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A NEWSFIELD PUBUCA TION
£1.50
COMPUTER LEISURE ENTERTAINMENT
TX:019 JUNE 1989
JAPANESE
1 6-bit — The Second Coming
'■■■
FORGOTTEN WORLDS BLACK TIGER... STRIDER...
...CAPCOM's
SUPER SAMPLING
for under £50 see back bytes
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UNIVERSE TO VISIT OUR PLANET. GET READY- COMPANY'S COMING
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Luke Snayles - reluming to Earth after completing a 50 year sentence of investigative exploration" is not a man you d wish to meet. After half a century of soJitude. he's
ATARI ST
£19.99
6 Central Street Manchester M2 5NS
bored and hungry On Earth . are about to arrive - they are the ROXIZ. b Snayles has got other ideas - no-one* b NO-ONE is going to spoil his home-coming party!
£24.
JMB
Telephone: 061 832 6633 Telex: 669977 OCEANS C
■ ■
TGM NEWS AND PREVIEWS
If Its newsworthy, its here — plus glowing screens from forthcoming games
i REVIEW CATALOGUE
With the latest and most author It alive games reviews in the business, join us for Forgotten Worlds, Archipelagos Birth Blood Money among many others
All-formats
review of
Capcoms
fabulous
FORGOTTEN
WORLDS
■pwtJi
CONFRONTATION: COIN-OP
With Robin Hogg op lo his joysticks in the Capcom fea- ture, this month Mark Caswell takes fhe arcade trip to look at Super Oft- Road, Rompers and a few more...
ROBIN CANDY'S PLAYING TIPS
The famous ex-CR ASH tipster takes over for an entirely new-look, expanded playing lips section, including a fantastic consoles special
FANTASY GAMES
John Woods returns to Earth with 2300 AD, and gets to grips with Warhammer
BACK BYTES
All the latest in hardware and applications, including Readerpage and Infodesk
CONSOLE DAWN!
So far console talk has all been hardware talk. Now TGM brings you the definitive* up-to-date info on the software
A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE
Forgotten Worlds marks a new phase for the coin-op converters CAPCOM. With Strider not far behind. TGM lakes a look behind the conversion scenes
GALLERY
More exciting 16-bit screens of reader art from Deluxe Paint and Degas Elite
_ JEZ SAN — CONFESSIONS OF A CODER
Not everything went smoothly programming
F-ii?A Aggressor, and Ian Crowther lels on lo some of
the cock-ups in getting the graphics lo work
Ana jppened ro t
GM — TELLING YOU LIKE IT IS
:or those venerable garnesptayers among us wl remember forking ou" james c< i the tikes o'
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The Mega
WIN!
A JAP CONSOLE!
Win one of the great new games machines, plus five super games to run on if from CAPCOM, and there are more great Capcom com- puter games for runners-up* 1 pa g« 26
CRUISER CRYSTAL!
Two winners make I heir own joysticks al the Joystick Factory and enjoy an after- noon at famous Alton Towers, plus Cruiser Crystal joysticks for the runners-up, courtesy ot POWERPLAY S 0 c page
Check out page 80 to see what we've got lor you this month on the TGM Hotline! Those great people from Thalamus, to celebrate their 16-bit launch of HAWKEYE on the Atari ST and) Amiga, have stumped up some com- petition prizes. Don't hang around — get phoning!
TGM TX 019:6-89 3/108
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ATARI ST
1 AMIGA 5O0/1OOO/2O0O |
PC 4 COMPATIBLES
TGM REPORT
Konix strengthen
console as time rushes past
Exclusive by Barnaby Paga
Konix have doubled the mem- ory of their revolutionary Multi System console - because worried software houses demanded it But the release date has been set beck to late September, and even so many developers are worried that they won't meet dead- lines far the first games
Konix 's decision to upgrade the memory to 256K RAM should answer, one of the biggest criticisms that the first British-developed console has met Though Konix insisted that a uovel system of continu- ous disk access would make 12SK RAM perfectly adequate (TGM01G), many critics saw the measly memory as the Multi-Systems fatal flaw.
Chns Green, one of the con- sole's two key designers, explained to TGM that the move came aftei a major con- ference between Konix arid software houses earlier this spring. 'We got so much pres-
sure from all the software developers. What they want the extra memory for is to page the screens , , it makes ani- mation much easier. '
Access to the 3 5-inch disk
simply wasn't fast enough for
game animations, he said,
You have to have RAM for
that '
Green assured potential) buyers that, despite the expense of BAM chips, the move to 2S6K wouldn't up the price The price has to stay fixed at £199. he said Basic- ally, we have cut our margin I profit | to put the extra RAM in
August, but last month many had still not received the vital development system they'll need. Pete Stone - boss of Palace, which is considering Barbarian lot the Kotux con- sole - observed "I doubt we'd finish anything before the end of the year'
The release date has already been set back about a month, Konix spokes mini Michael Baxter emphasised that it's only a slight change, saving when we first mentioned u it was an August release date.
Sega: yes, we have no Mega Drives . . .
Don't look for the 16-bit Sega before earl y 1 990 , UK representatives Virgin Mastenronic are warning gamers. The ElSOodd machine simply won't make Britain in time.
Good news is that a £20 adapter will make the Mega Drive compatible with Sega Master System games . . . bad news is that Virgin Mastartronic
boss Nick Alexander obvi- ously can't count in Japanese.
Explaining why ha'd put the brakes on the Mega Drive. Alexander told industry paper Computer Trade Weekly 'there's only three pieces of soft- ware available for It at the moment' - but TGM reviews four in this issue's console special!
there.'
A port originally intended for cartridge games will now be used for an optional extra 512K - raising the question of whether the Multi-System will, like the ST, eventually suffer from some games demanding the extra memory and being unusable on stan- dard machines
Game delays
But even these technical improvements don't solve the biggest problem now facing Konix- time
Software houses are appa- rently being asked to finish the first Multi-Syslem cjames by
now we're looking at the PC Show [September 27 'October II'
Indeed, some suggest that the console - first revealed by an exclusive TGM story last autumn - was rushed out for trade and press previews as quickly as possible after TGM broke the news and other magazines followed suit They say Konix therefore didn't think the specification through thoroughly, and may only now be coming to grips with the inevitable problems of such a complex and innova- tive games machine
Konix boss Wynf ord P Hollo- way was unavailable for com- ment
TGM TX 019:6-89 7.T08
■ The Kmghtmare con- IH as TV producers Broadsword team up with Driller.' Dark Sids/ Total
■■e team Incentive - for The Satellite Game, another mixture- of live action and computer graphics along the lines of Anglia Te I ion's a ward -winning •■jtmare
Starting early next year on British Satellite Broad- casting's Galaxy channel, the 30-episode Satellite Game wall follow teams of young adventurers through a space-fantasy world of lasers, videos, and 3-D animation using Incen- tive's famous Freescape technique
The scenario involves penetrating an alien satel- lite, which just goes to show that all this newfang- led technology hasn't changed games one bit,
Gut it should he worth tuning in. for among those up in the air with The Satel- lite Game is designer Robert Hams, of ^nightmare's famous am mat ion team The Travelling Matte Company
Just one problem - w hen British Satellite Broadcast- ing {BSBJ launches its Ant programs in September, to ptck up any of them you'll need the Squanal receiver plus a receiver box. for a total cost of about £250.
SAM delayed to September
by Barnaby page
Miii or changes to Miles Gar dan Technology's SAM Coupe project mean the Spectrum- compatible micro will go in high street shops this Sep- tember - not May, despite MGT's hopes earlier this year
G tiginalty planned to be sold largely through mail order, the from-£l50 machine (fuU specs m TGMQ14) will now go straight to chains and inde- pendent retailers.
But MGT boss Alan Wfiea warned that availability may be limited at first. There is a flnite capacity to which we can build in the first few months. ' he told TGM, And before serv- ing the general public. MGT will have to fulfil some 3,000 orders from users of their other products (mostly Spectrum peripherals).
Defending the decision to go through shops instead of MGT Direct, the company's soon -to- be- dismantled mail-order sys- tem, Miles emphasised that SAM will still be backed up with quality service "We've
■ Oxfam plan to raise money for Third World problems by selling old games. So they' re asking us all to donate 'any games, leisure Or home computing software', for any make of micro, in preparation for a month of sales through Oxfam s London shops starting June 27 Hardware and peripherals are wel- come too.
Donations can be made at any of Oxfam s 900 shops nationwide during June and July, for further inf > matiqn, contact the char-
ity's Appe Richard Er 0220
58S
■ Now the bad news from Pratt*! - March's budget means that all online ser- vices are subject to VAT That adds 15% to ail charges, including sub- ■ lions and connect time The money-grabbing started April 1; Prestel sub- scribers should have received a letter about it, and information is also available on * Prestel VAT*
learned in the mail-order mar ket to act quickly anddeaJ with customers,' he said
With many computer prob- lems. Miles alleges, the man- ufacturer is often the last per- son to hear about it, and that's why there are so many faults'. Bui by dealing directly with the shops, Miles hopes to 'break the chain of dis- tributors and other inter- mediaries that often separates hardware manufacturers from their customers.
Soft touch
One major problem facing any
new micro is software - with- out a decent range, the machine is unattractive and useless So software develop- ment for SAM starts at the beginning of June, when 50 prototypes and development tools will be sent to major soft- ware houses .
And final testing of the hard- ware kicks off in July, when 200 finished machines will be sent to retailers and selected users to be put through its paces. "We really want to give the machine a hammering and make sure we've got every- thing covered, " said Miles,
SAM has 256JC RAM, a 64 colour palette with Amiga - style HAM mode allowing all colours to be onscreen at once, and seven-channel sound - a substantial improvement on f x is ting 8- bit micros. ■ MGT simwdtsk drives wotk wi (ft ail machines sec Toolbox in Back Bytes, page 86
Not surprisingly th«_- Amiga looks set to dominate at month 'a Commodore Show, with everything from BASIC to the Bitmap Brothers on dis- play
The Bitmaps, authors of Xenon and Speedhall and arguably the hippesi coders about, will join Staiglidei creator/TGM diarist Jei San at a workshop for aspinng games writers Also there will be Sys- tem 3's Stan Schembn
But the show - which runs from June 2 to 4 at the Novotel Exhibition Complex, Ham met smith, London - is particu- larly strong on utilities.
Stat of the event, graphi- cally, should be Power Com- puting's Video* Magic packayc- — grab an image, add sound, animation and titles, and save the lot on disk or video.
Artists, animators and DTP designers will also find ready- made inspiration m the Media Line series from George Thompson Services three dif ferent disks provide anim backgrounds, clip art for DTP, and extra fonts.
And public domain soft- ware suppliers Jumpdisk will have the latest screen marvels from America, including 'the most incredible HAM pictures plus the first preview of a comic on a disk"
Program power
Other software promises include a couple from HiSoft -
Extend, which is a routine libr- ary for their BASIC, and a pro- fessional developer's version ol Di>vp*c HiSoft't David Link also hints at ' exciting news for C programmers'
Meanwhile, Amor will have the latest version of Pretext (TGMQ18I. while Kuma Com p Liter* offer the £49 95 K-Data database and E49 95 K Roger thesaurus.
And the show also seems strong an hardware Among the promises expansion boards and extra floppy drives from MAST the
Ami Alignment System for floppy drive heads from George Thompson Service* and a range from Power Com- puting including hard disks, a 5. 25 -inch Amigaand- PC-corn pebble floppy drive, and 68030 accelerator cards
Siren Software will have the £39 99 Amiga SoundbJaster. a stereo amplifier with two speakers, and C64 owners aren't neglected, for Pslsn will be continuing to push the old favourite Load-It data record- er, also £39 99
Finally, there'll also be daily guestion-and-answer ses- sions with those long-estab- lished gurus of the Commo- dore scene. ICPUG (Indepen- dent Commodore Products User Group)
■ Further information con- tact Database Exhibit-tons, Europa House. Adlmgton Park. Adlmgton, Macclesfield SKt04NP* (062S1 S?aseB
8/1 08 TGM TX01 9:6-89
AVAILABLE SOON ON COMMODORE AMIGA AND ATARI ST.
HEWISDN
TGM PREVIEWS
Xenon
it's a MEGABLAST!
Impressively packed with ' s u rpns ing special effects ' and a "very hot sound- track', the next release from Imageworks could be only one thing - the latest Bitmap Brothers game. and the sequel to the tre- mendously successful Xenon. Yes, it's Xonon II ~ Megablast. It seems that all your hard work in the original game was for nothing, as the world has return to its sorry state of affairs that existed when you first set out on your battle with the Xenjtes. But this time the Xemtes have a secret weapon: a device that allows time travel With this they have placed time bombs in each major era with which they will destroy past enemies, and thus control their own future.
With the lure of REAL cash you decide to he Ip the Xenites in their quest for total world and time domination.
Xenon II is 25% wider onscreen and 50% larger in play area, with three- layer parallax scrolling over land and seascapes.
Expect Xenon U — Megablast this summer from Imageworks. on the ST (pictured). Amiga and PC. •
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SLEEPING GODS LIE
Empire say they WON'T let
their gsmes he quiet, for Steep- ing Gods Lie has already bean received warmly by the TGM crew who saw Oxford Digital Enterprises' latest blockbus- ter in April
It's primarily released on the ST, followed closely by the Amiga version, with PC and C64 formats later in the year - and judging by the success of ODE's Hunt Foi Red October, this should be one to stay awake for Sleeping Gods Deis set in the mythical world of Tessara. a world which has been abandoned by the gods that created it and left in the hands of the people These gentlefolk have been viciously suppressed by the much-
r F nbow Arts
hated Chief Wizard, who uses demons to -on force hjs power on the people The people have only one hope, a sleeping god - situated kingdoms away - who must be awoken to ban- die the crisis
You've drawn the short straw, and must trek through eight kingdoms, over 60 + landscapes, and past numer- ous foes despatched by the Arch mage who don't take too kindly to visitors.
Like the play area, the s pntes e re m ess) ve and all add to the strongly-strategical atmosphere, as you listen to rumours, acquire weapons and act on instinct — it's the only way to survive!
Double-oh trouble for Do mark
Bond is back, and this time he's BAD, In fact, he's so bad he's had his double-' 0' status revoked, and is ordered to keep out of the CIA's affairs But he's more involved In this mission than M realises, and there's no stopping Bond in Domark's game of the film Licence To Kilt
The game closely follows the film's plot, featuring all the most memorable scenes from the act ion- packed big -screen vxtiavuganxe- But it's still a
secret as to whether Carey Lowell (pictured, with Timothy Dalton). who plays voluptuous military pilot Fam Bouvier. will be in the com- puter version'
Expect versions (or all major formats in June, along with the silver screen version
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TIME SCANNER More Sega fare from Aetiviaion this month as Time Scanner is finally released on all formats - following its TV appearance on Motormouth'
The classic pinbalf game will have ail the features of the arcade hit with a few; extras.
HAWKEYE EAJEJKgYg
Thalamus, who created a storm on the Commodore 64 with such hits as Sanxion and Armsiyte, are now releasing their hit shoot-'em-up Ha wlreye for the Amiga and ST It's frenetic action as you, and your trusty armoury of four guns, trek through a desolate landscape roamed by mutating creatures.
Three of your guns soon run out of ammunition, so be sure to pick up everything in sight Getting four parts of a shattered access card, allows you to pass mto the next of 12 land scapes. Priced at £19 99, Hawkeys should be out now, (Amiga screen }
TGM TX 019:6-89 11/108
A change for the beastlier
Sega have once again found themselves on tho home micro via the helpful hand of Acti vi- sion The Latest Sega conver- sion is Altered Beast, the vio- lent and addictive arcade smash of last summer.
The horizontally scrolling play area contains numerous
weird croatur es, ail of which must be punched into eternity Kill enough of the strange cre- atures, pick up their spirit balls, and you'll have enough
BATTLE CHESS
The most charming chass game for the Amiga is now being translated to the ST. Interplay's Battle Chess gained Q2% from TGM when we reviewed the Amiga ver- sion last year, and the iituni nent ST version should do similarly well - although the original did have 40K of sam-
pled sound.
Despite playing a man tally tough game. Battle Chess also plays tough physically - the characters Literally remove each other from the board. However, the faint hearted can play a 2-D game without all the leg breaking, arm- twisting, head-bashing . . .
power to metamorphose into one of several beasts - each with a killer clout Major ver- sions should be out in August
INTERPHASE
Journey to the edge of Dream- time with lmageworks' Interphase In the future people plug into a dream machine to get their kicks - kicks that come from the minds of a chosen all-powerful few
You were one of those people, but realised the seri- ous undertones of the dreams you were creating for The Cor- ps ration and promptly left However, many people are still being effected by the dreams and it's up to you to enter The World Mainframe and rescue
the minds of millions of people, before they are twisted for ever . . .
Enter the fantasy zone soon, on the Amiga. ST and PC (ST screen.)
MURDERS IN VENICE
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They're back again, and this time to stay, the hardware makers say. Bigger, better, faster, more colourful and louder, the very best thing for ardent gamesplayers, 8-bit Japanese consoles have swept America and are now poised for the attack on Europe with all 1 6-bit s firing. So far only Sega's Mega Drive is 16-bit, but Nintendo aren't far behind and a 16-bit PC Engine should be with us soon. Phil Harrison gives the iowdown on the mustering forces of the rising sun, while Robin Hogg and Warren Lapworth examine the games for various consoles (including the aging Atari 2600, which is fighting back) to find out whether the software justifies the means in this second..,.
I l he British games world is a buy
i_ ^J part ot a global market domi-
rnated by all things Japanese It is
I often said that Nintendo have lailed
*■" in their attempt to take over the UK
— but perhaps the real reason is that Ibey
just can't be bothered lo operate in such a
restricted and small market tor very littte
gain.
