_ __ _____ __ | '_ \ / _ \ \ /\ / / | | | | __/\ V V / |_| |_|\___| \_/\_/ ___ _ __ _ _ / __\___ _ __ ___ _ __ ___ ___ __| | ___ _ __ ___ / /_ | || | / / / _ \| '_ ` _ \| '_ ` _ \ / _ \ / _` |/ _ \| '__/ _ \ '_ \| || |_ / /__| (_) | | | | | | | | | | | (_) | (_| | (_) | | | __/ (_) |__ _| \____/\___/|_| |_| |_|_| |_| |_|\___/ \__,_|\___/|_| \___|\___/ |_| _ _ ___ __ _(_) __| | ___ ___ / _ \__ _ _ __ ___ ___ ____ \ \ / / |/ _` |/ _ \/ _ \ / /_\/ _` | '_ ` _ \ / _ \_ / \ V /| | (_| | __/ (_) | / /_\\ (_| | | | | | | __// / \_/ |_|\__,_|\___|\___/ \____/\__,_|_| |_| |_|\___/___| _______________ | | | V I D E O | | | | G A M E Z | | | |_______________| _________________ / ==========( )===\__________ / .............. - \ /_____ | / ................ - \ /____[====] '---------------------' A Videogame review by Trollius Magnus-Basketcase PSIONIC ACADEMY (49 $ cassette / disk / Joystick / Mind Control) "In parapsychology, PSI is the purported process of information transfer or energy transfer in extrasensory perception or Psychokinesis that is unexplained in terms of known physical or biological mechanisms. The term is derived from the Greek letter PSI...the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet...from the greek psyche "Mind, Soul". In this exciting new title from Pacific Micro International software you enlist at the PSIONIC ACADEMY (A.K.A: PSI Academy): A hi-tech E.S.P. research center, much like those mysterious futuristic science buildings you always see in 1980s science sci-fi movies (Brainstorm, Demon Seed etc.) The game begins with a bus dropping you off in front of the building you move your little sprite man around with the joystick to the entrance of the building. The screen changes to the inside of the building. You have to walk your sprite man to the desk to sign in and fill in a form with your name, age, gender, occupation and education. After this you walk your little sprite man to the elevator where after you can freely roam around in the building. You will visit various research/test rooms where you can test your P.S.I skills. There are 7 rooms in total: on the 2nd floor: Room 1: Telepathy - The Von Ganzfeld Experiment: For this experiment you have to put two halved ping pong balls over your eyes (Included in the box!). The screen will turn red and a white noise drone is played on the background. You have to put your head as close as possible to the screen to, in theory, reduce your ordinary sensory input and enhance your PSI conductive state. According to the manual the computer will send certain messages to you during this time of sensory deprivation. After half an hour the computer will ask you what messages you received, if you type them in correctly you will prove your PSI POWERS! In the half hour I had to endure this torturous endavour I had intense visions of firetrucks and strawberry Kitkat bars. None of these subjects were transmitted by the computer and I failed this test 100% (what the computer DID transmit is unknown...I am pretty sure the program doesn't do anything else then show you a red screen with some white noise) Room 2: Clairvoyance - The Zener Card Experiment: This is an experiment with 5 different cards, you probably have seen these in movies while they do experiments on psychic monkeys, they have the following symbols on them; o + ≈ [] * (A circle, cross, waves, a hollow square and a star) The computer will shuffle 5 of each randomly (25 in total) and lay them out inside its memory concealed to you. You will have to guess which cards the computer shuffled in a row of 5. With the joystick you select your guess... I had chosen + ≈ o o + and to my surprise I wasn't far off from what the computer had shuffled ≈[] + o ≈ ! That means I was correct on one position, a stunning 20% score! I might have PSIONIC powers after all! on the 3rd floor: Room 3: Exorcism Test: This room has a small arcade sequence were you have to fight off a demonic creature using certain spells and herbs this together with room 6, is the only place in the game where you can actually die and get a game over. If you win you get 100% exorcism skills. Room 4: Remote Viewing - Fernwahrnehmung / Stargate Experiment: In this experiment the computer will ask you to get a notepad and pencil (Not included in the box!). While the screen is flashing green, blue and orange the computer "transmits"an image to your mind. You will get 20 seconds to draw this image on the notepad. After the 20 seconds the computer will reveal the image subject on screen. You have to manually enter if you drew the right thing....either completely correct 100%, sort of vaguely correct 50% or not correct at all 0%. You can ofcourse cheat by always saying 100% but this will give you bad karma, according to the computer instructions! Room 5: Psychokinesis - moving an object with the mind: The screen changes to black with a bright yellow ball in the middle. You gotta use your mind- powers to move the ball to the right or left of the screen, the further you can move it the more freakier you are. The ball didn't move at all and I tried hard, I am pretty sure this screen just prints the ball in the middle without any mind reading algorhithms in the code! Room 6: Levitation - your little sprite man is in the middle of the room and you gotta make him levitate and move him from location A to B using the joystick. The force of gravity is strong but can be overcome through fast joystick-eye-coordination. The walls and ceiling are electrified so if you touch those its game over! If you land your sprite man on location B you will be rewarded with 100% levitation powers! Room 7: Theta Range Cymatic Brainwave Hypnosis: The computer will hypnotize you to have an out of body experiences. Look at the screen while the colors and tones pulsate in the Theta range frequency range putting you in a Hypnogagic state; the mental state that is right on the brink between being awake and being asleep, a key factor in having out of body experiences. I didn't leave my body but dozed off in a pleasant state. I woke up after 8 hours with the commodore 64 keys imprinted on my forehead. I recommend this for insomniacs. When you are done visiting all rooms you can go to the debriefing room (number 8) where you will get your final test results. You can print this out on your printer and get a "Certificate of PSIONIC-ness" with an official seal from PACIFIC MICRO INTERNATIONAL. OVERALL SCORE: Despite its dubious vaporware & cargo cult programming vibes this program truly tantalizes the mind...I will keep on trying till my PSI powers work! Absolutely stunning...a huge leap in Commodore 64 coding! 90%