Micro Astrologer_ The
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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Story

You are the story. This software is about finding out who you are. You may or may not believe in astrology. Frankly, I do not believe in it much. I don't even read the daily horoscope. But I am open minded, and am always willing to give things a try. According to the manual, "The Micro Astrologer combines the power of a computer with the accumulated knowledge of many astrologers, making sophisticated interpretations (based on very precise calculations) readily available." The manual then goes on to explain how "Astrology can help you better understand yourself and others, and some of the influences affecting you (or others) at particular times." Interesting. 

The manual gives a short, yet informative, overview on the field of Astrology. I felt it was a good read.

Gameplay

The title screen features a picture of the Zodiac Wheel. You can choose to see your Natal Horoscope, Monthly Horoscope, or Daily Horoscope. I started with my Natal Horoscope which is basically an analysis of your personality and life based on the moment of your birth. I entered my name (not sure if that is used for the reading itself), date of birth, and time of birth. I was then given my Natal Horoscope, which was very detailed. Here is an excerpt:

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...Moon in Aquarius

An imaginative, detached but courteous, unpredictable individual is indicated. Nervous tension and aloofness may require control.

Masculine signs are very strong in this chart. The air element is associated with people who are mentally active, and are communicative.

This chart is dominated by "easy" aspects. This is like a "lucky star" - things tend to come easily. Be careful, however, to set higher objectives and work to achieve them...

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Hey, that sounds exactly like me! Though maybe I am not objective enough when it comes to me. So I printed it and went and showed to a couple of friends and they both agreed that it describes me exactly. Nice.

Next, I decided I would try my daily horoscope. For the next 7 days, I had the Micro Astrologer give me the daily horoscope every morning. and I printed it out. Armed with the horoscope and a diary, I documented the next seven days to see how accurate that horoscope is:

Saturday - According to the daily horoscope, this was a good day for work requiring self discipline. Such as the work on this website (RarityGuide.com). So I sat down and put a lot of work on the website. And I did get lots of things done, including more articles, game reviews, reviewing rarity guide data, discussing some feedback with the RarityGuide.com community, updating the Star Trek forum with exclusive materials about the Star Trek Movie, and more. So I guess the horoscope was pretty accurate, though every Saturday I work on the website and I generally get a lot done anyway...

Sunday - According to the horoscope, in this day, self endurance and discipline would could lead to detailed and constructive work. Sounds kinda like the last day. Oh well, I kept working on RarityGuide.com and got a lot done again.

Monday - Uh oh. The horoscope states that in this day my nervous energy is over stimulating and that I may annoy co-workers. Not a good way to start the week! So I decided to avoid my cup of coffee this morning as to not build more of that over stimulating nervous energy. Furthermore, I decided that in the office I would keep chat with co-workers to a minimum as to not risk annoying them. In the end, I think they got annoyed because I did not talk to them. Self fulfilling prophecy.

Tuesday - Again I got the same horoscope, that with annoying my co-workers. Gee, maybe I should call in sick. Well I decided that contrary to the previous day, I'll try acting normally and chat with my co-workers as usual. But I might have tried to hard to act normal and ended up acting weird, thus annoying them once again. Another day of self fulfilling prophecy.

Wednesday - Finally it seems that my streak of annoying co-workers is gone. The horoscope suggested in this day that I leave the past behind, and apply myself energetically to something new. I took the advice and started eagerly working on some new projects.

Thursday - According to the horoscope, in this day my feelings would make it difficult to think clearly. But I did not feel anything special that day, nor did I have a problem thinking clearly.

Friday - "Luck is with you today. You may receive unexpected money or favors. This is a great aspect, but try to control excessive optimism." Sweet! I could not control my optimism and I waited all day for that unexpected money and/or favors. But I got none that day. In fact, I even got a parking ticket. Not a very lucky day.

So in conclusion, compared to my Natal Horoscope, the daily horoscope was a bit disappointing. If anything, all accurate predictions were due to self fulfilling prophecies. My expectations weren't that high anyway. Still, it sometimes encouraged me to work harder promising greater results, so I guess that was a positive thing.



Micro Astrologer Horoscope Screen

Multiplayer

Not applicable.

Controls

Keyboard controls. In the introduction screen, you have to enter N to get your natal horoscope, M for your monthly horoscope, or D for your daily horoscope. Easy to remember, but if for some reason you did not have the manual available then it woud be hard to guess as the screen just asks you "Function?" with no key. It could have used another line that said something like "N - Natal Horoscope, M - Monthly Horoscope, D - Daily Horoscope".

In the reading screen, F5 and F7 scrolls through the text. Holding the Shift key down doubles the scroll speed, while holding the control key down quadruples it. Again, there is no help or tooltip - I had to search the manual for how to do it. An on screen help would have been useful.

Graphics

The title screen has a nice picture of the Zodiac Wheel but this software is more of a text based software, so the graphics will not be rated.

Sound Effects & Music

Nice tune in the title screen, but again, this game is not about graphics or sound effects, so this will not be rated.

Obscurity

This game is pretty obscure, as kids usually don't try these kinds of software.

Summary/Author’s Take

Good astrology software, but will probably appeal mostly to astrology fans. Still, it is an interesting read for everyone, whether for educational or entertainment purposes. Personally I felt that my Natal Horoscope was strong, but the Daily Horoscope was weak.

 

Story

90 percent

This is about you.

Gameplay

90 percent

Get astrology readings. Very detailed Natal Horoscope.

Multiplayer

N/A

N/A

Controls

70 percent

Hard to guess without the manual. No help tips.

Graphics

N/A

N/A

SFX and Music

N/A

N/A

Obscurity

95 percent

Not many kids tried this one.

Overall

80 percent

Might appeal to astrology fans.






http://www.rarityguide.com/forums/commodore/179-new-commodore-64-review-micro-astrologer-unlock-secrets-zodiac.html
