Type Attack

Most educators would agree students have. few problems learning a subject when the goals and procedures are clearly defined. For that reason, any manual skill is easier to learn than an esoteric subject as long as the student practices. Aside from lack of practice, the biggest hindrance to skill-learning is lack of interest. The latter is not the case with Sirius' Type Attack. Designed by Jim Hauser and Ernie Brock, it is an interesting blend of education and gaming.

As implied by the name, Type Attack teaches the skill of typing. It accomplishes this task much in the same manner a teacher would - by controlled lessons designed to acquaint the user with the standard "qwerty" keyboard. For example, the first lesson covers the initial placement of the fingers of the left-hand. In addition, all of the lessons come in two parts: "Character Attack" and "Word Attack". However, unlike the traditional lessons, Type Attack is entertaining.

The "Character Attack" portion of the program resembles that triedand-true arcade game, Space Invaders. Each "Character Attack" consists of three waves of eight columns of letters marching inexorably to the bottom of the screen. Like the arcade game, when the columns touch the edge of the screen they drop down one horizontal level and begin to march in the opposite direction. Unlike most invasion games, however, the creatures don't drop missiles. Nor, for that matter, is there any need to aim a cannon. The player simply hits the proper letter to destroy the scrolling character.

In the "Word Attack" portion of the program, words based on the letters in that particular lesson scroll across the screen. They are destroyed by typing out the proper sequence of letters and then hitting the space bar. If a word goes off the left edge of the field, it reappears on the right, although a little bit closer to the bottom.

Errors, such as misspellings and incorrectly hit keys, are dealt with by a loss of energy. The more errors committed, the faster the loss. Once the energy level has dropped to zero, the game ends. In addition, space is allotted in the higher levels for userdeveloped lessons. This allows garners to type in their own words so that they can improve not only their typing, but also their spelling.

All in all, Type Attack is an excellent program, not only for its educational value, but also for its entertainment value.