• Tag Archives SNES

  • Electronic Games (September 1993)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Electronic Games – September 1993

    Electronic Games was the first major North American gaming magazine. It lasted only a few years before succumbing to the effects of the video game crash. However, it had a rebirth in the early 1990s. The September 1993 issue includes:

    Departments

    • Power On! – A rant against the perception that games (electronic games in particular) are just for kids.
    • Feedback – Letters from readers with topics such as a video game rating system, Camerica’s bankruptcy, CD based games, and more.
    • Hotline – The news this month includes: Bubsy starring in his own cartoon; Charles Barkley signed by Accolade for basketball games; Sega announces future plans for the Sega CD; a full motion video upgrade for the CD-i; Tandy sells computer manufacturing division to AST Research Inc.; Spectrum HoloByte and MicroProse merge; MPEG 1 becomes a standard; Acclaim signs deal for games based on James Cameron movies…first up is True Lies; new Disney and roller coaster screen savers for DOS; and more. Top games this month include StarFox (SuperNES), X-Men (Genesis), Super Mario Land 2 (Game Boy), Kirby’s Adventure (NES); Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Game Gear), and Batman Returns (Sega CD).
    • Insert Coin Here – New and upcoming arcade games include Jurassic Park Pinball from Data East, Tee’d Off from Premier Technology, Title Fight from Sega, The Punisher from Capcom, Saturday Night Slam Masters from Capcom, Daioh from American Sammy, and more.
    • Game Doctor – Questions answered about Street Fighter II, video quality on CD games such as It Came from the Desert and 7th Guest, Out of this World on the SNES, Sega’s Virtual VR, Q Sound, updated Activision games, and more.
    • Fandom Central – A look at the latest fanzines, including The Atari Zone Vol.5 #3, Fantazine #2, The Gaming Edge #1, Game Force #2, High Density #1, and Video Game Review #5.
    • Video Game Gallery – Video game reviews this month include Mortal Combat for both the Super NES and Genesis, Vegas Stakes (Super NES), T2: Judgement Day (Super NES), Jurassic Park (Genesis), Rocket Knight Adventures (Genesis), Street Fighter II Turbo (Super NES), Magical Chase (TurboGrafx-16), Super Bomberman (Super NES), Bill Walsh College Football (Genesis), and Wing Commander: The Secret Missions (Super NES).
    • Software Gallery – Computer game reviews this month include Prince of Persia 2 (DOS), Rags to Riches (DOS), Blue Force (DOS), Might & Magic: Dark Side of Xeen (DOS), Aces Over Europe (DOS), Eternam (DOS), and Lunar Command (DOS).
    • CD Gallery – CD-based game review this month include Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (DOS) and Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective III (DOS, Mac).
    • Portable Playtime – There’s only one Mobile game review this month and that’s King of the Ring for the Game Boy.
    • The Kunkel Report – A look at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show. Attendance was lower than usual and except for the electronic entertainment side of things there wasn’t much that was very interesting. The big news was that Sega’s display and popularity were much more impressive than Nintendo’s. Some games highlighted included Aladdin for the Genesis, Jurassic Park for the NES, Super NES and Genesis, White Men Can’t Jump, and Demolition Man among others.
    • The Jury – Reader reviews for Star Fox for the Super NES.
    • Lore – Reviews of gaming books including “Compute’s Conquering Zelda Adventures, 2nd Ed.” and “The Complete Wargames Handbook: How to Play, Design & Find Them.
    • Test Lab – A hands on look at some accessories for the Game Boy, including the Game Light Plus from Nuby, the Bright Beam from Naki, The Handy Boy from STD, the Action Pack battery from Naki, the Snap ‘N’ Power from Nuby, the Naki Solar Pack, and much more.
    • Playing it Smart – An overview of some educational games, including Cuckoo Zoo (DOS, Macintosh), Reader Rabbit 2 (DOS, Macintosh), and Pepper’s Adventure in Time (DOS).
    • Gaming On-Line – Sierra releases standalone version of their online game The Shadow of Yserbius; TSN subscribers can play NTN users (typically from hotels, bars and restaurants) in various games; MPG net schedules a series of Empire Builder tournaments with modems as prizes; MPG developing 2300 A.D. gaming environment; Prodigy eliminates extra surcharge for 9600 baud modem users; and more.
    • Coming Soon – The Players’ Guide to Science Fiction, The Eye of the Jaguar, Down Mean Streets with Darryl Gates, Re-fight World War II, and more.

