& LIGHT-YEARS! - TRS-80 Color Computer Archive

m reviews
Tool DOS, Tackle
Toons, Lounge
with Larry, Explore
College, Tread
Softly, Hit and
Stick, Play the
Angles, Zone Out,
Create Cartoons,
Share a Story,
Write It Up, Build a
Town, and More
62 COMPUTE!
Each month, "Fast Looks" offers up
snapshots of some of the most interest
ing, unusual, or important software and
hardware for the IBM PC and MS-
DOS, Commodore 64/128, Apple II,
Amiga. Macintosh, and Atari ST lines
of personal computers. Get the last
word on what's new—here, fast, first.
Kings of the Beach
Kings of the Beach is volleyball the way
volleyball was meant to be, save that
you play it on your computer—spikes,
sun, and sand from California and Ha
waii to the beaches of Australia.
Using some complicated joystick
controls, you have a choice of three
serves, three offensive plays, and a de
fensive block. You can also use a
mouse or the keyboard to control the
game, but the joystick is best. Seldom
can you return a ball on the first hit, so
you really get a feel for the pass/set/
spike strategy used by competitive
teams.
The court appears 3-D and is hard
to get used to at first. But if you learn to
follow the ball's shadow you'll gain an
edge. Spiking the ball onscreen is al
most as hard to master as it is on the
court. It's a matter of timing: Jump at
the wrong time and you'll hit the ball
out of bounds or miss it entirely.
Luckily, you don't have to face
your opponents cold. A visit to the
practice courts will hone your skills—
and you'll need the drill. This tough
game demands that you start out easy.
You can always increase the difficulty
later.
If you're itching to put your fingers
on leather and your feet in the sand,
this game's for you. Don't forget the
sunscreen.
— HA
IBM PC and compatibles—$39.95
{$44.95 for a package with both a 5'/4-incti version
and a 3'/!-inch version)
Electronic Arts
1820 Gateway Dr.
San Mateo, CA 94404
{415)571-7171
Apple II Video Overlay
Card
Desktop video may be the newest buzz
word in the computer business, but the
phrase is just phosphor on the screen
unless you have the right equipment.
Until recently, that left the Apple He
and IlGS out of the picture. Not any
more.
Acting essentially as a genlock
card, the new Apple II Video Overlay
Card fits inside an Apple lie or IIgs and
accepts video input from a VCR, video
disc, video camera, or television. It
then synchronizes these video signals
with the Apple II so that you can super
impose Apple II graphics on the video
pictures. Immediate uses for such a
card might include titling the video you
shoot at home or in the classroom or
combining computer animation you
create with a program like Cartooners
with a video of the new baby gamboling
about the living room.
The Overlay Card dramatically im
proves the video signal that leaves the
Apple II, ensuring that what goes out is
just as crisp as what goes in. Special
VideoMix software makes it a snap to
control the mixing of video and com
puter graphics. And a variety of al
ready-available software is compatible
with the Overlay Card, including such
first-rate Apple He and IlGS packages as
Deluxe Paint II, Fantavision, and Art &
Film Director.
If you're trying to marry these two
technologies—computers and video—a