• Tag Archives arcade

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly (May 1992)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly – Issue Number 34 – May 1992

    I still have this particular issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly which I bought off the shelf back in the day. Consolidation has its advantages but I miss the variety of systems that used to be around. At this time, EGM was covering the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Neo Geo, and a variety of portable systems including the Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, and Atari Lynx. The May 1992 issue includes:

    Departments

    • Insert Coin – An editorial on the inevitable wave of CD-ROM based games and whether or not the gaming industry is really ready for it.
    • Letters to the Editor – Letters from readers about the Super NES version of Street Fighter II, The Super NES CD-ROM, Genesis coverage, the Magicom and Super Magicom, Mega CD coverage, the Consumer Electronics Show, and more.
    • Review Crew – Four reviewers give their score for a variety of games including Super Scope 6 (SNES), The Rocketeer (SNES), Spanky’s Quest (SNES), Might & Magic (NES), Blues Brothers (NES), Lemmings (Genesis), Earnest Evans (Genesis), D&D: Warriors of the Eternal Sun (Genesis), Jordan vs. Bird (Genesis), Star Saver (Game Boy), Top Gun (Game Boy), Batman: Return of the Joker (Game Boy), Outrun Europa (Game Gear), and Hydra (Lynx).
    • Software Calendar – A list of planned releases for May 1993. There are a total of 38 games listed including Batman: Return of the Joker (Game Boy), George Foreman KO Boxing (Game Gear), Last Resort (Neo Geo), Steel Empire (Genesis), Rampart (Lynx), Ballistix (TurboGrafx-16), The Empire Strikes Back (NES), Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super NES), and others.
    • Gaming Gossip – News and rumors regarding the new Street Fighter 2 Competition Joystick from Capcom, a new “Quad” development system for the Super NES, Camerica’s Aladdin project, Super high Impact from Acclaim for the Super NES, Cool World for the Mega CD, Dolphin for the Genesis, and much more.
    • International Outlook – A look at new and upcoming games being released internationally (mostly Japan). Games covered this month include Axelay (Super Famicom), Adventure Island 3 (Famicom), Parodius (Super Famicom), Gargoyle’s Quest (Famicom), Astral Bout (Super Famicom), Macross (PC-Engine Super CD-ROM), Spindizzy Worlds (Super Famicom), Thunder Force IV (Mega Drive), Loom (TurboGrafx Super CD-ROM), After Burner III (Mega CD-ROM and cart), Blazeon (Super Famicom), Cameltry (Super Famicom), Ultimate Football (Super Famicom), Battleblaze (Super Famicom), Dinosaurs (Super Famicom), and Twinkle Tale (Mega Drive).
    • Tricks of the Trade – Tips, tricks, codes and strategies for Super Smash T.V. (Super NES), The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (Super NES), Joe & Mac (Super NES), Snow Bros. Jr. (Game Boy), Sim City (Super NES), Hole In One Golf (Super NES), Rolling Thunder 2 (Genesis), Batman: Return of the Joker (NES), Snow Brothers (NES), Captain Planet and the Planeteers (NES), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 (NES), Faceball 2000 (Game Boy), and Parasol Stars (TurboGrafx-16).
    • Next Wave – Previews of upcoming games including Return of Double Dragon (Super NES), American Gladiators (Super NES), Super Soccer Champ (Super NES), Wordtris (Super NES), World Trophy Soccer (Genesis), Muhammed Ali Knockout Boxing (Genesis), Dragon Strike (NES), Barcelona ’92 (Game Gear), Double Dragon (Game Gear), and Spanky’s Quest (Game Boy).
    • Super NES Times – A quick look at a variety of recent and upcoming Super NES games including Rival Turf, Super Battletank, Jack Nicklaus Golf, Pebble Beach Golf Links, and Might and Magic II.
    • Nintendo Player – A quick look at a variety of recent and upcoming NES games including Stanley in the Search for Dr. Livingston, Baseball Stars II, and Fire Hawk.
    • Outpost: Sega – A quick look at a variety of recent and upcoming Sega Genesis games including Splatterhouse 2, Bulls vs. Lakers, Cyber-Cop, and Cadash.
    • Turbo Champ – A quick look at Bonk III and Parodius for the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine.
    • GameBoy Fan – A quick look at a variety of recent and upcoming Game Boy games including Nail ‘n Scale, NBA All Star Challenge 2, and Yoshi.
    • Atari Lynx – A quick look at Basketbrawl and Rampart for the Atari Lynx.

    Features

    • Behind the Screens – A look at the making of the Wondermega. This was the all-in-one Sega Genesis/CD unit created by JVC.
    • Leading Edge – A look at some of the latest and upcoming arcade games, including Blazeon from Atlus, Seibu Cup Soccer from Seibu Kaihatsu, and Undercover Cops from Irem.
    • Super Play – A strategy guide for Contra III: The Alien Wars on the Super Nintendo.
    • Game Over – A look at the last stage and end of Super Castlevania IV for the Super Nintendo.
    • Double Dragon 4 – The first info along with some screen shots of what would become Super Double Dragon for the Super Nintendo.
    • Fact Files – In addition to those games already mentioned above, there are also additional quick looks of Mutation Nation for the Neo Geo and George Forman KO Boxing for the Sega Game Gear.

