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Genre: Game - Arcade action

Developer: FunPause

Minimum System Requirements: 400MHz G3, Mac OS X, 128MB RAM, OpenGL graphics acceleration, 40MB free hard disk space

Price: $19.95

Atlantis has traditionally been a great stop-off on the computer game highway, and why not? It's mysterious, which makes it inherently interesting. It may not even exist, which makes it inherently intriguing. And Patrick Duffy once played the man from there, which makes it...I don't know. Someone else will have to address that for me.

Thing is, most games with the Atlantis theme tend to be adventures, since the legend itself is a pretty big puzzle. I suppose there's a decent RPG or RTS lurking in the depths somewhere, and maybe even a first-person shooter. Why not? Aren't we all growing a little tired of Mars and Bastogne? But an Atlantis action/arcade game in the Tetris vein? Here it is.

Atlantis is about Atlantis in name only, and it's in the Tetris vein in inspiration only. The concept sounds very much like an early 80s Indiana Jones TV show rip-off. Try this on for size:

As the head of an international team of skilled explorers on a classified mission, you unlock the secrets of the long-lost city in 81 challenging levels of pure fun. If you succeed, fame, fortune, and world-changing technology from Atlantis will be yours!

And how do you unlock these secrets? By shooting a colored ball at other colored balls , of course. How else?

The game works thusly: A stream of balls flows along a set path from the top to the bottom of the screen. You control a shooter at the bottom of the screen, which you use to fire a ball up into the stream. Your shooter holds two balls at a time, which you can swap if the ball on deck is of more use to you. After you fire a ball, another one appears in your shooter. Align three or more balls of a similar color and they disappear. The goal is to make a large majority of the balls disappear before too many make it to the end of the path.

Of course, there are power-ups along the way. You get these by purchasing them with credits collected throughout the game, although some apparently just show up in your gun from time to time. You'll need them, too, because this game can get exceptionally difficult. The first few times I played it, I couldn't even finish the first level, which is never a good sign. Don't be alarmed, though, if this happens to you, too. You just have to get into the rhythm of the game. Although you can utilize different strategies, you still have to play Atlantis the way the game wants you to. Once I developed a method that seemed to match the flow of the action, I progressed without much difficulty.

An added bonus to this is that you can save the game and come back to that level when you want. This is obviously a tremendous help if your goal is to fully clear the game's 81 levels and, you know, discover the lost city of Atlantis; you won't have to sit down for a five hour marathon gaming session.

Atlantis has a nice look to it. The background textures vary throughout the game, but never interfere with action. And unlike many games of this type, the balls are easily distinguishable, allowing for easy tracking and aiming. The animation is very smooth, and the game performs just fine on older systems; any decent iMac will handle the action without hiccups. The sound does its job, too. It's nothing spectacular, but games such as this don't require invasive audio effects or clamorous theme music. They'd only interfere with the fun.

Over a short period of time, Fun Pause has brought four games to the Macintosh: Atlantis, Dr. Germ, Garden Golf (see Applelinks review) and Rock and Roll and . They all feature traditional gameplay, but they manage to separate themselves from the pack with a distinct style much as early Ambrosia games conveyed their own sense of personality.

A free demo of Atlantis is available, and I suggest you try it out. You just might find the game rises above its company's name; it may be fun for much more than just a pause, but for a prolonged gaming session. The game doesn't really shed any light on the secret of Atlantis, but look at this way...those actually trying to discover Atlantis don't get to shoot at balls at day, so I think it's a fair tradeoff.

Download Atlantis.