105 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
105 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
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HOYLE'S BOOK OF GAMES, VOLUME ONE
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Like chess, card games lend themselves well to computerization. The Software
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Toolworks' CRIBBAGE KING/GIN KING is probably the most significant effort to
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date in this genre, setting the standard for both computer AI and game design.
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Sierra On-Line's HOYLE'S BOOK OF GAMES, VOLUME ONE is quite competitive in the
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AI department, and goes one better in game design (especially for Sierra fans):
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It includes of a cast of 18 opponent "characters," many of whom appeared in
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previous Sierra releases. (This review is based on the Amiga version.)
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HOYLE'S opens with the usual Sierra screen logo, initial animation sequence,
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and music soundtrack. Although unspectacular, the music is nevertheless just
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right: It sounds like something you'd hear in a honky-tonk western bar, and
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combined with the flashy opening screen, helps set the mood very nicely.
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Your first stop is the deck selection screen: You can choose a classic deck
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design in blue or red, or one of seven others (most of which recall the less
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attractive floral wallpapers of the '70s). You may also save your choice, so
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that the program defaults to your favorite deck upon startup. Deck selection
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isn't significant to gameplay, but it does add a personal touch.
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Next, you pick your game: Crazy Eights, Old Maid, Hearts, Gin Rummy, Cribbage,
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or Klondike. All but Klondike are played against a computer opponent, one of 18
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available onscreen characters: Rosella, Roger Wilco, Larry Laffer, and the
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Colonel (among others) from THE COLONEL'S BEQUEST; the game designer and
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animator; a bulldog; and a few kids (one of whom is the game designer's
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daughter). Each player has strengths in particular games, and all are
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categorized as either "Serious Players" or "Not-so-serious Players." A cute
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detail: If you select a player and then change your mind and deselect, the
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player makes a face at you.
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Finally, you begin play. Each game is based on the official rules according to
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Hoyle, with a few minor exceptions: In Old Maid, two queens are removed from the
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deck and a special Old Maid card is added. In Klondike, you can play the
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original game, or set the computer to flip three cards at a time, with unlimited
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runs through the deck; you may also specify standard flipping with unlimited
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runs. (Your choice can be saved as a default startup selection.)
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A menu bar gives you full access to the rules for each game -- handy if a
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particular game is unfamiliar to you. The rules for Cribbage are more complex,
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so they're not included here in full; however, they're described in the game
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manual, as are instructions for all the other card games.
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There are nifty features incorporated as aids throughout the various games. In
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some, you can select an option that sorts your hand by suit or value; in all,
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the card you've selected for play is clearly highlighted. In Cribbage, you can
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speed up or slow down the end-of-hand counting.
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All hands are dealt with smooth animation during the games. You play from an
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overhead view; the faces of your opponents are lined up on the sides of the
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green table. If you take too long to play your turn, the game fills in the empty
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space with idle conversation. One of the fascinating aspects of this
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inter-character dialogue is that it really does _seem_ like a conversation: The
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characters don't produce text bubbles merely at random; they respond to each
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other's comments, remark on your delays, etc.
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During actual play, the characters react to events with facial expressions:
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Success registers on their faces to the accompaniment of a little victory tune;
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big mistakes or bad luck makes them visually snarl in disgust while an "uh-oh"
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melody plays. And if one of the computer characters ends up as the Old Maid, a
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funny little animation occurs. These effects might be extraneous to the game
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itself, but they add much to the liveliness of the computer "presence."
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The best games are Klondike, Gin Rummy, and Cribbage. The Cribbage board is
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just a wee bit hard to discern clearly, but the game itself plays quite
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smoothly. Klondike contains none of the special effects, and will therefore
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appeal most to those who just want a straight game without extras. Gin Rummy is
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my personal favorite, mainly because the computer plays quite well and deals an
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interesting variety of hands. Hearts, Old Maid, and Crazy Eights are more
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light-hearted, and will appeal to a younger audience.
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The graphics are standard Sierra fare: nothing spectacular compared with what's
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available for the Amiga, but certainly adequate for gameplay. Although the cards
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in particular are drawn with good detail, there's an overall flatness to Sierra
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graphics that's not to my liking. (This may be merely a factor of personal
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preference, and it certainly has little to do with the quality of the games.)
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You have full control over animation speed, play speed, deal speed, and delay
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speed, so compensations for differences in system capability are easy to effect.
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HOYLE'S comes on two disks that are not copy-protected in any way (what a
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relief!), and the programs are easily transferred to your hard drive using the
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included installation program. If you have at least 1MB of RAM and a hard drive,
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HOYLE'S boots nicely from the standard Workbench; it can also be installed for
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floppy-based systems. With each new release for the Amiga, Sierra takes another
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positive step toward perfecting its Amiga interface.
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The program requires only 512K of RAM and is played entirely with the mouse.
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The IBM-PC simulations of standard Workbench menu bars can be disconcerting: The
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scrolling gadgets on the right of the bar are inoperative, yet become active
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when clicked upon. I'm sure Sierra is working on making its "frame interface"
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more Amiga-compatible, and I hope they'll come up with an Amiga-oriented
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interface that doesn't look so much like a primitive IBM imitation of same.
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All in all, HOYLE'S BOOK OF GAMES is solid in design, and more importantly,
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high in gameplay quality. Some players may find the characters and effects
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extraneous to their enjoyment, but for me, these additional touches fleshed out
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the gaming experience quite well. I'm looking forward to VOLUME TWO!
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HOYLE'S BOOK OF GAMES, VOLUME ONE is published and distributed by Sierra
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On-Line.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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