ESCAPE FROM HELL

 "WARNING: Contains nudity, violence and controversial images," proclaims a
sticker on the box for ESCAPE FROM HELL. I certainly didn't need any further
enticement to boot this one up! Unfortunately, after a few sessions with the
game, I found it hard to sustain my level of enthusiasm. (This review is based
on the IBM-PC version.)

 Not that author Richard Seaborne didn't come up with an interesting and new
concept for a computer role-playing game. As the back of the box says: Why just
descend into a dungeon when you can go to hell? How frightening could a mere
troll be compared to yuppies, headbangers, or bureaucrats? Right. Seaborne has a
nice, off-kilter sense of humor that pervades almost every aspect of ESCAPE FROM
HELL.

 But if you've played ULTIMA IV, you're going to be struck by a major case of
_deja vu_ here. So many aspects of the mechanics of this game seemed like
variations of elements I've experienced in Lord British's classic CRPG. Combine
this with the fact that (oddly enough) it's very easy -- maybe too easy -- to
die in Hell, and you wind up with a frustration factor that diminishes your
desire to complete the quest.

 Ah, the quest! You're sitting in your room with your best friend and your
girlfriend, when suddenly they disappear. You get a phone call telling you that
they've...well, they've gone to Hell. And before you can say "Beelzebub," you're
there, too. The only problem is, you're not dead, so you sort of stick out.
Everyone knows you're still alive, and a lot of people are less than thrilled
about that.

 Hell is huge and Hell has -- cities? Yep, Hell has cities spread all over the
map. Wander the landscape with its impassable mountains, lava pits, and random
encounters with fearsome beings until you find a town. The towns consist of
walkways leading to various buildings, although creatures you'll need to
interact with can be anywhere in town. They give you supplies and clues, and
some of them even join you on your quest to find your friends. Others are going
to attack you and your party, and, as I said, you'll find that you die rather
easily. Save the game often!

 Hell also has these "tridents" that appear on the landscape from time to time.
Touching them is like entering a time machine, and depending upon which era
you're transported to, some of the tools you've gathered won't work. (You're not
allowed to use a pistol before it was actually invented.) On the other hand,
moving forward in time allows you to get your hands on some pretty advanced
gear.

 There's a dizzying variety of weaponry available, from the simple (bowling
balls, hoses, frying pans) to the more advanced items (chainsaws, bombs, rocket
launchers, and, of course, Uzis). Armor includes everything from garbage pan
lids and hockey masks to bulletproof suits and magical cloaks.

 Some parts of ESCAPE FROM HELL are there to make life easier for you. You won't
have to figure out what to ask any character; you merely "TALK" to it and it
tells you what you need to know, or gives you a hint as to what you can offer it
before it will part with its information.

 This same degree of automation also pervades your battles, which involve
absolutely no arcade skills whatsoever. Choose a weapon, if you have one (you
start out with just a knife). Then select either Attack, Defend, Run, or Hide.
The computer tells you how the move turned out for you and your opponent.
Unfortunately, in the early stages of the game, you don't have much in the way
of either weaponry or hit points, so if you're cornered, just about anything you
do seems to end up in death.

 The IBM-PC version of ESCAPE FROM HELL comes on two 5-1/4" floppies that can be
copied onto your hard drive. The game relies on a manual copy-protection scheme,
which in itself tests your skill as you try to match up the colorful demon
onscreen with the tiny little gray image in your "Pocket Guide to Hell."

 Graphics support is provided for CGA, EGA, MCGA/VGA, Hercules, and Tandy
16-color graphics modes.  MCGA and Tandy modes require 640K of RAM; the other
modes only need 512K. MCGA/VGA graphics are richly detailed -- little surprise,
because game co-author Alan Murphy has worked on versions of GAUNTLET and CHUCK
YEAGER'S ADVANCED FLIGHT TRAINER, among others.

 No sound boards are supported, but sounds in Hell seem to be limited to various
tinny effects. The game is played from the keyboard.

 I have to confess that ESCAPE FROM HELL probably would have thrilled the...hell
out of me if so many of the game's aspects of didn't seem very familiar already.
There is still plenty of originality here, and a lot of fun to be had with the
oddball collection of characters and warped social commentary. I mean, who can
resist having Stalin and Attila the Hun for sidekicks? And if you think the post
office on earth is bad, just wait until....

 On the other hand, it's quickly apparent (thanks to the easy and frequent
deaths) that this game requires a major investment of time -- weeks or even more
-- just to get anywhere. But keep an eye out for Seaborne's future efforts. He's
only 21, and I think he's going to get a (ahem) hell of a lot better at this as
he goes along.

 ESCAPE FROM HELL is published and distributed by Electronic Arts.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253