Players had to absorb energy from the environment (trees) and use it judiciously to create boulders and Roboids. This resource management aspect added a layer of strategy not commonly seen in games of that period.

Teleportation Mechanic: The ability to teleport by transferring consciousness to a newly created Roboid was innovative. It required players to think several steps ahead and consider their position relative to the Sentinel and the landscape.

Environmental Manipulation: The player's ability to alter the environment by creating and absorbing objects was a novel concept. It required a combination of spatial awareness and strategic planning, as the landscape itself was a
tool for progression and survival.

Atmospheric Tension: The game's design created a palpable sense of tension.
The silent, watchful presence of the Sentinel, combined with the sparse sound effects and the vast, open landscape, created a unique atmosphere that was
both eerie and captivating.

First Impressions and Graphics: As a player booting up Sentinel on my
Commodore 64 for the first time, I'm immediately struck by the unique visual style. The 3D landscape is unlike anything I've seen on the system before. The checkerboard ground stretches out in all directions, with geometric boulders and tree-like structures dotting the landscape. The way the Sentinel stands motionless, surveying its domain, creates a sense of foreboding right from the start.

Conclusion: In summary, Sentinel was a groundbreaking game on Commodore platforms, leveraging the hardware's capabilities to deliver an experience
that was both technically impressive and conceptually innovative. Its unique approach to 3D graphics, sound design, and gameplay mechanics made it stand
out in the gaming landscape. The game challenged players not just with
reflexes or pattern memorization, but with strategic thinking, resource management, and an understanding of a complex, three-dimensional environment.

This combination of factors is what made Sentinel a memorable and influential title in the history of video games.

Game playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW1GLtwtlI0

Rating: 10/10
Pros: Impressive graphical and use of sound. Fluid gameplay but slow paced for many. Tense and thoughtful gameplay.

Cons:
Many will find the game too slow. Of course now graphically it looks dated


**********************************
A DARK START TO 'RUN/STOP-RESTORE'
-by Lenard R. Roach
**********************************

(The story you are about to read is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent as well as the guilty.)

She sat on the edge of the sofa in our Corona Avenue home doing no more than staring at the living room floor, trying to find the words to tell me about
the dark secret that she was harboring in her soul. She has held this secret
in for months. Now she was caught. Caught by her son while visiting his home
in Gardner, Kansas no more than a few hours ago. He told her that if she
didn't tell Dad what she was doing then he would tell Dad himself. She backed herself into a corner. She knew that only the truth was the way out of the tangled web that she weaved. After dropping off her traveling companion at
his home, she reluctantly drove here knowing she would have to face the music of what she had done no matter how sour the notes are. She looked up at me
with sorrow in her eyes but no tears.

"Honey," she began, "I've been having an affair with Mark from church."

I stood there. I didn't know at the moment whether to cry or get mad. I let
her tell her story about how, starting with a church function, they developed
a friendship. That friendship slowly started to become more affectionate, then it became a full blown affair with this Mark, a poor young man who himself
was having problems in his own marriage. They confided in each other their marital issues, then they comforted each other, then they fell in love with each other and started an affair behind the backs of both Mark's wife as well as me. The affair has been going on for about a year. She finished her story.

"I didn't mean to, dear. It just happened."

I've been told many times by psychiatrist friends that infatuation, especially the daring infatuation like that of a hidden love affair, is an emotion that sometimes is stronger than cocaine. The thrill of secretcy, the sneaking
around to meet each other, to be together despite the odds of getting caught, plus for how long the affair can go on before they are finally busted, was a drawing force that is next to impossible to resist. Even I have been caught in that web on occasion by women who came onto me, but before anything could develop informed the potential external female love interest that I was a "happily" married man. I was not looking for an extracurricular romance. The spurned woman would find a way to get back at me; to make me suffer for my decision by either spreading rumors on me at my job or among the few friends
I had. The next thing I knew I was dismissed from my job or ostracized by my friends. I held my ground with such women choosing my wife each and every
time. That ring I wore on the fourth finger of my left hand was not there because I like flashy jewelry. It meant I was betrothed to another "til death do us part." But what if that death was emotional and not physical? I was at
a loss. In the middle of my shock to her confession of betrayal I asked a stupid question:

"You gotta choose. It's either him or me. Now which is it?"

She looked up at me with still no tears in her eyes. "There is no choice," she said. She rose from the sofa and walked slowly to the bedroom. Out of the closet she pulled out a large suitcase and threw it on the bed. After opening it, she went to the dresser and started putting her clothes into it. She also took down some clothes from the closet and put them into the suitcase as well. I stood there with no emotion at the moment as I watched 26 years of marriage

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