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Here's another very old, very obscure title that's one of the things (well, types of things at least) I wanted to add to this page: Ken Franklin's Milestones 2000! Based after the card game Mille Bornes, this is one of those games that just doesn't play quite as well as you remember it. Besides the lack of two players (something that me and my cousins seem to remember playing together, guess not), the game works functionally, even if it seems like the computer player cheats like they always do. They get 3 or 4 of the cards that prevent them from you doing anything bad to them (red lights, 100 km speed limit, etc.) that allow them to win without trying. But sometimes you get those cards, making it less of a pain.

The graphics aren't much to speak of (besides the improbable driving through deserts, beaches, forests, and farms in short order), but it was the Apple IIGS, so I can forgive that (GS stood for "graphics" and "sound"), and sound there is! The sound effects are of course one of the highlights of the game, and they seem to be from old Warner Bros. cartoons. The "meep meep" of the Roadrunner is instantly recognizable, though others aren't. The sputtering of the 100 km car is also Mel Blanc's talent (specifically from, I have no idea), so I assume that the "I laugh at danger!" and "There's no better tire at any price" (among others) are also from cartoons, and I'd like to hear where they came from (if cartoons or otherwise).

There used to be a cool thing called "the Apple IIGS Explorer", and I'm not sure it works anymore (it has not worked with Chrome since at least early January 2015, at least, even with the rather invasive plug-in...haven't tested it on other operating systems recently) but it used to be very workable and better controlled (and easier) than a real Apple II GS. Otherwise, I'd suggest getting an Apple IIGS emulator, the disk image, an emulator, the ROM, and a pre-existing build (unless you wanted to muck around with circa 1989 installation procedures), or just a get a real IIGS. Be sure to also find other, better games, because Milestones 2000 (which measures in km, despite the guy being in the US and the French game using miles, go figure) isn't worth it itself.

May 27 2015

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