Review: CAVERNS OF CALLISTO

    by  Jeff Hurlburt


     Orbiting Jupiter, Callisto boasts massive subterranean deposits of Plasmil, a strange liquid used for shielding ships and suits against alien attack. Unfortunately, as you discover upon landing your trusty survey vessel, this does not preclude the existence of hostile life forms on the tiny moon. Your ion drive has hardly cooled before it, along with some forty panels from the hull are snatched and carried away deep into the labyrinthine Plasmil mines. Suddenly a 'milk run' becomes a struggle for survival as you seek to recover the stolen parts from the treacherous, monster-infested Caverns of Callisto.

     This is the first arcade offering from the producers of Ultima III, an association which may explain the strong adventure flavoring. Faster paced than such 'extended arcades' as Wolfenstein and Lady Tut, 'Callisto nevertheless demands only a modicum of menuvering and weapons expertise. Your major challenge is to efficiently thread the game's multi-chambered maze. Strewn about the caverns are just so many fuel cannisters (fortuitously abandoned by miners fleeing a freak Plasmil flood). You must use these to power your flying suit and to maintain life support. Aimless wandering, monster hunting, and needlessly renegotiating such hazards as lava spewing pits, anti-intrusion lasers, and falling stalagmites all waste these precious reserves.

     The mines, you soon realize, are quite extensive. Further complicating matters, it seems automatic mechanisms sealed a number of bulkheads during the flood. Naturally, this didn't stop the flooding; but now your access to the other chambers is blocked. To succeed you must locate the key to each bulkhead.

     Crawling, flying, and floating, the cavern monsters are uniformly deadly upon contact but easily dispatched via a well-aimed blast from your plasma rifle. This rapid-firing device is, alas, a tad prone to overheating, whereupon it becomes temporarily inoperative. Happily, your defenses are augmented by numerous pools of Plasmil. A single dip is good for zapping the next few aliens careless enough to blunder against your suit. (A shield around the suited figure indicates the Plasmil is still active.)

     Though the only way to actually win is to get out of the caverns with all the missing spaceship parts, some measure of accomplishment is provided by a score. (The program retains the top ten scores.) Points are awarded for killing monsters, retrieving panels, opening a bulkhead, etc. Generally, the deeper you penetrate, the jucier the rewards. Your score, along with fuel and temperature gauges, lives remaining, and panels left to be found in the current chamber are all displayed at the bottom of the screen.

     Movement, changing direction, and firing are all managed by a single joystick and two game buttons. Control is very smooth and natural-feeling; the suited figure even tilts as thrust is applied. Since the rifle always aims in the direction you're facing, you can cover a fairly wide arc with minor adjustments in motion.

     It seems clear that a great deal of effort was expended to make 'Callisto a viable, engaging arcade adventure. Each level (chamber) is different with a variety of monsters and hazards. Small figure animation (monsters, lasers, etc.) is very good and the close-up view of the cavern scrolls along effortlessly. Evidently, the major trade-offs for these features are a lack of definition in the cavern walls (which does detract a bit from the display) and the absence of a 'game save' option. Sound effects are varied and nicely synced to action. A much appreciated touch is a neat little fold-out map of the caverns.

     Not your typical quick-stick shoot-em-up, Caverns of Callisto is a worthwhile entertainment investment at $34.95. The Apple II/IIe compatible game is published by Origin Systems. (P.O. Box 58009  Houston, Texas  77258)
