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  • Electronic Games (January 1993)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Computer & Video Game Magazines – Electronic Games – January 1993

    Electronic Games had its first life from 1981 to 1985. It ended publication in large part due to the Video Game crash that occurred a couple of years earlier. However, it was reborn in 1992 and had another run until 1995. The January 1993 issue includes:

    Departments

    • Power On! – A look ahead at what to expect in 1993. Predictions include the SNES becoming the best selling console, more video games released than in 1992, CD-ROM will not replace cartridges, some cartridge prices will drop, and more.
    • Feedback – Letters from readers with praise for the magazines, questions about game development, and various suggestions.
    • Hotline – News items including: Apple releases the Performa 200 (Based on the Mac Classic II), the Performa 400 (based on the LC II), and the Performa 600 which is a new design with a 32MHz 68030 CPU. The first two come with 4 MB RAM and an 80 MB hard drive. The Performa 600 comes with 4 or 5MB of RAM, a 160MB hard drive and optional CD; Sega premieres Sega CD ad in Times Square; MicroLeague introduces Laser Squad; Wordtris coming for several platforms; counterfeit Street Fighter II Champion Edition arcade boards seized; Pac-Man turns 10; Sony and Nintendo plan CD add-on for SNES; new Star Wars pinball from Data East; and more.
    • Insert Coin Here – A look at the 1992 AMOA Expo which included new arcade games such as Street Fighter II Champion Edition, The Addams Family Pinball, Lethal Enforcers, Terminator 2, Art of Fighting, Virtua Racing, Final Lap 3, Space Lords, Skins Game, Lizard Command, and more.
    • Game Doctor – Questions answered about AdventureVision and UltraVision, cartridge cleaners, Wing Commander on the SNES, renting games, and more.
    • Video Game Gallery – Reviews of video games including Batman Returns (NES), Dragon’s Lair (SNES), Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (SNES), Equinox (SNES), Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball (Genesis), John Madden ‘9 (Genesis), Steel Talons (Genesis), Battleclash (SNES), Chester Cheetah – Too Cool to Fool (SNES), Hook (SNES), Captain America and the Avengers (Genesis), Spiderman and the X-Men in Arcade’s Revenge (SNES), Andre Agassi Tennis (Genesis), and Super Battle Tank: War in the Gulf (Genesis).
    • Computer Game Gallery – Reviews of computer games including SimLife (Macintosh), Plan 9 from Outer Space (MS-DOS), Heaven & Earth (MS-DOS), Red Zone (Amiga), The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes (MS-DOS), Utopia (MS-DOS), B-17 Flying Fortress (MS-DOS), and Spellcasting 301: Spring Break (MS-DOS).
    • CD Gallery – Reviews of games on CD including Sherlock Holmes/Sol Feace/Sega Classics (Sega CD), The Adventures of Willie Beamish (Sega CD), Cobra Command (Sega CD), and Sewer Shark (Sega CD).
    • Portable Playtime – Reviews of games on portable systems including Tumblepop (Game Boy) and Prince of Persia (Game Gear).
    • Joystick Jury – Reviews from readers for games such as Darkseed (MS-DOS) and Team USA Basketball (Genesis).
    • Fandom Central – A look at the latest issues of several fanzines including Totally Super NES #4, Master Minds #4, and Paradox #2.
    • The Kunkel Report – Bill Kunkel takes a look at Virtuality. This was one of the earlier attempts at virtual reality in an arcade setting. It was expensive and the games themselves weren’t that great but as a tech demo it was pretty impressive for the time.
    • Gaming On-Line – A look at the Prodigy online service and some of the games you could play there. Free (with subscription) games included Mad-Maze, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, and CEO. Games that required a fee to pay included Mystery Party, Rebel Space and Golf Tour.
    • Test Lab – A detailed look at the GAMEHANDLER Controllers which included the GAMEHANDLER NSX (Super NES), GAMEHANDLER GS (Genesis), GAMEHANDLER (NES), GAMEHANDLER AI2 (IBM & Apple), and GAMEHANDLER FX (TurboGrafx-16).
    • Lore – Reviews of books. This month’s candidates are ‘The Official Guide to Sid Meier’s Civilization’ and ‘How to Design and Sell Video Games (ok, this one is actually a video).
    • Things to Come – Next month: The Player’s Guide to Fantasy Gaming, The Making of a Multimedia Masterpiece, and Goal!: Electronic Games 1992 Hockey Review.

