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GUNBOAT Straddling the categories of simulation, tactical, and arcade game, Accolade's GUNBOAT proves a pretty interesting mesh of these three genres. Combine that with an original design incorporating both solid-fill 3-D animation with bit-mapped imaging (one of the first pieces of software to use this technique in ways that are quite different from those found in Origin's WING COMMANDER), and you have a ground-breaking game on the technical front. (This review is based on the Amiga version.) Released a year ago for the IBM, GUNBOAT builds upon Tom Loughry's design of STEEL THUNDER to provide an interesting simulation of a Navy PBR (Patrol Boat, River). The details provided in crewing the boat make for a varied experience once familiar with the system, and the three included scenarios are absorbing. Separate piloting and gunnery stations on the boat will leave your hands full once you get into the thick of things, and the included maps as well as control of things like guns, spotlights, boat jets, and crew command keys help flesh out the simulation. I have inadequate experience with the real thing to confirm or deny the claims, but the manual indicates that GUNBOAT is "accurately modeled after the actual stations on the PBR Mark III boats currently in use by the U.S. Navy." As the captain of your boat, you get a chance to engage in both the piloting and gunnery aspects of the simulation. Piloting involves checking views, radar, fuel, and rpm gauges, and searching for targets through careful maneuvering of the PBR along the river in one of the three scenarios included (Vietnam, Panama, and Colombia). From the pilot's station, you can maneuver the boat using the joystick (forward and back control speed, side-to-side control the water jets for turning). Radar can be turned on and off, to help find targets. Gunners can all be commanded simultaneously to open fire or cease fire on any identified targets (the computer then essentially runs the gunners, and will continue to fire until a command to cease fire is initiated. They will only fire at enemy targets while visible, however, thus avoiding needless waste of ammo). You can switch out of the piloting role at any time, and man any one of three gunner's stations as well. Each station has different capabilities, and the PBR in total has five different kinds of weaponry, from .50 cal heavy machine guns to 60mm mortar launchers. All except the mortar launcher can be automated; the latter must be manned by the player to be useful. Different gunners can take hits while you're away from their stations, and loss of a gunner locks you out of being able to use his station. Gunners can also use spotlights to reveal targets (simultaneously revealing the gunboat's location to enemy targets within visible range as well). Guns all have to be aimed before firing when in manual mode, making for real challenge when it comes to targeting. From the gunner's station, you can ask the pilot to perform turns, to speed up or slow down, or even to reverse course. In other words, the piloting of the boat becomes automated while you're concentrating on shooting, and vice versa. Each scenario features at least nine different types of targets, including non-combat items like trees and water buffalo, which makes for further variety in play. Graphics and sound are both fully adequate to the style of representation Accolade has gone for here. The out-the-boat river and shoreline is all done in 3-D solid-fill animation, but both boat stations and targets are done entirely in 2-D bitmaps. This makes for an interesting combination of elements that's nowhere near as exciting as the wrapping of bit-mapped images _around_ solid-fill 3-D modeling, but is certainly an improvement on the entirely two-dimensional bit-mapped designs of Accolade's earlier simulations (such as GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT or THE CYCLES). The game comes with a number of accessible views, both from within the boat and outside of it. A view map is always available, which does a nice job of plotting the boat's location within the scenario, thus helping you identify the locations of various targets for future reference. It's also very useful when you start to feel lost. Frequent accesses of the map view also help to contextualize the simulation effectively. A chase boat view is included, which makes for a more arcade-ish gaming experience. Mission assignments are always given at the start of play, but are available at any time during the mission for review as well. Finally, a damage screen is accessible with a single keystroke, to give you a sense of how well you're doing. As with all such simulations, a certain amount of time can be spent just getting from one place to another. The designers have provided a very useful time compression command to prevent the boredom of rolling down the river with nothing to do (the AI speeds up along with the rest of the simulation, though, so this can bring targets down on your boat long before you're ready for them. Careful use of TC is advised). The nicest thing about GUNBOAT is that it's complex enough to require some real tactical thinking during play. Running the boat fast is running it noisy, so learning how to sprint and drift, in order to gain best awareness of the presence of targets without being spotted, is the first order of the day. Aiming a gun from a moving boat can be really tricky; combining boat maneuvers with careful aiming becomes a real art, as the boat will pitch and roll when moving, thus throwing one's aim off. Targets aren't always stationary, either, so learning how to lead one's target becomes another important skill. GUNBOAT comes on two copyable disks, and is playable on Amiga 1000s, 500s, 2000s, or 2500s. It requires one megabyte of RAM minimum to work, and can be run from the keyboard or by combining joystick use for maneuvering with keyboard use for issuing other kinds of commands. The game is hard-drive installable, and comes with a complete instruction card outlining all installation procedures in careful detail. A codewheel is used for copy- protection. All in all, GUNBOAT is a fascinating, original simulation with real depth. Many aspects of the STEEL THUNDER design have been improved upon here, and while GUNBOAT may not function visually in the same way that most air combat simulations do, the visual design is nevertheless just perfect for this kind of game. The combination of bit-mapped and solid-fill graphics used here prevents GUNBOAT from slowing down, and allows for all the necessary detail both on the boat and on-shore. The modeling of the boat and its environs is sophisticated enough to allow the imagination room for play. And finally, the range of included mission assignments in three different theatres of operation insures variety and replayability. If you want a break from air combat, but still prefer simulation-style fun above all else, GUNBOAT is for you. GUNBOAT is published and distributed by Accolade.