Disc

The Good
I've always had an affinity for the '80s, and one item in particular: Tron. This fairly little-known movie from 1981 had some of the most imaginitive graphics and concepts I've ever seen, and justifiably spawned several computer games; this is one of them, though not officially.

The other thing I've always liked happens to be Loriciels. This company has consistently produced excellent games that, while generally technologically ahead of their time (particularly Mach 3 on the PC) still featured awesome gamesplay that lasted for hours.

Disc brings the two together. It's very similar in concept to one of Tron's game sequences, letting you play against the computer (or, if I remember correctly, against another player? I'll have to run the game and check again) in an arcade sequence of disc-tossing; the goal is to hit the opponent until he dies, or alternatively hit the wall segments behind him (which correspond mirror-like to the floor tiles). After a few successful hits the corresponding floor tile will dissolve (much like in Tron), and your opponent will have to be very careful not to fall to his death. And, like many other great games, the concept is as simple to understand as it is difficult to master.

Challenging as the gameplay is, it is accomplished by an excellent control system (2600 joysticks again...) and matched with delightful graphics and great sound effects. One of the things I like most about Loriciels's games is that they all have a terrific introduction music, and Disc is definitely no exception! If only the game itself was accompanied with such music...

The Bad
The afforementioned lack of ingame music is one caveat. The other is the devilishly difficult AI in higher levels of the game (Stork... [footnote: Stork=Sark? You decide...]).

The Bottom Line
A real treat for Tron and arcade fans alike... a rare game, much like most of Loriciels's. Highly recommended.

The Good
This game, like so many of its era, is simple yet addictive: you can either throw discs or catch them. You can aim at your competitor or at the walls. That's it. Yet I remember playing it for long stretches, and I still play it every week, for 10 or 20 minutes every time. Occasionally, I pick a character and play at championship mode - where you play in turn against each of the 16 computer characters, until you beat every one or lose. This can take about 30 minutes, and if I lose I sometimes find myself starting all over again. And even if I win I still try again. Such addictive game-play is very rare and has always been so.
What makes Disc and similar games so special is the fact that although controlling the game is very easy, it gives rise to many different tactics to beat your opponent, and many approaches to the game. You not only have to react fast, you need to anticipate your opponent and try to surprise him. And this isn't easy at all. The computer AI is pretty good in compensating its average tactical skill by inhuman reflexes and the ability to deal with 4 discs at once (on the highest levels, of course).
Other nice things about disc is the graphics, which is technically unexciting, but the spacey theme adds much to the game and is right on the money. The game's opening tune, a 10-second looping digital sound coming out of the PC speaker, is very nice, but doesn't really play a part in the game.

The Bad
Sometimes I get tired of playing against a tough, but ultimately unintelligent computer. So I find myself a poor victim and sit down for a little two-player game. The game should have been great for two players to play, but the keys for the 2nd player are poorly chosen, and it is often necessary for 3 keys to be pressed at once for each player. This gives rise to the famous "key-lock" problem: most keyboards and accompanying hardware can't properly handle 6 keys pressed at once. Since you can't reconfigure the keys, there's no way to properly play the game with two players.

The Bottom Line
Disc is an excellent game. Once you start playing, you'll never stop.

The Good
Loriciels is, without a doubt, one of my favorite developers. The few games I had by these guys (by those I mean, of course, Mach 3 and Disc) are absolutely amazing. I could, and in fact did, play both game for hours on my old XT because both were basically such good games.

I think what impressed me the most, at first anyway, about Disc is the opening music - Disc was the second game ever (Mach 3 being the first) I've ever heard that featured digital samples on the PC Speaker - in fact, other than Atom and Mach 3 I don't think I've heard anything that sounds that good on an XT. Regardless, Disc has some great - though a bit cheezy) - opening music, but this is by no means the only impressive thing about Disc.

As someone who grew up seeing Tron (still one of my favorite movies to this day), Disc was absolutely natural. It seemed like it was only matter of time until something like this came along, and for good reason - Tron featured some game ideas that I still consider a stroke of genius. The gameplay in Disc is smooth and fun, And although I was never much good at it I still enjoy a good round. To give the great gameplay a little kickstart, Disc has some of the best graphics I've seen on an XT at that time; the animations don't disappoint either.

The Bad
Well, the controls are quite frustrating 'till you get used to them... and more importantly, now that I've had the chance to play the Amiga version I see that the PC version just pales in comparison.

The Bottom Line
A really cool game... I just wish I had an Amiga when it was still cool to play with :-)