Source: Zzap! – Issue Number 37 – May 1988

I wish that we had a magazine like Zzap! here in the U.S. While we did have several very good Commodore 64 magazines, none of them were dedicated exclusively to games. This despite the fact that the Commodore 64 was definitely a popular gaming machine here. The May 1988 issue of Zzap! (published in the U.K.) includes:

Readable Regulars

• Editorial – Fear of 16-bit machines replacing 8-bit, becoming a Zzap! reviewer, and more.

• The Rrap – Letters from readers about multi-load software, the lack of female reviewers, older gamers, Express Raider, comparing similar games, and more.

• Enter the Harlequin – Reviews of adventure games including Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels, Wolfman, and Demons From The Darkside. Plus the first part of a solution for Dracula.

• The Chart Show – A list of the top 30 games as determined by the readers. At the top of the list this month is California Games.

• Cheap and Cheerful – A round-up of budget games including The Halls of Things (Firebird), Tanium (Players), Rockford (MAD X), UCM (MAD), Sabotage (Zeppelin Games), Prowler (Mastertronic), and Herbotix (Rack-It). Most aren’t very good but there is the occasional gem.

• Walker’s Way – Part 2 of diary of the process of creating a game.

• Zzap! Challenge – A video game challenge involving Hunter’s Moon.

• The Scorelord Has a Coffee Morning – Reader submitted high scores for more than 40 games.

• What’s New – News and new products including Summer Games III from Epyx (I think this became The Games: Summer Edition), a conversion of Operation Wolf, an April Fool’s joke involving an Amiga emulator for the Commodore 64, and Spy vs. Spy III.

• Previews – Previews of upcoming games including Echelon (I loved this game), Northstar, Gutz, Vindicator, and The Games: Winter Edition.

Crazy Competitions

• Prizes for Picaroon Prose – A Tomy robot and 50 copies of Cybernoid are up for grabs in this competition involving writing a story about pirates.

• Traz Spot The Ball Comp – A Sony Walkman along with 50 copies of Traz are the prizes available in a competition involving finding a missing ball.

Funky Features

• The Future of The Software Industry – A somewhat humorous look at the future…at least the next couple of years.

• The One and Only Zzaptionnaire – A yearly survey from Zzap!

• Zzap! Tips Mega-Special – Tips, tricks, maps, solutions and more for a variety of games including Terramex, Masters of the Universe, Defender of the Crown, Sidewalk, Anarchy, Livingtone, I Ball II, Rockford, Dan Dare II, Platoon, Cosmic Causeway, Head Over Heels, Rampage, Driller, BMX Simulator, Mach, Secret of Kandar, Andy Capp, Ricochet, Rygar, Knightmare, Hunter’s Moon, Renegade, Storm, Sabre Wulf, Garfield, Zenji, Sunburst, Zig Zag, The Double, and more.

• Champing at the Bit – Information and an entry form for the National Computer Games Championship.

• Amiga Action – A brief look at games coming soon to the Amiga including Mercenary, Blastaball: Hyperbowl, Battleships, Backlash, Slaygon, GeeBee Air Rally, Blastaball, Bone Cruncher, and Joe Blade.

Mid-May Merriment

• Stealth Mission – Review of this combat flight simulator in which you get to fly an F-19, X-29, and F-14.

• Usagi Yojimbo – A side-scrolling beat-em-up featuring the title character.

• Arkanoid II: Revenge of Doh – Probably the best version of Breakout ever made.

• Cybernoid – A fairly original shooter that takes the form of a futuristic battle against pirates.

• Pac-Land – A horizontal scrolling platform game featuring Pac-Man who was until this point normally found in maze games. It actually gets a really good review here.

…and more!