    Features

    • Jaguar Roars to Life – A look at the hardware and first software for the Atari Jaguar to be released in the Fall. Initial games include Cybermorph, Aliens vs. Predator, Jaguar Formula One Racing, Battlezone 2000 and Tempest 2000. About 50,000 units are expected to be available initially at $200.
    • Players’ Guide to Fall and Winter Games – Previews of games due out in the near future, including The Adventures or Rocky & Bullwinkle (Genesis), Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage (SNES), Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck (Genesis, Sega CD), Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions (SNES), Dashin’ Desperadoes (Genesis), Goofy (Genesis), James Pond III: Operation Starfish (Genesis), Kaboom: The Mad Doctor’s Revenge (SNES), Mr. Nutz (SNES), Mario & Wario (SNES), Pink Goes to Hollywood (Genesis), Pitfall Harry: The Mayan Adventure (SNES), Puggsy (Genesis), Sylvester & Tweety: Cagey Capers (Genesis), Wizzy ‘n’ Lizzy (Genesis), Blades of Vengeance (Genesis), Captain America and the Avengers (SNES), Clayfighter (SNES), Eternal Champions (Genesis), Lethal Enforcer (Genesis), Turtles Tournament Fighters (Genesis), World Heroes (SNES), Alien vs. Predator (SNES), BattleClash II (SNES), BioMetal (SNES), Robocop vs. The Terminator (SNES, Genesis), River Raid: The Mission of No Return (SNES), Soldiers of Fortune (SNES, Genesis), Super Empire Strikes Back (SNES), Turn and Burn: No Fly Zone (SNES), Rolling Thunder 3 (Genesis), ABC’s Monday Night Football (SNES), John Madden Football ’94 (SNES, Genesis), Dan Marino’s Touchdown Football (Genesis), Quarterback Club (Genesis), Beastball (Genesis, SNES), World Series Baseball (Genesis), 2020 Super Baseball (Genesis), NBA Jam (SNES, Genesis), Brett Hull Hockey (SNES, Genesis), NHL Hockey (SNES), International Soccer (Genesis), Nigel Mansell’s World Championship Racing (NES, SNES, Genesis), Pele Soccer (Genesis, SNES), Pro Moves Soccer (Genesis), Formula 1 World Cup (Genesis), FX Trax (SNES), Speed Racer (Genesis, SNES), Riddick Bowe Boxing (SNES), WCW: Main Event Wrestling (Genesis, SNES), Andre Agassi Tennis (SNES), Beauty and the Beast (Genesis), Castlvania: Bloodlines (Genesis), Eye of the Beholder (SNES), The Journey Home: Quest for the Throne (SNES), Might & Magic III (SNES, Genesis), Star Trek; The Next Generation (SNES), Runes of Virtue (SNES), Ultima: The False Prophet (SNES), Dennis the Menace (SNES, NES), Goof Troop (SNES), Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES), Ghengis Khan III: Clan of the Gray Wolf (SNES, Genesis), Metal Marines (SNES), Super Battleship (SNES), Super Battletank 2 (SNES), Walker (Genesis, SNES), SimAnt (SNES), Caesar’s Palace (SNES, Genesis), Championship Pool (SNES), and Side Pocket (SNES).Then there are the computer games: Dracula Unleashed (DOS), Bloodnet (DOS), Bloodstone (DOS), Quest for glory 4: Shadows of Darkness (DOS), Gabriel Knight (DOS), Jagged Alliance (DOS), Shadow Caster (DOS), Fantasy Empire (DOS), Forgotten Castle: The Awakening (DOS), The Elder Scrolls Chapter 1: The Arena (DOS), Dungeon Hack (DOS), Inca 2 (DOS), Arborea (DOS), Simon the Sorcerer (DOS, Amiga), The Dig (DOS), Star Trek: Judgement Rights (DOS), Gateway II: Homeworld (DOS), Kronolog: The Nazi Paradox( DOS), Innocent Until Caught (DOS), Police Quest 4: Open Season (DOS), Shadow of the Comet (DOS), Leisure Suit Larry 6 (DOS), Sam and Max Hit the Road (DOS), Tom Landry Strategy Football (DOS, Amiga), Front Page Sports Football Pro (DOS), Joe Montana NFL Football (DOS), MPS Football (DOS), NCAA Basketball: Road to the Final Four 2 (DOS), David Robinson NBA Action (DOS), Brett Hull Hockey (DOS), Aliens vs. Predator (DOS), Alone in the Dark II (DOS), Homey D. Clown (DOS), Imperial Pursuit (DOS), Walker (Amiga), Goblins 3 (DOS), The Terminator 2029: Rampage (DOS), Doom (DOS), Secret of the Seventh Labyrinth (DOS), Seal Team (DOS), Wing Commander Academy (DOS), Sub Wars (DOS), and MechWarriors II: The Clans (DOS).

