HARLEY-DAVIDSON: THE ROAD TO STURGIS

 Yo, bro! Like, there's a big party goin' down in Sturgis, South Dakota ten days
from now. So hop on yer Harley in Eastport, Maine and head on out, cause it
oughta be a blast!

 That's the basic idea behind HARLEY-DAVIDSON: THE ROAD TO STURGIS, a new game
from Mindscape and Incredible Technologies (the folks who brought us THE THREE
STOOGES), but there's a lot more to it than just simply zooming down a road.
(This review is based on the IBM-PC version of the game.)

 Although the main driving sequences might remind you of the classic POLE
POSITION, HARLEY-DAVIDSON expands on that theme quite nicely. You're allocated
30 points to split between riding, brawling, charisma, wealth, and mechanical
ability. Four skill levels ("How much hair do ya have?") determine the degree of
punishment your bike can take, and how easy the events will be in each town.
Then it's time to rev up your engine, pop a wheelie, and head on out.

 You'll find yourself on a two-lane back-country highway, so watch out for
oncoming traffic. Cops won't hesitate to pull you over for speeding, although
you can try to talk your way out of a ticket. If you don't have enough money to
pay the ticket, you'll wind up in jail. And the highways are filled with litter
and debris: Tires, fenders, mufflers, boulders, and oil slicks all trip you up.
But do stop for those female hitchhikers! Most of them will pay you to take them
to the next town.

 The major limitation here is that the junk on the highway seems exactly the
same between each town. Since the majority of the game is spent on the road,
you'll become either very good at evading debris, or bored with the game.

 You can stop in the towns or blow them off. Each town has a well-stocked bike
shop that sells everything from new engines to tattoos. Play around in the bike
shop a bit the first time. Almost anything you point your screwdriver at is fair
game, which means you can try robbing the cash register. Or...hmmm, what if I
stick my screwdriver in that electric outlet over there? Make some repairs on
your bike, then gas up. Every gas station is staffed by a bikini-clad beauty,
always willing to sell you more than just gas: The price is $20, but if you're
loaded with charisma, sometimes it's free, and sometimes the ladies will even
pay for your gas. (Yes, it's sexist, but it does seem to go with the territory
here.)

 Each town also offers an event; do well at these and you'll make some major
bucks. There's the Slo-Ride, the Drag Race, the Hill Climb, the Poker Run, and
the most fun of all: the Weenie Run! (See, there are these poles with hotdogs
hanging down from them. Your chick stands up on your bike and tries to bite them
as you race down the highway. No, I'm not making this up.) Each night there's a
party, and if the brothers like you, they'll invite you to camp out. Of course,
if you stop in every town and participate in every event, you'll never get to
Sturgis in ten days. On the other hand, if you blow off too many towns, you may
find yourself too exhausted to continue driving. Luckily, there's a save-game
option, so you can stretch out your "ten days" for as long as you like.

 The IBM-PC version comes on two 5-1/4" diskettes, neither of which is copy
protected. (Mindscape uses the standard manual-protection scheme.) "Faster
machines" are recommended -- I played on a 386-20. The game supports CGA, EGA,
and Tandy 16-color graphics modes, but here's where I ran across a problem,
resolved only by a call to Mindscape. Although I have a VGA board, the program
would run solely in CGA mode. It turns out that you need at least 580K of RAM
free in order to display EGA graphics, so flush those TSRs! The CGA graphics are
very rudimentary, but a hindrance only when you're checking your progress on the
map. EGA graphics, while rarely approaching the spectacular, are fine.

 You can play HARLEY-DAVIDSON using the keyboard, a joystick, or a mouse. I used
the mouse, and found it slightly less responsive in EGA than in CGA mode. The
Ad-Lib sound board is supported; for those without it (like me), you'll mostly
hear the simulated roar of your engine, along with a bit of boogie music when
you're in town.

 HARLEY-DAVIDSON: THE ROAD TO STURGIS is moderately challenging at the lowest
skill level, and extremely addictive at all levels. So far, I haven't made it to
Sturgis in less than 14 days. But I hear there's another party in ten days, so
I'm gonna blow off this joint and hit the road.

 HARLEY-DAVIDSON: THE ROAD TO STURGIS is published and distributed by Mindscape.

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