With luck, the advent of 1992 and the tree market will make the Japanese think more seriously about selling their products here For the Japanese have, without a doubt, the most powerful and exerting products m the wood ol computer entertain- ment As TGM has reported in the past, machines like the little PC Engine and the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive are available in Tokyo at the moment, with growing soft- ware and peripheral support — so we can only hope that the machines come over here with complete, quality catalogue of products all ready for release- Unfortunately, past experience with Nintendo products does littte to justify the ideal They are currently releasing some product into Europe that is years old — and looks it to!
When talking to the Japanese about their UK marketing policies, the standard response is Great Britain — oh yes. I know, that tiny island off the coast of Europe — speak American over there, donl they?. Namco are typical ol the Japanese when it comes lo the order ot marketing Japan and the Far East first, the North American continent next, and Europe last lit we re lucky)
It s a shame we get treated this way — the UK software houses are the first to slap
their chequebooks down on the table tor the hottest arcade licences, often long before ihe machines themselves hi these shores. And the same is true of console games.
NEC act as if they aren't that bothered about worldwide sales of their PC Engine; indeed, they came under fire in Japan lor marketing the console as an alternative to Nintendo, not as the vastly better machine it clearly is. Reports differ as lo the true number of Nintendo consoles worldwide, but it's definitely in the tens of millions, whereas the PC Engine is lucky to have scraped into seven-figure sales yel m Japan, When it comes to economics, the Nintendo is the one that's going to get the software support over all others. So even though the PC Engine has twice the num- ber ot colours and a CD-ROM drive, its never going to have the market presence to beat Nintendo,
No no Nintendo
There is another (actor to consider: the restrictive practices of Nintendo when it comes to software. They hold all control over product and its shipping dale, releas- ing it under their own label- There have been horror stories about product not being shipped lor months after completion — even when the developer has paid in advance tor 200,000 cartridges and pack- aging costs it's rumoured that a couple of UK software houses have had their fingers burnt this way.
Other UK developers have been saying recently thai Nintendo is an 8 bit machine not worth worrying about here It's basically too late lor the UK software houses to get
into the huge market anyway — things change fast, and as usual the majority of us goi left behind in the rush.
So its obvious why most UK publishers have reacted so favourably to the Konix Mu Iti -System Perhaps for a change we can have ihe head start over the Japanese If would be nice to see Konix bum into Japan in a couple of years' lime, with a replete catalogue of Europeannjevetoped software and peripherals
And there's no reason the 9hts shouldn't do it this time. Technically and creatively, the UK development teams rate with the best in the world — it's just that a Japanese Nintendo programmer would laugh at the suggestion of spending eight months writ- ing a game tor the Spectrum, regardless of how good the end result might be,
Perhaps the problem is that the UK mar- ket has traditionally been dominated by keyboard machines — a knock-on effect from the work done in schools with the BBC computers back in the early Eighties
Many people are saying mat the time is right tor the market to change over to the dedicated games console Both Atari and
"The Japanese have,
without a doubt, the most
powerful and exciting
products in the world of
computer entertainment"
16/108 TGM TX01 9:6-89
Consoles
Altered Beast
r~t cttvison have the rights to the * V computer conversions but the — r -i Mega Drive game IS the coin op in nearly all respects. A move away from previous 3-D com -ops. this time its hori- zontally scrolling beat-'em-up action with a Iwtst.
The daughter of a great god-like being has been kidnapped by an evil sorcerer. One or two heroes are brought back from Ihe dead to fight iheir way through the sor cerer s logons ol undead creatures to rss- cue the daughter
A graveyard is the setting for Ihe first of Ihe live levels, with rotting zombies, grave guardians and winged demons rising to the challenge ol beating the undead heroes lo a pulp,
Most ol these long dead lovelies require a good few punches or kicks to send them ■ooi under (again). But kill an albino wolf and you get a power capsule which provides thai extra brl of punch power Collect two more and the hero transforms into a werewolf blessed with super pow- ers.
But things don't always run smoothly even lor werewolves and other altered beasts — the sorcerer pops up at this point and turns into Mega -nasties, each a
Commodore are making console versions ol their 16-bit computers — technically identical to the original ST or Amiga, but without keyboard It was always said from the start thai Commodore should never have attempted to sell the Amiga as a busi- ness computer. The Amiga is a very power- ful games computer, and should have been sold as one — with a price tag to match. So perhaps both Atari and Commodore have lost the initiative and will gain little from the console versions. Wait and see
industry sources are talking now of a complete turnaround in the market within three years: today's major 8 b<r software nouses will live off budget games, some- where in the sub £5 range, while full-price games software will be dominaled by con sole product from here and overseas, with expensive simulator type product restricted to the high-end PC-compatible yuppie mar ket The ST and Amiga machines will trt uncomfortably somewhere between the high-end games market and the low-end simulator market,
Accurate or not. these suggestions seem 10 mean good news tor the dedicated games-player, with the exciting possibility of many titles on a wide range ot quality con- soles,
The right price
The sole variable, unfortunately, is price. Out in Japan you can buy a brand-new Nintendo tor something m the range of £35 C$0. A PC Engine costs under £85 (much less than it does here), and the new Sega Mega Dhve 16-bit machine is amazingly under £100. British shops will have to stay as dose to these prices as possible
graphical treat and with their own unique attack patterns.
Other than an Elmer Fudd-esque sample of speech at the start {'Wise fwom yaw gwave... >, Altered Beast turns out very close indeed to its arcade origins, complete with two-player mode (the 8-bii Sega ver-
sion suffered enormously without it). The mam characters and enemy sprites look ever so slightly washed out. but the detail is all there, and background graphics are Spot on.
The gamepiay is a natural for the Sega even though its hardly original — likewise the action is sedate compared with Space Harrier 2 and Super Thunder Blade, but Altered Beast is a com op con- version to the tetter — and that can't be bad TGM rating 87%
in't be
"It would be nice to see
Konix burn into Japan in a
couple of years' time, with a
replete catalogue of
European -developed
software and peripherals"
The Sega machine Is rumoured to be coming onto the streets by late autumn (they said that last year, too! — if was sup- posed to ^ at the Earls Court PC Show, but magically never turned up) . And it could really stomp in at Christmas il its UK distrib- utors (Virgin Masrertronic) get the market ing and price correct Out in Japan ihey advertised the Mega Drive and a game on prime-time TV (when it wasn't even Christmas), and that's what's needed here to really gel the market stimulated into buy- ing so mel rung again — lets get back lo the days when good games sold 100,000. not just len times less if you're lucky'
Perhaps the Konix console will have dou- ble effect rt its a success Firstly, the satis- faction thai Europe and the UK can do jusi as well as Japan, thank you very much. Secondly, and more importantly, it will prove that Ihe UK is a serious arena in which lo sell consoles, and worthy of mvestmen! by the big Japanese firms, This will result in a war ol price and performance which can only mean belter machines and games for the consumers — us.
The costs of producing high-perfor- mance consoles capable of r^omple* games are going to drop dramatically as soon as the problem of world DRAM chips sorts itself out-
The limiting Factor is memory and its costs, As graphic resolution and colours increase, so does the memory required lo display them A complete screen of graph- ics on a C64 takes at worst t OK to hold in memory. On ihe Amiga and similar machines, a screenfull can easily take upwards of 32K Combine this with the fad that a good game could have many screens full ol graphics and sprites, and memory runs oul very fast — and don't for- gel the digitised sound effects and muse, the carefully programmed gameplay... all eating memory
An exerting time is ahead m the next five years, when memory is no longer a facior money can be spent developing consoles with transputer processors, capable of mul- titasking millions ol instructions every sec- ond Hardware with built-in commands for 3-D graphics effects, outputs to drive com ptex interactive addons, networked machines for true role-playmg adventures. digital outputs to your hi fi for true audiovi sua! experience ... the possibilities are end- less and the prospects lor the player look better and better
Winning runners
But once again it is down to the marketing people to sell the product. Many times in ihe past, quality machines have appeared and disappeared as quickly again, through bad marketing and consequently little sup port from Ihe public and the software
TGM TX 019:6-89 17/108
i
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
HSfk intendo may have Mark) but Sega
A I have ,,,,)e Alex K^d' an endaaf * JVJingly cute fellow resembling a
monkey in a red suit. Fresh from his trav- els On the 8- bit Sega, Alex pops up on the Mega Di I Ah laced and ready for aciton — platforms and ladders action as j! turns out
ve could read Japanese we d provide a paragraph or two about the plot but Japanese isn I one of TGM s strongpoinis and so Alex is doomed lo wander through Miracle World without purpose.
Very much in ciassk: Super Marie Brothers style, Alex's quest is lo penetrate lhe Kings fortress on Itie other side of /odd,
Alex <s iniially armed with an unfeasibly targe fist and a powerful karate kick Using these to despalcb lhe nasties lo the pre. is the name of the game,
but so too is collecting coins and other treast
Coins make the world go round and with them Alex can participate in Janken games for a cost (sc/ssorspaper stone to us nononentalsj with a motley bunch of characters, prizes lor winning being useful extr which include a pedal power
helicopter, motorbike and a pogo novel ways of transportation A crooked is the most useful, allowing Alex lo
houses.
With a console, however, the marketing is simplified in thai you have a target mar- ket igames-piayers only} and don'1 have lo justify high prices with talk of business uses! IBM have consistently been top PC sellers worldwide, not through prices (they are among the most expensive machines available) bui through convincing the public that their machines are lhe best and most reliable (not really true on either count). It is quality marketing that makes IBM machines a success.
Another force to help the sales and mar- ket presence of a machine is support Iron-! software houses After all. a computer is only as good as the software that runs on it. Consoles have one further problem, in that when you lun them on nothing happens unless a disk or a cartridge is in pace — there is no user interface in the operating system, A
The upshot ol this is that the only way the user set- ■■■■■.■ machines" capafculitiG' is through tne games developed by the soft- ware ho ie console manufacturers therefor* need to have flv.-
opers or support.
Sol log poin' no 51
their
fde, andgrw.? mem technical
■ .-: ^lability is cinotnerm^orsefi- no one is going to bpy a consolp ftwara for it This is why the Sega i Nas son baiter in this country
m any otfter cor Sega r
push titles guickiy into.
Mastertronic's ha**; And any successtu • <iave
nest arcade conv& avartaWe for
18 108 TGMTX01 9:6-89
~ Pi I firS
float through the air to> d period only
Alex wanders through forests, villages, pyramids, swims an ocean, Moats through the air and leaps from platform (o platform with breathtaking athleticism
enemies are ever cute and Include
it, though it's unlikely Sega will ever see their coin-ops on the Nintendo'
Soon enough the market is going to see the gap between the quality of coin- op prod- uct and console conversions decrease. This is going to have the effect of whittling out the smaller fish in the arcade market and pushing the big five (Sega. Namco. Taito etc) into producing more interactive and exhilarating games that are really worth the money per go — Namco's forthcoming release of Winning Run is going to be prob- ably the first in a line of in-deplh and accu- rate product that has the detail to take arcade gaming another step forward.
The console revolution is not over yel — and we're all going to be affected by it. TQM will report from the front line and send dis- hes as (he battle rages ■ Phil Harrison is a games designer with Vivid Image Developments,
rocks with faces, jolly scorpions, bfoak and other weird organisms of a true Japanese style. With a distinctly Super Mano Brothers flavour, the actton is simple to start with (later levels turning real nasty gel ever more complex)
The modern bustle ol Tokyo (fight) may be where the console games genius comes from, but the inspira- tion for cute charac- ters and backgrounds Springs Irom quieter and more romantic situations (above)
Japan*** photograph* by Phil Harrison
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Consoles
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Super Thunder Blade
Secret rooms can be revealed by tnai and error and the odd well placed hick at Chests reveals extra lives, objects - time bombs il you're unlucky.
The somes befit each scene;, action among the Pyramids, for instance, is accompanied by a superb Eqyptian piece.
Alex faces killer cars, planes, mad axe- men, monkeys, fish in underwater scenes and angry airships up in clouds. Alex leaps from crag to crag, platform to platform, runs around swims through Ihe seas and lloats through the air with the greatest of ease.
II goes without saying ihat Alex Kidd is / playable and incredibly addictive, It's a tough cookie game to crack what with Janken games and both vertical and horizontal scrolling levels to pose prob lems. The Mega Drive is given a chance lo show off with well detailed graphics, a superb Iwo-direction parallax scrolling effect and all brought together in the most playable ol forms TOM rating 03%
3ega sneakily rework their coin -op hil to create a new game totEowing the lies of the Thunder Blade chopper in the arcades. The look -down sections, not surprisingly, prove to be bread and butter for the Mega Drive, but Lack a 3-D effect Where the Mega Drive really has to work, namely in the 3-D sections, the game doesn't fare so well Layered graphics move past with more than enough speed about (hem, but that 're just loo fluid — buildings in particular stand firm with all the
realism of jelly.
Despite these problems the game as a whole moves along incredibly smoothly accompanied by a sense of perspective which is convincing, while aircraft, tank Ship, and helicopter sprite are exc*:-
Not quite as super as the t«He makes out, Super Thunder Blade nonetheless proves a playable if tough, shoot- em -up The pace and challenge is enough to test the mettle of many an arcade expert TQM rating 76%
«sr#~-r-<
Rush'n'Attack
• wo-player games are always in 7 Ivogue on the consoles, the Nintendo ijmore so with games like Rush'n'Av A two-player Green Beret may not aspire to be original or indeed progressive, but RusttriAttack certainly aims to be playable. Two Green Berets are sent into the Russian tor should that be Rush'n'?) moth- erfar ite arms reductions of a
lent kind. Parachuiing mio the first com- plex, they get out then knives to spike the ling Reds. With a Siren blaring, the attacks. Rocket launchers are care- y let* around by the adversaries so pick them up and return the ammunition to sender the easy way.
8 enemy have improved their defences since the firsl attack — now
5 include submarine pens, air base, warehouses and of course the prison. High -kicking oossacks, rabid dogs, copters. pistol-toting officers all pack a rrtghty military punch. But then. Green e nothing lo tear. The animation and use of colour isn't as good as it might have been, the backdrops have good detail but soldier sprites are bland. As ever Nintendo have made the
game an always playable one, and Rush'n'Attack relies largely on the great two-player action lo overcome its not- so- hot in-game appearance. Ignore the ethics and gel blasting those Russians' TGM rating 31%
y, he Bros gang are back (no, not Matt, Luke and Craig) with Mano and Luigi pining up with a couple of friends in the sequel to the game which needs no introduction The nasty King Wart is up to m good and needs defeating fast, other- wise its curtains for the population under his warty rule.
Mario and Luigi can t kill Wart all by them- selves. Toad and Princess Toadstool are also in Ihe gang, each character having their own attributes, but Mario Js the best all- rounder [well he'd have lo be, wouldn't he?). The gang have adopted super strenr.,-
performing super jumps and picking only objects but monsters as well to throw all over the place. And in the graS' objects to throw, potions to open bonus screen doorways into secret sub-ievete where bonus items await, even rm rooms for much needed extra lives, The Characters now have an energy level reduced through contact, a more lenient sysiem of survival, but like Super Mano Brothers I it can all go wrong with false step.
Many of the secret rooms are well hid- den and you really have to try everywhere
TGM 1X019:6-89 19108
ace Harrier 2
, r^™| o console is eomplv t L i vers,on oJ Space Harrier, especial JJ ly a Sega console The Fantasy land has fallen foul of the Dark Harrier's
ind in Pan 2 the Space sent in to recover the land from evil in the only way he knows how — mass shoot- iction.
Space Harmr 2 is made up of 1 3 stages of surreal non-stop blasting. Any of Ihe first 1 2 stages can be selected at the start, but to get to the final stage all stages must be competed beforehand
Like all Space Harrier games the graph- ic detail is what its all about and using the
16-bit's power, brilliantly coloured, defined and animated graphics flash past at speeds approaching, if not equalling coin-op stan- dard, But it's with Ihe arrival of the end stage guardians that the Mega Drive really gets to dazzle — very weird and utterly vicious, the Guardians move with an aston g smoothness and zero nicker. Seeing
is believing1
Space Harriet 2 rs a significant advance on the existing Space Hamer gam< graphic and sonic quality as well as overall presentation. The speed of ihe gar
■ ely last (in keeping with the Classic com ops style), the graphics and the way they are handled are all excellent, and the leroctty Of enemy attacks makes otne- sions look positively passive
The combination of all these things makes Space Hamer 2 a truly a* piece of coding. TQM rating 85%
iwesoroe
AND STILL TO COME...
noth
ibovt
- ieres
Ka Mm
Mega Dr ould be en prog* *,fj machine. Wale
Power Drift
Super League
Rambo ill (Provisional title)
Out Run 3-0
Fantasy Zone 2
Super Hang On
World Cup Soccer
Baseball Competition
Afterburner
■1
Super Mario Bros 2
to find them. Certain impassable vn can be destroyed by throwing bombs at
'0 the more fan: regression from left to right The level's end . • an locked (go down into a jar to find the key but watch out for Phanic
ie hero at the end of each level
ng eggs and fireballs, ii you re quick
you can pick the egg up and throw it back!
d stage Mouser 3nd only a bomb or three can see you through to the next world,
eamiand is made up oi seven wodds, each split into three sub- levels including both the more familiar horizontal levels and vertical levels aplenty. Qu regions, sand pits, caverns and waterfalls are ail to be found ying carpets
can be ridden, or why not hitch a lift on a $ier to cross large chasms. Us truly amazing what the Mario gang can do and
rd among the seven worlds. To say that Super Mario Brothers 2 is playable is like saying the Cray X- MP is quite a East machine — the
game redefines the word playablt
Is far and away a major leap over the
rial. It's involved, deceptively tricky, has major improvements in the graph-
and sonics league, and, most importantly of all. is superlative fun to play TGM rating 92%
1
20 108TGMTX019:6-8v
rthur me knight may be curr- illing wftfi Ghouts 'n' Ghosts m the \ arcades but on the Nintendo he s still gol problems dating three yea<-s back when he went out to save th oi princesses
from the evtlest of nasty creaiures Ghosts n' Gobfins kicks off with a nice introdi- screen as the Greai Demon appears, picks up the princess and verily whisks her away (Why though is Arthur half undressed section? We have a right id know!)
