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Title Frontier Elite 2 (CD32)
Game Type 3D Combat Sim
Players 1
Company Gametek
Compatibility CD32
Submission Courtesy of Sean Caszatt

Review
FRONTIER:ELITE II was one of the most anticipated games on both the Amiga
and PC platforms. When it finally arrived, many marveled at how large the
game was compared to how small the actual program was. The entire
FRONTIER universe was contained on a single disk.

The game itself is hard to describe. It's a combination
strategy/action/simulation game. You are given a ship and a small amount
of cash and it's up to you to choose what you do with it. You can join
the military, become a smuggler, run a small trade route, become a pirate,
or whatever other niche you'd like to inhabit.

When it was announced that a CD³² version was in the works, gamers drooled
at the thought that the game would be enhanced to take advantage of the
massive storage capacity of the CD-ROM format. The game could receive the
texture mapping present in the PC version. The sound could be improved.
The game was already great, any changes made would be the icing on the
cake.

Forget it.

The CD³² version of FRONTIER: ELITE II is a straight port of the Amiga
version with the only modifications being to the control system to allow
the use of the CD32 controller.

The game itself remains great. Unfortunately, this IS a computer game. I
strongly recommend that, if you choose to purchase this game, you get a
keyboard and a mouse for the CD³². The CD³²'s controller pads are not
made to control a game like this. Moving the ship around requires a large
dose of finesse control. The odd button combinations required to get
something done prohibit you from being anything but clumsy. (Example: To
fire your laser, you must press the top left button and the red button.
Not too bad, but try doing it while tracking an enemy ship. You have to
press the top left button, move the directional pad and press the red
button all at the same time.) At the least, get a mouse and a joystick to
control the game if you plan to buy it.

This is a game that cannot be recommended to just any CD³² owner. To get
any enjoyment out of the game, you must be able to save your progress and
control your movements a lot better than the standard setup will allow.

If you're planning on expanding your CD³² with the coming SX-1 module or
something similar, you might want to even consider buying the hard drive
installable Amiga version of the game. You wouldn't be missing anything
and it's currently cheaper than the CD³² version. The SX-1 would allow
you to connect a floppy drive to the CD³², allowing you to save more than
one game at a time. Currently, the CD³² is only capable of saving one
FRONTIER game at a time in it's memory. No matter how you slice it, the
CD³² alone isn't the ideal platform to play this game on. Some type of
accessory or another is required to really enjoy the game.

It's a shame that more enhancements weren't added. This is a game that
could have really shone on the CD³². It's a shame that you have to
expand your CD³² into a computer to get the full enjoyment out it. Once
you do expand your CD³² into a computer, why not just get the computer
version anyway? It's cheaper.