SHUFFLEPUCK CAFE

 So, you've walked into the den of the seediest bunch of characters this side of
the Crab Nebula. Everyone's eyes turn toward you as you waltz up to the bar. A
hairy gorilla-type blocks your way and asks, "Howzabout a friendly game of
Shufflepuck, bud?" Something tells you the game might end up a little less than
friendly unless you show them what you're made of. It appears you've stumbled
upon the last bunch of air hockey enthusiasts in the known galaxy. What the
heck? Let the games begin!

 SHUFFLEPUCK CAFE by Broderbund is an air-hockey simulation game whose table is
set up so that you're facing your opponent. Your paddle is controlled by the
mouse. The object of the game is fairly simple: Serve the puck on the
frictionless table, and continue returning shots with your paddle until you get
past your opponent's guard. Of course, in some cases, this is easier said than
done. Nevertheless, the interface with the paddle is one of the best I've seen
in any game. It's flawlessly smooth; if you hit the puck just right, you can
even put a bit of "English" on your returns. (This review is based on the
Macintosh version; Amiga, Atari ST, and IBM-PC version notes follow.)

 One of the great features of this game is the personality of each opponent:
Everyone exhibits a unique playing style and set of weaknesses, some easier to
detect than others. You start with the local laundromat novice and progress to
playing against a telekinetic princess whose serve has to be seen to be
believed! Every opponent reacts differently to winning and losing, and some of
them are pretty sore losers!

 If you really think you're tough, you can enter the tournament mode, where you
challenge every player in the Cafe until you find yourself head-to-head with the
reigning champion, Biff Raunch. If you win, you get to put your name on the
Cafe's Champion's roster; if you lose, not only will Biff put you down, but
you'll be booed out of the Cafe.

 When not in the tournament mode (where everything is standardized), you can
fiddle with a couple of the defaults. The game provides a robot opponent whose
level of difficulty can be adjusted up or down. You can even fine-tune your
paddle's characteristics, changing its size and power settings. Feeling a little
defensive? Set the paddle so large that the puck can't get past you. A tad on
the mean side today? Set the paddle for maximum return power! If you're very
adventurous, you can even erect a blocker in the middle of the table that
interferes with your returns.

 SHUFFLEPUCK CAFE is a wonderfully addictive game, with great graphics and
surprisingly entertaining sound effects. You'll quickly rise to a higher level
of competence, but the tougher opponents are fast and dirty enough to keep you
at bay. If you do become champion, SHUFFLEPUCK still has plenty of options to
hold your interest. Besides, I've found that there's nothing better after a hard
day than a nice, aggressive game of SHUFFLEPUCK CAFE to work out those
frustrations. Watch out though: Your mouse gets real gummed up after a
tournament.

 SHUFFLEPUCK CAFE requires a 512K Mac with an external 800K drive. The game can
be copied onto a hard drive, but you must insert the original disk before the
game will run.

 AMIGA VERSION NOTES

 The Amiga version of SHUFFLEPUCK CAFE is every bit as much fun as the others.
The opening screen includes some hot, electronic punk-rock music that's a
pleasure to listen to, and a nice background loop of blues piano and bar noise
plays while you're choosing your opponent.

 During gameplay, the sound of the puck bouncing off the sides of the table is
matched with the type and strength of the bounce, and you hear the glass break
during scoring. If you shoot the puck hard through your opponent's glass, the
smash is fuller and more glass breaks. This kind of audio-visual feedback
provides a level of sensory realism and depth often absent from more graphically
complex shoot-'em-ups.

 Graphics are perfect for the game; your opponents (and their paddles) are
smoothly animated and properly proportioned. Use of color and shading is subtle
and dimensional, so you really get a feeling of staring down the table at your
opponent.

 Part of the fun of playing against different opponents is finding out how
they're going to respond to winning or losing. Each character grunts, growls,
roars, or laughs sardonically in response to your success or failure. The sole
human opponent is very eager to please, greeting almost every point against him
with a self-deprecating "Good shot!"

 The game comes on one copy-protected disk, which can be write-protected (unless
you want your tournament win to be recorded), and requires 512K of RAM. The game
paddle is easily controlled with the mouse; clicking on the left or right
buttons adjusts the paddle dynamics (stronger rebound, ability to put more spin
on the puck, etc.). As in the Macintosh version, the paddle can be configured
for size and rebound strength for both the front and sides.

 ATARI ST VERSION NOTES

 The Atari ST version of Broderbund's SHUFFLEPUCK CAFE is as entertaining, as
easy to play, and as addictive as its Macintosh counterpart. In fact, the only
difference between the two editions is the copy protection in the ST version.

 The graphics, sound effects, digitized voices, and physics of play are
top-notch -- not at all surprising when you realize that the package comes from
Infogrames (PROJECT NEPTUNE, CRASH GARRETT, and HOSTAGE RESCUE MISSION). This is
a funny game! You might even want to tack the poster on your wall.

 IBM-PC VERSION NOTES

 The IBM-PC version of SHUFFLEPUCK CAFE comes packaged with both 5-1/4" and
3-1/2" diskettes. The program can be copied to your hard drive, but you'll need
to have the original diskette in your floppy drive whenever booting the game.
The game can be played from the keyboard, a joystick, or a mouse. Either of the
last two is definitely recommended over the keyboard.

 Graphics support is provided for MCGA, EGA, CGA, and Hercules. (The cover of
the box mentions VGA, but that seems to mean EGA emulation with a VGA board.)
EGA graphics are good. The bar scene is nicely detailed, and while the game
itself doesn't require elaborate graphics, animation is smooth: SHUFFLEPUCK does
indeed capture a lot of the "feel" of playing air hockey.

 No sound boards are supported, and that's a shame. In a very nice touch, all of
the sound effects are "real" sounds that were digitally sampled, from the crowd
noise in the bar to the glass that breaks when you score a goal (David Letterman
would be proud). Even the various remarks your opponents (human and otherwise)
make during the course of a game sound authentic. I'm certain that they'd sound
even more lifelike if played through something other than the tiny, tinny
on-board speaker.

 SHUFFLEPUCK CAFE is published and distributed by Broderbund Software.

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