Subject: Under the Lynx Microscope #3 Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari,alt.games.lynx Summary: Keywords: <<<< Under the Lynx Microscope >>>> Edition #3, Date 08/18/97 By: Carl Forhan (forhan@millcomm.com) //////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // // // FEATURED GAMES: Rampart // // Qix // // // //////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ULM is a periodic feature that will be posted to alt.games.lynx and rec.games.video.atari. The purpose is to generate some interest and discussion around the Atari Lynx portable video game system, especially for game titles that have been "under-exposed" on the internet. Contact forhan@millcomm.com for information on contributing to ULM. ____________________________ / \ | Rampart | \____________________________/ I was pleasantly surprised the first time I tried Rampart. I was totally unfamiliar with the game, so I didn't know what to expect. The intro screens are pleasing, as are the intermission screens and voices (there's nothing quite like hearing that "Ready... Aim... FIRE!" on the Lynx). The game is quite challenging, and interesting from the perspective that there are several components to the game. You must carefully consider which tower you build your fortress around, where you place your cannons, and what to salvage and what to abandon during the repair period (which itself is a mini-Tetris/Loopz game). Then, of course, you get the joy of lobbing cannon shells at your foes. Strategy tips: 1) During the build phase, focus on completing a loop around your castle first, then seek to expand your domain. 2) Build extra, incomplete walls if you have a few seconds left; that will give your opponents more targets to attack. 3) Watch out for ships that appear to be lagging behind, then suddenly veer straight for your coast! Put together, it makes for an intense, franticly-paced game. Even better, try it comlynxed; I was REALLY surprised at how much fun it is. Now, instead of bombarding mindless ships and crawling cannons, you can blast your buddy back to nursery school. This truly makes Rampart a gem on the Lynx. ____________________________ / \ | Qix | \____________________________/ Qix is a great game because it focuses on some simple concepts: gameplay and strategy. It does have a decent title screen and digitized soundtrack (Klax still takes the cake in my book for best digitized music on the Lynx, though), but don't expect a lot of flashy sprites for the game itself. And it's only appropriate; Qix is a vintage but welcome game on the Lynx. You can't sit still for too long while drawing boxes, because your "fuse" will run out. And there are several little critters along with the Qix (?) itself roaming the screen, so there's plenty to keep you occupied. Strategy tips: 1) Build elongated, but thin, boxes. By doing so, you can set yourself up to rapidly take over large portions of the screen. 2) Build big boxes in the corners. This is a more daring strategy, but will pay off in points, and shouldn't be too risky when you're trying to avoid your foes. Other tips: 1) Try capturing the Qix with over 90% of the screen. You'll get some nice bonus points. 2) Build boxes with the slow speed to earn more points. But if you speed up for even a moment, you lose any bonus points for that box, so choose your maneuvers carefully! ___ ___ |echie |rivia: It's a standard programming practice to use a drawing technique known as "double buffering," where one screen buffer (sometimes called a video page) is currently being displayed, and the other buffer is currently being built by the game. But did you know that this game features triple buffering? ------------------------------ ________________________ / / | Carl Forhan <>< | http://www.millcomm.com/~forhan/jaguar.html | forhan@millcomm.com | http://www.millcomm.com/~forhan/vindicator.html \_______________________\