The holiday of DOOM

BY NATHANIEL TUNBRIDGE

While you may have thought spent most of Christmas in Hell. Not just any hell, either. This was the most that the most important event eagerly awaited hell in his- tory. From id software, Iwhich gave us Wolfenstein 3-D, in computing was Windows comes the most important event in computers since their incep- tion, the unparalleled gaming (or maybe OS/2), Nat experience that is . . . DOOM. The plot is simple and hideous. Something evil has emerged Tunbridge sets the score from the Gateway that had been created as part of research into interdimensional travel by the straight with his review Union Aerospace Corporation on Mars. As the only living security guard shoot me with a rifle, but who ended up for 50,000,000 miles, it's up to you to inves- being thrown backwards while being of DOOM. tigate. gouged by my machine pistol bullets. This DOOM's game screen is much the same was a Former Human. By the end of the as Wolfenstein's in that there's a view of game I had come across Sergeants, Imps, your surroundings with an information bar Demons, Spectres, Lost Souls, along the bottom (although in DOOM you Cacodemons, and Barons of Hell. There's can expand your view to full-screen). Move- also the boss monsters: the near-invincible ment is smoother and faster than ever, at 35 Cyberdemon Lord and the truly hideous frames per second (faster than most car- Spideremon. To combat these mutants you toons) but gameplay has been deepened have seven different weapons, including with the addition of switches and levers. The rocket launchers, plasma rifles and a graphics have as much similarity to Wol- chainsaw! There are also special items to fenstein as the special effects in Jurassic Park help you, such as radiation suits, different do to Blake's Seven. The walls, ceilings and types of armour, computer maps, and ar- floors are all fully texture mapped, giving tefacts such as soul spheres and blur orbs. unparalleled detail, but it's id's incredible The range of environments is stunning. achievements in the area of light-sourcing Rooms can be of any size or shape and that, when combined with the awesome walls can be of any thickness. The walls dynamic directional 3D sound, make could be made of metal plates leaking rust, DOOM the most realistic virtual reality game plain grey slates streaked with grime, ever. The further away an object is, the wooden boards banded by iron, bizarre darker it becomes (and the less sound it hieroglyphic panels, pink pulsing flesh, makes). Corridors recede into darkness, and sandstone blocks covered with ivy or racks if there's no light sources around, there's no of computer terminals. Ceilings may sud- light! The readouts from your weapon pro- denly plunge down to just above your vide a very faint illumination if you're close head, rise to a cavernous vault, or disap- to an object, and when you fire any of the incendiary weapons, the spark provides a little light, but there's still an awful lot of The Holiday of Doom pitch black rooms to cross, with monsters Distributor: Manoccom lurking around every comer! Phone: (07) 368 2366 And what monsters! The first to die was Price: $69.95 a bloodied, rotting zombie who tried to

