UNREAL

  UNREAL, a fantasy arcade game by UBI Soft, is aptly named,
what with its smooth game play, breathtaking two- and three-
dimensional graphics, a brilliant musical score and lifelike,
digitized sound effects. This one is a winner.

  But be prepared to have a quick trigger finger ready. There are
creatures, goblins and fiendish traps all over the place, and
while the level of difficulty isn't impossible to manage, it will
take a considerable amount of patience and determination to
finish all eight levels. (This review is based on the Amiga
version).

  In this one-player game, you are Artaban, and your task is to
capture your princess, Isolde. She has been taken by the evil
Master of Darkness, and if you do not reach her within 21 days,
she shall be forced to marry him.

 The Master of Darkness has used his awesome powers to create
havoc on the planet of UNREAL, and you'll have to navigate some
treacherous terrain. Armed only with a magical sword, you'll
begin your search by clinging to the back of a friendly dragon as
he whisks you through the sky. Later, you'll cross through
dangerous forests and even battle snow, ice and harsh winds that
will have you teetering on the edge of cliffs. 

  It's typical, nonstop arcade fun all the way, but there are
some kindler, gentler aspects to the game. Some arcade games are
so difficult that the casual gamer is tempted to give up after
only a few tries, leaving the game to collect dust on a
bookshelf.

  The designers of UNREAL seemed to realize that when they built
in a training mode. When you character is killed, the game
automatically changes to a training mode. You're allowed to
resume where you left off, with the training mode providing the
opportunity the opportunity to practice the moves you'll need to
successfully complete that area.

  The training feature alone should be enough to draw arcade fans
to UNREAL. That feature plus the ability to save your position
three times suggests that most players should be able to finish
the game if they stay with it long enough, although the higher
levels clearly are for more advanced gamers.

  Those features are only a part of what sets UNREAL apart from
other arcade games. Chances are you'll marvel at the sound
effects, such as the crackle of flaming logs and the rushing
waters of a river. In one scene, I could hear birds chirping
through my left speaker, the splash of boulders landing in the
creek through the right speaker.

  Those are all nice touches that make the decision to try UNREAL
an easy one.

  UNREAL, which has on-disk copy protection and cannot be
installed on hard drives, will work on Amiga 500s, 1000s and 200s
with at least 512K memory, but it will not work on accelerated
Amigas. If you Amiga is equipped with a 68020 or 68030
accelerator, you'll have to return to the stock 68000 mode to
play. Amiga 1000 users must use Kickstart 1.2 or 1.3. The game
comes on three disks, but excessive disk swapping isn't a
problem.

  UNREAL is published by UBI Soft and distributed by Electronic Arts.