SunDog: Frozen Legacy

The Good
The economic simulation presented in this 1980's game is astounding considering the time it was developed. Despite limited memory (64K on the Apple II), the game manages to keep track of the economies of a dozen star systems. The game play is open-ended and the users can accomplish the goals any way they please. SunDog sets up a universe--how you use it's rules are up to you.

The graphics were clean and crisp. They delivered just the needed information without cluttering up the screen with irrelevant images. The ZoomAction windowed interface was years ahead of it's time--beating Apple and Microsoft with the Windowed interface. The economic simulation was incredible for its time--it was incredible that it could save all the information in 64K.

The Bad
The action sequences were sometimes hard to control, but this shortcoming could be overcome with hi-tech parts which could be acquired later in the game. Lack of online access to economic data of other systems required copious note-taking. The interface would have been easier to control via mouse, but they weren't invented yet (for the Apple II version--the Atari version did use a mouse for some things).

The Bottom Line
A great well-balanced game that hasn't had an equal since it's release in the mid-1980's. The economic simulation and system-hopping is immersive despite its age and dated graphics.