Subject:Mini-review of Turkeyshoot GS
From:"Charles T. 'Dr. Tom' Turley" <cturley@grin.net>
Date:1997/11/27
Message-ID:<347E44D6.254E@grin.net>
Newsgroups:comp.sys.apple2
A Mini-review of Turkeyshoot GS (status - public domain)
modified to reflect availability of the game archive on 12/2/97
Release version: 1.0
Release date:11/27/97
Release time: 6:35 AM (PST)
Form of released archive: ShrinkIt GS
Archive title: turkeyshoot.shk
Archive size: 296K
Game and archive status: distribution-restricted freeware
First mentioned in a vague and subtle comment, on this newsgroup in a
public post from the games author, a few weeks ago, I became aware
of its being created late last month by an anonymous email tip.
I've presented this mini-review of Turkeysoot GS, in 69 character
col. format - here exclusively - on the comp.sys.apple2 newsgroup
only, as a public service post and I'm releasing this post to public
domain with no restrictions, for the game authors amusement, thrill
and delight. The documentation forbids me from mentioning it anywhere
else (even on Delphi, which I'm a member of BTW). The game was
beta tested and commented with suggestions concerning it by the
regulars on the Delphi Chat Forum.
The documentation also relates that Delphi is the place to go - if you
want to download this archive. That's where the author states he first
made the upload to. But, that's not where I obtained it from.
I obtained the official, public release of TurkeyShoot GS v1.0 as a
ShrinkIt GS archive named: turkeyshoot.shk - just this morning from
the incoming folder of the Apple II Caltech ftp site (Zocolo), after
being made aware of its being available to the public for download
from that very location, by an ESP message I received on Thanksgiving
morning, at about 9:20 AM (PST) from my 'Thankgivig Guardian Angel'.
Using my trusty Apple Macintosh with Fetch, I promptly went there,
without hesitation and found the archive waiting (strangely it was
then available to anybody for access and download from the incoming
folder - something you rarely see from that ftp site), so I promptly
downloaded it to a ProDOS 800k disk. I then unshrunk the archive
using Shrink II on my Mac for my use to review its documentation
content and then also on my IIgs I unshrunk it again, with ShrinkIt
GS v1.1, to allow me to play it and present this mini-review. When I
checked the Zocolo incoming folder again this afternoon, after
several hours of playing with the game, It was no longer available
for public access and download from that location.
TurkeyShoot GS is a new IIgs arcade style game (GS/OS desktop
application) authored and copyrighted by Nathan Mates, presented
with 256 color graphics, in the 320 mode with sound effects and
background music.
It's very demanding of the game player with a skillful need for fast
reaction and skilled coordination to get the high score before you
run out of ammo. It even provides the player with a special option
to refresh your ammo when a turkey may drop their ammo pack. It's
heavy, fast and action packed with random carnage on 'idiotic
turkeys' that on occasion actually spin thru the air and/or sail
across the sky and eventually drop to the ground to scuddle and flee
from the right of the screen to the left at their exit point. You
have the option of using a shotgun to shoot the Turkeys. The games
author seems to have a profuse vengance and obsessive, festering
hate for Turkeys - as amply presented in the games hasty and poorly
written documentation (a teach Text file).
But, that was completely expected, as the games author also proudly
states in the documentation - that most of the games code was done
is less than 6 days. And, I conclude - on the seventh day he rested
:) The author also clearly notes in the documentation, included with
the Shrinkit GS archive (turkeyshoot.shk) that any resemblance to
any humans or any animals is purely coincidental. OK, your covered
Nathan, draw and fire!
Also within the included documentation by the games author, he
profusely rambles, rants and relates that the game player:... "is in
charge of a nice area of Apple II users, when a group - who know
nothing better than to be jerks and pirates decide to invade. Not
good. So, you pull out your trusty shotgun and show the turkeys
who's boss. However, they refuse to listen to reality or the facts,
and keep swarming, keep pirating. How long can you survive?"
When the game is launched, the player views a few intro graphic
screens and then the game option menu. In the first intro screen
(golden in color) the game states it's rated as: K-A. What you might
wonder - is the rating of K-A. Get the game and see for yourself.
To control the game and option selection menu, the player uses the
keyboard up and down arrow keys to select, and the return key to
choose. All items are fairly simple and self-explaining in content and
use. It's a very user friendly game to play.
To control the game the player uses the mouse to move the cursor, and
clicks the mouse button to fire. The players health will decrease if
you let turkeys or pirated disks leave the screen; it's in the
players best interest to kill all the turkeys - ASAP. As I mentioned
above...ammo can be replentished by the occasional ammo dropped from a
dead turkey.
Concerning the scores and state of the player...health goes right on
up by 1 point per pirated disk you recapture from the pirates
(represented as turekeys), or 25 points with the special health bonus.
You do have one special weapon, the Account Nuker-- that kills all
Turkeys onscreen, as their internet accounts have been shut down.
However, they'll soon find another and be back with a vengance. Use the
spacebar to fire off the account nuker.
The players eventually will die, (and don't we all - sooner or later).
Then the players have the ability to save their high score if the
score was high enough, the player can enter a name and hit return.
BTW, high scores are saved to 3.5 disk, ram disk, hard drive or
other program storage media.
After our standard Thanksgiving feast, my friends and I played the
game for several more hours. I'm proud to say I got the highest
score. We were all very amused and entertaioned with the game - as
well as with the documentation file contents, style and the authors
revelations of the games reasoning (or lack there-of????)
The author goes on and on with his general revelations and all of
his usual stylish, hateful, rants and rambles with many reasons and
so on...concerning the games release, within the games documentation
file, which I won't bother to relate in this mini-review. You should
read them for yourself - word for word, in all their gloryful contents.
You might even find them to be more amusing than the game is.
The game reminds me in many ways of some of the older classic IIgs
releases like; Senseless Violence and Ego Zap, etc. But, don't take my
word for it. The games author never has!
The archive was posted by its author to the public via the Usenet
newsgroup: comp.binaries.apple2 and is also available from the authors
web site. To download the game archive. etc ;)...go to TurkeyshootGS.
Be sure to keep using that spacebar option in the game also - it might just
work. At any rate it might help Nathan realize his concepts of reality are
not as simple as pressing a spacebar in a game ;)
Cheers & Happy Thanksgiving,
Tom