Video Games & Computer Entertainment Magazine

Home , Acclaim Entertainment, Audiogenic, Battle Chess, Bill Kunkel (journalist), Carrier Force, Choplifter

WE'D LIKE TO SHED A LITTLE LIGHT ON OUR UPCOMING HITS.

ULTRA, the hottest new game generator in animated screens (coming Spring, 1989). town, is about to unleash 3 of the most thrilling And finally, cruise down back alleys in "Skate games of all time for the Nintendo Entertainment or Die," s a knockdown-dragout, multi-event System? spectacular that pits you against a friend or Take sides with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" : Bionic Lester in the free-wheeling Jam & Joust in a nunchuking, karate chopping sewer fight (coming Oct., 1988). through the villain ravaged streets of New York So get psyched for ULTRA'S best. And be (coming Spring, 1989). prepared to see video games in a whole new light. Then, slash past black hearted knights and For more information on ULTRA'S great line of rescue beautiful maidens in "Defender of the games, send your name, age and address to: Crown,"™ an unbelievable ULTRAGAMES™ movie-like adventure with 1_ 240 Gerry St., Wood Dale, tons of strategy, sword- IL 60191 (312) 595-2874 fights and nearly 30 CIRCLE

ULTRAGAMES^ is a trademark of ULTRA Software Corporation. Skate or Die' is a registered trademark of Electronic Arts Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' is a registered trademark of Mirage Studios c 1988 Mirage Studios, USA Defender of the Crown^" is a trademark of Cinemaware Corp. Nintendo and Nintendo Entertainment System are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America. Inc

Dates may change due to circumstances beyond our control. Please be patient, the games are well worth waiting for c 1988 ULTRA Software Corporation February 1989 Features THE PHOTON EXPERIENCE Cover: Maurice Molyneaux by Howard H. Wen displays his computer artistry on an Atari ST. 20 The story behind, and a look into, the real- Hie "video-game" of Photon. Model: Roman Photographers: Ladi von Jansky, SPELUNKES STRATEGY GUIDE Linda Matthews 34 by Clayton Walnum The ultimate player's guide to this great cave-exploring adventure.

LIFE FORCE STRATEGY GUIDE 48 by Andy Eddy and Lee Pappas Zip through the first two levels of this exciting new Konami game. Next issue we'll finish the game!

BEST OF 1988 by Arnie Katz and VG&CE Editors 56 top Our selection of the year's computer and video games.

MEET MR. SPORTS 69 by Bill Kunkel A conversation with Ed Ringler, game designer, author and dreamer.

WAGING WORLD WAR II 76 by Amie Katz Computer and video wargaming concentrating on the big WWII. COMPUTER-GAME STRATEGIES by Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz

83 II WW Games, Test Drive, Blockbuster

Reviews VIDEO-GAME REVIEWS: Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Ghost 24 House, Gato, Fantasy Zone II, Super Departments Mario Bros. 2, Power Pad, Beeshu Joystick. Editor's Letter Reader Mail 8 COMPUTER-GAME REVIEWS: News Bits Rocket Ranger, Leader Board, Inside Gaming 88 Battle Chess, Heroes of the Lance, Infocomics. Jet. The Game Doctor

must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, disks, etc., if they are to be returned, and no responsibility can be assumed for unsolicited materials. All rights reserved on entire contents; nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. U.S. subscription: $19.95 for (12 issues). Foreign subscription: Add $7 per year. Single copy $2.95. Change of address: Six weeks advance notice, and both old and new address are needed. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to VG & CE Magazine, RO. Box 16927, North Hollywood, CA 91615. Address all advertising materials to: Paula Thornton—VideoGames And Computer Entertainment Magazine 9171 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 300, Beverly Hills, CA 90210; (213) 858-7100. Nintendo is a Registered Trademark of Nintendo of America, Inc. Sega is a Registered Trademark of Sega of America, Inc. Atari is a Registered Trademark of Atari Corp. '"letter from the Editor- UideoGames <& Computer Entertainment

PUBLISHER Lee H. Pappas

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Eddy ASSOCIATE EDITOR Clayton Walnum we sit staring at a new year, one that could provide a great deal of ex- ART DIRECTOR Here citement for video gamers all over. It appears that the electronic-gaming Jan V. Simons industry—both for computers and game consoles— is doing well, and will MANAGING EDITOR continue at a good pace for a while. Signs of more competition are springing up, Dean Brieriy such as the rumor that Atari will introduce a new generation of video-game console COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR employing the 68000 microprocessor. This is the same chip that serves as the main Amie Katz brain for Atari's ST line of computers, as well as the Commodore Amiga and Apple COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT Macintosh, all powerful machines in their own right. ASSOCIATE EDITOR Bill Kunkel Unfortunately, the recent shortage of DRAMs (Dynamic Random Access Memory), important components of computers and video-game consoles, has plagued the NEWS EDITOR Joyce Woriey entire electronics industry, slowing up production of both machines and cartridge- CONTRIBUTORS based software. David Plotkin The effects of the DRAM crisis even cast a shadow over the Summer Consumer Howard Wen Electronics Show (CES), which was held in Chicago in early June 1988. The many COPY CHIEF announcements of new game cartridges, for instance, reflected the game indus- Katrina Veit try's current growth level, but almost every manufacturer qualified their announce- ". COPY EDITORS ments with the statement . .depending on the supply of chips." Sarah Weinberg Thankfully, the video-game industry has learned a few lessons over the years. Anne Denbok For one thing, the industry as a whole is more protective of its product. Sega is Pal Romero the only company that produces software for their machine (though Parker Brothers EDITORIAL ASSISTANT is expected to release Sega-compatible products, perhaps by the time you read Norma Edwards this), and Nintendo oversees virtually everything targeted for their NES. By keep- CHIEF TYPOGRAPHER ing a tight rein on the games for their machines, Sega and Nintendo can be sure Klarissa Curtis that the quality of their product will remain high. As the former leader of the video- TYPOGRAPHERS game world, Atari also learned a lot about the industry due to the video-game crash Judy Villanueva of the early '80s. David Buchanan Once the chip supply picks up again (currently, the signs show that this is al- CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS ready taking place), the supply of computers, game consoles and cartridges will John Berado Alan Hunter greatly increase. This may result in a minor, but possibly welcome, problem: too Greg Martin much to choose from!

Rob Westerberg And that's where VIDEOGAMES & COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT comes in. As the VICE-PRESIDENT. PRODUCTION quantity of products on the dealers' shelves grows, deciding what to buy becomes

Donna Hahner more difficult. We know you need help separating the good from the bad and, with

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT that goal in mind, we'll try to lead you through that maze of decisions, telling you

Steve Hopkins what you need to know in order to choose the products that are right for you. NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Also, once you have begun to build your software library, we'll show you how JE Publisher's Representatives to get the most from your games. This month's strategy session on Broderbund's Address all inquires to: Spelunker (for the NES) is a prime example of what you can expect to find in each 6855 Santa Monica, Blvd., Suite 200 issue of VG&CE. (213) 467-2266 That is, of course, just a fraction of we'll give you. All to is Son Franaiu - (415) 864-3252 what you have do Chicago - (312) 445-2489 flip through the pages to see what our experts have in store for you. But enough

- Denver (303) 595-4331 of this talk for now— let's ring in this exciting new year with what you came here for! New York City - 724-7767 (212) Let the games begin! CORPORATE DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Paula Thornton

ADVERTISING PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Janice Rosenblum Andy Eddy, Executive Editor SUBSCRIPTIONS Irene Gradstein

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 El NOW PLAYING AT A SOFTWARE DEALER NEAR YOU CIRCLE #104 ON READER SERVICE CARD. Available for Amiga, Commodore 64, IBM PC, Apple llgs, and Atari ST. which are trademarks respectively of Commodore-Amiga, Commodore Electronics, Ltd-, International Business Machines, Apple Computer Inc.. and Atari Inc. Cinemaware Corporation, 4165 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Westlake Village, CA 91362 R e a d e r M a I

Dear Editor, covered us, and you'll find more in fu- Glad you like us, Paul. Sometimes the

I was really happy to see VG&CE on ture issues to keep you coming back! "easter eggs," or hidden bonuses you

the stands the other day. The short speak of, are hard to discover. You can descriptions were easy to read and Dear VG&CE, be sure that as we dig up these trea-

provided me with just enough informa- I know you won't print this letter, but sures, we'll pass them on to you. Also,

tion to make some quality choices for I had to write you anyway. I have 20 thanks for the compliment on the cover. the holidays. I'm looking forward to get- Nintendo cartridges, and your Buyer's By the way, we encourage our read- ting your magazine regularly. Guide was totally out of line in giving ers to send information on any tips and —Leonard Dryer some of the scores you gave. For ex- hidden bonuses they discover to us at Midland, Michigan ample, Kid Niki was much better than VG&CE, 9171 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 300, the 2 you gave in Payability. What Beverly Hills, CA 90210. We'll pay $10 gives? —Tom Foley to the earliest entry of a tip that we use. Dear VG&CE, Bridgeport, Connecticut

Hi! I went to local When my news- Dear VG&CE,

stand, I was surprised to see Video- I was happy to see your magazine, Games & Computer Entertainment on and most of all the strategy hints on Thanks for the criticism, Tom, and the shelf, but it was a relief also. My Blaster Master. I'd never even heard of here's your letter to prove that we can parents bought my brother and I a Nin- this game, but asked the owner of the take it. In fact, we appreciate your tak- tendo system about a year ago, but the store where I buy my cartridges to tell ing us to the carpet on our reviews. We toy store in our area has no informa- as as it in. Are you go- have to be honest and that reviews me soon comes tion on what cartridges were coming say ing to keep doing these articles? I'm are strictly opinions of what our review- out. I'm happy to see games that I not the greatest player and get frustrat- ers feel. You may prefer arcade played in the arcades, like Double Dra- games ed very easily, but I can see that the gon and Marble Madness, are coming (like Kid H\k\) over adventure games tips would be a real help to me and my (such as Pitfall,), so you may grade soon. Some of the others I haven't friends. —Tony Dobush differently if you were reviewing. We try heard of sound like fun, too! Keep it Oneonta, New York coming! Thanks. —Billy Vogel to be less affected by tastes because have to Decatur, Alabama we a responsibility our readers. Dear Editor, Read our reviews, but keep in mind that Lee H. Pappas' strategy guide on one man's ceiling is another man's floor. Blaster Master was very well done, and Dear Editor, I'm going to get a copy of the game as

I picked first When up the issue of Dear Editor, soon as I find it. I hope you can put your magazine, I wasn't at all expect- In reading just one issue of your more of these hints in your magazine.

ing what I found inside. As a 27-year- magazine (great cover art!), I've be- —Rebecca Ann Altieri old game fanatic, I'm bothered by the come a real fan. This is just what I've Jonesboro, Arkansas cartoon ish of appearance the other been waiting for. I wanted to ask you magazines I've seen on electronic something, though. In Andy Eddy's Yes, Tony and Rebecca, you'll be gaming, but I was pleased to see that review of Contra, there was a secret seeing more of the Strategy Sessions you've taken a more mature approach. hint on how to get extra guys when you in future issues of VG&CE. In fact, if you Thanks and keep up the work. good start. I was wondering if you planned look inside this issue, you'll see a —Walt Nelson on giving us more of those kinds of detailed articles on Broderbund's Schenectady, New York hints. I sure would like to get them to Spelunker and Konami's Life Force. use and share with my friends. Thanks. This not only tells you a great deal Thanks for the compliments, guys. —Paul Pettit about how to play the game, but also We're more than happy that you dis- Santa Barbara, California gives you a map of where everything is!

VG & CE Y Jan/Feb T 1989 Terrific News! Arcade ClassicsTo Play At Home

MagMax and Seicross—Super exciting, outerspace video games you can play at

home for the first time ever! You take the controls of MagMax, the giant robot warrior, and fight a three- headed mechanical space monster trying to destroy the human race. A beam gun and magic black bullets help you fight 30 different enemies.

In Seicross, you race a super space bike through an army of enemy suicide bikers. Gather Energy Packs to keep your bike and laser beam energized as you attack the Dinosaur Tank and rescue the captive Petras people.

Free* MagMax Poster Offer

'Send $2.00 for postage and handling and FCI will

send you a full size MagMax poster

Name Age

City. State Zip

Fill out this coupon, enclose a check or money order for $2 payable to FCI, Inc. and send to: 8 MagMax Poster Otter FCI, Inc. 150 East 52 Street New York, NY 10022

^^Ifer expires March 31 1989. MagMax is a trademark of Nitron BossanCo., Ltd.

Look for these other FCI video thrillers you can play at home:

Or. Chaos, Zanac and Lunar Pool are trademarks of Fujisankei

Communications International, Inc. and are licensed (or play on

the Nintendo Entertainment System.® Ultima is a trademark of of Richard Garriott . Magmax and Seicross are trademarks Nihon BussanCo.,Ltd.

Nintendo and Nintendo Entertainment Systems are trademarks ot

Nintendo of America Inc. FCI Fujtsankei Communications International, Inc. 150 East 52 Street, New York, NY 10022 Tel. (800) 255 1431 In NY State (212) 753 8100

CIRCLE #130 ON READER SERVICE CARD. JOYSTICKS BY

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Compiled by Joyce Worley

Out of the Skies & Into The Drink Money Talks ruce Artwick and the SubLogic en- Epyx's French Connection gineering staff have finally got their pyx is adding a French accent to heads out of the clouds. The famed their software lineup, under a flight-simulating crew looked from blue licensing agreement with UBIsoft. The skies into blue waters, and turned their French developer will provide seven combined talents to Up Periscope!, a UBIsoft titles to the American publish- submarine simulation.

er, for release under Epyx's Sports Ac- The simulation, marketed under the tion/Strategy and Masters Collections ActionSoft label, puts the player in lines. command of a WWII fleet-class sub, The first release scheduled for this patrolling the Pacific. Features include winter is 7r;a/s of Honor, a medieval Eu- standard SubLogic goodies— like ad- high-flying team, Up Periscope! simu- ropean adventure. The story, cast justable time scales, surface and at- lates reality in the geography. Major is- against the Dark Ages, sets the player tack radars, variable-power periscope lands and land masses are properly on a quest to prove their valor and right and Torpedo Data Computer—to let located, but there are a few uncharted to rule, after a usurper seizes the gamers recreate 14 different historical atolls to keep the navigator on his toes! throne. Tests of strength and cunning, situations or hunt the enemy on their Captain John Patten, U.S.N. (Ret.), archery trials, and monster slayings own. The sub is armed with one deck worked with the SubLogic crew to give win the warrior the right to rid the gun and various torpedos, and the ene- the program technical and strategic Rhone of wrong. my targets include freights, tankers, realism. The program is available for The game will be offered for Amiga, troop ships and destroyers. Commodore 64, Apple, and IBM-PC Atari ST, Commodore 64 and IBM-PC. Like other products done by this computers.

Microlllusion Mac Takes Fligh to Smithsonian (Yaba Daba Doos)

; ; Mustang Flight Simulator (for anna-Barbera's cartoon charac- P57Macintosh Plus or SE) will appear ters now inhabit the halls of Micro- in a new gallery of the National Air and Illusions. The company acquired the Space Museum wing of the Smithso- rights to use the characters in com- nian Institute, opening May 1989. The puter software, and will unveil a line of new gallery (Beyond the Limits) will use games based on the familiar perso- the program as an example of inexpen- nalities. sive flight simulation, giving the pub- James Steinert, president of Microll-

lic hands-on experience. lusions, promises to maintain the in- The simulator was designed by tegrity and story plots, as the company Donald A. Hill, Jr., the author of Ferrari England into occupied Northern Eu- creates arcade-style games and ad- Grand Prix and Fokker Triplane Flight rope to attempt to master the skies ventures for each of the Hanna- Simulator. Major features are realistic through dogfights with Me 109s. An un- Barbera animations. The initial soft- flight characteristics, ground targets for usual two-player option requires two ware group includes entertainments

strafing, dogfights, explosions, 13 Macs in the same room, connected based on The Flintstones, The Jetsons, camera-viewing angles, parachute directly by cable. This allows wing- Scooby-Doo and Johnny Quest.

bailouts and a complete replay routine. mates to fly formations, do aerobatics, Microlllusions expects to release all ti- The flying adventure.set against the team up on ground targets or even tles for Amiga, Commodore 64, Macin- backdrop of WWII, sends the flier from blast away at each other. tosh and MS-DOS computers.

VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 D Arcade Fantasy adventure role- at its finest... rtPits^best! Fast-paced, exciting Astonishing realism combat demands the is yours through use of all your wits scores ofunique char- and endurance to best acters and sophisti- a world teeming with cated conversations. assassins, wizards Immerse yourself in and monsters. Expe- the sights and sounds rience captivating graphics of an unprecedented cal- of an ancient world embroiled in turmoil—the disap- ibre. Relentless opponents will hone your combat pearance of the king and his young skills to a razor's edge. A simple yet powerful menu child —the struggle and icon interface provides effortless interaction with for control of the the world and its people, while the incredibly smooth realm. The stakes animation are high; your role presents a as the hero-for-hire continuous requires all the cour- panorama of age and savvy you action and can muster. Your adventure. quest for truth will teach you much of the distinction between appearances and reality. Magic and intrigue combined with finely crafted game-play Screens bring you the best shown are for the of fantasy in... Commodore

...Times of Lore

2) call 1-800-999-4939 8am to 5pm EST to order by VISA/ Stunning graphics and animation MC,or Fast-paced combat action 3) mail check (U.S. $) or VISA/ MC#, cardholder name and ex- • Dynamic conversations piration date to Origin. All versions $39.95 plus $2.50 shipping/ • Compelling plot handling. Allow 1-2 weeks for delivery

Try it! A demo disk of Times of Lore is now available for the Commo- dore 64/128K. Send $2.50 to illORIGIN Origin for yours and credit it towards a direct order purchase. Origin Systems, Inc. 136 Harvey Road, Building B., Londonderry, NH, 03053 Also available for the IBM and Apple II series. Times of Lore is a trademark of Origin Systems, Inc.

CIRCLE #107 ON READER SERVICE CARD. 111 Too real.

In the jungle, everything is invisible.

Including the enemy.

Suddenly, a firefight explodes all around you.

That's jungle combat, as you saw it in the movie Platoon.

Now Platoon, the new game from

Sunsoft, takes you right into the action.

You're in for the fight of your life.

And it's as close as you'll want to come, to the real thing.

Hot Hews for Hot Shots!

Get the inside trade on SunSoft games in the

free Sunsoft Game dim Hews.

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Mail to: Sunsoft, P.O. Box 2390, Libertyville, IL 60198

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Nintendo® and Nintendo bmxtoinmem System!* ore trodernorks of Nintendo of

Descend into a menacing world beneath

the city streets.

Come face to face with

the Masters of the Caverns.

Prehistoric. Horrifying. And so powerful,

they fill your whole screen.

They're waiting for you, in the new

BlasterMaster from Sunsoft.

And they're unreal.

for the Nintendo Entertainment System* CIRCLE #108 ON READER SERVICE CARD. N e w s * B i t s

Video Gamescope Sierra Shows Its Colors Nintendo takes TV ierra president Ken Williams an- nounced that Sierra On-Line will ario has finally hit the big time. Nintendo and DIC Enterprises. Live ac- support the color-graphics capabilities The famous plumber, Nintendo's tion segments starring Mario and Lui- most popular social climber, and his gi will be mixed with four animated 9/ oC L'bt. 3U id buddy Luigi will host Super Mario programs per show. The animation se- Brothers Power Hour. Steve "Pee-Wee's quences Super Mario Brothers and The

Playhouse" Binder is the creative con- Legend ofZelda, will be joined by car- sultant for the program produced by toons based on other Nintendo titles.

Shaping Tomorrow Us

Down the Manhole n division's first HyperCard adven- a. a -a jt ll lu -a ture, Manhole, lets the user explore of the Macintosh II. The company's 3-D five disks worth of make-believe. The Animated Adventures now run inter- first screen reveals a manhole with changeably on Macintosh II, Macintosh vines growing from it. Click the mouse Plus, SE, and Macintosh 512 com- on the manhole and a giant beanstalk puters, but they come up in color when climbs up to the sky. The gamer can loaded on the system that supports it, the climb up the beanstalk, into a mys- while continuing to look the same on terious castle and a sky filled with and television with real programs to B&W monitors. meteors. If the gamer descends into watch. the manhole, the exploration takes him Strictly speaking, Manhole is not a

through a sunken ship in an ocean fan- game. Instead, it is an activity for all tasy world. ages, an exploration of strange new The vast cast of characters include worlds which unfold through point-and- aliens, a walrus, rabbits, dragons, dol- click interaction. The entertainment phins and others living in these fanta- program was created and programmed sy kingdoms. Many stationary items by Cyan, brothers Robyn and Rand

are operational, such as the piano that Miller. It requires one megabyte of actually plays, the radio which can be memory, a hard-disk drive and Apple's changed from one station to another HyperCard.

Williams explained his company's

Seeing in 3-D support of the Mac II with the follow- ust plug them into the second ing statement: 'Although the Macin-

joystick port and voilal, 3-D viewing, tosh II is primarily targeted at the with the new Stereoscopic glasses business user, Sierra will provide color from Haitex Resources (Carrollton, 3-D Animated Adventure games be- TX). The X-Specs open and close a cause that is what we think Macintosh

high-speed liquid crystal optical shut- II users will demand. Why would some- ter at 60 frames per second, to control one want black and white when they what each eye sees. The brain then can have color and enjoy the graphic

combines the images into a 3-D image. capabilities of the Macintosh II? Once The $125 glasses will be available software with color is available, very

first for the Amiga. Commodore 64, few Macintosh II owners will go back IBM PC/AT, Macintosh and VCR inter- to black and white." faces are currently in development. Games which currently support the Over 40 independent development labs for molecular modeling. However, Mac in color are: The King's Quest se- firms are working on software to utilize Haitex is not blind to the entertainment ries, the Space Quest series, Police the X-Specs. possibilities; the Amiga glasses come Quest, Mixed-Up Mother Goose and X-Specs are already in use in the packaged with SpaceSpuds, an outer- Leisure Suit Larry. These will soon be UCLA Medical Center for brain scan space arcade action game developed joined by an enhanced version of The imaging, and in other universities and by John Schultz. Black Cauldron.

VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 m AVAILABLE FOR COMMODORE 64/128, AMIGA, IBM & COMPATIBLES HEAVY METAL IS mm d@L®! Ever had that urge to be in command? To lead men against superior enemy forces ...?... Sure you have. But only the "legally brain

dead" want to be shot at for real. Well partner, fire up HEAVY METAL for an experience infinitely better than the 'real' thing.

Start out in the War Room devising a strategy to overrun enemy positions. Now

jump inside an M1A1 Abrams main battle tank and feel the power of one of the

most destructive land combat vehicles ever built. Your trigger finger itches when

your 120mm cannon is loaded ... An enemy tank appears on your laser range

finder . . . fire ... a direct hit and pieces are scattered from here to Anchorage.

Or hop behind the wheel of the XR311 FAV (Fast Attack Vehicle). This hot little

beauty looks like a dune buggy, moves at speeds over 100 mph and is armed

with TOW missiles. It's not a Lamborghini or a Porsche, but it easily blows them

off the road.

Time to power up your ADATS (Air Defense Anti Tank System) and start knocking

down incoming MIG Fighters. Seems easy until they start coming in 6 or 8 at a

time. Now you're in serious trouble. But don't forget, you're also the Company

Commander. Charlie Company is on the horn and wants to know what to do.

Attack? . . . Fall Back? . . . Just received word that your defense perimeters have been overrun and the General's

on the Line. He wants to know what's going on up here???

(AMIGA SCREENS) CIRCLE #109 ON READER SERVICE CARD.

