IT CAME FROM THE DESERT

 This is one of the best programs Cinemaware has ever released; they've come
closer to creating an interactive movie than ever before, and managed to
successfully integrate three different genres of computer gaming in one package.
If it were only a movie, IT CAME FROM THE DESERT would be a pleasure to watch;
the fact that it's a game is all the more thrilling. (This review is based on
the Amiga version.)

 I don't make the movie comparison lightly: ICFTD models itself quite
successfully on the genre of the '50s sci-fi "B" movie. The cast of characters
in the game even exceeds that of the typical film in this genre, and the
eventual appearance of monstrosities (results of excessive radiation) is as
exciting and suspenseful as you could wish. The atmosphere, plot,
characterization, dialogue, and situation fulfill every expectation for those of
us who grew up watching these movies as cherished late-night TV treats.

 The characters you'll meet include the young scientist (that's you, starring in
the lead role) on the prowl for information about the desert town's recent
sightings of the odd: the older scientist and mentor, who leads the younger into
trouble; the town reporter, with his hands in some unsavory business you might
not want to learn too much about; the young woman at the radio station, with
whom you might fall in love if you can save the town; and the geezer from olden
days, whose folksy wisdom is combined with acute observation of the unusual.
There are many, many more characters; listing all of them would require most of
the space of this review!

 Your range of interactions with the characters varies, depending on your
situation and the character. One of the first things you'll notice is that the
game is rich in "branchings." In other words, each moment in the game provides a
number of choices; depending on your decisions, the development of the story,
the timing of events, and the possibility of achieving certain goals change
significantly. It's possible, for instance, to play ICFTD mainly for its arcade
sequences: You can move rather rapidly from one arcade-style challenge to the
next, with little in between. However, it's also possible to play so that
dialogue, character interaction, and exploration are the primary focus of your
game; it all depends on the choices you make. This kind of flexibility is what
makes the game so dynamic, and so unique in its design. Its non-linear structure
is immediately apparent and instantly intriguing.

 ICFTD takes place in real time, as well; you have to plan to do certain things
by certain points in each day, and you have to communicate the reality of the
threat to the town's mayor by a certain date in order to insure success in the
final showdown. (You do this by collecting various types of evidence of the
ants' presence). In certain locations, you can make calls to a number of places
and characters, and arrange meetings elsewhere in the town at various points
during the day. Getting to those meetings on time involves calculating how long
it will take to go from place to place. On the overhead map, you can figure out
your Estimated Time of Arrival for each location. You also have to sleep, or
you'll suffer the effects of excessive fatigue; and when you sleep, you may
dream.

 You ultimately must also master ICFTD's seven different arcade games; each
offers a nice challenge, but none is infuriatingly difficult. I found myself
playing chicken, dealing with giant ants, escaping the hospital (the best arcade
sequence), flying the plane (the most fun sequence), winning knife-fights,
extinguishing fires, and invading the nest, all with great aplomb after some
effort and analysis of each situation. None of the arcade games would compete
well on their own with, say, a typical Psygnosis release, but each works well,
and serves its purpose.

 Along with the adventure and arcade aspects of ICFTD comes a full-blown
strategic game, which is initiated in the final showdown between the town and
the ants. As in many war and strategy games, you're given a number of resources
to allocate (here for the defense of the town against the ants), and you may
also choose to participate in one of the many battles you'll have to set up;
that battle then becomes an arcade game within the strategic game. Again, the
strategy is no REACH FOR THE STARS, but works quite well as a sub-game within
the larger context.

 It goes without saying that the graphics and sound are both stunning; the music
is designed to be context-sensitive, so each of the pieces reflects the nature
of the surrounding situation. The music playing at KBUG radio (country and
western) is also heard at the saloon, for instance. Moody sci-fi movie-style
music plays while you're in the Overhead Map portion of the game; jazzy "West
Side Story" music plays during the knife-fights. The sound effects are
startlingly vivid and effective, as well. You'll be hearing the sound these ants
make in your _own_ dreams for days after playing the game!

 There is comparatively little complex animation in ICFTD, but each of the
drawings is animated quite effectively, and the ants in particular are amazingly
smooth, considering their size on-screen. More important (to me) is that the
drawings are obviously the work of truly professional artists who can get
proportions, facial detail, and animation of facial expressions _right_. Each
"shot" is thoroughly conceived and executed, and there are lots of nice details,
including dark skies outside the window at night, winks from the hospital nurse,
and carefully designed backgrounds in the outdoor scenes.

 This is clearly _not_ a "walk your little person from scene to scene" type of
game; instead, you move by indicating where you want to go in the overhead map,
and interact through a series of cleverly constructed dialog boxes. ICFTD has a
very different feel from either the graphics or the text-oriented adventures
we're so used to playing, and I think it works quite effectively.

 The game comes on three copyable disks, and can be installed easily on a hard
drive. It will run on the A1000, A500, and A2000. You can play it from just one
floppy drive, but it's recommended that you use a second drive if you can;
although the disk swaps are nicely planned, they _do_ get old pretty quickly.
With disks 2 and 3 in drives DF0: and DF1:, there's no swapping to worry about
except when saving a game. Only one save can be placed on the save disk at a
time, so if you want a bunch of saves, you'll have to use a whole box of
floppies. ICFTD also requires one megabyte of RAM to play, and is controlled
entirely with a joystick (though you click on the left button of the mouse to
pause).

 Complaints? Well, you tend to end up in the hospital a lot, and the hospital
escape game -- while one of the most detailed and extensive -- is so difficult
that it often seems easier to just Accept Treatment and let come what may,
rather than struggle to escape from the nurses, orderlies, and guards. (Hint:
Keep an eye open for wheelchairs.) And, if you happen upon some ants while
exploring certain parts of the game, you're going to have to hope for the best,
since they just keep on coming and coming, no matter how successfully you might
fend them off. But these are really minor quibbles; I think IT CAME FROM THE
DESERT sets the standard for a whole new type of game. I am very much looking
forward to the sequel (which you can order for $14.95 if you've bought the
original program). All in all, this is one of the best games ever for the Amiga.

 IT CAME FROM THE DESERT is published by Cinemaware and distributed by
Electronic Arts.

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