      Then of course there are the mobile games: Aliens vs. Predator (Game Boy), Batman: The Animated Series (Game Boy), Desert Strike (Game Gear), Mortal Kombat (Game Boy, Game Gear), Robocop vs. The Terminator, Speedy Gonzales (Game Boy), Tiny Toons: Montana’s Movie Madness (Game Boy), WarioLand (Game Boy), Formula 1 World Cup (Game Gear), Nigen Mansell’s World Championship Racing (Game Boy), WCW: Main Event Wrestling (Game Boy), Turtles: Radical Rescue (Game Boy), and Ultima: Runes of Virtue II (Game Boy).

      That’s a lot of games.

    • Dungeons and Dragons – A look at the history of Dungeons and Dragons, its future on computers and what’s next for SSI. Some upcoming D&D games include Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, Stronghold, Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor, Fantasy Empires, Dungeon Hack, Isle of the Mad Genie, and Ravenloft.
    • Multimedia Explosion – While technically just about any computer or video game would be considered “multimedia”, the term was largely aimed at CD based software and games. There was even a short-lived terms for PCs with CD-ROM drives (MPC). Upcoming multimedia games expected to lead to the multimedia revolution include Americans in Space (DOS, MPC, Macintosh), Eagle Eye Mystery in London (DOS, MPC, Macintosh, Mac-CD), Peter Pan (DOS, MPC, Mac, Mac-CD, 3DO), Hell Cab (MPC, Mac-CD), Kings Quest VI (MPC), Aegis: Guardian of the Fleet (MPC), Dragon’s Lair (MPC, 3DO), Mad Dog II (MPC, Sega CD), Rebel Assault (MPC, Sega CD, CDi) – I had this one!, Global Golf: The Earth Invitational (MPC, Mac CD), MegaRace (MPC, 3DO), Betrayal at Krondor (Sega CD, 3DO), and lots more.Also included is a comparison of multimedia systems including the Sega CD, Turbo Duo, CD-i, and computers with CD-ROM drives.
    • EG Interview – Paul Samulski – Paul Samulski was a producer at Acclaim and the man most responsible for acquiring the home game rights for Mortal Kombat for Acclaim.

    …and more!


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  • ACE (October 1991)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: ACE – Issue Number 49 – October 1991

    While ACE stood for “Advanced Computer Entertainment”, this was a magazine that covered gaming on the Amiga, Atari ST, PC (DOS), as well as the MegaDrive (Genesis), Game Boy, Atari Lynx and Super Famicom (Super Nintendo)…at least in 1991. The October 1991 issue includes:

    Reviews

    • Buster Douglas Boxing (MegaDrive) – Buster Douglas was the big heavyweight name after Mike Tyson but the game itself is not so great.
    • EA Hockey (MegaDrive) – The first of the EA hockey games on the Genesis. Sports games were something EA was very good at for a while.
    • F117A: Stealth Fighter 2 (PC) – A sequel to the 1989 original. While I love older games, the relatively low frame rate and low polygon count sims of old don’t hold up all that well.
    • Magic Pockets (Amiga) – Not a game I am really familiar with, this is a side scrolling platform type game for the Amiga.
    • Mega lo Mania (Amiga) – A strategy game reminiscent of Populous.
    • Microprose Golf (Atari ST) – An ok golf game for the Atari ST. This one tries to combine the best element of serious golf games and more simplified arcade oriented titles like Leaderboard.
    • Robin Hood (PC) – Another Populous inspired strategy game.
    • Storm Lord (MegaDrive) – A side-scrolling adventure that at least in looks reminds me of Ghost ‘N Goblins. However, from this review it doesn’t sound nearly as good.
    • The Simpsons: Bart vs. The Space Mutants (Amiga) – A port of the NES game of the same name. It gets a pretty mediocre review here that cites its lack of humor among other flaws.
    • Wing Commander II – Sequel to Origin’s original space combat flights sim. If you liked the original then you’ll like this one too.