If you can't find our products at your local dealer, you can order direct. For mail orders, enclose check or money order, plus $1 .00 shipping and handling, and specify machine version desired. Order Py phone on VISA, MasterCard

or C.O.D. hy calling TOLL FREE (800) 824-2549. ACCESS SOFTWARE. INC.. 545 W. 550 S., Suite 130. Bountiful, UT 84010. JsE Software incorporated N e w s B i t s

Promotions World Computerists Incentives To Buy Shanghai'd This is the time of year to watch for Activision's addiction, otherwise sales promotions, and the software known as Shanghai, has reached community has some incentives that worldwide proportions. The award win-

add glamor to your purchases. Details ner is currently the most widely pub- of each promotion will be found inside lished computer game of all time, for

the software, or at point-of-purchase 24 computer systems: Amiga, Apple II displays in the stores: and IIGS, Atari ST, MS-DOS/Tandy, —IntelliCreations has a Hawaiian Tandy Color Computer 3, Commodore sweepstakes for The Hunt For Red Oc- (Broderbund) will contain a free copy 64/128 and Macintosh in the U.S.A.; tober, based on Tom Clancy's novel. of Special Edition Graphics Library. Atari XE/XL in Europe; NEC 9800, NEC Two purchasers will each win round-trip —Specially marked boxes of Tower 8800, Sharp X-l, Sharp Shoin, Sharp airfare for two to Hawaii, three days Toppler and Technocop contain sweep- X-6800, MSX-2, Mini-7, Fujitsu FMR, and four nights hotel expenses, and a stakes entry blanks. The winner will Sony Produce, Canon, Toshiba, Nin- free rental car, plus a tour of a fully gain a vacation for four to California, tendo Family Computer, PC Engine, operational submarine. with airfare, hotel and expenses paid. Arcade Machine and Sega in Japan. —Epyx has a consumer sweep- Two additional trips for two to Los An- Shanghai, derived from Mah Jongg, stakes for Print Magic where they'll geles will be awarded, plus 500 runner- shuffles 144 tiles and arranges them in award two three-night stays at a Palm up game posters. a five-tiered, dragon-shaped pyramid. Springs, CA., resort, plus round-trip air- —Accolade's sports-game sweep- The player removes tiles by matching fare. Other prizes include CD players, stakes will award five gamers a "Sports pairs until no further moves are possi-

bicycles, videocassette recorders, Ca- Fan Fantasy For Two." The prizes in- ble, or all tiles are gone. sio keyboards, telephones, and paper- clude a day at a live sports broadcast packs. with an announcer. — Intracorp's "Murder on the Atlan- —Sierra On-Line has a joint promo- tic Contest" requires the player to an- tional agreement with Ad Lib Inc. Sier- swer each of the 15 questions on the ra customers will be able to take entry blank, and write the end to a advantage of a $20 rebate on the Ad completion statement. The top prize is Lib Music Synthesizer Card. $10,000, and 2,500 gift certificates will —Mrs. Marion Reichert, of Benning- also be awarded. ton, VT, won a trip for two to Europe in —While supplies last, specially the Broderbund "Where in Europe is marked packages of The Print Shop Carmen Sandiego? Sweepstakes."

fortress where the opposing army is Coin-snatchers Nintendo Acclaims Go NES headquartered, to stop a futuristic in- CAPCOM's arcader, Bionic Com- vasion. Joystick mando, already available for most Data East will produce Bally Mid- Acclaim's new peripheral is sanc- home computers, will be available this way's hit coin-op Rampage for the tioned as the only Nintendo-

Christmas for the Nintendo Entertain- NES. In this version, George the Ape approved, wireless remote controller. It ment System. This high-action contest and Lizzy the Lizard crash through 128 uses infrared light to eliminate the need casts the gamer as an indefatigable levels, destroying city after city. A solo for wires, thus providing more freedom commando, aided by advanced bion- gamer assumes the role of either mon- of movement for NESers. ics. The powerful soldier fights invad- ster, and two-player mode lets both being forces and battles his way into the hemoths pillage through the cities, smashing up the real estate and gobbling up the citizenry. Gamers get points for everything their monster de-

stroys. If the on-screen uglies get elec- trical shocks, or eat poison or don't eat

enough, it shows up on the damage The Acclaim video-game controller bar which indicates the creatures' con- weighs five ounces and features two dition. fire buttons with the familiar direction- The two-megabyte game, Data rosette, plus a rapid-fire option for

East's 11th title for NES, will retail for those high-speed shoot-'em-ups. It's $44.95. scheduled for holiday buying at $39.95. VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 m N e w s B i t $

TV Special Spotlights Top Summer Sellers for 1988 Top Coin-Snatchers (Figures provided by RePlay Maga- Hulk Hogan Figures courtesy of SoftKat. zine, based on an earnings-opinion poll Acclaim Entertainment, the manu- Rank Title Publisher of operators.) facturer of WWF WrestleMania for 1. GunsMp MicroProse

Nintendo, will cosponsor an animated 2. King's Quest III Sierra Best Upright Video Games: Hulk Hogan TV special, slated for the 3. Pirates MicroProse Double Dragon Taito holiday season. 4. Defender of the Crown Cinemaware Bad Dudes Data East The new videogame slated for De- 5. chuck Yeager's Electronic Arts Operation Wolf Taito cember shoppers will retail for around Advanced Flight Trainer Heavy Barrel ,7** Data East $40-$45. It lets compu-wrestlers use 6. California Games Epyx Main Event 'I Konami bodyslams, headlocks, dropkicks and 7. Falcon Spectrum Holobyte Out Run Sega other maneuvers, to re-create battles 8. Police Quest Sierra A After Burner Sega between WWF stars such as Hulk, 9. The Last Ninja Mediagenic A Super Hang-On \ Sega Randy Savage and Andre the Giant. 10. Leisure Suit Larry Sierra Forgotten World Capcom

10. Toobin' Atari Infocom Changes Format I nfocom's Fall lineup of interactive ad- struggle and the gamer, as John Black- Best Software:

I ventures features enhanced graphics thorne, must adapt to the culture. 1. Shinobi Sega and new story lines. Shogun, based on Dave [Zork] Lebling collaborated 2. Altered Beast Sega

James Clavell's novel, casts the gamer with Clavell to produce a game which 3. Twin Cobra Romstar as a 16th-century English sea pilot en requires the gamer to think like Black- 4. Twin Eagle Taito route to Japan. The feudal Japanese thorne would, rather than solving puz- 5. Championship Sprint Atari society erupts into a political power zles. For example, the very first 6. Gold Medalist Romstar

problem to be overcome when the ad- 7. RoadBlasters Atari

venture begins is something a ship's 8. Capcom Bowling Capcom

captain would do almost automatical- 9. Dead Angle Fabtek

ly. Intricate Japanese graphics, stun- 10. Chopper I SNK ningly beautiful, are used both as story illustrations and borders around the text, and some graphic animations also are used as rewards for successfully Sega Gives the Nod to handled situations.

Shogun will be available for Apple II, Activision Apple IIGS, IBM, Macintosh, Atari ST, until now, all Sega games have Amiga and Commodore computers. Upbeen licensed from their original publishers, then produced and sold un- Double Dragon to NES not been able to keep supplies up to der Sega's own banner. That's Double Dragon, currently a runa- the demand. changed now, and Activision has be- way hit in the arcades, licensed by The popularity of the program con- come one of the first licensees given Tradewest for the Nintendo Entertain- tinues unabated despite a play action the right to market and sell video ment System, has experienced record and plot similar to many other NES games for the Sega Master System. sales. Retailers report shortages of the games. The story stars twin martial-arts Sega will continue to handle the game, and because of the continuing experts, Billy and Jimmy, a kidnapped manufacturing chores, but Activision chip shortage, the manufacturer has girl (isn't there always?) and a fight that will have marketing, sales and distribu-

rages from the inner city, to the woods. tion rights. This is similar to an agree- And just who is this fiend, the Shadow ment between Activision and Nintendo.

Boss, who stole Billy's girl? Why, the Activision, the world's first third-party

villain is none other than Jimmy, whc manufacturer of video games (for the faces his brother in a confrontation. Atari 2600, in the late 70s), already has

The legend of Double Dragon has in- two Sega-marketed video games, spired Imperial Toy Corp. to create a Shanghai and Ghostbusters, for the

series of puffy stickers featuring this Sega Master System. The three new ti- and other popular video games, and tles currently in design are Rampage, Tiger Electronics has created a hand- Bomber Raid (formerly called Super held electronic version for the small- River Raid) and Cyborg Hunter, a game market. futuristic tracking and combat game.

VG & CE Jan/Feb 1989

ALLAS, TEXAS—When most people where you suit up in Photon Warrior gear. catch their first glimpse of the The first thing to be put on is a dis- posable bandanna. These "party Photon Starbase play arena, "living hats," as they are affectionately called by the employees at Photon, must be video game" and "high-tech cow- worn to soak up perspiration. And believe me, when playing Photon you'll D boys and Indians" are two of the sweat so much that your party hat will be drenched at the end of every game. most common analogies that come to mind. As you're tying on your party hat, a uniformed attendant quickly goes over

Though Photon is both of the above, dedicated to selling anything from an- the basic rules. The object is to shoot it's also more than that—as you'll find tiques to designer sunglasses and the players on the opposing team, when talking with frequent players even holographic portraits. The West while trying to avoid being shot your- (a.k.a. Photon Warriors) and em- End is also one of the few places in self. Firing at the enemy base's target ployees. Bob Boyle, Director of Retail Dallas where you can putt indoor three times in a row earns you bonus Operations for Photon Marketing LTD., miniature golf and— in a large video points. But if an opponent shoots you thinks of Photon more as a "step above arcade—race Atari's Final Lap against or you fire on a fellow teammate— video games" rather than simply a seven other human players. And it's whether by accident or deliberately— computer game where people physi- the only place where you can see and your phaser gun deactivates for a few cally participate. play Photon's new Starbase game. seconds. When this happens, the best While first-time onlookers might pass thing to do is retreat and duck behind Photon off as a short-lived novelty, this the maze of walls until your phaser "novelty" has already endured for four Inside Starbase reactivates. At the end of a game (each years and is now on its fifth. Veteran West End shoppers, as they enter game lasts about five minutes), play- players will tell you that Photon is suc- the Starbase facility, are first greeted ers exit the arena and see how well cessful because its premise is more by the brightly shining logo. Because they played, reading their tallied scores like that of a competitive sport, such as of curiosity, their first stop is usually the on computer monitors. Individual football or baseball, rather than an or- observation deck from where the full, results are then totalled and the team dinary video game. open game arena can be seen below. with the highest number of points is the Don't ask them what a Photon game Newcomers get the idea of how Pho- winner. is like. Joe, an eighteen-year-old who ton is played watching red and green- Learning to put on the Photon War- has been playing for little over a month, helmeted players running and ducking rior gear for the first time is probably is at a loss for words when trying to about the playing field. Streams of describe Photon. "It's like a video green, laser-like light emit from the game—but then again it's not," he re- Photon Warriors' phaser guns plies unsurely. whenever they shoot at one another. To Joe and other faithful Photon War- The mist-covered game arena- riors, summarizing what Photon is and illuminated in certain areas with what one feels when playing it in a sin- decorative green and red lights—and gle paragraph or two doesn't do the the sound effects soundtrack playing game justice. All descriptions— no mat- overhead, all add to the science fic- ter how detailed—sound too generic. tion/fantasy feel of Photon. You can

Reading about it, seeing pictures of the practice handling a phaser from one of arena or watching others play the several phaser stations on the obser- game won't make you understand what vation deck, aiming and shooting at the makes veterans and others alike keep players on the field. Watching a Pho- coming back for more. To know why ton game is definitely something of a

Photon is still as successful as it is, you spectacle itself. have to play it. Those who aren't content with just Today, the latest version of the Pho- watching others play can sign up and ton concept is known as Starbase, lo- join in the fun—the only requirement cated in Dallas' historic West End is that you be over 4-6. Upon paying a marketplace—a "festival" shopping lifetime registration fee and filling out mall featuring high-concept specialty a waiver, your photo is taken and shops. "It [the West End] seemed to placed in an identification card for you be the most obvious choice to us," to keep. After buying a ticket to play in notes Mr. Boyle. There you'll find stores one game, it's off to the "pod" stations

Illustration by Van Arno Schauer more difficult than playing the game it- fast. Beginners who don't know the lay- he raised enough capital to rent ware- self. First, you strap a twelve-pound out of the playing field all too often run house space in a suburban Dallas battery pack around your waist like a into walls or trip. Fortunately, the hel- office building. It was from there that belt. Next, the helmet, chest pod and met protects against head injuries, and Carter and his subcontractors built the phaser (all three are already connect- most falls are minor. first Photon play area, virtually from the ed together for convenience) are As you move around the arena, you ground up. The lighting and sound sys- donned. This entire setup is plugged feel the tension of both the hunter and tems rivaled that of an elaborate dis- into the battery pack. the hunted. Streaks of green phaser cotheque, and the rugged playing field

light flash past you. If you're hit, a was designed to look like a cross be- reverberating whine echoes in the tween the Death Star corridors in Star

stereo of your helmet. If you hit your op- Wars and a full-blown, life-sized video ponent's helmet or chest pod, a re- game. Everything was under the con-

Wearing the helmet, you can hear (in warding ping will sound. trol of a central computer, which was stereo) an electronic "blipping" that in- After my first game I was exhausted. programmed to regulate the game and dicates your gear is powered up. You Whether it was because I was out of keep the score. can also hear your phaser gun when shape or because the game was so in- As sophisticated as this system was, it's fired. In all, the equipment weighs tense, I don't know—but it didn't mat- there were still problems. Once, the over 15 pounds. Though it's designed ter: the game was worth it. computer was fried when the building to be worn by people of all sizes, the (Unfortunately, my score on the moni- was struck by lightning. Another time itself dur- gear may be bulky and loose if you're tor revealed that I had performed pret- the fog machine switched on on the small side—sometimes being ty badly.) Panting and sweating, I soon ing the night, triggering fire alarms. uncomfortable and a hindrance. And discovered another feature of the West However, these were only minor inci- no matter how tightly you adjust it, the End: its wide variety of places to eat dences. Problems were few, and, over- straps tend to come loose during and drink. all, the system proved to be effective rigorous play. and "bug-free." When everybody is suited up and Photon's genesis separated into teams, attendants lead The mastermind behind Photon is Let the games begin George Carter—a bearded, middle- On April, 1984, Photon opened its aged man who got the inspiration for doors, and with local television and ra- Photon back in 1977 when he first saw dio ad spots, business started out the movie Star Wars. "George essen- briskly. That briskness mounted to a tially wanted to create a place where surge as Photon quickly gained a loy- you could go and 'do just that,'" ex- al following, thanks mostly to word-of- plains Mr. Boyle. Specifically, he want- mouth. Teams of league players were ed to create an environment where formed and tournaments were held. A people could harmlessly shoot light second center in Fountain Valley, guns at one another, and "live" the California was opened, where lines laser battle scenes from the famed stretching for blocks were reported. George Lucas film. Franchises appeared across the nation So with a general idea of what he in major cities. wanted, Carter and an engineer friend Photon had made a timely

built the first prototype Photon Warrior appearance— in the "Golden Age" of

suit in, where most pioneering inven- the video-game revolution. During that tions are invented, a garage. Basical- time, many had theorized that video

ly, the gear operated on a patented gaming would gradually evolve into a infrared system to register a "hit," like form that was more interactive, more the remote control on a television. physical. Even though Carter himself Due to technological limitations at never associated his creation with the time, the original phaser didn't emit video games, Photon's principal mar- a straight beam of light like the laser ket was made up of those who fre- guns in Star Wars, something that Car- quently played them—young males ter wanted. Firing the original phaser from their teens to early twenties.

was akin to shooting a gun. Though it Billed as "the living video game," the players into the game arena and to worked, the effect was not as visually both Photon and George Carter ap- their home bases. A recorded female dramatic. The public would have to wait peared in the pages of news, science, voice welcomes the Photon Warriors for what would be more than four years sports and video-game magazines. and begins counting down, after which of research for the phaser to be per- Even the ABC television network's the game officially starts. fected. news magazine, 20/20, visited the Pho-

And once it starts, things get hectic Meanwhile, Carter took a bold step: ton facility in Dallas, covering the game VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 and interviewing players. With the success came the mer- chandising. There were Photon toys, novels, a television series, and even a workable home version. It didn't matter that all of these products were short- lived. With each of them, the Photon name was spread.

Inevitably came competition— all of which failed miserably. Carter cites that these facilities just weren't able to measure up to the quality Photon deli- vered. The equipment used in many "Flashlight Photons," as he calls them, were put together with simple, inferior components that could be purchased ness was the two-year arcade and from any electronic parts store. home video-game slump that charac- ly of young males, the new audience The more successful of the compe- terized 1985 and 1986. Turned away by will result in a potentially wider market. tition was Laser Tag, a home-version the sudden lack of quality in video There have also been changes in copy of Photon that managed to estab- games, video-gamers, who had always how the business will be run from the lish itself in the market before the comprised a majority of Photon's cus- company headquarters. For one, fran- equally similar, made-for-home Photon tomers, became disinterested in Pho- chises are no longer being sold. Sec- brand was released. Laser Tag got its ton as well. ondly, projects involving the use of their share of attention, especially in 1986, It was at this point that Photon need- pseudo-laser for various applications but its popularity began to wane after ed something to create new interest— and expanding Starbase into other several months. and perhaps build a new image. That areas of the amusement industry are something came out of the company's in development. A second Starbase New blood research lab: a new phaser gun, one center will open in early 1989 in Japan, In fact, Photon's own popularity was that could shoot out a beam of laser- their first foreign market. running down. Many franchises closed like light. due— Carter will tell you this This wasn't a real laser; laser tech- From the past, into the future honestly—to the difficulty in keeping nology was still too expensive, and Photon reached a plateau of suc- the franchises up to the quality stan- laser light is too dangerous. Instead, cess, then momentarily declined, only dards that had been so important to this phaser emitted normal light, al- to return under the Starbase banner-

Photon in the past. tered to look like a straight laser beam. all in less than five years. Not too many Another factor in the slowing of busi- Carter would not go into details on how "novelties" have that kind of resilience.

this is done, as it is a patented product Maybe Starbase's success is due to

of his company. All he would say was marketing—or maybe it's just luck. Or

that the new phaser is a miniaturized perhaps it has something to do with version of the pseudo-laser lights used what creator George Carter told me as in discotheques. we neared the end of his interview: Now all Photon needed was the new "We didn't import Photon from another image. That new image was called country—or any other outside source.

"Starbase," and it opened in the West We made it ourselves. Photon is an End on July, 1988. Due to space limi- American original." tations, Starbase is about half the size American originals— like apple pie,

of the original Photon, but it features baseball, and video games—are main- the best of the latter in a smaller, more stays. And, like the players in a Pho-

intimate package. And its popularity is ton game, American originals never gaining again, coinciding with the die. resurging video-game industry. But this time a few things are different. Besides the new phasers, you'll find that the Howard H. Wen is a freshman at the people who are playing Photon are University of North Texas, where he is different too. Starbase now has a regu- majoring in screenwriting. He is the lar flow of female players, since a great author of the science-fiction satire nov-

number of West End shoppers are pre- el, Cosmic Computer Commandos! teen and teenaged girls. Even though and has had articles published both in

Photon's customers still consist main- VG&CE and ANALOG Computing.

VG ft CE Jan/Feb 1989 Alex Kidd in Miracle World Sega

For the Sega Master System ($40.00)

M lex Kidd in Miracle World ed not to incorporate a time limit, MM is obviously Sega's an- leaving you free to work out your # I swer to Super Mario plan of attack. This makes the

Bros. Just like its predecessor, game more enjoyable, I think, be-

it's a running, jumping, block- cause it eliminates much un- busting game where you must necessary pressure and find your way through many increases the use of strategy. different levels. But, while Alex You'll encounter many differ- Kidd in Miracle World is reminis- El ^ ent creatures on your way cent of Mario Bros., it's far from through Miracle World, and all a clone. The creators of this pro- of them are out to stop you from gram have taken extra care to attaining your final goal. The only produce something that can way to increase your score is to

stand on its own. shoot or punch the creatures; The scenario: Alex Kidd, a boy however, to get as far into Mira- r ! r- f r- , r-.r , on the planet Aries, returns from cle World as you can, your best Mt. Eternal where he has bet is to avoid the enemy. You Sega's answer to Super Mario Bros, is Alex Kidd in Miracle World, an learned Shellcore, a skill that al- may get a lower score, but you'll addicting treasure hunt that's a definite winner. lows one to easily break rocks. last longer.

He is informed that the city of stepping stones. Others will clude Teleport Powder (makes Once you've developed the

Radactian is in danger. The dy- block your way and so must be you invisible to the enemy). necessary skills, (such as jumping man who tells Alex about smashed. Canes of Flight (gives you the ing up, smashing a block and

Radactian's troubles also gives You'll find moneybags every- power to fly) and two varieties grabbing the money all in a sin-

him a map and a medallion where, and if you want to pur- of Magic Capsules (one calls gle move), you'll find this game fashioned from Sunstone and chase items from the shop (trust forth some "friends" and one to be about as addicting as sends him on his way to dis- me; you do), you have to collect surrounds you with a protective games come. The graphics are

cover the secrets of Miracle all the cash you discover. There barrier). Certain shops also stock clean and inventive, the sound World. are also many boxes to open. Sukopako Motorcycles and effects interesting and the game Game play consists mostly of Some of the boxes contain Peticopters, vehicles that'll help play challenging and absorbing.

finding the best route through moneybags, some contain you make it through a location Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a

each of the 11 levels, while at treasures—others contain nasty faster and sometimes easier. definite winner. the same time collecting as surprises. As you work your way into —Clayton Walnum much money and treasure as Occasionally, you'll be able to Miracle World, you'll find that

you can. In addition, there are enter the aforementioned the puzzles get harder and the SEGA of America

thousands of stone blocks shop—wherein you can buy amount of skill required for suc- 573 Forbes Blvd.

throughout Miracle World. You'll many items that'll assist you in cess also increases. Thankfully, So. San Francisco, CA 94080 need to use some of them for your journey. These items in- the creators of Alex Kidd decid- (415) 742-9300.

VG & CE Jan/Feb 1989 ® FlY TO FARAWAYPLACES AND MEETINTERESTING PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BLOW Rev i e w

Ghost House

# host House is a simple discover in your wanderings f V and mindless game. around the mansion—things that %m Now that I've got your are not mentioned in the game's

attention, let me hasten to say brief manual. For instance, if you that the above is not necessari- jump up and touch one of the

ly a criticism. There's no rule ceiling lights, everything on the

anywhere (at least, not one that screen will freeze for a short

I've run into) that says that all while, allowing you to punch the video games must be complicat- creatures with no risk to your-

ed and thought-provoking. It all self. However, this manuever will depends on what you want to work only a limited number of

get out of a game. And even that times, so use it sparingly.

changes from day to day. Though the sound effects in

The object of Ghost House is Ghost House are nothing special, to find and retrieve a number of the graphics are interesting and jewels hidden throughout Count fairly detailed. They're not as Dracula's mansion. The mansion well done as the graphics found

is, of course, overflowing with in some of the other games from

nasty creatures, all of which are Sega, but this game comes on a out to prevent Mick, your on- "Sega Card" instead of a Mega screen character, from getting cartridge; so one shouldn't ex- the jewels. placed around the castle. For ex- to get at him, but the transfor- pect the game to be able to com-

The Derobats and the Fire ample, you must be always ready mation won't last long. pete with its larger cousins.

Blowers are particularly annoying. to duck under flying knives and Each of the creatures in the If you like a lot of action and

The bats are constantly coming arrows, and hidden traps, which, mansion are worth points toward don't frustrate easily— or if you

at you, usually in pairs, and it's if you don't jump over, will drop your score. In addition, there are find yourself in the market for a

difficult to punch them. In most you down to the next floor. treasures scattered about that simple game requiring little

cases you can get the first one, Placed throughout the man- not only increase your score by thought to play—Ghost House but the second one gets you. To sion are five coffins which con- varying amounts, but also add may be a good addition to your

kill the Fire Blowers, you must tain vampires. Each of these some power to your power game library. As for myself, I jump on top of them, and depend- vampires has one of the jewels meter. The power meter (locat- doubt I'll be spending much time

ing on where you are in the man- you need, and to acquire the ed at the top of the screen) with it. I like a game with a lot sion, this can be easy or difficult. jewel, you must kill the vampire. keeps you up-to-date on Mick's more depth.—Clayton Walnum

In some corridors, there's no The vampire flits at you in his bat health: When all the power is room to jump above the Fire form, quickly draining away your gone, Mick dies. You get three Sega of America

Blower, so you have to come up power. Once in a while he'll lives with which to try and com- 573 Forbes Blvd. with a more creative solution. change back into his normal plete your mission. So. San Francisco, CA 94080 There are other obstacles form, giving you a better chance There's a trick or two you'll (415) 742-9300.

VG & CE Jan/Feb 1989 Rev e w

Gato Atari

For the Atari XE Game System ($24.95)

Originally produced by Spec- any power. Known as Rapid Sub- trum Holobyte for the Com- marine Deployment (RSD), it is modore, Apple and IBM intended for making a quick trip computers, the long-awaited to the subtender for repairs. But Atari 8-bit conversion of the sub- this function can just as easily marine simulator Gato— be used to move your Gato sub programmed by Xanth F/X—has into quadrants occupied by ene- finally arrived. my ships. Obviously, this method

The year is 1943, World War is more time-efficient than having to cruise the ocean for II, and you're the captain of a fuel wmmo under Gato-class attack submarine sta- several minutes. itmin tioned in deep Pacific waters. You bhtt o The graphics in Gato are good, receive your patrol-mission or- r I 1 CHHRGIKG o but nothing special. The sub- darsfrom COMSUBPAC (Com- tender and enemy ships are T ORPEDOES mander Submarine Force Pacific DEPTH SPEED HEUDIHC represented in simple, wire- Fleet) in genuine Morse code. frame graphics. When an enemy N'EriJ'lJ POHER DAMAGE O '.' I E H * Upon familiarizing yourself with ship is hit by one of your torpe- your assignment, you must com- The long-awaited Gato for the Atari XE Game System tosses you and does, water erupts and the your submarine onto the open seas to complete dangerous missions. plete it quickly and efficiently whole ship horizontally sinks with only the supplies you carry self on paper. When your Gato submarine be- straight down into the water. If on each patrol. With a disk drive, Gato is played on four separate comes seriously damaged or sup- your own sub is sunk, the screen the date and amount of enemy screens, mostly from the main plies begin to run low, the sub- rattles as water comes flooding tonnage you sink is automatical- control display. Mere, your sub's tender—an ally ship—is available in, filling the sub to the top. ly saved in a captain's log on disk. depth, speed and heading gauges to provide you with fuel, torpedoes Arcade fans wanting some-

Gato allows you to choose are shown—as are the oxygen in- and repairs. Getting the subtender thing of a faster pace are advised from many variations in play dicator, fuel and battery reserves, to help you can be tricky at to look elsewhere, while others with ten levels of difficulty. In the damage report, periscope cross- times—you need to move in close won't find the challenge present- first three, enemy ship move- hairs, your view of the water sur- enough to the ship, as well as ed in this one a disappointment. ments are displayed on both face, remaining torpedoes and match its course and speed. To put it simply: Gato is a wel- quadrant and patrol area charts, other vital statistics. It especially takes a while to come addition to the Atari XEGS while on the fourth and fifth lev- And, of course, every sea-faring move your sub in on the line and a highly recommended els, their presence is shown only craft has a radar. In Gato, the ra- enemy—this is when the game game. on the quadrant charts. For the dar functions pretty much like the is played in real time. However, —Howard H. Wen diehard gamer, message orders real thing. At higher levels of there is a function that allows Atari Corp. are received in Morse audio only game difficulty, the radar screen you to "warp" your submarine 1196 Borregas Ave. on levels seven and nine, requir- is the only means by which ene- from one area of the patrol area Sunnyvale, CA 94086 ing that you decode them your- my ships can be located. chart to another without using (408) 745-2000

VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 Fantasy Zone II Sega

For the Sega Master System ($43.00)

n this sequel, Opa-Opa is back for a short period and cost more

at it again, in a story that with each successive purchase. takes place ten years after Constant cash additions to the the original Fantasy Zone tale. In wallet are important.

