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

n reviews
tool. Concept definitions and references
are available only on disk. Students
should bring their geometry text home
from school or use the program index,
from which they can print the infor
mation they need.
Despite the demands it places on
your hardware, Geometry successfully
underscores the computer's role as an
instructional aid. Its interactive learn
ing abilities and animated geometric
figures that rotate through several
planes bring abstract theorems and clas
sical postulates to life. This may be the
angle teachers and parents need to get
kids to enjoy their geometry lessons.
— Carol S. Holzberg
Geometry
For...
Apple lies—$79.95
Macintosh—$99.95
From...
Broderbund Software
17 Paul Dr.
San Rafael. CA 94903-2101
(415)492-3200
And...
A school edition, with supplemental teach
ing aids, retails for $109.95 (Macintosh)
and $89.95 (Apple IIgs); a lab pack, with
five copies of the program and supple
mental teaching aids, retails for $219.95
(Macintosh) and $199.95 (Apple lies).
Twilight Zone:
Crossroads of
Imagination
Consider for your approval: You're an
average person in a routine situation
going through the everyday motions we
all find so comforting. But take a wrong
turn at a strange intersection or a walk
down an unfamiliar road, and suddenly
you find that you've crossed over into a
new dimension—a world of imagina
tion, a strange place to which others re
main oblivious.
You have just returned to the Twi
light Zone, but not to the late-fifties-toearly-sixties
television series. Instead,
the popular science-fiction show lives
on in The Twilight Zone: Crossroads of
Imagination, the first in a series of roleplaying
adventures from First Row
Software Publishing based on Rod
Scrling's classic show.
Twilight Zone begins with a nor
mal setting. It's a typical 1980's un
kempt bachelor's bedroom, complete
with blaring television set. Bleary-eyed
and unshaven, the hero awakens and
glances around his room. He has no
idea of the problems that lie ahead—
perhaps a meeting with the Grim Reap
er himself. Suddenly, a very ordinary
day takes a very nasty turn.
Once you enter the sixth dimen
sion, there's no going back. You must
conquer all obstacles or face a horrible
fate. Before it's all over, you'll save a
young girl from a fiery death, perform
valiantly in an important race, and
serve honorably a grateful king. You'll
wander city streets, bury the wounded
in distant jungles, and solve baffling
riddles. And when it's all over, then ...
well, only then will you discover how it
all ends.
Of course, you understand that I'm
sworn to secrecy. But—what the heck—
a few brief hints won't give anything
away. Just don't tell anyone where you
heard them. If A. J. Foyt calls, remem
ber to request a few pointers; a consul
tation with a member of the local
volunteer fire department wouldn't
hurt; and if your memory isn't as sharp
as it once was, you might consider re
reading the legend of Excalibur. Take
these suggestions for what they may (or
may not) be worth. From here on my
lips are sealed.
This game is a classic text adven
ture. You interact by reading text and
then reacting to it with typed com
mands. The program responds predict
ably to the usual direction commands
(North, South, and so on), as well as In
ventor}', Load, Save, and Quit. In addi
tion, it recognizes an unusually large
vocabulary of verbs and objects.
One of Crossroads ofImagina
tion's most noteworthy attributes is an
especially good parser. The manual
credits artificial-intelligence routines
for taking the game far beyond the com
mon verb-object syntax of many text
adventures. The command Take book
and read it, for example, works fine. In
some instances, the program even re
quires qualified commands like Tie
hunter with rope.
The game's numerous graphics
aren't necessary to the adventure, serv
ing only to help players imagine the de
scribed settings. That doesn't mean the
artwork looks bad. But players who run
the text-only version will suffer no dis
advantage and, in fact, will gain speed
by deactivating the pictures.
Similarly, sound also plays an un
important role. On occasion, your com
puter speaker will emit a few notes
from the television show's theme song,
but mostly you're left alone to think
and type. Although some players might
prefer interactive graphics and more
sound, an engaging plot with carefully
constructed responses ensures the
game's success.
Cross the threshold into danger in Twilight
Zone: The Crossroads of Imagination.
Unfortunately, the well-planned
responses are marred by many mis
spellings and grammatical errors. It's
not unreasonable to expect professional
software to deliver a higher measure of
technical excellence.
Twilight Zone rates high marks for
plot construction and player involve
ment. It's easy enough for beginners yet
challenging enough for more advanced
players. With a bit more polishing, it
could be outstanding, sparking renewed
interest in that world of space and time,
the world of imagination.
Too tee too doo too tee too doo....
— DavidStanton
Twilight Zone:
The Crossroads of
Imagination
For...
Amiga—$39.95
Apple Jl—S39.95
Commodore 64/128—S29.S5
IBM PC and compatibles—539.95
From...
First Row Software Publishing
900 E. 8th Awe.
Suite 800
King of Prussia. PA 19406-9773
(215)337-1500
Cartooners
You wake up Saturday morning. You
hear nothing. The TV is silent. Where
are the kids? Surely not sleeping—no
kid sleeps late on Saturday. After all, it's
the day of the marathon cartoon.
The answer is in the computer
room. Your kids are creating their own
cartoons. They squeal with laughter as
they program a rabbit to jump high in
the air, turn around, and land next to a
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