tandy 16 are all supported). It can be played with a mouse,
joystick, or just the keyboard. As with the C-64, the IBM version has no on-disk
copy protection, and is easy to install on the hard drive. The box contains both
5-1/4" and 3-1/2" disks.

 The package copy says "Play war at blitzkrieg speed." I've never timed a
blitzkrieg, but I suspect that it moves faster than MODEM WARS. This game has
strategy and action aspects, but not enough of either. The operation is much too
sluggish for a dedicated action gamer, and the strategy aspects are too
simplistic to appeal to a hardened wargamer. Dan Bunten's categorization of
MODEM WARS as a "wargame for the rest of us" may be just wishful thinking. While
the execution and concept are solid enough, I expected more from the man who
created such warm, human, and innovative games as M.U.L.E., HEART OF AFRICA, and
ROBOT RASCALS. In comparison, MODEM WARS is nothing new. Much of the same ground
was covered by ANCIENT ART OF WAR, which also pared combat down to the movements
of individual soldier units across varying terrain.

 Played against the computer, MODEM WARS palled rather quickly. The feeling of
real conflict was missing, and the manual's use of football terminology seemed
particularly forced. Actually, the game has many more similarities to "Capture
the Flag" than to football or other war or strategy games. I played around with
the game until I mastered the starting scrimmage scenario, and then was totally
blown away playing QB Sneak. This is not a simple game, but it's not very
interesting either.

 The only thing about MODEM WARS that I thought was truly intriguing was the
modem playability, but it was a lot easier to talk about than to set up. I
posted messages on several BBSes and waited three weeks before I found someone
interested in trying it out. [Editor's Note: CompuServe now has a "Modem Game
Players Challenge Board" (GO CHALLENGE) to assist players in contacting others
for modem games.]

 My opponent and I tied up our phone lines for over ninety minutes -- first
calling each other to make sure we were following the modem use instructions
correctly, and then playing. Afterwards, we jointly agreed that the modem
feature was only interesting in its novelty, and that it would have been much
more enjoyable to play the game as a regular head-to-head contest. It was more
fun than playing against the computer, but not much more. My opponent speculated
that MODEM WARS might be more fun for people who rarely get a chance to see each
other and are also fortunate enough to have access to WATS telephone service.

 Considering its illustrious author, MODEM WARS was a disappointment. While the
execution was adequate, the game offered so little in the way of tangible
rewards that even the addition of much better graphics and sound would not have
improved the gameplay value for me.

 MODEM WARS is published by Ozark Softscape and distributed by Electronic Arts.

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