• Tag Archives gaming

  • Computer & Video Games (October 1988)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Computer & Video Games was published in the U.K. from 1981 until at least 2004. It was the longst running print video game magazine that I am aware of. The October 1988 issue includes:

    • Fax – A brief look at new products including ports of Pacmania for various platforms; Veteran, Luxor, and Mafet from Software Horizons for the Amiga and Atari ST; new add-ons for Balance of Power for the PC and Amiga; Rex from Martech for the Spectrum, Amstrad, and Commodore 64; Serve and Volley, T.K.O., Rack ’em, and Fast Break from Accolade for the Commodore 64; Times of Lore for the Commodore 64; and much more.
    • Reviews – Reviews of Pool of Radiance (Commodore 64), Heroes of the Lance (Atari ST), Vindicator (Amstrad CPC), Armalyte (Commodore 64), Rocket Ranger (Amiga) – I played the NES version of this and thought it was horrible, Intensity (Commodore 64), Summer Olympiad (Commodore 64), L.A. Crackdown (Commodore 64), The Bobby Yazz Show (Spectrum), 1943 (Spectrum), Star Ray (Amiga), Street Fighter (Amiga, Atari ST), Bubble Ghost (Amiga), Tracers (Amiga), and more.
    • AD&D – A detailed look at the first AD&D Gold Box Game, Pool of Radiance, for the Commodore 64. This was one of my favorite games.

    • Big Screen – A look at the latest movies (some of which would become games), including Good Morning Vietnam, Rambo III, The Running Man, Biloxi Blues, No Man’s Land, Pathfinder, and more.
    • Fantasy Role Playing – A look at some of the latest role playing games including The Fury of Dracula and Highway Holocaust plus news and letters from readers related to the genre.
    • Adventure – A review of Fish from Magnetic Scrolls for the Atari ST, Amiga, and Commodore 64 with other versions to come.
    • Bards Tale – Tips and strategies for The Bard’s Tale.

    • Playmasters – Tips and cheats for various games including Virus, Gauntlet II, Marauder, Rolling Thunder, Cybernoid, Garfield, Better Dead Than Alien, Druid II, Gutz, Target Renegade, Street Fighter, Gryzor, and more.
    • Arcade Action – A look at a couple of new arcade games including Legend of Makaj from Jaleco and Dynamite Dux from Sega.
    • Out To Lunch – Advice for attending the generically named PC Show.

    …and more!


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  • VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (June 1990)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    VideoGames & Computer Entertainment was my favorite video game magazine of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some of the key people responsible for the original Electronic Games magazine were involved with VG&CE. It eventually evolved into Tips & Tricks which wasn’t really my cup of tea. The June 1990 issue of VG&CE includes:

    Features

    • Total Recall: Acclaim Brings Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Film Role to Video-Game Screens – A detailed look at this NES game based on the movie of the same name. Like most licensed games, this one wasn’t great though I suppose it was better than some. It definitely has the nostalgia factor going for it.
    • Behind the Scenes at the Nintendo World Championships in Dallas – The Nintendo World Championship had to be just about the height of the NES era. It was sort of a case of life imitating art as The Wizard had just been released in theaters the year before.
    • Batman Strategy Guide, Part I – The first part of a detailed strategy guide for Batman: The Video Game for the NES. While licensed games are pretty poor the vast majority of the time, this one bucks the trend and was actually a solid game. The game and the movie are probably still my Batman favorites.
    • In Search of the Evil Place: A Player’s Guide to Faxanadu, Part 2 – The second part of a detailed strategy guide for this classic NES adventure game.
    • Computer Country Club – An overview of available golf and tennis games. Some of the golf games looked at here include Accolade’s Mean 18, Hole-In-One (miniature golf), Mini-Putt, World Tour Golf, World Class Leaderboard, Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf, Table Tennis Simulation, Serve & Volley, and others.
    • Computer-Game Strategies – Brief strategy guides for Double Dragon II (Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC), Populous (Amiga, IBM PC), and Space Harrier (Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC).