Fantasy Zone II, the dastardly The scenery in Fantasy Zone

Blackhearts are threatening his II is extremely colorful and the home territory. animation nicely done—a testa- Opa-Opa has his work cut out ment to the graphics hardware for him. He faces eight different inside the Sega Master System. worlds as his journey unfolds, At times, though, the small ship

each one more trying than the you are piloting will get lost in last. Also, each world ends with the lavish backgrounds, making

Opa-Opa dueling head-to-head battle more difficult. against one of the Blackhearts. The music and sounds are At the end of the first level, for also high quality, but they soon example, he must pilot his way wear thin. After a short time, through a literal logjam as he you'll reach for the volume con- tries to kill the first Blackhead. trol to turn them down; they be-

The main task is to make it come distracting. Since they through the multiple scenes of you must recognize in order to be you must find the red warp pad, really don't help game play, each world. The Blackhearts successful. Each world brings which will bring you into the silencing sound effects won't have spread a lot of cash around, new enemies and new patterns. face-to-face confrontation with change the game much and will but to get it you have to destroy There are also bases— large, that area's Blackhead. Defeating help you concentrate better. fire goofy-looking (using missile and bomb faces—that need the Blackheart lets a lot of cash Fantasy Zone II is a quality

drops) the crew of aliens that to be blasted off the screen. fly, but you only have a short challenge to the arcade-game

hold it. When you do loosen up When one is shot repeatedly, it time to pick it up before you're lover. It keeps the pressure on, some currency, it will stay on- disappears with a reward: Either shoveled off to the next scene. varies the patterns of the ene- screen only for a few moments, it drops some loot to add to your It's important to hoard your mies to minimize boredom and

bankroll or it so you also have to maneuver reveals a warp pad. money in Fantasy Zone II. If you is attractive to look at. It has quickly and accurately. A warp pad, if you run into them don't acquire a good stash of some flaws, but will keep you This job isn't tough in itself, but with your ship, will take you to cash, your ship will have only a plugging away for hours. a lot is thrown at you at once, so the other corners of the world minimum of firepower. Certain —Andy Eddy you must keep your eyes darting you're currently in. This is the spots in each world have a store back and forth constantly. Each only way to successfully com- where you can upgrade your ar- Sega of America of the enemies—or teams of plete each level, because you tillery strength and engine type 573 Forbes Blvd. enemies—you come across has can't move on until all the bases and even receive an extra ship. San Francisco, CA 94080 a specific pattern of movement are cleared. When that occurs, These enhancements last only (415) 742-9300

VG & CE Jan/Feb 1989 — Review

Super Mario Bros. 2 Nintendo

For the Nintendo Entertainment System ($39.95)

There's no way that someone Mario fans will cheer creatures in Mario 2, pick them could own a Nintendo and his new exploits in up off the ground and chuck them not be familiar with the Nintendo's Super at other beasties as a weapon. Mario Bros. 2, as he exploits of Mario and his associ- This is a nice twist, and demon- attempts to journey ates. So far, two cartridges have strates that Nintendo strives for into the dream world been devoted to Mario's travels, uniqueness. of Subcon and defeat and both of them contain the of area, there enough the nasty Wart. At end each activity and adventuring to keep is a "boss" that is tough to the most avid gamer busy for eliminate. For example, Birdo quite a spell. My family still plugs shoots eggs at you, and you have in Super Mario Bros, more than to jump precisely in order to land any other game. on the egg, take it into your arms

Not one to remain out of the and hit Birdo with it. There is also public's eye for too long, Mario a boss at the end of each world, has gathered all of his friends and at the game's conclusion, the and a large number of his oppo- main meany named Wart must nents—for a new trek called Su- be defeated. per Mario Bros. 2. Though many Above all, the challenge is of the characters and control Mario 2's primary attraction: aspects are the same, the game there are some hard levels in this concept is fresh. Don't think that game. Unlike Mario 2's predeces- because you got all the way sor, you can travel back from through the original Super Mario where you just came. Unfor- Bros, game, you'll be able to tunately, when you backtrack, the breeze to the end of this one! attackers you already dispatched The game opens at the en- you'll also learn which player will tween you and further adventure. will return to their original loca- trance to the mystical land of be best suited for the terrain. There are also other treasures tions. The pressure is constant.

Subcon and its 7 worlds, which Strewn about Subcon are you'll find, such as keys (to open Movie sequels aren't usually are comprised of 20 different many objects that you may find locked doors), 1 UPs (for free as successful as the originals, areas. At the beginning of each beneficial. Everywhere you go, lives), POW blocks (to wipe and often end up embarrassing. area, you can pick which of the there are tufts of grass sticking everything off the screen) and po- The continuing escapades of four characters— Mario, Luigi, out of the ground. When you grab tion bottles (which take you to a Mario and his pals prove that se-

Toad and Princess Toadstool—to the grass and pull, you'll gener- sub-space zone for coin and quels don't always fail. Nintendo use. There are subtle differences ally find "weapons" in the form mushroom bonuses). has another hit on their hands. in jumping and running abilities of vegetables that can be thrown To make the game more in- —Andy Eddy between the characters, which at an oncoming meanie. Some- teresting, you can turn an ene- may have an effect on how well times you'll find time bombs, my's movements against itself, Nintendo of America, Inc. you do in specific areas, so the helpful for blasting creatures similar to jumping on a turtle's P.O. Box 97036 choice should be made carefully. or—better yet—for breaking a back in Super Mario Bros. You Redmond, WA 98073-9736 As you learn about each area, section of wall that stands be- can stand on the backs of most (206) 882-2040

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 Review —

Power Set Nintendo

For the Nintendo Entertainment System ($149.95)

Most people complain that, in June, 1988. When people tried while video gaming is in- it—in suits and ties, usually volving and exciting, their calorie-burning stomping there isn't much actual physical and leaping were always accom- interaction for the player. Sure, panied by smiles. you wiggle a joystick around for The obvious question is a few hours and maybe urge your whether Nintendo, and/or third- on-screen character's move- party companies, will continue to ments with some body English of support the Power Pad with new your own, but there's not much cartridges. A look back to the to bring a sweat to your brow. first generation of video games Folks, things are about to brings to mind the Joyboard, a change. stand-on controller for the Atari

Nintendo, always looking for 2600 VCS, marketed by a little- new recreational tie-ins for the known company called Amiga. NES, is now marketing a new Yes, the same group responsible package: The Power Set. This for the Amiga computer before contains the Action Set hard- being acquired by Commodore. Nintendo's Power Pad for the NES eliminates any cries of "You're a ware—an console NES (and as- Couch Potato!" in your house, as you sprint and leap your way through Unfortunately their first effort sociated gear), two controllers their new series of interactive cartridges. was poorly timed (it was and the Zapper light gun—and a released just before the video- new control device calied the Presently the Power Set Games. The first title guides you game market crashed) and the Power Pad. (Current Nintendo comes with a triple-header car- through the paces with on- concept never caught on. owners will either have to buy tridge: It not only contains Su- screen feedback of how each ex- Nintendo is, by all appear- the new set or wait until Nin- per Mario Bros, and Duck Hunt, ercise should be done. Jane Fon- ances, peaking with the NES, tendo releases the Power Pad as but also a Power Pad-compatible da beware. which gives them some room to a separate purchase; presently game called World Class Track Super Team Sports is a much try and turn the Power Set into

are it select there no plans to sell in- Meet. When you the lat- more carefree contest, testing a decent seller. All I know is it's dependently of the Power Set.) ter program, you can compete in your abilities at team sports and a lot of fun and, hopefully, will The pad looks something like running and jumping events like obstacle-course events. While permit me to deflate some of the the playfield for the old Twister the 100-meter dash and the long still fun, it makes you work for spare tire that rings my game, with large colored dots on jump. To make it even more in- your enjoyment. midsection—with a smile. both sides. When plugged into teractive, up to six players can If you have any doubts about —Andy Eddy the NES in place of a standard join the challenge. the Power Pad's calorie-killing ef- controller or joystick, the pad will By the time you read this, Nin- fects, you can take my word for Nintendo of America, Inc. send data from microswitches tendo plans to be shipping two it that it'll do the trick. Nintendo P.O. Box 97036 built into the device, depending other Power Pad cartridges: was demonstrating the device at Redmond, WA 98073-9736 on which dots are stood on. Dance Aerobics and Super Team the Consumer Electronics Show (206) 882-2040

VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 Exciting Sci-Fi Role-Playing for only $29.95

Every last member of the resistance has either Confuse them by creating a duplicate image of been captured or is closely monitored by the robot yourself with the unique holoprojector. Or re- patrol. As a new inhabitant of XK-120, you have program them to work for you by mastering no police record. You have a chance to locate the ingenious Directive Override option. the central control console and deacti vate the robot control system. Not a good chance, but a chance.

This science fiction role-playing game was created by Chuck Bueche, the author of AUTODUEL®. The fast paced action all takes place in an enclosed high-tech city of many levels.

As you hurry along extensive air- jet subways and slidewalks, you'll Realistic action allows you to move or climb over need to solve complex mazes and objects. Superbgraphics other intriguing puzzles. The chal- on Commodore 64/1281 lenges are non-stop and full of surprises.

On your mission, you'll face some 16 In 2400 A.D. you step far types of animated robots. Battle them with into the future. But beware. Each weapons like phasers, blasters and time bombs. step you take could be your last.

Available for: IBM-PC / Tandy / compatibles, Apple II Series, and Commodore 64/1 28. To get your copy, (1 ) visit your local retailer, (2) call 1 -800-999-4939 8am to 5pm EST to order by VISA/MC, or (3) mail check (U.S. $) or VISA/MC #, cardholder name and exp. date to ORIGIN 136 -B Harvey Road. Londonderry, NH 03053. Price: 529.95 plus $2.50 shipping and handling. Allow 1 -2 week for delivery.

IsiisjUKlUirs

136-B Harvey Road, Londonderry, NH 03053 (603) 644-3360 CIRCLE #111 ON READER SERVICE CARD. Rev i e w

Remote Ultimate Superstick Beeshu

For the Nintendo Entertainment System ($54.99) and the Sega Master System ($49.95)

Remember a few short switches provide audible clicks years ago when we so you know when you've initiat- thought Pong's blocky ed a movement. graphics were hot stuff? Short- One of the nice features of the ly thereafter, the blocks grew Beeshu stick is the availability of legs and became Space Invaders, two sets of "A" and "B" buttons, hip-hopping across arcade one on each side of the unit, to screens everywhere. And then give left-handers a fair chance at they evolved into the line draw- comfortable game control. This ings of boulders and spaceships in itself is problematic, though: in Asteroids. Boy, wasn't tech- If you relax your arm while play- nology just the neatest thing? ing, you may accidentally strike The one thing that video- the other set of buttons causing gaming technology hasn't erroneous actions on-screen. brought us is mobility. Guitar and Floating your hand over the keyboard players can roam about joystick console to avoid this sit- onstage, thanks to cordless ra- uation may contribute to early dio transmitters and receivers. arm fatigue. Beeshu cuts the cords with their Remote Ultimate Superstick, a wire- Now, Beeshu has given Ninten- There's also a problem with less joystick with versions capable of connecting to your computer or do or Sega players the same lux- the battery compartment on the video-game system. ury with their Remote Ultimate bottom of the RUS. This area is Superstick (RUS) joystick. on the Atari 2600 VCS, XE game dently vary the repeat speed of just a hair bigger than the nine-

"Break loose and GO RE- machines and computers, as the "A" and "B" buttons, though volt battery it houses, so I an- MOTE," say Beeshu's ads; and well as Atari, Amiga and Com- you can click them to an "off" ticipate that the battery wires indeed, the RUS will allow you modore computers, because they position and defeat the auto- will end up frayed by the crimp- to do just that. You can sit across all use the same connectors.) repeat mode. Also, on the under- ing they'll receive over time. the room from the game console The RUS provides many em- side are four suction cups to The Superstick is lightweight, and fire away. As long as the bellishments over a normal keep the RUS anchored to a flat but sturdy, and should stand up joystick is in line of sight of the joystick. In addition to the re- surface. to a lot of banging around. Even receiving unit, you're in business. quired START and SELECT but- In the middle of the console is with its few drawbacks, this

Designed for versatility, the tons, there is a row of switches a fairly tall stick, raised even product is worth considering if Beeshu's stick can be purchased for turning the joystick on and higher by the design of the mold- you are a serious videogamer. with either Nintendo-compatible off, alternating between Player ed face. Thankfully, it has a stur- —Andy Eddy or Sega-compatible cables. (For One or Player Two, and slowing dy, steel stem that will take Beeshu, Inc. this article, we reviewed the down the play (if the cartridge abuse. The stick is very sensi- 101 Wilton Ave. Nintendo version. We assume supports that feature). The re- tive to movement—sometimes Middlesex, NJ 08846 the Sega version will also work maining two controls indepen- too sensitive. The joystick (201) 968-6868

VG 8 CE T Jan/Feb 1989 F~0 0 \

Strap on your helmet and get ready for a pro football simulation that looks exactly like a Sunday network broadcast.

« - TV SPORTS: Football features amazing graphics and animation; real arcade action on offense and defense; individual and team

statistics; and a 28 team, 16 game schedule with post season playoffs! " " j^J |_ ft M Vr*r Included at no extra charge are these TV SPORTS exclusives: Broadcasters, cheerleaders, fans in the stands and a halftime show!

"SO REAL IT... SWEATS!"

• Create a league with up to 28 human controlled franchises

• All teams have different offensive and defensive tendencies

• Play it as an arcade game or coach from the sidelines • Play alone, against a friend, or with a friend against the computer • Includes "pushbutton statistics" to view the top performers in the league

Corporation. Streen photos represent toe Amiga version only. Others may vary. Cinemaware,' TV Sports and TV Sports: Football are trademarks ot Cinemaware

is $34.95) To order direct call 800-527-4391 (in Ca. 805-495-6515) or send your Visa/MC number and expiration date, check or money order for $49.95 (C64 delivery. plus $3. handling to Cinemaware Corp., RO. Box 5083, Westlake, CA„ 91359. Ca. residents add 6% sales tax. Allow 3-5 weeks for CIRCLE #112 ON READER SERVICE CARD.

Spelunker, unlike many of the games available for the The Great Cave Trek Nintendo Entertainment System, has been with us for quite some time—years,

in fact. It was a popular game on many home computer systems long before there even was a Nintendo. It has fas- cinated and amused thousands and

thousands of people with its hidden

caves and treasures. If you've recent- ly purchased a copy of Spelunker— either for your Nintendo or some other game system— let me welcome you to the fold of those of us who have long been hooked on this game. And let me also warn you that once you get start- Guide ed with Spelunker, you may find it hard to break away. Let me also warn you that although

Spelunker is great fun, it can be as to frustrating as hunting grizzly bears with a stick. Spelunker requires a skillful hand on the controller pad or Spelunker joystick—and a willingness to practice each level until you can slip past even the most difficult puzzles. On the other hand, due to the fact that Spelunker ac- by Clayton Walnum tually has only four levels, there's a good chance that you will be able to "complete" the game within a machines. This article was written ing of even the smallest of stumbles. reasonable amount of time. based on the Nintendo version of Though many climbing games let you

Those of you who are alert undoubt- Spelunker. But before all of you who fall at least the height of your on-screen edly noticed the quotes in the last sen- own Spelunker in a different version go character, Spelunker will bring down tence. The quotes are there because running for the exits, be aware that the ax if you even hiccup while off the

Spelunker makes up for its lack of most of this article will be applicable (I ground. Nothing more to be said on length by sending you back to the be- think) to any version of the game. The that subject. Don't fall. Period. ginning once you've made it to the end details may vary a bit, but the maps All of us who have spent time with of the game. Of course, things get and the general mechanics of game Spelunker (and I think it would be safe tougher the next time through—all the play remain the same. to assume that includes most everyone keys are invisible. I should also say that this article will reading this) share one feeling. We all But enough of the chatter. If you not by any means lead you every step hate ropes! Spelunker is loaded with have a copy of Spelunker, get it of the way through your Spelunker ropes, and players find themselves al- cranked up and going. If you don't gaming. There are really only a few ways having to leap on to or jump off have a copy of Spelunker, drop this areas (ten that I've chosen) where you of them—and not always with the magazine (unless, of course, you're might need some hints; the rest of the greatest of success. Let me say it right reading it in a store; in which case, buy game can be solved easily using the out front and get it out of the way: No the magazine first, then bring it home basic skills you will learn as you play. matter how much you practice, no mat- and drop it), run right out and pick up In addition, everyone thinks different- ter how many hours you spend curs- a copy. You'll be glad you did. Not only ly, so we all come up with different so- ing in front of the TV, no matter how will you have added another great lutions to the same problems. In other hard you pound on your controller pad game to your collection, but you'll also words, though my play techniques or scream at the dog for crossing in have a good reason to continue read- work for me, you may have found some front of you—no matter what you do, ing this article. better ways to do some of the things you are going to lose lives to the ropes.

presented here. That's okay. It's a free Don't get me wrong. Practice will Disclaimer country. help you get better at handling

As I said before, Spelunker is avail- Spelunker's myriad ropes; it just won't able in many different versions for The basic stuff ever result in a 100% success rate. many different computers and game Don't ever fall. Spelunker is unforgiv- Why? Because, in order to make a sue-

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 beast that was responsible for else you have to do. He'll grab it when

programming the jump-from-the-rope he gets there. I promise. part of the game, but nothing will One more rope hint: Many times change the fact that the precision re- you'll find that you need to jump from

quired to make it through a game the rope onto a platform which has a without falling from a rope is almost beyond human capabilities.

Accept it. Get used to it. Live with it. You beginners may find that leaping

onto a rope is also a little tricky. It real-

ly isn't. You just have to make sure that,

once you're in the air, you take your finger off the arrow pad (or release the joystick). Once you've got your player headed for the rope, there's nothing

Spelunker Key

The farther down the rope you are, relative to the platform, the closer to the platform's edge you'll land Money Bag 1 bidder 9 when you jump. Bomb 2 Elevator 10 "bounce bump" or close to the edge. Flare 3 Volcano n If you hit the bump, you may just get Gold 4 Miracle cessful leap from a rope, you have to Coin 12 thrown back to the rope—on the other

hit two buttons—the arrow pad and the Rock 5 Red Key 13 hand, you may go plummeting into ob- exactly the mo- livion (Sayonara, sucker, again). Just jump button—at same Energy 6 Blue Key 14 ment. If one button gets depressed remember that the farther down the Bat 7 Bounce Bump 15 even a millisecond before the other, rope you are relative to the platform, Rope 8 sayonara, sucker. If you want, you can the closer to the platform's edge you'll write threatening letters to the sadistic land when you jump. Here's a quickie hint: Never bump your head when you jump.

If you should find yourself half in and half out of a

pit, death isn't necessarily tap dancing on your doormat

Now let's talk about the ghost. Vet- eran Spelunker players feel about as good about the ghost as they do about

the ropes. All I can say is that the instant you hear the "ghost music," get yourself off any ropes, elevators or any

location that doesn't fit the definition "good solid ground," because the

ground is the only place your gun will

work. Also, keep in mind that you don't actually have to aim at the ghost; just fire the gun at the side of the screen Here's a jumping hint: You may find require that you refine those skills he's approaching from. That'll do the yourself trying to get situated just right somewhat, but that's what practice is trick. for a jump. You get into the perfect po- for, eh?) There are three particularly

Here's a handy thing to know: If you sition, but then when you turn to face tricky areas marked on the Level 1 map should try to jump over a pit and find the right direction, you accidentally as A, B and C. These are the areas that yourself half in and half out, death isn't move forward a little, ruining your ef- I found the most difficult in my first ex- necessarily tap-dancing on your door- forts. Did you know that you can jump periences with Spelunker, so what I mat. You may still be able to get out. just as easily facing backwards as for- learned is detailed below. You lucky First try leaping up and toward the wards? Yep. It's the truth. Once you're people get to benefit from my mistakes! closest edge of the pit a few times. If where you want to be, don't worry that doesn't work, you might be able about which way you're facing. Just to get out by leaping back the way you jump! came. If not—well, hey, at least you tried, right? Level 1

More beginner stuff: What if you're Level 1 is more or less a training riding an elevator up and you want to ground. Finding the proper route go down? Simple. Just cross over through the caves is, with a minor ex- when the upward-moving and the ception or two, just a matter of work- downward-moving platforms are even. ing your way downward a floor at a (Actually, you should wait until the plat- time, making sure that you follow each form you're crossing to is slightly be- floor to its conclusion. For example, if low you. If you try to cross to a platform you look at the map for Level 1, you'll Area A: Just place yourself on the very bottom of the that's even a smidgen above you, you'll see that the second floor (which starts rope and jump up onto the platform. fall.) at the second opening on the left) con- And while we're on the subject of tinues across the entire cave and then A) The first few times you try and get elevators, when crossing from a plat- meets up with a rope (I hate ropes!) by the bat here, you'll get creamed. form to an elevator, sometimes you can that must be climbed down and then You will probably think that the trick is walk directly on, sometimes you have back up again. just a matter of timing, that you have to jump. Make sure you can tell which Every basic skill that you'll need for to get onto the platform and fire the is which or you'll find yourself in gravi- the subsequent levels will be learned flare to blind the bat, all the while dodg- ty's clutches. on Level 1. (Of course, the other levels ing whatever those things are that the

bat keeps dropping. (I really would like to know what those things are. My im- agination conjures up some distaste- ful images.) Actually, though, timing

has very little to do with it, and you

don't have to dodge at all. Just place yourself on the very bottom of the rope

Area B: Getting from this platform onto the downside of the elevator is a tricky maneuver.

and jump up onto the platform. You'll find yourself standing out of reach of

the bat's fire, but the bat won't be out of reach of your flares. B) Getting from this platform back onto the downside of the elevator is a of the elevator, then quickly cross to the toughest part of Level 1. There are a tricky maneuver. There are a couple of downside when the elevators are even. couple of tricks, but essentially you

ways of doing it, of course. For in- It's still a dangerous manuever, though. must practice, practice, practice. The stance, you can try to jump complete- You have to cross over before you hit tricks? When you're moving toward the ly across and onto the downside of the your head on the ceiling—and you right, you can get past the two center elevator in a single leap. That's possi- don't have very much time. obstructions (the third and fourth) with

ble, but dangerous. The way that works C) Getting the mining car past the one movement. Just wait for the first best for me is to jump onto the upside vertically moving obstructions is the one to rise up, and then breeze right

LEVEL 2 through both. Coming the other way, There are, however, a couple of places flare to blind the bat. It'll take a second the first and last pair can be handled that are nasty to get by. They are or two for the flare to go off and for the in the same way. This method marked on the Level 2 map as D and E. bat to start dropping, and during that eliminates about half of this area's risk. D) In this area you come across your time the volcano will erupt again. As first "enhanced volcano" puzzle. Up soon as the volcano has finished, jump

until this point, the volcanoes were over it, making sure you avoid anything merely a nuisance. In area D you've the bat may have dropped before you

got to get over a volcano while manag- blinded it.

ing to avoid a bat right above it. It's To exit the area, perform the same tricky, but just a matter of timing. manuever from the other side. You'll need to practice, but once you get this

move down, you'll make it through almost every time. (The unpredictabil- ity of the bat's firing can sometimes muck you up.)

Area C: Getting the mining car past the vertically- E) Area £ gives us fen ropes, only moving obstructions is the toughest part of Level 1. one of which reaches the floor. To get to the key under the stairs, you must leap from rope to rope, while avoiding Level 2 hitting your head on the ceiling. This Level 2 really isn't much trickier than isn't too hard when you're going from

Level 1 except that there are a lot more left to right, but coming back the other Area D: You've got to get over a volcano while manag- ropes. (All together now: We hate way requires careful positioning ing to avoid a bat right above it. some ropes!) Also, Level 2 has a couple of on the ropes in order to avoid the areas that require you to set a bomb All you have to do is stand on the jagged ceiling. You must make sure and then scurry up a rope before the ground between the ladder and the vol- you are as far down on the rope as pos- bomb blows. Like Level 1, Level 2 is cano, out of range of the bat's "drop- fairly intuitive when it comes to finding pings." About a half a second after the the correct route through the caves. volcano finishes erupting, release a

Area E: You must make sure you're as far down on the rope as possible before you jump.

sible before you jump. But be careful that you don't move down so far that you fall off. You should be able to get down far enough so that there's only one "pixel" (a dot on your television screen) of the rope hanging below you.

From that position, it's always safe to jump.

Level 3 Level 3 is much more complicated

than the first two levels. Though it's still not too hard to find the proper route,

it is a little more confusing, and there are a couple of new "vehicles" you

need to use. There is one unbearably

nasty rope area that I won't go into de-

tail on (you handle it the same way as

the one in Level 2), and you can plan

VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 LEVEL 3 The instant the volcano starts to erupt, plant the bomb and run back to the volcano. By the time you get to the vol- I

cano, it'll be through erupting. You'll be able to get over it and safely away from w the bomb. 9m Jkmm

Area F: You have to plant a bomb on the rock and Area H: There's nothing here that's worth the effort, make it over the volcano before the bomb goes off. risk or time. on losing lives there frequently no mat- er. Counting from left to right, it's the ter how good you are with ropes. There third stair that you have to watch out are three areas, labeled F, G and H on mm for. Get on the second stair and wait for the Level 3 map, that we should the bat to move away from the third. Area G: As long as the bat is firing at you, you have discuss. little chance of getting up the entire flight of stairs. When he does, run past him, down to F) Here we have a lovely combina- the bottom of the staircase. Now all you tion: a rock right next to a volcano. You G) In area G we have a bat protect- have to do is launch another flare and have to plant a bomb on the rock and ing a flight of stairs. As long as the bat sneak back to the rope.

make it over the volcano before the is firing at you, you have little chance H) This'll be short and sweet. Ignore bomb goes off. Though this puzzle will of getting up the entire flight of stairs. area H. There's nothing there that's seem tough the first few times you at- So your first move is to blind the bat worth the effort, risk or time. Riding up tempt it, it's really nothing more than with a flare, and then run up the stairs and down on the gold platform makes timing. Here's how to do it: First, jump before the bat gets back into action. it tough enough to get what you really over the volcano and run to the rock. Getting down the stairs is a little tricki- need (such as the key in the bottom right of the map) without risking your

life, grabbing a couple of extra flares or gold pieces.

Area I: When the bat is to the far right quickly jump to the platform, get the key and jump back to the ladder.

