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Game Bytes Issue 05
THE MAGIC CANDLE II by Mindcraft Software, Inc.
Reviewed by Peter Palij
Reviewed on a 9 MHz PC/AT with Color VGA.
Requires about 5 MBytes of disk depending on number of saved games.
Heroes from Magic Candle I and from The Keys to Maramon may be used.
Quick Summary: Less interesting and challenging than the original Magic
Candle, MAGIC CANDLE II offers a few new game playing features and removes
the original system's ability to independently control several parties.
Given the limited changes from the original (primarily in the form of an
automatic note-taking system and somewhat better quality graphics), why
was MAGIC CANDLE II's release delayed by more than a year?
Recommendations: A nice, though predictable and unchallenging nostalgia
trip for Magic Candle I fans. I recommend those who haven't played either
Magic Candle game find a copy of the first one. Those who are Magic
Candle fans should wait until MAGIC CANDLE II is available for less than
$20 before getting it.
Hardware/System Requirements:
Required: IBM/Tandy & Compatibles
EGA, VGA or Tandy 16-Color
512 Memory; Hard Disk
Recommended: 8 MHz Performance or better
Supported: Roland MT-32/LAPC-1; AdLib; Sound Blaster
Story Background: Ten years after re-establishing the Candle of Berbezza
as Archdemon Dreax' prison, King Rebnard is beginning the process of re-
capturing the neighboring continent of Gurtex for the Children of Light.
A lingering question also remains about what happened to the Four and
Forty originally charged with keeping Dreax' candle prison secure; rumors
point to Gurtex. The game begins with the arrival of Lukas on Oshcrun
Island, King Rebnard's base for the invasion of Gurtex.
As Lukas (five initial versions to chose from or import a prior Lukas),
your efforts begin with a request to clear out the basement of Castle
Oshcrun, the last stronghold for the forces of darkness on Oshcrun Island.
As you interact with NPCs and build your team, various recommendations
and threats are made; these lead towards the continent of Gurtex and
opportunities to find the few remaining Children of Light and destroy the
forces of darkness. When all the pieces have fallen into place, you face
a final confrontation with Dreax' former assistant, the demon Zakhad.
Game Play: As with Magic Candle I, there are three distinct phases of
play: 1) a short initial phase for team building and talking to 30 or
so NPCs on Oshcrun Island; 2) a long (80+% of the game), fairly nonlinear
phase of searching Gurtex for lost communities of Children of Light, dung-
eons and towers, the latter two containing various treasures, weapons and
magical items; 3) a short final phase confronting Dreax' former assistant
which must be played exactly right (based on NPC advice gathered earlier)
or all is lost.
There are three levels of action: 1) wilderness where the team is repre-
sented by an arrow pointing at a map of the local area; 2) town, tower and
dungeon where each team member is represented and all move as a group;
3) combat where each team member and opponent is represented and all move
and fight independently. Performance was fine even on my old AT, though I
could overrun the keyboard buffer moving at the town level.
As with Magic Candle I, combat was easy, occurred sequentially (based on
who was surprised and order of agility) and a reasonable automatic mode
was available (I preferred to run all the combat myself). The MC trad-
ition of drug-based combat enhancement continued with various mushrooms
and flowers available which increased speed, strength, etc. One addition
to the original set of drugs was a Gurtex grown mushroom which increases
the effect of a magic user's spell to the maximum possible. Player
attributes were increased by locating gods and awakening them by whisper-
ing the right magic word; if you change team members, the gods can be
reawakened to increase the new member's attributes.
The excellent automapping features from MC-I remain: in wilderness mode
the location on the continental map is shown; in towns, between 1/4 and
all of the town is visible (depending on the particular town); in towers
and dungeons you may use a magical device (available at all general
stores) to generate a map of the local area, whether or not you've been
through it.
A note-keeping feature has been added which records all conversations with
NPCs for quick review or writing to the disk. I tended to write the
conversation file to disk, edit the chit-chat out, then print the remain-
ing conversations. NPC dialogue is convenient and depends on entering
the correct key words (which are either highlighted by the conversation or
told to you by other NPCs). Overall, I found the conversations less
interesting than MC-I and there seemed to be fewer things to talk about
(my guess is about 75% of the amount in MC-I).
Graphics: The overhead view and the one-square-at-a-time movement of MC-I
was maintained. Use of color was limited and my impression was that only
a few initial screen images introducing the game actually used full VGA
capabilities.
Problems Encountered: The game (I had version 1.20) played very cleanly;
the only bug I hit was one important NPC was never available for a conve-
rsation. A description of an obviously magical item the NPC was supposed
tell Lukas about was available at a Library, so once it was found, a
quick trip to the Library explained its purpose and use.
A note included in the box indicated mouse functionality had been intended
but was not included. The keyboard interface is simple and intuitive, so
the lack of mouse support didn't bother me.
Overall: Roughly two-thirds the size and complexity of Magic Candle I
with a few small improvements in playability and graphics. Given the
original target release was rumored to be Thanksgiving, 1990, why it took
until early 1992 to ship is beyond me. I liked the game (say about a 6 on
a scale of 10), but cannot recommend spending more than $20 on it, and
then only if you're a Magic Candle fan. If you haven't played Magic
Candle I, I would recommend finding a copy and playing it instead.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Peter Palij. All rights reserved.
Sid Meier's CIVILIZATION by Microprose
Reviewed by Adam Pletcher
Hardware Requirements:
640k RAM
EGA or VGA graphics adapter
Mouse recommended (by me), but not required.
:: PREMISE ::
The concept is simple: Take an Earth-like planet, add various primitive
nomad clans, and see what develops. The ultimate goal of CIVILIZATION is
to advance your chosen civilization from a group of stone age hut-
builders to a democratic empire capable of colonizing Alpha Centauri.
This would be easy if you didn't have any opposition, wouldn't it?
:: GAME PLAY ::
CIVILIZATION is primarily mouse-based with a look very similar to Global
Conquest or the wilderness aspects of the Ultima series. You control
settlers, military units, trade caravans, and many more forces in an icon-
based interface well designed for quick access of resources. Although I
would recommend the "mouse & keyboard" mode (by far the quickest),
CIVILIZATION also allows users to use strictly the keyboard.
CIVILIZATION will allow you to use Earth as your planet, or let you
customize a random one for a new twist. While the Earth mode places the
familiar tribes in relative locations where they actually appeared, I
found making a random world was much more fun. This allows you to change
several things about the planet, namely climate, percent of land vs.
water, and age (more mountains vs. forests). Little changes like the
land vs. water can drastically change the outset of the game. If you
choose large landmasses, for instance, chances are really good you'll be
start off sharing one with a couple other cultures. This forces contact
with them (and possibly war with them) much sooner than a world with many
smaller islands.
The startup sequence also allows you to select how many other civili-
zations yours will be pitted against (up to seven). CIV allows you to
choose any of fourteen civilizations to lead in your quest for domination,
including Russian, American, Zulu, Babylonian, or Aztec to name a few.
The cultures the game chooses to place against you greatly dictates the
way the game will go. While each culture is led by who was most likely
their famous leader (ie Stalin for the Russians, Hammurabi for the Baby-
lonians), each leader has a somewhat historically-accurate personality
that affects his behavior. While the Indians (led by Ghandi) will mostly
keep to themselves and not fight unless provoked, Napoleon of the French
will continually attack, trying to dominate everything in sight. This is
why diplomacy and your relations to other empires is so important. If you
don't have the strength to eliminate another culture, you must figure out
how to make the most of them. You can send spies, subvert cities, and
even sabotage or steal their new technologies.
This brings us to the issue of technology, the real heart of CIVILIZATION.
By placing cities near good natural resources, you increase its ability to
manufacture technologies (including everything from chariots and libraries
to recycling plants and factories). In addition, your empire as a whole
spends time developing a number of "global" advances that effect more than
just one city (like Literacy, Iron Working, or Democracy). With each new
development, you make many more possible. For instance, it's impossible
to develop a Riflemen unit until you've discovered Iron Working and Gun-
powder. This all sounds fairly simple at first, but you also need to
pacify the population of your cities. If, for instance, you tell one city
to keep making Catapult units they will eventually go into Civil Dis-
order, and stop producing. You can pacify them by doing a number of
things like putting military units in their city (establishing martial
law) or make something that will benefit them, like a Temple or Coliseum.
To my knowledge, the only bug in the game is the well-known "ghost city"
bug. Once in a _very_ long time, the game won't recognize one of your
cities on the map, and won't allow you to open it. This isn't a really
serious problem, and usually goes away in the next round, but it's still
slightly bothersome. The "Master Edition" of CIVILIZATION recently hit
the market, supposedly free of bugs and using a few minor strategy
alterations. I've heard many people complain after buying it, expecting
an entirely revamped version of the game and sadly finding it's just a
slightly tweaked version of the original. A free patch is also circu-
lating, allowing users to update their old copies to the new version.
Unfortunately, this patch does not seem to catch the ghost city bug,
because it's still appeared on mine occasionally.
:: SIGHTS & SOUNDS ::
CIVILIZATION'S graphics are really well done. The icon-based interface
(often looking too chessboard-like in some games) is livened up with
plenty of color and good spot animation during combat (the mushroom clouds
from nuclear war-heads are worth seeing). The symbols and icons are
distinct and easy to read, allowing quick glances at the screen to reveal
much about your surroundings. While either the mouse or keyboard can be
used to control all operations, I found it easiest to use the mouse for
the menus and city selections and use the keypad for movement of icons.
When speaking to other civilizations, you're treated to very well done
pictures of that nation's leader (ie Abe Lincoln, Stalin, or Ghandi),
with backdrops indicative of their size and type of government.
The sounds are equally well done. Using the Soundblaster/Adlib mode,
there's no lingering soundtrack, just the occasional brief battletune or
deathmarch accompanying war. There are a decent amount of sound effects
popping up during battle, the development of a new technology, or civil
unrest in a city. Although not as music-packed as, say, Wing Commander,
it entertains without hindering the gameplay.
:: SUMMARY ::
This game is undoubtedly an instant classic, and will be a favorite for
years to come. It's not exactly brand new, and it's still one of the top
ten games. It's replay value is infinite, allowing completely different
experiences every time it's turned on. On top of that, it's as addicting
as computer games get. My slightly-less-than-perfect rating is due pri-
marily to the ghost city bug, slightly tainting an otherwise perfect game.
So if you grow weary of shooting and maiming alien goonies from Planet Q,
pick up this game, you won't be disappointed.
CIVILIZATION's overall rating: >> 4.5 << out of 5
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Adam Pletcher. All rights reserved.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
E F F E C T S O F G O V E R N M E N T
Despotism Monarchy Communism Republic Democracy
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ----------
Military 1 resource 1 resource 1 resource 1 resource 1 resource
maintenance if > people
Settlers 1 food 2 food 2 food 2 food 2 food
1 resource 1 resource 1 resource 1 resource 1 resource
if > people
Commodities -1 if >= 3 +1 trade +1 trade
if exists if exists
Unhappiness -1 per unit -1 per unit -1 per unit 1 per unit 2 per unit
at home at home at home not at home not at
home
Revolution
possible if
disorder
for 2
turns
Corruption Varies with Varies with Flat Varies with None
distance distance distance
We Love Monarchy Democracy Democracy +1 people +1 people
King Day per day per day
Misc. Always Always
accept peace accept
peace
offer offer
AIR COMBAT - Review by Robert Dorsett
Name: AIR COMBAT
Address:
921 Six Flags Drive, #117
Arlington, TX 76011
817-640-1886
Cost: $35/person.
I went up to Dallas last weekend, and tried out the service of a two-month
old company called "AIR COMBAT." Their newspaper ads and brochure claim to
feature a combat flight simulator "experience," against a variety of
opponents. The sessions take from an hour to an hour and a half, and are
split up into a "classroom" session, a "training" session, and a 30-minute
flight session.
This is a review/account of the experience. I will withhold any major
"spoilers," and concentrate on the questions/concerns I had, prior to
entering the place (such as: would it just be a projection-screen version
of Falcon and a couple of joysticks?).
The session is designed for two people. While they encourage two-pilot
groups, they also attempt to match up single-parties. Reservations are
encouraged. Spectators are welcome; a row of six or seven airliner seats
are provided in front of the simulators. Family/accompanying guests get
first-shot at the seats.
They're located in a shopping center about 500 feet from the Six Flags
main entrance. They are not part of Six Flags, proper. There is a small
reception room, the "classroom," and a large simulator room. At first
arrival, one is free to tour the facility and "take a look," before
paying anything. They are permitting visitors to watch the flight
session, although viewing it from the outside doesn't really give a posi-
tive impression of the experience.
If one decides to take the course, one is then showed into the classroom.
The pilots are told who they are and what they will be flying. They are
then told the "rules of engagement," and which radio calls to make at
various points of the flight. This completed, military-style flight suits
are donned over regular clothing, and the pilots are taken into the simu-
lator room.
The simulator room is a bit of a shock. It's surprising to see this in a
simple shopping center, to say the least. It's dominated by two simu-
lators. These are constructed from the actual cockpit sections of an F-4
Skyhawk and an F-8 Crusader. They are mounted on full motion systems, and
face the same direction. A motion picture screen is mounted on the front
of each cockpit; this comprises the visual system. The rear part of each
canopy is "blackened out," so the pilot is essentially restricted to an
out-the-front view. But this doesn't really matter, from the perspective
of the simulation.
Also present are a "controller" table, in front of the simulators, an
"ejection" mock-up, and a chair intended to produce the effects of vertigo.
First comes the "ejection" test, which is another cockpit section, this
time of an F-100. It essentially lets the pilot practice an "eject." The
canopy superstructure flies open and the chair shoots up about four feet
on a rail, offering a good kick in the pants.
After this comes the vertigo chair. This is an interesting assembly, also
military-looking: the pilot is essentially strapped into the chair, and
told to don "blacked-out" goggles and noise-suppression headgear. He's
then told to bend over, and rotate his head to point away from the direc-
tion the chair will be spun. The "instructor" then spins the chair for a
dozen or two revolutions. When he stops, he tells the pilot to straighten
slowly. Complete disorientation follows. It's an interesting experience.
Next are the simulators. The A-4 Skyhawk plays the role of fighter; the
F-8 is a fighter-bomber. The airplanes are each accessed by their own
ladder. The pilot is given a parachute harness to put on, and then is
helped into the cockpit. At this point, another instructor appears. They
independently strap the pilots in, hook up the helmets and radios, and
provide basic instruction on the use of the joystick, pedals, and throttle.