    Features

    • National Fan Club – A new fan club started by EG called the National Association of Electronic Gaming Enthusiasts (NAEGE).
    • EG’s 1992 Game Awards – Candidates for Video Game of the Year include Street Fighter II, Rampart (Lynx), Shinobi (Game Gear), and Star Wars (Game Boy). For computer games the choices include Aces of the Pacific, Civilization, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, SimLife, Spear of Destiny and Wing Commander II. There was also a Multimedia Games of the Year Category with several contestants including Dragon Slayer (Turbo Duo), Night Trap (Sega CD), and Loom (PC-CD). Portable Game of the Year candidates are Caesar’s Palace (Game Boy), Rampart (Atari Lynx), Shinobi (Game Gear), and Star Wars (Game Boy). There are a number of other categories as well including Best Action Video Game, Best Action/Action Strategy Computer Game, Best Adventure/RPG Computer Game, Best Adventure/RPG Video Game, Best Sports Video Game, Best Sports Computer Game, Best Strategy Computer Game, and more. Readers get to vote on the actual winners.
    • Player’s Guide to Gaming Gifts – A look at gaming gifts to give your friends and relatives, including ASCIIware’s Game Gear Carry All, the Light Boy, NAKI’s 12 hour Action-Pak Plus Game Boy battery, the Turbo Touch 360, Sega’s Menacer and the SuperScope 6 for the SNES, the Video Game Super Chair, the Miracle Keyboard, TeleGames Personal Arcade, Advanced Gravis UltraSound, Pro Audio Spectrum 16, Sound Blaster and Sound Blaster Pro sound cards, and lots more.
    • Playing with Toys – A look at the Robin Williams’ movie Toys and the game that is based on it.
    • Ultimate Helicopter Simulator – A look at a real helicopter simulator in Jacksonville that simulates flying SH-3 and SH-60F helicopters. Two mainframe computers are used, one to control the flight model and graphics and the other to simulate ASW functions.
    • EG Interview – An interview with Tom Kalinske, CEO of Sega of America.

    …and more!


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  • Electronic Games (November 1992)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Electronic Games – Volume 1, Number 2 – November 1992

    Electronic Games was the original video games magazine, at least in the U.S. It ceased publication in 1985 but was reborn a few years later (though it seemed a lifetime later at the time) in 1992 with the same main editors and writers. The November 1992 issue includes:

    Cover Story

    • Players’ Guide to Football – Football season is here, and with it the 1992-93 season of football games. EG takes an in-depth view of what’s a touchdown and where the fumbles are. Included are interviews, new games, and instructions on forming your own stat-league.

    Features

    • Light Out! – Join the Crypt Keeper, host of HBO’s Tales from the Crypt, as he looks at scary games. Okay, Kiddies. This may be one you’ll want to send your parents out of the room for, but if read properly, you just may get a-head.
    • Price of Technology – Do you hate to spend fifty-bucks on a video game? How about $60 or $70? Want to know why games cost what they do? Just turn here.
    • Apogee: Shareware – Shareware used to be synonymous with cheap, poorly crafted software. Today, that opinion is changing. Here is a look at one of the companies responsible for that change, and the products they represent.
    • CD Multimedia – Consider, CD systems for computers and video game systems. Are they here to stay, or just passing by?
    • Gaming On Line – In the first of his series, Ed Dille looks at America On Line and the new state-of-the-art games being offered to subscribers.

    Departments

    • Power On!
    • Hotline
    • Insert Coin Here
    • Game Doctor
    • Video Game Gallery
    • Software Gallery
    • CD Gallery
    • Portable Playtime
    • Fandom Central
    • The Kunkel Report
    • Test Lab
    • Lore
    • The EG Poll
    • Things to Come

    …and more!


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  • Electronic Games (July 1982)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

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    Source: Electronic Games – Issue Number 5 – July 1982

    Electronic Games was really the grandfather of all video gaming magazines. It’s life was cut somewhat short by the video game crash of 1982/83 but the influence of it and its creators carried on throughout the life of video gaming journalism. Of course, in print form at least, that seems to be pretty much over today.

