A Technical Marvel, But . . .

The best part of “Siege,” a strategic simulation from Mindcraft, is what you don’t see: some pretty sophisticated programming that lets you wage medieval warfare against a fierce and fearsome computer opponent.

The RAM-gobbling “Siege” is quite a technical breakthrough, for few programs of this type combine the immediacy of a simulation with brainier appeal of a strategy game. There are no turns of play as such. Just as in real combat, your opponent moves as you do.

Overall, however, “Siege” doesn’t live up to its potential. The manual is terribly deficient, the opening artwork is mediocre, the graphics could use some work and, on our 386 SX at least, the game just didn’t play as well as it should have.

Probably the greatest fault is the silly Dungeons and Dragons-style story imposed on “Siege.” The game deserves better than a bad tale of goblins, trolls, dwarfs and humans fighting for dominance long, long ago in a land far, far away.

The story, a series of battles between the forces of Light and Darkness in the land of Gurtex, is mostly told only in the manual. The arrangement is poor, and the black-and-white illustrations bear no relation to the color images on the screen.

Consequently, nowhere in the manual is there a representational picture of any of the various types of troops that populate “Siege,” a major fault in a game that is built around quick response to the enemy.

Even with the drawbacks, “Siege” is an important game. The real-time combat is new and filled with possibilities. Unfortunately, too few of them are here.

Siege

Rating: **

IBM and compatibles; 640K; hard drive and mouse required. List: $59.95.

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