Deadlock Mac Review (1998)

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From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published March 1998 and is reproduced as originally written, with the original screenshots (click to enlarge). More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

Beneath you floats the untamed Gallius 5. A newly discovered planet in the disputed part of the galaxy. A colony ship is ready, equipped with all the basics you need to settle on this planet. The select group of colonists orbiting with you are prepared both to build a strong colony and defend it to the last stone.

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Game Play

The game play is pretty good you lead a group of colonists in a fight for a planet. You can have unlimited play which you set up however you like. For example you choose the number of other colonies fighting for the planet and how many city centers are to be built to win. Mac Soft have put in a very useful tutorial which will show you the basics. You use a mouse to do most of the controlling, such as building and to attack you enemy. As you expand your territory you will encounter your enemy and may have to go to war. The one thing that I did not like is you have to end your turn to make progress instead of it doing it automatically.

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Graphics and Sound

The introductory graphics are excellent because they are realistic, they show you what the planet looks like and introduces the Characters. When the game starts the graphics become less impressive, they are not as realistic and the characters lack detail. The sound effects are quite pleasing, particularly the squeeks and beeps. However the background music becomes annoying because of constant repetition.

Interface

I liked the way the interface was laid out. Your menu bar is at the top of the screen and a simple click will activate each box.

Difficulty & Bugs

The level of play ranges from novice to expert. Players can play against the computer or on a network of computers. The level of difficulty depends on the number of city centers to be built and the number of Characters activated. There were no bugs that I was aware of during the time I used this program.

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Conclusion

I enjoyed playing Deadlock. There was a lot to do during the game. I feel it is rather similar to SimCity but better. I rather like the feature that allows one to fight against their enemy. This is an excellent building and alien busting game full of technology and some new design methods.

Find a copy

Deadlock has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Deadlock on Amazon.

Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.