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Actually, we're talking about twogames here: Mad Dog I and Mad DogII. The difference in the "grades" onthe report card has to do more with theprogramming limitations of theExtended BASIC cartridge and thepower of the Mini-Memory cartridgethan it does with the game itself. Bothversions exploit the capabilities of thecomputer. To avoid confusion, thisreview will start with Mad Dog I. ==Performance: == Mad Dog I takesplace on a scrolling highway. Theplayer controls a car either by keyboardor joystick input. Appearingrandomly on the highway are elusivemutant spiders which the driver mustrun over to score points. New onesappear almost as quickly as the oldones are mashed. To make thingsmore interesting, a large truck cruisesthe highway. Hit the truck and thegame is over. There are thfee three levels ofplay- and at each level the roadwaybecomes narrower. Also, there is atime limit on each level, whichincreases the challenge. For an Extended BASIC game, Mad-Dog I has excellent sprite coincidencedetection. Control of the car is a bitloose, with the car tending to move abit further laterally than you thought itwould. But you can adjust to thisrather quickly. Although keyboardinput allows you to move the car inonly four directions, the joystickoption allows eight. However, I foundgreat difficulty in getting this kind offlexible movement out of the TI joysticks.Using a Wico stick made it workas it's supposed to. Getting to the second level was notparticularly difficult. I wasn't able toreach the third level during the time Iwas evaluating this game. The secondlevel, in addition to taking place on anarrower roadway, introduces green"bonus bugs." Hitting these producesextra points. Running off the roadresults in the deduction of points fromyour total. The third level includes asecond truck and a "butterfly" whichyou may run over for points. '''MAD DOG II'''  In a way, I wish I hadn't seen MadDog II before finishing my review ofMad Dog I. If you've got the MiniMemorycartridge, by all meansspend the extra couple of bucks onMad Dog II. This is a superior game inevery way. Mad Dog II plays like anarcade game. Response to the joystickis instantaneous and flawless. Mad Dog II is faster than Mad Dog I,has four levels of play and is designedto test the skills of better than averagejoystick jockeys. This one will giveyour hand cramps. The object of Mad Dog II is the sameas Mad Dog I. The screens look thesame. Unlike Mad Dog I, in which theplayer has only one car, Mad Dog IIprovides a spare car upon reaching thethird level, no mean feat in itself. Thisallows you to collide with the trucktwice before being eliminated. Both versions end when time runsout on the final level, though that's aproblem few will have to deal with.Although no big deal is made ofsound effects, a tone sounds everytime points are scored. ==Ease of Use: == Both Mad Dog I andMad Dog II are simple to use. Theobject of the game is obvious. As far asI was able to tell, both versions arec r a s h p r o o f crashproof. B o t h g a m e s a r eBoth games are protected. ==Documentation: == Both games comewith a manual that leaves no questionunanswered. ==Value: == If you enjoy arcade-typegames, Mad Dog I represents a verygood value. The price is excellent forwhat you get. Mad Dog II is a terrificvalue for the price. One can spend a lotmore and not get a game as good asMad Dog II. I know I have.