Other user-accessible devices are the gear-handle and gunsight switch.
The latter draws a bulls-eye on a glass "heads-up" display. Most of the
rest of the instrumentation does not work, but is installed. There are no
cardboard cut-outs or art-work: it's all "the real thing."
The actual flight is interesting. It's conducted in blacked-out con-
ditions, with the canopy closed, and only red cockpit lighting. One
essentially flies through a pre-recorded set of scenarios, zig-zagging on
the tails of various airplanes. It concludes with a "dogfight" between
the two simulators.
The flight is pretty easy, but provides a lot of opportunities for maneu-
vering. It is nowhere near as complex as "real" air combat maneuvering--
no complex tactics to learn, no deflection shooting, etc. But the motion
system, plus the completely enclosed feeling of the cockpit, and the good
sound system, gives a *very* enjoyable ride.
During the fight, the pilot communicates with the controller via a helmet-
microphone and headset, and is required to use the push-to-talk switch on
the throttle, in order to talk. When both pilots talk at once, there's a
feeback loop, producing a "crossed-mike" effect, just like real life. The
controller maintains a steady prattle with both aircraft, almost flawless.
To "fire", one uses the command "guns, guns, guns" (which was described in
the briefing as "permission to fire"); the controller then confirms a hit
or not. The controller varies the "chatter" according to how well a
student's doing, mainly to increase workload, and, thus, the overall
effect.
The "audio" portion is a major component of the success of the simulation.
The pratter, a low-key "background" sound-track, the engine noises, the
noises and feel of the motion system, and the scratchy radio communi-
cations all serve to complete the illusion. The players are provided with
a tape cassette copy of the session, afterwards.
Conclusions:
The entire setup is an absolutely remarkable example of what can be done
with "smoke and mirrors." "Simulation" is, perhaps, too strong a word
for the experience. There wasn't a single computer in sight; the entire
effect is accomplished by a very clever distortion of one's *perceptions*
of reality, using a lot of real military-surplus equipment, and a lot of
analog innovation. It's an opportunity, as the brochure says, for an
interested party to sit in a jet cockpit, mounted on a motion system,
and "turn and burn" for a while. And it's worth it. Some of it seems
hokey, especially the combat session, when viewed from the *outside*, but
from the *cockpit*, it's very effective. The motion system, sound,
professionalism of the staff, and, simply, the opportunity to sit in a
fighter cockpit section-- which most of us will never otherwise have an
opportunity to do--makes it worthwhile.
There are no age-related limitations, that I can identify. There is,
however, a height- requirement of 48", Mainly to reach the rudder pedals.
There's nothing overwhelmingly "technical" about the flight. No "real-
world" ACM, no electronic environment per se to contend with (although
the instructor may "shoot" a couple of SAM's to liven things up). I went
with two nephews, 10 and 13; one can barely keep a PC flight simulator
straight and level and neither were sure they'd be able to do it, going
in. However, the staff was extremely considerate, spent a lot of time
with them during the pre-flight stage, and maintained almost constant
communication with them during the flight stage, over the radio. The
children got *completely* into it, and were blown away by the whole thing.
What improvements would I like to see? A digital capability, and real-
time, real-world graphics and ACM capability, even within the confines of
the motion system. It's attainable, but expensive (although I'd be will-
ing to spend substantially more for an hour in such an environment, once
a year).
Talking to the staff and the owner, Ed Bandley, I was told that they plan
on incrementally upgrading the system. A "carrier" scenario is in the
works for later this year, and will apparently feature working instru-
ments, G-suit, and other things. Bandley also mentioned a possibility of
introducing a higher-G ejection trainer, as well as possibly a survival
pool.
They are in the process of bringing an F-111 simulator online, using much
the same type of experience as the A-4/F-8 simulators.
I see a potential role for static "procedures" trainers--simply take
the "total" environment, and provide a detailed, technical introduction
to the fighter--or, alternately, if a digital-hydraulic simulation is un-
workable, simply provide a static digital simulation, with high-fidelity,
real-time capability. Each would be time-consuming, and expensive, but
would likely satisfy a lot of die-hard enthusiasts, without the need of
supporting and maintaining a motion system.
Overall impression: thumbs-up. As a flight simulator afficionado, I was
apprehensive, at first, but what can I say, but that it WORKS.
Obligatory disclaimer: I have no personal or financial interest in the
success of AIR COMBAT; I'm just a very satisfied customer, and would like
to see more of this sort of thing.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Robert Dorsett. All rights reserved.
CONTRA III by Konami for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Reviewed by Thom Vaught
Though I may not have agreed with U.S. foreign policy in regards to the
Contras, I must admit that Konami has put together a first rate shooter
in the guise of CONTRA III. This time the warriors are fighting communist
aliens. Yeah, right. Of course, anyone who buys this cart should be
looking for fast and furious action. On the surface, it appears to be a
well executed 'run, jump, and shoot' game. However, this is not the case.
It is a very well executed 'run, jump, and shoot' game with enough variety
to set it apart from the rest.
As I mentioned, this game has a good deal of variety. The variety comes
from the many different enemies and types of levels. Of the six levels in
the game, only three are the typical 'run, jump, and shoot' variety.
These levels are fairly long and provide a number of different challenges.
Two of the levels are overhead perspective and provide a nice change of
pace. In the overhead levles, there is some very nice rotation and
scaling. However, these levels could stand to be a bit longer. The other
level is side scrolling, like the 'run, jump, and shoot' levels, but the
characters must ride vehicles and the level is constantly scrolling. This
level is of adequate length with a variety of challenges.
Another nice extra is that the game can be played either solo or with
another player. From my experience, even the two player option does not
exhibit slowdown which inhibits play. Only during large explosions of
bosses was slowdown evident at all.
There are several different weapons to be found. These include a homing
gun (bullets follow enemies), laser gun (a narrow destructive beam), crush
gun (fires explosive bullets), fire gun (shoots flames), and spread gun
(the bullets spread out). You may carry two weapons at a time and switch
between them. Also, you have a limited number of bombs which will pretty
much destroy any enemy except for bosses.
Controls are nicely laid out and comprehensive. On the side scrolling
levels, the controls include jump, shoot, bomb, switch weapon. Also there
are two special actions which allow you to stand in place while aiming
your shots and to jump and fire bursts in all directions. Also, response
to the controls is very good.
The graphics and sound are truly astounding. I was amazed the first time
I saw the graphics. I felt like I was back at the arcade. Sound effects
and music are equally amazing. It should definitely be played in stereo,
if possible.
I would comment on the difficulty, but I am not very good at this type of
game. From the number of people I noticed asking for hints, it is probab-
ly above average on the difficulty scale. On the easiest settings, I have
yet to get through the fifth of the six levels.
I highly recommend this game for any shooter or action game fan. My only
complaint is that the name and premise of the game only serves to rein-
force McCarthyistic communist paranoia. Why is it that game companies
will not publish a shooter where your enemies are few used-car salesmen
and lawyers? I usually do not enjoy shooters of this type, but this game
is an exception. Note: Those who do not see video games as a good way of
venting aggression need not apply.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Thom Vaught All rights reserved.
DARKSEED by Cyberdreams
Distributed by Merit Software
Reviewed by Alexandria North
DARKSEED is a graphic adventure game produced by Cyberdreams, a small
company in Southern California. The game features the art of H.R. Giger,
pioneer of the bio-mechanical look. Giger's surreal art may be best known
through his designs for ALIEN, which garnered him an Oscar. Ominous and
fantastic, Giger's art forms a good basis for this engrossing game.
DARKSEED is a dark, science fiction-mystery game. You play Mike Dawson, a
writer who recently purchased a Victorian-style house in Woodland Hills,
California. Strange that you were able to buy the house for a song, and
too bad you couldn't check it out thoroughly before moving in...
The game begins when you first arrive to the house, and are drawn, almost
immediately, to stumble to the bedroom and fall asleep. Frightening night-
mares torment you, till you finally awaken to a pounding headache. Your
challenge is to find out just what is going on, and what you can do about
it.
The graphics for DARKSEED are very well done. The game has two worlds --
the normal world and the dark world. In a clever move, game designers
decided to use two color palettes for the different worlds. While the
normal world appears quite, well, NORMAL, with abundant warm colors, the
dark world appears instantly foreboding, with cool grays predominant.
Giger's art appears in the dark world only, reinforcing the sense of
horror and unease. Giger worked with the game designers to ensure that
his art was used appropriately and retained proper proportions, and this
extra care shows.
The music in the game is good quality, though it doesn't have Sierra and
LucasArts touches of fading in and out in response to character movements.
Still, I used a SoundBlaster and found no problem with the sound. At times
the music can get annoying (such as in the cemetery) but, for the most
part, it enhances the game mood. This is definitely a spooky game, and the
music composer took advantage of ways to play this feeling up. DARKSEED
includes digitized voices, as well, for almost every instance of speech.
The designers did a good job in choosing voices and sound effects to match
the scenes, at times sending chills up and down my spine.
Game play is certainly entertaining. In general, you do not have a clear
idea of your objectives, though it does become quickly apparent that
something unwelcome is sharing your cranium (and you probably want that
out). Part of the fun -- and the frustration -- is stumbling about
thinking of what to do next. While many parts of the game flow along,
this is one game I couldn't solve without a couple hints from some fellow
USENET players. I wish DARKSEED had a hint book available, as I think most
people will need it. Cyberdreams told me they had everything ready for a
hint book, but they were still working out pricing and distribution.
You play DARKSEED over the course of three game days, each punctuated by
disturbing nightmares. In this game, time is of the essence, as the final
nightmare on day three spells death. As you play, the clock ticks on, and
the fall of night inevitably draws you to sleep and horror. As some
events happen only on certain days, provided you've encountered specific
clues, chances are that you will need to replay the game many times as you
discover something you forgot, or run out of time. This can be frus-
trating, though I enjoyed the game enough to put up with it. In general,
the problems are logical, but in at least one key instance involving the
police station, the solution is not so logical. You need to be unsuccess-
ful before you can determine what to do.
DARKSEED uses an icon interface similar to that of Sierra games. You use
the right mouse button to cycle through cursor icons that allow you to
look/inquire, touch/manipulate, and move. Your inventory displays in a
top menu bar, in icon form, where you can select an item to use in a
scene. I found this interface to be easy-to-use. A disk icon next to your
inventory gives you access to the load/save/quit menu. By the way,
DARKSEED allows you to save up to 75 games. I recommend that, from the
beginning, you make a point of saving at various intervals, and note what
you were doing at each save game. You'll probably need to go back to a
few of those saved games and replay from there.
Cyberdreams includes a reference card and background manual with the game.
I recommend you read these thoroughly. I was pleased to discover that
Cyberdreams chose a skilled writer for their manuals and game text, un-
like other small game companies that suffer noticeably in this regard.
Take each piece of advice in the manual to heart, and always search a
location completely with your cursor before moving on. You can easily
overlook small objects, which don't sparkle outrageously to tell you where
they are.
Because Cyberdreams is a small company (they distribute DARKSEED through
Merit Software) I was initially concerned that this game might be buggier
than an adventure from a larger company. I was happy to find that, in
actuality, DARKSEED appears to be more robust than a usual Sierra On-line
release. I only encountered one area where I may or may not have en-
countered a discrepancy, and it did not halt my game play. Compared to
the usual four or five bugs and discrepancies I'm used to finding in
other games, DARKSEED appears to be well-tested.
All in all, I recommend DARKSEED to anyone interested in science fiction
and horror, and especially any fan of H.R. Giger's work. I have to admit
that I was so caught up in the mood that, after a couple days of playing
the game, I just couldn't look at the opening nightmare one more time. It
made me feel rather ill! My husband learned not to startle me while I
played this game (boy, did I chew him out after I jumped a mile!) but I
loved every minute of it. I just hope Cyberdreams stays around a while,
and produces more games of the quality of DARKSEED. The big guys could use
some competition.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Alexandria North. All rights reserved.
The Castle of Dr. Brain by Sierra On-Line
Reviewed by Merlin
When Sierra released KQ5 about 2 years ago it took a revolutionary step
forward. It was one of the first 256 color VGA games, with stunning
graphics and a great soundtrack. Ever since the success of KQ5, Sierra
has been churning out games using the same game engine. This system
incidently uses a mouse-driven system that replaced their SCI system where
the player still typed in commands. Although this is a positive step in
the general direction they have received a lot of flak from especially the
older players who criticized the system as being too easy to play with no
real puzzles.
CASTLE OF DR. BRAIN uses the mouse-driven interface but with a different
approach. Gone is the animated hero you moved across the screen. The
game is seen through a first-person perspective. The plot is simple : You
would like to become an apprentice to the famous scientist, Dr. Brain.
To accomplish this, you must successfully traverse his puzzle-strewn
house. Each screen contains one or more different puzzles, ranging from
logic puzzles to puzzle building.
The game has three difficulty settings, making it accessible to all ages.
(On beginner level, one of the rooms is a blank screen with a chest in the
corner. When you click on the chest you get a piece of a jigsaw puzzle
which you place on the screen, thereby "building" it up. The puzzle
pieces are large and only about 10 are used to complete the screen. On
expert level, the same room and puzzle is still there but the pieces have
increased to about a hundred!).
The music is atmospheric with some but not many digitized effects. Each
screen has its own musical score which, while being fairly simple, adds a
great deal to the game. A soundcard (Adlib or Soundblaster) is greatly
recommended. Digitized sounds include doors creaking open, armor clanking
and one or two exclamations from the player. (Ouch! etc.) The graphics,
being mostly still pictures with only some moving parts on each screen are
excellent and really nice to look at.
An icon panel becomes visible when you move the mouse to the top of the
screen. The icons are self-explanatory : an eye for looking, a hand for
doing or using, a control panel for setting the volume, saving, restoring
and quiting and a window which represents the inventory and which con-
tains the active item in the inventory. An icon depicting Dr. Brain's
head gives information about the room you are in. Moving is done auto-
matically when you open a door. Icons can also be cycled through by
pressing the right mouse button while the left button executes the curr-
ent icon.
The game starts at the front door to Dr. Brain's castle. Selecting the
eye icon I scan the screen. Descriptive information is available on
every visible item, from the pink flamingo statues to the grass at my
feet. Changing to the hand icon I click on the door. A hollow knocking
sound fills the air. There is no answer. I move the icon onto the door-
bell and click. The bell rings and after a moment one of the keystones
above the door lights up. Uncertain of what to do I click on the flam-
ingo and it screeches at me. The game informs me that that was not quite
right and the keystone lights up again, accompanied by a music note.
