Extra life Abyss                                   #2 at Symposium/Mekka'98
                                                                     
Nice  demo indeed!  The effects coded by Spin are very common in what are they
are  showing, but are visibly different in coding methods.  And there's also a
secret  part,  but I wasn't able to find out.  The graphic style by Cyclone is
very  interesting  and particular and musics by Muffler and Bay Tremore are of
high  quality  level,  also  if it seemed to me that in second tune there were
some sounds a bit too distorted.  The only lacking thing is design, especially
the  second  part  of the demo is very similar to the first one.  But the real
lack  is  the  usual  habit of many coders (and Spin it's not an exception) to
link  effects  non-correlated only with music changes.  The demo is very clean
with a workbench requester to advice you that all multitasking will be suspend
and  with a gadget to enter in the secret part (it's a joke!).  When you start
it  the  Abyss title introduce you in a twisting tunnel composed with many and
many  circle-shaped  bobs  overlapped  on  thereselves  to form also a texture
effect.   Then  four  balls  2D deforming  the  same  texture dance on screen,
followed  from  another tunnel with a very strange texture effect:  Seems that
on  a  big  circular  bob  floating on the screen in which every pixel defines
luminosity,  the  applied  texture rotate in classic tunnel mode.  This is the
end  of  the  first  part.   The  second  part  is introduced from a very cool
picture,  after  that  credits  are shown and another tunnel appears made with
circle-shaped  bobs,  but  this is opened in four section.  Afterwards, on the
same  texture  of four balls, four points rotating dance in the same mode seen
before  with  balls.   Further effect is a vertical rubbish rotator with light
moving  on it all in 1x2 pixel and the last effect is a 2D rippling wave.  All
effects, excepted rubbish rotator are in 2x2 pixel resolution.  At the end the
final  scrolltext  is  presented  on  a  background  with  a  simple  but nice
interference effect.                                           
                                                                     
Coding      : Very good - something remembered me the old Dr. Skull's style
2D Graphics : Very good - a very original painting mode
3D Graphics : Average   - there are only tunnel and 2D effects
Music       : Very good - especially the final scrolltext tune
Design      : Good      - nothing of unusual
Overall vote: Very Good - A nice demo worthy of a look or two}