123 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
123 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
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THE CYCLES: INTERNATIONAL GRAND PRIX RACING
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THE CYCLES: INTERNATIONAL GRAND PRIX RACING is yet another addition
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to Accolade's successful line of racing simulations. It was designed
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by Distinctive Software, Inc. (DSI), the group responsible for TEST
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DRIVE (I and II) and GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT, and it has the distinction
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of being the first motorcycle racing game to offer a first-person
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perspective on the action. (This review is based on the IBM-PC
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version; Amiga version notes follow.)
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There are fifteen tracks from all over the world, and three classes
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of competition: 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc. Gameplay is very similar to
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that of GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT -- so similar, in fact, that only
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die-hard fans of GPC will find anything truly worthwhile in THE
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CYCLES.
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For those unfamiliar with GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT, here's a rundown of
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THE CYCLES' basic gameplay. You begin by selecting a practice
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session, a single race, or the entire championship circuit. The
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first two let you chose any one of the fifteen tracks, while the
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circuit follows a pre-determined schedule. You must then determine
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the difficulty level, rated between 1 and 5. The higher the skill
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level, the better your competitors are, and the easier it becomes to
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blow an engine or spin out. You may then enter your name, followed
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by the number of laps you wish to race, from 1 to 99. Your final
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choice is the bike class you wish to compete in. The higher-powered
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bikes are obviously faster, but compensate with better handling.
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Each class has a different set of nine computer opponents, each with
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a different level of skill and aggressiveness.
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If you elected to compete in a race, you're then required to
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complete one qualifying lap to determine your starting position.
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Assuming you survive your qualification run and turn in a reasonable
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lap time, you're shown the starting positions of all riders, after
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which it's off to the track for the main event. The program records
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the best four lap times for each class at each track.
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Control is either by keyboard or joystick, and the latter is
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strongly recommended. DSI has done a better than average job with
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their joystick routines, although control remains a bit too
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sensitive.
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Perhaps the only significant difference between THE CYCLES and
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GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT is the addition of elevation changes to the
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tracks. The track surfaces undulate, climb, and descend in a very
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realistic manner, and even affect the performance of your bike. It's
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very convincing, and greatly enhances gameplay by making each track
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a more unique experience. The effects on your bike, however, are
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limited to increasing or decreasing acceleration when climbing or
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descending a hill. More complex factors, such as changes in traction
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when cresting a hill or entering a climb, are not applied.
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The effectiveness of the first-person perspective is questionable,
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mostly because the player's point-of-view doesn't change as the bike
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leans over. A real rider's perspective shifts out to the side of the
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bike and lowers, becoming closer to the track surface. This would no
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doubt seem very dynamic in a computer simulation, but THE CYCLES
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doesn't go that far. What's more, the tachometer is situated on the
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bike's instrument panel, and as the bike leans left and right there
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is a noticeable discrepancy in the tach readings. This can be
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extremely disconcerting if you're near the high end of the rev
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range, because it's rather easy to blow an engine at higher
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difficulty levels.
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The final concern is that of challenge, and this is where THE
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CYCLES fails miserably. If you're at all skilled at racing games, or
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perhaps at action games in general, you'll soon discover that even
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the highest difficulty level doesn't provide enough challenge. This
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is simply because the computer opponents are not sufficiently
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skilled. Even the top-ranked opponents enter turns so slowly that
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you can easily rear-end them if you're not careful. It's possible to
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lap several riders in a five-lap race, and with only nine
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opponents, that can become boring very quickly -- especially
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considering that riders can drop out (another change from GPC).
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In the IBM version, copy protection depends on a three-part code
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wheel. The game may be installed on a hard drive, although the
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INSTALL batch file does not prompt you for a drive specification (it
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assumes drive C). The packaging boasts support for the Ad Lib sound
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board, but in disappointing fashion, extends such support to music
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only; all sound effects are still delivered through the standard PC
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speaker.
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Any game that does not does not provide a constant challenge -- no
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matter how good its concept and execution -- is bound to have a
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short life. THE CYCLES is a perfect example of this truism. It's fun
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to play, and allows you to use real-world racing techniques to good
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advantage. But as soon as you're able to routinely beat the pants
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off your competition, you start asking, "What's the point?"
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Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be one.
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AMIGA VERSION NOTES
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THE CYCLES looks and plays just fine on the Amiga. It's very
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similar to GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT, but the courses and bike control are
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different enough to make this game worth trying, even if you already
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own GPC.
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Accolade has finally abandoned its difficult and unpleasant disk
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copy-protection schemes; instead, a code wheel is included, which
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works simply but effectively. The program comes on one copyable
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disk, and can be installed easily on a hard drive. Graphics, music,
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sound, and game control are all neatly implemented, and the opening
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credits are a real showcase for the Amiga's various and special
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video display capabilities. THE CYCLES runs on A500s, A1000s, and
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A2000s with 512K of RAM (or 1 Megabyte of RAM if a hard drive is
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used). For once, the game actually lets you quit without having to
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hit the "Control-Amiga Amiga" boot sequence, although you don't
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return to a normal Workbench as a result.
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I like THE CYCLES even better than GPC (which I like a lot), so if
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you have neither, I'd recommend this game as your first choice.
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THE CYCLES: INTERNATIONAL GRAND PRIX RACING is published and
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distributed by Accolade.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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