APC MARCH 1994 PAGE 229 pear entirely to reveal the sky and Vis- ceiling turrets and electric barriers, but it's here, Android. With left, right and central tapro-style mountains in the distance. really just Wolfenstein in space. ramps, bumpers, skill shot and side vents, There are stairs, lifts, slime pools and There are even some areas which use all the usual elements of a pinball game are lightwells, corrugated iron barrels filled the same graphics files as Wolfenstein here. What makes this one impressive are with explosive waste, and a variety of dis- (remember the grey stone walls flecked the polished graphics that give a fairly membered and eviscerated humans. My with blood?). Sound is dynamic and direc- deep 3D feeling, and the sound, which is favourites include the conveyor belt of tor- tional but kept dropping out. There are a constant litany of clunking, squeaking tured souls in the Unholy Cathedral, and white-coated bio-technicians, a wide and beeping. Other tables include the 50s- the sea of fire in Mount Erebus. The climax range of slavering mutants, and weapons style Magic, the Formula One theme of occurs in a vast marble arena open to the ranging from a pistol to a plasma discharge blood-red sky of hell itself. unit to shoot them with, but it's all so passe. DOOM is so far ahead of everything Buy the indescribably superior DOOM in- else, it's difficult to fully comprehend, let stead for the same price. alone describe. It' a quantum leap, a new Nat Tunbridge standard. The multi-player option allows four players to play and interact within the same network game, making DOOM by far Duke Nukem II the best truly interactive virtual-reality game I've played. A few words of warning, Distributor: Manaccom though. There are impaled and crucified Phone: (07) 368 2366 humans depicted in this game. Detailed Price: $49.95 full-body explosions occur. It contains fre- Much along the lines of the first, this game quent high-level graphic violence, and I begins with a long introductory sequence Crash and Burn and the stunning, futuris- wouldn't give it to any child under the age where Duke is captured by the evil Rigel- tic Enigma, where a constantly morphing of 12 who you wanted to remain sane. For latin and imprisoned on their ship. Breaking background accentuates the fact that older players, however, this is the best out with the use of his explodo-molar, Duke bumpers only appear when a ball hits game ever made. DOOM simply must be must find a way back to dear old Earth! them, and the rest of the time there's just experienced again and again. There's plenty of demanding platform- your flippers over the void. style gameplay to be had. Duke can upgrade Within the obvious limitations that a PC his pistol to a laser, a flamethrower or a presents, this is a great effort at simulating Blake Stone and rocket launcher. There's a huge range of pinball, although it's perhaps a little pricey. `Duke merchandise' items to be picked up For pinball addicts, recommended. the Aliens of Gold in order to increase points, such as Nat Tunbridge Distributor: Manaccom televisions, mobile phones and so forth, as Phone: (07) 368 2366 well as the usual powerups (including Price: $69.95 cooked or uncooked turkey), plus special Brix This offering comes from Apogee, which items such as fans that elevate Duke and was originally involved to some extent with bars for him to dangle from. There's an Distributor: Manaccom Wolfenstein 3D. This is an attempt at follow- earthquake level with collapsing temples Phone: (07) 368 2366 ing up that game without the benefit of the infested by androids and cybersnakes, and Price: $49.95 id games team. Even without taking the further levels have a slaughterhouse, green- This is a remake of a very old arcade game, (awesome, hulking) presence of DOOM house and computer theme. and may strike younger users as being a into account, it's a rather disappointing ef- Duke fans will probably enjoy this, but variant of the current arcade game which fort. British agent Blake has to work through I couldn't see anything here that hasn't requires players to spin different shaped six levels to kill the evil Dr Goldfire. been done 20 times better by our very own falling blocks in order for them to fit in with From the first second it's clear that Australian-made Halloween Harry, espe- those below. Don't be fooled kids, this Apogee has re-used the Wolfenstein game cially the sound and graphics. I'd like to game is not only boring, it's unoriginal too! engine without making any great effort to suggest in the strongest possible terms that The bricks of the title are square blocks extend it. The game screen contains upper you check out the far superior Harry with different coloured shapes on them. and lower information bars which make the before buying this import, which is They can be moved sideways, and will fall view of your surroundings smaller than Hmmm. to the ground, sucked by the remorseless ever, but then, there's not really much to see. Nat Tunbridge spell of gravity, if unsupported. When two A limited amount of detail has been added or more shapes of the same type are to the ceilings and floors, there's armoured manoeuvred next to each other, they dis- Epic Pinball appear. The aim of the game is to eradicate all of the blocks that appear on each Distributor: Manaccom screen. Obviously various obstacles ap- Phone: (07) 368 2366 pear to make this difficult to do; moving Price: $79.95 blocks, different-shaped fields of play, odd The problem with most PC pinball games numbered amounts of (yawn) blocks, acid is that they fail to transfer the excitement pools, lasers, strange (snore) blocks. of the pinball arcade onto a computer. This A game this simple needs some stun- is one of the more successful attempts, ning graphics and sound to keep the inter- thanks to some great graphics and sound. est up. Brix has neither of these. However, Using the shift keys as flippers and it does have a 'leave game' option, which holding down the space bar to fire the ball, I immediately took advantage of. Avoid. I attempted the first of the tables included Nat Tunbridge

APC MARCH 1994 PAGE 231 RA's graphics are strong. Flight se- the Death Star plans in R2D2. Like the Rebel Assault quences are introduced with near video- three Star Wars movies, RA has a John Distributor: Metro Games quality scenes. Darth does his thing, and Williams soundtrack. Phone: (03) 329 2999, (03) 328 2968 (BBS) we see a replay of Princess Leah secreting RA is not a full flight simulator. The . Price: $99.95 combat flight paths are preprogrammed, It's the arcade game we had to have. Lucas and you make small deviations from Arts has put Star Wars action onto a CD- course to avoid obstacles or blast the ROM. You start your tour of duty as a enemy. These limits let the designers keep rookie pilot (either sex). After training runs the graphic quality high, but may disap- you move onto the real thing — fighting point flight sim fans. Darth Vader's ruthless henchpersons. The Lucas Arts has received many questions game is structured in 'chapters' where you and brickbats on CompuServe from need to complete one level to move onto people who've had technical problems the next. The game gives passwords at key with RA. Pro Audio Spectrum sound cards stages. If you are stuck (and it's easy to be), and joystick sensitivity were the main words like falcon, yuzzem and anoat problem areas. Lucas Arts' fix files should come in handy. help. (The more recent one is available on

PAGE 232 APC MARCH 1994 111111STEIMMITalll

For the 100th issue of APC, we asked a number of self-confessed games junkies to report on their all-time favourite computer games.

