GATE review
By Wayne Short
Copyright (c) 1992 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
The Apple IIGS has the capability to showcase the best of what games programmers can offer. Although 'FTA' is no longer producing dazzling displays of animation, 'GATE' is an offering from Bright Software that keeps the French Connection flying high. Gate blends elements from an arcade game along with puzzle solving and strategies in a Ultima style fantasy.
The game is supplied on two 3.5 inch disks which while not copy-protected are not standard PRODOS either. This means that although you can copy the disks for backup purposes you cannot install or play the game from your hard drive. A small manual provides details on how to play.
After booting from your 3.5 inch drive, you are given the choice of configuring the game for play. You must select whether you wish to play the game with French or English Titles or navigate via a joystick or keyboard. Unfortunately you are required to do this each time you restart the game as well. This is a nuisance. The Joystick control is recommended as it is superior to that of the keyboard. The game also has a control panel which controls the sound, input device, and the loading and saving of games.
The game screen is divided into five sections. At the top is information about your progress. This area includes your score, the level of the maze you are currently in, and how much gold you have collected. Your score increases by destroying the guards or monsters you encounter. This also occurs by collecting certain objects.
The bottom area of the screen contains a meter that reflects your character's health. If you touch guards or monsters or step on certain shaded squares your lifeline decreases. Finding food and spending gold in magic shops allows you to improve your health. When the health meter reaches zero, the game is over.
The largest window shows on overhead view of the current level of the maze and your character in the centre. The maze scrolls smoothly in the direction of character movement.
The upper right section of the screen shows picture of your character. His appearance changes as you upgrade your armour. His facial expressions and body movements change throughout the game, but have no relation to your actual position. This area could have been put to better use.
The lower right section of the screen contains the statistics on your character possessions.
These are:
* Maximum number of items of that you can carry
* Number of Red keys you possess
* Yellow Keys you possess
* Lightning Bolts you possess
Red and Yellow keys can be found in the maze, but you must have the correct colour key to open the each door.
In the beginning you are a warrior who has been taken prisoner by Darg, the Firemaster, who is spreading terror in the land Divesia. The ultimate goal of
your mission is to find Darg in the Fire plain and defeat him to restore peace to Divesia.
Your immediate goal is to escape from Darg's castle. Each level of the initial maze is unique and several have puzzles that must be solved in order to progress to the next level. Once you leave the castle you enter the land of Divesia itself and must defeat many more enemies.
You are provided with limited weapons and leather armour when you start the game. You will discover gold coins which will allow you to purchase improved weapons and armour. On some levels there are magic shops at which you can purchase additional, weapons, armour, health, keys. In the early part of the game, you will be spending most of your gold on 'Perfect Health' for your character.
Your character may dig holes that may reveal gold, new objects and important information. Pressing the clear key on the numeric key-pad causes you character to dig in each square he steps in. Teleporters are important for navigation in this game. Their use allows your character to move between various levels of the dungeons and some apparently inaccessible sections of Divesia.
At various points in the game you will encounter characters that require you to answer questions using information picked up elsewhere in the game. When answered correctly, a pathway is opened to an otherwise inaccessible part of the maze. To ensure success you must keep written records of any piece of information that becomes available.
Gamers with a single 3.5 inch drive will be frustrated by the number of disk swaps necessary recovering a previously saved game. After your character dies, the game requests a second disk to record your score, the first disk to reload the game, and the you must insert your save disk to get the game up and running! You may save only one game on each disk and I found that I was using several save disks to maximize my enjoyment. You will also find it worth saving frequently on the early levels of the game until your character is strong.
I also encountered a problem if the second game disk was write-protected. Rather than eject the disk, the drive spun endlessly and forced me to reboot.
Despite these problems, 'GATE' is a worthwhile addition to your games library if like games in the ULTIMA genre.
It is available in Australia from Two Series Software.
Game : GATE
Written by: BRIGHT SOFTWARE
Publisher : SEVEN HILLS SOFTWARE
Hardware : Apple IIGS, 1 Megabyte of Ram
Stereo cards supported
No copy protection
Distributor : Two Series Software
phone (02) 606-9343
Price $30 AUD

THIS CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2007, APPLE MACINTOSH USERS' GROUP, SYDNEY
Permission has been obtained to make this material available on the Internet.

Permission is hereby granted for non-profit user groups to republish this content.
PLEASE CREDIT THE AUTHOR AND THE SOURCE: Applecations, publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia

THIS PAGE COPYRIGHT © 2007, ANDREW ROUGHAN