This time I click on the grey stone - the stone lights up again and now
another stone lights up and another note plays. Everytime I complete the
sequence correctly, another stone is added to the list I have to remember.
Finally I complete this "musical stone" puzzle, the door rolls up, and I
enter the castle.
In the next room I have to solve mathematical puzzles. A magic square
has to be completed, using numbers 0-9. Then 4 equations have to be built
up using available numbers and symbols. After that I had to move numeric
tiles in a square grid to form the right sequence. Using the three code
words obtained (one from each puzzle) I could now open the door at the end
of the passage and enter the next room. As I stepped into the clock room,
a voice called out "You now have 60 seconds". Frantically I scanned the
room with the eye icon and finally found, among all the clocks and
watches, a plaque next to 4 buttons. It read : button 1 turns cuckoo
clock on/off, button 2 turn the radio off if the cuckoo clock is on and
the water clock off, etc. Using these guidelines and a bit of logic I
had to work out a sequence to silence all the clocks in the rooms before
my time ran out. After a few tries I managed and then had to open a 40
second time lock using a 30 second and a 25 second hourglass. After that
I had to figure out a punch card system and punch in at the right time.
And so you slowly traverse the castle of Dr. Brain, changing floors using
a manually controlled lift in a three dimensional lift shaft, solving
codes, instructing robot arms in simple computer code, opening secret
passages, building a jigsaw puzzle, completing a crossword puzzle, finding
hidden words, locating stars constellations, etc., etc. The puzzles never
grow boring and if you really get stuck you can spend a hint coin which
will nudge you in the right direction. Each coin spent on a puzzle gets
more and more clear help onwhat to do. For every room successlfully
completed you are rewarded with a hint coin.
The presentation is very professional and the mouse system truly enhances
gameplay. On the hardware side the game ran fine on my 286, there not
being all that much animation to do. Installation was easy, using
Sierra's menu-driven system. The choices made can also be altered once
the game is on your computer. The box contains the usual catalogue and
disks (3.5" or 5.25") along with a thin manual. This is used for the
copy protection which is simple and involves the matching of certain
words to symbols. You only have to do this in one room so once you pass
the protection scheme you don't have to worry about it again. The disks
are not copy-protected and can be freely copied for backup purposes. All
major soundcards are supported but like most of Sierra's new games, it is
VGA-only. A mouse is optional but I strongly advise against playing the
game without one.
I would recommend this game to anybody, although it may also be guilty of
being TOO easy. This is a thinking game, more than a traditional adven-
ture but I would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys mind games.
Just be aware that you may finish it sooner than you think and once you've
exhausted all levels of difficulty, there isn't really all that much more
to do with the game.
Lombard rating : Graphics 90%
Sound 80%
Playability 85%
Overall 83%
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Merlin. All rights reserved.
Hardball III by Accolade
Reviewed by Steve Bauman
It's summer again folks, and that means baseball, hot dogs, apple pie,
and Honda. (or something like that) There's nothing better then taking
in a game of baseball on a warm summer day. The smell of the freshly
cut grass. The sound of the ball hitting the bat. Home runs. Double
plays. Shutouts. Walks. Strike outs. Double bags of peanuts. Carnat-
ion ice-cream with those annoying wooden spoons. Players charging the
mound after an inside pitch. All of the things that make the game great.
Baseball has been the most popular sport to simulate on a computer.
Electronic Arts really got the ball rolling for true graphic-based
baseball simulations when they realeased "Earl Weaver Baseball," first
for the Amiga, then the IBM. It set the standard by which all others are
judged. Later releases like "Tony LaRussa Unlitmited Baseball" (TLUB)
have tried to lay claim to the title "King of the baseball mound." The
newest entry into the baseball derby is "Al Michaels Announces Harball
III" from Accolade.
"Hardball III" (HB3) is a well-executed graphics-based baseball simulation
that, like its prequels, fails as a statistical game. The statistical
aspect of the game is woefully inadequate. The box announces, "major
league realism," but actually delivers major league disappointment.
However, arcade and graphic lovers should flock to this game, as it
boasts some excellent arcade action with some spectacular graphics and
sound.
There is one gimmick that sets HB3 apart from the rest of the graphic
baseball simulations. There is continuous play-by-play by ABC's Al
Michaels done in digitized speech. Al announces the players number,
their batting average, their stats for the day, and the actual plays.
On my Soundblaster, I was amazed at the clarity of Michael's voice. I
was speaking with someone over the phone while Michaels was announcing,
and he could tell whose voice it was. It is only a bit choppy as it
obviously is stringing together a combination of samples to form a com-
plete sentence (example: a player hitting .342 is actually a combination
of three, forty, and two).
In the end, I quickly grew tired of the play-by-play as the novelty began
to wear off. Frankly, it began to get on my nerves. Fortunately it can
be turned off from the options menu, as can the annoying music.
The program comes on either two high density 5.25" disks or three low
density 3.5" disks and requires about 2 MB of hard drive real estate. It
requires a 10 MHz or better AT with EGA or VGA/MCGA graphics. The 256
color VGA is stunning, and definitely recommended over EGA. The play-by-
play announcer feature requires 2 meg of RAM and an EMS or XMS memory
manager (such as QEMM, 386MAX, EMM386, or HIMEM.SYS) The copy protection
is the dreaded Accolade code wheel. HB3 also comes with a Windows .PIF
and an icon, though if you run it from Windows you will not get digitized
sound. QEMM users take note: you will have to add the command DMA=18
to your CONFIG.SYS (at least I did) for digitized speech, otherwise the
game crashes.
The graphics are excellent, with special accolades (pun intended) going
to the animation of the pitcher and the batter, who steps out of the
box realistically after each pitch. The menus themselves deserve special
mention, especially when you compare them to the unreadable ones in "Earl
Weaver Baseball 2.0." (EWB2). They are possibly the best looking menus
ever, with a realistic wood grain and embossed letters. These menus are
used throughout the game, from displaying box scores to inputing player
statistics. HB3, like EWB2, offers various camera angles, to view the
action as well as instant replays. It also offers nicely animated close-
ups of close plays.
When pitching or hitting, a player can choose to view the action from
behind the pitcher (which is the same view used by television broadcasts)
or behind the batter (which affords a better view of the pitch). The
pitcher and batter views are full-screen closeups (with base runners
appearing in pop up windows in the corners of the screen like TLUB).
Once the ball is hit, the screen switches to a standard depiction of the
entire ballpark without the delay TLUB has.
Once the ball is hit it is up to the player to move their fielder into
position to catch the ball. I found this especially difficult, especi-
ally on balls hit to the outfield. I wish HB3 would have implemented a
system like TLUB where a cirlce appeared denoting the approximate destin-
ation of the ball. This made positioning of fielders much easier, but
not so easy that you still couldn't botch one now and then. Thankfully,
HB3 has an auto field mode, whereby the computer fields the ball and you
select the throwing location. HB3 uses the normal base throwing routine
(ie right=1st bast, up=2nd base, etc.)
Being an ex-pitcher, I always enjoy the pitching aspect of a game most of
all. HB3 shares one thing with TLUB, and that is that the pitching
seemed to lack variety, with a set number of pitch locations. The only
game I've found with a unique and challenging pitching routine is the
otherwise mediocre "Bo Jackson Baseball." In HB3 you can choose between
four pitches, which can be edited using the player editor. A graphic
appears on the screen showing the choices, and all you do is move the
stick in that direction and press the button to select the pitch. You
then move the stick for location and press the button once again. The
length of time the stick is held in a particular direction determines its
location. I didn't find much variety in locations. It was either a ball
or a strike, with no grey areas.
You hit the ball you must time your swing when the ball croses the plate.
You can choose to hit for contact, to bunt, or to take a full cut
(power). I never noticed much of a difference between contact and power,
except you hit more fly balls with a power swing. You can also choose
the area of your swing, which in my experience, usually spells "whiff."
From both the pitching and hitting menus you do other things such as
positioning infielders and outfielders and controlling base runners. Base
running is the games Achille's heal. The computer is so unagressive that
it's almost impossible to advance runners more then one base. This is a
station to station game. Even with two outs the runners don't move. They
wait till the ball has dropped. You can override this my manually advanc-
ing the runners, but that becomes very difficult with multiple base
runners, as you have to advance each one.
Setting up league play is simple. You can choose to buy a team and then
simulate or manually play out a whole season. HB3 comes with its own
league, which unfortunately has fictional players on teams from major
league cities. One especially nice feature is the ability to import
teams from Hardball II (which didn't use major league players either),
EWB2, or TLUB. All aspects of the team can be edited, from name, colors,
manager's names, and even team logos. This last feature is a nice touch,
but I can't imagine anyone sitting down and recreating every logo in
professional baseball.
The gamer can change the players' names, positions, uniform numbers,
statistics, attributes, and the actual pictures of the players. Unlike
TLUB, multiple leagues can be created and saved at the same time. Un-
fortunately, there is no easy way to play a whole season. You have to
keep selecting "simulate" every two weeks of the season. My favorite
aspect of league play is the inclusion of an All-Star game midway through
the season. The computer selects the best players from the league and
you can choose to play the game or just sit back and watch.
The attributes that can be edited for non-pitchers include running speed,
arm strength, whether the player bats right, left or siwtch, and throwing
hand. Pitchers choose from throwing speed, accuracy, stamina, batting,
and throwing hand. I imported stats from TLUB and they imported fairly
well. One flaw of HB3 is that lack of player stats. You get the requi-
site batting average, ERA, etc., but a true stats freak like myself wants
more then five stats per player.
When you start talking about stats is when the sheen starts wearing off
the game. I created a team where every player had 99 home runs and mid-
way through the season (81 games into a season), the leader had 11.
That's right, 11. Of course each player had about 70 doubles. The team
leader in RBI's had a whopping 35. Of course the pitchers all had ERA's
below 2.00. There is a distinct lack of offense going on here that
borders on the offensive (pun definitely intended). Accolade has also
confirmed that if the computer takes the first pitch, it will always
stike out. This was added to increase the number of strike outs when
playing the computer, but it sort of takes the drama out of an at bat.
Hardball III is very close to being the best arcade baseball game. If
they improved the offense and the base running, it would have much to
recommend about it. As it stands, it still has much to recommend. The
graphics and sound are top notch. The playablility, though flawed, is
solid. The stats afficiondos will thumb their noses at it because the
stat model is so poor. To sum this up, HB3 hits about .275 with 10
homers, 57 RBI's, has a 3.50 ERA, with 10 saves and a 12-10 record, which
in todays baseball market, means at least two million a year.
This review (c) 1992 by Steve Bauman. All rights reserved.
INDIANA JONES and the FATE OF ATLANTIS by LucasArts
Reviewed by Adam Pletcher
Hardware requirements:
o 286 or better IBM compatible
o 12 Mhz recommended
o 640k RAM
o VGA/MCGA graphics adapter
o supports Roland, Adlib, SoundBlaster
OVERALL RATING: ***** out of five
This is the latest animated adventure by LucasArts. This time the famed
archaeologist is travelling the Mediterranean in search of the lost city
of Atlantis.
First off, I'd like to say this is one of the highest quality games I've
ever played. Every element of the story is done in the Indiana Jones
style, from the dialogue to the tiny mannerisms of the onscreen
characters. The game starts with a hilarious interactive credits
sequence that looks like it was yanked right off the big screen.
Following Indy's discovery of what's rumored to be an ancient Atlantean
statue in the college's archives, the statue is stolen by (guess who...)
Nazis. The only lead Indy has is a magazine picture of one of his old
expedition partners, Sophia Hapgood. Sophia is now (supposedly) a
channeler for an Atlantean king named Nur-Ab-Sal, and does shows in a New
York theatre every night.
:: REPLAY VALUE ::
After meeting up with Sophia, you are able to exploit one of the game's
best features. The game can be played in any of three ways: Team,
Fists, or Wits. Depending on how you respond to her questions, you get to
choose which path you take. At first I didn't think there would be much
difference, but I was soon proved wrong. Each of the three paths
contains completely different plotlines than the others. All three end
up in the same place at the end, but in this game getting there is all
the fun. In your quest to find Atlantis you encounter camels, broken
down trucks, fishing boats, hot-air balloons, and even a Nazi submarine.
Each of the three paths, for instance, may use the boat in a different
place and manner, while one doesn't use it at all. Each storyline has
its own unique puzzles and entire locations, lending itself to one of
the highest replay-value of any game I've seen. You haven't played Indy
4 until you've played all three paths.
:: INTERACTION ::
One of the most enjoyable features of the game is it's conversation
interface. Every time Indy speaks, he's given a list of comments you can
choose from. There's nothing new or innovative about this interface, but
it's the dialogue itself that really brings this game to life. Every
comment or sentence choice you're given is classic Indy. The dry wit and
humor that made the movies so successful has been carried over with
hilarious efficiency. Indy doubts Nur-Ab-Sal's existence up until the
very end, and is constantly making jokes about it, frustrating Sophia to
no end. One of the most gutsplitting sequences involves Indy and Sophia
staging a fake seance to coax an artifact from a stuffy aristocrat.
Indy, running out of ideas, resorts to making Nur-Ab-Sal shadow puppets
on the wall with a flashlight (much to Sophia's outrage). Here, and on
many other occasions I had to keep myself from rolling on the floor with
laughter. It is in Team mode that this feature shines through the most.
The witty jabs they make, and the reactions from Sophia in various
situations keep the player constantly entertained.
The classic point-and-click interface used in most animated adventures is
used very well here, allowing easy interaction with people and objects.
The second mouse button even functions as a "logical choice" pointer
(assumes you'd like to TALK to a person you're pointing to, or LOOK AT an
object), making things even easier. A box with assorted actions and a
scrolling inventory box occupies the bottom fifth of the screen, allowing
quick access to commands.
:: SIGHTS AND SOUNDS ::
If you're looking for the latest ray-traced, claymationed, scale modeled,
digitized graphics, then you might not think Fate of Atlantis will be your
thing, but I doubt you'll be disappointed. Using a brilliant VGA 256
color palette, the artists have made this game come to life. The scenery
in the game is amazing, involving great distance perspective and some
really cool gradient horizons. While most of the animation involves the
two characters and the people they meet, it is done so well, you'd think
it was a TV you're watching. Although the onscreen characters are only
a couple inches tall, their mannerisms are carried through with
incredible detail (from Indy rubbing his head in frustration to Sophia's
constant hair-flipping). The artwork is nothing short of amazing,
especially near the end of the game (watch for the plummeting Atlantean
automobile! Wow!).