A Mind Forever Voyaging is for the beginner. This one is a must for Overall, this program is a winner, be- the competent player only. cause it is easy to get into, is excellent The poet William Wordsworth must have G Hampson educational value and overall, very been greatly moved as he gazed upon entertaining. the statue of Sir Isaac Newton, the world's J Paske greatest mathematician and physicist. Carmen Sandiego Before the day had faded, he wrote of the Education has always been an important statue, `the marble index of a mind forever reason for purchasing an Apple com- Arctic Fox voyaging through strange seas of thought puter. However, if one didn't have the In choosing a game which deserves alone ...' appropriate software, all was wasted. recognition as a real breakthrough in Newton could hardly visualise the fu- 'Where In The World Is Carmen computer entertainment, the criterion in ture, but he certainly helped shape it. Sandiego' was one of the best educa- my book is `will I still be playing it in a Only a mind so free of prejudgment and tional games ever to be released. For an year from now?'. day-to-day assumptions could ponder educational program to be successful, it One of the first truly great arcade such thoughts as to why an object must be entertaining as well as informa- games to be written for the was should fall to the ground rather than rise tive. Carmen Sandiego is both. Arctic Fox by Electronic Arts. I played it to the sky. In A Mind Forever Voyaging, The overall plot is to capture a per- regularly for well over six-months — and such qualities (on a much lower level, of petrator of some terrible crime (such as it is still one of my favourites after more course) are needed. It is the qualities of stealing the Crown Jewels). With a user than two years. As commander of the interface that is simplicity itself, one jour- world's most advanced tank, you have at neys from city to city seeking clues to your disposal canon shells, mines and the criminal's identity. For example, on guided missiles to help in the fight baar a message coming in ch fficial wessage line: 'MIDI, Perelnen here, The psych tests have all ecked out at 188:0, which means that atone remai teenn: the, ah, atialterting without any trauma or other serious effects. arriving in Sydney, an airline official against an alien invasion force which we'll be reaCy to begin the simmlation soon. By the Vac, year piece Is in the gavot issue of Dakota Online.' might say that he saw a man with red has put a force field around the Arctic I - a science fl tion story hair asking which way the museum was. appight infocon, /no. Allorairs Jeserved. regions. Enemy tanks, aircraft and float- aginglig5Z g5116.'"' f° ". Following him to the museum might ing mines are just a few of the hazards You tare CAIMAintions Mode. IAe fettaaigq.I outlets: provide another clue. When you think encountered as you make your way t Control Tenter (PFCC Rooftop iftC110/ you have enough clues, a visit to the relman'sterOffice (PDF/ deep into enemy lines to destroy their Facility Cafeteria CPCAT) MOM crime computer is arranged. If identifica- fortress. tion is successful, a warrant for the ar- The joy of Arctic Fox is not just in rest of the culprit is issued. This enables destroying the enemy, but also in an arrest to be made once the bandit mastering the awesome potential of the has been cornered. If, upon visiting a machine at your command and recognis- the unknown and the untested which particular city, the bandit is not ap- ing its limitations. Planning and strategy makes it such a bold, outstanding game. prehended nor any clues given to his are called for throughout the game, As Perry Sim, you must venture into whereabouts, one then has to back-track ranging from a choice of best typo- the future with the lingering memory of a to a previous location and try to pick up graphical positioning to simple hide-and- frightening disclosure: you have just dis- a stale lead. The only problem with this seek. Use of the tank's radar is absolute- covered you are a computer. The life you is that a time limit in which the crime have led — or thought you had led — as must be solved is always set. husband, father and writer, has been a The program was so successful for miracle of artificial intelligence. You have Broderbund that it released another two now been programmed with the latest scenarios: 'Where In The USA Is Car- government plan for the future well- men Sandiego' and 'Where In Europe Is being of your country. Carmen Sandiego'. The USA program A Mind Forever Voyaging is as broad as has questions that are more appropriate it is sweeping. The game is not so much to students of that country, and although involved in the solving of puzzles as in the I have not seen the European version making of decisions and reporting back that may well be the same. It would be events as you interpret them. It is a com- great if they would release an Aussie plex game and it would be unfair to say it version!

