DR. DOOM'S REVENGE

 DR. DOOM'S REVENGE is an arcade game written by Paragon Software, published by
Medalist International, and distributed by MicroProse. Based on characters from
Marvel Comics, DR. DOOM features Spider-Man, Captain America, Dr. Doom, and a
horde of Marvel villains, along with excellent graphics, fine animation, three
difficulty levels, a comic book, joystick control, save-game option, hard drive
support, and key-disk copy protection. (This review is based on the Atari ST
version.)

 Paragon and Medalist have labeled DOOM an "interactive comic book," which is an
accurate assessment: Comic book panels introduce each arcade sequence. DOOM is
not nearly as tough as, say, NEVERMIND, but it's tough nevertheless. Spider-Man
and Captain America are far less superhuman here than they are in their comic
adventures. The villains are, predictably enough, energetic and very nasty.

 The plot of DOOM concerns a weapon, the C4V.G nuclear missile, which the
sinister and repulsive Dr. Doom threatens to drop on New York City if the United
States refuses to become a colony of Latveria, Doom's homeland. The comic book
included with the package provides all the necessary background information. The
graphic panels that appear onscreen to introduce the arcade sequences continue
the tale where the comic book leaves off.

 Having two characters creates a twofold goal: You must guide Spider-Man to the
silo and prevent a missile launch, and you must guide Captain America to Dr.
Doom's private room and apprehend the vile scumbag. The arcade sequences
alternate between the heroes: Each sequence offers multiple arcade challenges,
and each sequence continues until the panels are filled or the current hero is
killed.

 The difficulty levels are Beginner, Hero, and Superhero; they're more precisely
described as Hard, Extra Hard, and You're Joking, Right? Working to prevent you
from completing the mission are robot troops and defense mechanisms, hazards and
traps, and a wild lineup of menacing Marvel villains, including Batroc,
Boomerang, Hobgoblin, Eduardo Lobo, Rattan, and Zaran, a dagger-tossing villain
who appears only in this ST version.

 The ST graphics display consists initially of the comic panels. Pressing the
joystick button loads the arcade sequences, which take place in and around
Doom's Latverian castle. Some sequences (usually those with hazards) scroll.
When a robot or a villain is present, the scenery remains stationary while you
do battle. Below the main action screen are pictures of the current hero and
villain, and energy bars for each.

 DOOM is joystick-controlled. The stick alone handles the general movements of
both heroes: flips, jumps, crouches, turns, and left/right directional movement.
With the button pressed, the stick makes Spider-Man throw high and low webs,
stick to ceilings or walls, and attack in three ways. Captain America's arsenal
doesn't include any kind of stickum; instead, he has five attack moves, and high
and low shield throws. On the scrolling hazard screens, the stick allows the
hero to perform flips and somersaults, and to control his speed. Keystrokes
pause the action, toggle sound, and invoke the "Bookmark" save option, which is
available only at a comic book panel.

 The DR. DOOM'S REVENGE package comes with two disks, a Marvel comic book, an ST
reference sheet, and an instruction manual that provides detailed background
information on the heroes and villains: You'll need the manual, at the very
least, for the three-part documentation checks. Two disk drives are supported,
and a hard drive. While installing DOOM on a hard drive, you'll encounter copy
conflicts; the problem these conflicts cause (usually on buggy, older STs) can
be avoided if you select Cancel from the Copy-Conflict Dialog box. Although the
disks can be copied onto floppies, you'll still need master disk A to boot the
game. If you boot with the backup, the program doesn't ask for the master disk
(which it should), and in any case, you'll need master Disk A when booting from
a hard drive. The program runs on any Atari ST with 512K and a color monitor.

 DR. DOOM looks excellent on the ST: a computerized comic. The backgrounds are
bright and colorful. The animations of the heroes and villains are very well
done, if sometimes a bit slow. The arcade sequences are difficult, even at
Beginner level. The villains move swiftly, and they either jump around with
reckless abandon (which means your hero will have to do the same), or throw
lightning bolts and saw-blades and bombs, or possess a lethal move (such as
Rhino's Impaling Freight Train Thrust). This is a vicious bunch that dishes out
large servings of punishment, which Spider-Man and Captain America promptly find
indigestible; what's more, the heroes' actions are sluggish in comparison. At
Superhero level, the villains seem to last forever.

 Overall, DR. DOOM'S REVENGE is a fine package whose considerable design and
graphic impact is blunted by high difficulty. Although not as brain-melting as
NEVERMIND, it's a game worth having -- but you'd best hone your nerves along
with your joystick skills.

 DR. DOOM'S REVENGE is published by Medalist and distributed by MicroProse.

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