Although they might have chosen to include some digitized lines from the
movies, I didn't miss them at all. The Fate of Atlantis music was done
with LucasArts' new Imuse music system. Whatever new technology they
use, it results in one of the best dynamic soundtracks I've heard. Using
my SoundBlaster Pro, the music changed tone and tempo seamlessly
according to the onscreen action, adding greatly to the overall movie
effect.
:: PUZZLES ::
The game's puzzle difficulty varies widely according to the path you've
chosen. As you would expect, the puzzles are toughest in Wits mode,
while you can usually punch and slug your way out of most situations in
Fists mode. I found Team mode most enjoyable, involving more lateral
thinking, and utilizing both character's skills (sometimes playing Indy
and sometimes controlling Sophia, depending on the situation). The game
is long, and the puzzles all lend themselves greatly to the overall
Indiana Jones feeling (some are very similar to those seen in the movies).
:: SUMMARY ::
As you can guess, I loved this game. Gamers of all skill levels will
enjoy Fate of Atlantis. Most of the actual movies I've seen this summer
I've enjoyed less than this game. It's destined to be a gaming classic
for years to come, and I anxiously await the sequel (where "Indy may
return as a much younger man!"). Hmmm... wonder what that means?!
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Adam Pletcher. All rights reserved.
LINKS 386 PRO by Access Software
Reviewed by Brian Chung
[EDITOR NOTE: Links 386 utilizes Super VGA graphics (640x400x256) and
cannot be displayed properly on standard VGA systems. Many SVGA cards
are supported, but standard VGA cards will unsuccessfully attempt to
display these images. In our next version, an error message will be
displayed instead.]
LINKS 386 PRO is, at this point, the best golf game. Period. LINKS 386
PRO has the best graphics, the best interface, and as far as I can tell,
is bug-free. This is the best sports simulation that money can buy.
LINKS 386 PRO requires minimum of 386sx/16, 2 MB of RAM, 13 MB of hard
drive space, a mouse and a SVGA card. However, for a comfortable playing
speed, I recommend 386/33 or above and 6 MB of RAM. Anything less than 6
MB of RAM will cause the program to use a swap file on the hard drive,
and the swap files can cause the game to slow down tremendously on the
slower models.
The most prominent feature of LINKS 386 PRO is, of course, its SVGA
graphics. Unlike FREDERICK POHL'S GATEWAY, which also utilized the SVGA
modes, LINKS 386 PRO comes along with a library of VESA drivers for just
about every major SVGA card. In the box, there is a note that says that
LINKS 386 PRO may not run properly on some platforms, but the note also
says that the patches are in the works. The highest resolution for LINKS
386 PRO is 640x480x256. At this resolution, the picture looks simply
gorgeous and is very realistic. The digitized golfer (of both genders
and ten different T-shirt colors), the digitized houses and trees and the
textured rendering of the background blend in with one another almost
flawlessly. Granted, there are some odd exceptions, like when my ball
was lying very close to the water and the program drew the golfer as
standing on water. But overall, the graphics are absolutely stunning,
and LINKS 386 PRO will, most likely, become the standards against which
all other games are measured.
The user interface of LINKS 386 PRO may not be as noticeable as its
graphics, but the interface is also one of the most friendly ones I have
seen. There are nine different viewing windows with up to 345 different
combinations. The main window shows the golfer with the camera located
about ten feet to the right of the golfer and looking towards the green.
This view, but not the golfer, can be rotated 360 degrees using a mouse
and a compass. The player can change this window to three different
sizes depending upon his/her choice of other windows. There are windows
that show you your score and other stats, a window that shows the entire
course from a bird's-eye view which is also zoom-able, a window that
shows the green, a window that shows the elevation of the hole from the
ball, a window that shows and changes the stance, club face angle and
swing angle, and a window that displays the club distance chart. The
bottom part of the screen is the control panel through which the player
hits the ball and toggles the unopened windows. The playing is very
easy. First, click the mouse on the main view window to select the
target. Then click the mouse on the button that says "swing." LINKS 386
PRO uses a C-shaped swing indicator in the middle of the control panel to
determine the strength and the direction of the swing. It is very easy
to see and use.
Along with the easy-to-use windows and user interface, LINKS 386 PRO
provides a lot of little details that make this one of the most user-
friendly games around. The player can choose the golfer's sex and
T-shirt color. Access is working on the golfers of different races and
left-right handedness. Each hole has six different pin locations and
three different tee locations. There is no computer opponent in LINKS
386 PRO, but multiple players can play the game at the same time, or one
player can record his/her game and send the record file to another player
who then can play the game as if they were playing side by side. Using
this method, Access is planning to have computerized golf tournaments
through Computer Sports Network. LINKS 386 PRO also provides a full
statistical analysis of the players and the courses. The stats can also
be printed onto a file or a printer. LINKS 386 PRO also has an instant
replay function for those great one-in-a-million shots, and the instant
replay can be viewed in two different angles. Not only can the entire
game be recorded, but each shot, especially if it is memorable, can be
recorded and viewed later. I play golf regularly, and LINKS 386 PRO
follows the regular PGA rules. However, for beginners, mulligan (take
back a move without penalty) and gimmie (ball is counted as being in the
hole if it is close enough to the hole, plus one stroke) features can be
turned on anytime.
LINKS 386 PRO supports the standard group of sound cards and the PC
speaker. The sound comes in the expandable sound library of LINKS 386
PRO. There are four different sound types: background sounds such as
birds, frogs and crickets, in-flight comments by the golfer, post-shot
comments by the golfer and sound effects such as the club hitting the
ball. All these sounds are expandable and other libraries will become
available soon.
LINKS 386 PRO comes with only one course, Harbour Town Golf Links. But
the courses from LINKS can be converted to LINKS 386 PRO format by using
the converter program which is included with LINKS 386 PRO. The converted
courses will not have the same details as the new courses, but they will
look much better than with LINKS. For those who do not own the old
courses, Access is converting them to LINKS 386 PRO format with all the
details included. At the point of writing, Bountiful Golf Links is the
only other LINKS 386 PRO format course available, but according to the
manual, Access is working on all the other older courses and the new ones
from around the world.
The manual is very easy to read and includes a detailed section on
trouble-shooting. If one wants to play LINKS 386 PRO at the maximum
efficiency, one must follow all the guidelines in the manual. At first,
I had disregarded the manual's warning against running a disk cache, but
I soon realized my mistake when the game ran like a pregnant yak. The
manual also includes
a Frequently Asked Questions List and a 1-800
technical support number.
In conclusion, LINKS 386 PRO is the best sports simulation money can buy.
Its SVGA graphics is rivaled by none, its user interface is extremely
friendly and the courses are some of the most beautiful and challenging
ones in the world.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Brian Chung. All rights reserved.
========================================================================
Game Title : Loom CD
========================================================================
Publisher : Software Toolworks and LucasArts
Programmed by : Lucasfilm Games
CPU Requirements : 286 or better
Memory Requirements : 640K
Storage Space : CD ROM drive, saves games to hard disk
Input Devices : Mouse, joystick, keyboard
Graphics : MCGA, VGA (320x200x256 colors)
Sound : None required (see review for information)
Copy Protection : None
Retail : $79.95
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratings (10 excellent,8-9 very good,6-7 good,5 average,2-4 bad,1 reeks!)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall : 7 *******
Playability : 9 *********
Strategy/Action/AI : 6 ******
Graphics Quality : 6 ******
Sound Quality : 10 **********
Documentation : 7 *******
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reviewed by : Ivan Luk
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Long after the passing of the Second Shadow, when dragons ruled the twi-
light sky and the stars were bright and numerous, came the Age of the
Great Guilds. Blacksmiths. Shepherds. Clerics. Each dedicated to the
absolute control of secret knowledge. Another such Guild was the
Weavers. Over the centuries, their craft transcended the limits of the
physical cloth, until they wove the very fabric of reality itself. Now,
a strange power has swept the Weavers into oblivion, leaving behind one
Weaver boy to unravel mystery. Help young Bobbin rescue his Guild...
and you might save the universe from unspeakable catastrophe."
Loom, a Brian Moriarty creation, is a highly successful game for Lucas-
film Games. The game is a fantasy adventure, that follows the pro-
tagonist, Bobbin, as he discovers, learns, and solves the mystery of the
Weavers' disappearance. For those familiar with the original game, this
CD "Talkie" translation is a revelation. Gone are the 16 color graphics,
replaced by 256 colored backgrounds and objects. A CD audio track
contains all music, speech and sound effects. The story and game,
however, remains unchanged.
A Tale of Two CD's
Loom CD features two CDs; the first is an audio only CD chronicling the
history of the Weavers and the birth and maturing of Bobbin and is about
30 minutes in length. This audio drama features some talented voice
actors with accompanying music and sound effects. Listening to this CD
reminded me of when radio drama ruled the airwaves. These same voices
are heard on the game itself. The game starts where this story ends.
Certainly, this CD is one of the highlights of Loom CD.
The second CD contains the game itself. Loom follows in Lucasfilm's game
design philosophy which states, "We believe that you buy games to be
entertained, not to be whacked over the head every time you make a
mistake..." Bobbin really never gets killed, nor does he run out of
time. I've enjoy many a Lucasfilm Games adventure because of this one
philosophy. You are free to explore the game world and try some in-
ventive things without having to restart if you make a mistake.
The Loom Adventure
Loom's interface is simple and intuitive. Bobbin carries a magical
distaff around on this adventure. He weaves magic with the distaff by
"playing" it. The distaff appears horizontally near the bottom of the
screen. Different sections of the distaff produce an ascending musical
note from left to right. As Bobbin wonders around the "world," he dis-
covers that different sequences of four notes weaves, or casts, a diff-
erent spell. By interacting with all of the many objects found in the
game, he soon learns to weave spells such as silence, twisting, and
healing among others. He uses these spells to solve a variety of
problems and to defeat a number of barriers that present themselves
throughout the game. Moving and casting magic are the only "skills"
required to complete the game.
Loom CD can be played at three levels of difficulty. Practice mode is
like watching a cartoon, with very little intervention required and is
ideal for very young gamers. Standard and Expert modes are the ones to
use to fully experience the game.
No Sound Card Required Here!
Loom CD is the first PC CD game that uses the CD format to the utmost for
the speech, music and sound effects. While other CD based games require
an audio card to generate these sounds, all of Loom CD's are Redbook CD
audio. Of course, this provides the best sound quality of any PC game,
in glorious stereo, with clear, high quality speech and sound effects.
However, there is little or no ambient music nor sounds between theat-
rical scenes, nor while Bobbin is walking around. A merger of the new
iMUSE music system developed by Lucasfilm for Monkey Island 2 (MI2) and
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (FOA), and the CD audio from Loom
CD would have been outstanding. Still, a well deserved perfect 10 for
the sound as it provided exceptional sound quality. The music is atmos-
pheric, providing a fitting background to the excellent script and voice
talents.
While the sound is wonderful, the graphics are not in the same league.
While much improved over the original Loom, today's adventure game stan-
dards are set by those with digitized hand painted backgrounds. Iron-
ically, Lucasfilm themselves has embraced this technology for their two
newest disk based adventures; MI2 and FOA. Most scenes looked very
cartoonish and lack life in Loom CD in comparison. Sierra On-Line has
chosen the right route when redoing some of their older titles--witness
the totally revamped Space Quest, Police Quest, and Quest for Glory.
Unfortunately, Lucasfilm has evidently decided against such a massive
redo for Loom CD.
In Summary
The story of Loom is an interesting one. The audio CD prequel adds much
atmosphere to the game itself. One small complaint is that there wasn't
more to Loom. An experienced gamer could very well run through it in a
matter of ten hours or less. In many other ways the game was absorbing,
but mainly because of the outstanding sound. So for those who have the
old Loom, contact LucasArts for special upgrade pricing. For others Loom
is a good buy at $79.95 retail; if nothing else, because it is the first
PC CD game to use Redbook CD audio exclusively for all the music, speech
and special effects.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Ivan Luk. All rights reserved.
The Lost Treasures of Infocom
After a foray into the world of graphic adventure games, I quickly became
sick of paying over $40.00 for a game that I solved in two days and filed
it on the shelf next to that copy of "Thud Ridge." The graphics were
getting better, the music was getting better, the machine requirements
were getting higher (as were the prices), and the games themselves were
getting easier due to the new non-typing interface. Do you want
replayability? If so, you have to look elsewhere. This is not a
criticism of this type of game, merely one opinion. There are many
people out there who enjoy graphic adventures. Personally, I've had
enough, as I made my way through my last graphic adventure in one day.
It was at that time that I began to pine for the days of Infocom. For
all of you gamers for whom "Wing Commander" wasn't your first purchase,
you remember Infocom: games in oddly shaped boxes with all sorts of
bizarre do-dads, weird things called "Grues," the Flatheads, The New Zork
Times, etc. They were a bunch of M.I.T. guys and gals who got together
and produced the best novels ever written for a computer.
With todays emphasis on flash and "chrome" (much like today's Hollywood
films) over substance, I am surprised that there aren't more "simple"
games coming out as a protest to the exhorbitant hardware required to run
the newer games. I'm the first to admit that I like to justify the
purchase of a 386 by showing friends and family "Wing Commander,"
(quickly followed by a showing of Word for Windows-I don't want them to
think I have a $2,500 game machine), but for the most part these games
are pretty faces. Beyond their flash lie cliched scripting and tired
plots. If I run across another "rebel without a clue against a corrupt
ultimate bad guy that no one else seems to notice is bad and it's up to
me to get the bugger" plot, I'm going to puke all over my keyboard.
I'm ecstatic to announce that out of the ashes of Activision/Mediagenic/
Infocom rises "The Lost Treasures of Infocom," a package containing 20,
count 'em, 20 classic Infocom titles. These titles include: Zork I-III,
Zork Zero, Beyond Zork, Infidel, The Lurking Horror, Suspect, Ballyhoo,
Moonmist, The Witness, Deadline, Starcross, Suspended, The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy, Planetfall, Stationfall, Enchanter, Sorcerer, and
Spellbreaker. The hardware requirement for these games is an IBM
computer with 512K RAM (that is really for Zork Zero and Beyond Zork,
which use graphics. The others generally need about 128K). It comes
with both type of disks in one package (ten 5.25 floppies and five 3.5
disks).