APC 100th Issue Page 425 AFTER DARK

ly vital to survival, and the decision you charms and reassemble the bracelet. make on spotting enemy targets will Only then will its full power return. eventually be an indication of your worth Exquisite puzzles await you in the long, as a planner. There is no greater feeling tiring journey above and below land and in the game than that of knowing you sea. Each charm itself is a magic key that have hoodwinked the enemy, with will propel you further and further into the enough ammunition on hand to finish the game and towards the ultimate goal. job. This game is for those with steady 1988 was the year that consolidated nerves only. the growing reputation of Magnetic G Hampson Scrolls as thousands of computer gamesters around the world flocked to buy their products. Microsoft Flight Simulator As a relatively unknown software As Lotus 1-2-3 is (or was) the definitive can even set a head-wind that is faster house in Britain, spreadsheet for IBM PCs, so Microsoft than the stall speed of the aircraft, and began to produce adventure games Flight Simulator is (and still is) the defini- hover over the runway in much the same that, in quality and imagination, would tive game. way seagulls do over beaches. The challenge the mighty edifice of . The flight simulator first appeared latest version also incorporates a tracker Indeed, the name Magnetic Scrolls has when the IBM PC was initially ascending plane which provides a panoramic view- become synonymous with excitement, to its position of dominance enjoyed point on the aircraft's activity — perhaps challenge and puzzles. and today. At the time, compatibility was one of the few graphical vistas which were the stepping quite an issue, and the waters a great has inspired the breathless comment of stones which brought this young deal more muddied than they have been `what a view' from otherwise jaded English David face-to-face witn the for years. MFS was not only the leading magazine editors. American Goliath. gameware available for the PC, but also Its most impressive feature is the ability Although Magnetic Scrolls has the accepted test of compatibility — a to link two PCs together by cable or released yet another game entitled Cor- great excuse for spending hours over a modem so two players can fly in tandem. ruption, it was surely which sweaty keyboard! This works surprisingly well, even at proved once and for all that here is a The challenge of MFS is its sophis- 300bps. Orientation is often a little tricky, company to be reckoned with. innova- tication. Jet, another game from Bruce and sometimes the two machines get tion, beautiful graphics and a superb Artwick, the genius who originally out of step, but the facility is still stun- story-line makes Jinxter one of the best penned MFS, never had the same at- ning. all-round games of the year. traction because the FA-18 is a 'fly-by- The original MFS set a standard in Superlatives are wasted here — let me wire' computer-assisted aircraft, and so gameware. The latest version of MFS say simply that Jinxter is funny any accurate simulation of the craft lar- redefines that standard and pushes it (hilariously so in parts), clever and ex- gely removed the challenge of master- considerably beyond the reach of many tremely satisfying in its game-play. ing flight in the primeval sense of the other leading game products. Totally ac- G Hampson word. In short, it is very hard to stall a curate simulations, cerebral challenges plane whose thrust is greater than its rather than shoot-em-up response times, Leather Goddesses of weight. and interplayerability establishes the The original flight simulator, on the benchmark for the next generation. I can Phobos other hand, encompassed the thrill of only look forward to MFS version 4 'Tiffany is about your age and has a flying a single engine aircraft — backed which, I do not doubt, will include LAN body worthy of envy: tall and well-built, up by a degree of avionics, but still with support for squadrons and redefine with wide shoulders, a generous bosom, sufficient sense of adventure to keep it 'workgroups' into 'playgroups'. slim waist and long, tawny legs. The only exciting. I Davies minus seems to be slightly oversized Perhaps the most impressive aspect of feet, but even oversized feet are a plus if the original flight simulator was its de- you're into toe sucking . gree of detail. Truly stunning. Aircraft be- Jinxter With the knowledge that it is mostly havior was mimicked down to a tee, with The best plots are invariably simple: a males who play adventure games — full environmental control — even down magic bracelet has been stripped of its and given that males are the way they to the navigation lights burning out peri- charms, thereby rendering useless its are — more and more software houses odically if left on unnecessarily. Ex- power to protect the community. It is are producing adventures with a distinct- perienced pilots often commented that you, the player, who must find the ly erotic flavour. the MFS simulation was completely ac- Eroticism is a difficult subject at any curate, with its only shortfall being time: it is so easy to succumb to tempta- limited vision and the absence of any G- tion and reduce it to mere smut. In force on the 'seat-of-the-pants'. Leather Goddesses of Phobos, Infocom But flight simulator was not left there. has put itself well above the navel, as it MFS version 2 incorporated the idea of were, to produce a top-class adventure interchangeable scenery disks, better written with humour and savoir-faire. colour on enhanced graphics screens, True, you manage to have your wicked and a few other minor features. way with a couple of the characters Version 3 however, released in 1988, (complete with moans and groans), but

includes more aircraft modes including a rf111111111Mt 4'4 this soon takes second place as you Pradttaar kor.rty, letreding an yum swi. ?gar conatt.torl 1 northir4; `Gates' learjet, multiple view windows throqb i ref podded ifirvr '411*od thP -r,herloa 1141., atc*ttarlet), 'OA begin to realise the quality of the game. and more environmental control. You tallgay lta ,nuttott. Described as a racy, space-age spoof,

