Alternate Reality: The City - Datasoft RRP œ24.95 

There's no getting away from the fact that initial  impressions of
any computer program count for a lot.  If a game or adventure has 
a clever loading screen,  you tend to think...ah,  this looks  good, 
and if you're not careful, you can end up playing it into the small 
hours! 

Alternate  Reality  is a role-playing adventure  in  which  the 
character  you  play is kidnapped by  an  alien  spaceship and 
unceremoniously  dumped in the City of Xebec's Demise. The  opening 
sequence  of  the adventure shows the spacecraft descending over  a 
modern city,  firing laser shots at the buildings, and then slowly 
rising into the air. 

Next,  an  expanding star field fills the screen,  and  to  the 
pulsing  of  the stars,  a sing-along tune (which  is  very  catchy, 
unfortunately) plays while  several verses explaining your 
predicament are displayed.      

Before you start the game,  you have a choice of starting a new 
character,  resuming an existing one or using a temporary character. 
A temporary character is the best choice while you are finding  your 
way about the City.

On to the game itself.  You start in the entrance to the  City. 
Above  you, scrolling  numbers  display  your  possible stamina, 
charisma,  strength,  intelligence,  wisdom,  skill,  hit points and 
number  of  copper  coins.  Pressing the space  bar  freezes  these, 
setting  your  starting values. You start  without  any  experience 
points, at level zero.

Entry through the portal takes you to the Floating Gate in  the 
City Square. This is the safest part of the city,  though even here 
you  aren't immune to attack by unsavoury characters. But  in  this 
area are several buildings that you'll find useful, a bank, a shop, 
a smithy, a tavern and an inn. Movement is via the mouse, arrow keys 
or a joystick.  The screen display shows your forward view, together 
with any character who might arrive while you're waiting.

Each of the buildings round the square has it's own use. In the 
shop, you can buy clothing, necessary after a while as the weather 
in the City is not static and cold weather can weaken you.  Also  in 
the  shop,  you  can  buy a compass, and since  the  city  is  very 
complicated  to map,  a compass is essential if you aren't going  to 
get lost in the maze of streets.

In an inn, you can check the time, hire a room for the night or 
look for work.  Taverns are essential as you will also need to  eat 
and drink at regular intervals,  and though you start off with three 
food packets and three flasks of water, after a while you'll need to 
replenish your supplies.

At a smithy,  you can buy weapons. Well, you have to be able to 
defend yourself.....unless you've chosen to be an evil character and 
go  round knocking the stuffing out of all the innocent inhabitants 
of the city! Most of the weapons are priced too high for your meagre 
means when you start, but you can invariably afford a stiletto which 
turns out to be a rather useful and effective weapon. You can always 

hear the smith working when you are close to a smithy, which is very 
useful when you've got lost for the umpteenth time!

You can haggle over prices in both shops and smithies,  but try 
not  to  drive too hard a bargain or you'll  get  thrown  out.  Both 
establishments  also change their wares every hour "AR time" so if 
you can't see anything you want, you can always go back later.

In a bank you can do several things including deposit money (if 
you're THAT rich), get gems and jewellery appraised or sold, and try 
for a job. Gems and jewellery are found after an "encounter"...or what 
you and I would call a fight!

Elsewhere in the City, you'll find more buildings hidden about, 
including Guilds and Healers.

A job is very important, as nothing is cheap in the city, and a 
few hundred copper pieces don't last long.  Unfortunately, the type 
of  job  you can get is very dependant  on  your  attributes.  Don't 

bother to  apply  for a job as a guard in  Granite  Bank  if  your 
strength and stamina are low.     

So,  while  you start your exploration of the city (and it is BIG,
needing a considerable amount of mapping), the locals are also 
out  and about.  Like everything in life, they can be divided  into 
goodies and baddies, and come in many different classes. The goodies 
include guards, the baddies include muggers and thieves. The short 
fanfare  that  plays  when one appears gives a hint  as  to  whether 
they're good or bad.  

Certain  evilly aligned characters will attack you if they  get 
the  chance. You then have the choice between  attacking,  fleeing, 
trying  to trick or charm them, lunging at them or trying to  bribe 
them to leave you alone!

Of course, there's nothing to stop you being evil yourself, and 
attacking all the merchants, commoners and couriers who come along, 
but that will give you a bad reputation. Still, it does have  its 
advantages, financially.....

A basic outline map is provided with the game,  and this  gives 
you several main routes to start you off.  The area you can  explore 
is very large,  and further complicated by secret doors and  one-way 
routes. Even with the outline, mapping is a very slow procedure.

While you're exploring the City,  any successful encounter will 
increase your experience points.  For example, killing a mugger gave 
me a total of 106 experience points, plus some booty in the form of 
some copper coins.  You need around 300 points to go up to level  1, 
and each further level requires you to double your points! 

One criticism that I've heard aimed at adventures is the  fact that,
once you've completed an adventure..that's it, you're unlikely to 
go back to it. Generally, I have found that to be true. I rarely 
replay  an adventure for old time's sake though I know other people 
who do. But with an RPG, you can go back to it again and again.

I mentioned at the start that this was a game that gave a very  good 
first impression.  When I first bought it,  I kept going back to it, 
trying to get further into it, building up my character ready  for 
the promised  add-ons.  As far as I can recall,  about  seven  were 
planned  and  I found entrances to a few while I was playing. The 
basic idea behind AR was that it was a training ground for the other 
parts, the second of which was going to be the Dungeon.

Well,  they  never  appeared,  not on the ST anyway though Dungeon 
appeared on at least one other machine. Luckily there are a lot 
more RPGs  about  for those who like them and the newer ones have  
a lot more to them.  I heard a rumour that the company has been 
taken over and Dungeon may finally hit the shelves for the ST. If 
so, all I can say is ...... it's about time, considering I bought 
AR a few  years ago!  

I enjoyed playing it a lot but without the add-ons, it does only 
have limited appeal in the long run.

                                        Sue