    …and much more!


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  • Electronic Gaming Monthly (January 1995)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly – January 1995

    This was one of the best and biggest selling gaming magazines in the U.S. for a long time. I was never a subscriber but I bought issues when I could between probably 1989 and 2002 give or take. The January 1995 issue includes:

    Features

    • Shoshinkai Show Unveils New Products! – The big news was the unveiling of the Virtual Boy and what a flop that was. Some of the first games were Mario Bros. VB, Pinball VB, and Teleroboxer.
    • Getting “Tricky” With The King of the Super NES Jungle! – Tips and tricks for the latest and greatest 2D platform game on the Super NES, Donkey Kong Country.
    • Earthworm Jim Strategy Guide – A level by level guide to this humorous platform game from Shiny Entertainment.
    • Killer Instinct Jumps Onto The Fighting Scene! – A first look at Killer Instinct along with an incomplete moves list.

    Departments

    • Insert Coin – A commentary on the Virtual Boy’s introduction and how Nintendo was already stumbling out of the gate with its release.
    • Interface: Letters to the Editor – Letters from readers about the 32X, bug spray and CDs, Sega CD fighting games, developing games for the Turbo Duo, NAM-1975, full motion video on the SNES, Bloodstorm, and more.
    • Review Crew – Reviews of Samurai Showdown II (Neo Geo, game of the month), X-Men (Super NES), Indiana Jones (Super NES), Jurassic Park 2 (Super NES), Wolverine (Genesis), Aero The Acro Bat 2 (Genesis), Star Wars Arcade (32X), Heart of the Alien (Sega CD), Street Fighter II Turbo (3DO), Doom (Jaguar), Space Invaders (Game Boy), The Marvin Missions (Game Boy), and Ecco 2: The Tides of Time (Game Gear).
    • EGM’s Hot Top Tens – Several top tens lists including Top Ten video Babes (Mai Shiranui from The King of Fighters ’94 gets the top spot), Editor’s Top Ten (Samurai Showdown II for the Neo Geo is at the top), and Readers’ Top Ten (the arcade version of Mortal Kombat II tops the list). There are also top 10 games lists for several systems. Number one games include FIFA International Soccer (3DO), Donkey Kong Country (Super NES), Madden ’95 (Genesis), ESPN National Hockey Night (Sega CD), and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Game Gear).
    • Gaming Gossip – The latest news and rumors about Mortal Kombat III, NBA Jam Tournament Slam, Diddy Kong, Virtual Boy, Saturn and the 32X, Sonic on the 32X, the Sega Neptune, and more.
    • Press Start – Nintendo teams up with Paradigm to create a flight sim for the Ultra 64 (Nintendo 64); Earthworm Jim commercial featuring worm eating; Flightstick Pro from CH Products for the 3DO; a Super Game Boy to Game Genie adapter; Donkey Kong Country launched worldwide; Xband Catapult Modem for the Genesis; and more news and new products.
    • Arcade Action – A look at some of the latest arcade games including Tattoo Assassins (Data East), Ace Driver (Namco), Locked ‘N’ Loaded (Data East), and Point Blank (Namco).
    • International Outlook – Previews of new and upcoming games released overseas including Fighting Polygon (Super Famicom), Chrono Trigger (Super Famicom), Front Mission (Super Famicom), Kirby 2 (Game Boy), Super Bomberman 3 (Super Famicom), Super Bomberman Panic Bomber W (Super Famicom), Sim City 2000 (Super Famicom), Burning Heroes (Super Famicom), Pacific Theater of Operations 2 (Super Famicom), Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV (Super Famicom), Winning Post 2 (Super Famicom), Super Panchiko War (Super Famicom), Super Family Stadium 4 (Super Famicom), Go For It Tonosama (Super Famicom), Super Chinese Fighter (Super Famicom), Drift Highway Battle 2 (Super Famicom), Super Bombliss (Super Famicom), Tale Fantasia (Super Famicom), Battle Crushers (Game Boy), Super Chinese Land 3 (Game Boy), Pokonyan (Super Famicom), Art of Fighting 2 (Super Famicom), Live World Soccer Perfect Eleven (Super Famicom), and Fatal Fury Special (PC Engine Super CD-ROM).
    • Tricks of the Trade – Tricks tips and codes for VR Stalker (3DO), Shock Wave (3DO), Contra Hard Corps (Genesis), Brutal (Sega CD), Super Street Fighter II Turbo (3DO), The Lion King (Super NES), Doom (32X), Samurai Showdown (Game Boy), The King of Fighter ’94 (Game Boy), Super Return of the Jedi (Super NES), King of the Monsters 2 (Super NES), FIFA International Soccer (3DO), Out of This World (3DO), Earthworm Jim (Super NES), Beavis & Butt-head (Genesis), Shining Force II (Genesis), Sonic & Knuckles (Genesis), Ren & Stimpy: Time Warp (Super NES), Crazy Chase (Super NES), and Sonic Blastman 2 (Super NES).
    • Next Wave – Previews of upcoming games including Blue Lighting (Jaguar), Incoming (Saturn & PlayStation), TimeCop (Super NES), Clue (Sega CD), Trivial Pursuit (Sega CD), Family Feud (3DO), Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (Sega CD), Rise of the Robots (Game Gear), Air Cavalry (Super NES), Troy Aikman Football (Jaguar), Hover Strike (Jaguar), Val D’isere Skiing and Snowboarding (Jaguar), Flashback (Jaguar), Dragon’s Lair (Jaguar), and Ultra Vortex (Jaguar).
    • Special Feature – Namco discusses the making of Ridge Racer for the PlayStation with an interview of Shigeru Yokoyama, Kouichiro Shigeno, and Tsuyumi Toyoda; NEC launches FC-FX game system; a continuing look at Snatcher for the Sega CD; and more.
    • Team EGM – A look at the latest in sports games including Tecmo Super Bowl ’95, Sega Sports NHL All-Star Hockey, Road Rash III, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, Madden ’95, WCW Superbrawl, and more.

