Megalextoria

GamePro, May 1993

GamePro was never my favorite video game magazine but it was certainly one of the most popular. GamePro covered a multitude of systems throughout its life.

In 1993 the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo had both been out for a time that could be measured in years, the NES was still seeing the occasional release. The Turbo Duo never really did that well in North America (unlike Japan) and while it would hang around for another couple of years, games would only be released at a trickle. Then there was the Cadillac of game systems, the Neo Geo. Games were only released at a trickle for that system too but they were so expensive not many people could afford them anyway. It would remain the technically superior system until the 32-bit era. When you were playing a Neo Geo game you were literally playing the arcade version. The first color and by far technically superior Game Gear and Atari Lynx were competing with the Game Boy but ‘compete’ might be too strong of a word. Even to this day only Nintendo displaces Nintendo’s portable systems.

The May 1993 issue of GamePro includes:

Letter From the GamePros – An editorial on the then controversial issue of violence in video games.

The Mail – A question about playing as the boss characters in Street Fighter II on the Super Nintendo plus various questions about the Sega CD.

Hot at the Arcades – New games in the arcades in the first half of 1993 included Looney Tunes (Sega) and Creature from the Black Lagoon (Bally pinball machine).

Cutting Edge – Virtual Reality is nothing new it’s just that past attempts have failed because they weren’t good enough. Virtual Vision Sport wasn’t exactly virtual reality anyway but it was a step in that direction.

Special Feature: Out of This World ProStrategy Guide – Strategy guides like this were incredibly useful before the days of the Internet. Of course, they could ruin a game for you too if you read ahead when you didn’t absolutely need help. This is a strategy guide for the Super Nintendo version of Out of This World.

Special Feature: Ecco the Dolphin ProStrategy Guide, Part 1 – And of course strategy guides would often be split across multiple issues. Here’s the first part of a strategy guide for Ecco the Dolphin on the Sega Genesis.

ProReviews
- Nintendo
  - Joe & Mac – An ok review for a dinosaur and caveman themed side-scrolling adventure for the NES.
  - The Incredible Crash Dummies – Another ok review for an NES game. This one was based on a commercial from what I can remember. Despite the name it is more a side-scrolling action game then driving game.
  - Battletoads/Double Dragon – Only a preview for this game as it was still to be released. I don’t think I ever played it but i think it was supposed to be very hard.
- Genesis
  - X-Men – Side-scrolling adventure or fighting games were king back in the day and here’s another featuring the X-Men. A very positive review for this one.
  - James Bond 007: The Duel – Another side-scrolling game, this one reminiscent of Rolling Thunder. Pretty positive review for this one too.
  - Batman: Return of the Joker – Yet another side-scrolling action/adventure game, this one featuring Batman. Mediocre review buy you probably want to play it if you are a Batman fan.
  - Master Blaster 2 – The original on the NES was a classic and while this one got very positive reviews, I don’t remember it at all.
  - The Flintstones – A fairly positive review for this more kid oriented side-scrolling action/adventure.
  - Elemental Master – An interesting and highly rated shooter (at least here) by Renovation who made some pretty good games.
  - Humans – Another side-scrolling action/adventure game featuring cavemen. This seemed to be a theme at the time.
  - Outlander – Not related to the current popular TV show. This game is a little more Mad Max like featuring fighting from both inside and outside your vehicle.
  - Risky Woods – A well reviewed game that looks like a clone of Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts…or Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins.
  - Jungle Strike – I believe Jungle Strike was the second game in the “Strike” series. This is only a preview but it was a great game like most of those in the Strike series.
- Sega CD
  - C & C Make Your Own Music Video – Does anyone even remember C&C Music Factory? There were a few of these games featuring different musical acts and while almost laughable today, being able to edit your own video, even within the limitations given, was pretty novel at the time.
  - Final Fight – Preview of the Sega CD version of Final Fight. An improvement on the SNES version but to be fair that was a very early SNES release.
- SNES
  - Batman Returns – A side-scrolling action game (mostly) based on the movie of the same name (the Tim Burton Batman movies are still the best as far as I’m concerned). It got excellent reviews here. Excellent licensed game are a rarity.
  - Bubsy: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind – Despite its cutesy nature, this was an excellent side-scrolling adventure game with outstanding graphics for the time.
  - Equinox – I don’t think I realized it at the time but Equinox was the sequel to Solstice.
  - Wayne’s World – Based on the Saturday Night live skit and movie, it was certainly an amusing game but I’m not so sure it was ‘excellent’.
  - Doomsday Warrior – Street Fighter II spawned the whole fighting game craze. This one is really just another mediocre imitator.
  - Taz-Mania – For some reason, games based on Looney Tunes characters almost always seem to be great. This one is no exception. It’s somewhat unique too. It’s a game where you chase things and it plays somewhat like a racing game using SNES Mode 7 graphics.
  - First Samurai – A pretty good side-scrolling action/adventure game with a mystical Samurai theme.
  - Pushover – A puzzle game in which you control an ant has he tries to knock down all the dominoes. Possibly interesting for puzzle game fans only.
  - Dream Probe – A side-scrolling hack and slash game where you must rescue a girl from her dream. This one is by Renovation and got good reviews.
  - Family Dog – This one seems to be designed for the younger player and is pretty mediocre.
  - Aerobiz – This is an RPG/strategy game in which you play the CEO of an airline. It isn’t for everybody but it is pretty well executed.
- Turbo Super CD
  - Terraforming – This is a side-scrolling shooter, a type of game that the Duo excelled at. This is another excellent example.
- TurboChip
  - Bonk 3 – TTI’s mascot, the Bonk games were side-scrolling adventure games and they were always pretty good even if they couldn’t match the popularity of Sonic and Mario.
- NeoGeo
  - Sengoku 2 – An arcade quality side-scrolling beat-em-up that played kind of like a fighting game which was really SNK’s specialty.
- Game Boy
  - Spot: The Cool Adventure – A licensed game based on a 7-Up mascot that was a spot on a tiny, blurry black and white screen. How could this end well? Well, it got pretty good reviews here anyway…
  - Battleship – Game Boy version of this popular board game.
  - Cool Ball – A puzzle game that I never heard of but it gets decent reviews here.
  - TaleSpin – Side-scrolling adventure game by Capcom. It’s a decent enough game but I always despised the motion blur of any game involving scrolling of the screen on the Game Boy.
- Game Gear
  - Spiderman: Return of the Sinister Six – A pretty good action game featuring Spider-Man.
- Lynx
  - Pit-Fighter – This review is an example of why I never liked GamePro. Pit-Fighter was really not a good game on the Lynx. In fact, it was possibly the worst. Yet it gets a great review here.

