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KUOVADIS

                     (Ex-ter-min-ate! Ex-ter-min-ate!)

Grecian  2000  Atari funsters KUA haven't been too  inactive  lately.  After
their  Maggie  intro and Sierpinski 4k intro for the SV2000 party,  this  is
their latest small but perfectly formed entree to the Atari scene.

Kuo Vadis isn't any sort of demo or intro,  and it certainly doesn't feature
any Sierpinski fractals. Instead, in this amusement-starved start to the new
millenium, it is that most welcome of sights, a new game.

KUA  have kept it simple and sweet for this first release.  Kuo Vadis is  an
adaptation or knock-off of the timeless classic 'Daleks'.  Those people with
long  memories and large PD collections may well remember the ST version  of
this game. This took a fairly literal approach to the subject matter, Daleks
were depicted as such,  within the limitations of the graphical format,  and
the  player  was adopting the persona of Dr Who to defeat them.  (Tom  Baker
era, I think, floppy hat and very long scarf both optional!)

The  aim of Kuo/Daleks is very simple.  Dodge the waves of oncoming  daleks,
make  them  bump into each other,  or the aftermath of previous  collisions,
with  your sly and adept sidestepping.  Teleport to a random location on the
screen,  when  the  daleks get suffocatingly close,  repeat until all daleks
have self-immolated, and the next, even denser wave is onscreen.

For  a  universally feared so-called master race.  The daleks really are  an
incredibly  stupid  machine  intelligence.  They are drawn en-masse  to  the
figure  of  the doctor/player,  not seeing or caring to take note  of  their
fellow  daleks  getting  ever close to each other.  This phenomonen  can  be
witnessed in the ancient Earth ritual known as "rush hour"!

Playing Kuo is deceptively simple,  the daleks move only when you move,  and
most  of  the time,  a quick teleport is sufficient to get you away  from  a
tight corner.  This does induce a state of complacency, so the daleks do get
you  in the end,  when you momentarily forget to spot how close they are  to
you.  One  correspondent in the Dead Hackers bulletin board remarked on  the
absence of a 'sonic screwdriver' option from the original ST version of  the
game.  I seem to remember (vaguely and badly) that version of the game being
more  tightly turn-based with a worse teleport?  Kuo Vadis seems to be  more
generous  in  allowing the doctor/player to escape,  and seems to be  faster
flowing  generally (or was that down to the fact I was running on an  Falcon
'030?)

The presentation has been revamped a little bit for the opening year of  the
new  millenium.  Gone  are late eighties GEM-ish graphics,  here instead,  is
something that looks, well, not so out of place on an 8-bit machine...

This  isn't  a damning comment by me though,  as it is an 8-bit  style  DONE
WELL!  A  smart  pseudo-menu bar system forms the crucial title and  attract
sequences,  and  is  the framework to the game itself.  The ingame  graphics
themselves,  are  functional,  very  close  to that 8-bit or  early  console
heritage I mentioned earlier. However, they do the job just fine. There is a
modfile soundtrack for the title screen, a jaunty folky tune, again, not out
of  character with the game.  The separate parts of Kuo Vadis come  together
pretty  well to make the game as a whole hang together successfully.  Little
touches  like  the  attract sequence suggest that  there  is  an  underlying
professionalism to KUA, which we will surely see more of in future releases.

Kuo  Vadis  was written for the STe,  runs on the Falcon,  almost runs on  a
Falcon on CT2 mode,  but it is not really recommended to do that.  The music
tends to go 'missing' on the Falcon,  but that doesn't detract from the main
point of the game.

Anyway,  to  conclude,  Kuo  Vadis is a good interpretation of a classic and
timeless game. We look forward to more releases from KUA soon.

Ratings..

Graphics:- 60% - Intriguing combination of basic, almost VCS console styled
ingame graphics, and smart title and endgame presentation.

Sound:- 70% - Good choice of title music, otherwise not a lot of sound.

Playability:- 80% - Smooth, timeless, slightly addictive.

Overall:- 75% - Simple but fun!

  CiH - Sept 2000


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