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PROJECT FIRESTART PROJECT FIRESTART is a science-fiction action adventure from Dynamix and Electronic Arts. It offers cinematic graphics, fine animation and gameplay, simple joystick control, and a save option. The Commodore 64/128 version is the basis of this review. Like many graphic adventures released these days, PROJECT FIRESTART owes much to the movies. The game has a cinematic structure and uses film devices: zooms, close-ups, fades, special effects, and a musical score. FIRESTART breaks no new ground -- in storyline, visual appearance, or interface -- but it certainly is a blast to play. Although I shuddered for weeks after playing the previous Dynamix/EA release (CAVEMAN UGH-LYMPICS), I feel comfortable reporting that Dynamix is back on the right track. The plot of FIRESTART concerns a genetic experiment gone horribly awry. Funded by the System Science Foundation, PROJECT FIRESTART began aboard the research ship "Prometheus." Its goal was to produce strong laborers to mine titanium and iridium deposits on moons and asteroids. Something went wrong, and the genetically engineered laborers mutated into flesh-eating horrors. The "Prometheus" no longer responds. Your mission is to enter the ship, search its four levels, find out what happened, set the destruct mechanism, then leave. The "Prometheus" is a maze of hallways, doors, rooms, scientific equipment, and elevators. You'll have to access computer terminals, watch "vidtapes," find security passes, avoid radiation leaks, and kill the mutations. The mutations are a sneaky bunch; they seem to come out of the grillwork. You begin with a pulse laser, but it doesn't last all that long, and the mutations are tough to kill. You'll have to replenish your weapon periodically, as well as repair the damage the creatures wreak on your health level. To make matters worse, there's a time limit: If you haven't completed your mission and escaped within this limit, the United System States will destroy the ship for you, which means you're expendable. What's more, there are survivors, one of whom rests in cryogenic sleep. The C64 screen display consists of single scenes aboard the "Prometheus." As you go through a door, take an elevator to another level, or move to the end of an onscreen hallway, a new scene loads from disk. The wait is short and adds to the general tension. FIRESTART is controlled with a joystick and four keystrokes. The stick moves your character in the cardinal directions, and the joystick's button fires the pulse laser. Approaching a door, a computer, or a piece of shipboard equipment prints a message at the bottom of the screen. Pressing the button selects the current choice and reveals the second option. The letter "P" toggles the Pause feature; "I" tells you which weapons you're carrying and their power levels; "C" lets you change weapons; and "D" brings up the Disk Command menu: Format, Save, Load, and Restart. The PROJECT FIRESTART package comes with two double-sided disks and a Command Summary Card. The Card has maps of all four levels on the "Prometheus." A full instruction manual is unnecessary because the controls are simple and the story unfolds onscreen. The graphic displays look very good on the Commodore. The animations of the characters and the mutations are nicely done, and all screen action flows smoothly. The film devices are effective maybe two or three times. The first time around, some of the sudden close-ups (accompanied by appropriate music) are startling. The joystick and the four keystrokes make the game a snap to play, even though the mission is not a snap to complete. PROJECT FIRESTART is a nifty game, filled with gore and tension. The time limit is bad enough, but with much of the "Prometheus" deserted, the tension lever rises even higher. The mutations emerge arbitrarily from here and there; sometimes it seems they have been waiting for you. It takes at least four shots from the pulse laser to kill one, and your health level drops even if they aren't chewing on your flesh. Many of the areas of the "Prometheus" are filled with dead bodies, which you'll have to search. Blood is all over the place. An opening "mini-film" sets the stage and gives pertinent information about your mission. Dynamix, which hit rock bottom with CAVEMAN UGH-LYMPICS, has more than redeemed itself with FIRESTART; in fact, I've even forgotten about the Mate Toss event. FIRESTART is nerve-wracking fun. It looks, sounds, and plays wonderfully, and it definitely deserves your attention. PROJECT FIRESTART is published by Dynamix and distributed by Electronic Arts.