Included in the huge box is a manual with reproductions of the original
documentation (which is often necessary to solve the games) and clues
for each game (these are based on the old Invisiclues, which were often
as funny as the games themselves). A special notice must be given to the
installation program, which allows you to install all or some of the
games. There is no copy protection. As a side note, these games run
great in a window under Windows. If you have a 386, you can run them
alongside your favorite word processor, spreadsheet, or P.I.M.
What can I say about these games that hasn't already been said? There
isn't a loser in the bunch. Buy two copies so Activision will release
"Lost Treasures 2" which hopefully would include such masterpieces as "A
Mind Forever Voyaging" and "Trinity." I've owned most of these games
during my life in different formats, mostly for my Atari 800. These
games and "M.U.L.E." were reason enough to keep it (even though I
didn't). I have replayed many of the games and continue to be amazed by
the literary aspects of these games. There is drama, horror, humor (lots
of that), and all of the other trappings that make a story good
(plotting, character development, etc.)
Gameplay is identical for all of the games. You are given a description
of the area or room you are in and then take some sort of action. This
is a sample of a fictional game. The player's sentences appear in
capital letters after each prompt:
You are in a dark room. Its blackness overwhelms you. The walls are
painted black. There are black splotches on the floor. The ceiling is a
particularly dark shade of black. You see a red door to the north. It
is closed.
>EXAMINE DOOR
The door is a particularly ravishing shade of red. It is closed.
>OPEN DOOR
It is locked.
>INVENTORY
You are carrying:
fresh llama meat
a can of black paint
>PAINT IT BLACK
(red door)
You see a red door and you want to paint it black. The door opens.
>N
As you exit the room, you are arrested for violating copyright laws.
Mick Jagger personally pops you up side the head. Have a nice day.
Puzzles aren't of the "get piece A and insert it in B" variety. They have
those kind, but there are also logic puzzles, word puzzles, and many
others. These games are by no means easy. You will not be able to solve
these in a day. Some, like "Spellbreaker" and "Starcross," you may never
solve without resorting to hint books. If you do solve any of them, you
will be rewarded with beautiful storytelling, intricate plotting, amazing
characters, and humor. I mean, who can forget Floyd's death scene from
"Planetfall," or Marvin the paranoid android and trying to get a Babel
fish in your ear in "Hitchhiker's Guide?" Who can forget the first time
they played Zork (my first time was on a teletype in junior high school)?
These are classics, folks.
I may sound like a snob here, but these games truly stretch the mind more
than the average graphic game. Just as great literature can be more
rewarding then great television, a text adventure allows you to become
engrossed in the words written on the screen, and the pictures you paint
in your imagination are much more vivid then the ones supplied by
Super-VGA. Infocom is no longer with us (at least the Infocom that
produced these games), but their legacy can live on.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Game Bytes. All rights reserved.
Martian Memorandum by Access Software
Reviewed by Tim Pierre
Martian Memorandum is the follow up to Access's previous graphic adventure
Mean Streets, featuring the Thomas Magnum styled Tex Murphy as the PI
extraordinaire.
The Martian Memorandum story starts with Tex Murphy in his post
apocalyptic office in San Francisco 2039. After finding the comlink to
his unpaid secretary Stacey, Tex discovers that he has been hired to
investigate the kidnapping of Marshall Alexander's daughter. Marshall,
incidently is the head of the corporation Terraform Inc., the company
responsible for the terraforming of Mars. Hence Tex begins his trek,
following clues which eventually led him to Mars he pursues the man who
kidnapped the beautiful Alexis Alexander.
Right from the introduction the program creates a fantastic atmosphere,
even the install program has nifty graphics to help the loading of 7+
Megs of data seem less laborious. The graphics must be seen to believed,
simply fantastic in their vivid realism. The many characters that Tex
meets along the way appear to have been digitally filmed and seem so
life like. The implementation of Access's Realsound process produces
quality speech synthesis from even the PC speaker. Each character that
Tex speaks with responds with a unique digital voice making the whole
audio visual experience quite powerful.
The storyline itself is helped along by the atmosphere created by the
sound and graphics, the Mars sequences reminded me of the movie Total
Recall; but one can't help but feel that the plot has been sacrificed
to the technical aspects of the program.
Tex himself is controlled via a mouse driven point and click interface
which is easy to use. Tex can look, open, move, get, use or go to the
items in each scene. In appropriate circumstances the travel or talk
option is also available.
The biggest drawback I found while playing the game was the availability
of on line help. It took me the better part of a year to solve
Mean Streets, without the benefit of a solution. While it is very well to
say "Don't use the on line help" the mere fact that it is there causes
the weaker part of the human spirit to give in as soon as you become
suck. Even if the help was not there, other features that Access has
incorporated into the program make the adventure unchallenging. In Mean
Streets you had to write down the clues on a separate piece of paper as
you found them, this meant that occasionally you missed a clue or
misinterpreted what a character said. This was often infuriating, but
was exactly what made the program interesting and challenging. In
Martian Memorandum after you've talked to a character the clues are auto-
matically recorded for future use. Thus the next time you talk to a
character the player can systematically go through the clue list finding
out all the relevant information. While this makes the program easier
to use it kinda ruins the adventure solving aspect of the game. I would
have preferred to have seen no on line help and a return to the writing
down of clues and a text interface, (call me old fashioned!!!). I find
that the "point and click" interfaces found on most "modern" graphics
adventures tend to funnel the player into the solution and they end up
being just a spectator to the graphics and sound, (sound like TV!!). It
took me about a day to finish MM which is a far cry from the enter-
tainment value I obtained from Mean Streets. It would be nice to find
an adventure program with an easy to use interface coupled with a chall-
enging and interesting story line. I would recommend buying Martian
Memorandum just to see what can be done with the sound and graphics
systems of the PC these days. If you are a serious traditional adven-
turer then I don't think this is the program for you. I enjoyed the
atmosphere of the game but found it a bit easy.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Tim Pierre. All rights reserved.
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge by LucasArts
Reviewed by Thom Vaught
Veteran game designer Ron Gilbert has brought his wit and wisdom to the
computer screen for another pirate adventure. He proves, once more, that
his radical adventure game design philosophy can and does work. Many
adventurers were skeptical that an adventure game could be challenging
without the usual 1,000 grisly deaths and abrupt dead-ends. Well, they
were wrong. Monkey Island 2 is an adventure with plenty challenging
logic puzzles, but without frustration of having the character expire at
every wrong turn.
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge casts the gamer in the role of Guybrush
Threepwood, mighty pirate. This time the the adventure is a treasure
hunt. The treasure in question is no less than the legendary treasure of
Big Whoop. As the title implies, the Ghost Pirate LeChuck, who Guybrush
believes to be destroyed, does play a major role in the quest. Guybrush
begins the adventure on Scabb Island with his pockets loaded from loot
gained in the first adventure. However, things do not go well for very
long. The tale unfolds as a very humorous and exciting tale of pirate
misadventure. Many humorous occurrences and logic puzzles await Guybrush
in his quest.
Execution of the adventure is top notch. It uses the familiar LucasArts
adventure interface except inventory items are now represented by icons
rather than words. The standard actions which may be performed include:
Give, Open, Close, Pick up, Look at, Talk to, Use, Push, and Pull.
Inventory and actions available to the character are always visible in
the lower portion of the screen. This reviewer prefers this arrangement
over other adventure games which use the entire screen for pictures and
animation. They generally hinder the gamer by having him wade
continuously through pop up menus for actions and inventory. Though
immersing the gamer in the story is important, actions and inventory
should be non-obtrusive. The upper portion of the screen contains the
scenery for the current location and, of course, Guybrush.
Graphics in Monkey Island 2 are quite impressive. All the scenery
appears to have been scanned from paintings. Some scenes are painted in
bold colors which add to the comic effect. Others are painted with dark
tones which provide a suitably eerie atmosphere. The attention to detail
in the graphics is astounding. In some places there are light sources
which flicker and cast shadows. It is a very nice effect. To complement
the gorgeous scenery, the animation also very well done with a lot of
attention to character details.
LucasArts, again, proves that they have an accomplished group of musical
composers. Monkey Island 2 has some of the best scores of any adventure
to date. There is, of course, the generous use of Caribbean music along
with various other themes. They have used a new technique in this
adventure in which the music makes a nearly transparent transition
between scenes. It provides a very fluid sense of movement so that
adventure feels more cohesive. No more abrupt changes in musical scores
which cause the gamer to feel he has just stepped into another adventure
game. Also, there has been a lot of attention paid to the musical
effects. In areas near sources of music, the music can be heard, but it
will sound muffled as if from a distance.
Monkey Island 2 may be played either in Lite or Regular mode and is
divided into several Acts. The Lite mode contains easier puzzles and is
much shorter. In Regular mode, the gamer is presented with a much longer
adventure and many more difficult puzzles. Though some puzzles are
difficult, they all are logical, though probably not obvious. Unlike
many adventures, there are no puzzles in which force the gamer to rely on
luck and guesswork to complete the a puzzle.
Characters Guybrush will meet in Monkey Island 2 consist of several
familiar faces from Monkey Island 1 along with several new characters.
Most of the characters Guybrush meets play an important part in the
adventure and provide some excellent comic relief. Just try try to 'Pick
Up' Capsize Kate or the Librarian. Conversations with are carried out
through choosing from a list of questions/responses which Guybrush can
make. This is becoming pretty standard in most adventure games.
Obviously Gilbert has gained some experience in this area because the
conversations seem to be richer than in his previous effort.
Copy Protection in Monkey Island 2 is handled through LucasArts standard
code wheel. Each time the game is booted, the two-level code wheel must
be used to match the pictures on the screen and enter two two-digit
numbers. While not as annoying as Accolade's four-level code wheel or
documentation lookups, it would be nice if the copy protection would
occur less often. Perhaps having copy protection checks at the end each
Act would be a better solution.
What Ron Gilbert has accomplished is quite magnificent. He has crafted a
beautiful work of comedic art with enough puzzles to keep the hardiest
adventurer scratching his head for days. If this reviewer could find any
major fault in the game, it is that there is not more of the same. How
much longer must adventurers wait for installment three?
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Thom Vaught. All rights reserved.
Review : POWERMONGER (IBM)
Reviewer : Alan Fusco
Publisher : Bullfrog via Electronic Arts
Requirements : 640K, DOS 3.3+, EGA (16 colors) or VGA (256
colors) Monitor, Hard Drive, 386sx-16MHz+
Optional : Mouse, SoundBlaster, AdLib, Roland LAPC-1/CM-32,
Modem or null-modem cable (for 2 player game)
Copy Protection: Manual look-up at game start-up
Review Machine : 386sx/16 Leading Edge, 5.5 megs memory, 109meg
Conner hard disk with SuperStor v. 2.04
compression utility, QEMM386 v 6.00, Hyperdisk,
Dos 5.0, joystick, MS Mouse, SoundBlaster card
Limited testing on 386/33 Gateway with 4 megs
memory, QEMM386 v 6.00, MS Mouse, DOS 5.0,
HyperDisk
INTRODUCTION
I have been waiting for the IBM version of Powermonger since Computer
Gaming World named the Amiga version strategy game of the year. I was not
disappointed. Although the game is not perfect, it is enjoyable. My
version of the game came on 2 1.2meg 5 1/4" disks. The installation
routine uncompresses the files onto your hard drive and allows you to
choose the graphics mode (EGA, VGA-16color, VGA-256 color), sound effects
driver, music driver, mouse type, COM port for the mouse, hard disk drive
and installation directory. In VGA-256 color mode, Powermonger takes
approximately 2.4 MB of free space and each saved game takes about 100k
of disk space. A total of 8 games can be saved in generic format (A-H).
One item on the installation program that was confusing was selecting the
mouse COM port. I have a BUS mouse and there was no selection for this
type of port. Apparently, Bullfrog thinks that only COM ports are used
for mouse drivers. Fortunately, the default setting of COM1: works fine
with a BUS mouse. I say fortunately because, while Bullfrog lists the
mouse as optional, the game is NOT playable without one. Three "manuals"
came with the game: a typical Electronic Arts Installation/Command
Summary manual, The Powermonger manual, and a Hint/Strategy Guide written
as a journal. Powermonger can be played over a modem or null-modem
link, although this review will not detail modem play.
Starting up the game for the first time immediately reveals two frus-
trating aspects of the game. The first is the annoying copy protection.
You must find 1 of 195 territory maps in the Powermonger manual and then
answer a question about that territory. Though you are given a page range,
the maps are small and difficult to distinguish. The copy protection is
so intrusive that some may return the game. (I almost did!) The second
frustrating part is in the interface to the game. I had NO idea what to
do. Many of the icons are difficult to understand. For instance, there is
an icon showing several spears, I logically thought that this was an
"attack with spears" icon. It isn't. The icon means "equip invention". I
searched in vain for a tutorial in the Powermonger manual. There is none.
Just when I had almost given up, I found the tutorial. It is in the
Command Summary Card manual. The much needed tutorial was obviously added
as an after thought. Once I went through the tutorial the purpose of the
game and the interface began to make sense. Actually, once you get used
to it the interface is almost brilliant.
The purpose of the game is to become the ultimate Powermonger. This is
accomplished by conquering the last territory (bottom right corner of the
map) on a 13 x 15 square map. To get to this territory, you can conquer
all 195 territories (for masochists), a minimum of 27(?) territories, or
anything in between. You start in the upper left corner of the overall
map (1,1). As you conquer each territory you can move only to adjacent
(top, sides, or bottom) territories. As you get further to the right of
the map and farther down, the conquests become harder.
GAME PLAY
The playing board for Powermonger is divided into several sections. The
upper left of the screen shows an overview of the territory you are
currently in. By selecting various icons, this map will show contours,
objects (trees, houses, workshops, men and roads), settlements and food
stores. In addition, your position is always marked. Below this screen is
a balance showing your conquest of the area. When the balance tilts all
the way to the right, you have effectively conquered the territory. (You
do not have to conquer every settlement.) Below the balance are controls
to rotate and zoom in on the main map. The main feature of this map is a
3-D representation a portion of the territory shown in the overview map.
The 3-D representation is fantastic. You can zoom in to show individual
men, trees, buildings, birds, sheep, etc. Everything can be queried
(The question mark icon). Every person has a name and occupation and even
the trees are labeled as to type and kind. The detail here is staggering.
You will see the seasons change, grass grow, leaves fall off the trees,
snow fall, rain storms, etc. Sounds include birds being spooked (a good
sign that someone is coming), sheep going baa-baa, hammering and sawing
from workshops, wind blowing, victory shouts, swords clanging etc. These
sounds provide important clues about what is happening in the world.