    Features

    • Gore Blimey! – A sort of “best of” in terms of gore in computer and video games. Games mentioned include Persian Gulf Inferno, Lemmings, Oids, Barbarian, Technocop, Indianapolis 500, NARC, and Warzone.
    • Spaceship Warlock (Macintosh) – An interactive movie of sorts with a 1950s B movie theme for the Macintosh, a platform that didn’t see too many game releases at the time, relatively speaking.
    • Sensible Soccer (Preview) – One of the more popular soccer (football) games, at least in Europe.
    • Konsole Kick-Off!!! – Big Match, another popular soccer game for the Amiga and Atari ST, makes its way to various consoles, including the Super Nintendo, Nintendo, Sega Master System, Game Boy and Game Gear with a MegaDrive version in the plans as well.
    • In The Works – A brief look at some games currently still in development including Daemonsgate, Godfather, Grand Prix and Hudson Hawk.

    Regulars

    • ACE Games News – Upcoming games announcements including The Simpsons, Castlevania IV for the Super NES, Super Tetris for the PC (I remember playing that one on the ancient PC XTs at school), The Killing Cloud for the PC, Amiga and Atari ST (set in the sci-fi future of 1997), Crisis in the Kremlin (PC), Mercenary III, Planet’s Edge, Guardian Angels, Shoe People, Might and Magic III (PC), Super Space Invaders, Super Fulcrum (PC) and Double Dragon II for the Game Boy.
    • ACE Tech News – Amstrad releases an all-in-one PC with a 16MHz 286 processor, 40MB hard drive and 1MB of RAM. Also included are the games Links, F-15 Strike Eagle II and Prince of Persia. Also, game developers in Japan complain of a lack of developers, Yamaha releases the SY99 Synth and JVC releases what could be thought of as a predecessor to the GoPro, the Super VHS SC-F007.
    • Letters – Comments on Terminator 2, console game reviews, and consoles vs. computers among other topics.
    • Tricks ‘n’ Tactics – A detailed guide for The Secret of Monkey Island, plus hints for Supercars 2, Horror Zombies From The Crypt, Pang, Toki, Predator 2, Stormball, Navy Seals, Spirit of Excalibur, Operation C, and Wizards & Warriors.

    …and lots more!


    📂This entry was posted in Amiga Atari ST Computer Arcana DOS Game Boy Retro Games Sega Genesis Super Nintendo (SNES) 📎and tagged

  • VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine (June 1994)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine – June 1994

    Video gaming magazine can have a complicated lineage. One of my favorites, VideoGames & Computer Entertainment morphed into VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine but many of the editors/writers I liked went on to reboot Electronic Games instead. VideoGames spawned Tips and Tricks which, though they overlapped for a while, essentially replaced it. I followed VG&CE but not so much VideoGames and Tips and Tricks… Anyway, the June 1994 issue of VideoGames includes:

    News

    • Input – A discussion of the then new video games rating system.
    • Press Start – More about the ratings system and the political pressure that led to it; Nintendo announces the Super Game Boy; Revolution-X featuring Aerosmith is released in the arcades; an interview with the makers of Way of the Warrior for the 3DO; NovaLogic works on helicopter sim for the Saturn; Philips announces lower priced ($299) CD-i; and more…

    Previews

    • Demolition Man – An action game for the Sega Genesis based on the movie of the same name featuring Sylvester Stalone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bulloch.
    • Tennis All-Stars – A tennis game for the Genesis in the new “J-Cart” format. A J-Cart in addition to containing the game also added two additional controller ports for 4-player action. This tennis game allowed 4 players in a doubles game.
    • Psycho Pinball – Another J-Cart, this one featuring video pinball with six tables.
    • Kasumi Ninja – What would turn out to be a pretty decent fighting game for the Atari Jaguar.
    • Doom – A pretty good translation of Doom for the Atari Jaguar (they seemed to keep porting this game to new systems for years and years) but really, no version beats the original PC version.
    • Club Drive – A great example of one of the many games with a rushed development schedule for the Jaguar and it shows. While game play wasn’t terrible, the graphics and music were, especially for a supposedly “64-bit” system.
    • Lawnmower Man – Another movie based game. This one is for the Sega CD and the game/movie heavily featured virtual reality.
    • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – Power Rangers was all the craze at the time so of course there would be games. This side-scrolling beat-em-up was released for the Super Nintendo and Game Boy.

    Tips & Tricks

    • Tempest 2000 – Tips to skip levels and to play bonus levels.
    • NBA Jam – Tricks to enable the special guest players from the arcade version, enable power-ups such as speeding up game play, set your player “on fire” for the whole game, and more.
    • Ground Zero Texas – A mini strategy guide to help get you through this FMV game.
    • Robocop Versus The Terminator – A trick to unlock the MA-17 version of this game for the Genesis.
    • MLBPA Baseball – A bunch of passwords to activate power pitching, power hitting, double throwing speed, double running speed, enable higher bouncing balls, play on ice, and more.
    • Chuck Rock II – Tricks to skip levels or even entire zones.
    • …and lots more!

