CENTAURI ALLIANCE

 CENTAURI ALLIANCE is a science fiction computer role-playing game by Michael
Cranford, the author of THE BARD'S TALE and THE BARD'S TALE II. The game is set
in the year 2247, and pits up to eight characters from the six Alliance races
against a rebel organization known as the Daynab. (This review is based on the
Apple II version of the game.)

 Character generation is fairly straightforward. After deciding which of the
races to generate, you review potential characters until one with the desired
combination of stats and discipline is found. Then, choose an initial skill from
the menu and type a name for the new character. When all desired characters have
been generated, you band them together and set out.

 Each of the six races has capabilities in one or two of the four disciplines:
Combat, Technical Skills, Psionics, and Metamorph. Combat is divided into melee,
thrown, sidearm, and master. The Tech skills are weaponry, bio (medicine), and
ancient. Psionics consist of mind, body, matter, and energy. Beyond the
initially chosen skill, a character can be trained in any skill open to his/her
race. The number of experience points required to train is displayed on the
character screen, and this appears to be based on the average skill level in all
skills where training has been received.

 Unlike many games of this sort, money is not a driving force. Aside from
capital expenditures on armor, weaponry, mechanoids, and the occasional clone
replacement of dead characters, the main expense is on ammunition. The official
stores sell only a limited variety of items, in any event -- much more
interesting things are found as loot after battles or on the black market.

 And there are a lot of battles. For the most part, the encounters are random
and hostile, though there are some set encounters, and occasional alien
volunteers. Battles are fought on a hex map which has a size based on the size
of the room where the encounter occurs. After deciding whether the overall party
will attack, move, or run, you decide whether each character will make a melee
attack, fire a weapon, reload a weapon, dodge, make a psionic attack, or
activate an item. Once all commands are entered and confirmed, the fighting
proceeds on its own.

 The game takes up both sides of three 5-1/4" floppies, all but one side of
which are copy-protected. Even the unprotected side, which actually has to be
copied, requires a bit-copy program. It requires 64K and is designed to run on
an Apple II+ or better. Given those limitations, the graphics and sound aren't
anything spectacular. The graphics are similar to the ones in THE BARD'S TALE or
POOL OF RADIANCE; the sound is limited to the occasional beep for attention.
Documentation is good, consisting of a reference manual, a background book, a
quick reference card, and a star map.

 But enough about facts. The question is, is this game any good? The answer is
yes. The puzzles -- the heart of this sort of game -- are subtle, but adequate
clues are provided. The player interface is comparable to that of a WIZARDRY or
BARD'S TALE. The ability to change from a normal 3-D picture of the surroundings
to an overhead view, and to play the entire game in that mode, is very helpful.
The character generation process is relatively simple and relevant to the game
as it is played. I strongly recommend CENTAURI ALLIANCE. It has already given me
many hours of enjoyment!

 CENTAURI ALLIANCE is published and distributed by Broderbund.

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