--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            IT'S GREAT - Beta Version
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

system...... Falcon, 4MB RAM, RGB

developper.. Chris Swinson/UK (CPS GAMES)

genre....... strategical board game

release..... 1999

homepage.... http://www.cps-games.co.uk/greatst/itsgreat.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since  the homepage  of the  long  dead  MEGA DISCZINE was  set online  again, I
stumbled over this  game project, that, unfortunately, died with the other works
of Chris Swinson on Atari as well.
Surely you remember this name, since he was the main editor of the MEGA DISCZINE
that was the  predecessor of the ST OFFLINE magazine and you surely remember the
flaming reactions  of him and  the ST OFFLINE editor  about  the UCM # 21 and my
review of ST OFFLINE...
This lays  already long  time back but I still remember the tries of the authors
to  make me guilty for their  quit of the Atari scene (even if they already were
not active anymore at the time as they stumbled over my article).
But who  cares, it doesn't  matter to me that ST OFFLINE isn't existing anymore,
but with this  game project something interesting died as well, even a few years
before ST OFFLINE

As said it is  a strategical board game, that means you will get a board that is
divided into  playfields, 16 * 1o, so 16o  fields at  all. In this beta version,
that is  already fully  playable, you  have just  the chance to play against the
computer. The game runs turn by turn and if you remember the games "Hexxagon" or
"Tethrex", also  availble on  the Falcon, you should have a little idea how this
game runs.

Ok. As said, the  game is  turn based. If  you click  on a play field, you set a
little bubble (play  colour is red) onto it, the the computer makes his turn. So
you can set  your bubbles  all over the  playfield but you mustn't. You can also
click again on  a set bubble and  then it grows. You can do that 4 times at all,
when you click the 5th time on your bubble it explodes, spreading little bubbles
onto the  vertical and  horizontal neighbor  fields. If another bubble by you is
located their, it  will grow in the way as you would have clicked on it and if a
bubble by  the computer  is located  their, it will  take your colour and acting
then as yours, that means if it explodes then it will spread your colour.

This means, that, depending  on the  size of  the bubbles  around, real blasting
chainreactions  can take place, changing  the colours  of a whole  play area and
here you  should know also the aim of the game. Except making more points as the
computer, you  should  also  invade  the  whole  playfield  with bubbles of your
colour. The game  itself counts only exploding  bubbles and letting them explode
is also the only way to take over the enemies playfields.

So after all it's a real nice game idea and remembering to the games I mentioned
above, it is much more difficult since when there are more big bubbles around it
is hard  to see  what will  happen when  you're starting a chainreaction and you
must have  all the big bubbles  of your own  in your view since the compute A.I.
isn't bad and so  the colours of the playfields are changing often and sometimes
you can loose 1o or 2o fields at once if you don't take care.

Loosing  so many  fields makes  it hard  to  build  up a new  position where the
computer can't break in that fast again. So the game is really brain squeezing.

The technical  side of the  game isn't bad either. The playfield uses fullscreen
mode and is  quite colourful, using textures in the background. There isn't much
of animation of the bubbles but it does its job.

On the musical  side isn't much, errr... nothing. Therefore  the game features a
few sound fx for exploding bubbles.

The game is  controlled via  mouse and this runs very well, too. So what is left
to say, as the final words?

Final words... IT'S GREAT  is a  quite  brain  killing  strategical  game, quite
               simple its creation  but very mind  teasing in the game play. The
               technical side  is good done for a Falcon game in beta stage, the
               grafix are doing  their job well, only on the sound side could be
               a bit more  done, but as said, it  is just a  beta version. About
               the control is nothing to say, it runs well and is easy as hell.
               So what? Get it  if you like  strategical  boardgames and too bad
               that it will maybe never be finished :/

___ratings______________________________________________________________________

visuals .....  6o % - doing their job for a board game
audio .......  15 % - a few sampled fx
controls ....  9o % - quite easy with the mouse
idea ........  5o % - not very original, another clone of Hexagon...
motivation ..  8o % - Mindmelting fun! Computer A.I. makes it not too easy!

___overall_____59_%_____________________________________________________________


Last but not least a few words about CPS GAMES, the label of Chris Swinson. He's
working on a PC version of "IT'S GREAT" atm...

_.tSCc.__________________________________________________________moondog_o8/2k2_