    Strategy Guides

    • Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions – General tips as well as guides to each level of this side-scrolling action game featuring Marvin the Martian and Daffy Duck for the Super Nintendo.
    • Kether – Strategy guide for a weird sort of 3D shooter that nobody had ever heard of for the CD-i.
    • Tempest 2000 – Make it through all 100 levels of this update to the classic arcade game on the Atari Jaguar.

    Reviews

    • Super Street Fighter II Turbo – This review is for the arcade version of the game which had just been released.
    • Spectre – This game for the Super Nintendo is essentially a 3D battle game in which you are placed in a flying craft in an arena and must battle it out with robots. It’s an ok game but without much variety. The PC version was better for the simple reason that you could play over a network with multiple people.
    • Rocko’s Modern Life – This is a platform/puzzle game for the Super Nintendo based on the Nickelodeon cartoon of he same name. It ends up being pretty good for a kids game based on a license.
    • Super Loopz – A puzzle game for the Super Nintendo in which you must construct polygons. There are various modes including two-player cooperative and competitive modes. It is a pretty good game if you are a fan of puzzle games.
    • Flintstones – This game based on the cartoon for the Super Nintendo mixes a variety of genres including racing, platform, and board game. However, it ends up being too short and easy to provide much value.
    • Jetsons – A fairly unique platform game for the Super Nintendo based on the cartoon. It is an excellent game overall but the challenge level makes it better for older players than for younger kids.
    • Asterix – An average (at best) platform game for the Sega Genesis.
    • Mortal Kombat – The Sega CD version of this game offers a few relatively minor upgrades including some FMV, a soundtrack and a few more frames of animation.
    • Third World War – A strategy game for the Sega CD that the reviewer compared to KOEI’s offerings. The graphics aren’t great, the interface is complicated and the voice acting is pretty awful but as a strategy game it’s not bad.
    • Rise of the Dragon – A cyberpunk themed graphic adventure for the Sega CD sounds like a good idea but unfortunately, this particular implementation is average at best. It was also a conversion of a game that had been around on the PC for a few years already.
    • Super Air Zonk – Overall, a great platform game for the Turbo Duo but at the end of the day it’s much to short, especially for a CD based game.
    • Space Ace – A great conversion of this laser disc based arcade classic for the CD-i. I was never really a big fan though.
    • The Incredible Hulk – An excellent comic book themed game for the Game Gear that this reviewer like even better than the Genesis version. The only downside was the relatively poor and monotonous sound.
    • Ninja Gaiden III – This game for the Atari Lynx looks and plays much like the NES version. And that’s a good thing.
    • The Horde – This game for the 3DO tries to combine, not very successfully, strategy/simulation with fantasy based action.
    • Twisted – An interesting and rather unique board game/game show combo for the 3DO.
    • Micro Reviews – Short reviews of several games including Spider-Man and the X-Men (Game Gear), Aladdin (Game Gear), G2 Rider (Game Gear), and more.

    Other Cool Stuff

    • Alien vs. Predator: Stalking the Jaguar, Burning Up the Arcades – Interview with Atari producer James Hampton about Alien vs. Predator for the Atari Jaguar. Also, a look at the arcade version of AvP which is a completely different game (fighting game vs. FPS).
    • SportsWire: Sports game news, reviews, previews and more – Midway releases NBA Jam TE for the arcade; Sterling Sharpe signs with Jaleco for a Super Nintendo football game called Sterling Sharpe: End to End…but I don’t remember this one; previews include World Cup USA ’94 (Super NES), Mario Andretii Racing (Genesis), Champions World Class Soccer (Genesis), and Suzuka 8 Hours II (arcade); a review of Baseball Tonight for the Super Nintendo; a review of Double Dribble: The Playoff Edition for the Genesis; a review of Jammit for the Genesis; and a review for Soccer Shootout for the Super Nintendo.
    • Hardware: Gaming accessories galore – New items include the Super Link multiplayer adapter for the SNES, the Mega Mouse for the Genesis, the Interactor Virtual Reality Vest, and more.
    • Global Gaming – Featuring Sonic Drift for the Game Gear, Dragon Ball Z 2 for the Super Famicom, and Waka Taka Osumo for the Super Famicom.

    …and more!


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