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Riding Arnold’s Coattails

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Here’s the latest segment of “Marketing the Megamovie”: Bethesda Softworks’ “The Terminator.” With a release timed to coincide with the movie “Terminator 2,” the pricey game, based on the original movie, invites fans to play the role of either the Terminator or his human opponent, Kyle Reese. Like the movie, there are no rules. Each game is another chance to rewrite the script. They call it virtual reality.

Thrown back in time by their mentors, both characters are deposited in a 3-D version of present day Los Angeles with just the clothes on their backs. One character is controlled by the player and the other by the computer. Using screens that provide detail ranging from a city street map to an actual view through the character’s eyes, the characters move around the city engaging in typical acts of vengeance and violence to achieve their ultimate goal--to save or to kill Sarah Connor and set the course of history.

The game designers give us a pretty faithful representation of the City of Angels (without smog and congestion). In addition, they provide an essential element to a good arcade game--a practice mode to sharpen your skills. From there on, it’s a tough sell. No rules means too many choices.

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A joystick is handy for some movement and combat action, but the player/game interface could require Mensa certification. Even with the joystick, game movement takes more than 50 keystroke combinations. Just starting the manual transmission vehicles and getting them on the road requires at least 5 finger pretzeling keystrokes. Somebody is unclear on the concept.

If this is virtual reality, it’s gonna be a tough sell at the box office.

THE TERMINATOR Rating: ***

IBM and compatibles; 640K; Sound Blaster and Adlib sound; joystick optional. List: $54.95.

Computer games are rated on a five-star system, from one star for poor to five for excellent.

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