Arthurs quest begins in the spooky graveyard where nothing but a mouse at least lot two seconds before the zombies ge from six foot under. Armed wrth i.ile frying swi thur can despatch
the zombies back to Irom whence came and even pick up treasure while he's there The zombies it seems are thick, they sometimes carry weapons but neglect to use them on our hero. So much the better, and provided ii s not a useless weapon like the torch, Arthur can put it to good use.
It he gets hit (very likely) off goe- Shiny armour leaving him wrth n< between his skin and the cold wind but a
?y
bui a
Consoles
he machine that started the whole 'console business oft (and subse- quent war), the Atari VCS, has ^undergone major changes in recfent years, not only in shape but in the software too Long gone are the days of the Combat cartridge with its Tank and Jer games The machine's still very much alive and kicking (rather tierce ly), wilh consider-
able software support (at console levels, at least). Programmers have (earned Ihe ins and outs oi what is, alter all, a decent console: a large colour palette to hand, a decent sound chip and now some decent games. Palan Distribution Limited handle the Atari 2600 and around 60 games for ft. Among the delightfully named games such as Lassrbiast, Demon Attack and Megamania there are coin-op con- versions (o be found, film conversions, home computer game conversions includ- ing Commando, Zaxxon, Winter Games, California Games. Ghostbusteis, H.E,R.Q.t Pitfall and more.
Palan Electronics Limited can be con- (acted at Unit 14. Waitham Part Industrial Estate. BtfietRoad, London, E175QU (Tel. 01-531-7171)
River Raid 2
r-^ he original River Raid devised by fXaroi Shaw became an instant das -J51C when it was first released, despite its chronically primitive graphics, With a gradual difficulty level involving the River of No Return gradually narrowing and inherently simple gameplay. the sequel rides (or should that be was?) on the back of the prequel. In River Raid 2 ihe F 16 has been traded in for Ihe very common F-14. complete with aircraft carrier to launch from (be carerul not to fall off the edge of the deck on take off) ,
The River wends its way deep into enemy territory with a horrific amount of military hardware on either side to discour age the odd pleasure flight and F-14 attack plane from frying along it Speedboats, hot air balloons and other non- aggression vehicles pop up from lime to lime, but don't stop using those cannon, torpedoes and missiles to wear down the enemy. The familiar bridges from Part One also make an appearance which, while proving solid enough to shrug off collisions by enemy F 14s. can be destroy ed.
The F-14 is now capable of climbing and diving to avoid hazards, although the bridges are solid enough to stop anyone showing off by flying through the legs, Also
a
oblins
pair of boxer shorts — one more hit «> state is enough for Arthur to die of shame
■nur's travels take him past the grave- yard into even spookier forests, a rickety
fire bndge. a cavern complete with angry
ctifes and onto the ice palace where a
winged lizard (a dragon to
idy to loast pesky heroes.
'Playabiliry comes first seems to the be
the motto with Nintendo games and
Ghosts n' Goblins is no exception. The backgrounds are well-detailed and spooky enough to give you ihe creeps. The sprites lack significant detail but have a generally cute took to them (even the evil demons look rather pleasant),
The graphics are a compact and fairly accurate representation of the coin-op. each level gaming more and more detail. ng up to a fiery and wonderfully-power- ful dimax The cute original sprites com- bined wilh atmospheric music mean this te a good conversion. One small gripe. Does the map screen have to appear and scroll along EVERY lime you die? TGM rating &4%
CLUB NINTENDO
Have you been feeling left out, let down and brushed oft? No need any longer! Now Nintendo owners can revel in all things Nintendo through their own official Club Nintendo magazine.
Reviews, previews and hints "n" tips can be experienced by sending off the application form found in all Nintendo gamepacks.
of noie is ihe ability la land on the earner and a mid- flight refuelling sequences to keep the plane airborne.
Vertical scrolling shoot em ups are ten thousand a penny but the charm of River Raid outweighs what are still primitive graphics with an appalling lack of detail aboul them. Colour is used, which is more than could be said for the original, unfortu- nately the character blocks are still one colour. The graphics haven't kept with progress, but in their own simple they are perfectly adequate and serve their purpose well.
The gameplay redeems the simplicity of execution with more depth about it than the original (although even wrth height to worry about and a new landing sequence this doesn't say a bi for the games com plexity). It does have immediate appeal, and ihe ever narrower River ensures a near-infinite challenge. TQM rating 76%
F-14 Tomcat
r^\ack m the air again with Ihe / - JGrumman F-14, this is among the w — ^first flight simulators for the console and a console rarity m general.
An F-14's presence is needed m the skies around the Gull. A Middle East country is up in arms and its Air Force is out looking for trouble. This situation is clearly unacceptable and so the USA sends in a carrier with you, a Top Gun pilot at the ready.
The F-14 can take to the air to engage enemy jets at up to Mach 2.4 with a full HUD and a variety of air-to-air missiles —
and. of course, an onboard cannon It's no! over even when the MiGs are heading Gulf-ward, you've still to get back and land Ihe jet. which means you'll find oul very quickty why a Top Gun is supposed to be the besi of the best.
The most noticeable thing about F-14 ts the detail to be found within the game's
TGM TX 01 9:6-89 21/108
Consoles
F-14 Tomcat
graphics, presentation and game struc- ture as a whole. Colour isn't used in abundance but the primary objective seems to have been to create a realistic atmosphere with subtle colours. Sound is used effectively, with the whine of the engines, the thud of the cannon and sim- ple but well implemented roar of a missile launch, Detail is of paramount importance, from
the start with the deck captain signalling the plane to start its engines through to the traumatic carrier landing, there's so much within F-14 Tomcat. Top marks for technical merit with ihis game — it really does push the console.
In unfair comparison with computer flight simulations. F-14 Tomcat looks decidedly average — it may not have quite the same depth, but for a console game its a remarkable program. Try landing the F-14 after completing a mis- sion, it ain't that easy! TGM rating 82%
Tiger
ow. on your PG Engine console,
you loo can be a scourge of the
Sk "<ger. a conversion of a
ro combat beltcop: Qp
Wending your way up vertically scrolling
levels — the screen also scrolls left or
right when needed to accommodate the
*idth of the playing area — c guns are used to blast tanks, boats, planes, helicopters and gun emplace' men 1 5 which lire mercilessly at you jghout the game. Some leave icons behind when destroyed which give extra speed, an extra I He, smart bombs, wider gunfire spread, or extra firepower,
Th - are a mixed bag copters
are indistinct, larger planes are. well.
out tanks and gun emplacements
are very arcade like Backgrounds aren't
packed with detail, but some ground tea-
.undmg more like a form to (ill out ~* than anything else, a P-47 is in fact a combat plane, A coin-op conver- sub-titied The Freedom Fighter , this is a game for Biggies fans everywhere, as you pilot the World War II fighter against German squadrons. The fighter Hies right- ward, the ground scrolling beneath it (or clouds behind it) while German planes attack These are easily dealt with by machine-gun fire, but bombers, fittingly, are best tackled with bombs,
icons picked up gain a continue- play option, extra speed, or missile, bomb, tur- ret or explosion weaponry,
In basic terms, P-47 is pretty unremark able, as was the COin-op it originated from, but shoot-'em-ups are unique in that they are easy lo get into and. even if only adequately done, are undeniably playable. The sprites are compact and detailed (except for the bland looking ibers) and move smoothly around the vf. Neat backgrounds complete the authentic coin-op look, using nice parallax scrolling — the clouds tinted orange by
22 108 TGM TX0 19:6-89
lures are neatly drawn Music and effects are what we ie to expect from the
rtoihing special but fitting 10 the action.
Tiger is quile a dithcufl game, so n won t come easy lo anyone but toughened play ers. but whatever yoi ids your
interest With each s tie more progress is made, ens don't give up until it gets very difficult — and it certainly does! TQM rating 66
~*+
the sun in Level 2 are very attractrve, Effects are flat but the tunes are jaunty and add to the fun. TGM rating 63%
Deep Blue
ub aquatic anlics await you in Deep Blue, a weird shoot em up which ^^ puts you at the controls of a one- man submarine convincingly disguised as a bright semi iropicai fish, The camouflage is to allow easier infiltration into underwater tunnels and caves thai are the source Of a
MENTIONING MENTION
Supplier of the PC Engine games for this issue. Mention Technical Services are going Japanese with a vengeance Not only is the PC Engine at a bargain price of £1 59.95 (with PAL TV converter as well), they ve also got over 50 Engine games. Titles include P-47 Freedom Fighter, Danus. Gaiaga 8S. Space Harrier 2. Wardner. Pac-Land. Afterburner, Thunder Blade (the latter titles available soon) and even Bubbte Bobble 2-
CD-ROM players and games will be available soon as well as the PC Engine joystick (£24 95). A VHS tape Bulletin 1 QOO-styte will also be available soon {£6.95)
Mention also stock a very large num- ber of imported Nintendo games a Nintendo joystick and a PAL TV convert- ef booster (Eld 99) to run Japanese and American lor mat titles. Tifles include Super Mario Brothers 7.? AND J. Bubble Bobble £ Mah Jong r 5. Contra ( Gryzor to us British) and many, many more Also available will be Sega Mega Drives (£1 79.95} plus games such as Mr Komatsu and Altered Beast (£24 95) as well as Pmnta$y Star 2. and SuperThunder Blade (£24 95}. Out Run 3D Power Drift and Afterburner are expected soon
Mention Technical Services. 29 Malcolm Place, Helensburgh, G84 9HW (0436) 78827, They promise lo keep prices as low as possible and with such machines as the Engine at 5p short of £100, Mention look set for a busy future.
dangerous army of underwater creaiui ed by dumped nuclear waste. Fish, squid and sea snakes swim past and can be killed by the standard projectile weapon A helpful cyan lish leaves behind a pod which restores a little he?
■ases speed, or ghre light bullet, swirt cutter or bubbte beam weaponry The thin screen area gives an unusually
wide Cinemascope effect Backgrounds use few colours and have no real detail texture and colour scheme create a great atmosphere — parttcularfy with the upward floating bubbles
Music ngly nautical sometimes
in a soothing way. sometimes hectic, sometimes eene The garbled sound of the short-circuiting sub after it's hit is ihe high- tight of an otherwise average set of sound effects.
Deep Blue isn't easy — the bobbing fish movement often makes them trteky lo dodge or shooi while other creaiures approach at a frightening speed and rale Only one life is given, but at least the sub can lake plenty of hits before sinking forev- er There are only to jph each is very long, bui its the lack spoils ihe game, TQM rating 56%
I
FOR THE FIRST TIME, THIS IS FOR REAL.
is daybreak. Hbu join the other pilots in the squadron ercwraomtc
i objectivK for tJeday ahead, fectits, combat manoeuwes; all captured anpletefy by M6 COMBfl PILOT. During your pfe-fligjrt u insmact We gmund aew on weapon loading, and plan
our attack..,
the tnreat of imminent cescructicn and die stress of iiigj^ combai you take in your stride, fair training perfected, you are new roaster in all fa rotes of the F-16. from air-to-air interception to tedicior strife,
- th« conflict you hoped would newf
happen. Aircraft, ground forces and the entire strategic infrastructure is udder threat.
ftu havenl faced anything, like this before . .ever1
ORDER YOUR F*16 COMBAT RLOT 140W.
Simply phone (0276) 684959 quoting VISA or ACCESS credrt card number, name and address.
Digital Integration Limited. Mtiitw Trade Centre, Watchmoor Road. Camoerley, ihttuiKru^-iuiM Surrey GUIS 3AJ (0276) 684959
In August last year (TGM009), we ran a feature on Captive Communications — better known as Capcom — because it looked as though their coin -op conversions were worthy of attention. We were right. Previewed then as a forthcoming product, Forgotten Worlds has justified our faith. But it's only a start. Robin Hogg and Dominic Handy went to US Gold, the licensed UK base for Capcom, to have a look at two of the latest conversions which look like being world beaters
hen you think of Capcom, you probably think Commando, For it was this product that shot the Japan-based company to 8-bit Silicon stardom wany back in late 1985 — dosely followed by the more-impressive version of their Ghosts N Goblins in early 86 It was on these polished products that software house Elite grew and grew, in 1987, Elites Capcom licence ran out, and in
The headache for Tiertei. Graham LiPley and Software — 8-way scrolling in the two- year-old arcade hit Slack Tiger
true Japanese spirit the arcade giants deigned to give fellow Birmingham-based software
house, US Gold, their chance at popu (arising the 200-sirong com- pany with a ten -product licensing deal
Captive Communications,
founded by ex- toy maker' Kenzo Tsujimoto in June 1983, have not only grown m size — expanding from small beginnings in Osaka, Japan, to offices in Tokyo and Hokkaido, and overseas to Sunnyvale, California, where
their massive marketing opera- tion is lead by Captain Commando — but also in stature. Capcom realise their US market is different: Tsujimoto accompanies a loya! band of designers lo American trade shows every year to tap opera- tors and find oui their needs. As Bill Cravens, their US Sales Manager, says; Tsujimoto will walk into a store and buy EG .000 worth of books to bring the American culture to their devel- opment teams back in Japan.
The teams of 20 people con- tain planners, software program- mers, character designers, hard- ware technicians and musicians Capcom believe their indepen dent development teams have become their trademark — pio- neering unique visual and sound techniques reflected in their hi) coin -ops. Capcom nurtures young professionals and further instills the independent drive by promoting from within the company.
Although Capcom are prtmahly known for their arcade muscle, Ihey are tapping all comers of the entertainment industry, In true analogical Japanese style, Ihey see their company as a free from which much diversification makes it wide and fruitful, bui without the strong development roots it would not be possible grow and expand. Capcom not only pro- duce for other manufacturers — Taito, Sega, Namco. Nintendo among others — but also for the
electronic toy market, TV games and, of course, the home com- puter market,
Capcoms current technical baby is their awesome' super chip From two-and-a-half years development they have compact- ed tfte power of ten normal arcade circuit boards into two microchips. Not only is this easier for your local arcade owner to swap games in cabinets, it also means thai the games will become more and more powerful — with laser quality graphics at a non-prohibitive price
Not forgotten
Capcom have practically staked their company on the new super chips — costing £5 5 million to develop — but it seems to have paid off with their first super sys- tem release, forgotten Wortds ( touring ihe arcade circuit some eight months ago), out on home computer this month from US Gold US Gold have already sold over a quarter of a million units from the five Capcom products they previously released, and hope Forgotten Worlds will sub- stantially increase thai hgure.
Already the game is receiving glowing reviews tram the TGM team (see page 30 in this issue), so what is behind all this suc- cess? Could rt be the innovative storylines thai have made Capcom renowned? Forgotten Wortds goes something like this...
Emperor Bios has unleashed
i
24 108 TGMTX0 19:689
Game Feature
Thunder Blade, Manchester- based Tiertex.
Finally conies Ghouls W Ghosts (previewed in TGM014). the long awaited follow-up to Ghosts N' Goblins. Software Creations, programmers ol mas- sive hit Bionic Commando, have been chosen to convert the amazing arcade machine — let's hope the capabilities of the home computers can do the super chip- based arcade machine jus lice. As we said in Issue 14. the graphics have to be seen to be believed'.
Outselling all Ihe arcade opposition. Strider, teft and below, promises to be another huge Capcom hit on home comput- ers, and who can wait for Ghouls N' Goblins (the arcade poster below)?
an octet of evil deities whose sole purpose is to wreak havoc on all forms of civilisation. The once -beautiful landscape has become barren, the homesteads where people once grazed their inierga lactic Kama have become forgotten worlds. However, the vengeful minds ol the homeless have created two super warriors who are to gain revenge on the almighty horror. An awesome task awaits them: they must first pass three demigods; The Golden Dragon, The God ot Destruction and The
Paramecium, Bui don't be dis- heartened, for each wave of ene- mies destroyed deposits a small amount of money which can be saved up and spent in one of the numerous weapons shops that appear at regular intervals.
All computer versions allow simultaneous two-player action, creating a very addictive atmo- sphere. US Gold reckon this could follow Biontc Commando in becoming their top-selling Capcom release (topping Bionic Commando's 70.000}.
Striding on
Following in August should be Black Tiger The game was origi- nally planned for last October, but due to various difficulties with the programming placement of the project it has still not appeared — despite first appear- ing m the arcades almost two years ago. US Gold are now avoiding most problems by plac- ing the project witti three different teams: Ten ex (Spectrum and Amstradi. Graham Li Hey (ST and Amiga) and Sottworx {C64} As wrth Bforttc Commando, Black Tiger uses eight-way scrolling, as an armour-clad hero explores a multitude of platforms in a mysti
cal world (shades of Ghosts TV' Goblins?). As in Forgotten Worlds, three demonic dragons are causing complete mayhem, and it's up to you and your trusty sword to slay the salivating mon- sters before they partake in a meal ol user and chips !
Talking of chips brings us to Strider, Capcom s second release utilising their revolution- ary super chip Stridor is current- ly sweeping the floors in the arcades (something a lot of arcades needf). outselling all its competitors for the past three months. However, you'll have to wail till September lor the com- puter version, Capcom obviously aren't taking pan in the Gorbachevs Glasnosl: Strider dumps you armed only with a sword in the middle of Russia with the mission to infiltrate the Red Army and foil their plans for globa domination. Being a highly-trained secret agent. you are extremely mobile — triple backflips over on- coming KGB agents and monstrous robots are all part of the bar- gain. The visual capa biliiies and impressive sonic accompaniment are already making Stricter THE plat- form and ladders game to be seen playing at the moment.
