Nuclear Waste
Dump
by
Paradize
Nuclear Waste Dump (NWD) is the first of the three Atari games
by the highly prolific Paradize team to be reviewed in this
issue of RGCD, and it has to be said that it's one of their best
productions yet. Written for the 1MB Atari STFM/STE (or
Falcon), NWD is a high quality arcade-puzzler based on a game
for the Atari 8-Bit range of computers listed originally as a
Basic type-in program in Antic magazine (back in 1986).
The premise of the game is simple - you have to stack barrels of
nuclear waste in a pit whilst avoiding placing waste of the same
type adjacent to or on top of each other. The barrels are
randomly selected (from a choice of four) and given to the
player, who then has a strict time limit in which to place the
waste in a safe place. If you accidentally let two barrels of
the same type sit next to each other then - !BOOM! - nuclear
meltdown ensues and it's game over.
As well as giving the game a much needed update, Paradize have
also added some new game-play elements; in their version of NWD
there are three new types of barrel added to the mix to assist
you with your waste dumping duties. There are special Freezer
barrels (yellow) that when dropped will neutralise adjacent
barrels (making them safe to stack on or next to), as well as
potentially lethal TNT barrels (red) that can be placed
anywhere, but detonate when another barrel is dropped on it.
When detonated, the TNT barrels destroy all the waste barrels
surrounding them, and any waste stacked above will fall down to
the barrels at the bottom of the pit, potentially causing the
whole dump to explode - so as in real life, it's best to be
careful when handling TNT. Finally, the last type of special
barrel is the 'Weight' (grey with no symbol), a heavy barrel
that crushes anything it lands on (right down to the pit's
surface), making it a very useful tool for removing tall stacks
of waste.
In essence NWD is quite simple, but difficult to master. The
time limit given to the player (in which to place barrels
safely) soon becomes very short and it's easy to make mistakes.
However, the game is always fair, resulting in player
frustration being short-lived and the gameplay itself becomes
quite addictive.
Onto the more technical aspects of the game, the graphics are
well presented (albeit a little grey for my taste) and the in-
game chip music and sound effects are spot on. The game
supports the use of keyboard, joystick and Jagpad (emulated or
otherwise), and instructions are given in-game (accessed by
pressing 'i' from the intro screen) clearly illustrating the
different types of waste and special barrel.
Paradize get top marks for *still* supporting the Atari ST(E)
platform, and if NWD was released back in the early 90's it
would have made a real impact on the PD and shareware scene. It
doesn't push the capabilities of the machine, but it is a well-
presented, balanced, and most importantly -fun- release. NWD is
not quite as good as last year's 'Pooz' (Paradize's awesome Zoop
clone), but it's one of the team's strongest releases so far.
Graphics 80
Sound 87
Game Concept 80
Gameplay 86
Lasting Appeal 82
Overall 83
J. Monkman for Alive, 2006-12-20
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