    Reviews

    • Video-Game Reviews – Reviews of Heroes of the Lance (NES) – (while I loved the Gold Box series of D&D games, I thought this action oriented game was pretty terrible), Astyanax (NES) – (I actually didn’t care for this one much though it got good reviews), Ninja Gaiden II (NES), Starship Hector (NES), Super C (NES), Pat Riley’s Slammin’ Jammin’ Basketball (Sega Genesis), Neutopia (TurboGrafx-16), Slap Shot (Sega Master System), and Ghostbusters (Sega Genesis).
    • Computer-Game Reviews – Reviews of Tank (Spectrum Holobyte for the IBM PC), Hoyle’s Book of Games (Sierra On-Line for the IBM PC), License to Kill (Domark/Broderbund for the Amiga, Atari ST, IBM PC, and Commodore 64), Sword of the Samurai (Microprose for the IBM PC), The Third Courier (Accolade for the IBM PC), Space Rogue (by Origin for the Apple II, Commodore 64, and IBM PC – I always wanted this one), It Came From the Desert (by Cinemaware for the Amiga, Atari ST, IBM PC), Sands of Fire (by Three-sixty Software for the IBM PC and Macintosh), and Trivial Pursuit (by Parker Brothers for the IBM PC).

    Departments

    • Editor’s Letter – Andy Eddy discusses games based on movies and celebrities in video games.
    • Reader Mail – The letters from readers this month are mostly about Nintendo’s business practices and then current anti-trust issues.
    • Tip Sheet – The inaugural edition of this column includes tips and basic strategies for Kung-Fu Heroes by Culture Brain for the NES.
    • News Bits – Joe Montana signs deal with Sega, new add-on for A-10 Tank Killer, Defender of the Crown creator developing Centurion: Defender of Rome, Atari opens up direct phone line for orders of Atari Lynx and Portfolio products, new newsletter for Amiga gamers, Commodore to market games machine based on Amiga 500, and much more.
    • Easter Egg Hunt – Hidden features and secrets in Double Dragon II (NES), Golden Axe (Genesis), Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis), and Fighting Street (TurboGrafx-16).
    • Destination Arcadia – A look at new games shown at the 1990 Acme Show in Chicago including DJ Boy from American Sammy, WWF Superstars from Technos, Klax from Atari, AmeriDarts from Ameri Corporation, Four Trax from Atari, Badlands from Atari, Metal Hawk from R. H. Belam, Capcom Bowling from Capcom, Buster Bros. from Capcom, Mercs from Capcom, Final Fight from Capcom, Vapor Trail from Data East, Too Crude – Double Dragon from Data East, Rai Den from Irem, Dragon Breed from Irem, R-Type II from Irem, Toki from Irem, Aliens from Konami, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Konami, Off Road from Leland, Trog from Bally/Midway, PlayChoice from Nintendo, Fire Shark from Romstar, Beast Busters from SNK, Neo-Geo System from SNK, Line of Fire from Sega, M.V.P. from Sega, Cadash from Taito, and lots more.
    • Inside Gaming – A look at who might win the upcoming video game battle between Nintendo, Sega, and NEC.
    • Game Doctor – Questions answered about music on the SMS, the NES expansion port, the TurboGrafx-16 CD-ROM add-on, transferring files between an Apple II and IBM PC, and more.

    …and more!


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  • Advanced Computer Entertainment (January 1988)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Advanced Computer Entertainment is a computer entertainment magazine that was published in the U.K. in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It covered systems such as the Commodore 64, Spectrum, Amiga, Atari ST, and others. It wasn’t exclusively a gaming magazine (for instance, this issue includes features on MIDI and computer graphics) but a large portion of the content was dedicated to gaming. The January 1988 issue includes:

    Interface

    • News – New games from Domark, new games from Code Masters including ST and Amiga versions of Grand Prix Simulator, Infocom drops prices, HP develops DAT cassette, and more.
    • Previews – Previews of Vampire’s Empire, Paranoia, Grand Prix 500cc, Out Run, Apollo 18 – Mission to the Moon, Basket Master, Masters of the Universe, Test Drive, The Hunt for Red October, and Tonic Tile.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about the Commodore 128, the BBC vs. the Atari ST, Ultima IV for the Atari ST, the Sega Master System, and more.