All the computer versions are being program- med from the folks that
brought us
We also said; Capcom have got it made for 1989', and it's as true today as when we said it,
TGM TX 019:6-89 25 108
WIN a PC Engi & loads off games
from Capcom, star purveyors of the Japanese arcade art
he ^ants of the video
Wane1 Capcfe, the people whc .wrought you the amaiirtg Sjw :" • xidos and LBO Storm, and "OW Forgotten Wori&s, have a:; busy year ahead of the- .v>th a host of mega : titles to he convened onto YQUR computer. There's Btacfc Vgef, which is out very soon, end the massive arcade hits Ghovis 'N1 Chosts and Strid&r, fined up for the endof the year. And there's more on Capcom in this very issues spectaf feature, SOttirn there now and get genned up.
In generous Japanese style, Gapcom are offering a great Japanese creation, the infamous PC Engine, as the top prize The firstprize WtFltfier wiB also gets five fab games for the Engine - aii tried and t* d by the TGM crew (when wscanexiract them from the*rclamrny paws),
Ten runners-up wilt receive FN£ Gapcom computed: games ." •■ hoice >s yours, from any already released or imminent). ^H
To be in with a chance of winning the PC Engine, brush up on your Capcom history notes and name the games featured in the FIVE segmented screen pictures on this page.
Send your entries, along with your choice of five Cap- com games, to: I'VE BEEN CAPTURED COW, TGM, RO Box 10, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 lOB. The norma! competition rules, as detailed in the masthead* apply. Any- one found cheating will be sentenced to an appearance on the Japanese game show Endurance^
26 108 TGM TX0 19:6-89
TGM 1X019:6-89 27' 108
5MLMERI"" WJW
Amiga screen
Listen to the crowd roar as you enter the stadium and take up your position oppo- site your opponent.
C 64 screen
These are some of your opponents. Knock them out and go from round-to-round to the super-league.
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Atari ST screen
Available for the C64, Atari ST, Amiga and PC
REVIEWS
KICK OFF
Anco strike gold with their football sim which boasts sophisticated new ball and player control
49 ■ THE KRISTAL
Previewed for the first time any- where in TGM, the mammoth epic is now here. A stage musical that never made It, The Krisiafs pro- grammers have made no conces- sions In providing us with this star player.
46 ■ MILLENNIUM 2.2
A true 16-bit game!' cry the reviewers of this Electric Dreams space fantasy with graphics to match Stanley Kubrick s vision of 2001.
33 ■ SPEEDBALL
34 ■ DARK SIDE
44 ■ POWERDRIVE 51 ■ POPULOUS
American Ice Hock* . Archipelagos ... Battle Hewks 1042.
BlttUlM'
Bio Chettenge .
Blood Money. Chucfcj* Egg. n . . Crazy Cars n. Danger Freak.
0«rkSldt-
The Duet —Tev
Forgotten Worlds.
Gr»nd Monster Slam , Kte*0fl The Krtstai Mayday Squad Millennium 2.2 Operation Neptune Pac-Land Raidar
38 ,.43
,56 .52 .39
34
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.43 .52 .46
..56 -38 ,.54
43 ■ BLOOD MONEY
From Psyg nosis — the software house with barely a hitch — a 16-bit shoot- em- up to knock the socks off even the most hardened gamesplayer. This is the one to buy for its intro sequences alone!
The Running Man.
Davis World Snocker . ...56 Victory Road ,
ATARI ST
American ice Hockey Archipelagos Battle Hawks 1S42
Bio Cruillenuc 36
SulClwHiU S4
Chicago 3c- 33
Chuckle Egg II .....56
Dark Side .34
Forgotten Worlds . .30
Kick On" . TfMKrtvM
Mayday ; Squad 52
Millennium 2.2 ...46
Operation Neptune , , 96
Pac-Land .36
Populous.. *...._ ...Si
Raffles .,
36 ■ ARCHIPEL-
A cross between The Sentinel and Virus, Astral Software Log otron's clever 16-bit, multi-world strategy and arcade game is weird and utterly compelling.
w
I
Real Gnostousters
Sieve Davt* World Snooker
AMSTRAD CPC
Dark Fusion Forgo nan Worlds Pac-Land Navy Moves .
4S .56
COMMODORE 64
Danger Freak. Dark Fusii Forgotten Won Powardrorn* „ Beat Ghostbusisfs , — Spaedball ■
.36 ...30
...45 ...33 .,39
PC
American ice Hocfce |
■■*. Yaagef Advanced Flight Trainer 2.D Ecnalon
Kings ot the Beach Ml Abrerrv
Smbad „37
Times of Lora
MSX
Robe-Cop Operation Wott
SPECTRUM
Bute her H,
Forgotten Wor I
HATE
Navy Moves ...
San* ion; The Remix.
Siermlord
S4
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TGM TX 019:6-69 29
Revi0ws
Never make a destructive god angry
Capcom
machine
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'Sorry, fuv, we're tresh out of extra-heavy lasers,.* '; shopping tor extra armaments. By comput- er from the top: Amiga. Commodore 64 128 and I Spectrum salosfjtrfs
30 TOO TGMTX0 19:6 89
cross all formats Forgotten Worlds comes across primarily as an ace shoot- em- up (particu- larly ex eel lent in two player mode) polished to sparkling per- fection by its superb graphics. The IS- bit versions, with all the flashy trim- mings, have the advantage but even the humble Spectrum gives Ms all.
The Forgotten Worlds of the title are in a sorry state, mere playthings for a jeal- ous god. Bios, emperor of alf the worlds and the Almighty God of Destruction created eight lesser gods of pure evil, and together they wreaked terrible vengeance on the worlds. The carnage has reduced the worlds and their peo- ples to little more than far-distant memo- ries.
But although Bios may have broken their backs, the inhabitants spirit remains undiminished. Now (he Forgotten Worlds try to tight back through a mind-melding which forms
Ko psychic allies — super warriors des- ed to fight Bios to the death and defeat his guardians as they do so. Even super warriors face some tough
guards — the Golden Dragon, The God of Destruction and the Paramecium, all vying for a firstdass conflicl at the end of each level. The two macho men of the future
wasting all before them, business is good in this particularly violent neck Of the woods. The action kicks off in the Paramecium level as the warriors Jet- pack through the first of many ruined cities pitied against aliens, missiles and just about the tot, all rushing to aid their wrathful leader in eradicating all intruders.
The aliens are loaded — literally — not only with weaponry but cash as well. So
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killing them
profit as you pick up their dropped called Zennies. Collected cash can . put to good use, for despite all the destruction, amid the ruins a shop still stands where weapons, armour, lives and top-up energy can be bought.
Your adversaries become extremely unpleasant as your two warriors pene- trate ever further into the enemy s defences, robotic spiders, killer cogs {!), gigantic leaping worms, Stacked up parhflQe and other detritus prove more than a handful without the several thou- sand other aliens flying around.
The thoughts in Arc Development's minds when they were given Forgotten Worlds to convert are no doubl unprintable. The first of Capcom's games to use the awesome new generation CP graphics chip, Forgotten Worlds sure takes some beating.
When the coin-op was first unleashed on an unsuspecting public, In time-honoured fashion the graphics overwhelmed the simple gamepiay in much the same way Afterburner did.
Sut recently wonders seem to have been worked wiih regular occur- rence in the coin-op conversion field and Forgotten Worlds is the latest to don the best conversion yet' mantle — better, in fact, than the original — and it looks lo keep it for quite a while to come.
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Talk of the destroyed town are the awesome behemoth opponents at lev- els ends — Irom the Paramecium with lis rotating garbage clawing at the good guys to the Dusl Dragon breathing tire. And any who survive his minions must finally lace the almighty Bios, God or Destruction, In all his death-dealing glory, Super warriors only need apply to save the Forgotten Worlds in one frantic battle lor supremacy.
It Forgotten Worftts is anything to go by, the rest of the Capcom releases look set for unrivalled success — roll on Stnder and the others!
9Q°J
E9 99 cass £14.99 disk
A smaller screen (ban the others, but the game Itself Js no less enjoyable Colour is in plentiful supply and detail Is alt there in one faithful conversion. The lack of between-level title screens can't be helped, but rises to the challenge ot conversion brilliantly — a greet shooi-'om-up with remarkably good graphics to match.
£19 99
Don 1 question how they managed to squeeze nearly all the graphics, speech and digitised pictures of one awesome coin-op Into one 512K machine, just play the garnet Smooth as silk scrolling goes unnoticed when you're up to your armpits in aliens snd but lets, all beautifully del a lied, with colour galore making Forgotten Worlds a 16-bit unbeatable treat
£8.09
cass
£12 99 disk
The monochrome backgrounds are cleverly disguised by brightly coloured characters, and although colour clash can reduce the professional sparkle of the game from time to lime, I he quality parallax scrolling and some superbly delaifed sprites just can I be Ignored. A very fine Spectrum purchase.
OTHER FORMATS
A PC version is undergoing conver- sion at this very moment, and planned tor August, It witl be priced at £19.99.
Centre: our super heroes encounter the gungy, slimy Paramecium, white above the dreaded dragon breathes firm and brimtone — Amiga screens
£9 99 cass £14.99 disk
Closely defined graphics always look good on the C64, and together with subtle colouring throughout, the char- acters are stunning. Sonlcally it Worlds achieves a high rank- ing with normally average effects turn- ing out well, enhancing the already very strong atmosphere.
£19.99
Next to no difference in the graphics stakes with parallax scrolling working all the better on a machine not used to such a technique. Speech and music are competently executed and theres little that can be faulted in the presen- tation atmosphere and accuracy of conversion. If you though Led Storm was good wail until you see Forgotten Worlds.
TGM TX 01 9:6-89 31 '100
Reviews
A better style of soccer action
KICK
w
Anco
m jnco's contribution to a relatively Hunexploiied area of 16- bit gaming. MKick Off foltows from their ice-hock j^Vley simulation, Fac&Qff, I ^To its tans, and despite recent over shadowing trom hooliganism and tragedy, football remains a fiendishly deceptive Sport, ample in concept complex in skills requirement and tactics. Computer football games fall broadly into two categories, management Sims and arcade- style action games. It's to the latter that Anco have turned their attention, and their attempt Otters a variety ol features including a new and highly realistic ball control system
Gone is the bizarre ability to keep the ball super glued to a player's toes, now it goes oft In the direction last Kicked and keeps on going. It's up to the player (of course) to direct it (hopefully) goafwards
It's this reworking ol traditional computer football ideas lhat dramatically pushes Kick Off 5 realism to far greater heights than has been achieved belore Now you've REALLY got to work to get the ball in the net!
All this is helped by the presence of a large number of moves including 8-way headers, ball chipping, dribbling and can non shots literally Hying half the length ol the pilch. Four types Of team formation and five skill lev- els provide game variety — the higher the team skill level the taster the team moves and the greater us accuracy. On International Level the speed of play is frightening ly fast — the independent skill levels mean an expert can be handicapped when playing against a novice so as lo even things out- Fouls, player injuries, red and yellow cards, corners, penalties, throw- ins — they're all there, the only major omission (other than action replays) is a referee One of 15 types of ref with differing levels
Untidy in places with sprite flicker and basic m-game presentation. Kick Off ts otherwise technically impressive with very fast-moving action coupled to lull-screen scrolling. At ten pounds (which Anco would have liked, but some chainstores preferred a higher price) it would have been superb value for money, but it's still a great buy.
STAR
PLAYER
of leniency keeps the match under control (the leniency level otherwise known as the blind- ness' factor) Whistle blowing, the booking of players, awarding of corners and the like is all done without the ref having to walk on. The great thing ahoui Kick Oft is that ai ALL times you're in total control of your players" actions The new conirot method takes time to grasp but once learnt, the game is as rewarding to play as Micro Prose Soccer, if not more. Like real life, goals are hard to come and
As usual with football games, the graphics aren't much to write about and a still frame does no justice, bul now moves and fancy footwork in Arte as Kick Oft make this overhead football frenzy game the best f 6-bil simulator we've seen so far
both teams would have to work hard to gain them — uneven play is catered for with both sides having independently selected skill levels.
The speed Of Kick Off is remarkable, beating all before it easily, and with the true concept ol bail skins adding a wealth of realism to the game Kick Oft the best 16-brt soccer simulator yet
JjiS2>
T
£19.95
Much the same as the ST game wtth the scorellne intruding Into t pitch Speed-wise Kick Off can't be beaten and is at times trighleningly fast moving — true football skills a needed in every sense of the word
lly
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OTHER FOR MAI
Amiga owners can have a game computer loolie for the same entran fee of £19.95. out soon
e of a nee
32-'l 08 TGMTX0 19:6-89
16-bit bu rgiar nos talgia
RAFFLES
The Edge
■ enamed from its previous 8-bit release of Inside Outing, Raffles provides diversion for 16-bil klep- tomaniacs . Dotty Lord Crutcher hid all his valuables before incon- veniently popping his clogs (in the popu- lar vernacular), Even Lady Crutcher couldn't find them, so she's lured you, a thief, into tracking them down for her.
In an isometric 3-D environment, you can pick up or pull virtually any object you find — glasses, chairs, plates and so on — In order to reach the grieving widow's diamonds. Your lask is hindered by surprisingly dangerous canaries and mutant mice.
Knight Lore- style arcade adventures are rare 16-bit beasts, but Raffles will
Raunchy Raffles runs rampant 'round rectangular rooms rite with rapid rodents
probably only interest ihose unfamiliar with the game format or ex-fl-bn owners wanting a trip down memory lane. Competently programmed, it's largely unthrilling to play: burglary isn't as excit- ing as you d expect.
peedball
Imageworks ■ £9.99 cass, £12.99 disk
UPDATE
TQM update 87%
zrom 16- to L ion's as hot
K
ATARI ST Chicago '30s
TQM update 40%
ATARI ST ■ AMIGA Battlehawks 1942
the
TGM TX 019:6-89 33' 108
Reviews
Time to outrun the patrol cars again in.
THE DUEL - TEST DRIVE
Accolade
eah, you dreamed ol owning a Lamborghini, Testarossa or a Porsche 911 Turbo in the original Test Drive, but now Accolade have bettered themselves in offering you the chance to burn two of the fastest production cars in existence — the Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959'
Firs I choose which wheel of these dream machines to slide behind (in com- puter racing mode you also choose ihe Opponent's vehicle). Then decide whether or not to race the computer, or try to beat the clock on some of the most tortuous roads ever designed by a sane man. Whichever mode is chosen, gear chang- ing is one of the most important considerations in this game
Next comes the skill level setting from the twelve available ranging from chick- en headed wimp automatic transmission mode {nine-tenths of us at TGM) 10 the real macho pro who goes ail the way and risks running the gauntlet (like Robin iron man Hogg). Test Drive II has three differ- ent roadscapes to race along: the desert with its hoi burning sand, a scary moun- tain route, (don t look over the side of the and a gentle Sunday afternoon dod- dle along a pleasant tree-lined country road,
The Ireeway isn't entirely free to tear- aways, however, because the cars, vans and police cars have been transferred over from Test Drive to cause you aggro and annoyance. The cops are the biggest pains They have two methods of catch-
ing loonies like you. First is to give chase, and it's your decision whether to pull over and get a ticket (not advisable), or out run the dude. Second, you occasionally see a cop standing at the side of the road, again pull over (or the ticket or run lor it.
At the end of each level you have to pull up at a gas station, but don't over- shoot it because the walk back if you run out of fuel incurs a hefty penalty,
The Duet — Test Drive If doesn't add anything special to the racing game genre, but who really cares when it's this much fun'
Life in the fast lane
As in the original score screens after a section inform on your time, average speed, score etc (and those of the computer player if applicable) Depending on your performance several caustic comments are hurled at you by Ihe computer. Five fives are provided at the start, and if you whack a car or are penalised you lose one. though if you make it to the gas station a life is added. Life in the fast lane is tense, but its great tun, just like Vw Duef-Te^t Driv& II,
Price
TBA
Test Drive was tet down with sparse graphics, vroomy engine noises and doubtful testability. But with three sce- narios {a data disk soon available) very impressive cars (also subject to a data disk), and heaps ot gameplay. this initially frustrating racing game Is one fans ol Test Drive shouldn 1 be without,
34 108 TGM TXO 19:6-89
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II you thought Tr iff ids were pretty nasty, you're in for a real shock when you play this arcade strategy game The animated plants called Arboaraal trees grow and descend qreepily, sending out a deadly virus towards you,..
So is described Archipelagos a cross- combination of Tne Sentinel and Virus but lar more surreal. The land beyond our dreams is made up of many islands where lite is not in a form as we know it Floating in mid-air you take on the physical form of the explorer of the 9999 islands.
In the world of Archipelagos (he obelisk reigns supreme Like the Sentinel ol eons past, the obelisk is the focal point for all the energy of Ihe land and at all limes the uW- male foe The obelisk Seeds oft the very land itself and is kept alive through stones scattered around the metaphysical land.
To deleat the ruling leviathan all the stones around the isle must lirsl be absorbed — a la The Sentinel. This is easi- er said than done when situated on lower levels but with Ihe advent of Ihe higher lev- els stones on separate islands need to be connected up to form a chain".
Once all stones are destroyed a timer ticks down and the obelisk is now vulnera- ble — just move to the black monument and absorb it to complete the level before time runs out (otherwise the obelisk kills you}
The trees around the island are deadly. as they rise and fall they literally advance towards you step by step. The virus they spread is lethal to walk over, so too are the trees if they catch you. Keeping on the move is the key to survival, that and the speed needed to absorb stones before the trees spread their virus everywhere.