When armies clash you can actually see the individual soldiers fighting.
Above the 3-D map is a visual representation of you (a captain) and any
captains you have recruited. Above the captains are 3 bars graphs showing
the amount of food on hand, the number of men in the army and the
captains overall health. These bars provide a visual representation of
the overall strength of your force. Exact numbers can be had by clicking
the mouse on your captains medallion. If your captains health (fitness)
falls to 0, the game is over.
Along the left and bottom sides of the 3-D map are the icon controls used
in the game. The icons along the left side are: options (file save and
game control menus), spy, alliance, trade, query, passive posture,
neutral posture, aggressive posture, go home and transfer men. The bottom
icons are drop food, drop invention, get food, supply food, derank, get
men, equip invention, attack. invent (really make), and send captain.
Most of these icons are modified by the posture icons (passive, neutral,
aggressive). For instance setting the posture to passive and selecting
attack will cause your captain to try to persuade a village to follow you
with no blood shed. The same attack on the aggressive posture will cause
few survivors to exist after an attack. A passive posture on invent
(really make) will cause your captain to make pots, while an aggressive
setting will cause you to make bows. It takes a while to learn how these
postures affect the various icons, but knowing this is key to winning
at Powermonger.
Conquest of each territory is a matter of icon manipulation and strategy.
In some territories, brute force works well (aggressive posture in attack
mode). In others early diplomacy is highly recommended. Some terr-
itories are very easy to conquer while others are almost impossible. You
must manage the number of men you have, food sources, inventions, your
conquered towns and your captains to win. Hungry men will defect. On
some harder territories, if the people are unhappy a rebellion against
your enlightened rule can occur. Recruit everyone in the city and no
one will be available to produce much needed supplies. In the early
territories this isn't much of a problem, but as the game progresses food
becomes very scarce. Remember, while you are trying to conquer this
world, the blue and red armies are also trying to be Powermongers. You
will have to out compete them.
STRATEGY
Powermonger initially appears to be nothing more than a "hack and slash"
game and in the early stages of the game, this can be the case. Certainly
"hack and slash" will work well in the beginning. But as the territories
become more difficult (impossible?) "hack and slash" won't work. You need
men, food and advanced weapons for any hope of conquest in latter worlds.
Careful diplomacy is a must while you build an army capable of attacking
a numerically superior force. When picking a town to settle into, remember
that fishing villages will produce the most food, especially in winter.
Make sure your farmers have plows since that will increase food pro-
duction. Try to capture at least one city at high elevation that has a
mine so you can make (invent) swords and cannon. Try dividing your men
into several groups (you need other captains for this) and attacking a
well armed town in waves. Another strategy is to send one captain to
attack from the north and another from the south, while you attack from
the side. This will effectively dilute the strength of a city. Don't
ignore the possibility of sending one of your captains as a spy. This
will allow you to monitor enemy troop movements. A well managed army of
20-30 men with half carrying bows and half swords can conquer a numer-
ically superior force. Remember that you can always use diplomacy to
buy you time, as you build your war machine. As you play the game, try
different strategies, as I guarantee that your "tried and true" ones will
not work for long. I hear that even "impossible" worlds can be conquered.
The hint book supplied with the current IBM version of Powermonger will
give other helpful hints.
PROBLEMS
Powermonger is not perfect. There are some irritating things. When you
retire from one territory and enter another, you essentially start from
scratch with some random (?) elements thrown in. No matter what size your
army was in the previous world, you will start with somewhere between 18
and 25 men usually carrying no weapons. However, in some territories (or
is this random) you will start with pikes or bows or swords. If all your
men start with bows, it is almost impossible to take a city in a passive
posture. If you need to build up and army, this can be a very serious
handicap. Unfortunately, Powermonger has no way to drop already equipped
weapons. You can only drop surplus weapons. Another problem is that it
usually doesn't matter how you treat your conquered citizens or your
captains. You can rape and pillage a territory, use your captains as
"kamikaze pilots", deforest the entire territory and kill everyone and
not have it matter. Once a territory is conquered and left, it can never
be retaken by the red or blue armies and it has no effect on the current
campaign. I would have liked to see a little more management here, but
others may disagree. One of the nice things about Powermonger, over say
Civilization (a superior game) is that a territory can be conquered in
a single sitting (10 min to an hour).
RECOMMENDATION
In spite of its faults, I can highly recommend this game to anyone who
likes strategy games. After the initial "hack and slash" territories,
Powermonger becomes a good strategy game. While it's true that the comp-
uter opponent is not particularity intelligent, it has superior numbers
and is aggressive. Winning against overwhelming odds, is very satis-
fying.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Alan Fusco. All rights reserved.
Solitaire's Journey by Quantum Quality Products
Reviewed by Thom Vaught
Solitaire's Journey (SJ) is the is the latest solitaire installment for
the IBM PC. It is from Andrew Visscher and Bruce Williams Zaccagnino, in
association with Quantum Quality Productions (QQP). I am an avid patience
player. Therefore, my views of this game are somewhat biased. You are
probably saying, "Who needs another solitaire game. There are more
computer solitaire games than books being published on the subject."
Well, if you enjoy solitaire at all and do not own SJ, you need one
more. Merely as a collection of solitaire games, SJ is pretty compre-
hensive with 105 different solitaire variations, including nearly 50 two
deck games. In addition to the wide variety of games, SJ includes sev-
eral meta-games, games built on top of the solitaire games, to encourage
repeated play.
As noted above, SJ contains 105 different solitaire games. The choice of
games included is very good. Obviously they did some research. The games
range from the simple (Simple Simon) to complex (Imaginary 13). Also,
there are games that are nearly impossible to win (Pyramid) and those
which are sure wins (Fortune's Favor). There are games that rely on luck
Eagle Wing) and those which require a lot of skill (Strategy). They
claim to have most of the world's best solitaire games, and I cannot
argue with that. However, you may have trouble finding your favorite
game. As a solitaire player, I began to thumb through the documentation
looking for familiar games. I had quite a bit of trouble finding some
games I like to play. This is because many solitaire games have several
names. They apparently are unaware of this or decided to use the names
with which they were familiar. For example, I was looking for the 2 deck
game I knew as Frog. I thumbed through book and could not find it.
Later I found out that the game was there, but under the title Amer-
ican Toad. Considering the number of solitaire games which have multiple
names, they really should have included alternate names where applicable.
The interface is well-designed. It is both easy-to-use and functional.
All choices are made from menus, or hot keys. The font used in the menus
are very legible and much better than most games. One excellent feature
of the games is the inclusion of on-line rules. Each game has a brief
and full description of the rules on-line. The brief description is
ingenious. It includes diagram of the playing areas and a description
of how cards are be played from or to each of the playing areas. Playing
areas include foundation, tableau, stock, and waste. Each playing area
is color coded. This helps identify the playing area when it is posit-
ioned it is near other playing areas. The full description of the rules
is also available, though rarely necessary. Another nice feature is the
history which SJ keeps for each game. For each game, the history
includes a graph of the last 25 scores, the top five player's averages.
It also includes the number of games played, the average score, the number
of games won, and the number of games over the standard average for the
individual player and overall (every player). The standard averages were
determined by QQP by repeatedly playing each game. Other useful options
include taking back a single move, saving the game, replaying the game
(as it was dealt), and viewing a pile (piles may be entirely in view).
When a pile grows too large, the cards at the bottom of the piler are
simply cut off. There should be a visual cue that a pile is not entirely
in view. More than once I have freed a card for play, only to find out
that it was not possible. The pile already contained the card I had
freed but it was simply not in view. Shading piles which are not entirely
in view a different color would have been nice. This problem really
should be fixed. The graphics are adequate and the faces of the cards
are especially well done. There are also, several things which the user
can configure with regards to the game including background patterns/
colors, deck artwork, and music. This brings us the thing that may be
the death blow for this excellent piece of software. It does not have the
quantity or quality of visual and audio chrome many gamers have come to
expect from some of the larger software companies. Don't get the wrong
impression, there is more than enough flash for a solitaire game.
However, if you want flashy graphics and sound, look elsewhere. The
designers have opted to produce a more functional. I am glad they made
that decision. In fact, I would rather they add a few more solitaire
games and get rid of some of the extras that are currently included.
In addition to the solitaire games, SJ also includes a number of meta-
games. These games include tournaments, quests, and journeys. For each
of these, SJ records a history of the scores.
Tournaments are simply a set of one to ten games grouped together to be
played consecutively. This enables the user to group similar or favorite
games together so that they can be played as a group. Several tournaments
are delivered with the game. They represent a good good variety of
themes. You may also define your own tournaments an even replace those
delivered with the game.
Quests are a very strange addition to solitaire. I really didn't know
what to expect when I saw them mentioned in a magazine advertisement.
There are four quests delivered with the game. In each quest, you must
try to reach an ending room from a starting position having traveled the
least distance possible playing solitaire games along the way. Each
quest takes place in a single or multi-story house. In reaching the goal
several things come into play. First, you must have accumulated a
specified amount of gold, through by playing solitaire games, in order
for the quest to end when you reach the goal. Rooms with solitaire games
will contain a choice of three games. Each game will have a target
score. In order to win gold, you must reach the target score for the
game chosen. If your score is too low, you will be sent back to the room
from which you came. As mentioned, you also must try to reach the goal
by traveling the least amount of distance. As you can see, these two
goals will often be in conflict. To complicate matters more, there are
colored doors which will sometimes block the most direct route to the
goal. In order to pass through the door, you must first obtain the key
which match the color of the door. Rooms adjacent to your current posi-
tion are marked indicating their contents. If a number is present, that
indicates there are solitaire games to be played in that room. The
number indicates the difficulty level. It determines the score which
must be met in order to obtain gold in that room. There may also be
bonuses or keys to found in the rooms. Bonuses will be either extra
gold or a reduction of the distance you have traveled. Some rooms are
empty. Once you reach the exit your score will be determined and a
history for that quest will be displayed.
Finally, there is the journey. In a journey, you start off as an
professional solitaire player who is traveling from one destination to
another. Traveling from one city to another costs a predetermined amount
of money. You are given money, at the start of the journey, but it may
not be enough to reach the destination. In order to raise more cash
along the journey you must play in a solitaire matchs in each city along
the way. Each city has a difficulty rating associated with it and a
choice of three solitaire games. To earn money, you must meet a target
score in the solitaire game chosen. If the game is won then a free pass
is earned to pay for the travel expenses to the next city. Winning is
not merely making the target score, but meeting the winning conditions
for the game being played. In most instances, this means playing all the
cards to the foundation(s). The final score is based on the amount of
money you have when you reach your destination. You receive extra money
for arriving at your destination in less than twenty days and you are
penalized for taking more than twenty days to reach your destination.
Though the quest and journey are certainly far-fetched. They are both
well thought out and quite fun in practice. The allow you to experience
different types of solitaire games and force you to quit playing the
same game again and again.
The documentation is adequate. It should have included the diagrams from
the online help for each game. That would have made finding a particular
game much easier. A historical section on solitaire and how it developed
would have been nice too. Alternate names for those solitaire games
which have several names should have been listed.
Copy protection has been improved slightly over QQP's previous games.
Now the user is asked to enter the FIRST or LAST word on page x line y.
Once, QQP can afford the risk, they should try dumping the copy protec-
tion for one game and see how it sells. Most people attracted to QQP's
games are probably not your average pirates.
In summary, I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys solitaire. Even
those with a passing interest in solitaire will probably find this game
worthwhile. My wife doesn't play a lot of computer games, but she loves
this one. Also, for those times when a computer is not handy, I recom-
mend a couple of decks of standard playing cards and The Complete Book
of Solitaire & Patience Games by Albert H. Morehead & Geoffrey Mott-
Smith (ISBN 0-553-20621-4). It is a very good book which they obviously
put a lot of research into.
Below I have included a list of some of my favorite games which I
assembled into my own tournament entitled Stratagems:
Strategy
American Toad
Poker Squares
Calculation
Yukon
Spider
Bristol
Shamrocks
La Belle Lucie
Eight Off
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Thom Vaught. All rights reserved.
Speedball 2 by Konami
Reviewed by Adam Pletcher
:: BACKGROUND ::
It's (guess when), the future. The original sport of Speedball has been
outlawed, and the new sport of Speedball 2 has caught on like wild fire.
The rules are interesting: there aren't any. Steroid use is encouraged,
as well as having a good right hook. You'll need it, if you want your
team to come out on top in Speedball 2.
The idea is simple: Take two soccer-like teams, give them plated armor,
spiked gloves, enhanced vision, bionic implants, a bad attitude, and a
hand-sized steel ball, just to see who's got the most points (or
surviving players) when the dust clears.
:: PLAYABILITY ::
Speedball 2 is the fastest paced thing I've ever plugged into. It's
almost mandatory to have a joystick and quick reflexes. The game uses a
standard top-down scrolling view of the playing field, as seen in many
sports games.
The team is laid out in soccer-style format, complete with forwards and a
goalie. The idea is simply to get the steel ball and run/pass/throw it
into the opposing goal. If your player does not have the ball, hitting
the joystick button will either attempt a sliding tackle or throw a
punch at an opposing player (depending on your distance to him). If you
have the ball, the button will throw it. By keeping the button down, you
can add "air" to the throw, making it sail over your opponents. In my
opinion, this is one of the greatest features of play, and got me out of
MANY sticky situations (especially when your goalie is involved).
Your control automatically switches to the player is nearest the ball,
for the most part. While this kind of switching usually does nothing but
irritate the hell out of me, Konami has come up with some truly
incredible "anticipation" algorithms or something that allows this to be
carried out with ease. The game flawlessly chooses the right players to
switch to, especially when the ball is in mid-flight. I was amazed, and
grateful that they left this duty to the computer and not the player...
the game moves way too fast for the user to efficiently control it that
way.
:: EXTRAS ::
Goals aren't the only way to score. Several bonus lights and bumpers are
on the court, allowing fewer, yet easier points. Two "loop ramps" on the
sides can be used to greatly boost the point value given for a goal
(these are the key to winning in my opinion :)
To add to the fun, the arena floor is periodically littered with bonus
prizes like bionic punches, extra speed, knockout pills, and coins. Ah
yes! The money! In between matches you're allowed to use money you've
collected to either boost your current player's abilities or purchase
entirely new players. I think this is a great option, allowing a bit of
strategy to fuse with an otherwise pure "eye-to-hand" game.
