Source: Computer Gaming World – Issue Number 95 – June 1992

Computer Gaming World was my favorite computer gaming magazine and a very long running one. The first issue was published in 1981 and in 2006 it was bought by Microsoft and turned into Games for Windows. Despite this, it kept much of the same format and staff as before so it continued to be a good magazine it just didn’t survive much longer. The June 1992 issue includes:

Features

• Laura Bow and Daggers, II – A sneak preview of The Dagger of Amon Ra, an adventure game from Sierra that is a sequel to The Colonel’s Bequest.
• The Holy Grail of the Mass Market – Coverage of the Spring Symposium of the Software Publishers Association including discussion of various ways computer software will become mass market product.
• How I Spent My Working Vacation – Some observations about computers and computer gaming in Japan and China. Some observations include: Not very many Japanese homes have computers despite perceptions to the contrary – the NEC 9801 was one of the more popular machines there at the time and dedicated word processors were more common. American games have had mixed results in Japan with, for example, Sim City being very popular and Sim Earth not so much. Taiwan has more personal computer penetration into the home market than Japan though games do not sell particularly well.
• Electronic Arts’ Populous II – A review of Populous II for the Amiga. I played Populous on the Super NES but I don’t believe I ever played Populous II.
• It Takes a Genus – A review of a game collection called GX Games that includes Apples & Oranges, Mind Plus, Space Miner, Puzzler and Black Jack. What is interesting about it is that it includes source code for all of the games.
• Seven CDs of Gold – Coverage of the Seventh International Conference and Exposition on Multimedia and CD-ROM. Sony introduced the CD-ROM XA player which was a portable DOS based machine with 640K of RAM and 320×200 256 color display that supported multimedia applications. By the time I got my first “PC” a little over a year after this issue was published, CD-ROM drives were starting to become common.
• Paragon Software’s Twilight: 2000 – Review of this post-apocalyptic (post World War III) game set in the year 2000 for DOS based on the pencil and paper game of the same name.
• That’s Edutainment – An overview of several “edutainment” titles including Designasaurus II, SimEarth, EcoSaurus, Balance of the Planet, The Secret Codes of C.Y.P.H.E.R., Whales!, Grizzly Bears, Audubon Wildlife Adventure, and others.
• Celtic Perceptions – A review of Celtic Legends, a fantasy based war game from UbiSoft for the Amiga.
• Evil-Minded Professor – A review of Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective, a CD based adventure game for the CDTV, DOS, Macintosh, TurboGrafx-16 CD-ROM, and FM Towns.
• New Anchors for Uncharted Waters – A strategy guide for Uncharted Waters that includes coordinates of various ports, notes on them, available goods, etc.
• Maskirovka or Perestroika? – A preview of Crisis in the Kremlin from Spectrum Holobyte for DOS.
• The CGW Stock Watch – A look at how various gaming related stocks were doing at the time including Sierra, Electronic Arts, MicroProse, Broderbund, and others.
• Do You Hear What I Hear? – On overview of the various sound cards on the market at the time including the Roland LAPC-1, Roland CM-32L, Soundblaster (Creative Labs), Thunderboard (MediaVision), Sound Master II (Covox), Pro-Audio Spectrum (MediaVision), Sound Blaster Pro (Creative Labs), Ad Lib, Ad Lib Gold 1000, Ad Lib Gold 2000, and others.





• Abstracts on Computer Game Design – A look at articles 4.6, 5.1, and 5.4 of The Journal of Computer Game Design. Some topics include computer games vs. video games, the perils of Hollywood thinking, and the myth of the mass market.
• Sedan Soccer – A review of Wild Wheels from Ocean for the Amiga and DOS. It’s sort of a soccer game played with cars.
• A Conversation With Raymond E. Feist – Raymond E. Feist talks about the upcoming computer game based on his Riftwar fantasy saga.
• Sentimental Strategy – A preview of Solitaire’s Journey. This game consists of 105 different solitaire games but to make things more interesting it combines these games into different campaigns including a ‘quest’ and a ‘journey’.
• On Becoming a More Perfect General – A strategy guide for the World War II Scenario Disk for The Perfect General.
• Getting More Action Out of Action Stations! – A review of Action Stations! Scenario, an add on for Action Stations! which is a naval surface combat simulator for the Amiga and DOS. This expansion adds historical battles, hypothetical battles, alternate universe battles, as well as additional utilities and more.
• No Nonsense From Napoleon – Strategies and tactics for L’Empereur from KOEI.
• A Rambling ‘Mech from BattleTech – A preview of GEnie’s multi-player BattleTech game. This was a MechWarrior style game that could be played via GEnie’s online service.
• Paiktography of Modern Warfare – A list of wargames along with a brief description and review. These games cover “modern” combat eras from Korea to sci-fi (1950-2000).
• He Said, She Said – A review of Birds of Prey for the Amiga, a combat flight simulator featuring various aircraft.

_{Table of Contents from the June 1992 issue of Computer Gaming World (continued)}

Departments

• Taking a Peek – A brief look at new and upcoming games including Solid State Pinball Tristan, Computer Third Reich, Just Grandma and Me, FernGully: The Last Rain Forest, Virtual Reality Studio, Black Crypt, Planet’s Edge, Spectre, Thunderhawk, and others.
• Rumors – New Spellcasting game, Task Force 1942 from MicroProse, Eric the Unready, Sega CD-ROM upcoming U.S. launch, Quest for Glory 3, and more.
• Once Upon a Time (Computer Game History) – A look at past games including Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord and the games it influenced.
• Scorpion’s View (Magic Candle II) – Commentary on Magic Candle II, a computer fantasy role-playing game that is of course the sequel to the original Magic Candle.
• Scorpion’s Mail (Game Hints) – Hints for Eye of the Beholder, Eye of the Beholder II, Secret of Monkey Island II, Might & Magic III, Bane of the Cosmic Forge, Spellcasting 201, Elvira II, and Willy Beamish.
• Over There (European Games Report) – A look at recent games published in Europe including Armour-Geddon (Psygnosis), Hill Street Blues (Krisills), Air Bucks (Impressions), Crime City (Impressions), and more.
• PC Research/SPA Top Games – Various lists of top games. The Top DOS game was Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, the top Amiga game was Team Suzuki, the top Macintosh game was Flight Simulator, the top education title was Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. At the top of the EAD Top 25 list was AD&D: Eye of the Beholder II: Legend of Darkmoon.
• Editorial – A look at Sierra’s vision for online gaming, virtual reality, and the state of Computer Gaming World.

…and more!