The islands are viewed in the familiar 3-D form with a cursor used to point to objects around the world and either move to them or destroy them. Movement around the land is for much of the time an unhin-
dered process, water forms a barrier between islands, which can be bridged by creaiing land — creating land costs energy, but to replenish lost energy Island (lowers can be collected
This is an easy enough concept lo grasp but with the many new levels come island- eating creatures, the Necromancer and Blood Eggs spewing forth the deadly virus in a lethal fountain. The Lost Souls of past explorers also wander aimlessly around the island.
The landscape gradually becomes more convoluted as the explorer moves onto new areas, with isles needing to be reached by creating causeways. With limited energy and lime, things can get very tight later on Success on the Drat few levels may be easy but death on the later levels is easier still.
Wiih every fifth level (for the firsi hun- dred levels only) the landscape changes to a more familiar island shape (look out for the EasiEnders map. the pig and the Wheel early on). Like The Senttnel, ihe weird nature of the game fuels the strange appeal and enhances an already surreal atmo- sphere, trom this stems the game s weird but compelling appeal. Things start off easy with no more than slow- moving trees to avoid bui the later levels are where the challenge lies, making The Sentinel look
simple in comparison.
Archipelagos is a compulsive game con- taining some highly-compelling and very abstract elements. One to grow into,
£24.95
AMIGA
90%
Slightly faster movemeni is unn< sary with this type of game but ap ciated nonetheless Graphically change but with an atmosphere good it doesn t need heavily blltter-ori entated, masterpiece graphics. Pl.n this game in a dark room and becomt tolaliy immersed in the world Archipelagos, a game which make The Seminal look like a non-starter
Mapping humour: quire a few of the archipelagos can took familiar
E24.95
The animation of movement arour the isles may not be as smooth Dark Side but you don t need lo be tat on your feet to play A/chipelagos, jus plan where you go carefully! The bar- ren landscape weaves an odd spell Its creation of atmosphere, elements of isolation and fear quickly emerge as the enemy draws near with you always in their sights.
OTHER FORMATS
A PC version is nearing completion. Watch out lor an Update soon.
36 100 TGM TX019:6-89
on 'J? DAY
PC Echelon
#"\i n r Tt ti nc
TGM TX 019:6-89 37/100
Reviews
A case of the genes being too tight
BIO CHALLENGE
Palace/Delphine
I he principles of evolution and civili- sation slate thai the human mind and body increases in sophistication and efficiency as the centuries go by Producers Delpbme Software have more alarming ideas about mankind's future, Successive generations will have weaker genes, composing an evermore puny physical being, so that eventually man will be too feeble a creature to exist
A solution may be found by scientists, but at the time this game is set. biologists and physiologists have failed to stop the downward spiral. However the human race still lives. A method of interfacing a brain with a robot has been developed so thai people may live in metal bodies But the mmd -to -mechanism device has not been fully tested.
The player of Bio Challenge is a KLIPT — the latest and most complex of androids, now under guidance from a human brain The test task is divided into six levels, each divided into between one and six worlds The basic aim for each is to collect four pieces of an amulet within a time limit, using floating telepon devices to jump from world 10 world. The job ts complicated by small drone craft which Hy past in groups, but these are easily destroyed with the KLIPT s rapid spin move. Making contact with these, or any enemy, though, causes a loss in the KLIFTs life Hud — oil.
Much more difficult to eliminate but vital to progress are Guardian's Creatures. These traverse the ground of the scrolling worlds, below Charge Slabs (platforms). The Slabs can have one. two, three or infi- nite charges on them. A charge is used up by lumping onto the Slao then somersault- ing on iL or by lumping upwards to hit its edge, when also has the effect of knocking the Slab sideways When a Slab has no
Off at a strong KLIPT for a breath of fresh air — unusual graphics from the ST game (both screens}
charge, il falls lo the ground, hopefully lo hit and destroy a Creature
Atomised creatures always leave behind an object: a piece of amulet or their energy tanks, The energy capsules are needed lor the end of the level, but as only four energy capsules can be carried ai once they can be Stored in a targe sphere at the beginning of the level.
Creatures sometimes cause the sum- moning or a cauldron. These appear at sel positions along a level, and give bonuses
o
£24 99
Graphics are simitar to the ST s, bill appear to be expand sideways a Utile, and definition, perhaps partly because of this, Is scruffier Music is very good, (hough, with unusual samples com- posed within a lively and futuristic melody.
according to their colour (see box).
Once all lour pieces of amulet have been collected, its a run. jump and a spin lo the large sphere where the deposited energy is collected This is needed to tackle the Guardian (aka the big end -of level nasty), who lurks underground, Here the KLIPT can transform into a Hying cannon and use the previously gathered energy capsules to fire bullets ai the monster
It's strange that the only blasting m the game is at this point — the scenario and landscape style is one thai most program- mers would use for a gun-toting android shoot-em up. or perhaps a progressive beat- em -up The rapid spin method of despatching the bad guys is unusual, and when combined with the use ol Energy Slabs, makes for intriguing gameplay Being able lo move Slabs (and often hav- ing lo) requires thought and some skill and strategy, particularly as the Guardians Creatures change movement patterns from level lo level
Bk> Challenges gameplay is a breath of fresh air. both original and fun 16 bit own ers longing for a change can find 1 here.
5000 bonus points green armour — •man bomb effect
extra life
expand* oU lank to HuMi
r*d armour — increased spin speed
£19.99
Neat introductory sequence* show metallic shell spread over a talk human and a speaking face Iranstor Tron-like, into a robot's featureless mask, In the game, the KLIPT is com- pactly designed and very well animat- ed It's odd (fiat the robot s movement reminds us ol Typhoon Thompson, because the sound effects are similar in style to that highly playat release, although (he music is improvement. Scrolling is smooth < backgrounds lack great detail but nevertheless atmospheric
OTHER FORMATS
II is unlikely that any other versions Bio Challenge will be produced
ons of
38 108 TGM 1X019:6-89
va;vj!vn u
Cunning stunts for another fall guy
DANGER FREAK
US Gold
ou remember Colt Seavers The Fail Guy. Lee Majors in hs trendy leather jacket brffing the bad guys and performing all those seemingly impossible stunts Perhaps you also remember Elite converting him into an old 8-brt game. No? In wh»ch case you might find this Rainbow Arts/US Gold release refreshingly original.
The aim of the game is to complete three levels and emerge at the end in one ptece (if you don't do this the movie director will send your earnings to your next of kin)
Level 1 sees you astride a large and powerful motorbike- Three lactors are against you as you scream off down the road, an energy level slowly depletes when you hit objects or stray from the road's cen- tre An inevrtable timer ticks down the sec- onds left to complete the level, and finally each time a particular stunt fails the director calls a 'cut' . These obviously cost money so an allowance of eight are made, and on the eighth such offence you're deep-sixed (removed).
Next its mto a sports car dnven by a beautiful young lady — but no rest, listen to the sound of rotor blades ... Yes Thai's the idea — climb onto the car's roof and grab hold of the rope ladder before the car crashes into that brick wall that's looming up (don't worry about the girl, she's a stunt person too).
In the second section, on a jet bike, you to skim across the waves, but logs, buoys and the occasional nasty Jaws-type shark can thwart your chances of fame and for- tune
The final level lakes place in the clouds where, under a nitty Biggies flying helmet you have to pop balloons (we haven't yet worked out why), avoid low- flying eagles and fire-breathing dragons.
The «dea behind Danger Freak is neat, but m practice the combination of tough opponents, annoying I y-piaced objects and tricky vehicle control conspires to keep you on ihe first screen indefinitely Once the first level has been completed a frus gly playable game emerges, the only question is how long will Danger Freak hold your attention
rice TBA
Despite the obvious graphic and • differences, playabiltty is similar to the C64's. Rainbow Ads have come up with some good games. Denaris {reviewed TGM 017) for example, and luckily they havenl damaged their rep- utation too much with Danger Freak, But still, try before you buy.
Stunting astride your C64 bike
99 cass
£14.99 disk
The small blocky looking sprites first sighting don t bode well for this game and tricky controls also give you a vaguely unsettled feeling. But it must be said that after a while Danger Freak does tend grow on you, so short-term playabiltty is assured.
OTHER FORMATS
Work on PC and Atari ST versions are under way. more news when receive Ht.
AMIGA ■ ATARI ST ■ AMSTHA0 CPC
Pac-Land
GRANOSLAM t&-bil £19.95, CPC £8.95 case. £14.95 disk MOOS
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TGM update: Amiga 51% Atari ST 53% Amstrad CPC 65%
COMMODORE 647128
Xenon
LBOURNE HOUSE £9.99
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TGM TX 019:6-89 39 108
Reviews
Can American TV shows get any worse...-:
THE RUNNING MAN
Grandslam
he year is 2019, Ben Richards is a young police officer on crowd con- trol duty in downtown Bakersfield But when the order comes through for all units to open lire on a group of unarmed protestors, Ben refuses to cooperate and is arrested himself.
Faced wrth the choice ol spending a long time m prison or appear prime time TV's The Running Man — a favourite show where Innocent people are dubbed crimi- nate and hunted by bloodthirsty hitmen for the enjoyment of the crowds — Ben
chooses the latter.
He s dubbed The Butcher Of Bahersfiekj and thrown righl into the centre ol the pro- ceedings as the grinning Iront man says ITS SHOWTIME
in The Punntng Mans five levels the audience want blood (the contestants if
possible) and so plenty ol aggro laces Ben as he fights his way to Killian the TV sta- tion's ruthless boss. The action takes place over a horizontally scrolling parallax screen filled with platforms, head slopping chasms, dogs which have to be kicked (and make a whimpering sound when you do), and of course the stalkers — the mean mothers who enjoy nothing more than bringing a Ittlle pain and misery into the unfortunate victim's We,
As Ben is bashed, battered and generally knocked around his energy level drops, but weapons can be picked up along the way lo return some of the tender loving care, and some ener- gy s restored by booting the mutts, although it's better to wait until a levels and where full strength is regained if you successfully complete a puzzle sub-game.
Two circles appear on screen, each with eighi smaller circles set in them, rather like a telephone dial, Icons sit in these smaller circles and the idea is 10 match the left-hand dial icons wt|h those on the right. A mmute is given sixty to complete the puz zle, with ten seconds subtracted on each successive level
The Running Man boasts greal music
The Screaming TV auefipnc# (above} wait for the action to begin — which ft does (below)
and a brilliant digitised animated stan sequence, but the gameptay sags Largely to blame is the control ol the beefy charac ter {Schwarzenegger? Doesnt took much like him... {i. which is terrible. Much of the time Is spent vainly waggling the stick trying to gain the movement you require
£24:95
The old saying (paraphrased), pretty graphics do not necessarily a great
fne msketh certainly applies here. 1 makings of a good game are re, but they have been spoiled by frustrating game play and poor control.
OTHER FORMATS
Spectrum (£8.95 cass. C12 95 disk). Amslrad CPC and Commodore 64 128 {both C9 95 ca« Atari ST
and PC (£24.95) versions arc to follow rapidly. If the control problems experi- enced on the Amiga version are Improved, it's like!, will turn out a better 8-bit game.
■ ranching out from their Commodore 64 roots. Thalamus have converted their first ewer game — an original creation by Stavros Fasoulas. Aliens growing concerned over the technological advances of ihe human race dabbled with the "Star Wars SOI programme in an attempt to start World War IIJ. A careless pilot crashing near the North Pole let slip the plot and gave rise lo Operation San x ion.
Travelling rightward in a laser -equiped ship through scrolling levels, a plan view of the action acts as a simple radar system. giving a hrtle advanced warning of approaching attack waves. Occasionally a P icon can be picked up to gam increased
Boogie again to an old fave from another universe
SANXION - THE SPECTRUM REMIX
Thalamus
armament — very useful for the end-of- level bombardment of alien craft. This is very useful at any lime in the game, in fact, as Ibis is the Pretty Bloody Difficult' remix, in our opinion! The C64 original was a tricky shoot- em- up, but In the Spectrum version resilient aliens speed relentlessly toward your flying pea -shooter and fire with frightening accuracy. And once screen space has been taken up by the radar and status panel, there isnt much room to manoeuvre — lives drop like flies. A quality shoot 'em-up. but one tor the
toughened gamesplayer. the very patient or for masochists.
The Commodore 64 version of Sanxion Is now on Hewsons Hack-it label, priced £2.99.
£
the redesign, the Sanxion ship losl rocking motion, but otherwise the graphics are a competent mono- chrome translation of thoir detailed C$4 selves. Scrolling is smooth and the 128K music Is a fair rendition of Hubbard"* acclaimed piece-
40 1 08 TGMTX01 96-89
A WHOL€ N€ W WORLD OF ACTION AND ADV€NTUR€
TYPHOON OF STEEL™ The ultinui*
ABmUnoti if Squad Level Cofcbit in the
Aitan. Pacific and African Th* atrti of the
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play m to recreate my conbttl fceelriag
American, japan*** German or Brttiah
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BATTLES OF NAPOLEON™ A
caper* adetaeed war game ad * full blown construction set Build row own map* with
OVER GERMANY™ Start owl nusoou ui Utah giaduatiag lo Br* died iiucf cf Europe. Sharpen ye
ha» highly detailed gam Qe* terrain options, « let the oorapoter crew'i efficMtw? ud ejcperieace aatil yoc
iadiTidka]haR}nl«i*« generate * rnrjdoea scenario. Create the pil*twBr7tntourt«mibal acton a* part
C
. of your choie* meeting the irqvirKntnci of y«ar n*ctiB(f i Oi if yon wish to git straight to Ik* cktw from the May pre- mid* munoi
64/12S DESK £24.99
luch u Waterloo. QwtiT Bras, Auntwdt
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CAM £4/ 1 2a I>fSR £24-99
ST
of 306th Bombardment Croup - Am* net's fint cwageou then lo take to the skjeeeeer w torn Germany. Complete 25 deadly "*— *~p ud ihe honours an your*
CAM 64/JJW DESK £24,99 IBM PC DISH £29.99
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Reb*] Charge «l Ctucfcamauet recreate* th* CeeJedeniei last oflenxlTt of th* CnU War. Played on a *4 * 54 square grid.
Tht garae cake played ai 1 of 3 I*t*U of difficulty •ltd iii a nun for
SONS Or LIBER TV" few d Liberty enables Ttni to recreate 3 battle* from the American War of Independence The Battles of Banker Bill, Manacrath and Saratoga
on the
KJ player* of th*
■ ££»"• AT
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SHILOH™ The battle of Shikh was a seesaw f*tat that could easily km been ■ Union defeat or victory. Now, yw
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3UEST
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CBIM 64.126 DISH £24.99 ~ DISH £29.99
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There's a world full of opportuni ties with SSI -the dramas of the past, the mysteries of the future, gathered together to form an unrivalled collection of role playing fantasies and all action simulations that offer a new dimension in computer entertainment.
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Reviews
Thanatopian accountancy's plain boring, so it's time for some...
BLOOD MONEY
Psygnosis
■ megabyte frames o( animation on the baddies are not easily ignored Blood Money is a game that shines wilh the latest, and best of Psygnosiss superlative presenta tion. The opening sequence has arcade- quality tumbling asteroids and excellent muse including Loadsamomy samples, There's no way a game can live up to such a great mtro . . oul Blood Money does
The scenario features Alien Safari Promotions, the supremely daft concept of future holidaymakers going on a shoot em- up tour of four alien planets where the aver- age lite expectancy is a couple of seconds You re the usually dutiful son Spondulix, a Venusian studying accountancy on Thanatopia 32 and just about lo blow your parents money on said Safari.
200 credits gives you a choice of two of the four planets to visit Planet one is explored by helicopter, and is largely mechanical wrth gun turrets, walkers, rockei silos and so on Planet two *s completely different, requiring a submarine to blast through jellyfish, crabs and enemy subs. Complete these levels wiih enough cash and you can go on lo planet Ihree — an icy planet with oceans you zoom over in a jet pack equipped spacesurt — or planet four, blood -and -guts time with you in a space- ship.
The graphic styles of the levels are com- pletely different . and utterly impressive To start olf with the scenery scrolls honzontal- ty, but occasionally «i switches to vertical — which can be embarrassing if you're hug- ging (fie roof at the lime!
At certam places in the worlds there's equipment lockers, pop ms«le one and you get a choice of various add-ons. They all cost money of course, which is earned by shooting aliens and collecting the coins they drop. Products are in short supply, so
AMIGA
90
David Jones's programming has pro- duced time and power for lota of fully animated enemies, and Tony Smith has certainly made use of it with con- sistently top-notch aliens and great backgrounds too. Even if game pi ay were not so addictive, trying to see yet more of the graphics would keep you playing long into the nig hi. Sound is excellent, there's a top quality intr track, ami good in-game music sound fX. The perlectiy smooth apparently effortless way everything moves, even in two-player mode.
dsHgtit
intro
and hing Is a
it two are playing its a race to get the last Neuron Bomb in stock.
Addons include upward or downward fir- ing missiles, rear -firing missiles, long-range missiles, bombs, speed ups, extra-energy and extra lite. Needless to say all are need- ed, because this is one tough blast em-up
Programmer David Jones's previous game was the unoriginal, but nevertheless highly enjoyable shooi-'em-up Menace. Blood Money is lougher, better looking more inventive and even more playable. In one-player mode its great, in two its incredible fun with players either rushing to grab coins and add-ons or, more sensibly, providing each other with covering fire. The
only slight drawback is the pnee — £24 95 is a lot lor a shoot em up even it >i is prob- ably the best around.
OTHER FORMATS
Work is progressing on an Atari ST version, but Psygnosis say thai they are working to the lull capacity of the Amiga these days, rather than just make games which are suitable lo both machines, so there may be some general differences between the ver- sions — we wait to see.