Level 4

Level 4 is, as you would expect, the

most complex in the game. Though it's not difficult to find your way to the end,

it will take a little getting used to. The

first few times you play through this lev-

el, you'll probably not visit every loca-

tion, and thus will bypass some items. As long as you get the keys, though,

you should have little difficulty making your way to the end. You will have built

VG & CE Jan/Feb 1989 LEVEL 4 up a good supply of bombs and flares have saved up several lives— until you especially helpful to you at this point. (or at least you should have) by the get the jump just right. time you get to this level, so you don't First, at the base of the ladder, walk Game Over have to worry about grabbing every towards the ladder from the left. The Spelunker is a great game, and once one. instant your player turns and grabs the you master each of the four levels (and This level contains some exception- ladder, stop. In this position you'll be that won't take as long as you might ally tricky jumps, where you need to be half on and half off the ladder; that's think), you'll be able to amaze your in just the right position in order to clear just what you want. You'll still be able the ceiling overhead and still make it to climb the ladder, but there's less to the platform. There are at least three chance of banging your head when critical areas that you'll have to prac- you try to jump. Next, you must climb tice. Just remember that the higher you the ladder until you're about three are on a rope, the farther you'll jump rungs from the top. You'll have to ex- onto a platform, but the greater chance periment to learn the exact position, you have of hitting your head. There but if you're as far to the left as the lad- are two areas, marked / and J on the der will allow, you've already won half Level 4 map, that we'll talk about, and the battle. both of them require precise jumping. Once in position, jump towards the

I) Here you find yourself presented platform. If you hit your head, you were Watch out for traps. If you try to walk across this with a key on a narrow platform. That too high. If you fall off the platform, you hole, you'll be in for a nasty surprise.

were too low. If you still have lives left,

readjust your position on the ladder friends with your cleverness and skill and try again, each time carefully not- as you nonchalantly run through the ing your exact position on the ladder caves, grabbing up treasures by the so that once you make a successful bucketful.

jump, you'll know how to do it again. And even though the higher levels Once you've completed that final are somewhat more difficult, Spelunker

jump, all you have to do (assuming you is really more a game of endurance ™ have your keys) is run through the than one of escalating difficulty. Each M. gates and to the door of the pyramid. level hones your playing skills for the

Hurray! You did it! level to follow so that by the time you're When you complete Level 4, there'll ready to advance, you have the be great fanfare. You'll find yourself knowledge you need to be successful. Area J: This is the toughest jump in the game, and with a heap of treasure, and you'll If you've never been able to complete the most frustrating because the end of the game is so close. watch your score go up and up and up. a video game before, this one may be Finally, you'll be placed back at the be- the game you'll want to concentrate on. by itself is no big deal; you should be ginning of Level 1. It's the same game The journey isn't too long and the an old pro at jumping from ladders and all over again (you get to keep necessary skills are fairly easy to cul- ropes onto platforms by the time you whatever number of lives you had left tivate. With a little practice, it won't be get to Level 4. The problem is that the over, plus one for completing Level 4), too long before you'll be looking at the key is guarded by a bat, and you need but now all the keys are invisible. The maps accompanying this article and perfect timing to grab the key and get maps accompanying this article will be saying, "Wow! I did all that?" back to the ladder without getting hit. When you complete Level 4, Forget the flares; they won't help you j there'll be great fanfare, CONGRATULATIONS here. There just isn't enough time. ss and you'll find yourself with To get the key, position yourself low a heap of treasure. YOU'VE GAINED ALL THE on the ladder relative to the platform, so that you'll land on the very edge of TREASURES AT LAST s the platform when you jump. Then, LET' S START ON when the bat is to the far right, quickly ANOTHER ADVENTURE ././ jump to the platform, get the key and jump back to the ladder. You'll need to practice this a few times.

J) This is the toughest jump in the game and the most frustrating because the end of the game is so close (the pyramid to the left of this area is your goal), that it's always heart-breaking to die here. But die you will—even if you

VG & CE Jan/Feb 1989 m Pirates ContinueTo Win Awards! * Best Screen Graphics 1988 Origins Awards presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design

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CIRCLE #113 ON READER SERVICE CARD. e m 9

Software Goes International By Annie Katz

Writer, editor, lecturer and game design- Everyone knows that the U.S. and jumping-and-climbing arcade adven- er Arnie Katz knows the field from ev- Japan are battling for computer hard- tures inspired hundreds of derivative ery perspective. Each issue, his column ware supremacy, but few realize that programs. will give readers an inside look at the software competition is just as fierce. The Marco Polo of entertainment world of video and computer gaming. As many as half of 1988's new games software is Barry Friedman. The presi- actually originated in other countries. dent of International Computer Group

field's first video haunts my dreams. It was The roots of electronic gaming are put together the multi- Aonly a short promotional film, sunk deep in American soil. Ralph system, multinational combine to mar- but one trenchant line still Baer, of Sanders Associates, invented ket Bill Hogue's Miner 2049er world- echoes through my nightmares. the home video game, and Nolan wide. The game's success re-

first volutionized gaming. It established I watched this mylar landmine at the Bushnell introduced the video Consumer Electronic Show, a venue coin-op (Pong). the practice of blasting every new title seldom confused with the Cannes Film Japan was quick to embrace the across all systems, which paved the

Festival. If you've never seen a promo- video-game craze, as it has so many way for today's world software market. tional video, they are all pretty much other American fads, and produced American publishers' expansion into alike. After some stirring music, a landmark coin-ops in the late 1970s. the U.K. in the mid-1980s met with a voice-over announcer extols the virtues Space Invaders, Pac-Man and Donkey mixed reception. Although individual ti- of each of the company's new pro- Kong led a parade of cute and playable tles did very well, U.S. companies ducts. Flashy sequences depict the quarter-snatchers. found it hard to adjust to a radically theme and, sometimes, the on-screen But then the Americans got into different market. The typical British action. gear. Thousands of talented people fell computerist is a male teenager who

in II, I sat there, watching the hype roll by, love with the Apple Atari 800 and owns a computer with a tape drive. Bri- when the commentator spoke the Commodore 64. Their games featured tons demand lots of cheap action words now burned into my soul: "From sophisticated themes and action. Elec- games. It's a completely hit-driven Japan, where game design is an art, tronic Arts introduced the "design business. Each game is like a rock- comes—." The blood roaring in my team" concept, which improved and-roll single, relegated to the "old- head kept me from hearing the name sound, graphics, user interface and ies" bin after a couple of weeks on the of the game. play-mechanics. best-seller chart.

If game design is an art in Japan, Then came the Great Video-Game The computer and video-game then by implication it is something else Crash of 1984. Survival replaced renaissance caught many U.S. publish- here. I can almost hear the same growth as the major corporate imper- ers by surprise. Several had disman- authoritative spokesman describing ative in the industry. Development tled in-house departments during the Subway Software's next game: "From budgets evaporated. More than one lean years of 1984-1986, and too many the United States, where game design company elected to ride with its exist- had been burned by independent is a socially acceptable alternative to ing catalog and temporarily abandon programming houses. ." panhandling— new product activity. American companies needed to fill in I no longer cry into my pillow about Publishers the United States, as the product pipeline until longer-range it, at least not every night, but that well as in other nations turned inward projects could be finished. They want- video heightened my awareness of the during the mid-1980s. Japan demon- ed solid, playable games, and they internationalization of video and com- strated a fascination with computer golf wanted them yesterday. Oh, and they

tell puter games. I think it's one of the most games unmatched on this side of the wanted them cheap too. Who could significant trends in the field and, by Pacific. Impossible Mission left an in- if the sales jump was a trend or a fad? coincidence, the subject of this "Inside delible mark on the U.K. (and much of The game-publishing mills of Great Gaming." Europe). The British obsession with Britain were the perfect answer. The VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 young designers and programmers When major publishers focused on worked for peanuts, screen text was al- the cream of the international crop in- ready in English, and there were a cou- stead of buying anything that booted ple of thousand titles available. on a Commodore 64, the balance Companies like Mindscape, DataSoft tipped in the opposite direction. Now and Firebird imported many entertain- the designers of the extraordinary ment programs from the United games prospered most, as American Kingdom. publishers bid six figures for the most When Sega and Nintendo revived desirable properties. video gaming in 1987, Japanese de- At the same time, the smart U.S. signs poured into the U.S. for the first game manufacturers went skill- time in years. Domestic cartridge- intensive. Cinemaware transformed the makers have become a factor in the design team into an ad hoc collection Nintendo field, but most new video of specialists. Subway Software, the games still come from the Far East. first successful design boutique, did for Other countries proved so adept at content what the programming houses providing games that soon many pub- of the early 1980s had accomplished lishers cut research and development for the technical side. in favor of ready-to-publish software Instead of the first world software from abroad. Foreign titles dominate war, hand-in-hand cooperation is now midpriced and budget lines. the order of the day. The forthcoming

The abundance of acceptable Superman's Worst Day is a multination- games allowed publishers to cut their al project in which Americans (Subway Organizes, creative budgets. Stories about game Software) did the design while the Brit- designers who have a Mercedes for ish (TyneSoft) took charge of im- Protects Nintendo each day of the week refer to people plementation and publication. Paks who had hits in 1981-1983. In 1988, the The Best Games of 1988 (see else- Game average full-time game designer earns where in this issue) include notable en- less than $40,000—and there aren't all tries from Russia, France, Japan and Only*5.99 that many of them. England. Captain Stood (Mindscape), New from Curtis. . .the Game Frankly, it didn't do much for the Tetris (Spectrum Holobyte) and Caddy is licensed by Nintendo® quality of the product either. American MetroCross (Epyx) be the har- may for use with the Nintendo Enter- programmers could hold coding clinics bingers of a dawning Golden Age of in- tainment System.® Keep your for their colleagues around the globe, ternational software. Nintendo® game paks and the designs were almost invariably Yet problems persist. The "gray mar- organized and easy to find! unimaginative. Too often, each coun- ket" practice of transshipment inhibits Protects up to 10 game paks. try's output falls into a predictable pat- cooperation among European nations, #GC-1 Retail. ..$5.99 tern. British designers couldn't let go fragmenting a sizable audience. The Curtis Game Caddy is available at leading national of Mission Impossible, and Japanese clone game glut has not abated, and retail chains. In Canada; game-makers were at least as mes- a diet of these clinkers could throttle Personal Computer Assoc. merized by Mario Brothers. the U.S. boom by turning off cus- Inc., RO. Box 235, Ajax, ONT, For a while, it looked like the Ameri- tomers. MS 3C3. (416) 427-6612 can game designer would become an The persistent popularity of relatively endangered species. It was a fight for primitive computers in some countries Call (603) 532-4123 ext. 37 survival among American designers for is a more subtle difficulty. Publishers for the retail location the shrinking number of new game fund development only for games that nearest you. projects. are suitable for every brand of home

What happened next is a powerful computer. American players would get Manufacturing Company, inc. argument for a free-market economy. more state-of-the-art games for the Am-

Publishers discovered that Americans iga and Macintosh if everything didn't won't pay top prices for "generic" for- have to run on a Commodore 64 or CLRTlS eign games. The outfits which sell Spectrum. 30 Fitzgerald Drive disks off j-hook racks for under $10 These minor troubles are no more Jeffrey, NH 03452 went on as usual, but companies than fleecy clouds in a blue sky. In which hoped to coax $30-$50 per time, even the dreaded "from Japan, Nintendo and Nintendo Entertainment system are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. game from computerists suddenly real- where game design is an art," may ized that most overseas software isn't cease to infuriate me. I'll bet a few CIRCLE #116 ON READER SERVICE CARD. good enough to compete with cutting- quick rounds of Soko-Ban will ease the edge titles. pain. m VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 Life Force Konami

For the Nintendo Entertainment System ($39.95)

Designed as a sequel to tant point, though: Life Force their popular Gradius car- may just be too difficult for most

tridge, Life Force pits you gamers. For example, there is a

against an evil Deltoid monster segment of Level 4 where the named Zelos. Obviously sporting game speeds up two or three

a ravenous appetite, these crit- times faster than the normal

ters have the ability to munch on rate. Couple this with constrict-

entire planets, even galaxies, for ed corridors in which to maneu-

lunch, and still have room left for ver, and your trek appears a dessert. Unfortunately, the Vic nearly hopeless cause.

Viper (your battle cruiser) and, if The only other major com-

you choose to play with two plaint I can make about Life players, the Road British Space Force has to do with the graph-

Destroyer, fit Zelos' bill as after- ic enhancements I spoke of

dinner mints. previously. With all the explo-

To be successful in your missions, laser rays, aliens and sion against Zelos, you need to $L& io ®$& l $m whatnot dispersed across the keep your craft at their peak. im°i"° ±m screen, any extraneous distrac- When you destroy certain ene- tions can be detrimental to suc- Life Farce's dastardly attackers, explosions and unceasing onslaught of my craft, power pods are cessful game play and overall road blocks provide hours of entertaining play. released that let you upgrade enjoyment. Unfortunately, for the

your ship's capabilities with a tap player mode. Rather than the "al- you will face, and each one most part, the colorful back-

on the "A" button. These "power- ternating play" situation that varies from area to area. Defeat- grounds become a distraction in

up" enhancements include better you'll find in many game car- ing the area mayor will warp you many places. maneuverability, powerful lasers tridges, Life Force lets you team to the next section for more of On the whole, Life Force will

and protective shields. up on the mission in a coopera- the same type of battle. provide lots of entertaining hours

Believe me, you'll need each tive strategy. This makes it ea- Konami is to be commended of play for you. Better yet, invite and every enhancement you can sier for the struggling player to for making alterations to the one of your joystick jockey get your hands on. The path you be assisted by his partner, who graphic components, such as friends over for a night of travel covers six different worlds, may be better off as far as backgrounds and enemies, as cooperative alien bashing. each with a bevy of dastardly at- weapons go. Aside from that, well as alternating the playfield There's plenty of opportunity for

tackers. Couple this constant, un- there's the lessening of the bore- from horizontally-based to that in this game. ceasing onslaught with a series dom for each player, as you don't vertically-based, and back again. —Andy Eddy

of indestructable road blocks- have to sit idly by waiting for the This not only keeps you on your

such as floating space debris or first player to be killed off before toes from a control standpoint, Konami quick-as-a-wink solar flares—and playing yourself. but also prevents the game from 815 Mittel Drive

you'll have your hands full. Each world ends with a getting stale. Wood Dale, IL 60191

A positive feature is the two- "Mayor," the toughest obstacles This brings us up to an impor- (312) 595-1443

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 Illustration by Alan Hunter I .

YOUR BODY IS A WEAPON.

You are Rannboi" Special weapons expert. Master of you parachute into enemy terrain. Danger is every- the martial arts. Dedicated fighting machine. And where! Watch out for enemy commandos, slithering

your greatest challenge ever is ahead of you - a snakes and deadly jungle beasts. There's no turning deadly rescue mission to free American POW's back as you struggle through the thick jungle brush, enslaved in a sweltering jungle prison. raging waterfalls and hostile enemy villages.

Armed with rocket-propelled arrows, experimental Time is running out. Lives are at stake. And only one automatic weapons and a never-say-die attitude, man can possibly survive this mission... you! COMING SOON- ^yjcfj wo c=d^p V/uKTlIU

Exciting Aerial Action a Minute To Learn . . A Lifetime To Master™

^ KmasmuniHn >K

Airwolf is a trademark of and licensed by Universal City Studios, Inc. © 1984 Universal City Studios, Inc. Othello® is a registered trademark. Licensed by Anjar Co. © 1976, 1988 Anjar Co. All rights reserved. RAMBO® is a registered trademark of Carolco. © 1985, 1988 Carolco. All Rights Reserved. Sublicensed by Sega of America, Inc. under authorization by Carolco. Nintendo® and ™ Nintendo Entertainment System® are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. Acclaim is a trademark of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. © 1988 Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. TWO WAYS TO WIN IN THE RING,

BOARD GAME ACTION Nintendo i EDTERTRinmEnT PLUS SVSTEm' VIDEO EXCITEMENT!

entertainment, inc.

Acclaim "and Masters Ol Ihe Game " are trademarks of Acclaim Entertainment. Inc WWF" and " Wrestlemania" aie registered trademarks of TitanSports, Jnc. Hulk Hogan is a trademark ol the Marvel Comics Group, licensed exclusively to TifanSports, Inc. All fights reserved. 1 1988 TitanSporls. Inc.

L Nintendo 1 and Nintendo Entertainment System ore trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. ^ 1988 Acclaim Entertainment, Inc CIRCLE #115 ON READER SERVICE CARD.

wbi'-'-P'VJt if 5535^' ^1 '-5 ITT

path of enemy creatures. a Force Field, offering pro- the other, the last one cho- Meet Your Neighbors-

The Laser power-up can be tection to certain obstacles sen will be your weapon of Level 1 selected twice for added in your way. I've never put choice. I've learned one key to power. that much faith in Force's One more tip: The success that I'll pass on: Option—At first the Op- unpredictable shielding "ghosts" that are given with Don't get greedy. Trying to tion power-up will only power, but instead use my Option have a curious quirk: make that last shot to give seem to append a small, power-ups to build up my When an Option-equipped you another power-up is pulsing spot of light to the weapon cache. In other ship is hit and destroyed, almost a sure way to run side of your ship—that is, words, you can't tell when the little ghosts will cut into something and lose a until you hit the fire button. you're safe and when you're loose and start moving back ship. The enemies that look At that point you'll realize not. Also, unlike Life Force's toward the screen edge you like flying saucers at the that a "Ghost Ship" of your prequel, Gradius, you can't just came from (the left of start of the game are craft's firing ability has been tell when your shields are the screen on odd levels; spaced so you'll try to get added to your ship. If you on their last legs; Gradius the bottom on even levels). every set of saucers, and have Lasers, you'll now would glow the shields red If you (or your partner, in every single power-up you have two beams; if you when they were able to team play) intercept the can. You should skip a pow- have missiles, they'll be take one more hit. ghosts, you'll reacquire that er pod if there's the risk of duplicated. This can be ad- Weapons note: You can power-up even though the losing a ship. In addition, ded twice, but if you are load up on weapons, to remainder of the weaponry you can only replace a ship playing in two-player mode, make an extremely power- will be lost by the ship's at certain point intervals, a total of two Options can ful destroyer out of your destruction. If they leave where you can power-up all be added: either two for rocket. Only two weapons the screen before they are throughout the game. Safe- one of the players or one for are in conflict with each intercepted, you'll need to ty comes first. each player. other: Ripple and Laser. If power-up with Option again You'll find out that, as lit- Force— Last on the list is you pick one while using to get them back. tle as they cost in power-

VG & CE T Jan Feb 1989 ups, missiles are incredibly weapons. Missiles will clear It's a Blast—Level 2 valuable. A Jot of the action out the rocket launchers on Level 2 doesn't throw that takes place along the the surface, and the starfish- much out of the ordinary at surface either because the shaped object will — leave a you, but it does keep you programmers placed an- power pod behind. There busy. There are so many noying rocket launchers and isn't much room for evasive things on the sidewalls that such or as a location for action, so be careful. you'll have a hard time stay- power-ups—so the surface- If you opt to go through ing in one piece. For this rea- strafing missiles will do a lot the square, you should stay son, Missile power should

of the dirty work for you. as close to the right edge of be one of the first power- A good sample of the the swatch you are cutting ups you get.

missile's effectiveness is the away as possible. With Lasers or Ripple

area marked "A." Here, just After you make it past the blast the top of the vol- canos to stop the before the web, you'll face first block, the next two boulders. little white strings that landmasses must be han- If you didn't have a move from the edges to the dled the same way, except powerful ship after Level 1, middle. If you have missiles, that these cover the screen, then the beginning of Level they will wipe the strings top to bottom, and require 2 should help you with its out before they have a you to shoot through them.

multiple power pods. Did I chance to dislodge and Last in this level is a weird already say not to get too threaten you. Otherwise brain-creature, which the greedy? Well don't! you should move as close makers of the game call Gol- Level 2 will also introduce to the right as you can, em. It's the only thing that you to a different type of making sure to keep the fire stands between you and power pod, one with a blue button down to cut a path Level 2. To defeat him/her/it, center rather than a red one. through the web. This is be- you need to shoot it in the The first pod of this sort cause the strings can only eye many times. Unfor- shows up when you see move straight down or to tunately the eye isn't rev- two rows of saucers zig- the left, but not to the right! ealed right away, so you zagging down the screen, Safe havens are great when have to do some stalling noted on the maps as "C." you can find them. first. The group on the left, when Here's a tip about the blue destroyed, will leave the and white blobs that are blue pod. When you contact stuck in the web: Initially it one of these pods, every- appears that they are indes- thing on the screen blows tructible, but multiple shots up. Wait as long as you can, will dispose of them. Following the webs, until a bunch of enemies is on the screen, then touch there will be another set the pod to wipe them out. of white strings, but you If your timing is good, you'll can't use the same be able to claim some pow- strategy because of the AT*M expanding landscape jS er pods this way. The main frustration you'll that slows your pro- V! face in this level, aside from gress. The best thing to do Wait for Golem to appear, the constant pressure, is is hang back, staying close then circle it once with the boulder launchers. to the web, and blast the counter-clockwise. Aim- There are a few of them, strings through the opening ing for the eye is the key! and they're marked as "D" between the new peaks, on the map. To make things then carefully wend your more difficult, this stone way through the space.

The last section of the Level 2 start. first level is marked with an This is a good chance to ~— get shields and boost "B." After blasting the arm weapons. You won't need that blocks path, you'll your Speed until later. face a big square in the center, with paths to the top shower curls in various and bottom. It's dangerous directions, giving you a lot to to take the paths unless you keep your eyes on. You have still have a sizable cache of LEVEL 2 two options here:

VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 it its core, open 1) Try to time the cycles of ting at the Level 2 finish. when groups of boulders are row that leads up to the blue If you don't have suffi- jewel in the center. What spit out, then dance be- cient Speed you'll never tween/through/around them, open row, you ask? Well, keep up with Intruder. blasting as many out of your you need to poke through Double Lasers will help destroy the ship with path as possible, while you the three doors that block fewer passes. . move to safety at the top of 4 4 the jewel, then unleash a the screen; or, M4 torrent of shots to the jewel 2) Eliminate the flow of itself. boulders by destroying the Sounds easy, doesn't it? base that is tossing them Forget easy, the Intruder out, while staying clear of moves around in a circle, any rocks that are curling making it hard to aim quali- your way. ty shots at its center. But the Aside from keeping mis- toughest part is avoiding the siles as one of your pinwheeling arms, which by weapons of choice, you the way, grow and speed up should try to go for Ripple, over time. If you didn't build as well as building up a few up your weaponry or got

Speed levels. The main rea- killed in the marble room, it

will take a long time to kill

the Intruder. Lastly, if you Take it slow through the didn't build up Speed levels, asteroids. When some you'll have a hard time split up, ease on through. avoiding the arms also.

Shoot out each set of 3 sons for using Ripple has to shields, then the jewels. do with its expanding beam Lasers work best. You must also have 2 or 3 clearing a bigger path in Speed ups by now. front of you, not only for most of Level 2, but also for the section labeled "E." This The bottom left corner big block contains power- appears to be a safe place to ups throughout various hide for a few rotations—the parts of it. Ripple, especially arms can't reach you there if your ship is enhanced with until about the ninth rota- Option, lets you cut a large tion. The best way to get path out of the block, the most shots in is by fol- loosening up multiple lowing the rotation of the power-ups. Take maximum arms around the Intruder; if care not to whomp into the you can't because you don't wall created by your blast- have enough Speed, you'll ing, an easy mishap if you definitely lose at least one aren't concentrating on ship, perhaps more, to its where your ship is. Remem- grasp. All you can do is plug ber: Don't get greedy, but away, and then it's on to you knew that, didn't you? Level 3. Missiles are crucial to sur- After you cruise through vival, though, there is a another volcano set, you chance of getting out alive if face fast moving meteors. you clear one wall with Speed is helpful here. bullets, then work on the *k Aha- other wall in the same man- Yes, we're going to keep ner. Watch out for the three you in suspense until the rocket launchers on each next issue, when VG&CE wall. will complete the mapping The level 2 Boss, Intruder, and hints for finishing Life can only be damaged by hit- Force's last four levels.

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 The Year's Best Video And Computer Games: Our Editors Pick The Outstanding Cartridges And Disks Of 1988

By Arnie Katz and the Editors of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment America reaffirmed its love of The gamer's goal is to turn the expansion video and computer games in team into a SportTime Cup winner in nine sea- 1987. The Crash of 1984 virtual- sons. The SHL's established clubs, some of

ly eliminated the video-game in- which have a decade of winning behind them

dustry and convinced publishers at the start of the nine-year campaign, fight the of computer games that entertainment's day newcomer every stop of the way. had ended. As the general manager, the gamer spends The anti-gaming backlash was so powerful "trading points" to send his squad to training that many home computer games already in de- camp, recruit a rookie or trade for an established velopment were released as educational or even SHL star. A franchise starts with 250 trading productivity products. Overnight, "fun" had be- points and earns more based on where it fin- The last place come a dirty word. Superstar Ice Hockey by Mindscape ishes at the end of each season: Some observers began to reevaluate the sit- team gets 1,000 trading points, while the win- uation during 1986. The growth of the U.S. home games are so awful that they escape all criti- ning club gains just 50. computer market had slowed, while the video- cism. Apologies also go to publishers whose Superstar Ice Hockey lets the player coach game market boomed again in Japan. Putting programs arrived too late for consideration this when the action shifts to the rink. The com- a few games into development suddenly sound- year. They will be eligible for recognition in the puterist can send in new lines and defensive ed like good business to a lot of companies. "Best of 1989" competition a year from now. pairings and designate a style of play for each

Christmas 1987 was the turning point. Ninten- Each category begins with the best new game unit. If watching helplessly from the sidelines do and Sega proved that Americans were ready of that type. The description of the winner is grows too painful, the computerist can take to play video games again, and recreational followed by a group of honorable mentions. direct control of the center and goaltender. computer software scored double-digit sales Those are the ground rules. Now, let's get to Few games can match this program's flexi- gains. those winners: bility. The computerist can just coach, control

Arnie Katz, Computer Entertainment Editor, a skater, or let the computer handle everything COMPUTER GAMING DIVISION chaired a panel of judges composed of VG&CE's except the general manager's job. writers and editors. This panel examined The Main menu screen, which shows the cur- Game of the Year hundreds of video and computer games pub- rent standings, lets the player look up the cu- lished for the first time between September 30, The top game of 1988 exhibits most of the mulative won-lost record of any team or the

1987 and October 1, 1988. This article presents virtues which have made computer games such whole league, juggle on-ice lines, return the their choice of the very best entertainment car- a popular form of home entertainment during league to its original starting point, do things tridges and disks. the 1980s. Ed Ringler's Superstar Ice Hockey to improve the team, or play the next game on

There is no lack of worthy candidates. The (Mindscape) blends joystick-activated action the schedule. judges could have selected twice as many win- with strategy in a great-looking, easy-to-use for- Even this lengthy description only hints at the ners and honorable mentions without sacrific- mat. The gamer can coach from the sidelines depth of subtlety of Superstar Ice Hockey. It is ing much quality. The judges hope that readers or take command of the skaters on the ice in unusual for the best game to also be the best whose favorites didn't make this year's list, will this action simulation of major league hockey. value for the money, but the 1988 Game of the be charitable about any seeming omissions. Few Excellent documentation and a smooth user Year is the exception that proves the rule.

