• Tag Archives DOS

  • Compute! (August 1984)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Compute! was one of the more popular home computer magazines of its time. It wasn’t as technical as something like Byte and it concentrated on the machines most potential users would be buying for their home. The August 1984 issue includes:

    Features

    • Software Power!: The Summer Consumer Electronics Show – While some new computers and other hardware were introduced at the Summer CES, there was also a lot of new software. Some machines made debuts privately like the Amiga Lorraine prototype, a new advanced 8-bit computer from Atari, and MSX based computers due to hit the U.S. Commodore also introduced the Plus/4 and C-16 (both of which went nowhere). Coleco was also pushing the Adam which was introduced 6 months earlier. There were also tons of games and other software for the Commodore 64, Atari, and Apple II among others.
    • The COMPUTE! Interview: Gerald K. O’Neill – The head of a company called Geostar Corporation which was a computer-based satellite positioning and communications company.

    Education and Recreation

    • Devastator – A type-in game in which you must destroy an alien invasion force before it destroys Earth. Originally written for the VIC-20 with versions included for the Commodore 64, Color Computer, TI-99/4A, Apple II, and PC.

    • Jackpot – A type-in slot machine simulator for the Ti-99/4A, Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari, and PC.

    Reviews

    • The Complete Personal Accountant For The Commodore 64 – A sophisticated accounting package for the Commodore 64 that includes ten separate programs.
    • Star League Baseball – An excellent baseball sim for its time for the Commodore 64.

    Columns and Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – An editorial on the Summer Consumer Electronics Show.
    • Readers’ Feedback – Readers write in about Commodore 64 memory, Pascal for the Apple II, Atari checksum errors, using the stack, slowing screen output on the Commodore 64, and more.
    • Computers and Society: Computer-Assisted Explorations With Music – Teaching people to compose music with computers. This article concentrates on a software product called Musicland for the Apple II.
    • The Beginner’s Page: Printing And Asking – Printing special control codes (e.g. cursor movement) in BASIC by using CHR$ and ASCII values.
    • INSIGHT: Atari – Using the Atari 1050 disk drive enhanced density mode.
    • Programming The TI: The Singing Computer – Using the TI Speech Synthesizer to make the TI-99/4A sing.
    • Machine Language: Decimal Mode, Part 2 – Some of the bugs and pitfalls with using decimal mode in machine language on the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • 64 Explorer – Printing characters to a bitmapped display by drawing it.
    • On The Road With Fred D’Ignazio: Are Computers A Home Appliance? – I don’t think computers have really ever been an “appliance”. More like a personal device similar to a mobile phone.
    • Questions Beginners Ask – Questions answered about plugging all computer peripherals into the same wall socket via a power strip and transporting a computer by plane.

    The Journal

    • ML Tracer – A type-in program for the Atari, Apple II, and Commodore computers that allows you to step through machine language programs.
    • 64 Searcher – A type-in program that allows you to search through you BASIC program for the string of your choice.
    • 64 Error Suppression – Avoiding error messages and system freezes when an error occurs on the Commodore 64.
    • Hi-Res VIC Drawing – A guide to drawing hi-res images on the VIC-20.
    • ML Applesort – A type-in machine language program for the Apple II that will sort an array of any length.
    • News & Products – The Drum-Key music interface board for the Apple II, an RS-232 modem adapter for Atari, Graphics Master for the Commodore 64, the Networker communications package for the Apple II, the Creative Electronics lighte pen for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20, and more.

    …and more!


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  • PC Zone (January 2001)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    PC Zone is a PC gaming magazine that was published in the U.K. In fact, it was the first magazine published in the U.K. to be dedicated to PC gaming. It was published from 1993 to 2010. The January 2001 issue includes:

    Previews

    • Operation Flashpoint – An early look at this Cold War era wargame.
    • Mechwarrior 4 – A preview of the latest Mechwarrior game which was developed by Microsoft. I never really progressed beyond Mechwarrior 2.
    • Desperados – A strategy game set in the wild west.
    • Fate of the Dragon – A game with a resemblance to Age of Empires based on Chinese History.
    • Conflict Zone – A real-time strategy game that also involves a strategic use of the media.
    • Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – I prefer RPGs in the style of Baldur’s Gate which came along a few years before this game but this one is still on my to play list one of these days.