I
TGM TX 019:6-89 41,'1 08
Reviews
Kick sand California-style
KINGS OF THE BEACH
Electronic Arts
nai ontinumg in the* recent healih kick
I (you had to be fit lo SAcafe or Oie .-.},
I Electronic Arts bnng us anoihef all-
I American sport called Beach
■H Volleyball The first task is to head
tof the registration point — you can t miss
it. it's a dirty great tent in ihe centre Ol the
screen
Here a leggy Califomian beauty almost wearing a bikini greets you and asks
whether you want to play either Randy Stoklos or Sinjin Smith [not exactly prepos- sessing names, but whai the hell — this is California).
There are two playing modes: coopera (we and competitive. In two-player mode cooperative means both players are on the same side Now set the drtficutty level, turn the sound on or oft, enter a password (if you have won a Tournament) and return to
Kings of Ihe Beach is great fun, once the practice courts have been visited a few times (Ihe first few attempts usual- ly end with you collecting a lac* lull of sand). The game is very colourful and contains some amusing attention to detail such as players brushing the sand oft themselves atter taking falls, or venting frustration by kicking the ■and In annoyance. And. for this coun- try at feast, Kings ol ihe Beach Intro- duces us to an unfamiliar outdoor sport.
Practice courts have been thoughtulty provided allowing voJieybalhng skills to be honed Bumps (a defensive move where. with hands clasped the forearms are used to defied the ball as it rockets over the net and is about to hit the sand), sets {position the ball near to the net) and spikes {a punch with clenched fists to send the ball last into the opposing court) can aU be per- formed against a computer controlled opponent until you feel confident enough to tackle either a match or a tournament.
In matches — usually the best to start wrth — after one game the winner takes all- You're presented with a 'court' comprising a net, referee perched on top of a skyscraper ol a chair and four players (two on each team). The first team to score 15 points is deemed winner
Tournaments require three wins in order to move to the next beach, which may be in Rio, or Hawaii, or a number of exotx: loca- tions where you can show off your prowess and impress the volley dollies.
t ( I V Ik- V I ' l-l I U i
POWERDROME
Electronic Arts ■ Amiga; £24.95
criticism of tbf proved on the gam
f:irl f ttrinf ;*Fir1 -(<; .. IAS
An RS232-I"
pace vet
44 100 TGMTX01 9:6-89
Gremlin Graphics
■ here's more irouble brewing at I Milky Way. aliens warring on mankind, threatening genocide, you know the sort of thing. Thai's why you re at the Galactic Pilot Training Centre wanting to become a a combat pilot Trainees are given control of two vehi- cles: a star fighter and a ground assault vehi- cle — and Lord help anyone who crashes them.
The firsi thing to distinguish HATE from other current shoot- em ups is its wel- come return to the three-quarter view 3-D format exemplified by Zaxxon. You start in the star fighter with four lives and 30 levels of gruelling action ahead of you, Many obstacles lie in your path both mobile and stationary. These include ground skimming projectiles, mine bam ers, intelligent missiles and enemy star ships,
The aim of each section, apart from dodging nasties and negotiating the hilly terrain, is to collect scattered plasma cells, which have two functions: to act as
99 cass £C4.99disk
Mild annoyance may be felt when you are sent back a level once you die (from Level 3 onwards), but ai least
. is better lhan a longwlnded n load. The mono graphics thankfully
ise no colour clash, though they do cause some spatial confusion at times, I aliens a pain to gel ,
The familiar graphics routine's of Costa Panayi on the Spectrum
lives (if you end a level with two cells, you have two lives for the next) and as fuel for the vehicle you control on the next sec- tion. It follows thai it's essential to end a section with at least one cell in tow or lose a life. The plasma cells are proiected by a tough shell which has to be shot sev- eral times before the cell is freed.
HATE is by veteran Spectrum program mar Costa Panayi of Vortex — remember classics like Androids i and It, TLL and especially Highway Encounter. In some ways HATE reminds us a little of the latter in both in graphics and payability The going is tough, but ii you persevere the sheer pulse-pounding action as the alien horde swirls around you soon drags you In, Long-term payability may be more doubtful
OTHI
HER FORMATS
Commodore 64 128 and Amslrad ver
Kns at £9.99 cass and £14.99 disk, ST I Amiga at £ 19.99 should be avail- able In early May. The ST grapr look particularly great.
With its greater colour capability, the ST version of HATE looks as though it s going to be some- thing special for action fans
Costa Panayi strikes back with hate
HOSTILE ALL
TERRAIN
ENCOUNTER
COMMODORE 64128 ■ AMS7RAD CPC I AMIGA
The Real Ghostbusters
ACTIVISION 6-bll £9.99 cass, £14.99 disk. Amiga £24.99
Acti
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|
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Commodore 64/128 78% AmstradCPC T*<*> Amiga 57%
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MICRODEAL n £19 95
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TGM TX 019:6-89 45 100
Reviews
complex it may sound, ralher simple and easy The icon-control system is excellent and soon becomes second-nature The first real problem Is obtaining minerals which aren't available on the Moon; the solution isn't immediately apparent but once solved a routine soon evolves o! shipping the materials home which Is a bit tedious,
Yet gameplay is always compelling because, in addition to the basic strategic, arcade elements, there's a big adventure element _ power plants blow up. colonists mutate and so on Living long enough to see what the next surprise will be is one of the most addictive part of the game. Unfortunately these adventure ele- ments hardly vary Irom game lo game, so
MILLENNIUM 2.2 It
Electric Dreams
he first release for the new, original titles -only Electric Dreams label has been heralded as a software classic lo tank with Elite and Dungeon Master. Playtesters have, apparent- ly, played tor 30 hours or so without com- pleting this epic space adventure -
The game begins in 2200. a 20 billion tonne asteroid has slammed into the Earth with an environmental impact which would give Greenpeace a collective heart attack if the Shockwaves, hurricane-force winds and molten rock hadn't already killed every- one on Earth, The only humans left are the few hundred living on bases on the Moon and Mars You're the commander of Moon Base and it's your responsibility to ensure the survival of the human race. To do this you must first expand Moon Base, then colonise other ptanets and moons with the ultimate aim of re-establishing life on Earth
initially your task seems extremely daunt- ing Moon Base has just 100 people in seven, interlinked domes. The most impor- tant dome is obviously Lite Support, and by clicking on it you can review the population status. But this is purely a report screen, the decisions which affect it are laken else where The Energy dome, for example, mi iially uses batteries, and if these run out...
Fortunately there's a Solagen (Solar Power Generator) Mk I. turn it on and you get power to activate I he Resource, or mm ing dome, The minerals produced here can be used by the Production dome to make more powerful Solagens, as well as probes, spaceships, orbital lasers and so forth. Construction cam siart. however, until plans have been produced by the Research dome. Click on this and you can choose to research all sorts ol hardware, as well as planets lor colonisation, Only one project at a time can be undertaken, and to research planets you must first land a probe on them.
Probes, and most of the other space- ships are launched by the Hanger dome where you can load or unload cargo, crew ships and even scrap them. Once a space- ship is launched into Lunar orbit you can choose to send it to any of the Solar System's planets or moons _ and there's a lot. most a very long way away A trip to Pluto takes several hundred days _ so ifs as well that beside a disk save option.
TTTTT
1 ! I i * f
KlKlftima&tM'PM
PLAYER
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ll fyirtHf he rvMcniMiL .
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there's an accelerate time leature (you can click on this repeatedly, and it something happens a notice flashes up).
In all your exploration you inevitably encounter an enemy who launches peri- odic raids against your base(s) Defence can either be by automatic orbital lasers Or fighters Launch a lighter and you're presented with a pilot's perspective ol battle, wilh a solid 3-D enemy fighter whirling around you. It's simple, but fast, and an enioyable break from all the strategic thinking.
To be honest basic gameplay Is, however
Superlatively atmospheric space
Graphics bring a touch of Stanley urbick 's via fan to th* ST
once completed {15-20 hours if you doni want a top score) there's liltie incentive to play again and rt is a bit easy Nevertheless Millennium 22 is one ol Ihe most mes- merising games available, offering the depth of a classic SF adventure wirhout any of the wordplay hassles. Highly recom- mended
"
9.99
Atmospheric sound effects, superbly rendered sialic screens and a great icon system add up to one of Ihe best presented strategy adventure games around. Played late at night you get a great feeling of being there', and you can even blast enemy spaceships In a fun arcade section. A hue 16-bii game.
46108 TGMTX01 9:6 69
FutureSound 500M
Possibly the best Sound Digitizer around? In STEREO for the Amiga 500 and 2000.
.Records two tracks Simultaneously
.Separate microphone input with built in
amp
.Samples up to 42,000 samples per second,
20,000 samples per second per channel in
stereo
.Sliding input volume control
.Ribbon Cable attaches to parallel port
.Easy to use software editor with many
features
.Full support for all hard disks
.Support for RAM disks & VIM) devices
.Works with all Amiga operating systems
including 1.3 and the new Fast File System
.Listen to input through digitizer
.Uses expanded memory where available,
up to 8Mb
.Sampling rates up to 56,000 samples per
second if used with a 68020 processor and
Audio Master II software
Available from,
Applied Visions (UK), Jersey Supreme Works, 538-546 Whippendell Road, Watford, Herts, WD1 1QN, Tel:0923 818078
H,H. Marketing Ltd Brooklyn (loose . 22 The (preen. West Drayton. Middx UB7 1VQ. Tel: 0895*444433
SDL (UK) Ltd
I nil 10, Ruvlev Corner Ind Ksl, Sidcup-Bv-Pass, Side up, Kent DA 14 5S&, Tel: 01-309 0300
And Ml good AmiiM Dealers.
Only.
£79.95 Inc
A CSA Turbo 68020
For ONLY £295 Inc ?
Hard to believe isn't it ? But its true CSA broke the price barrier in 32 Bit technology. Now you don't have to settle Tor a far less capable 68000 accelerator, you can have aftnrdabilitv, capability, and speed in one easily installed package,
CSA\ new 68020 Midget Racer Board for the Amiga A500, 1000, and 2<HM supports a 6888) or 68882 co-processor at speeds up to 33MH/, and is available today.
Programs like Sculpt & Animate 3D or 4D and \ < ad have been written to directly access the 68020 & 6888 L and may nut even run with a 68000 based accelerator. r iir further information on this and all other < SA products please write to :
In the U.S.A. In Europe.
CSA Inc. A.T.H.
7564 Trade Street Jersey Supreme Works San Diego 538-546 Whippendell
CA 92121 Road, Watford, Herts,
Tel:0923 817549
ASDG (UK)
Announce ProScanLab for the Amiga 2000.
ProScanLab allows full control of the Sharp Colour Scanners, giving full 24Bit colour input and output to the Amiga for Desktop Publishing and graphic editing. The full colour graphic output is compatible with all postscript printers. And can be output as a file for printing by your local DTP bureau or direct to your own Linotronic device. ProScanLab allows editing of the input so you can pick just a small area of your Image for output. If used in conjunction with Gold Disks Pro Page program this allows you full Colour DTP with 16.7 million Colours output. ProScanLab Board & Software mm ProScanLab X Sharp A3 Scanner £7500. ProScanLab & Sharp A4 Scanner £3000.
All prices include VAT.
For further details on this and all ASlMi
product please contact. ASDG (Ik)
iCnr , Jersev Supreme Works
SSHSf « 538-546 Whippendell
925 Stewart Street. R(Uld, Watford, Herts.
Madison. WI 53713 Win 1QN
U.S.A. Tcl:0923 818079
^^Business
& Commodore
v computer show
Britain's brightest event for Commodore computer users is tuck! And there's more to see the it ever before. This show has three main theses covering some
of the mapr uses to which Commodore machines are put There are over 70 key companies who will be exhibiting their latest products, which means that just about everything that's new in the Commodore world will be on show!
Business
Many companies will be demonstrating their latest software and hardware, specially designed to release me full business potential of Commodore computers
As well as products for the C64 and Amiga series, you'll be able to try out applications for the price- beating Commodore PC compatible micros.
And you'll also be able to attend seminars covering all aspects of using Commodore micros in your business.
Leisure
The C64 and Amiga computers are the most powerful 8 and 16 hit micros for producing fast-action arcade quality games. The range of new software on show
r No vote I Exhibition Complex, - Hammersmith, London W6
Friday to Sunday June 2 to 4
tCam-Spm Friday 8 Saturday. 10»m-4pm Sunday
will demonstrate how these machines' power is con- tinually being stretched, producing faster and even
more addictive games with superb graphics.
If you're a keen game player, you'll find there's so much on offer at the show you're guaranteed a real treat!
Education
Commodore micros are now used as educational toots all over the country With the development of BBC Basic on the Amiga., and the advent of Desktop
Video (combining TV pictures with text and graphics!, the range of educations! applications is endless. At the show you'll see how the latest software
packages are making real breakthroughs in the edu- cational sector, and be able to try Ihem out for
yourself,
Special Events
As well as special events and presentations, you'll also be able to meet some ol your favourite celeb- rities, and maybe get a chance to talk with them about how they use micros in their work.
So for a great day out. whether you want to see what the future holds for Commodore computers, to buy the latest software or to gel advice on specific applications, the Commodore show is the piece lo go. And if you send in the coupon today, we'll knock E1 off the price of each ticketl
• For the first fime we are offering t (emity ticket for }Vtt £ TT a/lowing entry tor two edutti and rwo children - uving up to £7 off the usual entry price!
How To Get TTwri
By Underground Hammersmith (Picodilty,
Metropolitan & District},
By But: 26ft 714, 7Ife 230, 3ft 72, 73, 74
Cer parking facilities mibble at the Novate!.
rcCoenmodore
computer show
POST TO: Commodor* Show Tlckat*. PO Bom 2, Ettaamar* Port. South Wirt at. IffS 3£A
Ahh supply
Q Adull ticket* iT £4 1uv«CV> i
D Under 16s licket* at f?MH*6v«f1J I
D Family Ticket ft< F11 lfc*va E7S. I
Total £
G Cheque payable la Database Exhibition* G PledM debit my Accen/Vlu card no:
I I iM LU I I I I 11 I I J_L. I I
Expiry data [~ £_
Mania.
Addreu.
Poll coda
Signed,..
Admlsaion ml door: £S (aduttaL £3.50 {urtdar tSaf
Advance ticket order* mutt bo received by Wednesday. May 2*
vmtH. 0«Oth$ Rrrkfl Sho* Holhrv. OSl-Mf »4l PflfSTR ORDERS KEV *0. THIN t14US3tt MCHOUWt/mKOM GOLD ORDERS n MAGOOI Ptt*Mqootocnidi!c*tdvHK»e*t and fait mddtm AMC*
A68Q
Reviews
Bnginally designed in 1976 as musi- cal comedy called The Kristat ot Kronos. despite Elaine Page record log some ol its songs it never actu- al^ made it onto the stage, For a long while thereafter the project remained m limbo, but then 16-bit machines arrived and the computer game was started,
Unlike most computer versions ot films, or plays, The Knstai is an uncompromising attempt to replicate the plot ot the original rather than merely dressing-up a standard arcade adventure with some new sprites. As a result The Krtstal comes on four dou We-sided disks
The story unsurprisingly revolves around The Kristal ot Kronos, a mystical object once contained within the Halls of Love. Acting under The influence of the incredibly evil Ono. the weak willed Malagar stole the Kristal. causing the Halls to collapse as he escaped. Needless lo say I his didn't please the Halls oldest resident, the Essence. which promptly destroyed Mategars ship and took the Kristal back.
To prevent a recurrence of the previous incident Hie Essence hid the Kristal tn a secret chamber that only the pure of heart could enter,
One such insufferably pure person is Oancis Frake. whose role you take after a 30-second intro by Patrick Moore. The game takes place over ten different plane- tary systems, wiih around 50 characters with which to interact, Talking with people is via text input, and the parser is surprising ly good, even allowing you 10 make improper suggestions to the various busty ladies — with unexpected consequences.
But if interaction (ails Wt lime for oomfoai. with an impressivery animated bit ot sword- play to engage in. Survive thai and you can travel to other planets via 17th century galleons propelled by oars! You stand at the helm, ready wnh the cannon, to blast such potential attackers as winged space ter- mites'
Needless to say the tongue-in-cheek humour of the original stage project has been retained to give The Kfistai a consis- tently amusing touch, which adds further polish to Its superb presentation Of course, many a game attempts to get by on good graphics alone, particularly on the Amiga, but Trie Kristat isn't one of them. The prob- lems you face are numerous and fairly complex, but as yet we haven't encoun- tered anything irntaiingly obscure
In addition the characters and objects are always moving around, reducing the prob-
OTHER VERSIONS
An ST version is due fairly soon, while a PC version making best use of CG A, VGA and EGA Is a bit further oh, but all versions will be the same price: £29.99.
Moore than your average arcade adventure
THE KRISTAL
Addictive Games
lem of repetition. So if you fancy your chances as a swashbuckling space hero in an epic space fantasy, this is the one for you. With such a high level of presenta- tion, and superbly involved game play, a £30 price tag seems completely justified for once.
machine
£29.99
Without doubt this is one of the best presented games available, compara- ble to anything Cinemaware have done. There's a great sampled speech by Patrick Moore to Start things of J. good spot FX and a haunting title tune as well, Graphics are even better with impressively animated sprites set against starlllngly beautiful backdrops which you can fully explore The com- plexity of gameplay. with some attrac- tive subgames make this one of the best arcade adventures ever.
The Kristal is an uncompromising attempt to replicate the plot of the original stage mustcai rather than merely dressfng-up a standard arcade adventure with some new sprites — ana it shows in the graphics.
TGM TX 019:6-89 49/108
Reviews
Kicking the bclom out of innocent creatures
GRAND MONSTER SLAM
Golden Goblins/Rainbow Arts
odH CrownguarD, the largest in the world of GholO. to the setting of this barbaric fantasy future sport. The lime represented In the game is Ihe year 12&47. but the history ol the bizarre Grand Monster Slam goes way bach to 10365. when goblins were al war wtlh humans.
