>v ComputerEntertainer INCLUDES TlHIi ¥lDBO CAMI UPDATE ^ 5916Lemona Avenue, Van Nuys, CA 91411 September, 1988 Volume 7, Number 6 $3.50 ^ /« 77iiy Issue... Activision Licensed for Sega! BITS AND PIECES... Flash from Vic Tokai , SNEAK PREVIEW of Mousecapades for Nintendo! Activision Signs Third-Party Agreement with Sega REVIEWS Include. .. Sporting News Baseball With a recently signed agreement, Activision Video Games becomes the second third-party ...for Commodore 64 licensee of Sega Enterprises, Ltd., which will mean games available to Sega owners carrying the Space Quest II Activision brand name. (Parker Bros, was the first such Sega licensee, announced at the Summer The Colony Consumer Electronics Show in May of this year.) Activision thus becomes the first company to Balance of Power 1990 have third-party licensing agreements with both Sega and Nintendo. The company also ...for Macintosh Life Force announced its first three titles for the Sega Master System, all scheduled for shipment during the Bases Loaded next five months. RAMPAGE, the arcade game of city-bashing monsters, will be the firstrelease, ...for Nintendo followed by SUPER RIVER RAID, a strafing, bombing, aerial combat game, and CYBORG Wonder Boy in Monster Land HUNTER, a futuristic action game involving tracking and battling cybernetic monsters. ...for Sega TOP FIFTEEN COMPUTER Activision also plans to develop additional titles for the Sega Master System during 1989. GAMES 1. Three Stooges (Cin/Co) 2. Gauntlet (Min/Co) Continuing Chip Shortage Causes More Delays 3. Questran II (SSI/Co) Two more major titles, originally expected to be available in time for Christmas of 1988, have 4. Bard's Tale III (EA/Ap) been delayed. Konami's THE ADVENTURES OF BAYOU BILLY and Ultra's TEENAGE 5. Skate Or Die (EA/Co) MUTANT NINJA TURTLES have been rescheduled for Spring of 1989. 6. Cosmic Relief (DS/Co) 7. Maniac Mansion (LF/Co) 8. Paperboy (Min/Co) RISING Due This Month MicroProse 9. Games: Winter Edn (Epy/Co) RED STORM from 10. Defender of Crown (Cin/Co) After eighteen months of design and development, Microprose is prepared to release the initial 11. Monopoly (Co/EA) Commodore 64/128 version of RED STORM RISING (MSR $44.95) this month. The program 12. Ultima V (Ori/Ap) focuseson the tactical operations of a modem American nuclear attack submarine after a Warsaw 13. Where in Europe/C Sandiego (Bro/ Co) Pact invasion of Western Europe. The game of undersea cat-and-mouse, played against an 14. Zak McKracken (Luc/I) overall strategic view of the worldwide war, is the result of a close collaboration between best- 15. Shufflepuck Cafe (Bro/Mac) selling author, Tom Clancy, and Sid Meier, the admired software designer of earlier MicroProse TOP FIFTEEN VIDEOGAMES hits, including "Silent Service" and "Gunship." Conversions of RED STORM RISING for other 1. Double Dragon (TW/NES) computer systems are in development now for release during the first half of 1989. 2. Punch-Out (Nin/NES) 3. Legend of Zelda (Nin/NES) 4. Top Gun (Kon/NES) Fantasy Role-Playing Infocom 5. Contra (Kon/NES) QUARTERSTAFF: from 6. R.C. Pro-Am (Nin/NES) Infocom has just announced one more entry in its new line of adventures with graphics. 7. Surf Designs T&C (LJN/NES) QUARTERSTAFF: THE TOMB OF SETMOTH (MSR $49.95) is slated for Macintosh Plus/ 8. Rambo (Acc/NES) SE/Mac II and will require one megabyte of RAM and a single 800K disk drive. Color graphics 9. Karnov (DE/NES) for II will available for an additional through an in-package offer. Said to closely 10. Metal Gear (Ult/NES) Mac be $10 11. Ikari Warriors II (SNK/NES) approximate the experience of playing a traditional paper-based fantasy role-playing game, 12. Major League Baseball (LJN/NES) QUARTERSTAFF casts the player as an adventurer recruited for a mission to discover what fate 13. Gauntlet (Ten/NES) has befallen the gentle souls of the Tree Druid colony. The game was previously released by 14. Double Dribble (Kon/NES) Simulated Environment Systems, but the Infocom teamhas collaborated with the original writers 15. Wizards & Warriors (Acc/NES) Coming... of the game, Scott Schmitz and Ken Updike, to produce what they believe to be a more exciting Reviews include story, color graphics (Mac II version only), and an advanced hierarchical interface. The game Rocket Ranger features digitized sounds, on-screen mapping, and realistic inter' actions of characters and ...for Amiga objects within the environment of the story. Owners of the original version of QUARTERSTAFF Freedom Stick will be able to purchase an upgrade directly from Infocom for $20 with proof of purchase. ...for Nintendo r ^ themselves in nuclear confrontation, they definitely can affect you by ATARI ST Software their actions. You must, as a superpower, monitor their policies and use ] your influence to protect your interests. The number of countries in this version have been upped from 62 to 80 