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| requirements = console, monitor or television, cassette recorder, Extended BASIC cartridge
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My initial reaction to Sky Diver is
very positive. It is a well-designed
game. The fact that up to four players
may compete. not simultaneously of
course, makes it that much more
attractive.
Performance: The object of Sky
Diver is to maneuver a parachutist_
toward a target in the center of the
screen. Poi Ats are__aWc.!r_ded on the
basis of how close to the bullseye the
chutist lands and the velocity at
impact.
Accomplishing this feat is not as
easy as it may seem. There are a
number of factors to contend with,
including wind velocity and direction
and rate of descent. While the player
may compensate for the wind by head
ing into it. he cannot compensate for
hitting the ground too hard. Broken
legs and worse are the result of open
ing the chute too late.
The game starts with a red airplane
that moves across the screen. Direc
tion is controlled by the left and right
arrow keys while altitude is deter
mined by pressing the up ,rnd down
arrow keys. At some point, the player
may release a blue streamer. As it
falls to the ground. one can determine
what effect the wind will have on the
parachutist.
Having reached the desired altitude,
the chutist jumps from the plane on
command and free falls until the para
chute rip cord is pulled. This is done by
pressing a key. However, there is a 10
percent chance that the main chute
won't open. At this point. the player
may try to use the reserve chute.
I was intrigued by free-falling. What
you see is the figure of a chutist as seen
from above. By using the arrow keys,
you can make the figure circle over the
target or move to any area of the
screen. Of course. as the fall con
tinues. the rate of descent increases. If
the parachute is opened too late. you
won't be able to prevent the chutist
from hitting the ground hard. Just as
in the sport of sky diving. drag devel
ops gradually.
After the rip cord is pulled. the para
chute blossoms over the sky diver.
Rate of descent is gradually reduced
and from here or1 the player maneuv-
ers the chutist via input from the "l"
and · ·o· · keys. A little indicator arrow
at the right of the screen points in the
direction the chutist is moving.
The game continues until one player
has scored 500 points or ..ill the play·ers
have been eliminated by death or
injury. The accumulated total for each
jumper is shown at the end and begin
ning of each jump.
The graphics are simple and color
ful. When the chutist is about 500 feet
rom the ground the scale of the target
changes. becoming larger. An indica
tor arrow on the left side of the screen
lets the player know the velocity and
direction of the wind. Indicators at the
bottom of the screen report the chu
tist·s altitude. rate of descent. time
and distance from the bullseye. There
is a tone that sounds to mark the pass
ing of "seconds." These are game
time seconds. not real time.
East' of Ust': Prior to the start of the
game. a screen appears showing the
player how to maneuver the airplane
and the chutist. However. I was con
fused for my first several jumps. Once
I had it in mind that the number keys,
and not the arrow keys. control the
jumper. I had no trouble guiding the
chutist to the target.
Doeunwntation: Although the man
ual includes plenty of information
about how to play the game, it's all in
text. It would have been nice to have a
chart of some sort, similar to the
instructions that preceed the game.
included with the manual. Larry Sabo,
who created the game. says th ..1t he is
redesigning the documentation to
include a chart.
Value: As a multi-player game, Sky
Diver is fun. However, I
would like to have seen the total scores
of all players shown at once at some
time. but there is no scoreboard fea
ture. This is not .. 111 arcade game. so
you shouldn't expect everything to
happen with lightning-like speed. Per
sons ranging in age from 8 to adult who
tried the game out all had good things
to say about it.
My principal reservation concerns
the price. Although I have no doubt
about the quality of programming that
went into this game. I feel it would be
more successful if it were priced at a
dollar or two less. I realize it is not my
business to set prices. but it is not pos
sible to determine the value of any
item without referring to the price at
some point.
'''— JK'''