    The July 1982 issue of Electronic Games includes:

    • Switch On! – Pondering the question of whether or not acade gaming is a fad or a hobby.
    • Electronic Games Hotline – New this month includes: Atari VCS/2600 games coming later in the year include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Defender, Star Raiders, Berzerk, and Yar’s Revenge; the Atari 800 gets a price reduction to $900; Atari hosts “Pac-Nic”, a publicity event for Pac-Man held at the Tavern on the Green in New York with 3,000 media guests; $100,000 nationwide arcade tournament; Atari sues the Odyssey division of North American Phillip over K.C. Munchkin; Asteroids maintains top spot in home video game sales; possible new games coming for the Bally Astrocade include Munchie, The Wizard, Solar Conqueror, cosmic Raiders, Quest for the Orb, Pirate’s Chase and more; upcoming Intellivison games include Tron, Night Stalker, Star Strike and Frog Bog; and more!
    • Inside Gaming – An interview with Alan Miller, Atari and Activision game designer who worked on Surround, Hangman, Concentration, Basketball, Checkers, Tennis, Starmaster, Ice Hockey and more.
    • Q&A – Questions answered about voice and music in games, Boxing for the Intellivision, the Atari vCS vs. the Sears Tele-Arcade; selling your own games; score keeping on the Atari VCS, programming in BASIC, the inventor of Pac-Man, Atari Cosmos, and more.
    • Readers Replay – Letters from readers about Laser Blast, the Astro Arcade, the Intellivision, the availability of the Game-Time Watch and Casio VL-Tone, the Odyssey2, and more.
    • Test Lab – A look at various video switchboxes including the Zenith Rhoades SW-5X1 Video RF Switch, the Zenith S10W, and the Cable Works touch Sensor Four.
    • Feature: The History of Arcades – A look at the coin machine industry going all the way back to the 1800s with an emphasis on early pinball machines.
    • Strategy Session – A detailed strategy guide for K.C. Munchkin along with some hints for Match Racer for the Atari 400/800.
    • Special Feature: The Coming of…Tron! – A sneak peak of both the movie and some of the various related games, including two Tron games for the Intellivision (just referred to as Tron I and Tron II here) and a handheld ‘Tomytronics Tron Game’.
    • Insert Coin Here – A look at the latest arcade games including Kick (Midway), Space Duel (Atari), Mouse Trap (Exidy), Zaxxon (Sega-Gremlin), Barracuda (Coinex), and Alpine Ski (Taito).

    • Special Section: The Players Guide to Electronic Summer Sports – A look at many of the (Summer) sports games currently available, including Odyssey’s Golf, Atari’s Golf, Mattel’s PGA Golf, Mattel’s Tennis, Video Olympics, Tornado Baseball, USAC Auto Racing, Indy 500, Speedway, Dragster, Activision’s Grand Prix, Night Driver, Turbo, Table Soccer, NASL Soccer, Pele’s Soccer, Atari’s Volleyball, Odyssey’s Volleyball, Home Run, Odyssey’s Baseball, Major League Baseball, and more.
    • Game Library – Reviews of video gaming related books, including How To Master The Video Games, Mastering Pac-Man, The Complete Guide to Electronic Games, and How to Win at Video Games.
    • Arcade America – A look at arcades across America, this month featuring Westworld in Westwood Village, California.
    • Passport to Adventure – A detailed look at The Prisoner for the Apple II in which the goal is to escape an island on which you are held captive.
    • New Products – New products examined this month include Videogame Furniture from Bush Industries and the Pac-Man board game.
    • Mini-Arcade Gallery – A look at the latest in portable gaming including The Great Game Machine that uses cartridges and has games such as chess, checkers reversi and blackjack. The machine itself retails for $229.95 and each cartridge will set you back $100. Another example of a programmable system includes the Coleco Total Control 4 with various sports themed games that are much more affordable. Entex’s Select-A-Game and the Adventure-Vision are also covered among others.
    • Videgames Go King-Size – The EG staff tries out what it is like to play video games on giant projection screens from 50-inch rear projection screens to 120-inch front projection screens and includes some tips on how to prevent burn-in.
    • Programmable Parade – Reviews of the latest home video game cartridges, including Space Fortress (Astro Home Arcade), Trickshot (Atari VCS), Galactic Invasion (Astro Professional Arcade), Boxing (Intellivision), and Haunted House (Atari VCS).
    • Coin-Op Classroom – The story behind Tempest and a primer on how to play it.
    • Computer Playland – Reviews of the latest computer games, including Mouskattack (Atari 400/800), Crossfire (Apple II, Atari 400/800), Hockey (Atari 400/800), Sammy the Sea-Serpent (Atari 400/800), David’s Midnight Magic (Apple II), and Ceiling Zero (Apple II).
    • Stand-Alone Scene – Reviews of the latest handhelds, including Reflex (Parker Brothers), Quiz Wiz Challenge (Coleco), and World Championship Baseball (Mattel).

    …and more!


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