I borrowed this game from a good friend here on GB and not having the original box I do not have the specification requirements to post here, but I had no trouble loading and learning how to play this game with the little booklet that was included with the three discs.
First, I want to quote Gentry Lee, the Designer of the game who wrote this (excerpt)in her introduction:
"It has been by great good fortune in life to be the father of seven sons. Their ages at present range from twenty to three. Already four of them are engaged in playing RAMA, and I have been able both to watch their progress in the game and to enjoy answering the philosoplhical questions engendered in their minds by the existence of this huge alien ship with its mnarvels inside. It is my fondest desire that user families will share the same thrills and wonder that I have already experienced with my children."
I can only say that I wish I had had such an exciting experience available to me when I was raising my two sons. Home computers were just beginning to emerge as a new 'home appliance' and it took me several years after they left the teen years to even sit down at one. All of that said, I hope you enjoy this review (however brief) and try to get your hands on this game. YOU WILL LOVE IT!
The year is approximately 2197 (guessing at this since I lost my latest calendar).
I have traveled from earth aboard the spaceship Newton. A drone shuttle takes me to RAMA a LARGE alien spaceship, named so by its discoverers, which has arrived in our solar system from somewhere in outer space. I am an (unnamed) adventurer invited along with the scientists etc to explore this vast 'world'. The people I meet are interesting and sometimes mysterious (I would never have guessed who the villians are!). There are lots of beautiful, strange areas to explore, tons of things to find, pick up and carry in my (seemingly weightless) inventory (pack) and puzzles to solve in order to proceed to the next activity. Sometimes it does not seem to matter what order you do things in. But, be careful not to get too confused about what you did and what might come next. I was able to move around in the 'maze' (spaceship) with the help of a device I was given upon my arrival and once I remembered to use it and learned to use it often, I did not get lost anymore.
I had trouble with some of the math concept puzzles (math was never my strong suit) but managed to work my way through Part I and most of Part II with the use of two walkthroughs. At the end I got hung up with the TIMED puzzle and gave up without seeing the endgame result.
This has to be the most spectacular game I have played so far as the graphics and the brilliant crisp colors are wonderful. Sierra did a GREAT job with this one!
The back of the booklet cites the classic novels by Bantam books of: RAMA (the inspiration for this game by Lee), RAMA II, Garden of RAMA, and RAMA Revealed all by Arthur C. Clark. Would love to see these done as sequels to this game.
Love, Betty Lou
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