As I’ve said numerous times before, Photoshop is among my all-time favorite products for the Macintosh, right up there with SoundEdit and probably Maelstrom. I messed around early in my writing/layout career with Aldus’ Digital Darkroom, and probably learned a few good things about photo-retouching, but I knew something was missing. I can definitely say now that I am more than content with Photoshop, and am highly impressed with the improvements/additions for version 2.5.
As it was explained to me prior to its release date, Photoshop 2.5 was essentially a rewrite in the C programming language. Only parts of it were written in this efficient language before, so naturally, but not deliberately, the end product would be and is faster. The key here is that 2.5 was not meant to be strictly a “speed” upgrade. But trust me, those of you who are running Photoshop on your Classic, LC or Performa, you’ll be sure to notice the difference.
The first thing I noticed when I launched 2.5 was the new Color Picker tool. The arrow allows one to switch the foreground and background colors on the fly. A small thing to rave about, but you know what they say about the little things ... Also the Variations sub-screen, which gives the user an instant preview of nine possible image resultants, given color balance, contrast and saturation. We can only show you grayscale, but the usefulness of this screen should speak for itself. It’s obvious that Adobe had their users in mind for this release, making the aircraft carrier of image-editing programs as easy to operate as a jet-ski. Hmmm ... maybe that’s dangerous.
Other additions include the dodge and burn tool, which allows selective exposure correction, and the strange Extrude filter. With all of these features in mind, it’s hard to imagine any improvements in the future, without altering the purity of this award-winning program. Hats off to Adobe — they’re one of the only companies that put out software I can rate so highly. Now only if they’ll pick up my Visine and optometrist bills, as well .... - Dan Sicko
 
Painter 2.0
Macintosh/Windows
Fractal Design Corporation
I must say that until this package came along — I was sure nothing could captivate me the way Adobe Photoshop does, But Painter 2.0 offers the electronic artist or the image-enhancer a wealth of tools and effects to choose from, and the ability to simulate natural media has never lost it’s intrigue.
By natural media, if you’re not familiar with the package, I mean that Painter emulates the effect of colored pencils, or watercolor, paint, what have you ... when applied to paper (having the texture of your choice). This may not sound like any great feat at first, but once you realize that colors get darker the longer you leave the mouse in one spot (or apply more pressure on your drawing tablet — more on that later). Nearly every characteristic sans your lead breaking or your brush drying is taken into account — there’s even a leaky Bic pen tool!
New in Painter 2.0 is the ability to import Type 1 and TrueType fonts (one at a time) - a feature I utilize constantly. What’s exceptional about this is the ability to use the selection as a frisket (an area of your image you wish to protect — sort of a reverse stencil), which leads into another world awaiting exploration.
Also new is the page turning Color Palette, previews for effects, a resizing function, a pop-up info window, tear-off brush variants and more. Fractal Design also does an impeccable job in interfacing with pressure sensitive tablets such as Calcomp’s or Wacom’s (whose Art-Z I utilized for the original but humble piece on this page — next issue we’ll take a closer look). Also, most Photoshop filters may be accessed (including Kai’s Power Tools!), making it evident that the FD team are committed to providing computer artists with everything they need — and plenty of things they could never dream of! - Dan Sicko
 
BLADE
for Macintosh
By Leviathan
Clear some space off your hard drive and make room for this game. I challenge you to find a game with better graphics or a bigger group of weird creatures who are all after a piece of your hide.
The complete game contains fifteen screens — three screens per level — in which your warrior must finish three simple tasks: 1. Collect the teleporter pods. 2. Activate the teleporter once all the pods are collected. 3. Try not to die while trying to complete tasks 1 & 2. Each level contains a cast of evil characters: flying squid, crazed mallet-carrying trolls, bubbling green ooze, and Chinese-death-star-throwing gophers, to name a few. By thrusting, kicking, and spinning leaps you guide your blade covered warrior into battle against these deadly foes. The third screen of each level houses a guardian. It’s just you and him in a battle to the death. If you succeed, you obtain a key to open a door to the next level. Sometimes the door is not obvious — keep running around — you’re bound to stumble onto it if you can’t find it at first. Each battle gets you a step closer to the final showdown against a multi-eyed alien.
In addition to the teleporter pods, stasis pods will appear along the way. Grab these at any chance you get because they provide either additional life or an increase in speed — two features you sorely lack throughout the game. Always remember that patience will keep you alive in this game. Running blindly across swamp will only get you killed. Getting used to the controls takes some practice. By combining practice and patience, you’ll be cutting through the levels in no time. Be advised that the beginner mode (under Preferences) allows you to kill your opponents quicker, but you can only reach the end of level 3. Only players in the advanced mode have the opportunity to hack their way up to the alien in the final conflict.
The only complaint I have about the game is that the path is not always clearly marked. Sometimes it’s not marked at all. Only after an extreme number of restarts do you finally stumble upon the exact timing of keystrokes to get you through the screen. In some areas, before you capture enough speed stasis pods, it seems virtually impossible to progress. I found this happening a few times in early levels, which may discourage the impatient player. Don’t panic, just call the Technical Support number if you need assistance.
Like everyone else I talk to, I was stunned by the clarity and detail of the graphics, both the backgrounds and the characters. It’s amazing that a game of this caliber was produced in Warren, Michigan. Stay tuned for more great games from the local boys at Leviathan. -cg
