Re: Games: Apple IIgs vs. Atari ST vs. Amiga

[Mitchell Spector <mitch2gs@hotmail.com>]

"PZ" <skierpaul@yahoo.com> wrote:

>>> Out of This World
>
>>Really?  The only port I ever played was on the PC (the original I
>>think), but IIRC that game needed massive amounts of memory to move
>>smoothly.  I have a hard time beliving that the poor old IIgs could
>>churn out a decent framerate unless accelerated, but then again I've
>>never seen the Amiga or ST ports (were there Amiga or ST ports?).
>
>Yes really.  The game implemented variable screen sizing, so it could
>even run on a stock GS.  7mhz would get you decent performance in
>Letterbox and 10mhz and faster would get you awesome full screen
>performance.

    It runs perfectly (faster than the Super Nintendo version, which even had
less frames of animation) with a 12 MHz accelerator in the 3/4th screen 
size. What really made it stand apart from all other ports, was the inclusion
of many extra sound effects and a constant (and very, very cool) musical
background score. The Amiga version just plays music at the title screen
and end credits, and awful sounding....the SNES/IIGS version had a very
cinematic and emotional score.

    My only complaint is the musical score is richer on the SNES (there's a
realistic sounding piano, trumpet, which were replaced by a "synthy" set
of instruments on the GS. Only the timpani was kept) and on the earthquake
effect on the SNES shook the screen and had falling rocks. I still perfer 
playing the GS version because it's so much faster and has the all the
sound effects present (of course on a stock IIgs the gameplay was awful).

Mitchell Spector