WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?

 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? (from Buena Vista Software) is one dynamite-looking
arcade game. The animation and artistic detail are unmatched, as is the
cleverness of the overall concept. Unfortunately, the game falls flat somewhere
between the idea and the execution, and the brilliantly animated graphics don't
compensate for the program's disappointing aspects. This review is based on the
IBM-PC version of the game.

 As in the film of the same name, the goal in ROGER RABBIT is to save Toontown,
home of the Toons (cartoon characters), from destruction by the wicked Judge
Doom. However, it's Roger Rabbit -- not detective Eddie Valiant, as in the film
-- who must come to the rescue. Along the way, Roger must complete four tasks in
order to effect the rescue. First, with his pal Benny the Cab, he must travel
from the studios of Maroon Cartoons to the Ink & Paint Club. This requires
dodging treacherous puddles of Dip (which, for those who didn't see the movie,
is the liquid that can dissolve Toons). Once at the Ink & Paint Club, he
searches frantically for Marvin Acme's will among the dozens of cocktail napkins
the penguin waiters are constantly placing on the tables. Then it's back on the
streets with Benny, racing from the Club to the Acme Gag Warehouse for the final
showdown.

 The two street scenes are fairly straightforward racing games. The screen
scrolls from right to left as Roger (in Benny) heads toward either the Ink &
Paint Club or, later on, to the Gag Warehouse. There are two lanes for Roger to
drive in; alternatively, he can take the slowest and safest route: on the tops
of buildings. In addition to avoiding the puddles of Dip, which take away one of
Roger's fives lives, Roger must dodge collisions with other cars. Collisions
don't take away any of Roger's lives, but they do slow him down considerably.
Time is of the essence, as you learn in the Gag warehouse. There are also
helpful items, hung outside the passing stores: wheels to give a burst of speed,
diamonds to replace lost lives, and boots to temporarily make Roger impervious
to Dip.

 At the Ink & Paint Club, there are seven tables and a magpie band. A gorilla
bouncer patrols the area, pacing back and forth along the bottom of the screen.
Roger runs circles around the tables, trying to avoid the gorilla while picking
up as many napkins as he can. He has until the music stops to pick up _every_
paper; meanwhile, the penguin waiters are setting more papers down by the
second. Running into the gorilla results in loss of a life, and picking up a
drink by accident stimulates one of Roger's famous conniption fits. Even one
drink will slow him down too much to complete his task. If he fails to pick up
all the papers, he can still go on to the next portion...but at the price of
another life.

 The final segment is the showdown at the Gag factory. Here is another set of
scrolling screens and several very tough tasks. Roger must dispense with the
armed Weasels by causing them laugh themselves to death. To accomplish this,
Roger uses the stacks of boxed gags all over the factory while avoiding (you
guessed it!) puddles of Dip. Roger again makes use of gags to get to Judge Doom
in time to stop his Dip machine and rescue Jessica (Roger's wife) from Doom's
clutches. Time is limited, as shown by a pictograph along the base of the
screen.

 Roger and the world around him are extraordinarily animated. During the Benny
scenes, the car bounces merrily along with Roger's ears flapping in the breeze;
you can even see the hubcaps spinning. Roger's reaction when he accidentally
grabs a drink in the Ink & Paint Club is hilarious, and he wiggles frantically
as the bouncer tosses him into the alley. The gags in the warehouse are varied
and delightful. From the folds in the map of Hollywood to the brick walls in the
opening scenes, it's clear that master cartoonists were at work here.

 Yet the game bogs down. The driving sequences are not particularly interesting
or difficult, and you must spend a lot of time driving from place to place. The
Ink & Paint Club puzzle is very difficult and tedious. The penguins replace the
papers almost as fast as you can pick them up, and you do little but run around
in circles over and over, taking four steps backward for every five steps
forward. The warehouse is the most interesting of all the puzzles (and just a
bit harder than the Ink & Paint Club problem); it requires some mapping and a
lot of experimentation. Unfortunately, you must wade through a lot of driving
and running in order to get there...and since there's no way to save a game in
progress, forget about concentrating on that particular segment.

 These problems are exacerbated by the documentation. There is only the barest
minimum of instruction for each of the three scenes, and in some cases it's
totally inadequate or downright misleading. For example, the instructions tell
you to "slow down" the weasels with the gags. That's not the point, though: The
point is to _kill_ the weasels with the gags. Similarly, you're told you can
rise above the cars with Benny's accordion suspension. Not true; you can
activate the suspension, but that won't help. You have to activate it _twice in
rapid succession_ in order to _jump_ over cars. I realize that the designers may
have had this sort of discovery in mind as part of the challenge, but I didn't
appreciate it. Also undocumented were the music toggle and a way to exit a game
in progress.

 One improvement made since the documentation was printed was the removal of
on-disk copy protection. Although the READ.ME file on the disk explains that the
original Disk 1 must be kept in the drive as a key disk, this scheme was
rejected in favor of a document check. The document -- a wonderful catalog for
Acme Gags -- is delightful reading in itself. And thankfully, there's only one
document check in any game session, no matter how many games you play during
that session.

 I found the CGA version of the game to be nearly unplayable. However, the EGA
upgrade was free by mail from Buena Vista Software, and was well worth the
stamp. The differences between the two version are significant: The EGA version
provides the brilliant colors and shadings that make this game notable; you'd
never guess the palette was a mere 16 colors. Be sure to check your package for
a sticker announcing the free EGA upgrade.

 Both 5-1/4" and 3-1/2" disk formats are included in the box; 512K RAM is
required to run the game. You'll need an IBM PC/XT/AT, PS/2, 100% compatible,
and a CGA. The EGA version will work with a VGA, but will display only the EGA
graphics set.

 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? is a graphics showpiece, the kind of game you boot up
to impress your friends. Additionally, diehard arcade gamers and clever kids may
wring a lot of enjoyment out of it. But you may find, as I did, that ROGER
RABBIT is ultimately too repetitious and frustrating.

 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? is published and distributed by Buena Vista Software.

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