Game Players was a popular video games magazine in the late 80s to mid 90s that covered various systems over the years. The February 1995 issue primarily covers the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis but also includes some coverage of the upcoming Sega Saturn and PlayStation.
The contents of this issue includes:
News
- InfoTrak – News on the latest hardware and software releases, including coverage of the Sega Saturn, PlayStation and the initial games available for those systems and much more.
- Charts – Top ten lists from Babbage’s, Software Etc, Japan, the U.K. and Game Players themselves.
- Gossip – Rumors about Primal Rage for the Atari Jaguar, Saturncide for the 3DO and more.
- Previews – Previews of the following games:
- NBA Jam: Tournament Edition by Acclaim for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis
- Weaponlord by Namco for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis
- Metalhead by Sega for the 32X
- X-Men: The Clone Wars by Sega for the Genesis
- Fatal Fury Special by JVC for the Sega CD
- Motocross Challenge by Sega for the 32X
- Mega Bomberman by Hudson Soft for the Sega Genesis
- Brutal: Paws of Fury by GameTek for the 32X
- Bouncers by Sega/Dynamix for the Sega CD
- Arcades – Featuring what’s new in arcades featuring Power Instinct 2.
- Import Games – The latest releases in Japan including coverage of Panic Bomberman for the Super Famicom and Hagane also for the Super Famicom. If you wanted these imports it would set you back about $100.
- Hardware – Coverage of new hardware including the Flightstick Pro by CH Products for the 3DO and XBAND, a modem for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo.
- Mean Machines – Spotlight on the Atari Jaguar and 3DO including some coverage of Iron Soldier (Jaguar), Kasumi Ninja (Jaguar), Street Fighter II Turbo (3DO) and Off World Interceptor (3DO) among others.
Readers’ Say
- Reader’s Network – Reader questions and opinions on the Street Fighter movie, game ratings, the 32X and more.
- Pushing the Envelope – The best of reader envelope artwork for the month. Because this was a time when people still mailed letters…
- Back Talk – News about Game Players itself plus competition info.
Strategy & Tactics
- Andre Agassi Tennis – Game Genie codes for increasing your stats.
- Animaniacs – A strategy guide for this Sega Genesis game.
- Beavis and Butt-head – Tactics for getting un-stuck in this classic MTV cartoon license for the Sega Genesis.
- Clayfighter Tournament Edition – A button combination to give you access to speed and difficulty settings.
- Earthworm Jim – Game Genie codes for more lives, extra ammo and invulnerability.
- Final Fantasy III – How to find some hidden characters in this classic RPG for the Super Nintendo.
- Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – A map of level 8 for this Game Boy version of Zelda along with some more hints and tips.
- Mega Man X2 – The best moves and tactics to beat various opponents in Mega Man X2 for the Super Nintendo.
- Pac Man 2 – Reader submitted passwords to get you directly to the classic arcade games.
- seaQuest DSV – Strategy guide for this tricky Super Nintendo game.
- Shockwave – Passwords for various things in this 3DO game like fast-reloading, smart bomb, invincibility and more.
- Snatcher – A strategy guide for this Sega CD cult classic.
- Sonic & Knuckles – Game Genie codes to prevent ring loss, grant infinite time, infinite lives and more.
- Super Bomberman – How to beat Mr. Karat and Dr. Mukk on the last level of this Super Nintendo game.
- Super Metroid – How to rescue your friends after defeating the Mother Brain in this Super Nintendo classic.
- Super Punch-Out!! – Game Genie codes to reduce the strength of some moves, allow infinite rematches and to start with half energy.
- Sylvester & Tweety in Cagey Capers – A button combination to allow you to jump directly to level 5.
- Way of the Warrior – Reader submitted passwords that allow you to play as the bosses and change the background.
- Wild Snake – Game Genie codes to shorten snakes, increase speed and more.
- X-Men – Passwords to face off against the bosses without having to complete a level.
Reviews
- Bassin’s Black Bass – If you like your fishing in video game format, this appears to have been a good one, at least according to Game Players. It was also pretty cheap at $22.95.
- Cosmic Carnage (32X) – A mediocre fighting game for the 32X. It reminds me a bit of Time Killers…
- Ecco II: The Tides of Time (Sega CD) – An upgrade to the regular Genesis version with better graphics, and new animation and music. If you like the original, this one is better, if not, don’t bother.
- Eternal Champions CD (Sega CD) – This game got very good reviews here and I have to agree. I had a LOT of fun playing this fighting game and it was a nice alternative to Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat.
- Ignition Factor (Super Nintendo) – A firefighting game that gets decent reviews. Seems like a somewhat strange topic for a game.
- Iron Helix (Sega CD) – A sci-fi themed game in which you pilot a probe. It does not get good reviews here. It has some decent graphics but lousy game play.
- Midnight Raiders (Sega CD) – This is another one of those Sega CD games that relied too much on FMV for novelty value at the expense of game play.
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Sega CD) – More like an interactive episode of the show than a game. If you are a huge Power Rangers fan then this might be for you. Otherwise it almost certainly isn’t.
- Phantasy Star IV (Sega Genesis) – This game got decent but not great ratings here. However, if you like RPGs and have a Genesis then this is a must play as far as I am concerned. Did this really cost $100 when it was released?
- Popful Mail (Sega CD) – One thing that was generally done well on the Sega CD was RPGs. This action RPG is no exception.
- Power Instinct (Super Nintendo) – Another fighting game for the Super Nintendo. This one doesn’t really stand out but if you like fighting games you would probably like this one.
- Rise of the Robots (Super Nintendo) – Still another fighting game. Game Players is hard on this one but i think it makes for a fairly unique alternative to other fighting games.
- Ristar (Sega Genesis) – A side-scrolling platform adventure game with great graphics and that is fun to play.
- seaQuest DSV (Sega Genesis) – An action strategy game, this one was slightly inferior to the Super Nintendo version but still fun to play.
- Space Invaders (Game Boy) – This arcade classic suited the Game Boy well but I was never really a fan of Space Invaders or the Game Boy.
- Tin Star (Super Nintendo) – This is a pretty entertaining game for the Super Scope. Not many of them are.
- WWF Raw (SNES/Genesis) – A pretty good wrestling game that was equally good on the Genesis and Super Nintendo.
- Now Playing – A brief summary of all the reviews done by Game Players.
…and more!