Interface make it equally simple to play one game or a whole season with Superstar Ice

Hockey. While it's always fun to play an individu-

al contest, it is the program's capacity for ex-

tended, multi-season play which earns it this year's top spot. After joining the SportTime Hockey League (SHL), the players use a set of on-screen me-

nus to name the new franchise, transfer it to another division, and choose team colors for

the uniforms. These little touches may not

sound important, but they make it a lot easier for the computer to identify with his squad. Skate Or Die by Electronic Arts Rocket Ranger by Cinemaware ru t_; O —

UJ JG o — — aJZ * * * MORNING RIDE NEAR YAKUTSK

Pure-Stat Football by Sports Simulations Tetris by Spectrum Holobyte Neuromancer by Interplay

m VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 vent the Olympic Games as an excuse to do Best Computer Action Game action-sports disks, though it seems that way. From its rollicking rock and roll soundtrack The Games is the company's salute to the 1988 to its three excellent events, Skate or Die (Elec- Winter Olympics, and it is certainly the best ti- tronic Arts) is a blast. Michael Kosaka, Stephen tle in this series so far. The Games is packed Landrum, and David Bunch have created a with all the skating and skiing action any arm- skateboarding disk that even someone who chair athlete could want, and the graphics are wouldn't be caught dead on one of those con- actually an improvement over this company's traptions can enjoy. usual excellent visuals. Skate or Die consists of three contests: a skating downhill race, a trick competition and Best Computer Simulator a wheeled combat scenario. The players per- Test Drive by Accolade form their stunts on a semi-circular skateboard a> nip - - -n- -in- Some games fulfill our dreams, while others Fool 0 ramp, and race through a city park under con- challenge our expectations. Test Drive (Ac-

struction. The fight scene, the best of the three, colade) belongs in the latter classification. Just W% ( when gamers were think that driv- takes place in the streets and alleys of the in- |i beginning to ner city. These events can be played individu- ing games had reached a plateau, Distinctive 3m Software ally or linked into a campaign. has produced a new breed of racing

This is a compelling gaming experience, em- contest. bellished with outstanding audiovisual effects. jig The playfield screen for Test Drive depicts the

More significantly, Skate or Die is lightning-quick car's instrument panel as well as a first-person fun. view of the road. The dashboard is fully func- m tional, including the gear stick. The computerist Honorable Mentions: The Fool's Errand by Miles Computing actually sees the driver's hands turn the steer- ing wheel and slam the stick into the next The classic game formats never die, they just tion, must yield its crown to this year's Pure- highest gear. This graphic treatment conveys the mutate. Blockbuster (Mindscape) takes Atari's Stat Football (Sports Simulations). Both the driving experience better than any previous Breakout right to the cutting edge of entertain- champion and challenger have something in simulator. ment software. Audiogenic Sound Limited, a common besides quality; Ed Daniels and his The drawings of the cars on the selection British design house, has added many features, team designed both of them. screens capture their power and beauty in a way including tokens which the competitor can It is clear that Daniels has learned valuable that makes the enthusiasm of motor sports fans redeem for special powers to help clear all those lessons from writing two earlier pigskin pro- instantly understandable. Each vehicle's han- bricks off the multiple playfields. grams. Pure-Stat Football out-performs all ex- dling on the winding mountain course accurately The bark of automatic rifles and the hollow isting simulations in just about everything from reflects its technical specifications. echo of boots on stone floors are the signature statistical accuracy to visual appeal. Unlike race simulations in which the player sounds of Into the Eagle's Nest (Mindscape). The artificial intelligence for the robot coach needs little actual skill to control the car, Test Successfully storming the multistory stronghold is particularly impressive. Too often in sports Drive requires constant attention. It is impos- to rescue prisoners and steal secret plans re- simulations, an unimaginative zombie is in sible to record a respectable time unless the quires quick shooting and on-the-fly strategiz- charge of the other side. There's nothing stupid player shifts effectively and avoids the highway ing. Each room is a real-time puzzle which the about the compu-coach in Pure-Stat Football, patrol's radar detectors. player can only solve with the right combina- though. It even analyzes the computerist's play- tion of fire and movement. calling and adjusts the defense to counter the Honorable Mentions: Oids (FTL) is an interstellar shoot-'em-up with most damaging strategies.

a play-mechanic derived from such classic ac- Pure-Stat Football is the statistical simulation F/A-18 Interceptor and Chuck Yeager's Ad- tion contests as Asteroids and Moon Lander. knowledgeable football fans have wanted for vanced Flight Trainer (both Electronic Arts) give The player goes from planet to planet, maneu- years. ^ computerists the chance to fly either a Navy vering around deadly fire from the hostile in- Honorable Mentions: F/A-18 Hornet or an Airforce F-16 Flying Falcon habitants, all the while trying to rescue hostages in a series of missions against airborne in- from the planet's surface. Indoor Sports (Mindscape) is another hit from truders. A variety of missions, including sever- Pinball Wizard (Accolade) is the year's best Ed Daniels' shop, this anthology of four semi- al practice modes, await the air warrior. example of what has become an increasingly athletic events is virtually as good in its own Steve Setzler, working in association with scarce type of game: the construction kit. The way. Bowling, Darts, Air Hockey, and Ping Pong Bruce (Flight Simulator II, Jet) Artwick, wrote user selects features, like bumpers and spin- are all slick-looking and satisfying. A less value- Stealth Mission (SubLogic) to satisfy compu- ners, from a parts bank, then positions them minded company might have tried to sell a cou- pilots who want a detailed simulator that em- on the blank playfield to create customized com- ple of these contests individually. phasizes modern jet combat. This flight simu- puter pinball machines. The program has mod- Charlie Hustle himself stands behind Pete lator delivers the best artwork, especially the ules which allow the computerist to decorate Rose Baseball (Gamestar). It is the latest disk scenery and enemy planes, of any comparable a design and save it for future gaming sessions. in a tradition that began with Starleague Base- product. Pinball Wizard boasts beautifully luminous ball and continued in 1987 with Championship Tom Clancy's gripping best-seller inspired Red graphics and authentic sounds of the bounc- Baseball. This action title features field-level per- Storm Rising (MicroProse), designed by Sid ing silver ball. spective, multiple views of the diamond, and Meier and Arnold Hendrick. The core of the pro-

an artificial-intelligence system which endows gram is a magnificently-detailed simulation that Best Computer Sports Game the on-screen athletes with abilities similar to puts the computerist on the bridge of a modern

Superbowl Sunday (Avalon Hill), generally those of real major leaguers. nuclear submarine at the outbreak of a

regarded as the best statistical football simula- Contrary to popular opinion, Epyx did not in- hypothetical World War III.

VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1988 Ezra Sidran labored for over two years to com- Best Computer Strategy Game plete Universal Military Simulator (Rainbird), and

most war gamers will agree that his great ef- Many designers have created programs to fort was not in vain. It provides an easy-to- bring the mental exercise of paper-and-pencil operate system for producing battle scenarios games to the home computer, but the two types for any armed confrontation from the stone age of recreations seldom work harmoniously. The to the space age. The unusual pseudo-3-D per- problem: It is tough to do anything with the spective visually separates Universal Military computer to materially enhance or improve an Simulator from all standard, top-down war anagram or crossword puzzle. games, and it is a refreshing change for vete- This year's top computer strategy program, ran electronic commanders. The Fool's Errand (Miles Computing) is the most clever framework for an anthology of word Best Action-Strategy Computer Game games and puzzles ever devised. The player Stealth Mission by SubLogic journeys through a fantasy land derived from The debut of Tetris (Spectrum Holobyte for the characters and images of the Tarot deck to ule and bids against other networks for specials computers; Tengen for Nintendo) indicates that

collect pieces of the Map of the Sun. Assem- to propel the network to the top of the weekly the U.S.S.R. is catching up to the United States

bling this puzzle allows the computerist to col- ratings. in more than international basketball. From lect all the magical items and preserve the Tanks rumble across the desert in Rommel Moscow's AcademySoft to a monitor near you,

realm. (Strategic Studies Group), the best computer comes this game of spatial relationships in

A series of scrolls tells the story that ties war game published last year and an honora- which the player fills a rectangle by jockeying together the many elements of The Fool's Er- ble mention in the strategy category. Ian Trout the game pieces into place as they fall toward rand. Key portions of some passages are grayed and Roger Keating have authored an exhaus- the bottom of the screen. out, however, and the computerist must suc- tive simulation of the North African campaign Russian music accelerates to keep pace with

cessfully play a short game or solve a puzzle of World War II. It is clearly the most thorough the game's increasing speed as the difficulty to obtain the missing words. The player solves gaming treatment of this theater of operations level gradually rises. The playfield actually oc-

anagrams, jigsaw puzzles, find-a-word squares, ever attempted, but the menu-activated user in- cupies only the center third of the screen, leav-

ciphers and several other species of puzzles to terface keeps the rules structure from over- ing lots of room for well-drawn scenes which fill in all the blanks of the narrative. whelming armchair generals. celebrate Soviet achievements in art, culture and The brainteasers are the main show in Fool's Brodie Lockard, who authored 1985's Game science.

Errand, but author Cliff Johnson hasn't forgot- of the Year, Shanghai, returns as part of the The addictiveness of Tetris cannot be over- ten the visual component. Each of the conun- three-man design team for Solitaire Royale stated. There is something utterly compelling drums is attractively presented, often (Spectrum Holobyte). It features eight different about the precision and simplicity of this game embellished with evocative, stylized drawings. versions of solitaire, plus several children's that makes computerists boot it again and The Fool's Errand is not the most technically games, complete with rules of play and strate- again. sophisticated program of the year, but few ti- gy hints for each. It even recognizes the long Honorable Mention: tles jam more intellectual stimulation into one tradition of cheating at solitaire by allowing the

package. computerist to peek under a pile when legal Power Styx (DigiTek) is another example of

ploys fail to collect the whole deck. a new game built on a time-tested concept. Qix

Honorable Mentions: introduced the territorial acquisition game to the

coin-op and home markets in the early 1980s.

Programming a television network is one of Power Styx starts with the same basic goals those pie-in-the-sky fantasies, which only come as Qix, but it introduces some colorful frills. As true for most people in front of a computer in the classic coin-op, the participant scribes screen. Dr. Mike Breggar, a podiatrist when he's boxes on a playfield while creatures try to dis- not programming, shows a deft touch in rupt the drawing before the screen is filled. simulating the TV. business in Prime Time (First Power Styx adds bonus and penalty objects,

Row). He portrays the situation accurately, but and rewards the completion of a level with a with enough humor to keep the player from de- full-screen drawing in vivid color. It's good to veloping an all-too-realistic ulcer. The solitaire see an old friend dressed up in such fancy, new game develops new shows, shuffles the sched- clothes.

Pete Rose Baseball by Gamestar Pinball Wizard by Accolade Oids by FTL

m VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 Honorable Mentions:

Thereon, the hero of DungeonMaster (FTL), can call upon the souls of departed champions

to form a questing party. The adventurer is apt

to need all the might of a full party of four

heroes, to find the Firestaff in the depths of the

forbidden dungeon. Doug Bell, Mike Newton and Dennis Walker have totally modernized the

user interface used by a dozen previous role- playing adventures. Its icon-driven control sys- DungeonMaster by FTL Universal Military Simulator by Firebird tem makes DungeonMaster especially easy and enjoyable to play without sacrificing any depth.

Best Computer Adventure Paladin (Omnitrend Software), by Tom Car- er prides itself on creating a movie-like, personal

bone and Bill Leslie III, is a system for adven- experience for gamers, and no Cinemaware ti-

William Gibson's strikingly different science turing in the Age of Chivalry. The player guides tle has met this goal more spectacularly than fiction novel is the basis for Neuromancer (In- this evocation of Saturday morning serials. terplay), the latest triumph from the folks who Someday, a set of awards will honor did the Bard's Tale series and Wasteland. The specialists like Art Director Rob Landeros, Chief game play is similar to those earlier titles, but Graphic Artist Jeff Hilbers, and composer Bob

Brian Fargo's crew never rests on its laurels. Lindstrom. Until then, these incredibly talent- Neuromancer includes many advances over ed folks must be satisfied with the gratitude of previous Interplay titles, including a streamlined America's computer gamers. They have incal- conversation system and vastly improved culably enriched this action-adventure with their graphics. unerring sense of taste and impeccable timing. This role-playing adventure thrusts the play- Almost every scene has an extra touch that er into the wild world of 2058, where something makes it practically perfect, like the RKO radio strange is happening to the cyberspace cow- tower which broadcasts a plea for help, or the boys. The player starts with a hangover in Chi- sequence in which the hero receives the jet pack Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer ba City, during which time he must unravel the and helmet of the Rocket Ranger. by Electronic Arts mystery. This means obtaining a Cyber deck to tap directly into a computer-generated reality Brandon, a would-be knight, and his band of Honorable Mentions: called Cyberspace. nine characters through this dangerous Too often, the adventures with the best play- Medieval world. Not only does Omnitrend plan A year after Software Toolworks stunned systems have the worst stories, and vice ver- to issue disks with more quests, but Paladin's chessists with its Chessmaster 2000, Brian Far- sa. Neuromancer earns "Best of the Year" Quest Builder can create unlimited original go has raised the ante with Battle Chess. The recognition, because of its balance of form and scenarios. Maurice Molyneaux's graphics depict content. the world of Paladin in a vibrant overhead perspective.

Wasteland (Electronic Arts) is a science fiction role-playing adventure which takes place

in the United States in the wake of a nuclear

war. The player assembles a party of six charac-

ters, each with unique abilities and weaknesses, to explore this mutant-plagued countryside.

Best Computer Sound & Graphics

No game has more high-quality art and sound BgWBlBBBniMligM than Rocket Ranger (Cinemaware). The publish- Blockbuster by Mindscape Paladin by Omnitrend

Sluggish iat*f skirls around your legs. It stinks and is slippery, but the rope helps you Lade across.

.COWTrSTflMT TTMF: ftft . ftfl 3?.6$|

Red Storm Rising by MicroProse Wasteland by Electronic Arts The Games by Epyx

VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 RO .

Into the Eagle's Nest by Mindscape Super Zaxxon 3-D by Sega Choplifter! by Sega computerized opponent compares favorably Sega's special goggles make the images leap that there's still plenty of juice in the concept with other pawn-pushing programs, but none off the screen and seem to zoom right at the of rescuing hostages and ferrying them to safety rivals the sound and graphics of Battle Chess. player. The system of lens shutters, similar to via helicopter. Sega's artists have completely

Every piece exhibits a distinctive personality, and the device the NASA astronauts use, yields a redrawn the graphics to take full advantage of the animated capturing sequences run the much more realistic 3-D effect than the tradi- the Sega system's capabilities, and there's no gamut from cute to absolutely eye-popping. tional red-and-green glasses. question that Choplifter! has never looked, or

When the Castle opens its burning eyes, sham- played, better. bles up to the Queen and turns her into today's Best Action Video Game Cross the competitive thrills of an auto race lunch, it's easy to see why Battle Chess has with the strategy of an action-adventure con- become a favorite demonstration program when Piloting the blaster vehicle through the eight test, and the result is R.C. Pro-Am (Nintendo). showing off the capabilities of the family's home Caverns of Doom in Blaster Master (SunSoft for The player zips along the course driving a radio- computer. Nintendo) takes a sure touch on the controller controlled dune buggy in a race against three

Jean-Michel Jarre's dramatic music for Cap- and a quick finger on the firing button. This rivals controlled by the NES. As a bonus, the tain Blood (Mindscape) combines with the un- blastathon keeps the video gamer glued to the racer collects assorted bombs, missiles and usual art style to produce a wholly unique screen as wave after wave of huge creatures speed boosters. science fiction epic. Key activities in the game, rush to attack the intruder in their domain. Raid on Bungeling Bay (Broderbund for Nin- like hyperspace travel, have the most ambitious The blaster vehicle is a marvelous device, but tendo) is additional evidence that the video- special visual effects ever included in a home the player needs all of its many powers to stay game companies don't have a lock on hot ac- computer game. The psychedelic interludes are alive. It can hover, open doors, dive beneath the tion. Like Choplifter!, Dan Gorlin's helicopter hardly inferior to those which made audiences water, move along walls or even the ceiling, and battle is a far better video game than it was a gasp at the premier of 2001: A Space Odyssey. blaze away at the monsters with its arsenal. The computer program. The sleek helicopter cruises

Captain Blood by Mindscape Blaster Master by SunSoft R.C. Pro-Am by Nintendo

player's craft has a guided missile, a magnetic above the scrolling playfield, an overhead view VIDEO GAMING DIVISION wave called Thunder Break, multi-warhead mis- of the Bungeling Empire, and attacks the war

Video Game of the Year siles and a powerful gun. Only by picking up factories on the ground. Speed is essential in energy capsules can the gamer keep the blast this mission, because otherwise the Bungeling

In this first year of the Video Game Revival, vehicle's main gun functioning with its usual air force will blow your whirlybird out of the sky!

it is almost poetic that the top new game is an lethal effectiveness. There is no video game like Space Harrier

updating of one of the most famous video game The graphics in Blaster Master are tremen- (Sega) when it comes to pure action. The hero,

hits from the first boom period seven years ago. dous in all senses of the word. The creatures viewed from behind, shoots or dodges the boul- Sega's optical technology allows Super Zaxxon look impressively scary, and each one virtually ders, trees and monsters as they head straight

3-D to combine the best of the old and the new fills the entire screen! Never has a video-game at the gamer. Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!

in one mega-cartridge. menace seemed so invincible. The computerist directs the fast and maneu- Best Sports Video Game

verable Zaxxon fighter in an assault against nine Honorable Mentions:

nearly impregnable Vargan sky fortresses. The Bases Loaded (Jaleco for Nintendo) is a wel-

well-equipped bases bristle with many types of Choplifter! (Sega) won many awards when it come exception to the disappointing run of team

weaponry, including everything from missiles was first published for home computers. This sports video games for both the Sega and Nin-

to Vargan death fighters. completely redone video-game version proves tendo system. Finally, NES owners have a

m VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 Side Pocket would be a solid electronic version

of billiard. Add the clack of the balls as they

knock together, and details like the worn felt around the table's pockets, and you've got the best pool simulation for video game or computer systems.

Honorable Mentions:

Even without the physical feedback of the coin-op version, Outrun (Sega) pulls the player

right into the excitement of big-time auto rac- Pro Wrestling by Nintendo ing. The modified first-person perspective, Space Harrier by Sega though somewhat like earlier driving contests, puts the vantage point much closer to the level ~ * ~ of the road. The track rises and falls, sometimes

. ~ PAUSE Z - jr : GO : : OScOC - 50 10 i I * 45 (1 * 4tJB _ 3 £ & - X * * J' ': _ _ i ml — w —

ffa/rf on Bungeling Bay by Broderbund 10-Yard Fight by Nintendo Missile Defense 3-D by Sega

quality-action baseball game. tractions. The colorful wrestlers realistically per- hiding the scenary ahead, to convey a convinc-

The year's top sports cartridge focuses on form moves, like the piledriver, the clothesline ing illusion of raw speed. the core of our National Pastime, the showdown and fancy flying off the top rope. Pro Wrestling Missile Defense 3-D (Sega) combines two of

between the batter and the pitcher. Depending even includes battling outside the ring. It's the hottest pieces of video gaming technology on whether the man at the plate is left- or right- championship-quality grappling. to make it a breathtaking visual feast, and the handed, the screen shows the confrontation as 10-Yard Flight (Nintendo), an action football light phasers insure maximum target-shooting the shortstop or second baseman would see it. cartridge, has such finely detailed graphics that action.

If the batter hits the ball, a scrolling overhead the coach can follow every move on the gridi- view of the field replaces the original screen. ron from kickoff to final whistle. There is a wide Best Adventure Video Game The movement of the ballplayers, as they go selection of offensive and defensive plays, and through their paces on the diamond, is well the vertically scrolling playfield gives the ath- The sequel is already out, but the honors in animated. letes room to block, tackle, run, pass and catch this category rightly belong to the cartridge that

Jaleco is a new publishing name in the U.S. the football. started the phenomenon: The Legend of Zelda

market. If Bases Loaded is a fair example of its (Nintendo). The publisher intended this light-

products, sports-minded video gamers are in hearted adventure to show that the video games for some treats in 1989. can entertain the whole family, not just preteens. They were obviously right, because few electronic games have drawn such universal praise.

Honorable Mentions:

Deep in the jungles of Central America, ac-

cording to Aztec Adventure (Sega), lies the fabulous Aztec Paradise. The video gamer becomes Nino, an intrepid explorer who yearns Side Pocket by Data East to see this legendary land. Twelve dangerous regions stand between the adventurer and his goal, and there's a boss demon guarding the Bases Loaded by Jaleco Best Video Games Sound and Graphics exit of each playfield. Nino must collect and use objects like dynamite, lightning and water-

Honorable Mentions: The incredible look and sound of video games walking boots to see the Aztec Paradise fir-

is certainly one of the big reasons for their sthand.

Pro Wrestling (Nintendo) offers the same popularity. No cartridge looked or sounded bet- Action aces will need all their skill to help Sa- brand of mat action that has made this pseudo- ter in 1988 than Side Pocket (Data East for Nin- mus Aran jump, run, and shoot his way through sport one of America's top entertainment at- tendo). Even with ordinary audiovisual effects, Metroid (Nintendo), an exciting action adven-

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 n tbe Days of LegeNbs, tbeRe was a youNg PalabiN Naivieo

BRaNboN. BRaNtJON Dab HeaRb ttjat tfte Kinq of a FaR KiNgbOM was

BestowiNQ KNiql7tl700b upon those Souls wl?o PROveb tfteMselves

WoRttF of the tTitle. Resolute upon ttje Qoal of KNigfrtf/Oob, BRaNbON

gatheReb a FiNe BaNb of NiNe to accoMpaNy Yi'm. He took Mages, wit)? ttjeiR

ARcaNe Magics aNb StRaNge PotioNS. He calleb upon

SwoRbsMeN, wit^ tljeiu SnaRp Blabes. Witl? hiM caMe PvaNgeRS aNb

eveN a ttyef who ftab RefORMeb His Ways. TlheiR jouRNey took tl}6M acROSs

FieRce DeseRts aNb Swift RiveRS, ^ttiROugli SteaMy JUNgles aNb iNto ^^^ CaveRNs|||^^pthat DesceNbeb to the VeRy HeaRt of the EaRtb. On ttyeiR

Lonq aNb PeRilous jouRNey, they Dib Battle Nasty XIroUs wl7° caRRie&

QReat Axes. UNbeab ZoMbies Plagueb toeM aNb

DRagoNS BuRNeb XTpeiR Hibes. Sorccrcrs ExcbaNgeb Cmbs g^^^ ^^^^ of FiRe witb tbeiR Wise Mage aNb Cast MiNb StuNS on the UNwaRy.

All of tfjis bappeNeb witl} FiNe ANiMatiON aNb tbe Battles Dib RiNq with rbRilliNq Digitizes SounC) (excluDiNQ IBM veRsioN). tbey fouNb that tbe PROcjRaM iNduoes 'CeN CballeNciiNq; Quests, tbey also biscoveReb tbat aN abbitioNal Quest Disk witft 16 Quests Is Available. AfteR a TTiMe, wlieN tfiey wisheb to CbaNqe 'CbeiR Fate, tbeRe was a Quest BuilbeR PROQRaM wbicb allowed tl7eM to Mobify ExistiNQ Quests aNb Ciieate New ONes to Please tbeiR FRieNbs aNb CoNfouNb tbeiR ENCMies. EveN ValiaNt WaRRions fROM tbe FaR FutuRe weRe Not fORqot- teN, fOR they coulb HvipoRt BReactj Sguab Leaoens as PalabiNS. MNitReNb's PalabiN is available fOR tbe Aiviiqa, AtaRi sr, IBM PC, aNb MaciNtosb. For those WI70 wis!) to ORbeu DiRectly (Visa/MC/COD) pftONe (203) 658-6917. For Mail ORbeRs seNb Cbeck, MoNey OnbeR golb Pieces, or CRebit CaRb iNfORMatioN to OMNitReNb SoftwaRe, Inc., PO Box 733, West SiMsbuRy, Ct 06092. PalabiN is $39.95, the Quest Disk is $24.95- Please abb $3.00 fOR Postage aNb HaNbliNg.

CIRCLE #117 ON READER SERVICE CARD. 1

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Metal Gear by Ultra

turns, but it switches to a modified side per- 77ie Legend of Zelda by Nintendo Arkanoid by Taito spective shot when the cleverly animated tokens ture for one or two participants. The Federation are moving around the board from property to Among the very best in 1988 were: Comman- Police want Samus Aran to retrieve Metroid, a property. Everything a Monopoly fiend could do (Capcom for computer and video games), lifeform with potentially vast power, which space want is here, even those tumbling dice. Some- John Elway's Quarterback (Arcadia for home pirates swiped from a research station. Getting where, Uncle Pennybags is smiling. computers; Tradewest for Nintendo), Rampage it back is a challenging task that should keep (Activision for Nintendo), and Rockford (Arca- blast brigadiers occupied for many hours. Honorable Mention: dia for home computers).

The home versions are all so faithful to the

Blazing combat drives Metal Gear (Ultra for original coin-op machines that it would be

Nintendo) to a fever pitch. Col. Vermon CaTaffy redundant to describe them all at length. A par-

has a super-weapon, called Metal Gear, and he ticularly intriguing case is Rockford, because m intends to use it against the forces of truth and it represents a complete circle. The coin-op is justice if someone doesn't stop him quickly. The based on a computer game called Boulderdash

commando, code named "Solid Snake," must (First Star), and now the quarter-snatcher has find and neutralize Metal Gear to win. Equip- inspired a home computer edition. m ment picked up along the way is the key to victory in this solitaire contest. This is one cartridge sure to delight fans of both action and adventure games.

Aztec Adventure by Sega COMBINED VIDEO/COMPUTER GAME DIVISION

Best Strategy Video Game Best Video/Computer Arcade Translation

The next time a complacent computerist Arkanoid (Taito for Nintendo) raked in quart- claims that software for his machine is better ers by the millions as a coin-op, and now Taito than video-game cartridges, show him Monop- has brought this sophisticated wall-bashing con- oly (Sega). The world's favorite money game test to the video-game audience for the first has never looked or played better than this car- time. It would be an understatement to say that Commando by Capcom and Activision tridge edition, and that includes at least two at- it was worth the wait. It is finally here, and it tempts to translate it for home computers. is everything even the most finicky home ar- This version of Monopoly not only provides cader could desire. Most Innovative Video/Computer Game a robot opponent when human competition is For those who don't frequent the nation's fa- not available, but it actually makes multi-player mily amusement centers, Arkanoid adds lots of Trust and Betrayal (Mindscape) shows that a sessions more enjoyable. It's not only as good extra features to the play-mechanic of knock- game can be innovative in content as well as as the original board game, but some Sega sys- ing out bricks by hitting a ball at them with a technology. Chris Crawford invented an entire- tem owners may think its even better. horizontally movable paddle. A quick tour of Ar- ly new language, Eeyal, just for this simulation The screen shows the familiar board between kanoid's varied screens should convince any- of a seven-way struggle for leadership of an ad-

one that Breakout is a long way in the past. vanced alien society.