    Fact Files

    • Super NES Times – A quick look at Home Improvement (95% complete), Ogre Battle (90% complete), The Ignition Factor (100% complete), Pinball Fantasies (95% complete), and Savage Empire (95% complete).
    • Outpost Sega – Previews of Mega Bomberman (95% complete), The Death and Return of Superman (100% complete), Mighty Max (100% complete), Cosmic Carnage (32X, 100% complete), Samurai Showdown (Sega CD, 50% complete), Fatal Fury Special (Sega CD, 50% complete), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Sega CD, 100% complete), Ecco II: The Tides of Time (Sega CD, 100% complete), and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (Sega CD, 100% complete).
    • Neo Geo Challenge – Preview of Samurai Showdown II (100% complete).
    • Planet 3DO – Previews of Super Street Fighter II Turbo (100% complete), The Need for Speed (85% complete), Shockwave: Operation Jumpgate (90% complete), Shanghai: Triple Threat (95% complete).
    • Jaguar Domain – Preview of Zool 2 (93% complete – oddly specific).
    • Club Game Boy – Previews of Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf (95% complete), Pinball Fantasies (95% complete), and Bonk’s Revenge (100% complete).
    • Super Gear – Previews of Ristar (90% complete) and Legend of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (80% complete).

    …and more!


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  • NBA Jam Extreme (1996)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: GamePro – January 1997

    NBA Jam Extreme was first an arcade game that was released in December 1996 with home versions for the PlayStation, Saturn and Windows 95 coming about a year later. As you can probably tell from the name, this is a basketball game and it is based on the 1996-97 NBA season. This was not the first game in the NBA Jam series but it was the first created by Acclaim. Previous NBA Jam games had been developed by Midway and then ported to home systems by Acclaim. I guess this was because of legal wrangling with the name because Midway also continued releasing basketball games with NBA Hangtime. Graphically, NBA Hangtime resembled previous NBA Jam games than NBA Jam Extreme did.

    The last basketball game I spent significant time playing was One-on-One on the Commodore 64. That game featured Larry Bird and Dr. J. playing half court basketball. While the graphics were simplistic and game play a bit slow, it still managed a lot of depth and subtlety and was a blast to play. As far as the NBA Jam series, to me it seemed to peak with NBA Jam: Tournament Edition which was also an arcade game and was ported to a whole bunch of home systems.

    However, NBA Jam Extreme did add a variety of new things. The most obvious was that it was the first game in the series to feature 3D graphics. Meanwhile, NBA hangtime maintained the 2D graphics of its NBA Jam predecessor. Other changes included an expanded roster featuring a total of more than 160 NBA players, an “extreme” button which was essentially an enhanced turbo button that was found in previous iterations of the game, and other game play changes.

    NBA Jam Extreme received mixed reviews. The graphics were solid and there were a lot of new features but as an early 3D game, it had early 3D game problems. Most notably with the camera angle being something less than desirable. The game also had a slower pace and the home versions suffered from long load times. NBA Hangtime was generally considered to have better game play. However, if you are an NBA fan and someone who like video game basketball, this wasn’t a game you would want to miss. The game is of similar quality on whichever platform you choose, however the PlayStation version probably edges out the other versions as the best home conversion.

    This isn’t a game you will find a re-release for and because of licensing concerns it’s extremely unlikely you ever would. That leaves tracking down an original or using emulation if you want to give this game a try. There have been a number of sequels including NBA Jam 99 (Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color), NBA Jam 2000 (Nintendo 64), NBA Jam 2001 (Game Boy Color), NBA Jam (2003 for the PS2 and Xbox), NBA Jam (2010 for Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360) and finally NBA Jam: On Fire Edition (PS3, Xbox 360) in 2011. After that, the series seems to have died out.


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