Return of the Interactive Thing from Mars . • I That's why your June Issue ob Jacobs, who (Development IS done of on ChangIng p,aces arrived a bit late, and why B founded and headed PC-based cross-development Compute Magazine this one may also. By up CinemaWare in its system.) Associate Publisher Bernie August or September at the heyday, has opened shop Jacobs says "most of the .Theobald is leaving the latest, we will be back on under a new name. energy and money is going Carolina-based publication track with a raft of reviews. CinemaWare, which had into cartridges" these days, for parts unknown. And SSI until recently been operating and he expects to see a lot just hired former as a software development more for the Sega and NBS Mediagenic exec Brad 13 issues for the outfit only, is now another CD-ROM systems. Acme's Brown as Director of price of 121 footnote in the history of the first products will be shown Business Development, a computer game companies at the January CES. new position at the Those of you whose subs expire by August are already that boomed, then busted. It company. He'll concentrate aware of our new renewal will likely be remembered on licensing. for one of its first games, the policy: renew at least two trendsetting Defender of the months before your sub runs Crown, an early Amiga hit. Mediagenic still out, and you'll get 13 issues Jacobs sold and licensed in transition for the price of 12. the company's technology So if your label says Our CBS reporter missed the 91/09, your renewal must be and games, then started a Activision booth, probably new game company called postmarked no later than because Mediagenic no Acme Interactive. DataEast June 30. Since that date has longer has a public relations bought the technology, already passed, September department to let anyone Mirrorsoft got the name expiration dates have until know where to find them at CinemaWare, and NEC got July 30. We'll send trade shows (they've been in . the sports games. postcards to remind you of "silence mode" since the The staff consists of 13 upcoming expirations and of takeover). people, soon to expand to this special offer while it At CBS they showed 17. According to Jacobs, Dangerous lasts. Steve Meretzky's Leather CinemaWare employees Dimensions Goddesses of Phobos II: Gas who wanted to work with A few months back we Pump Girls, which should be videogames stayed with him reported rumors that released in September for when he formed Acme. AD & D creator Gary MSOOS. It's a graphic 2: Adventure Road Gygax was working on a adventure with an "all-new Look in the crate ... computer game called 3: Timequest interface." They have still 4: Sex Olympics Jacobs says Acme, whose "Double Dimen~ions." The not decided whether to logo shows a familiar­ game, it turns out, is actually 5: Summer CES release it as an Infocom 8: Midwinter looking crate with a pair of called Dangerous game or an Activision game. eyes peeking out from the Dimensions, but it's a role­ 9: Clues and Tips for top, will focus on videogame playing game system along Might & Magic III development for Nintendo's the lines of Steve Jackson's Summertime 10: Sherlock on CD, SuperFamicon and Sega GURPS, not a computer blues Real RPGs on NES 11: Walkthru: Genesis. game. The system might be Due to the paucity of Escape from Hell Sports games will be the put to work in a computer adventures being released 12: Censorship in fIrst to leave the chute, but game, though, as well as in this summer (only three role-playing games will be paper and pencil and actually arrived in June, for Computer Games 13: Keys to ye Kingdom eventually be developed by videogames. example), QB is operating Acme for Sega and NES. on a new summer schedule. 15: far more quests on cartridges than on Shay Addams' CD, which will probably be true for Letters Thi another year. So for now, I can't to the Adventure Road recommend getting a CD drive unless Editor you are one of the three people on the As much as I hate to admit it, I'm planet who can actually use a CD beginning to see videogame machines encyclopedia or get some practical Dear QuestBusters: as an adjunct to computers in certain use from discs such as "Birds of I enjoy your feature-length previews. situations. You don't have to spend a America" or "Jane's All the World's half-hour installing the program, or Aircraft." Though the final versions may not worry about whether which sound look like anything in the previewed board to buy and how soon you'll Top Ten Reasons to