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THE COLONY Every once in a while, you come across a game that defies categorization. A friend asks you for a thumbnail sketch and you say, well, it's like an adventure game, but there's also some role-playing, and it handles like a.... You get the idea. Such is the case with THE COLONY (reviewed here on the Macintosh; IBM version notes follow). In THE COLONY, you are a space marshal who's been sent to investigate a communications blackout with the Delta 5-5 settler colony. Seems simple enough: It's not as though mankind has encountered hostile alien races or anything like that...until now. If you've played ARCTIC FOX or the old arcade game BATTLEZONE, you'll find THE COLONY's playing environment very familiar. This is not a typical graphic adventure in which you see only discrete, pre-drawn scenes. As you move, the program changes the onscreen graphics to give the impression of movement (similar to a flight simulator). Using either a mouse or keyboard, you navigate through a linear 3-D landscape in order to locate the lost colonists or at least learn why they haven't responded. Graphics are displayed in a linear fashion to allow for quick redraw; movements feature spiffy sound effects. After donning battle armor, you can shoot your way through your opponents. Aiming and firing can also be controlled either from the mouse or the keyboard. Aside from firing and movement, the game allows for only minimal interaction with your environment. You cannot enter commands like "examine" or "hit" as you can in other games, and there are few options from the menu bar. The one exception to this is when you step up to an object of interest: The graphics then change from linear 3-D to "painted" 2-D. An example of this is a desk with a computer on it. You move up to the desk in 3-D mode and the scene shifts to 2-D. By clicking on the screen of the computer, you can read what it says; by clicking on the drawers, you can open them and look inside. You still cannot use or pick up objects by entering commands. However, if for example you want to use a pair of scissors to open an envelope, simply drag the scissor-image across the envelope and it will open. The main purpose of these 2-D shifts is to give information to the player that would be unavailable in the limited 3-D mode. There are several frustrating aspects to THE COLONY. For instance, when you are "terminated" (and believe me, you will be) the game offers no cause of death. As a result, you usually have no clue as to why you died or what to do about it. Additionally, during the arcade sequences I found the flow of graphics too jerky. The action elements are interesting, but imperfectly presented. The game's copy protection consists of a decoder that permits you to deciph certain symbols. The decoder must be used at various points in the game (e.g., to open an airlock), as well as to begin a saved game. Frankly, consulting a decoder every time I want to play a saved game is a hassle I can do without. Novice players as well as standard adventure and arcade fans may be frustrated by this game, which combines elements of both genres, but ends up as neither. However, THE COLONY is one of the more revolutionary games available for the Macintosh, and if you're looking for a new gaming experience, I certainly do recommend it. THE COLONY requires a Mac 512K to run, and needs 1 megabyte of RAM and a hard drive for full use of the sounds file. IBM VERSION NOTES THE COLONY is an extraordinary game that demands the utmost from both player and computer. It requires patience and practice to learn the simple yet unfamiliar interface. And no matter how fast your IBM or compatible is, you'll probably wish it were faster. The artful use of spot color, the stylized graphics, and the wide variety of resolution options make the game look impressive, often at the expense of speed. For starters, you'll need an IBM-PC or 100% compatible. There are no specific references to Tandy computers in the manual or in the program's list of display options. Therefore, Tandy owners should ensure that the program is compatible with their model _before_ purchasing, or should buy with the understanding that the program may be returned if it proves unusable. The minimum memory requirement is 640K for all machines. The label says, "Faster machines strongly recommended," and I underscore that advice. I tested THE COLONY at 26 MHz, and I still could have used more speed. Selecting a less-detailed display yielded much smoother, quicker animation, but it left me with the feeling that I was missing out on some of the nicer details. The graphic displays are as follows: AT&T/Compaq 640x400 monochrome, CGA 320x200 4-color, EGA 640x350 gray scale, EGA 320x200 16-color, EGA 640x350 16-color, MCGA 640x480 monochrome, MCGA 640x350 monochrome, and Hercules 720x348 monochrome. Strange: The CGA mode requires more memory than the EGA modes. I had to disable my mouse driver in order to free up enough memory to run the game in CGA. Color in the different EGA modes is wonderful, but is used to highlight only the special features of each room. With the "polygon fill" feature, the vector graphics -- the skeletal style of arcade games like BATTLEZONE and TEMPEST -- become solid and infinitely more colorful and interesting. The major problem is that the polygon fill cripples the speed and fluidity of the animation. Running the game at a coarser resolution and with fewer colors eases the problem somewhat. But at 26 MHz, 640x350 with 16 colors and the fill on, COLONY was marginally playable; thus, I cannot imagine a slower machine being able to use that combination at all. A resolution of 320x200 in 16 colors (with the fill) was more pleasing than 640x350 without fill. The graphics modes are not changeable from inside the game, but they can be forced with command line parameters when you boot the program. Mouse, joystick, and keyboard interfaces are all supported. The mouse and joystick are by far superior to the slightly odd keyboard arrangement. I found the mouse preferable to the joystick. The game is easily installable on a hard drive; indeed, a hard drive will make playing the game easier and quicker -- there are a lot of disk accesses. The laudably comprehensive IBM reference manual offers full installation instructions. There are numerous function key and other key commands, all of which are clearly documented in the manual and available on-screen as well. I highly recommend THE COLONY, with two qualifications: First, you should have a more powerful system -- a 286 or 386 equipped as described above. And second, you should enjoy lots of mapping and clue-gathering in a highly unusual and compelling science-fiction atmosphere. THE COLONY is published and distributed by Mindscape, Inc.