Deadlock: Planetary Conquest
Preview by Al Giovetti
Price: $60
Release: Q3 1996
Genre: Strategy
Art: Ken Capelli
Music: Chip Harris
Programmer: Paul Kwinn/Gary Strawn
Developer: Accolade
Producer: Matthew Ford
Team Leader: Russell Shiffer
Publisher: Accolade
Phone: 800-245-7744
Website: http://www.accolade.com
Requirements: IBM PC 486 DX2/66, Pentium and most compatibles, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, or Windows NT, 8MB RAM, SVGA Color Graphics, 2X CD-ROM

History: The phased turn and real time strategy games have few sub genres. One such sub-genre is the god game. Many games like this have succeeded with relatively simple plots and other controls. PowerMonger, Populous, and others fall into this category. Before Accolade brought out Deadlock, a very similar game was introduced by the Logic Factory, Ascension.

Plot: Like most real time strategy games, Deadlock has multiple races jampacked in the galaxy. In fact, there are so few habitable planets, that the sentient races must compete for them. The seven races are all different with different strengths and weaknesses to conveniently enhance play value: ChCh'T, Cyth, Human(d), Maug, Re'Lu, Tarth, and Uva Mosk.

All seven races compete to show their superiority to inherit this planet and replace their dying home planet. These futuristic races will not cooperate and share the new planet since they need it all to salvage what is left of their population.

The race is on to set up a predetermined number of successful city centers, choose from two, three, five, seven or ten city centers. Deadlock can be a resource management game or a quick population game. Resources must be researched to become useful.

There is a war game aspect to the game, but it is very poorly developed.

Interface: An overhead oblique perspective real-time building, diplomacy, and war game similar to Ascendancy. Maps zoom and rotate giving full view of colony growth and upgrades. Could be called SimCity meets Command & Conquer

Game play: Each of the species land on the planet and compete for the control of the world. Each species has its own different, unique strengths and weaknesses. Each race must manage their city, research new technologies, and fight for survival.

Interface: The screen is laid out with two thirds of the screen on the left in the toverhead oblique (isometric) view with diamond shaped terrain spaces. These spaces are where you build your population centers and put down Sim City style your new city scape. On the right one third of the screen are shown the overhead perspective of the entire map at the top and an object selection menu at the bottom. A Windows 95 icon bar and pull down menu system round out the control system for the multiple choices that a would be planet conqueror has at their disposal.

Graphics: Simulation games are never strong on graphics, but Deadlock's graphics are better than the passable ones normally seen.

Animation: Poorly animated cut scenes especially those depicting the war sequences.

Voice actors: Huh: (?)

Music score: Average:

Sound effects: Below average

Utilities: No scenario editor is present.

Multi-player: Up to seven players in multi-player action against the computer or up to six other humans via, null and phone modem, network, Windows 95 internet, or email.

Reviews
Computer Gaming World
Strategy Plus
Next Generation
Jeff James, Computer Player, volume 3, number 4, September, 1996, pg. 43.
Glenn Broderick, Computer Player, volume 3, number 5, December, 1996, pg. 88, (70%).