Page 426 APC 100th Issue Am= I I :111 MI :1 'kW I

Leather Goddesses can be tame, sug- level, you can enter the cheat mode, gestive or lewd, depending on which Lode Runner giving yourself unlimited men to practise mode of play is selected. Naturally, Back in 1983, a game most Apple with. If you complete the 150 levels, there everybody plays in lewd mode. Much of owners were playing was Lode Runner. are two alternatives: firstly, purchase the the fun is derived from the po-faced The power hungry leaders of the Bungel- scenario Championship Lode Runner (a seriousness of the characters in even ing Empire have pillaged a fortune in much hard& game); or secondly, make the most comical situations. Tiffany may gold from the people by means of exces- your own levels using the game editor. sive fast food taxes. Your mission is to Lode Runner is a good package, for

raid each of the 150 treasure vaults and not only does it contain an addictive eA1 ItP"'sttral recover as much booty as possible. game but also an excellent editor, with This is not an easy task, what with which you can create your own levels. Bungeling guards and the ever present This program is enjoyed by many Apple trap-door. However, with a keen eye and owners because it is easy to learn, ab- tskal it this story soy not he skittle fee thilth.en, j ttg on see, rista no ose skoute boos anything, about :Jou! a reasonable joystick, the early levels (er sorbing to play and inexpensive. rfo. has Iv o eishteen (*.Wrote in certain states/ ThIS sassy 4 for consors, members of the Moral Majority. and r,,o.h sits, at sea dirty rather than ton. .. treasure vaults) are not all that hard. J Paske 'kites espressos and issyosays used to ;his story as korive only of the news of the author, and on so toy Ne sot the The real hassle comes when, after play- Inf000n, Inc. OD 1:2 2II2i0222Ii WV of IA++. Cee,Ieen oJhbihs of the Moral Majority. (But very fee of on, rased on loot ing for three hours and attaining level 39, CienSINIS Party, think that sex is forty.) Mean 18 the folks de night be offended by LEAIMI V.M.,11.SSIS Pr you are called to dinner. In order to sus- ripied their disk out of these drive and, evidence sr hoof, ase ifor Min?. tonsil their dealer, their hover, so their female tain enough energy to manipulate a joys- `And as Greg Norman lines up this 35ft ssir inoted rolitIon. So... Hit the REttfill/IMILR key to bsdriot, tick, one has to eat, so switching off the putt for an eagle, a hush falls over the machine is almost inevitable. gallery'. This summer there will be a lot be voluptuous, but she sure ain't bright You see, in those good old days, of golf played on Australian courses, and — a trait you will come to love. saving the game was not part of the while it is not quite the same as playing Most of the outrageous scenes are program. the real thing, there are several golf written somewhat tongue in cheek. The It is so absorbing, with its ladders and games you can play on computer. The spaceship is a 'potent-looking battleship hand over hand bars, that many an hour best I've come across is Mean 18 for the with two pendulous, brimming fuel-tanks' is spent trying to improve previous Apple. — or what psychiatrists are apt to call a scores. Initially, you start on level one Mean 18 from Accolade first appeared phallic symbol. Frankly, it looked with five men, and for each completed on a 3.5in disk, which contained three remarkably like a penis to me ... level one extra man is added. courses. An extremely useful module G Hampson If you are having trouble with a particular also included is the Architect facility. AFTER DARK

The popularity of Mean 18 can be ly. The continent is very large and well gauged by the number of courses that spread out, the dungeons are deadly computer golfers have created. The Syd- and the save feature on each is a neces- ney Apple Users Group, for example, sity. Remember to thoroughly explore has a large number available on library each dungeon. disks for a reasonable price to members. Phantasie III has been well designed Mean 18 as a golf simulation is second and should keep any game player ac- to none. tively employed for many hours trying to J Paske finish the quest. The graphics are excel- lent, with some of the best designed monsters I've ever encountered, but the Phantasie III animation sequences are almost non ex- Phantasie III is a computer-controlled role istent. (When will people learn how to With the aid of the Architect you can playing game, set up similarly to Dun- port programs to the Amiga?) design your own courses, right down to geons and Dragons. You control a group All in all, an excellent game for role the slope of each individual green. In this of six adventurers out to save their world players, but anybody else would probab- manner you can construct your local from destruction. To accomplish this, they ly find the time taken to finish it too long. links, then practise at will your favourite must find and defeat the evil sorcerer, K Currie holes. Playing the game is a breeze, and Nikademis. This entails searching through up to four players can participate using an entire continent, two alternative planes either regular or professional tees. Mean and eight dungeons scattered throughout 18 can be played using the expert level, the land and elsewhere. This is not as and while this is slightly harder, both straightforward as it may seem, as the levels are fairly easy. dungeons are heavily populated with If you want to brush-up on your game various traps, monsters and puzzles, all of there is a practice tee, green and hole. which must be overcome. The realistic sounds of the GS machine Play of the game is with a mouse come to the fore (pardon the pun) with and/or keyboard, but I prefer a combina- simulated effects such as hitting the ball, tion of the two. Battle sequences are sinking a putt and gallery applause for a well done except for the spell casting, good shot. which the monsters do not use effective- AFTER DARK