with four levels of play. BUBBLE GHOST (•••1/2/****) has just been released in a The database has been updated, with vastly more information. As a version for Commodore 64/128. Designed by Infogames of France 6 Gome Countries l(ilatl(in« M.ikn I'olKii's Euenti Briefing for Accolade, this is a charmingly witty and original game that 1989 captivated us in its initial Atari ST version. The C64/128 version is just "^=^•7 as unique, with its impish little ghost trying to move bubbles r"Si through the 35 4^ N rooms of a] castle full of Ctntril AmtN-tc« ^L^B m Middu Rube Goldberg VW BuSSRwe^ <L-^ ^SJ contraptions | USSB telld |Spheres of Influence just waiting to % ^ USA Score USSR Score O pop a shiny, W result, the complexity of this edition far outdistances its' predessessor. soapy orb. You can access vast amounts of information regarding countries, all in BUBBLE a faster operation. GHOST re- Still Fascinating quires patience We were big fans of the first version and we find ourselves once again and precision, not speed and abandon from the player. It's a nice captured by its depth and possibilities. As many hours as the first change of pace from the usual arcade-style games, offering a person- edition can take, this one will, undoubtedly, involve even more of your ality and originality all its own. (Solo or 2-player alternating; Joystick time. The graphics have been upgraded also, as the world takes on a or keyboard; Pause.) Commodore 64/128 version reviewed; also slightly curved look. While this is an entertainment program, there is available for Atari ST and coming soon for IBM PC/Tandy, Apple a tremendous amount of educational value as so much can be learned IIGS and Amiga at $34.95. about the various countries - from background and history to relations Recommended. (MSR $29.95) with other countries. You can also get worldwide information on such statistics as ownership of TVs, school enrollment, telephones per MACINTOSH Software capita, literacy, GNP, and much more! You'll learn agreatdeal while l enjoying yourself immensely. This version also allows a one or two- player game. If you are already hooked on Balance of Power, this one is a must. If you haven' t tried it out yet and you like "thinking" games, BALANCE OF POWER: THE 1990 EDITION (****/****) this one will definitely make you use your brainpower! (one or two updates the award-winning classic from author Chris Crawford to take player; requires 800K. disk drive; not compatible with Multifinder™; into consideration the political changes since the original in 1985 as reviewed on Macintosh; coming for IBM and Amiga) Briefing Recommended (MSR $49.95) 6 Game Countries Halation* Make PolUle: J mi BackChannel Advisory: India In Soviet Union, Arcade-Style Rainbird Soviet government rushes New Gamesfrom mihtoivj advisors at request released two arcade-style for and of Indian Prime Minister Rainbird recently new games Amiga Ghondi Atari ST, VIRUS and SPACECUTTER (MSR $29.95 each), which are distributed in the U.S. by Mediagenic. VIRUS places the player in the Sphere of Influence: Neither The Soviet government Insurgency: Slight unrest pilot's seat of a hoverplane in order to destroy the Seeder, which is categorically refuses to rate of change: Imtjrqcncyarovlna alter Its present policy USA USSR spreading the spores of a deadly, poisonous virus and polluting the Uelelienjbip Neutril Neutril Earth. features fast scrolling with multi-directional move- Mllltiri Alt): to million SO million The game (Challenge (Back OouTiT) Insurgency Aid: tO million SO million ] ment in a 3-D environment. SPACECUTTER combines traditional Prestige at RlsT"5 T Intervene -faVt: 1 ,000 men USA Interest Low * Intervene rebi men outer-space action with problem-solving elements. USSR Interest Utmost shooting USA Score USSR Score THE RATING SYSTEM: well as bringing new challenges to the game. This new edition, also 4 STARS = EXCELLENT 2 STARS = FAIR released through Mindscape . has the same basic premise as its' 3 STARS = GOOD 1STAR = POOR predessessor. Assume the role of either the President of the United States or the General Secretary of the Soviet Union. Complete eight * = ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS (1st set of stars=quality of years in office (1989-1997) without initiating a nuclear conflict and graphics; 2nd set=quality of game play and entertainment value) collect more prestige points than the opposing superpower. The * = APPLICATION PROGRAMS (1st set of open stars=quality of program features a new multipolar level, allowing 80 countries to ship graphics; 2nd set=quality of performance and suitability of use in weapons and troops and fight wars. The non-superpower countries home) - (i.e. all-text not rated for graphics) pursue active foreign policies which, although they cannot involve NA Not Applicable programs Computer Entertainer - September, >V when you move up to an item.