(continued from page 21) CHESSMATE Dark Horse Box 36162 Greensboro NC 27416 ••• Chessmate is a respectable chess program which is written in ABasiC (you will need your Extras disk), and has a fair assortment of features and play levels. If it were the only chess program available, it would be easy to recommend. Features include: 1 or 2 players, synthetic speech options, manual board settup, 3-D view (shown), seven difficulty levels, computersuggested moves, and saving of games. Colors are fixed (boo). Response times range from .5 seconds (easiest level) to 1 hour. The only reason not to buy Chessmate is pictured to its right.-BD DIABLO Classic Image 510 Rhode Island Ave. Cherry Hill NJ 08002 •••• + This game is very simple, really. You slide pieces of track in front of a moving ball, and as it passes over a section of track, the track disappears. You just have to keep the ball rolling until all the track is gone. The graphics are simple but effective, the sound and music are very nice, and the mouse interface is easy to use. It's also so maddeningly addictive that it could earn you a one-way ticket to the tunny farm. I spent about 1000 hours researching' Diablo for this review. I didn t mean to. It's aptly named. -MB QUINTETTE Miles Computing 7741 Alabama Ave. Suite 2 Canoga Park CA 91304 •••*+ This computerized boardeame is similar to Pente. Placing five stones in dai5i very long time to make a mnv/* (overnight at the highest levelh Thk game is enhanced8 by excellent graphics, very nice sound effects and Tots of options. Very addictive '-MB 1 90 1 - CHESSMASTER 2000 Electronic Arts / Software Toolworks 1820 Gateway Dr. San Mateo, CA 94404 This is the definitive chess program for the AMIGA, and (like a good physical chess set) is a pleasure to look at and 'handle' as well. Absolutely loaded with options including: user-variable colors, chess clock game analysis, speech, music, board coordinates, set ups, takebacks, replay, 2D or 3D display, suggest moves, and lots more. Response times from 5 seconds to 100 hours depending on play depth. My favorite feature is the teaching mode which shows all of the legal squares a piece can move to or capture on by simply touching the piece. -BD MARBLE MADNESS Electronic Arts 1820 Gateway Dr. San Mateo, CA 94404 A totally faithful adaptation of the very popular (Atari!) arcade game. One or two players attempt to negotiate the outrageous mazes and traps which lurk upon the marbles' path (I especially like V}e, rS9°,.ve-rs)- Tne only Problem with MARBLE, is that without the inhibiting effect of the coin slot, you will eventually master the mazes, and have to find something to do with the rest of your life (tho I have heard there is a hidden screen). Our only hope is that someone, somewhere, may be working (at this very moment) on . MARBLE MADNESS n !!! _BD SHANGHAI Activision 2350 Bayshore Frontage Rd. Mountain View, CA 94043 ****+ This game ought to be illegal. It is impossible to play 'just one game' Based on the ancient oriental game of Mah-Jonge, play is swift and deceptivery simple; the deeper into the game you get, the more strategy is Shfv.ed< ^ variety, of single, rfiultiplayer and. ore-designed layouts are available. The graphics are W, with the layers of tiles indicated by the shadows they cast. If you can manage to win the game by removing all the tiles irom the screen you get a surprise. Plan on spending a LOT of time with mis one. -TM
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