QUADRALIEN

 In QUADRALIEN, an arcade-style game from Spinnaker Software, Quadraliens have
taken control of Astra, the main fission reactor that powers everything our
world has in deep space. The mother Quadralien has made her home in the center
of the reactor. Your task, if you choose to accept it, is twofold: Prevent a
meltdown of the reactor, and destroy the Quadralien mother. You will be given
six droids to accomplish this mission, because the intense radioactivity
prevents you from entering the base. Only two of these droids can be active at
any given time. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version.)

 The game display consists of two parts: In the left window is a partial view of
the chamber currently occupied by your droids; the right window consists of
three scales (one each for the core temperature, the entropy level, and the
energy level of Astra); an icon to help you identify the active droid; and two
numbers indicating the current energy levels of the active droid and the other
droid in this chamber. Your score is also displayed here.

 To succeed in QUADRALIEN, you must work your way through the six chambers on
each of three levels. The chambers progress from easiest to most difficult. Only
when you've mastered one level and received the target score for that level will
you be given the code to get to the next level. Of course, you must constantly
maintain a proper core temperature by dumping water barrels down utility shoots,
and you must keep up the energy level by reducing the entropy level.

 There are several special objects you'll encounter: repellers and attractors,
which can affect the entropy level; energy cells; explosive charges, which you
can use to destroy objects your lasers can't touch; magnetic tracks; earthing
boxes (watch out for these -- they sap all of your droid's energy!); and
lighting points.

 The key objects, though, are the information consoles; each chamber contains
one or more. When you hook up to them, you receive information on your active
droid, the chamber and level, and the target score for the level. More
importantly, you gain access to eight functions: escaping from the game at this
point; recharging your droid's batteries; ridding your droid of radioactivity;
popping up a legend of all objects in the chamber; and three others.

 The IBM-PC version of QUADRALIEN will run on IBMs and true compatibles. I
played the game on a Blackship 386 (IBM compatible) with an EGA monitor. You'll
need 384K of RAM for CGA, and 512K for VGA. The program is not copy-protected.

 Included in the game package are CGA and VGA disks. The four-page instruction
sheet and plot-line folder measures about 5-1/2" by 8-1/2". The initial screen
asks if you wish to display instructions in either English, French, or German.

 Even in English, the instructions are terse and somewhat confusing, because
they're written for three different machines with three different control
capabilities. The PC version allows you to use either a joystick or the keyboard
for play. Since I don't have a joystick, I don't know how well it controls game
functions. I used the keyboard, on which "X" moves the droid to the right, "Y"
moves it to the left; the apostrophe moves the droid up, and the forward slash
moves it down. I became accustomed to this scheme fairly quickly, and because
this game is not a test of one's reflexes, there's no speed penalty for using
the keyboard.

 Sound and Pause can be toggled on/off using function keys. There is a save-game
feature, but you must already have a formatted disk in drive A: to use this
option.

 The graphic images on the CGA disk are of good quality; however, the color
scheme serves to blur distinctions between many of the special objects. Purple
and light blue are the main colors displayed; almost all objects are depicted in
these colors. Writing and outlines usually appear in black. I found it most
difficult, especially in the beginning, to tell some objects apart, and to even
locate other objects at all. Apparently, the graphics for the Amiga and the
Atari ST versions are better -- at least, according to the hints dropped in the
instruction sheet.

 QUADRALIEN is published and distributed by Spinnaker Software.

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