I first played Shanghai in 1977 and, In the true sense of the word, Zork is a Shanghai with luck, I'll still be playing it in the year classic within the adventure genre and Every once in a while, a game comes 2000. Come to think of it, I think I'll play was almost certainly written under the in- along that is such a challenge to play it now .. . fluence of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of 'The and so entertaining at every turn, that it G Hampson Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings'. The takes an honoured place in the disk treasures, the troll, the thief — and in the storage-box. Shanghai is such a game; later Zork releases which form the trilogy a perfect example of how a 3-D Zork — the fire-breathing dragon and the vir- boardgame can be transported to a 2-D Far better writers than I have put pen to gin princess are just some of the things computer screen. Shanghai is im- paper to wax lyrical over Zork, the you will encounter. mediately and permanently addictive. It world's biggest-ever selling computer The mailbox west of the house must be is clever, easy to learn and beautifully game. Incredible, unbelievable, terrific, the most famous mailbox in history and presented. For years, I have encouraged stupendous — every superlative you can the house itself has become a welcome my wife to play computer games (in the think of has been used to describe the beacon for all hardy adventurers. Here unique atmosphere of this game and the the quest begins and the sword is at cleverness of the puzzles encountered hand. You will marvel at how easily it fits on the long, arduous journey through the your grip and how quickly you master its Great Underground Empire. power. You will need it before the day is Like a precious jewel designed to done. draw gasps of admiration from the Zork is timeless and rich in wonder. It throng, Zork is a masterpiece of will ever remain that perfect creation for craftsmanship against which all other the child within us who yearns for excite- games are measured. No-one, past or ment and the discovery of treasures present, has equalled this outstanding unimaginable. game — and in this writer's opinion, no- G Hampson one ever will. hope that I could see her more often), and I finally managed it with Shanghai. One of many derivatives of the ancient game of mah-jong, Shanghai is played by removing matching pairs of mah-jong tiles until there are none left. As in any game involving a random spread of pieces, there is bound to be an element of luck, but strategy reduces this to a minimum. Careful thought and planning while removing pieces from play will bring its own rewards. Non-completed games can be saved to disk as well as resident games called to the screen. The game can be played solo or in pairs and at Ordinary or Challenge level. At Challenge level, the player can select a pre-set time in which his partner must make a move before a gong indicates the turn of the other player. In this mode, "Who's got the computer with the slow response time?' it is deceptively exciting. BLAKE STONE Apogee's latest 3D Adventure

TRE',FiL I ERT IOrd RT;Ea SECRET I11 I Drd 1 - LEIJEL 14 - TL:-rr

Many people have asked how Apogee will follow the * Enhanced Actor Animations including mutants that rise huge success of Wolfenstein 3D which took thegaming world from gurneys for their ensuing chase, Liquid Aliens that by storm in 1992. Now the answer is here! BLAKE STONE, flow toward you, then rise to attack, Electro Aliens which their latest 3D Virtual reality rockets you emerge from wall mounted sockets, and many more! into the future where a sinister madman, using genetics to Other cool stuff added to make this game excit- create an army of bizzare mutants, is waging a war against ing, fun, and just plain different include crates that can the universe. be blown apart to reveal weapons and other goodies, one BLAKE STONE takes you beyond anything seen in way doors, Direct Level Transports that warp you to se- computer games before. Full of action packed graphics, this cret levels, lots of goodies like gold, money bags, food,a game will keep you playing for days on end. If you liked nd ammo to collect, over 16 unique actors such as guards, Wolfenstein, then you will love BLAKE STONE. scientists, mutants, and pods, and five futuristic weapons In this futuristic game you play the part of British ranging from single shot hand guns to powerful laser agent Blake Stone. The story pits you against Dr Goldstern, weapons. BLAKE STONE also features a great Sound the evil mad scientist. In the six action packed episodes that Blaster sound track to add to the enjoyment. come with the complete version of the program you can ex- The complete six episode set of BLAKE STONE is avail- plore 60 levels of maze like domains seeking to find the evil able for $79 with FREE shipping and handling, and a Dr Goldstern and stop him before he takes over the uni- FREE bonus game. To order call verse. Along the way you will meet a host of adversaries ranging from meek and mild scientists to evil bio-robots with amazing strength and intelligence. (008) 022-064 New game design features found in BLAKE STONE and order with your credit card include: or mail your order to *Re-entryable levels which add a new dimension to the game REPLY PAID 3 BUDGETWARE play. PO BOX 496 NEWTOWN NSW 2042 *Smart Actor Characters who can actually "think" about the or fax to (02) 516-4236 situation they find themselves in and act accordingly. * Interactive Objects such as specific wall sections which are designed to interact with the player, a feature not seen in any Please send me my complete set of six episodes of other game. BLAKE STONE with hint sheet and bonus game for * Concession Machines which are used to get food, drinks, or a clue to help you on your way. only $79 with FREE shipping and handling. * Computer Terminals which when activated give you ac- 0 5.25 Inch 0 3.50 Inch format (Please tick size required) cess to Goldstern's computer information network. This net- work is able to control certain elements of the game, for in- Name: stance disabling ceiling mounted turrets, as well as allow you to view other areas of the game. Address: * Plasma Barriers which are controlled by switches located throughout each complex. Paid by 0 Cheque/Money Order 0 Credit Card BLAKE STONE requires VGA graphics, a We accept Bankcard Mastercard and Visacard 386SX or greater processor, 640K RAM and Card No. Expires:

6 MB of free space on your hard drive. PSM039j GAMES TIPS

a fortified structure that serves much the same Defend your front lines purpose as a Night Elf Mana Well (ie. regenerates The Human Spell Breaker is a powerful land-based health and mana of surrounding friendly units). unit with immunity to magic. Use its men on your Obsidian Statues can also be transformed into the front lines, secure in the knowledge that you can cast Destroyer form, effectively becoming a powerful offensive spells like Blizzard over them with impunity air unit. Destroyers feed on magic (which they are (their magical immunity makes them impervious to also immune to) and then use it to attack land or the splash damage caused by these spells). air-based enemy units. Destroyers are therefore best deployed against enemy spellcasters. First strike Tower over opponents The Human Dragonhawk Riders are particularly useful for making your initial strike into enemy Offensive towering is a sly tactic Orc players can use territory. Their Cloud ability also allows them to once they get the Spiked Barricades and Reinforced temporarily shut down enemy base defences (like Defence upgrades. This tactic consists of sending towers). To fully exploit this ability, always provide a group of Peons near an enemy base (along with a Dragonhawk Riders with a decent support force. backup force of Grunts, Demolishers and perhaps an Orc Hero), and then using them to build towers. The Be forewarned idea is to keep building and repairing the towers until you've ground your opponent into submission. Tricky Human players can build farms around the map as a cheap Heroes at hand scouting device. Prowling enemy troops will automatically attack Remember that all base defences are eventually them, giving you prior warning of negated by long-distance attack units like Meat offensive incursions and valuable Wagons, Ballistae, Mortar Teams, Catapults and time to prepare a defensive strategy. Dragonhawk Riders. Build a few early in a game if you want, but mostly rely on your Hero and his support Obsidian Statues force. To this end, keep a Town Portal scroll on your Heroes at all times so they can immediately return if The Undead Obsidian Statue is your base is threatened.

Here's a step-by-step guide to Halo: Combat Evolved's extremely tricky penultimate level, 'Light fuse, run away'. Your objective is to thwart the Monitor by rupturing the engine core of the ship, causing it to destroy Halo.

Make sure you visit the Once you reach Engineering, ship's armoury first. 2 head right and up the ramp. Your two weapons should Move across until you see a be a shotgun and a rocket Level 2 sign and keep moving up launcher. Max out on ammo and then go up the ramp to Level for each weapon (60 rounds 3. You'll encounter a plague of for the shogun, eight for the Flood here, so keep the shotgun rocket launcher). Watch out loaded. Now, look at your NAV for cloaked Flood creatures. system and you should see four orange arrows. Follow them to Once you push the button, the exhaust Keep moving up the ramp until the exhaust manifold controls. 3 manifold retracts. Jump down onto it and fire 4 you come to a locked door. a rocket through the glowing vent (you'll see an As soon as you enter, the door will As soon as explosion when you score a hit). You need to do explode. Move through until you 5you exit the this four times. Watch out for Sentinels and the reach the lift and prepare to fight lift, you have six Flood. Once about three Covenant soldiers. Now minutes to get you're done, jump in the lift and ride it to the top. off Halo. Move climb over one through the of the exhaust doorway and jump manifolds (it's in a Warthog. Now in a corner of drive as fast as the room) until possible, following you see another the orange NAV arrows. Don't stop for anything level 3 sign. and if you see a hostile, just run right over it!