Overseas Prospects – Games released elsewhere that may (or may not) reach the U.S. This month featured games included Cyber Aleste (a vertical shooter for the Mega CD), Flying Hero (a cutesy vertical shooter for the Super Famicom), and Sim Ant (Super Famicom).

The Sports Page – Coverage of the latest sports game. Featured this month are Mutant League Football for the Genesis, George Foreman Boxing for the NES, and Jimmy Connors Tennis for the NES and Game Boy. Coverage of an Electronics Arts Super Bowl XXVII (boy that makes me feel old) event is also included.

Hardware Helpers – Coverage of some of the latest peripheral and game accessory releases including Innovation’s Super Stick (supports several systems), The Fire Stick for the Super Nintendo (designed specifically for Street Fighter II but would work with other games as well), and more.

Short ProShots – Brief summaries of several games including Summer Challenge (Genesis), Arcus Odyseey (SNES), Toxic Crusaders (Bandai), James Pond III (Genesis). Claymates (SNES), Wolfchild (SNES), Magical Chase (Turbo Duo), The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Game Boy), Star Trek: The Next Generation (Game Boy), Stellar 7 (Sega CD), Kirby’s Adventure (NES), and The Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Game Gear).

S.W.A.T. (Secret Weapons and Tactics) – Tips and tricks for Sonic 2 (Genesis), Sonic 2 (Game Gear), The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (NES), Black Hole Assault (Sega CD), Super Earth Defense Force (SNES), Super Battletank (SNES), Rival Turf (SNES), Super Buster Bros. (SNES), Yo Bro (TurboGrafx-16), Super Star Wars (SNES), Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis), Street Fighter II (SNES), Joe Montana’s SportsTalk Football ’93 (Genesis), and more.

GameBusters: Prince of Persia – A brief strategy guide for Prince of Persia on the Super Nintendo.

ProNews – News this month includes Street Fighter II: Champion Edition on the Genesis, development of Eye of the Beholder I and II on the Super Nintendo, upcoming Beauty and the Beast games for the NES and SNES, pirated video games in Taiwan and other places, the national roll-out of the Turbo Duo, and much more.

…and more!

Last October, after The New York Times started asking questions about the Internal Revenue Service’s practice of taking legally earned money from innocent people based on allegations that they tried to evade bank reporting requirements, the IRS said it “will no longer pursue the seizure and forfeiture of funds associated solely with ‘legal source’ structuring cases unless there are exceptional circumstances.” A case highlighted by ABC News, involving money snatched from an Iowa widow, suggests how big that “exceptional circumstances” loophole might be.

In 2011 an IRS agent named Jeff McGuire paid a visit to Ronald Malone, an Iowa publishing executive who at the time was dying from cancer. McGuire told Malone that bank deposits he had made looked fishy: They totaled $35,000, but each was less than $10,000, the threshold for transactions that banks must report to the Treasury Department. Deliberate evasion of that requirement is a federal crime, even when the money comes from legitimate sources, as Malone’s did. McGuire explained that to Malone, who signed a form acknowledging the explanation. The IRS did not seize the money, and no charges were filed.

After Malone died, his widow, Janet, deposited another $19,000 of his savings in amounts below $10,000. This time the IRS seized the money and referred the case to the Justice Department for prosecution. The agency’s attitude: We warned you once.

According to an affidavit quoted by ABC News, Malone conceded that she was home during McGuire’s visit but noted that she did not sign the form and said she did not remember the details of the meeting because “she was in a state of despair over her husband’s health.” She predicted that “you won’t prosecute a widow.” They showed her.

Under an agreement with the government, Malone will give up the money and plead guilty to a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $250,000. “This is shocking,” Institute for Justice attorney Larry Salzman told ABC News, “because it demonstrates that prosecutors are not taking seriously the IRS’s alleged policy change not to prosecute legal source structuring.” I.J. has represented several business owners whose money the government seized based on suspicion of structuring but returned after I.J. challenged the forfeitures.

According to an I.J. report published last week, the IRS seized $242 million based on suspected structuring in more than 2,500 cases from 2005 to 2012. In at least a third of those cases, there were no allegations of criminal conduct aside from the purported structuring itself.

Full article: http://reason.com/bl … ney-because-her-depo

Dragon Festival 2015 – Jousting

GamePro (May 1993)

IRS Steals Widow’s Money Because Her Deposits Were Too Small