robert@hubcap.clemson.edu (Robert Reynolds) (10/31/90)
I hope this isn't old news. Summary: Remember when you discovered Shanghai and tried to describe how wonderful a game it is -- and people looked at you funny. Well, that's the way I feel trying to describe Projectyle. If you like multi-player arcade games with great balance, good music and sound effects, good graphics, and more depth than you're likely to explore in a hurry -- buy it. I saw someone asking for playable Amiga arcade-type games. Well, I'm no experienced game reviewer, but I know what I like. Projectyle (an import via EA) is an absolutely wonderful multi-player arcade game. It's been describes as Rollerball meets Air Hockey -- that's close enough. It supports the parallel port joystick interface, so it can handle up to three human players. Each player (0, 1, 2, or 3 human -- there's always three players in a game) controls a team (tribe) of eight critters. You select the five who get to play in the current game, and assign one to each of five playing areas. Each critter has characteristics like Mass, Speed, Slide (cornering), and such. Each tribe has different strengths and weaknesses, as does each critter within the tribe. If you opt for extended play (leagues) you can buy up a critter's attributes with points you collect during game play. The playing area is divided into five `rooms'. The central room has four exits, one to each of the other rooms. Each of the three players sort of `owns' a side room in the sense that there's a goal in there that the other two players are trying to stuff the puck into, and this poor sucker is trying to keep it out. Of course, since only the scoring player gets points, the other two players are trying to prevent each other from scoring while trying to score themselves. In the fourth side room, everybody has a goal. That's why it's called the `frantic room'. Trust me -- it's well-named. You can only see part of the current room at any one time (in other words, each room is bigger than the display), and the view follows the puck. There is a small display of the whole room so you can tell where you are if you're far away from the action. When the puck leaves a room, joystick control passes to the critter in the room it then enters. You move your players pretty much like you'd think you would, but when you press the joystick button they accelerate toward the puck. Don't press too much, though, because there's this attribute called Stamina .... You try to slide your critter into the puck with enough force and direction to get it into a goal. Right. There are three sets (periods, or `halves' as the rules say) of some timed duration. I just realized that I've played for hours and have no idea how long a set is! I'm too busy playing to bother with details like that! Maybe a couple of minutes? There's a nice frenzy-inducing countdown as each period comes to a close. Oh, yeah, every once in a while (like most of the time) some little pellet will appear on the playing surface. They're marked, so if you have time to think before running over it you might be able to avoid the bad ones. There's +/- slide, +/- bounce, make the puck act goofy, make the puck skip up into the air, make your player accelerate *away* from the puck when you press the button, and so on. I can't adequately describe this thing. OK, let me try this. I'm a definite competitive type A personality. I hate to lose. I'm also usually not so good at arcade games. So, the fact that I'll play this for literally hours (with two other humans, preferably) even though I usually don't win and often finish third of three, well, that should tell you something. -- Robert Reynolds inet: robert@hubcap.clemson.edu CS Dept, Clemson Univ. uucp: ... !gatech!hubcap!robert phone: (803) 656-6783
nfs1675@dsacg3.dsac.dla.mil ( Michael S Figg) (11/07/90)
In article <11273@hubcap.clemson.edu>, robert@hubcap.clemson.edu (Robert Reynolds) writes: > > Summary: Remember when you discovered Shanghai and tried to describe how > wonderful a game it is -- and people looked at you funny. Well, that's > the way I feel trying to describe Projectyle. Well, there are al least two of us that have heard of Projectyle. And I agree, it is a great game. I would call it more a cross between air hockey and soccer though but there isn't much difference. It seems to be a good competitive game, with little in the way of 'strange effects' to figure out, although there are a few. It is possibly a runnerup as a favorite for me, right behind Shanghai, which I can't figure out why I like so much. > Robert Reynolds inet: robert@hubcap.clemson.edu ---Mike, -- -------- o A herd of bagels | Michael Figg DSAC-FSD | | -- oo o o escaping from a deli. | DLA Systems Automation Center | | -- ooo oo Looking for Lox in | Cols, Ohio mfigg@dsac.dla.mil -------- o o all the wrong places | CIS: 73777,360
zobbo@tharr.UUCP (Ian Cottee) (11/08/90)
In article <2691@dsacg3.dsac.dla.mil> nfs1675@dsacg3.dsac.dla.mil ( Michael S Figg) writes: >Well, there are al least two of us that have heard of Projectyle. And I agree, >it is a great game. I would call it more a cross between air hockey and soccer >though but there isn't much difference. It seems to be a good competitive >game, with little in the way of 'strange effects' to figure out, although >there are a few. It is possibly a runnerup as a favorite for me, right behind >Shanghai, which I can't figure out why I like so much. > Oh come come - surely not! The *BEST* multi player game must be Kick Off II - and if you don't have it in the states I demand a public enquiry as to why not! Over here Kick Off II has been topping the charts since its release (Since about July I think). In my sisters game shop in London she reckons that if a game sells about 25 copies it has sold well - Kick Off II has sold almost 80 so far!! In my own house it is played virtually every night until the early hours. It is also great fun as a one player game. Hang on a second - eek - you Americans don't play 'soccer' do you?? AAAAAAAGGHHHHHH!!! U don't know what u're missing! Ian -- ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// / zobbo@tharr.uucp | Disclaimer - give me a break / / !ukc!axion!tharr!zobbo | I don't even / / axion!tharr!zobbo@uk.ac.ukc | believe this junk / /<-- tharr *free* public access to Usenet in the UK 0234 261804 --> / //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
robert@hubcap.clemson.edu (Robert Reynolds) (11/09/90)
In article <1397@tharr.UUCP>, zobbo@tharr.UUCP (Ian Cottee) writes: > Oh come come - surely not! The *BEST* multi player game must be Kick Off II - and > if you don't have it in the states I demand a public enquiry as to why not! Funny you should mention Kick-Off 2. I spent 5 months trying to find it for a friend's birthday, including writing to ANCO's US address only to find they've gone without leaving a forwarding address. I finally found an address in the UK and have written recently. The best information I have so far is that Kick-Off 2 is not available in an NTSC version, and won't be. Period. Anyhow, I finally gave up finding KO2 for him and ordered Projectyle based on second-hand information from a review. I suppose that if KO2 had been available we might never have discovered Projectyle! > In my own house it is played virtually every night until the early hours. It > is also great fun as a one player game. Hang on a second - eek - you Americans > don't play 'soccer' do you?? AAAAAAAGGHHHHHH!!! U don't know what u're missing! Some of us do enjoy watching and/or playing the game. Since the World Cup will be held here in 1994, we hope for an upsurge in US interest. Too bad ANCO has decided that `football' just won't sell here. -- Robert Reynolds inet: robert@hubcap.clemson.edu CS Dept, Clemson Univ. uucp: ... !gatech!hubcap!robert phone: (803) 656-6783