version, there are usually enough have to upgrade to a faster computer play adventure games similarities to make a preview with more RAM (Ultima VII will 1: Miss weeks of work, open new job worthwhile. I don't base my buying require 2K!). opportunities for others decisions on previews, but do like to But a more significant reason is 2: Slowly go insane trying to install get an idea of what is coming. I tend that game designers, realizing that the game on a hard disk to wait a month of two after a game most MSDOS gamers now have hard has been released before buying it, disks, are writing huge games to take anyway, so if a reviewer could take a advantage of all that disk space. So huge, that anyone who wants to do brief look at a game that he more than play games will need at previewed months earlier, we could least a lOOK hard disk. Ultima VII, make even more informed choices. for instance, will not only require a Edwin Bonilla hard disk but will also take up 10K! If the graphics, interface, music and After receiving several such letters, other elements of a quest are just as we've decided to do occasional good on a cartridge-based machine as preview s (like last month's look at on a computer, why waste 10K of M & M III). But we'll wait for final disk space? Martian Dreams versions of most games before Another factor is that, as cartridges reviewing them. Many magazines will eat up more and more shelf space in the stores, and the shelf life of 3: Exercise vocal chords by yelling review screen shots to get an edge computer games continues to obscenities at parsers over the competition, but we're more decrease, developers will soon be 4: Good cover to join rare "screen­ concerned with delivering accurate releasing some games first on staring" cult - reviews than with taking over the Nintendo or Sega, then following 5: If you didn't, Ken and Roberta world of computer gaming magazines. them with the MSDOS version. This Williams would have to get real jobs has already happened with ICOM's 6: Get to say words like Sherlock Holmes, Consulting "Broderbund," "Faerghail," and Detective, and Origin is doing "Uukrul" original Ultima scenarios for 7: Graph paper is my life! Nintendo and Sega. 8: Create characters and name them Disk-based games will always be after people you abhor, then laugh around, but some adventurers will when they get slaughtered by a band find cartridge-based questing a of Kobolds Editor: Shay Addams practical alternative in some cases. 9: Orcs, Orcs, Orcs! Managing Editor: Dora McCormick For this reason, we've asked Russ 10: Look honey ... honey? ... honey?? News Editor: Vanilla Ice Ceccola to cover the subject now and (Dozens of people sent in their Top Contributing Editors: Al Giovetti, then, offering mini-reviews and news Ten lists, from which we culled the Rich Heimlich, Bernie Yee, Russ on real role-playing and adventure funniest answers into this master list. Ceccola, Ken St. Andre, Stephen games for this market See page 10 Thanks to: Carl Lund, Dan Donahue, King, Steven Payne, Bruce E. Wiley, for his comments on Sherlock. Chris Pitcauage, Bruce A. Smith, and Brian Smith, Duffy, This Reviewer John Inzer. For each of their reasons, CD-ROM one extra issue of QB will be added to True, CD-ROM discs can store virtual their subs.) QuestBusters is published monthly by gigabytes of data, permitting vast A Disturbing Trend, Inc. Annuals games without having to sneak out of Upcoming and outgoing subs: $19 regular, $24 for 1st Class. Toys R Us carrying a videogame Martian Dreams and Heart of China Canada $26, Int'l $36 (both in US machine. Problem is there is still no will be covered next issue. Both look funds). Contents Copyright Eldritch, standard (even Sierra won't and play better than previous games LTD., 1991. All Rights Reserved. recommend a CD drive yet), and few in their respective series - and both (Some of the art in "Wacko Wizard" games. require a hard disk. Gold of the Aztecs is copyrighted by Trici Venola and CD-ROM for computers is a trend turned out to be an arcade game, so Kurt WahIner, 1986.) Copying that I will be covering as it develops. we won't be reviewing it after all. without express permission is For now, the fastest CD drives cost MicroProse officially announced too much. Prices will drop this Darklands, though it won't ship till prohibited and punishable by welding Christmas, when you'll also be able to next spring. It too will require a hard your floppy drives shut. take advantage of software bundles disk.