Changes

Regardless of whether you drop your bomb on a primary or secondary target, the Soviet defenses will continue to fire on your plane until you've left Soviet airspace.

Using only keyboard input, the game relies on two-letter commands. "ST," for example, is the status command. "EC" represents the electronic countermeasures command. You may enter the entire word, but the first two letters is all the computer "reads." The game seems to be crash-proof. A 12-year-old who played it found no trouble in getting used to the command structure. An eight-year-old, however, was less than impressed. The absence of graphics, predictably, disturbed him.

The game comes with an eight-page manual that includes a map of the Soviet Union showing the locations of all targets and defense complexes. The cassette includes versions of the game for the TI99/ A & 4A, TRS-80 Model I/ III and the Timex-Sinclair microcomputers. It comes in a large attractive box. Included in the box is a catalog of Avalon Hill games.

I enjoyed playing this game, though I'm not sure it's worth $16.00. However, it may be that that's what you'll have to pay for games from major game companies. Distribution costs are high and the flashy (read expensive). packaging is necessary to attract the consumer's eye.