A siege on a desert fortress soon ca/ne to a halt when the goblins ran out of ammo nition for their giant catapults, and had to lire literally anything Ihey could lay their hands on al the Stone walls. The soldiers inhabiting the fortress retaliated by throwing back the goblins' stones, giving them back their ammunition supply.
Three years later, the two races had lost the will for war, made peace and (almost) became friends. In memory of the war. they decided lo meet every three years to hold of festival during which they would have a friendly commemorative catapult fight. Other races became involved in the tri- annual competition, qualifying lor the hon- our by declaring war on the goblins and humans then rapidly making peace (often about five minutes after commencing hostil- ities") Soon all intelligent forms of life on GholD had heard of the contest and most were a part of its festivities
Through time, it became a refined one- on-one knockout {sometimes literally!) sport Catapults were rejected in favour ol good old fashioned arm power and the
Tanks, but I'll forget it
unlucky beloms, small furry creatures, became the ammo. Their part in the games became more uncomfortable still when it was decided they should be kicked at the opposition rather than thrown.
You take the active part in the latest change to the sport now named Grand Monster Slam, performing in the boots of a dwarf, the first time a member of their race has competed You lace one of the other seven participants of League One of 1 2847rs championship.
In all matches, you are shown at the bot- tom of the screen, standing at your baseline with six beloms spread in front of you. These are kicked up the pitch m one of three directions and at a strength deter- mined by the fire button, The main aim is 10 hick all your boms (short for beloms) away
The wo fid of HodH CrownguarD and its strange citizens comes to tife fn this quirky game
ABRAMS BATTLE TANK
Electronic Arts
Brab your lighting gear and be pre- pared to take battle in the most advanced tank in its class. EA are inviting all hunks to blow the hell out of those Red Rusktes once more, this time m a Dy nam ix -designed
Russians ahead: it's comforting to be in an MiAi Abrems tank
game.
EAs latest simulation plunges you into the action, drama and exhilaration (?) of a conventional Third World War. Controlling an MiAi tank, its your duty as comman- der to lake on the might of the Soviet Army Ihrough eight separate missions, in a desperate battle for survival and victory.
Joystick and keyboard driven, you have overall control of the vehicle: be it driving, controlling the gun turret, firing or naviga- tion. This theatre of war is set in West Germany — and there are a plenty of actors. But with skill, stamina and the strength Of possibly the world's finest mili- tary attack vehicle, you could survive, and who knows, deter the unthinkable — a full nuclear attack
Well, you could do, had Abrams Battle Tank been more user-friendly than it actually is The biggest problem with the simulation is that it attempts to simulate something that has yet to happen. Why couldn't EA have set the game m some' thing Ijke ihe Afghanistan conflict, lor example? And why always against the
from your baseline so that none remain, then sprint across ihe pitch to the opposi- tions baseline to win the game, Naturally, he.she.il will be trying to do the same, so you must move fast to stop ihe boms mounting up Knocking the opponent down with a well- aimed bom gives you some time to catch up. or hopefully win.
Kicking a beiom into the audience invokes a penally. After choosing a direc- lion to jump, a duck like creaiure is kicked
CI 9. 99
A triumphant medieval tune begins t game. The great composition ai quality sounds it uses set the hig standard of the sound track, which rounded off by samples of crowd ai grunting players. The graph this standard; detailed, colour! well animated sprites and squatty well drawn profile portraits. Each compel tor has his her its own character, pa ticularly the beloms (the stars of the show',), who quake sn fear or sit bu< eyed and petrified, depending on yo proximity, Strange creatures, indeed.
J4.95
if than Inspiring, wtlh poc *low. jerky animation. U
■ hen titles such as Dark Side ihe same graphics much fa e, Soun
tarty unimpr consisting main
at a horrific, bubbly whine {nupposi
engine noise) which adds nt-. ind probably detracts, from the overa atmosphere of the program.
ng.
Soviet Union anyway7 However, enough with the politics...
Being a simulator, there are a host ol different key controls, and white most ol them are generally useful, there are some which have simply been repeated In other modes. In fact, il is these admittedty- impressive — but rather useless — extra options which go a long way to seriously Slowing down gameplay
Abrams Battle Tank, while not being an imperative purchase, could provide a few lazy hours of pleasure to ardent simula- tion tans, offering a new angle from the normal plane helicopter idea.
50/108 TGMTX01 9:6-89
PC Nebulus
HEWSON £24.99
-
Barbaric sport: tt'a okay tor the people, but cruet to Boms, Goms and Lizards? Animal Rights should have a Uetd-d&y.,.
towards you. II it knocks you down, the opposition gains points, but luckily he too can make illegal shots
After each match one. the Revenge of the Bekxns must be faced. Boms attack from eight directions (aiming for a ticklish point) bu! you. as a dwarf sprite, have a shove-off pots' with which to delend your- self,
If a league is won (three matches musi first be won) the Remarkable Six Faultons are faced I These small lizards sit atop pil- lars of various heights and you have one attempt to kick a gom into each laudon s gaping mouth — |he trajectory of the gom is determined by fire button depression.
The first thing That strikes you with Grarjd Monster Stem is the high quality pre- sentation; great music begins on the trlle
screen before leading you to the menu. complete with practice options, animated compeiMor fixtures, and mmiprolile on your opponent. The actual game is very very simple, though: just kick the boms as quick- ly as you can, Being able to knock down your opponent wrth a shot adds something, particularly as there's the ability to direct them, but usually you re too involved with getting rid of the boms — and avoiding (he ones kicked toward you — lhai you don t have lime to aim.
Nevertheless, Grand Monster Siam is a source of real it limited fun, thai misses out on payability by excluding the obvious option ol a two-player game {shame).
Electronic Arts ■ Atari ST £24.95
exwior sp<>ai staircases ttfytv
a tower- ,&
ng staifcax tche
by erttx1,
to look at and playable as any of tht TOM Update 83° o
AMSTBAO CPC Stormlord
Commodore 64 (cess E9.99. disk HEWSGN £9 99 cass,
m should have hft the streets on
not a straight port ar
■
.epiay ts on the one hand Irian i5c if ? a
touch sic .
because of a t>u A lo ade
esgooc o' the Arostrad, thts deserves to do very well indeed. TQM update 84%
s
e approximate release date of May IT
iern. As your
can h the em- luakes, swamps, volcanoes, floods and
wing thei enemy who' re
even knigr ■•idbu
temy
Game
whili
is a
jmong of The Greai >g saw this tragedy, and benevolently granted lo them Populous
•zines looked at yet moretribu*
neat Game allows one or two pi j a modem connection) to tak>
God or (he Devi! in their holy .5 500 worlds. Should you be world a password is given ■ othsr Each
ople. :gh energy to ;<>nt ol winning an apocalyi-
ti To must have lots of p
feel a
you
■ (he saum
spot FX.
vith gar; i
ll'S
TOM update
90%
TGM 1X019:6-69 51/108
Reviews
Hifch rewards tor willing heroes
MAYDAY SQUAD
Tynesofl
If you thoughl the SAS were lough, you obviously haven i heard about the Mayday Squad When the police, army el cetera can't sort out a dan- gerous siiuauon they call one of these three-mar learns, established by the Umled Nations Security Council lo combai intema- itonai lerronsm.
One ol Ihe squad's most ihnllmg mis sions is portrayed in Mayday Squa<f. the computer game. The Lutoman Embassy
leader (who is also a gunsman*. commune cations expert (picks locks, uses computers etc) and a demotions expert (deals wtih explosives and deactivating traps).
Each member ol the learn ts controlled individually (using a pointer with onscreen direction arrows) and viewed from behind, (heir head and shoulders are shown at the bottom of the screen as corridor junctions and doors are approached in perspective.
The leader is used sjmply to explore and
has been overrun by the previously unknown terrorrsl group The Red Legion. The Legion are threatening to Wow up the Embassy at sundown if their demands are not met (though quite what ihe demands are the game tails to say).
Worse still, the Lutontan Ambassadors daughter is trapped inside, too scared to leave her hiding place for fear of capture and being taken hostage. Members of The Red Legion have already begun to search the Embassy, so even if the noble building can be saved, the daughter may be m for a nasty time
You first view a number C-! profiles in order to choose the three-man team you want to guide. Each team must comprise a
cass £14.95 disk
n
shoot terrorists. The communtcations expert has a number of functions accessed from a menu, such as search, use comput- er and use listening device The demoli- tions expert can perform special tasks like laying a booby trap, throwing a grenade and setting a 30- minute lime bomb.
Coinddentat'y or not, Mayday Squad plays similarly to Ihe mtenor level of Infogrames Hostages. Indeed, with the same sort of Embassy and terrorist plot and the same graphical viewpoint, it's very like the French product, However. Mayday Squad has more than the shoot- and -run play of Hostages: there's a bigger area to explore and wilb the two experts' you can
The Squad member portraits on the selection screen are well drawn, but in the game background graphics are biocky and ugly, with terrorists vague- ly defined, batd with weirdly shaped heads. Illogical things happen like killed terrorists simply disappearing and destroyed doors remaining visual- ly unchanged. Sound effects are dull accompanied by inappropriate bleeps.
£19.95
Some cute little character graphi accompany the variables on the option screen, and this trend is continued in the game. While the graphics aren 1 fantastically detailed (the backgrounds are sparse) they're colourful and car- loon-like despite being largely unani- maied. The occasional sound effects are sampled and the title music is effectively grim but repetitive. Some great simulated newspaper pages round off each game.
7 UPUAf
AMIGA
Crazy Cars II
TITUS £19.95 Apparently httie attempt h
ed sound effects. Arv
• . ■■
j game; vides plenty of ' TQM Update 77%
ATARI ST
Airborne Ranger
1003
i.'iiv Ofioiiv '
tactical and a way lo compens.
TOM update 70%
Is goes so
SPECTRUM Vindicators
TENGEN E8.99 cass, £14.99 :
trad and .~>ns
•^dicators. Tengen's comp
debut couldn't have been belt*
a to
show off Oomark s newest licence ^ monoc
quickly becomes
Vindicate' - wiped t,
whfc
ition ConstC> Amstradver-
TQM update 57%
do a lot more than just gun people down,
Both versions advance Ihe characters In graphical steps rather than scrolling in per- spective, so lhai when a room is entered (after gaining access by picking ihe loch, machine-gunning the door or blowing ii up with a grenade') there's a sense of anticipa- tion as lo whether there will be a gun-toting terrorist or two laying in wail1 The game isn't as slick on the Commodore 64, though, losing out on the atmosphere and compelling action, bul it's still a good buy for heroic soldiers of fortune everywhere
OTHER FORMATS
Atari ST (£19.95) and PC (£24.95) ver- sions are now available
52 \ 08 TGM 1X019:6-89
Be part
action
MIDI
All the blest hardware and software in the rapidly expanding scene of micro musk will be on dis- play, including keyboards, samplers, sequencers and professional studio software.
With an Atari/Midi setup you can produce top- quality musk; quickly and simply - editing oui mistakes in a way that's impossible with live recordings. So if you're in any way interested in making music with your micro this is the place to 1 to find oui alt about it.
CAD
Computer Aided Design has grown to become one of the most important uses for modern computers. With a CAD system you can design houses, cars and electron it tin, mis - in a fraction of the time il would take you with pen and paper.
With the ugh speed and powerful graphics of Atari micros it's hardly surprising that bigger and better CAD programs are pushing back the fron- tiers all the time
And only it the Atari Computer Show can you see all the Latest systems under one roof.
BUSINESS
Many companies will be demonstrating their taW software and hardware, specially designed to release the full business potential of Atari com- puters.
As well ts products for the 8-bit and ST, you'll be able to try out applications for the powerful Atari PC cnmpdtjhh' vrn--.
And you'll also be abb to gel expert advice from professionals.
DTP
The arl of combining text and pictures is big busi- ness nowadays because, with a low-cost DTP pro- gram, you can create anything from a club newsletter lo a monthly magazine or book.
At the show you'll be able lo try out the latest scanners, digitisers and super-fast programs, and get a first-hand glimpse at the way DTP is set lo develop in the future.
POST TO: Atwi Cvmpvter Show Ttckmto, >m inhibition*, PQ 8q* £. rm Port, South tVirrmi Utt j£4.
Supply
Q Adutt tickets «T £4 fwvo fl I f
0 ilnttot 16»l*fca*i»l £2 50 <**¥•£!>.. t_ D family ticket*! til lMv*tfi] €_
Total C
Alexandra Palace, Wood Green,
London N22
Friday to Sunday,
fune 23 to 25. 1989
Fri & Sat: 10am - 6pm, Sun: 10am - 4pm
The Atari Computer Sbo* is hack - with many new products and developments* Atari fcjs grown to be one of the major players in the computer world, supported by art incredible wealth of lop quality applications, games and utilities - all on view at this show.
ADVANCE TICKET ORDER
□ Cheque payable id Database Exhibinons
□ Pleat* dabrt my Acc*s«/Vi«a card no:
Mill I I 11.1
Expiry date: J_ Signed
JL
r
Atari computers are renowned for their ability to run fast-action arcade-quality games.
The range of new software on show will demon- strate how the power of these machines is con- linually being stretched, producing faster and even more addictive fames with superb grapbics-
The winning entry in the STOS Gameswriier of the Year Award will be revealed, and severs exerting STOS accessories will be shown for the first time
If you're a keen game player, you'll find there's so much on offer at the show - you're guaranteed ■ real treat!
DON'T MISS IT
So for a great day out - whether you want lo see what the future holds far Atari cnmpukT us»>rs lake advantage of the bargains on offer or get advice on specific applications - the Atari Com- puter Show is the place to go.
And if you send in the coupon now, you'll sate £1 off I be price of a single ticket!
SPECIAL OFFER
for the first lime we are now offering a family ticket for jusl £11, allowing entry for two adults and two children. So you can save up to £6 off the usual entry price!
HowhGttlkt
Alexandra Palace is so easy to get to by car, rail underground nr bus, It has its own British Rail station, just nine minutes away frum King's Cross, and there's a free bus service shuttling between station end show even l n minutes.
Ifyoti'tetnveliifift by road, the show is only IS minutes away fan Junction 25 on the MIS. Car parking is foe.
CATAEASE EXHIBITIONS
AdmHsioo mt door
ttladvtol
C3 50 fund* i$mi
Advance ticket order* moil h* received by Wtdneiriiy Juris 14
Namj
Address
Postcode
PHOMt CHOCTS UNG &k** Hoffene .asVJSTMt NESTU OMOCRS «f V *a» THEN Sl«HCn3
mxtojmumKm sold moats n luoan
tautB0MHe#tlfHimpttan4tu,'>*Sd*<
Reviews
Fighting the thrust of gravity
RAIDER
Impressions
Ida in space Isn't a bunch of roses at the best ol times. With the general lack of oxygen, a ten-month wait for mail and no chance of holidays, lite could be considerably better. They could be rosier tor the Empire too.
The imperial Border Navies have rebelled and taken command ol eight plan els. and vital pods needed to keep power plants running on each planet have been stolen — cue a combined meltdown set to vaporise the Empire and leave no trace.
To save the Empire, you are sent In a combination combat craft to destroy all resistance, recover the powerplants and replace them in iheir reactors Protecting iheir own interests with gun emplacements, the rebels have also hidden each pod from vie* with cloaking devices. Only by destroying the guns can you locate the pod, FHck it up and thrust away to the next plan- et
Guns are often hidden deep in caverns and underground corridors — dextrous thrusting and judicious shield use is all there is to keep you from scraping the rocky surfaces or running into bullets And with the constant pressure of a rapidly decreas- ing energy supply, picking up fuel pods at every opportunity is a good idea,
Once four pods are in the ships hold, you can enter a powerplant and tame the meltdown By travelling lo the core and inserting the pods the powerplant comes
back on line, but it's best to make sure you aren't in the reactor when it does Spark back into life.
There are four pianei types, changing from norma! to inverted gravity and limited visibility dark tones' on later levels where a hi-tech "torch- is provided, A password sys- tem allows tor play to continue from the last successfully restored powerplant. Thrust. ihe ancient coin-op Gravttar and Otds come to mind; all are satistyingly simple and high- ly playable games. Ranter is similar, but sadly 11 doesn'i expand enough on them, preferring to rely too much on differing plan- el conditions to offer ihe challenge — and it's not enough to hold interest
Ratder tails between stools, lacking Ctefes sparkle and involvemeni while miss- ing the chance for greater commercial sue cess at the pricing ievei ol Thrust Fans of the former programs may well revel in Raiders ideas, bui interest quickly wanes once all eight planets have been visited,
Raiders: some now ideas on the Oids theme, but tacking sparkle
ound
ol game but the detail in the com >nd gu< i have been
ITHER FORMATS
OT
An Atari ST version at the same i •s expected soon.
There's a grisly scene awaiting you at-..
BUTCHER HILL
Gremlin Graphics
■ very war has a hilt — Edge Hill (Civil War). Pork Chop Hill War {Korea! and Buicher Hill (Vietnam, according lo Gremlin) and there must be oth- ers... Hills are there to be taken lor no other reason than they're there and the enemy don't want you to have them.
The enemy camp on Buicher Hills Ihe target, but first you navigate a jungle river in a dinghy, grabbing canisters of exlra ammunition, energy for ihe nagging status meter and free bonuses,
Hitting the rrverbank, river rushes, lurking mines (though a swift iab of the fire button soon clears a path) or getting strafed by enemy planes loses lives
Arriving at the end-of-level jetty, you plunge into thick undergrowth where the occasional enemy soldier or landmine is encountered — both fatal, but at least you can blast the soldier. If you picked up a compass on the waier section you should be able to find your way around.