    Reviews: New Games

    • Severance: Blade of Darkness – A fantasy based third person action game from Codemasters.
    • American McGee’s Alice – An interesting interpretation of Alice in Wonderland.
    • Escape From Monkey Island – The classic LucasArts point-and-click adventure game.
    • Colin McRae Rally 2 – A racing game sequel that lives up to the original.
    • Simon the Sorcerer 3D – An apparently really bad adventure game.
    • Hitman: Codename 47 – Classic shooter in which you play the roll of an assassin.
    • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 – The first sequel to the classic skateboarding series.
    • Tomb Raider Chronicles – The latest series of Laura Croft adventures.
    • Links 2001 – I was never that into golf games but this was a decent one from Microsoft.
    • Civilization: Call to Power 2 – The original Civilization was already ten years old at this point but this was another worthy entry in the series.
    • Deep Space Nine: The Fallen – A third-person action/adventure game based on Star Trek: DS9.
    • No One Lives Forever – A first person shooter with a very linear storyline.
    • Blair Witch Volume 2 – A not too bad horror adventure game based on the Blair Witch franchise.
    • Screamer 4×4 – A slow paced racing game in which navigating difficult terrain is emphasized over raw speed.
    • Moho – An action game that tries to be unique but falls a little flat.
    • Supercross Kings – A motorcycle racing game that just isn’t very good.
    • MTV Skateboarding – There’s a reason you probably remember Tony Hawk but don’t remember this skateboarding game.
    • Fur Fighters – A combination of first person shooting and simple puzzles featuring cute animals.
    • Motocross Mania – A game that was clearly influenced by Microsoft’s Motocross Madness.
    • Thandor: The Invasion – A real-time strategy game that is well below average.
    • Jetfighter IV – A mediocre combat flight sim.
    • City Trader – This is essentially a stock trading sim. While more entertaining than it sounds, it definitely won’t be for everybody.
    • Hogs of War – A 3-D Worms-like game featuring pigs and a WWI them. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that well.

    Budget Reviews

    • Jimmy White’s 2 Cueball – A great game if you are looking for computerized versions of games such as snooker and darts.
    • Heretic 2 – The classic fantasy third person action adventure game based on the Quake II engine.
    • Heavy Gear 2 – A great classic mech game.
    • Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge – Golf games with Jack Nicklaus’ name on it were usually pretty decent as is this one.
    • Beetle Crazy Cup – A less than mediocre arcade racing game.
    • Total Annihilation: Kingdoms – A pretty mediocre real-time strategy game in which you play as one of four civilizations.
    • Wheel of Time – This fantasy based FPS/adventure game is based on the book series with the same name though the game doesn’t live up to the books.

    Online News

    • Planetside – A massively multiplayer first person tactical shooter by the makers of Everquest.
    • Ultima Online: Third Age – The latest update to this then four year old MMORPG that is still going today.
    • Dark Age of Camelot – I was never really big into MMORPGs but I was addicted to this one for a little while. I can still hear the music.
    • Win a PC and a Dreamcast – The prizes in this competition include a Sega Dreamcast and a Dell PC with a Pentium III-800, 64MB RAM, 15 GB hard drive, 32MB nVidia M64 TNT 2 graphics card, and more.

    Online Reviews

    • counter Strike 1.0 – One of the most iconic online shooters of all time was already a classic at this time.
    • C&C: Red Alert 2 – The latest in what was one of the greatest RTS game series.
    • Game Server Browsers Round-Up – A look at tools designed to help you to find the best game servers. At the top of the list here was Pingtool 2.6A.

    Bulletin

    • Battlefield: 1942 – This game was unique for providing first person control of vehicles, airplanes, and troops all in one game.
    • DS9: Dominion Wars – A 3D space combat game featuring Star Trek ships.
    • Tech Head – A look at the latest from COMDEX including a new Tablet PC spec, the GeForce 2 Go from nVidia, and more.
    • The PC Zone Charts – Top games this month include Red Alert 2, Escape From Monkey Island, Baldur’s Gate II, and more.
    • Hotshots – A new RTS from Codemasters called Z: Steel Soldiers.

    Regulars

    • Mailbox – Letters from readers about sexism in gaming, PC game packaging, videogame violence, and more.
    • Hardware: Graphics Cards – A look at the Hercules 3D Prophet II Ultra and ATI Radeon 64MB DDR.
    • Hardware: Upgrades – Some ideas for Christmas including the Abit KT-7 RAID Motherboard, the 1 GHz Athlon Socket A CPU, the IBM Deskstar 75GXP, and more.
    • PC Zone Top 100 – The best 100 PC games of all time. Top games include Half-Life, Shogun: Total War, Deus Ex, Grim Fandango, Midtown Madness, Falcon 4, Fifa 2001, and more.

    Troubleshooting

    • Cheatmaster – Cheats for a variety of games including Midtown Madness 2, Rune, Baldur’s Gate II, and more.
    • Diablo II Walkthrough: Part 2 – The second part of a detailed strategy guide for Diablo II.
    • Dear Wandy – Questions answered about upgrading a Pentium II CPU, hub choices, online gaming, downloads over modem, and more.
    • Watchdog – Complaints about LibertySurf ISP, purchasing a monitor online, NTL cable modem service, and more.

    …and more!


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