:: SIGHTS ::
The graphics in Speedball 2 are great. The colors all have a "steely"
blue hint to them, adding great metallic realism of the armor, players,
and the field. While off the field, your players are pictured by their
face. The faces are hilarious, usually a cross between the tough-as-
nails look and scared-stiff expressions. The animation is superb. No
flickers, perfect collision factors, and great player movements really
make this game what it is.
:: SOUNDS ::
Played on my SoundBlaster mode, I was thrilled with the effects. Very
authentic sounding end-of-half buzzers, thuds, oofs, and score sirens
just make this game all the more fun to play. In between matches, some
very appropriate fast-paced music is played, keeping tempo with your wins
or losses.
:: SUMMARY ::
My sole complaint is that in league play it doesn't allow you to save the
game after every match. Other than that minor point, this game is a gem.
You don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy this game. Although it's a
based on a sport, the game is definitely arcade in nature. Die-hard
sports strategists will probably prefer something involving more
forethought, but if you like "in your face" thrills, GET THIS GAME!
Speedball 2 is a great concept implemented with super play and fist
clenching, adrenaline loaded action!
SPEEDBALL 2 OVERALL RATING: >> 4.5 << out of 5
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Adam Pletcher. All rights reserved.
Splatterhouse 2 by Namco
For: Sega Genesis
Game Type: Action/Arcade
Reviewed by Tim Walker
Plenty of games out there give you the chance to control your favorite
movie heroes, but how many out there actually put the gamer in charge of
a villan? The answer was next to none, until Namco introduced arcade
players to a "hero" modeled after Friday the 13th slasher king Jason
Vorhees. This happened a few years ago when Splatterhouse made its
arcade debut, much to the delight of gamers and the disgust of
anti-violence activists groups (and parents!) every- where. Namco later
converted the gory beat-em-up to the PC Engine, and NEC brought it over
here for their TurboGrafx-16. It's still one of the best games for the
TG-16 on these shores, and Genesis players have longed for a taste of
this gore themselves. Fortunately, the wait is over, as Namco has just
released Splatterhouse 2 for the Genesis.
The second installment picks up a couple months after the first one
ended. The (again, I use the term losely) hero, Rick, destroyed all of
the demons in the Splatterhouse last time and freed himself of the curse
he was under. Unfortunately, his girlfriend, Jennifer, was apparently
lost forever in the conquest. Or was she? As the game begins, the
Terror Mask, a strange artifact that gave Rick his powers in the first
game and cursed him as well, begins appearing in Rick's dreams. It
convinces him that Jennifer can still be rescued somewhere in the
Splatterhouse mansion. All Rick has to do is put on the mask, go back to
the house, and kick some more ghostly butt. Sounds like an offer he
can't refuse.....
The game opens with a very well done series of cinema screens explaining
all of this (who says the Genesis can't do scaling ?!). You then take
control of Rick as you guide him back to the deadly house. Along the
way, you'll face all of forms of undead life, big and small. Some, like
the leeches, are back from the first one, but plenty of new and unique
foes are here as well. Rick must battle through eight stages altogether,
punching and kicking his way through hordes of gruesome foes. Each level
ends with the inevidable boss encounter, most of whom are very hard to
defeat. Fortunately, unlimited continues and a (very short) password at
the end of each level help combat the difficulty somewhat.
Splatterhouse 2 is one game that gives a whole new meaning to the term
"graphic(s)". The characters are large and well-drawn, having a bit more
detail than the first one, and there's some nice parallax scrolling at
times with the backgrounds. The game's most oustanding visual feature,
however, is the amount of gore present. Zombies lose the upper parts of
their bodies and stagger about for a moment before collapsing into a pile
of goo. Ghouls splatter against the wall when hit with a 2 X 4 (oh, did
I mention the weapons you can find? Other tools of torture include
bones, vats of acid, chainsaws, spikes and monster heads!). Bosses tend
to explode in most peculiar ways; one scene has your foe to spill his
blood all over the front of the screen once you've beaten him (anyone
else feel a little sick the first time they saw this, or do I have a weak
stomach?). This game is definitely not for the squeamish and even
carries a warning label that young children should not be playing it
(good advice).
The music in Splatterhouse 2 is alright, though nothing earth-shattering.
Still, it's not so annoying that you'll want to turn it off after a
minute of play like some carts. Sound effects are decent, as are the
digitized voices and groans (though some sound a bit distorted).
Unfortunately, play control is another story. I found it to be very
sluggish for the most part. This is not good, since timing is everything
at certain points in this game. The awkward pauses at times in button
commands don't really make the game unplay- able, but I did mind myself
longing for the smooth interface used in the first one.
Gameplay overall is pretty good for Splatterhouse 2, if somewhat
familiar. The programmers added a lot of new enemies, weapons, and
graphic scenes to give the game a new twist, but as I played it, it
really did feel like the original Splatterhouse all over again in a
snazier package. This may not be too original, but I did have fun with
it I must admit. If anything, I would have liked to see a few new moves
packed into the sequel, since the character is already pretty limited
attack-wise as it is. Punches, kicks, and jump kicks are about all you
have to hold off your foes while you wait for a weapon to appear. The
slide kick move is also back; ironically, I found it easier to achieve
this time around, despite the flawed control.
Though Splatterhouse 2 has a few flaws here and there, it still gets a
hardy thumbs-up from me. Only three or four Genesis games have come out
so far this year that are worth getting, IMHO, and this is one of them.
Gruesome graphics, frightful sound effects and all-around fun gameplay
make this at the very a least a must-rent, if not a must-have. It's also
the safest way to use a chainsaw in your home. Rrmmmmmmmmmmm.............
Number ratings:
Graphics: 9
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 7
Fun: 8
Originality: 4
Overall: 8
Splatterhouse 2 is published and distributed by Namco Hometek Inc.
This review is copyright 1992 by Tim Walker. All rights reserved.
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Game ³ The Games: Winter Challenge ³
³ ³ by Mindspan Software, Distributed by Accolade Software ³
ÆÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵
³ Machine ³ û 8088/8086 (XT) û 80286 (AT) û 80386/80486 ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Graphics³ ù CGA û EGA û VGA ù SVGA û Tandy ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Sound ³ û PC Speaker û AdLib û Soundblaster ù Soundblaster Pro³
³ ³ û Tandy 3-Voice û Roland û Thunderboard ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Control ³ ûù Keyboard ù Mouse û Joystick ù Gravis GamePad ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Memory ³ 515K (560K for Tandy) ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Size ³ 1.4 MB for fast load, 700K otherwise ³
ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
³ Other ³ Recommended 10 MHz AT with MCGA/VGA ³
ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;
Reviewed by Ron Dippold
The Olympics have always been a staple of sports games. In fact, Olympic
Games for the Apple II, the original keyboard killer game (hit the keys as
fast as you can to run), was one of the first, and one of MicroSoft's only
games. Since then it and the winter games have been the source of dozens
of games, just as baseball, basketball, and football have.
Actually, even though this would seem to spawn unending mediocre games
that have little more to offer than their competitors (and it does), it
also encourages each new game to include new advances and improvements so
it will stand out from the pack. How else can you encourage someone who
owns Summer Games XXXIII to buy Summer Games: Ben Jonson's Revenge? And
as machines get more powerful you can offer more features.
The Games: Winter Challenge offers the standard events: the downhill,
giant slalom, ski jumping, speed skating, cross country skiing, bobsled,
luge, and the biathlon. It supports from ten players to one player, and
you can actually compete or just train. Fairly standard.
The innovation is in the graphics. They've combined the standard
bit-mapped images with the 3D polygon graphics you've seen in games such
as Wing Commander. So for instance in the skiing events, the background
scenery is your standard bit-mapped (hand-drawn) images, as are the trees
and the skier, but the terrain you're skiing on is calculated and
displayed depending on your position and direction, giving it an added
touch of realism. And since you see everything from a the perspective of
right behind the skater, skier, and bobsled, you get more into the game.
In general, production values for this game are very high. The music,
while not spectacular, doesn't distract from the game. The digitized
sound effects really add to the realism. All the graphics show that some
serious effort went into them. Even the dialog boxes look spiffy,
sporting a pseudo-3D blue marble look, and all the images are well drawn.
In addition, Winter Challenge has a feature that really sets it apart
from all the others - full instant replay. You control the forward,
reverse, and at what speed, and you can pause at any time to savor that
spectacular landing or incredible crash. And best of all, you can save
your replays so that your personal bests are verified by the camera eye.
In many places you pass under a 3D ski-lift with moving chairs, which
looks very impressive. Also very disconcerting since from many viewing
angles the lift just cuts off in midair, leaving wires dangling rigidly
in the air. I thought that detracted quite a bit from the effect that
the lift added.
All of the events have the screen laid out in the same fashion. On the
left is a fairly detailed overhead map of the event. On the right is the
action window with the 3D graphics, and all the interesting stuff. On
the bottom is info such as the event, player, etc., and on the bottom
right is a digital stopwatch and speedometer (you've got an advantage the
athletes don't).
The bobsled event consists of taking your bobsled team down the inside of
an icy half-pipe course as fast as possible without crashing. The luge
consists of the same thing except that you have a single person laying on
a small sled with their feet pointed downhill, giving new meaning to the
word "insane." The pipe itself is drawn with the 3D polygons, giving
you a feeling of being in the trench. The scraping of the runners on the
ice and the "whoosh" when you go under the bridges add to the realism.
The crashes are satisfyingly spectacular at times. Your players get
their faces dragged along the ice at 60 kph... Once I managed to get
the bobsled to do a spectacular spiral and go sailing out of the tube for
a very nice landing. All in all, I'm somewhat puzzled why I do
n't get more of a feeling of speed. It just doesn't seem like 60 kph...
Perhaps it's that in this case the 3D polygons don't add much to the
versions that fake it with regular graphics.
The speed skating certainly benefits from it, however. It uses the same
layout, of course (a rounded rectangle), on the left and 3D on the right.
The skater is bit-mapped again, but the entire rink is done in 3D, and in
this case it really works. It's the first skating event I've seen that
really gave a real 3D feeling. The object is fairly simple - try to
skate four times around the rink without crashing on either side and
without spraining your button-pushing thumb.
The downhill skiing events are where the 3D graphics really shine in my
awesomely humble opinion. I've never seen the slalom or downhill done
more effectively. You go up the bumps, down into the valleys, and go
barreling over the larger bumps to pick up some decent air time (and a
nasty landing if you're not careful). Because you get a point of view
towards where you're headed, not straight downhill, you have the added
challenge of finding the gates when you're trying to pull out of a
screaming wide turn because you took the last section too fast. Both
events, the slalom and downhill, have the same basic idea: ski downhill
through a course laid out by pairs of alternating red and blue gates as
fast as you can. You need to go between the two red games, then two
blue, then two red, etc. If you go outside any of the gates, you're
history. It can be tough to aim when you're airborne!
However, unlike the luge and bobsled these are two very different events:
In the downhill, the gates are laid out in a fairly straight line. Hence
you get up to some fairly high speeds, and the challenge is to keep
yourself in control enough so that you don't land in a crumpled heap or
zoom past a gate, but not so much in control that you take too long to
get downhill. The slalom, on the other hand, has the gates laid out in a
much twistier path, with the result that you spend a lot of time turning,
and hence never get going a breakneck speeds. Here it's more of a
challenge to keep track of where the gates are so you don't miss one.
Both are great fun!
The cross country skiing events, cross country and the biathlon, are very
much alike. In cross country skiing you ski around a circular track as
fast as you can. Because the course is fairly hilly, it's part downhill
skiing and part hiking. The biathlon is the cross country event, except
that at four stops along the way you do some target shooting. Again, the
3D view really gets you into the game, but I just couldn't get "into" the
cross country event. Too long with too little action. The biathlon is
a bit more interesting. You have to watch your effort as you're
skiing. If you exert yourself too much when you get close to the
shooting ranges, you will be breathing heavy and your heart will be
pounding, making it harder to aim. The moving sights are quite a
challenge. The skier graphics here are spectacular, by the way, even to
the point of showing a very good herringbone for going uphill.
That leaves the long jump. I said the lugers were insane? These guys are
stark raving mad. Ski down a long ramp so you're going at high speed
when you take off the bottom of it and go barreling through the air.
Then attempt to land without driving one of your skis through your head.
The game says that one of the goals is to "minimize wind resistance
before landing." Bull! The goal is not to die when you land. The
crashes here are spectacular, and the 3D effect really works well
compared to your standard long jump implementation, which shows the
skier from the side. Quick and fun.
One thing I noticed is that competing with someone else makes it a lot
more entertaining. I found that the downhill, slalom, and long jump
events were great fun even when I played alone, and that the luge and
bobsled events were fairly fun. The rest just didn't hold my interest.
Add a friend or two, however, and they become entertaining again, as the
dirty-playing scum tries to make you lose your concentration as you play.
The box says that this is the "ultimate party game." It really doesn't
compare to Strip Poker or Get The Boss Drunk and Watch Him Make a
Complete Fool of Himself, but it is great entertainment for a group of
people or just two of you.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Ron Dippold. All rights reserved.
The 7th Guest by Virgin Games
Developed by Trilobyte
[EDITOR NOTE: The 7th Guest utilizes Super VGA graphics (640x480x256) and
cannot be displayed properly on standard VGA systems. Many SVGA cards
are supported, but standard VGA cards will unsuccessfully attempt to
display these images. In our next version, an error message will be
displayed instead.]
The 7th Guest will likely herald and usher in an entirely new era in
gaming for home players. This CD-only title is expected on or around
Halloween this year and will be the type of product that will sell thou-
sands of CD-ROM drives just to play this game. The 7th Guest is in the
adventure game category but that's where the similiarity ends. Eight
primary actors and about fifteen extras were cast to play out the story
of Henry Stauf, an evil toymaker whose works holds a diabolical secret.
When a series of children die in mysterious circumstances after buying
his toys, the local community begins to ask questions and the plot
thickens when Stauf himself meets an untimely demise. Kinda sounds like
"Chuckie's back again!!". The game starts when six guests are anony-
mously summoned to the late toymaker's remote hilltop mansion, now eerily
vacant.
One of the really cool things about this title is it's freeform nature.
There is no set way to solve the mystery. The player is given a free
reign to follow the story's development anyway he or she pleases, follow-
ing characters and exploring the mystery of the giant house. There are
22 rooms in the mansion and each room has its own secret and a puzzle to
solve. In much the same style as the horror classic, "The Shining", The
7th Guest has been designed to constantly hit the player with a comb-
ination of straightforward movie-style shocks and more general eerie
unsettling imagery.
