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  • Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom (DOS, Apple II)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment
    Computer Play Issue Number 6 January 1989 Page 6 Industry News & Views by Rusel DeMaria Page 7 Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom (DOS, Apple II)
    Computer Play
    Issue Number 6
    January 1989
    Page 7
    Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom (DOS, Apple II)

    Source: Computer Play – Issue Number 6 – January 1989

    Each era has RPGs that it is known for. One of the more popular RPGs of the 8-bit era (at least for computers) was Wizardry. The series started all the way back in 1981. Wizardry V was released in 1988 for perhaps the widest variety of systems of any Wizardry game. It appeared on the Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, and Super Nintendo among others. While the series would continue, Wizardry V was the last to appear on 8-bit computers.

     

    Apple II
    Wizardry V played very much like previous games in the series. It is played primarily from a 1st person point of view but everything is turn based as opposed to real-time. While Japanese RPGs have seemingly become the dominant form of the genre in the U.S., ironically Wizardry was hugely influential in the development of not only other famous computer RPG series, but also many of the early games in JRPG video game series such as Dragon Quest. You will also see its influences in series like Bard’s Tale and Might and Magic among others.

     

    Commodore 64
    The Wizardry series is a very good series to play if you are into RPGs. It was never at the top of my list (I always preferred the Ultima series and the D&D Gold Box series), but it is still very good and worth trying at least one of them. Wizardry V is a reasonable one to start with if you don’t want to commit to playing them all because it is not part of a trilogy (1-3 and 6-8 were trilogies whereas IV and V were standalone). For most games in the series you’ll probably have to have an old computer handy or use emulation (though Wizardry V is available on the SNES).

    The ad above is from the January 1989 issue of Computer Play.





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  • Commodore PC 10-III

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The Commodore PC10-III was an IBM XT compatable computer released in 1988 along with the PC20-III and Commodore Colt. They all used the same motherboard and were very much alike, only varying in things like minor cosmetic items and disk capacity.

    Specs include:

    • CPU: Intel 8088-1 (4.77MHz, 7.16MHz, 9.54MHz)
    • RAM: 640Kb
    • Chipset: Faraday FE2010A
    • 360K 5.25″ Floppy disk drive
    • Video: Onboard Paradise PVC4
    • 3 8-bit ISA slots
    • 75 watt power supply

    For more info and photos, see:

    http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?26427-Commodore-PC10-III

    and

    http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2010-11-18-exploring-a-commodore-pc-10-III.htm


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  • IBM PCjr

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    IBM PCjr

    The IBM PCjr (code name Peanut) was IBM’s first (and rather abysmal) attempt to enter the home computer market. While the IBM PC had come out a few years earlier, it was designed more as a small computer for businesses and was way too expensive to be a true competitor in the home market.

    The PCjr shared the same processor (4.77 mhz 8088) and BIOS as the original IBM PC so it was mostly compatible. Two models were available, one having 64KB and the other having 128KB which were pretty typical amounts for the time (1984). It would have made a reasonable solution for home users that absolutely needed PC compatibility except for a few fundamental flaws.

    First, the keyboard was horrible. It was a chicklet infrared design and for anyone who could actually type, it was less that desirable. Second, while the PCjr was mostly PC compatible it was not 100%. Certain choices for memory addresses and hardware interrupts could make some hardware and software designed for the PC fail to work properly on the PCjr. There were other hardware limitations as well such as being limited to only one floppy disk drive and using a non-standard monitor. Finally, while the PCjr was far less expensive than a regular PC, it was still expensive compared to other home computers. For instance, the Tandy 1000 was a much better choice for a machine of this class. An Apple II cost about the same but had far more hardware and software support at the time. The Commodore 64 was much cheaper and almost as capable (better in some ways, not quite as good in others). Any of these other choices made for better graphics and games which were important things for the home market.

    Not surprisingly, the PCjr was a flop and while PC compatibles ultimately took over the world, it wouldn’t be with the PCjr. The PCjr was discontinued after only about a year on the market and 500,000 units shipped. These were disastrous number for IBM and well below the millions of computers sold by Commodore and Apple.

    The ad above is from the July 1984 issue of Family Computing.


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