Strategic Conquest 3.01
Delta Tao Software
800-827-9316
Requires: 1 MB RAM and System 6.0 or greater
Supports Color
$59.00
Strategic Conquest is the classic military strategy game for the Macintosh. It has been around in various forms since 1984, and the latest version is simply an improved version of the original. Each Strategic Conquest game is an armed struggle between two players bent on world domination.
At the start of the game, the player is in control of one city and the rest of the world is hidden from view. After an area is explored, its black covering is removed and its true nature is revealed. The randomly generated world consists of numerous islands, each with several cities on it. Each city the player owns devotes its time to building the fighting device of choice. Normal cities can build armies, fighters and bombers. Port cities can build these three pieces as well as destroyers, subs, transports, carriers and battleships. A city can only work on one type of piece at a time, and the production time for each piece type varies. After a city is conquered, the player tells it what it should produce.
After exploring the island, the player moves on to conquer others and is required to manage the military forces and industrial complex of his growing empire. This is why Strategic Conquest is a game of both military strategy and tactics; not only do you have to control the building of your armed forces, but you control the movements of each combat unit.
As the player explores and conquers more of his world, he eventually will run into his enemy. This is where the real fun begins, because the enemy is also trying to conquer the world! As the player brings all of his forces to bear and hopes that his nuclear bombers arrive soon, he will quickly notice any problems in his strategy and make note to correct them in the next game.
At the start of the game you can choose your opponent from one of fifteen computers, or you can play against one of your friends over an AppleTalk (R) network. One of the computers in an AppleTalk (R) game will be the master, and only this computer can save the game.
Strategic Conquest is a game of the purest military strategy. There is no princess to save. It has an excellent graphical interface, but the sounds and graphics do not leave you awestruck. If you want to control tanks, bombers and battleships, this is the game for you.
Pararena 2.0
Casady & Greene, Inc.
800-359-4920
Requires: Mac Plus or better, System 6.0.2 or later
Supports Color
$59.95
Pararena 2.0 is another shareware conversion from John Calhoun, author of Glider 4.0. Pararena is a futuristic sports simulation game based on a parabolic dish perched somewhere in outer space. The game is played on this dish and it consists of two players on hoverboards, a ball and two goals. To score you must scoop up the ball, glide to a good shooting position and shoot the ball into your goal. But your opponent will do anything to block your shot or just knock you off the dish. To win you must be able to score and prevent your opponent from scoring.
While the single player game has several levels of difficulty and several computer opponents, I found that it quickly became dull. The beginning levels are too easy, and the hardest level is impossible. There was no middle ground. Fortunately, Pararena is networkable, allowing you to play against a friend on an AppleTalk (R) network. One nice feature of the network game is that the players can set different levels of difficulty. These networking features do help to offset the problem in the single player game.
While Pararena is an innovative and interesting idea, the structure of the levels of difficulty and the repetitiveness of the game really inhibit this idea. If you like pure mouse action games, maybe this is for you, but I found that it lacked something.
Spectre 1.0
Velocity Development Corp.
415-776-8000
Requires: Mac Plus or better, 1 MB RAM, System 6.0.3 or later
Supports Color
$59.95
Spectre is a virtual-reality futuristic tank simulation featuring 3-D graphics and excellent sounds. The object of the single player is to rack up points and reach higher levels. At the start of the game, you pick what type of cybertank you would like to use and then you drop into the Arena.
In the Arena are enemy robot tanks, flags, ammo dumps and obstacles. To advance to the next level, you must collect all of the flags on the battlefield. While you are trying to do this, you must also fight off the robot tanks. There are two different types of these robot tanks: regular and mean. Regular robots are rather dumb, while mean robots are faster, stronger and more intelligent. Every 10 levels, the robots improve, and every level the game gets tougher. To rearm or repair your shields all you have to do is run over an ammo dump, and if you get cornered by the robots, you can hyperspace to another location in the Arena.
Spectre also supports multiplayer network games. There are three different scenarios for the multiplayer network game: Arena, Flag Rally and Base Raid. Arena is a total free-for-all. You score a point for every kill, and the game ends when time runs out or someone scores enough points. Flag Rally is still every man for himself, but to win you must collect all six of the flags on the field. Base Raid is basically a game of capture the flag. There are two teams, two bases and everyone has an infinite number of lives. To win this scenario you must actually bump into the enemy base, which is rather difficult when three enemy cybertanks are defending it.
Spectre is a game of intense action. The 3-D graphics are cool in black and white and incredible in color. While the single player game eventually became dull, the multiplayer network game was always entertaining. If you think sweat belongs on your keyboard, this is the game for you.
The Pick of the Pack:
Strategic Conquest 3.01