The most important new feature is the tokens . I. .1,1 which periodically float toward the bottom of 1 the playfield. If captured with the paddle, they feg* m give special powers like a wider bat, multiple iff* Sswj gi< > 0 balls or a laser gun. Arkanoid has always been

known as a habit-forming game, but now its !* ago many fans can play it to their heart's content 0 without breaking the piggy bank. '41 5$ + m

' Honorable Mentions: B i* 5H &g+ m It was great year for arcade translations in Monopoly by Sega both the video and computer game fields. Trust and Betrayal by Mindscape

VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 i

The puck stops hen

SUPERSTAR i ICE HOCKEY Designed by Ed Ringler

MINDSCAPE

STOP LOOKING. THEY DON'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS.

Here's what the "...comes pretty impression of actually critics say about the close to capturing the being out there on Superstar Ice Hockey mental excitement of the ice." —Computer — mil mi \w —j ii ini n — action, strategy and the game." Entertainer on-ice moves: —PC Magazine "Ifs a crowd- "Superstar Ice "Superstar Ice pleasing software

Hockey is the best fast realistic action Hockey is one of the Complete league stats hat trick that scores action-strategy sports ice hockey— on-ice best sports simula- with every shot." simulation ever pub- action, coaching and tions I've seen in a —Commodore lished. Period." strategy, front office long time." See what all the

—Ahoy! decision making— —Family Computing excitement is about. "It combines 3 into one very impres- "The actual game Play Superstar Ice distinctly different ele- sive package." has a nice feel to it, Hockey by SportTime ments of professional —Run Magazine giving you the distinct yourself!

Visit your retailer or call 1 -800-221 -9884 for VISA MasterCard moil, MINDSCAPEand orders. To purchase by send your cord number and expiration date, check or money order for 534.95 (CM & C128), $39.95 (Apple II family and IBM & compatibles) ond $49.95 (Amiga and Atari ST) plus $3.00 handling to Mindscape, Inc., PO. Box 1)67, Norihbrook, II 60065. Allow 3-5 weeks for delivery. Lawyers like this port © 1988 Mindscape. Inc. Mindscope is a trademark of Mindscope, Inc. Software under license from Designstar Consultants, Inc. Copyright© 1988 in conjunction with International Computer Group. Commodore, Apple, IBM, Atari ST and Amiga are registered trademarks of Commodore Electronics, Ltd., Apple Computer, Inc., International Business Machine, Atari, Inc. and Commodore Amiga, Inc. respectively. SportTime is a registered trademark of Designstar Consultants, Inc.

CIRCLE #118 ON READER SERVICE CARD. .

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The Colony by Mindscape Three Stooges by Cinemaware Battle Chess by Interplay The entire game, which focuses on interac- Although Infocomics (Infocom for home com- A game about the exploits of the slapstick tion with computer-controlled characters, is car- puters) aren't actually games, since the user comedy team should be funny, and Robert and ried on in Eeyal. Crawford has done such a good can't affect the plots, they could not be omit- Phyllis Jacob's design team doesn't disappoint job, however, that most players acquire com- ted in any survey of the most venturesome the gamers. petence in the unfamiliar within first tongue the products of 1988. Lane Mastadon and the other All the games included in this action-

few rounds. titles in this series allow the computerist to adventure are derived from famous scenes in change the view-point character at the tap of Three Stooges movies. Highly detailed artwork Honorable Mentions: a button. The reader can skim forward and back combined with expressive animation give the

in the comic to experience the same scene from game's Moe, Larry, and Curly all the zaniness

The plot of The Colony (Mindscape for home several different angles. of the real-life funny men. computers) isn't revolutionary, but the user interface and graphic are unique. A new graphics system generates a 3-D environment that Honorable Mentions: retains image integrity no matter which way the

Crystal Quest (Casady and Greene, Inc. for

home computers) seems like a normal, if en-

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a Infocomics by Infocom character turns in a room. The mouse-activated movement scheme, which involves positioning Crystal Quest by Casady and Greene, Inc. a cursor relative to a directional cross in the center of the screen, walks the player through tertaining, action game until it starts making The Colony with effortless ease. those crazy sounds every time something in- The Lipstik, a special controller packed with Rommel by Strategic Studies teresting happens on the screen. The digitized Echelon (Access for computers) earns this flight speech and bizarre noise are guaranteed to put simulator an honorable mention. This device al- a smile on the face of even the most serious lows the computerist to bark orders to crew Most Humorous Video/Computer Game game player. members in the heat of battle instead of enter- If you've ever laughed when Wile E. Coyote's ing commands solely with the joystick or key- Three Stooges (Cinemaware for computers) is latest plan blows up in his face, you can enjoy board. It is fun to use and does wonders for a laugh riot from the second the hilariously ir- the same kind of humor in RoadRunner (Mind- the program's realism. reverent opening scene flashes onto the screen. scape for computers and video games). The

Solitaire Royale by Spectrum Holobyte Outrun by Sega Mixed-Up Mother Goose by Sierra

VG & CE Jan/Feb 1989 HE YOUR COMPETITION

ULTIMATE —usuj>ers(ickj

Dual auto-fire,

left and right hand play. Mir-rn-cw/itf-h .

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graphics and play action stick closely to the am- gram that uses gaming techniques to imprint bience of the cartoons, and Road Runner, the its lessons on the user's brain. computer game, raises nearly as many chuck- The Road Racer game makes it fun to build les as the animated films. up typing speed. The quicker the student tran- scribes the words as they appear on the screen, Best Educational Video/Computer Game the faster the car roars down the track. Most

games included in educational products look

If your fingers turn into thumbs at the sight crude compared to purely recreational pro- of a typewriter or computer keyboard, Mavis grams, but Road Racer's graphics are good

Beacon Teaches Typing (Software Toolworks) is enough to keep the typist working hard long af- a painless process for improving skills. It's an ter he or she might have quit a more conven- exceptionally well-conceived educational pro- tional typing class. The Queen of adventure gaming, Roberta Wil- liams, turns her talents toward beginning read-

ers in Mixed-Up Mother Goose (Sierra) in this

delightful interactive fairy-tale set in Mother

Goose Land. Experts agree that a child who is

motivated to read will learn more easily, and that makes Mixed-Up Mother Goose at least one

small step toward a more literate America.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego

(Sega) is an international detective game which Road Runner by Mindscape somehow manages to teach players a lot of geography. The video sleuth searches the globe

for the elusive villain and employs logic to as-

semble clues into an accurate dossier. The trail Prime Time by First Row leads from country to country, and the video gamer can learn about each one during these

visits. The lessons are low key, which makes

them all the more effective.

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Indoor Sports by Mindscape Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing by Where in the World is Carmen Software Toolworks Sandiego? by Sega

VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 S3 By Bill Kunkel

Ringler, founder and head honcho of expense of solid game play ("If I want to hear music, I'll DesignStar Consultants, creators of Indoor buy a CD," he says sardonically). EdSports, Clubhouse Sports, Superstar Ice If you get the idea that Ed Ringler is a bit of a maverick Hockey and many others, has some funny and more than a little egotistical, well, he'd be the last per-

ideas about the software business. son to deny it.

"Most of the people in this industry come from the "Every time I put out a product, all the other publishers record business and book publishing, and they know noth- tear it apart, trying to find out what we did, and how we ing about games," he says matter-of-factly. "They're in this did it. The rest of the world is watching." business for the short run, and they're involved in a cycle But the ego and self-righteous stance comes with an of deal/cut/hurt and move on. We're looking to establish a unassailable pedigree: Ed is one of this industry's true pi- name where the end user will find us. When that break- oneers, a second-generation electronic entertainer with a through point comes, we'll sell some games." collection of sports games to his credit that have revolu- He not only uses the rhetoric of the industry ("You'll tionized electronic gaming. His software offers users un- never get ripped off with our product. My philosophy is we precedented value with products like Indoor Sports work for our customers, not to kiss the industry's a—"), but (Mindscape) featuring four game modules (air hockey, actually means it ("We're in this for the long run, and in darts, bowling and ping pong), each of which was easily the long run, I'm gonna win. I love my products"). He hap- good enough to sell on its own. pily discusses things like value-per-dollar for users ("Most "I have a history with video games," he says proudly, of the publishers are thieves") and disdains the current refering to the decade he spent toiling in the arcade vine- trend toward opulent graphics and digitized music at the yards before moving into the business of creating home

VG & CE Jan/Feb 1989 ed, he sent copies of the programs to publishers, but there were no takers.

What came back instead were job offers. One of those offers was from Gamestar. Previously known as Arcade Plus, Gamestar had, under Scott Orr, evolved from a one-product publisher (Ghost Hunter, a Pac-Man clone) into a leading producer of action-strategy sports games like StarLeague Baseball and Football. Ed was flown out to Santa Barbara, met with everyone, and agreed to come on board, despite the fact that this new job paid less than he had been mak- Ranger), one of the hottest names in computer games. ing in the arcade end of the business. software publishing. His father was the co-creator of the The relationship between Ed and After the final split with Scott Orr, Ed Musical Moments coin-op "amusement" Scott Orr was a stormy one, profession- founded DesignStar Consultants and and he has both owned and operated ally. "Scott was essentially the guy who signed a deal with Mindscape to publish arcades in the New York Tri-State area. went around taking credit," Ed says and distribute his games under the "I spent a lot of time watching kids part "SporfTime" banner. These games have with their quarters. I had the responsibil- been of two types: team sports simula- ity for purchasing these $1,500-$2,000 tions (Superstar Ice Hockey, Superstar coin-ops and so I gave a great deal of Soccer, MISL Indoor Soccer) and thought to the question of what made theme-oriented game packages (Indoor one game addictive and another a dud." Sports, Clubhouse Sports). He established one of the largest coin- The Mindscape/DesignStar relation- op servicing operations in the Bronx ship, while very successful in many (NY) and became involved in the crea- respects, has not been without its tion of speed-up and enhancement kits bumps. Ed immediately bridled at the to extend the life of machines. Ed soon mention of the ST version of Superstar found himself hooking up with other Ice Hockey, for example. technicians, some of whom had begun "I want people to know that I have no to dabble at home on the then-new Atari attachment to the ST version. That was 800. done entirely by Mindscape, unfortunate-

"I saw [the computer software indus- bluntly. "Don't get me wrong; in many ly, and it's a straight clone of the try] trying to duplicate games like Dig- ways, I really liked Scott. He and I could CGA/IBM version! Now don't get me Dug and Asteroids in the home market, spend hours and hours just sitting wrong, that was an excellent version for and I realized they were trying to simu- around, talking about games." Their bus- the IBM— in fact, IBM called us. They late what we were doing everyday." iness disagreements, however, were want to know how we did things like the

He took the actual plunge into design legion. palette changes. But not for the ST I was by helping out a technician friend on the Still, the union was fruitful. Games like disappointed that the conversion didn't creation of Oil's Well ("My dad named On-Court Tennis ("I was the first person take advantage of the ST's capabilities." to that game— it was originally a coin-op ever get billing over Scott. But when I These team sports games have been about an anteater") for Sierra. left, they re-did the packaging"), On- significant not only in that they look and Ed then bought himself an Atari 800 Track Racing and Star Rank Boxing play remarkably well from an action per- and formally entered the game-design ("which I started") redefined the spective, but because of their astonish- business. He started out with a multi- parameters of action-strategy sports ing strategic depth. In Superstar Ice screen maze-chase game called Money- games. Hockey, for example, users can compete run and added some "Deathrace" over- During his tenure at Gamestar, Ed against computer-guided opposition on tones for a sequel, Moneyrun 2000, also hired two programmers who would up to three levels: on the ice as a player which he sold to Bill Stealey's newly put their own imprints on the computer (the user can directly control a skater or formed MicroProse. "He had games like game-design field: Troy Lyndon and goaltender), on the bench as coach (set-

Floyd of the Jungle, so I was like a god to John Cutter. Lyndon was something of a ting lines, dictating strategy and directing him," Ed explains with characteristic boy wonder who created games like line changes) and behind the scenes, as modesty. Two-on-Two Basketball for Gamestar be- General Manager (drafting and trading).

The games never reached the market, fore striking out on his own, while John Ed developed a system in which users however. "I had spent a year in develop- Cutter ultimately joined forces with Bob can play a simulated season within a di- ment and meanwhile the Commodore Jacob to build Cinemaware (Defender of vision and then, if successful, compete

64 had taken over the market." Undaunt- the Crown, Three Stooges, Rocket against the other divisional kingpins in a CE T V6 & Jan/Feb 1989 BO NOW PLAYING AT A SOFTWARE DEALER NEAR YOU

Available for Amiga, Commodore 64, IBM PC, Apple llgs, and Atari ST, which are trademarks respectively of Commodore-Amiga, Commodore Electronics, Ltd., International Business Machines, Apple Computer Inc., and Atari Inc. Cinemaware Corporation, 4165 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Westlake Village, CA 91362 CIRCLE #120 ON READER SERVICE CARD. playoff and championship series. from "the biggies"— i.e. baseball and whistles first." They didn't stop there, either. Teams football —prefering to mine sports such DesignStar's theme-oriented game can be improved during the off-season if as hockey and soccer which are less packages (Indoor Sports and Clubhouse the user/GM makes the right acquisitions frequently reproduced. Sports) have, in many ways, had an and/or sends the team to a training "We're going to take our time before even greater impact on the entertain-

camp to hone their skills. Players age we do the biggies. I prefer to inch our ment software business than the team

and their talents decline, just as in real way up to the big ones. But when I do a sports simulations. For one thing, while sports, and a sharp-eyed GM is always football game—." His voice trailed off for there are several publishers producing on the lookout for young talent. an instant as both interviewer and inter- sports games, none are rushing to "Most programmers and designers viewee shared a short, silent revery in produce packages containing four or are lazy. The kind of stuff we do takes a contemplation of what an Ed Ringler more individually saleable games for the year or longer. You can't just offer op- football game might be like. price of one. Ringler maintains that the tions, you've got to spend time thinking Ed is characteristically up-front in his very existence of his products makes the about things like the user interface and disdain for the vast majority of his com- industry's pricing system suspect.

developing what I call 'intelligent ran- petitors in the sports game field. He "We have a different orientation than domness.' We take a game to the point scorns previous attempts at computer other publishers. We're looking to give where every other publisher in the busi- hockey like Slap Shot and Hat Trick as players tremendous value as opposed to

ness would release it and we sit down low-quality rip-offs. Even the critically ex- the illusion of value. Other publishers

and play it for another two months." halted Earl Weaver Baseball fails to es- give you multiple 'events'; we give you When a successful innovation like Ice cape a withering evaluation. full-fledged games!" he declares. Ringler

Hockey's season-to-season play system "A wealthy company [Electronic Arts] feels he is showing up the rest of the in-

is made in a SportTime game, it's car- with a license creates all this hype mar- dustry one more time and he loves it.

ried over to any future games where keting a new baseball game, and most Next up from DesignStar will be Inter- such a system would be viable. This of the critics jump on the bandwagon. national Team Sports, a potential block-

gives the SportTime games a continuity When I bought that game I was excited, buster that brings together the two types

and a brand recognition all too rare in but during my first game in the second of SportTime products in a single pack- the current marketplace. "The more you inning, in Fenway Park, there's a ball hit age. "Epyx thinks they own this kind of

live with my products, the easier it gets," to right. The center fielder falls into the game," he says in a tone that suggests

is how Ed puts it. bullpen, and the right fielder runs head Epyx is about to be rudely disabused of

So far, he has intentionally shied away on into the wall and does that thing that notion. you've seen in so many games where International Team Sports will contain PAPER MAYHEM his legs keep pumping even though he basketball, water polo, volleyball, soccer, can't move forward." 4 x 40 relay track and swimming mod- The Informauve PBM Magazine" Ed's pride in his own product and low ules, and Ed promises that each game Having a hard time getting enough players together for your favorite role play- regard for the competition have even led will be fully up to SportTime standards. ing or boardgame? Eliminate this problem him to become somewhat proprietary He has also been getting back to his by joining the world ot play-by-mail gaming about the whole action-strategy sports coin-op roots with the purchase, by Arca- Subscribe to PAPER MAYHEM and genre. He is openly unhappy, for exam- dia (a subdivision of Mastertronic), of his discover the world of play-by-mail (PBM) gaming. Virtually every facet of PBM gam- ple, that ex-mate John Cutter is produc- Indoor Sports modules. Bowling and ing is covered by PAPER MAYHEM: Fan- ing a series of team sports simulations darts, among others, have already ap- tasy, science fiction, historical, and sports. under the "TV Sports" banner at peared as individual coin-ops, bringing Each bimonthly issue brings you the latest on various PBM games in the forms of Cinemaware, starting with TV Sports Ringler's career full circle. reviews and articles. Football. Firebrand. Know-it-all. Genius. Egotist.

Also in PAPER MAYHEM, you learn "Cinemaware wanted me. They Game lover. Call him what you will, but about what the PBM companies are doing weren't happy in their own niche, they Ed Ringler, pre-eminent creator in his by reading our Gameline section Plus, in our PBM Activity Corner section, you can had to move into my niche." One gets field, is also an optimist. "I believe very see what is happening in the current PBM the feeling that Ed's unhappiness is par- strongly that there is no such thing as a games that are running. tially based on his antipathy to the finished game. There will always be PAPER MAYHEM has been publishing Cinemaware sensibility, with its strong ways to make a game better. You just news about the PBM games and companies since 1983. We have improved and emphasis on sound and graphics and reach a level of satisfaction that makes expanded to keep up with this ever popular occassional weaknesses in play. sense. But until games offer holographic activity of PBM gaming. Although his own games are highly visuals, graphics haven't been 'done.' So why delay and miss out on all the fun? polished from a graphics standpoint, Until then, we [in the entertainment soft- Read PAPER MAYHEM and take advantage of PBM gaming. game play is clearly his top priority. ware business] should just be honorable

SEND SUBSCRIPTIONS TO: PAPER MAYHEM (DEPT VE| "I don't spend time on frills. If I want people and cast out those who aren't."

1518 Adams Si.. Ottawa. II. music, I'll buy a CD. It's gotten to the Ed probably sums it up best, and 61350-4764

SUBSCRIPTIONS: 1 year $20.25 point where, in Europe, [reviewers will] most succinctly, when he tells you, 2 years $35.10 destroy a game because they don't like straight from the heart, "I love my Sample Copy $4.50 the music! Make sense. [If something games."

CIRCLE #131 ON READER SERVICE CARD. has to go] I'll always lose the bells and He's not the only one. VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 m CIRCLE #121 ON READER SERVICE CARD. Q u e s t i o n & Answer

Straight Dope From the Game Doc!

by The Game Doctor

€L What's all this business about digitization in games is because it &: Why aren't there any stat-

' 'digitizing"? What does it mean? consumes massive amounts of based hockey games? My friends

If it's so great, how come more memory. The price of optical scan- and I are sports nuts and play all games don't use it? What is a ners and digitizers has come way the baseball and football replay

' 'digitizer' ' and why would I want down, however, making them in- games. Now there's even a one? creasingly popular for home use. basketball simulation but still no Aiello, Stonybrook hockey! How come? Adam 6L: What has happened to the Steve Green, Buffalo A: When you see a reference to Atari ST? When I bought mine, it a game containing digitized audio was supposed to be the state-of- Basketball and hockey games and/or video, it means that rather the-art computer with tons of soft- are the toughest to simulate, and than re-creating a sound ef- ware on the way. Well, I can tell hockey games present the most fect/song or a photographic/drawn you that the new games just aren't difficulties of any major sport. image by attempting to imitate it, appearing on the ST. What hap- Problems include: special equipment is used to break pened? 1) Hockey is a continuous-play The Atarian, Saginaw, MI the original down into its digital game, with constant passing and

1 components, which can be "reas- A: It's not a pretty story, Atarian. on-the-fly substitutions. Any statisti- sembled" by the computer. This The ST just never caught on in the cal simulation would require almost results in a much truer sound U.S. marketplace, and the fact is, continuous input from the user, and/or image playback. many publishers have intentional- which would tend to make the

Examples of digitized audio in- ly stayed away from it. games very stop-and-start. clude the "Stay a while—stay for- Atari brought much of this on 2) Hockey statistics are nowhere ever!" at the start of Epyx's themselves by failing to provide near as complete as, for example, Impossible Mission and the rock & users with service centers, then tak- baseball stats in painting a picture roll theme song to Firebird's Star- ing forever to provide repairmen of each player. glider. the necessary replacement parts. 3) Hockey is a regional sport. It Digitized video takes the original One of the reasons that Tandy ex- has never reaUy caught on in the image and breaks it down into a ploded into the computer market is warm-weather locales. pattern of dots which, when reas- because the public has confidence Nonetheless, SportTime's Super- sembled by the computer, resem- that if their computers break down, star Ice Hockey (Mindscape), while bles the original. (How much it Radio Shack will fix them. Atari not a stat-based game, does offer resembles the original depends, of owners lack this sense of security. the user many strategic options course, on the digitizer and The good news is that the ST has (substitutions, play instructions, etc) computer.) caught on in Europe where many in addition to being a superior ac- Examples of digitized video in- game products are designed spe- tion game.

clude the images in Micro- cifically for it. So when a U.S. pub- League/WWF Wrestling. Many lisher like Mindscape buys the Got a question for the Doc? Send games also use digitized artwork in American rights to a game that al- it to: The Game Doctor P.O. Box their title screens. ready exists in ST format, they 020541, Brooklyn, NY 11202-0012.

The reason we don't see more release it here in that format as well. See ya next issue! VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 EQ You're About to Plunge Into a Bloody and Precipitous War!! Can You Handle It?

The peaceful kingdom of Guldred was turned into a battlefield when King Guls I Your Enemies are . . . Ugly, Bad and Nasty!! was murdered by the evil General Gemon. The Queen and the young princess, Karen The ancients stored the Aura power into a star-shaped fled to the king's ally, Vuckviser, on Chester Field Island. On their way, the Queen was stone to save the Earth from complete destruction by killed, and Karen was kidnapped. the Dark Comet. Then the stone was broken into 5 parts, each part buried with a riddle. Vuckviser's son, Kane, then swears to defeat General Gemon, rescue Karen and Jason, a brilliant young archaeologist, unexpectedly restore harmony to the Kingdom of Guldred. discovered one such riddle in the ancient Balbian ruins. Join him as he fights both time and hideous Chester Field is a kaleidoscope of fast changing battle scenes, mysterious now enemies of the underworld in his quest to gather the underground mazes and sudden and fatal pitfalls. You expect action in an adventure stones of Aura and save the Earth from the Dark Comet. game? Chester Field delivers it. Now, can you handle it? VICTOKAI INC.™

VICTOKAI INC., 370 Amapola Ave., Suite 104, Torrance, CA 90501/Phone: (213) 320-1199 Chester Field and Aigina's Prophecy are available for the Commodore 64/128. Commodore is a trademark of Commodore Electronics, Ltd. CIRCLE #122 ON READER SERVICE CARD. WAGING WORLD WAR II Military Simulations for Computers and Video Games

by Arnie Katz

merica's heart has a gigantic

_r A soft spot for World War II. The average American, even those born after VJ Day, gets misty-eyed over newsreels of Betty Grable entertaining the troops or GIs dis- tributing freedom and chocolate

bars to eager crowds lining liber- ated streets. 3* -J!-. seven on a one-to-ten scale. In fact, no software category has a higher average quality. That leaves two factors to consider: the difficulty level and the subject. A program which simulates a battle of interest to the gamer with the

right degree of challenge is almost certain to be money well spent.

