| MicroLearn Game Pack Volume II | - by Mikael Engdahl |
Perhaps mostly written for a target group consisting of smaller children, MicroLearn Game Pack 2 also entertains the older, more demanding game player. Containing a variety of board, arcade and puzzle games, MLGP2 most likely includes something for everyone.
Installation
Installation is easy thanks to the excellent installation program. It is fast, neat and it works well. The installation directory is selectable (if you're not happy with the default C:\MLGP2), and the installation is a one button action. It couldn't be easier. The whole procedure is over in a couple of minutes, it doesn't make any changes to your system files (config.sys, os2.ini, os2sys.ini) and a list of helpful tips on various topics is displayed as you install.
MLGP2 claims to have very modest system requirements: a 386, 8 mb of ram, OS/2 2.1 or later, VGA, a mouse and a CD-ROM player. Recommended is MMPM/2, a sound card and SVGA. However, beware: these games are HUGE compared to the original MicroLearn Game Pack Vol I and are anything but snappy on an 8 meg 486. I have also heard that some people have had trouble with the games (regular crashes and lockups). Nothing of this sort has happened to me though.
The games were reviewed primarily on a 486 DX2 66 MHz with 16 Mb RAM. With that configuration, I didn't experience any performance problems even when running more than one game simultaneously (the games in MLGP2 are multithreaded native OS/2 apps), and running other apps in the background. OK, it's faster when just running one game at a time, but nevertheless, it is still fun trying to get more than one to run at once. Loading more than one can take a little time but when the games are up and running they are nice and smooth. Long loading times, especially on slower machines, are due to the fact that a lot of graphics are being prepared to make the actual game as fast as possible.
Documentation
The only hardcopy documentation that came with my version was an 8 page manual found inside the cover of the CD. I understand the the packaging varies somewhat from the European version to the North American one due to different distributors. This manual explains how to install the games and contains a short description of each game. The lack of a manual disappointed me somewhat (just like it did when I received GalCiv), but the softcopy docs (.inf format--what else?) and the help files definitely make up for this. You are guided through them by Thor, a character who surfaces everywhere in MLGP2, explaining things in a very pedagogical and easy to understand way.
Gameplay
MLGP2 consists of eight different games (18.6k .gif), of which most are really fun, and some are a little less entertaining (depending on your age and interest). The following games are included:
- Blox
- Help Thor remove boxes from a stockroom. By shoving two boxes side-by-side, they explode and disappear. When all the boxes are gone, you have finished the level. Requires a little thinking at times; some levels are quite hard. The "take back move" feature is used frequently. Entertaining.
- Combo II
- Connect the pipes and manage to roll the balls to their respective homes. By turning the pipes you can steer the balls, making them go the way you want. Perhaps not the best game in the pack.
- LongLegs
- Anybody remember Q-bert? This is the Barkto twins (gif 18.4k) home. This isn't as easy as it sounds as they do everything differently (when one goes up, the other goes down) and you can only control one at a time. Can get slightly boring after a while since there is no save or jump to level feature.
- ML Memory
- Remember where the cards are lying, and match them in pairs. If you find the game too easy, try selecting the "shuffle cards" feature. When enabled, the cards are moved around now and then, to make things harder. With all the settings available even a game as simple as Memory is fun.
- Morris
- A classic board game. Play either against another player or the computer. A good game, but unfortunately the computer AI is nothing to brag about. It is fairly easily beaten at even the hardest level.
- Rockbot
- Dig through level after level, avoiding the monsters, and gathering money. You need the money to buy keys that get you through locked doors (that lead to new levels). Rockbot is a large game with a lot of levels that can take some time to complete.
- Sauron's Eye
- A modern version of Break-Out. You're job is to break through a wall of bricks by bouncing a ball against it. When the ball hits a brick, it disappears. The most advanced and entertaining game included. Addictive!
With eight games in the pack, you get quite a lot for your money, and most games contain a large number of levels, which can keep you playing for some time. One option that I really miss in most of the games, however, is some kind of possibility to save your game, or a password after each level (well, perhaps not after each level, but at least once in a while). It can get rather boring to have to play the first couple of levels every time you start a new game. The possibility to save your game is included in Morris and Blox, why not in the rest of the games? In a separate folder (located in the MLGP2 folder) a couple of objects for extra levels can be found, if you happen to complete all the regular levels.
MLGP2 contains a fair amount of music and sound effects. Both can be set up as you want them (or turned off completely). The sound effects (wav) are handled similarly to how system sounds are in OS/2; different sounds can be associated to different events (level success, high score, game over, etc.). As for background music you can choose between 27 different songs (midi), of which most are well worth listening to. For each game you can choose which background songs you want, and how many.
Create Your Own Players
Most of the games can be played by two players. Instead of adding a player to a specific game in MLGP2, you create a WPS object and store it in the players folder (located in the MLGP2 folder). By default there are already five players defined, but it's much more fun creating your own! This is done by dragging a player template object (found in the templates folder) to the players folder, modifying its settings and, if you want, drawing a bitmap for the character. These players can then be used in any game by dragging their icons to the "players status field".
Settings
One thing I liked considerably was all the settings available. In each game there are a couple of notebook dialogs. Some are unique for each game, others are shared between all the games. In most games there are four settings notebooks; Game (difficulty, number of players),
Look-and-Feel (background bitmap, animations), Interface and Sound. Overall, there is an incredible amount of settings you can change, and you can even change how you want the settings notebooks to look!
MLGP2 Toolkit
Apart from the eight games, a toolkit comes with the package. The toolkit is a small utility that helps you with maintenance of the games. It handles functions like graphics diagnostics, setting up sound and music drivers and creating WPS objects if you happen to delete them.
You probably won't need to use the toolkit very often, and it isn't as exciting as the games. It's functions could have been put directly in the games, since you already change so many settings from the menus of the games anyway.
Conclusions
MicroLearn Game Pack won't make you stay home from work just to get a chance to play, but it will keep you satisfied for a while. One function I miss is some kind of autopause when you activate another app or game. For instance if you are in the middle of a game and want to check the help files or change any settings the game keeps running in the background (which you don't notice until you die), which can be slightly frustrating at times.
editor's note: There actually is a 'Pause when losing focus' checkbox in the 'Interface settings->Window settings' page and it works exactly as it is supposed to.
MLGP2 is not for the regular DOOM addict, it doesn't contain much violence or action, but for the rest of us I can recommend it. With its great graphics, sound effects and music, it's a good game, but as always, it could be polished further. And, as mentioned above, you should think seriously about holding off until you have at least 16 meg of RAM.
MicroLearn Game Pack Volume II
MicroLearn Nordic
In North America: MSR Development Corporation
Phone: (409) 564-1862
SRP: US$ 64.95
Mikael Engdahl has been an OS/2 enthusiast since v2.0. In his spare time, when not studying, he likes playing (OS/2) games.
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