PLATOON

 PLATOON is an arcade game from Data East that's based on the film of the same
name. It has six sections, each of which offers a different type of arcade
action, making gameplay very engrossing. Although I usually don't enjoy arcade
games (at least not on my computer screen), PLATOON is challenging and fun,
thanks to a diversity of game styles. (This review is based on the IBM-PC
version.)

 The first two sections display a man going back and forth on the screen,
jumping, ducking, and shooting Viet Cong as he progresses through the jungle on
patrol. You have to find some explosives left behind by a previous patrol, and
use them to blow up a bridge after crossing it. Then, the men must search a
village for useful items and a tunnel entrance, being very careful to avoid
shooting any civilians. During these sections, the platoon is made up of five
men, each of whom can be wounded four times before dying. By carefully
alternating among the men as they become wounded, and by using the various
first-aid kits you find in the jungle, it's possible to complete these sections
without losing a man, which naturally is very good for your score.

 The next section takes place in the tunnel you discovered in the village. Using
a torch and map (also found in the village), you must explore the tunnel system
and locate secret documents and enemy supplies -- not to mention the exit.
Again, there are medical supplies and ammunition in various parts of the
tunnels, but it's very easy to shoot too much and run out of ammo when you need
it most. At least there are no innocent villagers in this section, so anything
moving can be shot.

 The fourth section takes place in a bunker at the exit of the tunnel system.
There are a certain number of flares (which you found in the tunnels), and the
Viet Cong are attempting to overrun your position. Accuracy is a must in this
section, or you'll run out of ammo before dawn arrives.

 Both the third and fourth sections use a crosshairs gauge that's moved around
with the joystick, everything being displayed from your point of view. The
problem here is that you only have two men, even if all five survived the first
two sections and reached the village. And if you make it through the tunnels
only to die in the bunker, you have to start at the beginning of the tunnels
again.

 The fifth section shows your man again, running from the bottom to the top of
the screen while under a hail of fire. At the same time, he must avoid the
various obstacles and land mines dotting his path. There's a two-minute time
limit, in which you must get through a certain number of screens before an
airstrike hits the area. Again, there are only two men (each of whom dies on the
fourth wound), but at least you only have to go back to the beginning of the
section when you start over.

 Unfortunately, I've not managed to reach the end of the fifth section yet, so I
am unable to determine what sorts of commands are used in the final section. But
this is part of the game's appeal: The varied challenges involved in mastering
the different styles of arcade play keep things interesting.

 PLATOON requires 512K of RAM, a single floppy of either 5-1/4" or 3-1/2", E or
CGA graphics, and an optional joystick. The instructions say the joystick is
"highly recommended," but in reality, it's a must: The keyboard controls are not
well laid out, and they're very difficult to use.

 The startup disk is copy-protected, so you need to use the original disk every
time you play. An install program is included on one of the disks, however, so
that you can place the game files on your hard drive. PLATOON can only be
installed once, so an uninstall command lets you remove the game from your hard
drive, as well. Of course, if you hard drive crashes without warning, this won't
be much help. This game also eliminates the usual advantage of having two floppy
drives: PLATOON only runs from the default drive, and won't load the data disk
from the second drive.

 The graphics are well done and very detailed for CGA. They don't offer the same
richness and detail available in higher resolutions, but they're some of the
best IBM graphics I've seen.

 The instruction book is short and to the point, with loading instructions for
Commodore, MS-DOS, and Apple all included. Everything is clear and to the point,
and tips are provided for each of the sections, as you progress.

 One problem with PLATOON occurs in the first section. You're supposed to be
able to switch between members of the platoon by using the function keys, in
order to distribute first-aid boxes to those who need them most. But this
feature doesn't work the way it should. The only time you can switch members is
right after one is wounded. This means you reach first-aid boxes when your men
are unwounded, and later have no way to heal the wounded. My only other
complaint is that high scores are not recorded on the scoreboard. Perhaps it's
because my copy wasn't installed on a hard disk, but if so, it's not fair to
those who have only a floppy-drive setup. It'd be nice to know how much I'm
progressing without having to write down the scores myself.

 If you enjoy arcade games, PLATOON will be one you'll want to get. And if you
don't enjoy them, pick this one up anyway: It's so good, it'll surprise you.

 PLATOON is designed by Ocean Software and distributed by Data East USA.

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