But the senseless killing,

of course, is not celebrated. Dday No sane person likes the field. These are the weapons The Normandy Invasion,

thought of thousands of in- which war gamers like best, the largest amphibious land-

nocent young men bleeding because they offer the ing in history, is a logical though moderately challeng-

away their lives in the mud- widest range of tactical place to start. It is one of the ing, makes a good introduc- dy ditches of shell-smashed options. most frequently simulated tion for those who haven't

battlefields. The unglam- It was also the last war battles, despite the fact that had much previous ex-

orous, unlovely face of war is perience with war games. IX TOC BJR MINE.

no one's treasured memory. 15D0 HEN , 500 FIGHTEH-BOHBER5 The battle for the beaches is DHV5 5UPPLV. Yet a mystique clings to * a real slugfest as the Allies DEPLOYED jfTTI UETEEUN 313 80 World War II unmatched by PTTPCK ILOCnL CrjMHQKOT attempt to force a breakout :3D OH JUKE 9, OVERCAST other armed conflicts, even 1S44 from Normandy before the the Revolutionary and the time limit expires. The fluidi- Civil Wars. Those who lived ty of Ed Bever and Sid Mei- through the 1939-1946 peri- er's game system makes

od recall it as a time when Crusade in Europe livelier everyone submerged petty, than those that use alternat- individual concerns and ing turns pulled together to achieve a divided lofty goal against terrifying into sub- odds. Parents and grandpar- phases. Patton

ents, the schools and the vs. Rommel (Elec- mass media, have commu- tronic Arts) might nicated this image to those be the best i **»»*»; of us who weren't even born choice for the then. Streamlined rules, a joystick interface and fast play highlight Crusade casual war Armchair commanders in Europe by MicroProse. gamer,

are no less intrigued by fought without the specter of it is hard for the German because

World War II than their non- nuclear weapons and long- player to thwart the Allied Chris Craw-

gaming countrymen. More range missiles. World War II forces. ford's outstanding

electronic and nonelectronic is the pinnacle of high-tech, Novice war gamers will design work makes war games are based on non-nuclear military confron- appeciate the streamlined the detailed

World War II than all others tation. It allows gamers to rules and joystick interface of simulation surprisingly sim- combined. apply classic principals of Crusade in Europe (Micro- ple to learn and play. The

The reasons for WW II 's warfare to game situations Prose). It simulates the June computer can take either gaming popularity include, and play around with a lot of 1944 invasion of France, and side in this D day recreation.

but go beyond, its image. By fancy gear. the immediate aftermath, in Noted strategists George an odd coincidence, the war a fast-playing format. Patton and Erwin Rommel with the greatest emotional Choosing a Computer War Crusade in Europe, are ready to offer advice to impact also has the most Game temporarily confused com- varied and interesting situa- VG&CE's war-gaming sur- manders as they manuever tions for strategists. vey indicates that quality troops across the scrolling The second world war should be a relatively minor mapboard. stands at a crossroads in concern when choosing a Battles for Normandy

military history. It was the first military simulation. Most (Strategic Simulations) is a time tanks, carriers and air commercially available com- more conventional war game power dominated the battle- puter war games rate at least about the same battle. This

VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 Each unit on the map puterists who don't habitually board represents a platoon, play war games; so most but Grigsby's program published programs are

figures the hit probability aimed at novice or lightly ex- separately for every man and perienced commanders. weapon in each platoon. Decision in the Desert Bismarck: The North Sea (MicroProse) is a joystick-

Chase (DataSoft) is the third activated treatment of the plete scenarios: Omaha, computer game devoted to North African campaign. As Utah, Sword, Cherbourg, one of the most entertaining in Crusade in Europe, its

Carentan, Villiers Bocade, sidelights of World War II, the companion program, the Goodwood and Epsom. cat-and-mouse game be- players issue orders to their These individual battles can tween the British Fleet and units, which execute them as be linked into one continu- the German pocket battle- game time passes. An excel- ship Bismarck. The other lent manual provides analy- moderately complex game two are now out of print, but sis of the individual battles by Tactical Design Group, al- Anthony Stoddard's effort and explains the basis for lows the computerist to nicely fills the gap left by "what if?" variations. restage D day on a video their absence. Tobruk (DataSoft) by Steve battlefield divided into hex- The player can recreate R. Williams features a agonal squares to regulate the entire story or one of five unique blend of convention- movement. shorter scenarios. The com- al war-gaming and arcade- The computerist directs Easy Company of the U.S. 1st In- puterist can either hunt down style combat action. Fighting Allied divisions, regiments fantry Division is under the war- gamer's leadership in Field of Fire jvmo hrmored bricroe and brigades in the drive TUNICS, by Strategic Simulations. 4888 HEN, 88 toward St. Lo, Caen and 3 0BV5 5UPPLV. MOBILE GREEN 1 88 Battles for Nor- ous campaign. JSj ^Cherbourg, la HE5EHUE mandy is 12 turns of The construction module steadily building can be used with the scroll- tension as ing map of the entire Nor- mandy peninsula to generate some additional sap scenarios. The documentation suggests variant orders ss §3 eg E3 X of battle to assist this effort. C3

the Wehrmacht Battles in Western Europe 'desperately fights to blunt Gary Grigsby's complex the advance. Battles in tactical armored game Bat- Normandy (Strategic Studies tle Group (SSI) is perfect for

Group) is easily the most- highly experienced electron- Decision in the Desert by MicroProse brings the North African cam- sophisticated and deman- ic generals. It covers en- paign to your computer screen. ding computer simulation gagements during 1943-1945 of Normandy. The Australia- involving British, German the German raider or try to grows heated as Rommel's based design team, led by and American forces, and in- decimate Allied shipping un- Afrika Korps tries to starve Roger Keating and Ian cludes just about every der the nose of the Union and bludgeon Tobruk into Trout, present weapon type from that era, Jack. submission, and the Allies eight corn- including tanks, assault defend tenaciously as they guns, tank destroyers, Against the Desert Fox wait for reinforcements. machine guns, flamethrow- Both the Allies and the This one- or two-player ers, antitank guns and Axis assigned a low priority contest permits players to bazookas. to the desert war in North add a first-person action

The disk comes with four Africa during World War II, game to the routine of play. prepared scenarios, but but today's war gamers can't Pressing the fire button on the documentation seem to get enough of tanks the controller allows the exhorts computerists rolling down roads, cut commander to climb into an to develop their through sand d,unes. This armored fighting vehicle and module included phase of the war also seems personally attack the enemy.

in the program. to fascinate even corn- Tobruk may not be the most '

meticulous simulation of this the two previous titles men- means tank hunt in German. famous battle, but it gets top tioned. This corps-level cam- It's a fitting name because marks for payability and en- paign game allows the Panzer-Jagd features noth- tertainment value. player to take either side ing but armored fighting ve- Knights of the Desert (SSI) against computerized oppo- hicles. covers the whole North Afri- sition at any of ten skill lev- The solitary player hears can campaign in 1941-42. It's can immerse themselves in els. The flexible control the rumble of heavy treads a seesaw struggle as Allied a universe of tanks and rifles system allows players to as the tanks prowl the varied and Axis forces battle for in its purest form. enter orders with either the terrain, and he sees the flash control of a strip of land 500 War in Russia (SSI) is an joystick or the keyboard. as these mobile behemoths miles long and 150 miles awe-inspiring megagame Panzer Grenadier (Strateg- blast each other into scrap wide on the scrolling, multi- that simulates the entire ic Simulations) puts the metal. There's plenty of screen map board. Supply, Russian campaign, 1941- gamer in command of a regi- strategy in PanzerJagd, too, reinforcements and intelli- 1944, at the divisional level. but few war games dress it gence are the biggest Author Gary Grigsby gives up in such a charming headaches for participants in players every unit on both package. this one- or two-player sides that participated in this contest. epic struggle. Pacifying the Pacific Rommel (Strategic Studies Russia (Strategic Studies The Pacific Theater is the

Group), picked as one of Group) is another mammoth stepchild of the computer 1988's outstanding strategy simulation of the entire war-gaming field. No one games by VG&CE, is the Eastern Front. In this Ian

most complex simulation of Trout and Roger Keating title, Guderian from Avalon Hill scrolls this campaign available to- the player controls either you through armored battles in *Y central Russia. day. Thanks to its menu- side in this clash of 20 mil- «t ? i i

driven user interface, lion men in uniform. Those • ft • • ft- • -i however, it is probably easi- who decide that a full cam- i % ? er to play than programs with paign game of Russia is too half detail. The con- of a project can refight A as much much UHIT^e 14 s«c ' ::<= ' = . D)EBft»K (UjIEW UJOtt ': ^SFE;t- struction is even the crucial battles of ."EEC I module Kursk, EXT easier to manipulate than in Leningrad or Stalingrad in previous Trout and Keating approximately two to three Strategic Simulations' Kampf- gruppe leads you to battle on the productions. hours. Panzer Grenadier by Strategic Eastern Front. The joystick-actuated, ord- Simulations has you commanding Fighting Continues on the er entry system makes a regiment of Hitler's elite troops has adequately explained Eastern Front Guderian (Avalon Hill), against computer-controlled Rus- the phenomenon, but The average American named for the celebrated sian forces. games with a nautical theme has little feel for the Eastern German tank commander, ment of Hitler's elite sell worse, as a group, than Front, primarily because the one of the most accessible mechanized troops. The games about any other topic.

United States did not get tactical-level games on the Russians, commanded by It's even true for non-war directly involved in the ac- market. It simulates armored the computer, provide spirit- games! tion. For war gamers, battles in central Russia on ed opposition in this in- however, the battles between a scrolling map of the region. troductory level contest by Germany and Russia eclipse The German drive on author Roger Damon. even D day. Moscow furnishes an in- Kampfgruppe

The reason is simple: credible array of opportuni- (Strategic Simulations) is tanks. Gamers like armored ties to develop strategies (on a companion title to fighting vehicles better than the fly) as these two mighty Battle Group. The any other type of military armies exchange hammer main difference is hardware. They can't resist blows. The computerist can that Kampfgruppe the combination of lightning play either side against deals with the Eastern movements and fantastic another human competitor Front. Other than firepower. The Eastern Front or a computer-directed army. that, they are almost identi- is a laboratory for testing ar- Road to Moscow (Game cal in approach, complexity mor and infantry tactics iso- Designers Workshop) covers and quality. lated from naval and aerial the entire Russian cam- A great program to in- influences. Would-be con- paign, but the scale of the troduce beginners to the fun querors or defenders of units is slightly of war-gaming is Panzer- Eastern Europe and Russia smaller than Jagd (Avalon Hill), which

VG 8 CE T Jan/Feb 1989 the original engagement. of 79 ship types, and actions complain about how much

The graphics are a little drab can include up to 20 vessels record-keeping air-war board

in this somewhat older pro- on each side. games require. It probably gram, but advanced players Warship is surprisingly accounts for the fact that

will appreciate its thor- easy to play despite the non-electronic air-oriented ti- oughness. many set-up options. The tles are even more scarce Also recommended computer does a fair job of than naval ones. for skilled strate- playing either side, and be- The microprocessor's is Carriers ginners can handicap the data-crunching capabilities War 1941- mechanical foe by 10% un-

1945 til he or she gains an under- (Strategic standing of fighting on the Studies high seas. Group) War in the South Pacific

Authors (Strategic Simulations) is the Publishers Ian Trout latest word from the ubiqui- this and limit the and Roger tous Gary Grigsby on the Pa-

number of sea games Keating provide cific Theatre. It has three in their catalogues. Since the "player with over 400 advanced scenarios, includ-

naval warfare figures aircraft and 246 ships for the ing a provocative hypotheti- Warship by Strategic Simulations prominently in most of the computerist to maneuver cal attack by Japan upon focuses on sea battles, and in- major actions in the Pacific, over a scale three million Australia. Unlike some naval cludes a scenario construction kit to supplement the pre-packaged there are few published square miles of ocean. warfare simulations which fo- historical conflicts. games about that phase of The game includes six cus only on the ships, War in WWII. Fortunately, generally ready-to-play battles: Pearl the South Pacific integrates have rescued this branch of high-quality compensates Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, land, sea and air operations. war-gaming. The computer partially for the relative scar- Eastern Solomons, Santa Halls of Montezuma (Stra- handles most of the book-

city. It should also be noted, Cruz and Philippine Sea. tegic Studies Group) is Trout keeping associated with air- however, that Pacific Theat- The construction kit allows and Keating's celebration of war programs, so players are

er war games are generally the user to modify any of the fighting tradition of the free to revel in the huge aimed at the inveterate mili- these situations or compile United States Marine Corps. number of strategic possibil-

tary strategist and often push new ones. Limited intelli- The prepared scenarios ities found in many of these

gence, extensive rules for span the entire history of this titles. weather and a combat sys- service branch, but the Iwo Europe Ablaze (Strategic

tem which incorporates in- Jima and Okinawa games Studies Group) is a compre-

dividual ship and plane data, are excellent Pacific Theater hensive simulation of the air give Carriers at War land combat simulations. war over England and Ger- 1941-1945 the authentic am- many, 1939-1945. As bience of conflict in the Far Fights in the Sky Commander-in-Chief, the

East. Aerial combat is the player directs all air opera- Warship (Strategic Simula- hardest phase of warfare for tions. Lesser officers super- tions) covers sea battles be- civilians to grasp. There are vise crew allocation and tween the Allied (U.S. U.K., no neat lines of armored bat- target selection, while the and The Netherlands) and talions or static defensive po- gamer plans bomber attacks Japanese fleets in 1941-1945. sitions. Instead, the air and defensive screens.

Although there are four pre- commander grapples with Three scenarios are in- pared scenarios (Guadal- constantly changing situa- cluded on the Europe Ablaze

A good introductory war game is canal I and II, Empress tions, enemies that strike disk: Their Finest Hour, Ene- Panzer-Jagd from Avalon Hill, Augusta Bay and San Ber- rapidly from a distance and my Coast Ahead and Pierc- whose theme is armored-vehicle nardino), the construction kit severe restrictions imposed ing the Reich. construction conflicts. A is the main show. The com- by chronic shortages of kit with 37 plane types and the upper limits of computer puterist can recreate any planes and pilots. 255 precisely rated squad- wargame complexity. historical battle or put War gamers rons extends payability into Carrier Force (Strategic together "what if?" frequently new scenarios. Simulations) simulates four scenarios. There's Gary Grigsby's USAAF naval battles involving the a choice (Strategic Simulations) nar- U.S. and Japan in exhaustive rows the focus to the daylight detail. Author Gary Grigsby bombing raids on European has included every ship and industrial targets by the U.S.

plane which participated in Army Air Force. It demands

V6 S CE Jan/Feb 1989 are set in Western Europe and North Africa, or string them together into a combat campaign. A wide variety of battlefield terrain gives Field of Fire pleasing diversity. The short scenarios make Field of Fire a fairly good introduction to

The player heads up aerial bomb- computer war games, ing raids on European targets in though there's enough meat SSI's USAAF. to satisfy veteran war only slightly less war-gaming gamers, too. skill than Europe Ablaze, Panzer Strike (SSI), however, because the play- another Gary Grigsby de-

er must handle all phases of sign, is a more detailed strategy, instead of leaving simulation of small unit tac- the particulars to sub- tics with an emphasis on

ordinates. tanks. It contains scenarios for the Eastern Front and Multi-Front Simulations North Africa as well as the Battlefront (Strategic Western Front. A campaign scenario. Studies Group) introduced game lets the computerist The scale of battle can't

the game system Roger fight through all seven years get any smaller than in Com-

Keating and Ian Trout have of World War II. Players can puter Ambush (Strategic

since used with such vir- also create new battles or Simulations). It concentrates their favorite battle in game tuosity in several award- adjust the composition of on the activities of individual form can remedy the lack

winning programs. It allows forces of existing ones. soldiers rather than the clash with one of the construction the computerist to assume Each unit stands for one of regiments, divisions or sets for military simulations

command of an infantry vehicle or gun on the even whole armies. Each described in this section. corps consisting of up to six- square-gridded map. One counter symbolizes a single Although these products are ty battalions. turn in the game equals a trooper, including his special designed to replicate con- Battlefront has a construc- minute of real-time. Panzer abilities, equipment and pos- flicts throughout history, tion kit, but the disk also has Strike takes considerable sible weaknesses. none neglects the World War

four prepared scenarios to study and analysis, but hard- Designers Ed Williger and II gaming enthusiast. get gamers playing quickly. core war gamers will find the The Ancient Art of War and The menu-based user inter- time well spent. The Ancient Art of War at Sea face organizes the numer- Typhoon of Steel (Strateg- (both Broderbund) have ous decisions which face the ic Simulations) is Gary Grigs- been described as "war commander into a logical by's sequel to Panzer Strike. games for people who don't

and comprehensible struc- It presents battles from the like war games." Both offer ture. The designers have im- European, Asian and Pacif- strategists the chance to test proved the game system ic Theaters of the war and in- their ability to control armies since Battlefront appeared in cludes almost all weapons and navies without the wealth An optional map-making utility for 1987, but it wears its age used in these regions. of detail which can daunt Avalon Hill's Under Fire (shown on well. of construction Few games this The module the Apple II) lets you create anyone who isn't a con- scope are as easy to under- is especially welcome, be- scenarios unlike the three that firmed war gamer. Great with the stand and play. cause it offers the chance to come game.

Easy Company of the U.S. match Japanese forces John Lyon put World War II 1st Infantry Division, fought against American, Russian combat under the micro- ferociously in most of the and British troops. Typhoon scope in a dozen scenarios. major battles in the Europe- of Steel gives the gray mat- The players issue orders to an Theater of World War II. ter plenty of exercise, each of their men, and then Roger Damon helps the whether the computerist see the results unfold on the computerist restage eight of plays a single battle or con- overhead perspective map- their most significant en- fronts the computerized gagements in Field of Fire commander "Roll Your Own" WW II (Strategic Simulations). The ^HHk> in the cam- Games player can conduct any of pai9n Gamers who still can't find the individual battles, which

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 '

Under Fire (Avalon Hill) is especially good for creating scenarios for squad-level infantry and armor engage- generals and ments. The mapmaking

admirals utility, available for separate from the purchase, produces original pages of maps for situations which do history provide not readily adapt to the three the opposition in the games' included with the game. numerous scenarios. Ralph H. Bosson's flexible Games crafted with Ezra game-authoring system Sidran's Universal Military produces home-grown / Simulator (Rainbird) are quite scenarios which are as different than the typical sophisticated as many com- computer war game. The mercially published pro- unique pseudo-3-D perspec- ducts. tive and superb on-screen graphics unleash a totally Coming Over new war gaming experience. Horizon Even non-war gamers will The What's next for World War

II military simulations? More and better games are just J

over the next hill. <

So far, few designs take advantage of the increased [ data processing and graph- H Arcade-game lovers will relish these action-oriented war games for ics power of 16-bit machines \ home computers and video consoles; shown above (clockwise from top)

1 The Ancient Art of War offers war like the Amiga, Macintosh are Dam Busters by Accolade, Commando on the 2600 (by Activision; game strategists the chance to and Atari ST. This will computer and other game console versions by Capcom) and B-24 by SSI. H test their ability to control armies. change in 1989. Gamers can < look for more programs World War II Action Games enjoy the smooth-playing scenarios which can be as- Sometimes, painstakingly mov- hasten the end of the war and sembled with this outstanding all those little units on elec- save untold thousands of lives. tronic maps grows wearisome to Most military action games for ing program. even the most dedicated war the NES and Sega systems are Roger Wargame Damon's gamer. Try these action video and based on current or future situa- Construction Set (Strategic computer games, all with World tions, but Capcom publishes a Simulations) has a few pre- War II themes, to jolt yourself out trio of tides—1942, 1943 and pared scenarios, including of the simulation rut. Commando—of interest to WW The Train and Dam Busters II enthusiasts. The three car- several from World War II, (both Accolade) turn fictional ac- tridges, all home translations of the construction set can but counts of World War D adventure hit coin-ops, deliver frenetic hat- generate additional ones. into stunning action programs. tie action. Each side is limited to 31 The former challenges the com- Bombing Nazi Germany is the units, so the would-be game puterist to drive a train loaded theme of 1942 and 1943. In with art treasures, stolen by the both contests, the player roars inventor can't put together a Nazis, to safety in war-torn 1944 over scrolling playfields and rains complete Russian Front which feature virtually trans- Europe. The latter is based on the death upon military bases and in- campaign or the like, but parent user interfaces and popular movie of 30 years ago in dustrial centers. Wargame Construction Set striking graphics. Software which a valiant pilot must brave Commando spotlights individu- does a wonderful job on companies want to capitalize deadly ground and air defenses al heroism. The player advances to knock out a crucial dam in the up the scrolling terrain map, smaller battles. on the widespread interest in heart of the Third Reich. dodging fire and shooting his way military history and enlarge B-24 (Strategic Simulations) is through an incredible number of the for brain- audience basically an air-combat simulator, enemy soldiers. It's more like a busting strategy contests by but the actions of the player's war comic book than a realistic making them easier for the Liberator bomber also guide the depiction of battle, but it is also entire 40-plane squadron. If the a rousing good time for any computer owner to play and gamer can successfully bomb the joystick jockey. (Activision pub- enjoy. oil refinery at Ploesti, Romania, lishes a 2600 version of Com- —Arnie Katz in John Gray's program, it could mando, also.) —AK

VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 m Strategy

Mastering World War II Simulations

by Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz

Elsewhere in this issue is an article, attack, because the defender often gets ter-

"Waging World War II," which surveys rain bonuses.

World War II military simulations. —Dominating key areas of the battlefield Although many computerists love war games, spells victory. War games usually involve two a larger number shun them. Novice armchair armies of roughly the same size; so the idea generals frequently complain that there is to divert a large number of enemy units are too many pieces to move and rules with a small force while major units smash to learn. They are often unsure how to make weaker formations near vital objectives. all those individual units work together to —Don't bunch units in open terrain. World

achieve whatever objectives are needed for War II weapons, especially air power and ar- victory. tillery, can cut an exposed army to ribbons

Computer war games do require more men- in a couple of turns. In games that include tal effort than the typical boot-and-bash ar- these elements, keep units dispersed until the cade contests. On the other hand, their moment for a major confrontation arrives.

chesslike challenge to the intellect makes —Use the right amount of force for each sit- them a supreme test of strategizing skill. uation. Throwing too many units into an at-

Every battle is different, so there's no use tack is just as bad as assigning too few. It searching for a perfect plan that works in all is certain to leave your army too thin some- war games. Successful commanders develop where else. a combat philosophy, and then adapt these —Frontal attacks are costly and should only general principles to fit the specific conditions be employed as a last resort. Attacking from

II will tear found in each game. World War weapons bunched-up the flank (side), enveloping pockets of enemy units to shreds in no time. Keep your units Battle experience is the best teacher, but units and crossfiring work better and gener- spread out until you face a major confrontation. these guidelines should help neophytes do ate fewer casualties than charging straight well the first time they lead a force onto the many turns are available to attain them. Learn into hostile guns.

electronic battlefield. These suggestions won't your troops' capabilities and limitations. —Cutting supply lines isn't as glamorous as turn anyone into General Patton overnight, but 2. What is your opponent's objective? a fire-fight, but it wins battles. In games they'll help prevent starting your computer- Knowing what the foe must do is the first step which include the effects of supply, cutting

ized military career with a frustrating string toward countering the strategies arrayed the enemy's route to its supporting depot can

of humiliating defeats. against your troops. pave the way for a mass assault at satisfy-

Before firing the first shot, the computerist Once the battle begins, these axioms should ingly favorable odds.

should consider these two questions: help the apprentice World War II general reap Even with these tips, the road to war-

1. How does your side win? Examine the victory: gaming mastery is long and difficult. But with terrain, the rules and the units with atten- —An attacker needs a three-to-one superi- a little practice, any computer gamer can en- tion to what goals must be achieved and how ority to have a strong chance of winning an joy the unique qualities of this type of game.

VG & CE Jan/Feb T 1989 Rev Up Your Score At Test Drive Accolade Versions available: Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64

a pair of veteran passengers, your authors ment you'll find in every vehicle: alive-coppers!" attitude is recommended. Make like Ashave come to laugh at the folks who make Speedometer—Obviously, this measures speed. a bakery truck and haul buns to the next gas sta-

if I a big deal out of race-car driving. Ha! This RPMs—Stands for Revolutions Per Minute. tion. But the police car gets in front of you, stop. stuff is easy! All you have to do is watch the RPMs When the needle moves into the danger zone, it's If you hit a cop car, the game ends with an auto- while accelerating, then shift into next gear be- time to upshift to next gear (see Stickshift). For matic score of "zero." fore the motor blows up. Also, in terms of the road, those who don't want to take their eyes off the Points are awarded for maintaining a high aver- it's a good idea to avoid hitting things or driving road, you can gauge the RPMs by sound. The pitch age speed. The higher the average speed, the better off into the abyss. Otherwise, Distinctive Software's of the engine whine getting higher means the the score for that round. The trip up the mountain excellent Test Drive is a virtual milk run! RPMs are rising. When the needle hits the danger is broken into five rounds by gas station pit stops. The only two cars that are even worth driving zone the engine whine will reach a level where The first round is fairly straightforward. There's

in this game are the Ferrari Testarossa (with a top little traffic and the sharp turns are kept to a mini- speed of 185 mph, you may find yourself pulling mum. The second round sends the player up

back on the stick in hopes of becoming airborne!) against a series of sharp turns, one after the other,

and the Lamborghini Countach (which tops out at in different directions. In Round 3, the other vehi- 173 mph|. None of the other three (Porsche, Lotus cles start to become a real hassle. They'll even try Turbo Espirit and—snicker—Chevy Corvette! do to sandwich you: After passing a truck and a car, more than 154 mph, so why even take them out you come out of the turn and discover your vehi- UtmK of the garage? I mean, are we driving sports cars EaiiM tm' t*to »*t Hit-S cle is grill-to-grill with an oncoming truck. Round liKlwmt: HJtcc or is this the Soapbox Derby? 4 mixes more turns and more vehicles, and the last Httffc CvfTtssiM ntii: . 7.1:1 Still for the completists, let's go over the Bl f m, ME Ml: ill > SSM HHitk leg of the trip starts off with a killer left turn, then I mi, IHt: 211 • 1/4 HI* of of available gets tougher! Stick with it, though, and the dealer strengths and weaknesses each the Tnmmssiw: I si nutul autos: Mifs In« Hn*: Mil' lwnwi may be impressed enough to let you keep the car Tim: St Swtr Sp«t M, Ik/iht —The Porsche 911 Turbo is the fast starter of MMM-li Imt/ Ut»il taill Mj when you reach the dealership atop the mountain. the bunch, going from 0-to-60 mph in just five se- Now for a few general tips:

conds. Beyond 60 mph, however, the Porsche is —Don't sweat the small stuff—pigeon poop,

nothing special, taking almost 14 seconds to get any dogs in the area will probably be going nuts. potholes and puddles. After dozens of trips we have

up to 100 mph. Top speed is 153 mph. You'll hopefully notice, too. yet to experience any negative impact from any

—The Ferrari Testarossa is only a little slower Stickshift— Pressing the joystick action button of those above. Heck, there's no reason to watch

out of the gate, going from 0-60 in 5.3 seconds. brings up the stickshift. To shift into a higher gear out for potholes, as the game constantly advises,

But she's only getting started at 60, and boogies (upshift), move the joystick up; to shift into a low- since you can't see them until they're right in front on up to 100 mph in an astonishing 10.9 seconds er gear (downshift), move the joystick down. of you anyway.

with a top speed of 185 mph I! Fuzzbuster or radar detector—When this baby —Make note of the speed limit each time you

—The Lamborghini Countach is a stylish-looking starts to beep, your car is being tracked by radar. pass a sign. If the Fuzzbuster starts buzzing, you'll

buggy that accelerates from 0-60 in 5.2 seconds Slow down to the speed limit until it stops beep- want to know what speed to drop down to.

and from 60-100 in 12 seconds flat. Top speed is ing, or you'll get a ticket. —If you don't think you're going to be able to an impressive 173 mph. Rearview Mirror— For those drivers who like to make a turn, slow down for heaven's sake!

—The Chevy Corvette is a patriot's only choice know what's behind them only. —Trust your Fuzzbuster; it's your best friend.

taking 5.8 seconds to get from 0-60 and a slug- The biggest technical challenge faced by the Test —After braking, downshift if you're in high gear.

gish 16.2 seconds to reach 100. She maxxes out Driver is gear shifting. We recommend starting out Otherwise, it will take too long to get the RPMs at 154 mph. on a car with a slotted, rather than a round, stick- back up to speed.

—The Lotus Turbo Espirit boasts classic styling shift casing, since it's much easier to keep visual —Slow on curves or at the bottom of hills or

but a top speed of only 152 mph. Even worse, it track of what gear you're in. anywhere you can't see oncoming traffic.

goes from 0-60 in an average 5.6 seconds, but takes Remember, there are highway police out there, —When behind the wheel, minimize turns and

14.6 seconds to hit 100 mph. so keep an eye on the radar detector (Fuzzbuster) keep your eye fixed on the white (or, in this case,

Now I know a lot of this is going to seem aw- and slow down when being tracked. Once you hear yellow) line. Don't worry about the scenery. Just fully basic to fellow drivers out there, but for the the sirens, however, and a police car becomes visi- follow the lines to the top of the mountain!

benefit of fellow pedestrians, here is the vital equip- ble in the rearview mirror, a "You'll-never-take-me- —Bill Kunkel & Arnie Katz

VG & CE Jan/Feb 1989 AdvancedOFFICIAL lngeonsgpiagons COMPUTER PRODUCT

TRATEGIC SIMULATIONS, INC.

Look for FOOL OF ftADMJYCfi. an AD&D®

'• _ j Tm (• " M tr «r m -r rr rr m V * M art w££*mt Fantasy Role-Playing Epic set in the FORGOTTEN REALMS™ game world.

Available now for C-64/128 and IBM. Coming in 1989: ATARI ST. AMIGA.

L , APPLE II and II. £1 . .v \..v GS APPLE v

mil I'i' ADVANCED DUNGEONS 8t DRAGONS. ADSD. FORGOTTEN REALMS, DRAQONLANCE and the T3R logo are trademarks owned 1 by and used under license from TSR, Inc ©1988 TSR, Inc. ©1988 Strategic Simulations, Inc All nghts reserved.