    Specials

    • Game of the Future – What gaming might look like in 1992 including predictions of parallel processing, ray tracing, fractals, and more.
    • Christmas Crackers – A look at new gaming compilations including The Elite Collection Volume I (Bombjack, Frank Bruno’s Boxing, Commando, Airwolf), The Elite Collection Volume II (Paperboy, Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins, Battleships, Bombjack II), Ten Great Games (Avenger, Future Knight, Knockout, Bounder, Footballer of the Year, Trailblazer, Highway Encounter, Monty on the Run, West Bank, Jack the Nipper), Live Ammo (Army Moves, Rambo, Green Beret, Top Gun, The Great Escape), Magnificent Seven (Head Over Heels, Arkanoid, Wiz Ball, Short Circuit, Cobra, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Yie Ar Kung Fu), Solid Gold (Ace of Aces, Infiltrator, Winter Games, Gauntlet, Leaderboard), 10 Computer Hits 4 (Starquake, Deactivators, Sacred Armour of Antiriad, Bride of Frankenstein, Uchi Mata, Classic Cnooker, Skate Rock, Alleykat, Magic Madness, Indis Alpha, Triaxos, City Slicker, Pulsator, Elektraglide, Revolution), and Game Set and Match (various sports games depending on system).
    • Universal Military Success? – A review of Rainbird’s Universal Military Simulator for the Atari ST.

    Sight…

    • Computer Graphics – Showcasing the latest in computer graphics, including Amiga workstation, professional CAD systems, and more.
    • Gold Standard – How the Yorkshire TV logo came into existence.

    …And Sound

    • Keyboard Cavalcade – A look at various MIDI capable keyboards including the Yamaha SHS-10, Farfisa FK 58, Viscount KB200, Casio CZ-101, Casio CZ-230-S, Viscount KB210, Casio CPS-101, Casio HT-700, Casio HZ-600, Casio CT-630, Yamaha DX100, Casio HT-3000, Elka EH105, Farfisa TK80, Vicount KB 550, Yamaha PSR-50, Gem DSK-6, Kawai MK-10, Viscount KB-880, and Yamaha PSR-60.
    • MIDI Matters – The latest in a series of articles that serve as an introduction to MIDI.

    Gameplay

    • Christmas Screen Test – Reviews of Stealth Fighter (Microprose), Deflektor (Gremin/Vortex), Bobsleigh (Digital Integration), 720 (US Gold), Passengers on the Wind 2 (Infogrames), Nebulus (Hewston), Skate or Die (Electronic Arts), Zig Zag (Mirrorsoft), Through The Trap Door (Piranha), Werewolves of London (Ariolasoft), Madballs (Ocean), Airborne Ranger (Microprose), Phoenix (Ere/Infogrames), Driller (Incentive), Buggy Boy (Elite), The Travel Game (Ruleformat), Bravestar (Go!), R.I.S.K. (The Edge), Gunboat (Piranha), Hyberblob (Firebird), Agent X 2 (Mastertronic), Action Force (Virgin), Bubble Ghost (Ere/Infrogrames), Superstar Ice Hockey (Databyte), Inside Outing (The Edge), Kromazone (Mastertronic), Arcade Classics (Firebird), Freddy Hardest (Imagine), Phantom Club (Ocean), Jackal (Konami), Blue War (Go!), and Dark Sceptre (Firebird).
    • Arcade Ace – A look at some of the latest arcade games including Xenophobe from Bally Midway and Ghostbusters from Data East.
    • Tricks & Tactics – Tips, tricks, and cheats for F-15 Strike Eagle (Commodore 64), Super Sprint (Spectrum), Plexar (Spectrum), Indiana Jones, Super Mario Brothers, Mystery of the Nile (Commodore 64), Goldrunner (Amiga), Mission Genocide (Amstrad), Jack the Nipper (Spectrum), Renegade (Spectrum), Re-Bounder (Commodore 64), Grand Prix Simulator (Amstrad), Lazer Force (Commodore 64), Star Paws (Commodore 64), Clean Up Service (Commodore 64), Gauntlet (Atari ST), Quedex (Commodore 64), Anarchy (Commodore 64), Spy Hunter (arcade), and Road Blaster (arcade).
    • Adventures – A look at adventure games Nord ‘N’ Bert and Beyond Zork from Infocom, as well as Slaine (Martech).

    …and more!


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