In clearings enemy soldiers pop out ol buildings and trees, and bonus ammunition and stamina are awarded to sharp shooters who dispose of them all,
At ihe base ol Butcher Hill the camp can
be tackled by lobbing grenades into huts Bui don't let any of the enemy escape because given the chance ihey leg ii off and call In some reinforcements
With only three seclions. Butch&r Hilf may give the irnpres sion ihat ft s a doddle to complete, bui don t bet on it. Unless you collect the compass on the nver section, for example, you find yourself completely lost in the jungle.
Pictured above: apart from the jungle section, which looks rather atmo- spheric, the graphics are dull and life- less (mainly greens and browns), which puts the dampeners on game enjoyment. It isn I quite as playable as the Spectrum version.
99 cass
£12.99 disk
Colourful, but with occasional flic and clash, especially on the river lion The gameplay Isn't hampered too much by the annoying loading systt
OTHER FORMATS
Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 128 versions priced £9.99 cass and £14.99 disk will be available soon, with an Amiga version to follow at £19.99
54 108TGM TX01 9:6-89
Hockey on the rocks
AMERICAN ICE HOCKEY
Mindscape
he growing sport of ice hockey gets another outing in the computer arena, following Anoo s simple inter pretation in Face Off (Atari ST 43%, ■ TGM018).
American Ice Hockey has some vague type of plot m that the SportTime Hockey League is going to expand to allow one more team in each ol the four leagues. You are the manager/coach/owner of a club, with the obvious aim of improving your league position, possibly gaining promotion, and more Optimistic Still, winning a cup. k
Before a match is played, and subse- quently between matches, various facts and figures can be viewed, and those affecting your team adjusted, Team and league histories are a list of statistics (points, matches played, won, lost, drawn etc), which gradually develop as matches and seasons are played
Your teams improvement is paramount so this has its own menu. You have 1,000 trading points which can be used in a van- ety ol ways. General improvement affects the whole team s performance (as il theyd been sent off to training camp}; the more trading points spent the better. Before a player may be recruited, a member Of the existing squad must be dropped, a judg- ment again made with reference to statis- tics. The new player is named by yourself, and his offensive and defensive skills (indi- cated by bar graphs) adjusted as desired but only at the cost of trading points
A player can be traded lor one in another team {once their strengths weaknesses have been assessed) but usually at the expense of trading points.
Players playing positions can be changed before going to the game screen. Here Stnp colours, match length and num- ber of players per skJeare altered Control of your teams centre player, goalie and coach can be switched between computer or human control — the systems allow two people to control different members of the team.
Coaching allows you to change the posi- tion of players and playing strategies, while total power, effective power, offensive strength and defensive strength are shown as bar graphs to indicate the effectiveness (or otherwise) of your tactics,
Arcade sequences enier the game m the match action sequences, the centre player
!4.99
With its use of EGA. the PC version Is 1 near identical to the ST. other than the
(even) weaker sound due to the PC's feeble i
audio capabilities.
OTHER FORMATS
C64 out now. cass £9.99 disk E14.1 No others expected.
*
can perform a number of different shots. with the goalie making a variety of saves.
For sports people who want more than just a few quick thrills. Mindscape have put there usual attention to detail in American tee Hockey Many facts and figures have to be digested to make decisions; most impor- tantly, care has to be taken when spending precious trading points. Then playing strategies and formations Nave to be worked out, all before the joystick wiggling Luckily, alt this is well documented in ihe manuals (including tips) so with time it ail becomes dear, This isn t most people s cup Of lea — the arcade elements aren't partic- ularly exciting — but sport or strategy fans should love it
MIX
Operation Wolf
OCEAN £8 95 cass £14 95 c comoromise . Out ooes the coi
and
nth no
»4 99
le statistics, options screens and so on are drab but functional. The pilch graphics are similarly plain end the stick- men sprites lack detail, although animation and movement are fine (scrolling s a bil jerky, though). Music Is light and effects simple.
TQM update a 1 ° <
AMIGA
Victory Road
99
PC
M update 54°-o
Graphically similar to the ST, the sprites are a bit beefier and anima- tion scrolling a bit better. Music and effects are improved — owners of megabyte Amigas will hear a wide vari- ety ol sampled crowd sounds.
A tense moment develops on the ice in the Atari St version be tow
Times Of Lore
MICROPROSE
Scroti
TGM TX 019:6-89 55/108
Short Reviews
SOFTWARE SNAX
Software Snax is the section for short reviews, the ones that came In too late to fit in the main body of reviews, or which fell in between TCM's schedules. Just because they're here doesn't necessarily mean we think they're rubbish — just check out some on this spread...
NAVY MOVES
Dinamic ■ Amstrari CPC £9,95 cass, E14.95 disk
Two years on and. as its Title suggests. The sequel to Army Moves is aquatic in nature. Your mission: infiltrate and destroy the enemy U-5544 nuclear submarine.
Beginning in a motor boat, Jet-biking commandos are eliminated on the way to the immersion point, whera you swim through shark infested waters, armed with a harpoon. A bathy scape within the enemy base is entered and eels and octopods {plural of octopus y'know) fought past to gam access to the second load — the sub.
Here codes are gained from slain crew members so that the sub's computer can be used — to open up corridors, stop the motors, raise the sub, and send a personal distress signal before the U-5544 sub- merges — permanently.
Once again. Dinamic's product is saved from terminal mediocrity by a number of distinct game sections. Changing vehicles and scenes prevents boredom and gives more incentive to complete the mission, though in common with other Dinamic games, the difficulty level (perhaps at lis highest here) may put some off,
Colourful and lively (but blacky) graphics disguise animalion and scrolling which is iittfe substandard, but the gory underwater death sequences are effective. Amongst the middle-of-the-road sound, there are one or two good eHects.
Perhaps the best of Dinamic s releases. Wai/y Moves win find favour with many toughened gamesplayers — provided that they don't mind getting Iheir digitised feet wet, TGM rating 67%
CHUCKIE EGG II
Pick "n" Choose a Atari ST Amiga £19.95
Older gamers may remember a simple platform game called Chuckle Egg, from A
N F Software: ihis is its more complex sequel Now Pick N' Choose (abbreviated and's go hand- in -hand with Chuckie
Eggs) have converted it to the 16-bits. giv- ing hero Hen House Harry a new lease of life. Harry has to restore order in a choco- late egg factory gone haywire. Afler dis- tracting the guard dog, he explores for the objects required: legg ingredients, toy parts, ladders and tools
Platforms and ladders may be an aged format, but it's surprising how much inter- est is generated. Delimiion is simple, with bigger graphics on the Amiga, and both sprites and bach- grounds have good detail — but pixel-per- fect jumping is required. Pacey music urges you on, with the Amiga voices pre dictably more profes- sional sounding. A bit pricey, though, for such a simple game. TGM rating; Atari ST 60% Amiga 6Q%
Software ■ Atari ST £19.99
Amiga £19.99
green baiz red lor I
pool (UK
ted from the '.; m.
Options menu salt or practice tno opposition, balls can
The
Novice to Steve i
Thepo.. bottom ol I
a cue t> m and shoi direr '
etching Irom thi ■ iy zoor 9, Good or ur
«Kils made can be replayed m slow motion a hit like watching Ciift Thorburn
The graphics are > . ■ical on both
versions, and (ike most billiard s (bar
Ihcse new tangled 3-D ones), the ban pockets are other
necessary visual feature is smoot
..'mem and n slow down ■ olts a*
p with unusual sudd*
poet
(Read in a stliy whis-
Cering Ted ov voic*?): And wvhiii a great shot there frCim tf Bother ham lad
Latest n> a long tine of
green (and lue) baize S tames ram CDS
117 1 11
56 10STGMTX018
Short Reviews
CHUCK YEAGER'S ADVANCED FLIGHT TRAINER VERSION 2.0
Electronic Arts ■ PC E29.99
Chuck breaks the sound barrier for the sec- ond lime on Die PC in whai re effectively an expansion ol the existing Advanced Flight Trainer program Four new aircraft have been added to the simulation of flying test aircraft including the Space Shuttle (a nov- elty addition) and. at last, a properly Shaped F -11 7 Stealth fighter!
An aerobatic team formation! option is also included for those seeking the ultimate in group thnlls 20.000 feet up, 8y far and away a major step above the did Chuck Yeager AFT. the graphics are a Jo! more professional in pre- sentation and even faster programming techniques have
been incorporated.
With the speed, though, comes the inevitable larger steps m frame upc becoming very
nolieeabte in particu- lar on the lower-end PCs Life is made not only difficult but frus- trating as a re
repeats an ever present pfot
EGA is. as usual, used to good effect
— peripheral screens am eacetlen: most notable being a superbly drawn Chuck offering belated advice following a crash, A very welcome feature is (he different designs of each cockpit Irom the ihreadb.< cockpit ol a Spad SXfll to the more comfort- able surrounds of a Piper Cherokee. A pity most of the fast Jets use the same cockpit layr,.
Tesi flights were greal fun on the original PC version and thi? has come across in its entirely m Version 2,0 EGA is used to superb effect and the concept of lest flights
OPERATION NEPTUNE
Infogrames ■ Atari ST £24.95 Amiga £24.95
My name's Morane. Bob Morane. I'm a tall, handsome and sickeningly suntanned secret agent and my task is to save the Free World from the psychotic Yellow Shadow. (Don't believe it — his real name is Ming. Doesn't sound so grabomgly evil when you say it that way, does it?).
Mings building killer robots in intercon- nected underwater bases. If these are unleashed the world will be at Ming's mercy. That's where I came in — at 6.15pm to be precise, can't remember the day.
I parachuted, complete with a nifty jet bike. Into the area of ocean known to house Ming's bases and kicked seven bells out of one of his henchmen, ft didn't lake long to dispose Of him or side into my super rmn- ^submarine to search the ocean depths and desiroy Ming's bases.
EPILOGUE: Operation Neptune is a tough but fairly longwinded arcade puzzle game, with pretty graphics and better than average Jean Michel Jarre-sounding tune. Really only for puzzle game fans TOM rating: Atari ST 59% Amiga 53%
is improved upon with new aircraft, smoother control more reakstic flight per- tormance and stick presentation, ideally of course l hesl to have a 236 or 306 hine when playing Whens the Chuck Yeager Combat coming oul EA? TQM rating 87%
inlocoma AMIGA £24.95
Underwater activity on th& ST
■
TGM rating; Atari ST 81% Amiga 81%
lame
togn
: >iex adven- ned
iWarrior.
ie war robot
' f\\ I C
anyc
TGM rating 85%
iaul of Iheir r
YOi.'
controlled b , ter around
ng on the left mc jghout the game vanoos I towed by a l- ons from which yc Med to
^oose wisely and get because your very own and parridpaiion
The over the anirr uhics wf
rnirxl of b
TGM TX 018:5-89 57/108
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lompmbk »ith At*n ( cncwttn
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The Amiga 500 is or* of a new breed of trtnnoiog.c-aiiy Advanced computers, which ire now emerging as ihe new manaaro for home computing, tweed around the new Motorola 68O00 chip The AS00 has 51?K RAM and a l Mbyte double s-ded dak ddve buiH-m It can be connected directly to a w»o> rang* of monitors, or to a domestic TV set through a TV modulator Designed with the user in mind, the AS00 features- a user t*-i*noiy WIMP environment end come* supplied *itn a tree mouse And, when you buy your Amiga from Silica Shop, in* - Ntoi Amiga specialists, you will experience an arte' sales service that is second lo none, including a technical support helpline and Pre* newsletters and price Iwls Return the coupon below fot our current information peck, when will give der.i the SiIicb service end the very West Sdica Amiga offers not
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oin-Ops
CONFRONTATION: COIN-OP
This month It's Mark Caswell who takes himself off to enjoy some arcade mayhem with the newest games. But what's this? The first turns out to be for toddlers...
Rompers
Namco
From what I can gather — my Japanese has never been up to much — Rompers is your lypi-cal girl meets boy, falls in love and gets abducted by a large and ugly monster story. So. jam- ming your rather-fetching yel- low hat further down on your head, you go to battle.
You atari by standing in the centre of a Pac-jWa^-style maze, surrounded by wails and proliferating keys — along with a range of attractive ene- mies. Pear-shaped ghosts
wander around the play area and pink hippo -like creatures meander while belching out dense sheets of flame [stand in the way and you get frazzled).
However, Our Hero isn't defenceless, he can shove the walls to squash helpless bad dies, and is then clear to pick up the keys and move onto the next screen. It's all dean and cute fun, and a pleasant change from many of the vio- lence-packed games in the arcades recently.
Mechanised Attack
SNK
choose which stubbied hero you warn to represent you, now board your landing craft ready to storm the beaches. Obstacles between you and dry land include ships, frogmen, helicopters even submarines —
all of which do Iheir best to knock your damage meter up.
When landed, the situation doesn't improve: soldiers from bushes and trees blast away with added venom, It's a tough task, so Shooting and picking up extra ammo, grenades and other items always helps There's no doubt ihai Mechanised Attack is another Operation Woft bui those who like a Oil Of computerised vio- lence are well catered for
Hlones of Operation Watt or Thunderbolt have always abounded, the most recent being SNK's Mechanised Attadt — which. thankfully, is pretty good-
As usual, you play the pan of a mercenary (with the option ot a friend) sent to rescue cap-
tured lellow spies from the hands of a band of nasty gueril- las, You musi (ravel to a remote island and. with the aid of numerous arms, penetrate the enemy's heavily-guarded head- quarters.
Grab hold ot the cabinet- mounted machine gun and
The Final Round
Konami
m he Fina-I Round is(
8 despite lis title, by no means the definitive box- ing game. The aim is to become world champion, so choose a boxer and enter the training camp./
The three attributes to build up are speed, power and stami- na, which are increased with the help oi weights, punch bag, etc. Once you're fighting fit, its time
for the slarl of your long haul to the top. An annoying referee drones on about the rules, the seconds are out, and ii's Round One.
All the usual boxing moves — defensive and offensive — are available (via three buttons), but watch the power meter at the bottom of the screen: too many hits and you could be down for the count (staying on the
TGM TX 019:6-69 61/108
Coin-Ops
Super Off Road
Leland
_. hree people can partib-
Ipate in Lelands Super Oft Road,., so its fun for all the family, After the preliminaries have been sorted out (giving your name, present
day, birth date) a visit to Ironman's Speedshop kits you out with a range of goodies like nilro (for extra speed), tyres, shock absorbers, rapid acceler- ation and a higher top speed.
The Final Round
canvas if your power is low). Win four bouts and you will be allowed to train and build up
your strength all over again. The Final Round is noihing out
ol ine ordinary, with some attractive graphics, and didn't thrill me loo much.
it a not all hard driving work in Super Off Road, there are also some sights to be seen!
All vary in price, so some can only be collecled later on
As the lour pick-up trucks {always a computer opponent) prepare for action, you musl expect a irack filled with all sorts of dangers; water-filled pits, huge mounds of earth, ramps and many tortuous bends.
Dangerous driving combined with a few nilro boosts soon
gets you in the lead {although a quick jab in a friend's ribs also has the same effect) Moneybags as well as nilro can be lound on the track, and these lop up your flagging reserves. At the end ol the day the race will be won by sheer lunatic driving. Super Off Road is one of the best multipiayer games I've seen in a while, keep an eye out for it
Qven here, in the deepest recesses of Shropshire, the sequel has arrived. Turbo Out Run is a 16 stage Trans-USA race passing through New York, Chicago and Miami, before finishing in Los Angeles. The okf Testarossa has been bought by Arthur Daley so Jump into your new. gleaming Ferrari F40.
Thanklully. Tel didn't get his peepers on your blonde, so grab ahold of her and prepare
As with Atari s Hard Drtvin both a manual and automatic gearbox mode are offered, novice drivers are advised to go for an auioshift There s also the Turbo Booster of the title, but it's very prone to overheat- ing,
The scenery s different and the car is more of a handlul, bul basically there's not that much of an improvement over the original
AND A COUPLE OF QUICKIES...
The action seems la have gone missing in Konami's Mi$smg in Action, which is little more lhan a very average Green 8&ret done. Shove in the ten pees and control a mercenary in green combat fatigues at an enemy airbase, slaughtering with a commando knife- Apart from the soldiers, other obstacles such as mines,
guard dogs and airplane pro- pellers really ought to be avoid ed And so ought the game.
We covered the new Williams machine Hare In the ATEI report, but missed the pic. Here it is: lust check out the admirably atmospheric New York sub- way station scene... and remember kids just say no' to drugs.
62 108 TGMTX0 19:6-89
BLISTERING PACE PIXEL PERFECT PASSING SUPERB TACTICAL PLAY
Whatever your style of play may b*. be it playing th* Long Bail or playing the S*«P«r, your players will be in position to receive the rimtl. control the midfteld and tackle an advancing striker Each player on the field if en individual with a unique comb i nation of four attributes - Pace. Accuracy , Stamina and Aggression. Watch out for the Brazilian* at the International level, they are dynamite.
ull size multidirectional scrolling pitch with scanner wing all the players on the field.
Option to practice and learn ball control, take corners and practice penalties
i Skill levels. Inter national to Sunday League. The levels of both teams set separately. The ultimate k"llenge u the defeat of the star studded team of .,«rnation«li by the Sunday League of no ho per* A super human test of skill and concentration
- One or two players option. * 4 distinct tactics.
ague competition for 1 to 8 players. Load and
League facilities.
rnple controls to dribble, shoot, past, chip or the ball or do a sliding tackle
ing ball simulation takes account of the ground and air friction. Direction ng breeze at the higher skill levels
A Soccer Simulator which
is not only accurate and
realistic but is also
great fun to
play
" 9 types of Corner kicks. Penalties, Yellow and Red cards and a host of other features like player* getting bred by the end of the game, time wasting, injury time. etc.
PLAYING IT 15 EASY STERING IT WILL TAKE TIME - A LOT OF TIME
AVAILABLE ON AMIGA £19.95
ATARI ST £19.95
CBM 64 Cassette £9.95
CBM64Disk £14.95
IBM PC Comp. £24.95
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