CIRCLE #123 ON READER SERVICE CARD. Score Big at Blockbuster Mindscape

Versions: Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64/128, IBM

lockbuster is a state-of-the-art variant never on the first 15 to 20 levels. On some is a much more compatible control device w% on the old "breakout" games, similar to of the higher screens, however, the playfield than a joystick, which doesn't work well on paddle games (in fact, the old Atari 2600 VCS U Arkanoid, with a brilliant twist: Certain is littered with invisible, indestructible bricks paddle bricks contain tokens which, if caught by the which simply must be illuminated lest they used to come with both joysticks and

player's paddle, can be exchanged for power make the ball's trajectory impossible to track. controllers because of this). The mouse lets icons. There are nine such power icons: #6—Turns paddle into a machine gun. The users precisely position the paddle and take

#1—Slows down the ball(s) in play, and may best of the mid-level powers. The more bricks advantage of its multidirectional deflecting

be used repeatedly. This power should be im- remaining on the screen when this power is surface.

mediately invoked at the start of play. If a ball invoked the better, since this is the power for Most of the basics from past wall-bashing

isn't slowed down, it will continue to gain quick, mass elimination of bricks. But beware games apply here as well. The player should

momentum, and a speeding ball not only re- of indestructible bricks; they deflect machine- try to penetrate the wall from the left or right

quires greater skill to catch, but cuts down gun fire back the way it came! side of the screen. (I suspect the player's

on the player's free time, which is the time choice depends on whether they are left- or

not spent catching the ball. Free time is used right-side brain dominant; right handers most-

to catch falling tokens. ly play to the right.) The object is for the ball

After cashing in tokens to buy a power, the to rattle around the top of the screen after player should invoke this icon with the next clearing a path through the wall. Of course, available token. in a game with over 50 different screens,

#2—Magnetizes the paddle so that it traps there are exceptions to every rule.

and briefly captures the ball instead of deflect- The player can gain bonus balls on certain by eliminating the bricks with the let- ing it. This is perfect for sharpshooting screens

(eliminating the BONUS bricks in the correct ters B-0-N-U-S in the appropriate order. There

order or taking out hard-to-hit bricks). It also #7—Turns paddle into a cannonball. This are screens, however, where these bricks

extends the available free time since the play- should be used very selectively and is great have been placed so diabolically that the play-

er can hold the ball while collecting any fall- for taking out that final cluster of bricks. The er should abandon all hope of ever picking off

ing tokens. player invokes the power, and then waits for the bricks in the right combination. (Screen

#3—Turns one ball into three. This power the right moment to hit the detonator. 23 is a perfect example of this. We have won

should be invoked when the ball is trapped #8—Turns paddle into a rocket launcher. bonus balls on this rack, but never when we

in a corner by a clump of bricks and the two Three rockets travel straight up and will were trying to.)

newly created balls are unlikely to escape. eliminate any bricks they touch. Obviously, Blockbuster employs a series of passwords

This way, when the balls eventually do es- when there are three vertical columns of to allow skilled players access to the higher

cape, it will be one at a time. bricks waiting to be obliterated, this is the screens. When a player works through ten

In case you were wondering: no, it's not baby that can do it! screens, he is rewarded with the first of seven

possible to invoke this power when there is #9—Turns the ball into a Superball that cuts passwords, with subsequent passwords

more than one ball on the screen. Three balls through bricks rather than bouncing off them. awarded as the player progresses. Since very

at a time is the maximum. The ultimate weapon! few of you will ever play well enough to come

#4— Increases paddle size. A bas ic power, Knowing where and when to invoke pow- by all these honestly, we thought we'd cheat

valuable for screens with low-lying bricks. ers is the crux of this game, but hand/eye and reveal them to you here: GOLD, FISH,

#5— Makes invisible bricks appear. This coordination is also required. The ST and Am- WALL, PLUS, HEAD, FORK and ROAD. should be used very selectively and almost iga versions play the best because the mouse —by Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz

VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989

Rev i e w

Rocket Ranger Cinemaware

Versions: Amiga ($49.95), Commodore 64 ($34.95), IBM PC ($49.95), Apple IIGS ($49.95)

The year is 1940, and Nazi the struggle are frighteningly Germany is marching realistic. It is hard to see how across Europe. Suddenly, a these aspects could be any bet-

rocket pack, radium pistol, and ter than they already are, in light a bullet-shaped metal helmet of hardware capabilities.

materialize on your desk. A let- Unfortunately, there isn't much ter explains that the equipment strategy. The Rocket Ranger can

is a gift from rebels who live in punch to the head or the body,

a future in which the victorious but that's about it. Executive Nazi Reich grinds humanity into Producers Bob and Phyllis Jacob the dust. You must use this mar- should consider including a velous device to thwart Hitler's smaller number of more sophisti- foul plans! You are now—the cated actions in future Cinema- Rocket Ranged ware titles to address this

In Cinemaware's latest action- shortcoming. adventure, the player becomes Rob Landeros, the Art Direc- the hero in the flying suit who tor, deftly manipulates movie searches for pieces of a rocket serial images to create a believ- capable of reaching the moon, as able and appropriate setting for well as caches of Lunarium to the derring-do. The strategic

power the rocket and its rocket movement screen is particular-

suit. Located at Ft. Dix, Rocket ly noteworthy. A close-up of a

Ranger's U.S. headquarters, is flying Rocket Ranger floats above

the laboratory for assembling the rocket suit. Loading the wrong The action games embedded in a drawing of a globe. A line of

rocket ship which ultimately amount of fuel causes the Rock- Rocket Ranger are beautifully il- flags on the map traces the

takes the Rocket Ranger to the et Ranger to either go to the lustrated and, as in previous hero's actual route. A dozen

moon to stop the nefarious wrong country or crash when Cinemaware titles, moderately movies have used this gimmick,

goose-steppers. the fuel tank reads "empty." easy to learn. Unfortunately, most but no one else had thought to

It is impossible to use the suit The Secret Decoder Wheel are also a little on the simple side use it in a computer game. without the Secret Decoder doubles as the anti-piracy shield, by current standards. Once the Despite the minor criticisms,

Wheel. The player finds his or since it cannot be photocopied. player figures out the basic strate- Rocket Ranger belongs on the

her current location on the cir- Cinemaware deserves credit for gy, the challenge ebbs quickly. "must buy" list. Only you can cumference of the wheel and developing a copy protection The fist-fighting contest, one prevent the Thousand Year looks in the window to deter- system that does the job without of Rocket Ranger's best, shows Reich. —Arnie Katz mine the number of units of Lu- torturing disk drives or com- both the strengths and limita-

narium needed to fly between promising the spirit of the game tions of this Kellyn Beck crea- Cinemaware

the two points. The player must itself. What could be more ap- tion. The animation and artwork 4165 Thousand Oaks Blvd. transfer the exact amount need- propriate than a Secret Decoder set new standards for hand-to- Westlake Village, CA 91362 ed to make the journey to the Wheel in an adventure serial? hand battling, and the sounds of (805) 495-6515

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989

Review

World Class Leader Board Access Software

Versions: Amiga ($49.95), Apple II ($39.95), Atari ST ($49.95), Commodore64 ($39.95), IBM ($49.95)

may have noticed that course graphics. Each new po- Yougolf simulations are almost sition is speedily redrawn from as plentiful on software background to foreground with shelves these days as role- the hole seen first and any ob- playing adventures, combat flight stacles between the golfer and simulators and greeting card that hole filled in afterwards. No

makers. It's tough to stand out matter how heavily obscured by in such a crowd, but Bruce obstacles, the user always and Roger Carver's World knows exactly where the hole is and the ball must pass Class Leader Board manages The essence of golfing is captured what to do just that. While there in Access Software's World Class through, or over, in order to get may be prettier and/or more Leader Board; version shown is there. sophisticated golf programs, the Atari ST. World Class Leader Board none are easier to play or captures the essence of the golf- more likely to appeal to the ing experience without confus- typical computerist. ing non-golfers. The excellent WCLB comes with four instruction booklet helps keep courses: St. Andrews, Doral, things simple with easy-to- Cypress Creek and the non- understand explanations of existent Gauntlet Country Club the Amateur level, while on the his wrists—causing the ball everything from disk loading to

(the ultimate test for the com- Kids setting all three factors are to hook (veer left) or slice strategy. The game is stream-

puter golf fanatic), in addition to missing. (veer right). lined without giving short shrift a Course Editor which allows WCLB breaks up the play- Once the ball reaches the to any element of the golfing ex- users to fashion their own. Af- mechanic of the swing (except green, the program automatically perience. ter selecting a course (Cypress on putts) into aim, power and selects the putter and an alter- WCLB Tournament Disks con- Creek being the default entry), snap. The user aims the ball by native play-mechanic is used. A taining additional courses are the user enters the number of positioning a small cursor locat- straight power indicator replaces also scheduled, for computer players (one to four), types their ed a few yards in front of the the power/snap gauges and an duffers with wanderlust. names, sets the difficulty level, on-screen hacker. Pressing the on-screen slope indicator ap- -Bill Kunkel

chooses a club and starts action button, or the correspond- pears, showing the green's tilt, swinging. ing keyboard entry, initiates the or break. A similar device is em- Access Software The three difficulty settings swing with successive presses ployed in Professional level 545 West 550 South are Professional, Amateur and determining the swing's power games to show wind direction. Suite 130 Kids. On the Pro level the simu- and snap. A pair of bar-style WCLB has great visual appeal. Bountiful, Utah 84010 lation includes hooking and slic- gauges monitor the power of The user's surrogate golfer (801) 298-9077

ing, as well as wind effects. The the swing and its snap—the stands in the foreground in a

wind is eliminated as a factor on point at which the golfer breaks series of realistically portrayed

VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 1

N 1 R 0 D U C. I N G

And Computer Entertainment Magazine.

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Money back on unused subscriptions if not satisfied! WATCH FOR IT!! Foreign—add $7 for postage. Offer expires 3-27-89 CJOAA Battle Chess Interplay Productions

Versions: Amiga ($49.95), IBM ($49.95)

takes guts to publish The illustrations are so spec-

Itanother computer chess pro- tacular that it is possible to over- gram, barely a year after look Kurt Heiden's aural effects: Chessmaster 2000 (Software Battle Chess has more than Toolworks) revolutionized the 200K of sound. The heavy audio market. Brian Fargo, president of track gives the pieces on the Interplay Productions, must have board a solidity they could never the nerve of a riverboat gambler. approach if they moved and He not only decided to issue Bat- fought in silence. Battle Chess lets you display the tle Chess, but he made it the first As previously mentioned, Bat- board in 2-D format (top left), but title under his new label, a tle Chess has all the options and the contest can be spiced up when Mediagenic affiliate. features of a top-drawer com- IP* shown in 3-D mode (bottom). Con- Interplay figures to collect a puter chess program. It allows trol of the squares follows stan- big payoff on this bet, because dard chess rules but adds the user to set up specific board back moves, get Battle Chess is the next step be- SB excitement with lively combat se- positions, take yond all existing chess programs. quences (top right). strategic advice and even play

It has everything chess players another human player over a want, with art and audio beyond monster— not unlike Marvel embrace. modem. And when there are no their wildest dreams; and it Comics' Thing, from the Fantas- It is important to note that the human opponents available, the

honors all the official rules of tic Four comic—who advances outcome of a fight is completely program can direct the other side

chess to the letter, so it is per- toward the new position with dependent on which piece is at any of nine skill levels. fectly interchangeable with any tremendous, thumping steps. supposed to take the square. Un- A totally committed chess fa-

existing computer or convention- If the movement routines are like Archon (Electronic Arts), the natic might find all the audio-

al chess set. The presentation impressive, the capture se- battle is not interactive. The ani- visual hoopla too distracting, but makes a world of difference. quences are mind-blasting. mations in Battle Chess illustrate Battle Chess is the best choice

People always say that "chess When one piece conquers the results of a move, but do not for the casual player. It's also the

is like a 64-square war." Battle another, a canned animation affect it in any way. perfect program to show people

Chess is the first computer pro- shows the confrontation. The Todd J. Camasta and Bruce who've given up chess because gram that turns this imagery into pieces move to opposite corners Schlickbernd drew the detailed "nothing happens."

vivid reality. Each piece is ex- of the square under contention, pieces and the board, all seen in —Joyce Worley & Bill Kunkel pressively animated, so that even and then the winner expunges two-thirds perspective to give

the lowly pawns exude personal- the loser in some appropriate the illusion of depth. If the graph- Interplay Productions

ity. The Queen undulates seduc- flashy way. The Knight uses his ics become too distracting, a 1575 Corporate Drive tively as she glides to the weapon, the Queen summons menu choice substitutes a two- Costa Mesa, CA 92626 destination square. Similarly, the eldritch magic, and the Rook dimensional rendering from (714) 549-2241

Rook turns into a rock crushes foes in his stony straight overhead.

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 NO I

Now you can take home some of the best Arcade games you've ever played, to play on your own personal computer!

Skillful programming has taken the superb graphics and addictive game play of Arcade hits Double Dragon and Sidewinder and faithfully reproduced them in home computer versions.

Join in deadly combat with the savage street gang of the infamous Shadow Boss in Double Dragon. Indulge in an orgy of action and destruction in the high-energy shoot-em-up Sidewinder (part of the Awesome Arcade Action pack on Amiga and Atari ST). Go on the rampage and smash buildings and munch tiny natives in Aaargh!

Nothing but endless Arcade action - Arcadia has spared no quarter!

Double Dragon is a joint publication of Arcadia and Tradewest.

Arcadia isamemberofthe Mastertronic Group.

ARCADIA 71 1 West 17th St., Unit G9, Costa Mesa, CA 92627.

- Tel. (7 1 4) 63 1 1 00 1 . circle n 26 on reader service card. Heroes of the Lance Strategic Simulations

Versions: Apple II ($39.95), Amiga ($49.95), Atari ST ($49.95), Commodore 64 ($39.95), IBM ($49.95)

package for SSI's Heroes turers don't respond sharply to

Theof the Lance contains no commands and when a blow is

fewer than three trade- struck, it is difficult to tell if it marked names. Trumpets blare even landed since most mon-

the fact that this is an "Official sters show no signs of having Advanced Dungeons & Dragons been wounded until they actu- Computer Product" and part of ally succumb. The creators the biggest licensing tie-in of the would have done much better to

year. Then there's the title, check out how the swordfight- which you already know. Final- ing was accomplished in

ly, we are told this is "A Dragon- Cinemaware's Defender of the

lance (TM) Action Game." Got all Crown, which has a much more

that? satisfying action-game feel.

The Dragonlance (TM) games The graphics are first-rate,

theoretically stress the action however, even if the play values and, specifically, the combat ele- aren't. Each of the eight adven-

ments of the AD&D universe. turers is distinctively delineated The concept for this series was as are the numerous hostiles the developed by the SSI braintrust, party encounters, including zom-

as were all the AD&D games, bies, giant spiders, trolls, wraiths and then farmed out to indepen- First-rate graphics are the high point of Strategic Simulations' Heroes and several fire-breathing of the Lance, eight dent contractors like U.S. Gold whose party members are shown at the screen dragons. bottom. (which is, ironically, a British The real problem here seems company), who produced this points," otherwise known as a intelligence, wisdom, constitu- to be SSI's traditional unfamiliar-

game under the direction of good score. Although there are tion, dexterity, and charisma. ity with the action-game genre.

Laurence H. Miller. eight members in the party, only Now perhaps I'm dense, but One gets the feeling the publish-

Heroes of the Lance uses the one is seen on-screen at a time. what difference does a charac- er didn't really want a full-

standard trappings of fantasy All eight are depicted in a se- ter's charisma make in an action blooded action game. role-playing games, but subor- ries of small windows beneath game? Does an Undead back So instead, they mucked up dinates everything to combat and the main display. When a away from a character because, what should have been a slickly spellcasting. As a result, you get character buys the farm, their well gosh, he's just so darn animated combat game by bog-

one of the most uninspired ac- picture is replaced by a likeable? ging it down with magic, sleep

tion games this side of Super tombstone. Heroes of the Lance must ul- spells and charisma ratings.

Mario Brothers (TM). Heroes of the Lance uses a timately stand or fall based on -Bill Kunkel

The party blunders about in straight side view of the action its combat and, unfortunately, it

the ruins of the temple called with characters directed by falls. The combat (whether en- Strategic Simulations, Inc.

"Xak Tsaroth" in order to retrieve joystick or keyboard. The play- gaged via joystick or keyboard) 1046 N. Rengstorff Av.

"the precious Disks of Mishakal" er's party contains eight mem- is stiff, inadequately depicted and Mountain View, CA 94043 and accumulate "experience bers, each one rated for strength, ultimately boring. The adven- (415) 964-1353

VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!

Everyone knows that RIP is the greatest rock magazine in the world. Where else can you find 94 pages of insightful articles and interviews and full-color photos of your favorite rock gods like Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Anthrax, Ozzy Osbourne and Def Leppard? Not to mention record and video reviews, outra- geous contests, skateboard news and an advice column by Ted Nugent's mom! Don't be fooled by pale imitations. This is the real thing! Subscribe now, and you can save over $16 off the cover price. That's like getting six issues free! Get with the program, dudes and dudettes. Subscribe today. RIP: totally metal, totally cool!

1 YEAR - 12 ISSUES - ONLY 18.95! SAVE OVER $16 OFF THE COVER PRICE! Infocomics Lane Mastadon vs. The Blubbermen Gamma Force in Pit of a Thousand Screams ZorkQuest—Assault on Egreth Castle Infocom

Versions: Apple II ($12.00), Commodore 64 ($12.00), IBM ($12.00)

Infocom puts you in Infocomics, a joint project by campy and the villians are all control of the char- Tom [Make Millions) Snyder made to look ridiculous rather acters in Infocomics, and Infocom, is a new kind of than frightening. a computerized, inter- computer entertainment. At first This kind of silliness will only active comic book. blush, the tag "computer comic insult comic-book fans, who will

book" leaps to mind, but Info- see little resemblance between comics are really more like in- Infocomics and the real thing. An

teractive mini-movies. aged King is zapped back to Whatever they are, and robust youth by his adventurer

despite the confusing presence daughter, for example, in Pit of of Zorkquest as one of the titles, a Thousand Screams. She says

these surely are not games. Lane Mastadon vs. something about the Powers of There is no "player" here. In- The Blubberman Balance giving her new powers

stead, there is a reader/viewer, (left); and Zorkquest all the time and, shucks, it sure (above) ap- who watches a story unfold on as they looks like this is one of them. what amounts to a super- pear on the IBM PC. "Thank you, daughter," responds sophisticated VCR which not the King, rather underplaying the only fast-forwards and rewinds significance of the event.

on command, but also allows the Lane Mastadon is the worst

user some choice in which plot- of the three initial entries and Pit

lines he or she wishes to follow. of a Thousand Screams isn't Infocomics employ simple, yet much better. Zorkquest, though

effective, artwork and computer a terrible title since it only fur-

trickery to produce clever anima- are barely any instructions at all, The only weaknesses are the ther confuses the is-it-a-game?

tions and cinematic camera per- in fact, just a single sheet list- stories themselves. While not issue, is the most traditional as spectives to visually invigorate ing the same ten commands awful, they are so insignificant well as the strongest of the three

the stories. In Lane Mastadon vs. which operate all Infocomics on that they are barely worth the in terms of plot, characterization

The Blubberman, for example, all computers. Users can ad- time it takes to view them, ex- and artwork.

the "camera" moves in tight on vance a frame, fast-forward, re- cept for the novelty of the ex- Infocomics is a wonderful a planet, then pulls back to re- wind, pause, set running speed, perience. This idea won't fly concept. Let's hope that Snyder veal that the planet is now part insert a bookmark or restart the unless Infocom can sell them like and Infocom get their act of a picture on the front page of story at any time. At certain pivo- comics, with new stories and together, though, before that

a newspaper being held in a tal points in the program, the user continuing characters. concept is buried under a pile of

character's hands. is offered the option of following Both Lane Mastadon and Pit unpurchased disks.— Bill Kunkel Infocomics were designed to an alternative plotline. This inter- of a Thousand Screams are

be accessible to users in a way face is absolutely brilliant and, science-fiction, or at least the Infocom

that computer software has with solid stories and interesting kind of SF most non-fans assume 125 Cambridge Park Dr. never been before. There are no characters, Infocomics could be comprises the bulk of the comic- Cambridge, MA 02140 complicated instructions; there a real breakthrough product. book universe. Everything is (617) 492-6000

VG & CE T Jan/Feb 1989 Versions: Atari ST ($49.95), Amiga ($49.95), Apple II ($39.95), Commodore 64 ($39.95), IBM ($49.95)

Although the IBM version of popular missile's-eye view). Jet by Charles Guy has The user's aircraft is easily been available since 1985, flown using the keyboard, mouse

SubLogic has just gotten around and/or joystick in FS2 fashion. to releasing this air-combat Jet offers an impressive array simulator on the 68000-based of weaponry. For dogfights, there home computers. These Amiga are short-range AIM-9 Side- and ST versions, designed by winder missiles, medium-range

Chris Green, and developed by AIM-7 Sparrows and old faithful, Matt Toschlog, Bruce Artwick, the M61 machine gun. The

Mike Kulas and Green, use ele- AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-

ments from the 68000 versions ground missile used in target of Flight Simulator 2 as well as strikes while the MK-82 Smart

some innovations created for Ra- Bomb is just that, a bomb, with dar Raiders, a never-released no propulsion system, limited ac-

Amiga product. curacy but a large hit radius. Jet offers workstation-based Visually, this 68000 version of

pilots one of the cleanest, sim- Jet is the slickest air-combat plest and most attractive jet simulator this reviewer has ever combat programs around. Users seen, an obvious improvement can fly either an F16, which over even the ST/Amiga versions takes off from a standard run- of FS2. Terrain and ground ob- way, or an F18, which is jects are realistically detailed and

launched from a Nimitz-class air- shaded, though there are far too craft carrier, on any of eight mis- few of them. sions. The program also offers a ment controls laid around the (Distance Measuring Equipment), More good news: there are fascinating option which Sub- edges of the playfield. Jet's sys- yoke position and altimeter. The none of those annoying freeze

Logic introduced on the 68000 tem is simplicity itself and should top of the screen features a se- points where the on-screen im- versions of FS2: two-player dog- serve as a model for future ries of seven warning lights, age goes into gridlock while the fighting, by modem. programs. relating to landing gear, danger next area is loaded into memory.

The heart of any flight simu- The left side of the screen indicators and missile targeting. Jet will interface with all

lator's control system is its contains the airspeed indicator, Jet uses your computer's func- available Scenery Disks, Heads Up Display (HUD), and a vertically-scrolling gauge that tion keys to invoke a series of whenever SubLogic produces

SubLogic has worked at stream- indicates speed in Mach (the secondary visual displays (maps, them for the 68000-based sys-

lining the on-screen composition speed of sound). Weapons, fuel, radar, etc.) which are brought up tems. —Bill Kunkel

of the HUD since its earliest throttle, thrust, compass and in overlapping windows. The key-

simulators. The visual display clock fill the bottom of the board is used, in FS2 tradition, to SubLogic

dominates the screen, as it screen while the right side of the call up alternative viewpoints 501 Kenyon Rd. should, with the altimeter, frame contains the ADF (Auto- (cockpit, spotter plane, control Champaign, IL 61820 weapons information and instru- matic Direction Finder), DME tower, tracking and the ever- (217) 359-8482

m VG & CE T Jan/Feb T 1989 NINTENDO GAMERS, START YOUR PULSES

Take a good look at the four ghosts, are dying to do some games to your left. Can you gobbling, too. Except their

feel your pulse racing? Your favorite food is PAC-MAN!

breath getting shorter? His only defense is to eat the Don't worry, it's a perfectly energizers, special pellets normal reaction to seeing so which empower him to gobble much fun and excitement at the ghosts, but only for a short one time. while. Find out for yourself Now that your adrenaline is how the ever-lovable PAC-MAN pumping properly, we proudly captured the hearts of millions R.B.I. BASEBALL. It's the only present the full line of hits of people around the world! game on the NES that is offi- from Tengen for the Nintendo cially licensed from the Major Entertainment System®: League Baseball Players Asso- ciation. So when your lineup includes such power hitters as Don Mattingly or Andre Dawson, you're getting their actual stats and skills. And when Cy Young winners like Fernando Valenzuela and Roger Clemens wind up, they're pitching with their TETRIS. The first game soft- individual style, speed and GAUNTLET. Yes, the legendary ware from the Soviet Union is stamina. Are you ready to play an intense battle wits. arcade hit is now available on of in the Major Leagues with real the NES! Choose your hero Rotate and flip moving geo- superstars? Then you're ready from the same four characters: metric blocks into unbroken for R.B.I. BASEBALL! Thor, Thyra, Merlin or Qitestor. rows. When you fill up a row, The unique 2-player option it disappears from the screen lets you join forces with a H and your score rises. Nothing *°°°> friend to defeat hordes of i' ill oyau to it, right? Wrong! When you swarming monsters and to col- can't find the way to make the pieces fit together and more lect food, treasure and magic jr^n id potions. We've also added a blocks tumble down ever host of new features. Tengen's faster, you'll wish you had ten i '^ l hands — and ten brains. Play Gauntlet sends you on a noble >."::. « quest: The recovery of a sacred this addictive mind game by orb lost somewhere in a huge yourself, against a friend or universe known as the Five PAC-MAN. The biggest hit of against the computer. Worlds. Each World comes the decade is back — just for You better stop reading with bewildering mazes and you! Guide PAC-MAN around now or you're liable to over- untold dangers to challenge the baffling maze to gobble all heat from sheer anticipation. even the most skillful adven- the dots and rack up points in Save some of that energy for turer. Live all your sword-and- a big way. Bliriky, Pinky, Inky running to your local dealer so sorcery fantasies today! and Clyde, the not-so-friendly you can play the games today! TEIMGEIM 1901 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035 • (408) 435-2650

GAUNTLET: • and ©1985, Atari Games Corp. R.B.I. BASEBALL: IM ami ©1987, Atari Games Corp: ©1986, 1987, Namco. PAC-MAN: TM and ©1980, 1984 Naraco, Ltd. TETRIS: TM and ©1987, AcademySoft-Elorg. All Rights Reserved. Tetris licensed to Andromeda Software Ltd.: and sublicensed to MIRRORSOFT LTD and Sphere, Inc. 1988 Tengen. All Rights Reserved. Original concept, design and program by Alexey Pa/hitnov and Vadim Gerasimov, respectively.

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a monster tour of America with 'page. And don't watch your step. PAGE. FROM DATA EAST NOWFOR NINTENDO.

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