SOFTWARE REVIEW-----U.I.M.------------
   SOFTWARE REVIEW-----U.I.M.            
                                         
          By Andrew Black.               
  U.I.M.-Ultra Intelligent Machine.      
  By-The Fourth Dimension, P.O.Box 4444, 
  Sheffield.  Tel=(0742) 700661.         
  Price= 19-95(5{"),  21-95(3\").        
  Needs=B/B+(with 16k SWR),Master,Compact
                                         
 It is set in the future where the       
 greenhouse effect has caused the polar  
 ice caps to melt and plunged humanity   
 underwater. Now in the ocean depths     
 there are ports and networks. There are 
 256 ports in a network and 256 networks-
 quite a big one eh? Now comes the       
 problem, back in the good old days,     
 when the first pioneers went into the   
 ocean, they built machines called       
 Replicators. These machines were able to
 explore the depths of the ocean that   *
 -Blank-       &    
the pioneers could not reach themselves 
 and were able to reproduce copies of    
 themselves. Unfortunately someting went 
 wrong, the machines mutated and, guess  
 what,  they're out to destroy humanity. 
 The solution to all of this is the UIM, 
 which apparently knows the anwser to    
 everything, but where is it? Your quest 
 is to find the UIM and at the same time 
 make as much money as you can.          
                                         
 You are equipped initially with a       
 submarine called a BLACK SATYAR and a   
 low power generator (weapon); three of  
 four missiles, a flare, a sea mine,     
 low grade shields, and $400 Network     
 Dollars. There are a number of ways of  
 earning money; buying and selling on the
 commodities market, share dealings,     
 currency exchange, industrial           
 manufacturing, bounty hunting, piracy   
 and missions. You must build up your    
 cash reserves to buy more equipment    *
 -Blank-          
  for your ship to enable you to survive 
  and find the UIM. One of the most      
  important pieces of equipment is the   
  central computer which allows you to   
  load helpful modules such as           
  navigational aids, mission modules etc.
                                         
  The layout of the screen is interesting
 ,split into two, the upper half         
  containing the actual game area and the
  bottom half radar displays, energy bars
  etc. The graphics used are vector and  
  are certainly very good, without any   
  flicker I might add. But the general   
  comtrol of the craft is more difficult,
  it tends to jump around instead of     
  flowing like ELITE.                    
                                         
  Travel between ports is a bit strange a
 tfirst but you soon get used to it. Afte
 rleaving the port press H and you are   
  sent on a sub-orbital trajectory into  
  the atmosphere, this is called re-entry
* -Blank- 
 You have to keep your craft on target   
 using the control keys, if you don't    
 your heat shield will disintegrate and  
 you get the end of game message. You    
 can buy another heat shield after yours 
 has been worn away but preserving it    
 saves money. There is a re-entry module 
 that you can buy that, although it isn't
 perfect, it is a marked improvement on  
 what I could do. Once you re-enter the  
 water head for the marker buoy as fast  
 as you can, you can engage in combat if 
 you like, but you won't last long if    
 you've just started. Once you are close 
 enough to the buoy you will be docked   
 automatically.                          
                                         
 The amount of equipment that is         
 avaliable is quite amazing, all together
 about 31 pieces, plus there is other    
 unlisted equipment you can get for doing
 missions. The mission module is perhaps 
 the most important piece of equipment  *
 -Blank-         
    The missions are vital in the hunt fo
 r  the UIM, these enable you to get onto
    the next network. The missions are of
    the fetch and carry variety. You can 
 getrewards for doing these such as money
  orspecial equipment or sometimes nothin
 g. But always on completion you are move
 d  onto the next network.               
                                         
    Combat is much the same as ELITE but 
 youhave more ways of defending and      
    attacking. There are 4 different type
 s  of generators ranging from the most  
    powrful to the weakest. There are fla
 resthat are supposed to distract enemy  
    missiles, sea mines which you drop- y
 ou can blow yourself up if you are not  
    careful. The radar display is a bit  
    difficult to follow at first but you 
    soon get the hang of it.             
                                         
    ELITE and UIM are much alike, but the
 re are some distinct differences, UIM fo
r    the variety of equipment and so on. 
 The sheer amount of work put into develo
 pingthe game shows and the potential for
  it is enormous. Having said all that I 
 feelthat certain things cannot go       
     unmentioned, the manual is not as al
 waysas clear as it could be, the general
     display is much more coarser, colour
 s   used are at times a bit sickly. And 
 I amafraid that one of the most essentia
 l   qualities for me is missing-        
     Addictiveness. The game doesn't have
  youcoming back for more as other games 
     would, just to get that little bit  
     further. After about a month or so o
 f   playing I have given it up as it no 
     longer holds any interest for me. Bu
 t   that is only my opinion and I dare s
 ay agreat many others will disagree, as 
 for me its back to ELITE.               
                                         
                                         
     -Blank-