102 PC USER COLLECTOR'S EDITION 2003 GAMES TIPS station cottscroR:s. 'brnoN zo°' BUILD IN LAE 07 unicy_low[c] ECORD TIME THE TITANS EXPANSION PACK The Atlantean Citizen units also happen Getting started them to the task of constructing the Titan gateway. to be some of the Otherwise, the process becomes ridiculously slow fastest builders in The new Atlantean civilisation featured in The Titans and, as everyone in the game is publicly forewarned, Age of Mythology, and expansion pack is a great choice for less-skilled your opponents can counterattack by summoning a deploying multiple players, because it simplifies and streamlines many Titan of their own. Citizens on specific basic gameplay elements in Age of Mythology. Playing construction tasks will a Random Map is one of the best ways to learn the Explore the potential speed up the process strengths and weaknesses of this new civilisation. The new Atlantean myth units are among the most significantly. Atlantean pros and cons powerful in the game, so be sure to make full use of their potent abilities. Some of the better ones on Unlike the other three sides in Age of Mythology offer include Promethean clay men who divide in (Greek, Norse and Egyptian), the Atlantean two when killed; the acid- civilisation features self-sufficient worker units spitting, squid-like Argus; known as Citizens. Citizens don't need to commute and Automaton metal back and forth between buildings when gathering soldiers who can repair or resources, so this makes them by far the most rebuild each other. efficient worker unit in the game. However, they are also the most expensive unit of this type and take the Economic Guilds longest amount of time to create. Atlantean farms cost more than those of other All Atlantean resource- civilisations, but the mobile nature of the Citizen gathering upgrades can be gathering unit makes it perfectly suited to roving researched at one central around the map, hunting wild animals or herding location: the Atlantean cattle. While these food sources are free, they also Economic Guild. To fully make your valuable Citizen units vulnerable to exploit the impressive attack. As a consequence, you should always keep a talents of the Atlantean squad of combat units in close proximity. Citizen unit, build two or three Economic Guilds, Build a manor so that multiple resource- gathering upgrades It's always wise to get the tedious task of house can be researched building out of the way relatively early in a game, simultaneously. The same so you can start cranking out an army. Atlantean strategy can be applied manors provide a larger equivalent of the other to military upgrades by civilisations' houses and you only need to build five constructing multiple to max out your population limit. Ensure that you armouries. fully exploit this by building as rapidly as possible, thus getting the jump on your opponents. Working with Using Lush Titans Despite the fact that they Choosing the Atlantean god Gaia causes buildings to are incredibly powerful produce Lush: an organic substance that regenerates and have about 7,000 hit structures. Also remember that your opponents points, Titan units are cannot build on areas covered in Lush, something also incredibly stupid! smart players can utilise to their advantage. Leave a Titan alone for two seconds and it's Don't wait liable to waste valuable time chasing a solitary While many of the Atlantean god powers can be used enemy unit around the multiple times in a single game, you have to wait map. As a consequence, for a set time limit to expire between uses. To fully they need to be carefully exploit this, use your Atlantean god powers freely micromanaged. To cut — don't hold them in reserve until the last minute. off your opponent's supply of resources and Build the Titan gateway troops, always make the destruction of important Once you make the decision to summon a Titan, enemy buildings your gather all of your builder units and reallocate Titan's first priority. PC USER COLLECTOR'S EDITION 2003 103 statin GAMES TIPS

<<< FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Freedom Fighters is a squad-based tactical action offering from 10 Interactive. This step by step will guide you through one of the toughest sequences in the game (from the 'Governor's Island Boat Landing' level).

These two machine 2 gunners will cut you (and your men) up in no time, so you need to find a way to take them out. Move quickly across the ice and make your way left. Order your men to scout ahead of you and let them take the bulk of enemy fire. Keep moving in an arc towards the left until you spot the rocket launcher on an ice flow ahead. This is a particularly tricky mission, because al Make a run for the rocket the boat crashes into the ice upon arrival, 1 0 launcher and grab it. scattering your equipment and your men. Scavenge Quickly move behind the as much equipment as you can (you'll see it lying large piece of metal jutting around on the ice) and then find cover as soon as out of the ice flow, using it as possible. Now, move cautiously around the boat cover. Slowly edge out until until you can see the guard tower ahead of you. you have a decent shot at the guard tower, then take it out with a rocket.

Once you've gotten rid 4 of the machine gunners, you're free to move around the ice flows. Use this opportunity to pick up as many health packs as possible, and then heal your wounded men. Once you have a squad of about four or five men, make your way across the ice towards the base of the wrecked tower. You should see a ladder; climb it.

C Before you go over the wall, lob a few grenades to kill LP the soldiers on the other side. Send your squad ahead and make your way up the rear of the buildings as far as Carefully make your way left until you come to an open doorway. Go you can go. Now turn right and take out as many soldiers 5 through the building, use the open metal gate and then head right. as possible, watching out for helicopter gunships. As soon There are lots of Russian troops sneaking around, so be cautious. Clear as you have some breathing space, hoist the flag on the left the soldiers, to finish the level. LZ.41 replenish your equipment and keep heading right until you reach a wall. Climb the wall until you can see the soldiers on the other side.

104 PC USER COLLECTOR'S EDITION 2003