Speaking of imagery, the screen shots included with this article will
give you an idea of the unprecedented level of graphical quality present
in this game. All the rooms and sets were designed and rendered using
Autodesk 3D-Studio(tm) and provide the texturing quality the convinces
the player that these are real life sets shot with professional video
camera equipment. The animation quality is also uncompromised, though
some powerful hardware (386/25 or above) may be required to full enjoy
the suspended disbelief. The game also contains 36 mintues of full
motion video and dialogue. The musical soundtrack was composed and
played by The "Fat Man" of Wing Commander II fame.
We've not yet had a chance to actually enter the mansion yet and test
the games object manipulation and conversation method, so this remains
untried, but we remain confident that no holes will remain in this land-
mark title. The 7th Guest will ship on 2 CD-ROMs and retail for a sugg-
ested price of $99.99. It looks to be worth every penny.
A.T.A.C. by Microprose
Microprose is famous for putting out high quality flight simulations that
stress fun and "Top Gun" rather than ultra realism. A.T.A.C. (Advanced
Tactical Air Command) is probably the most representive of this classifi-
cation to date. The game takes place in the year 2001, and the world is a
much different place than most would have imagined. The western society
and Eastern bloc nations are more allied than any would have believed.
Society is not threatened by nuclear weapons now, but by a more subtle
weapon: drugs. The U.S. government of the time was elected for its strong
anti-drug stance and forms an elite paramilitary task force to take the
battle to the drug cartels. We won't get into the sociologial or polit-
ical ramifications of this style of game. Everyone has there own beliefs
of right and wrong. We'll focus on the flight sim. aspect of the game.
You will be the leader of the task force charged with spearheading a
massive high-tech assault on the drug cartel and its operation. At your
disposal will be four of the newest F-22 fighter planes which you can fly
any or all of at the same time, on separate missions or as part of a coor-
dinated attack. You can also monitor all military activities using a
sophisticated control and communications panel that gives you access to
any of your planes and/or operatives. I was particularly impressed with
the presentation of the drug plantations, roads, and other fixed objects
on the ground. This isn't just a turkey shoot, however. The drug car-
tels will respond intelligently. Winning means not only superior flying
skills, but also upon developing and executing an effective strategy.
A.T.A.C. should be available in early October.
EPIC - by Ocean
Previewed by: Hunter Medney and Mike Heyda
Video Support: EGA,VGA (256 colors)
Sound Support: Beeper, Adlib, Sound Blaster and Roland MT-32
Epic is a cross between Wing Commander, Battle Star Galactica, and Star
Wars. The game begins with the sun in your solar system on the verge of
going super-nova. With little other choice, the fleet evacuates their
home planet in search of Ulysses VII, the nearest planet capable of
supporting human life. Enroute to Ulysses VII, the fleet must pass into
Rexxon space, and although your intentions for entering are peaceful,
your presence is considered an act of war.
Beginning with the title sequence, we were impressed at the speed. This
game boasts the smoothest 3-D polygon graphics yet seen in a game. In
one of the space battle missions you must defend your fleet from a Rexxon
attack. The battle taxes place right among all of the ships in your fleet
and you must fly through the fleet hunting down the enemy ships. Each
ship is fairly detailed (for polygon graphics) and there are HUNDREDS of
ships in the fleet.
In addition to the great polygon graphics the space scene backgrounds and
the animation backgrounds are very well done, easily beating those found
in Wing Commander 2. The impressive graphics alone rank this game among
the top in its class, right next to Wing Commander. But it doesn't stop
there.
The mission briefings are what Wing Commander 2 should have. Each brief-
ing begins with a list of mission objectives and ends with animated
displays of targets and routes. The result is a very movie-like quality
rather than just having a text description of the mission.
One thing that we were most pleased to see was ground missions. The first
mission is a good example of the scope of this game. You begin by clearing
a path through a mine field for your fleet to a nearby planet. Once the
path is cleared, you proceed to the planet to destroy the enemy radar
installation capable of detecting the fleet and alerting the Rexxon
Empire to your presence. The installation was a giant radar dish, con-
sisting of about a hundred individual shaded polygons, that you could fly
around, shoot, and - if you get a little reckless - crash into smoothly.
Have we said enough about the graphics? Well...probably not, but there are
other aspects of the game. Although the background music is well done,
the sound effects leave something to be desired. When you fired weapons in
Wing Commander, you sounded like you unleashed a great power. Firing
weapons in Epic is like shooting a BB-gun. Explosions were similarly
weak. There is no speech in the entire game and there were parts that
just cried out for it.
The game play is exciting, but not the same type of exciting as Wing Comm-
ander because the ship you fly makes you almost invincible. The enemies
fly like trainees right out of kamikaze school, and it takes about 20
direct hits and five collisions to destroy your ship versus one photon
blast to destroy them. Those few time you are destroyed, a bio-clone
will take your place, giving you in effect three "lives." However, most
of the challenge in the game doesn't lie in just achieving mission
objectives, it lies in achieving them within a given amount of time. In
the case of the first mission you had to destroy the radar dish before
the end of the eclipse which was interfering with the radar.
The plot consisted of only a handful of missions, each with important
objectives. The result was like playing just the higlights of an entire
game without mucking around with routine missions that made Wing
Commander II seem more realistic. Hunter was able to finish the entire
game in two days.
The game has a very movie-like quality to it - escpecially the animation
sequences and mission briefings. Unfortunately, the sound effects suff-
ered tremendously. The lack of missions left us wanting more (maybe a
add-on missions disk or two?). Overall, I was very impressed with the
game. If you like space games along the lines of Wing Commander you
should definitley give this game a look.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Hunter Medney and Mike Heyda. All rights
reserved.
F-15 Strike Eagle III by Microprose
Anyone who has been around computer gaming for many years might wish to
take a mental journey back to the early-to-mid eighties and remember the
first time they saw F-15 Strike Eagle. I can remember the visceral
excitement I had when I saw and felt these primitive graphics (advanced
at the time) capture me and draw me into the world of air combat. Well,
that feeling is about to come back all over again.
The early look we had at F-15 SE3 at CES was very impressive. The
external views of the aircraft flying through its space in Kuwait was
extremely realistic. Microprose doesn't concentrate on mathematical
flight models to mimick real flight perfectly, but that doesn't take
away any fun factor at all. Not to take anything away from Spectrum
Holobyte's Falcon 3.0, but many "new" flyers are intimidated by that
level complexity while many experienced flyers eat it up. F-15 SE3
should satisfy many at both ends of the spectrum and everybody in
between.
The new visual system of F-15 SE3 mixes 3D polygon graphics with bitmaps
to provide a very real sense of the world you live and experience. The
included screen shots shows the level to which real world geography can
be modeled using these techniques. There is a campaign mode to allow you
to fly a wide variety of missions in order to achieve a larger, more
comprehensive goal. One very popular addition to the program will be
modem play. This capability adds features like head-to-head dogfighting,
a pilot/weapons officer mode that allows players to fly in the same F-15,
and a two plane mode where two players can fly side-by-side in the same
mission.
F-15 Strike Eagle III is expected in October.
Wayne Gretzky Hockey III and Hockey League Simulator II
by Bethesda Softworks
Having been raised in the Great White North (Coo roococococococo! Take
off, you hoser!), I was born into a cultural element that will be with me
for the rest of my life. Some of my earliest memories of my childhood
are Saturday nights and Hockey Night in Canada. "He shoots HE
SCOOOORRES!!" Since moving down south for work related reasons, much of
my hockey experiences are now just memories. So it has been with great
interest that I've followed the ongoing evolution of the Gretzky Hockey
product line from Bethesda to its now very complete finale. Gretzky
Hockey III represents just about everything I could ever want in a hockey
simulation. Virtually everything that was deficient about Gretzky II has
been completely eliminated (or added) in this third installment. The
Great One would be more than proud of this effort.
Let's run down some of the features. G3 now has two full viewing modes:
an overhead view similiar to the previous versions, and the highly
requested 3/4 overhead view for a much more realistic view of the
players. It's very reminiscent of the NHL Hockey game from Electronic
Arts. Graphically, both of these modes are stunning. 256 color support
adds a great deal to the quality of the graphics. There's also a very
impressive full-motion instant replay that shows goals and other
highlights. In terms of control, you can choose to control any player,
coach from the bench, or have number 99 coach and you can watch from the
stands. There are many many coaching and player techniques than the
previous versions and sound effects that are just incredible. Bethesda
has done a great job of capturing the sound of hockey and incorporating
it into the game itself. You'll definitely want a digital sound board
for this one. Each player has individual hockey talents that are
computing into his overall 'signature' such as skating ability, stamina,
puck control, and agression. The referee is also an important part of
the game as all the penalties like tripping, slashing, and high-sticking
are included in the game. I can't imagine this game getting any stronger.
The Hockey League Simulator has also upped it's counter to II. This is a
huge improvement over the previous edition. Here, you'll enter the fast
paced world of sports management, spend millions to develop your
franchise and watch the league develop. An injury on the ice can make or
break a dynasty. Imagine paying millions for Lemieux and watch him go
down for the season.
The interface has been radically improved with full 256 color graphics
and an intelligent menuing system that really makes managing easy and
allows for full manipulation of all pertinent teams and players. There
are also hot-keys that allow you to pull up important player information
at the touch of a key. You can also use the "Schedule Maker" to complete
partial schedules and save them to disk. To get VERY realistic, as
manager you'll also have to deal with pre-season negotiations and other
problems like player hold-outs and strikes. Media contracts, player/
coach salary negotiations, season tickets and other monetary aspects will
also affect managerial and budgetary decisions. This is much more than
skating on the ice and winning games. You have to show a profit as well.
You can even customize the level and impact of injuries to players during
game play and throughout the season. There are copious amounts of stats
and you can save year-to-date stats, team stats, and year-end stats to
disk to continue into the next season.
Truly, for any hockey afficionado, Gretzky III and HLS II are an absolute
must-have.
Gretzky Hockey III and HLS II should be out in early October.
Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender(TM) by Microprose
When one thinks of animated adventure games to date, the names Sierra,
Access, and Dynamix come to mind. Whatever your list, you'll soon want
to add Microprose to it. When I heard about Rex before Comdex, I thought
to myself, "Hmm, just another Space Quest wanna-be". Once I saw the demo
and the work- in-progress, however, I realized that while the adventure
game category won't be redefined by Rex, it will certainly be enhanced.
This adventure is a hilarious romp through the galaxy as Rex Nebular,
womanizer extraordinaire, attempts to restore a priceless vase. Rex finds
himself on an alien world populated entirely by women. Rex is looked upon
as good for only one thing: breeding stock. (Ed. so what's his
complaint!!??) The adventure will take you through the perils and
pleasures of the planet Androgena, underwater and underground. There are
plenty of puzzles to solve along the way.
The animation techniques used in Rex are really ground breaking. The
process used to create such fluid human motions is similar to rotoscoping
but goes beyond what is normally done with these techniques. The method
of interaction is quite similiar to the LucasArts adventures. You select
objects on screen and manipulate and interact with them from a variety of
verbs presented on screen. There's even a "naughty" and "nice" mode to
fine tune the bawdiness of the humor. Approximately 10MB of hard drive
space will be required for Rex and 1 MB of RAM or greater will be needed
to hear the digitized speech.
Rex Nebular will appear in late September or early October.
Summer Challenge by Accolade
Recently, Accolade was kind enough to send us a "work-in-progress"
version of Summer Challenge, follow-up to the successful Winter Challenge
of last year (and reviewed in this issue). We think they've got another
hit on their hands. I'm sure they had every intention of having this out
on store shelves as the flaming arrow was arching over the cauldron in
Barcelona, but such is life.
Summer Challenge allows the player to compete in eight challenging summer
sporting events: The Pole Vault, High Jump, Javelin, 400 Meter Hurdles,
Cycling, Kayaking, Equestrian, and Archery. The graphical quality (see
screen shots) is very top-notch and the animation rate and imagery is very
similiar to Winter Challenge. Accolade and the developer MindSpan (who
also developed Hardball III) have done an excellent job of combining the
fluid animation capabilities of vector polygon graphics with bitmap
backgrounds and other screen enhancements. Up to 10 players can compete,
one at a time, and can be chosen from a roster containing the athlete's
name and country of origin. Like Winter Challenge, you can participate
in a training mode to polish your skills or the tournament mode where you
can compete against computer or human opponents.
I was particularly impressed with the realism captured in the cycling and
pole-vaulting events. There was a real sense of speed and coordination
that brought me into the event. It will take a good deal of practice to
be able to compete at Olympic levels in all of these events, so there is a
good deal of replayability here. There's even the pomp and circumstance of
an opening and closing ceremonies. Accolade is also planning some
promotions with the launch of this product where players can compete for
prizes such as bicycles, athletic shoes, and T-shirts.
Watch for Summer Challenge to arrive near the end of September.
Terminator 2029: CyberGen by Bethesda Softworks
Lately, our cable channel has been carrying Showtime's running of
Terminator 2: Judgement Day and I've been reminded why that number '2' is
so important. Bethesda's first attempt at the Terminator game was a
dismal failure. Some pretty graphics up front, but when you got into the
game it switched back to a pretty unimpressive EGA mode that didn't
excite anybody. Well, credit where credit is due, Bethesda has 'paid
their debt' and is now ready to unleash upon us what may be the most
improved original-to-sequel game ever in the history of gaming.
Everything that was wrong about the first one is completely RIGHT in the
second edition. The preview I had of this at CES was truly mind-
boggling, and I only saw just a few little pieces of it. The difference
between this title and the first is so great that I can scarcely believe
it's the same company that produced it.
Let me quote from some materials I was given about the premise for 2029.
"During the latest incursions against Skynet Central Command a prototype
of a combat assault armor was found hidden in a subterranean vault. It
has been theorized that this armor was the precursor to the fully
mechanized Terminator units manufactured by Skynet after its systems came
online. Colonel John Connor quickly recognized that if the power of this
armor could be harnessed, it might bridge the gab between Resistance
personnel and Skynet's battlefield forces. Connor ordered Resistance
scientists to analyze the prototype and develop a weapon for his men to
use. The result was the Advanced Cybergenetic Exoskeleton or 'CyberGen',
a military assault armor uniquely designed to combat Terminators.
It soon became evident however, that there would be a problem. In order
for a human to match himself against Skynet's computerized assault units
the suit had to be linked cybernetically to the user's nervous system.
Physiological rejection of the neurolink implants was a common problem.
Less than one per- cent of Colonel Connor's men could accpe the implants
totally and safely. The project continued however, for there was too
much at stake. The Colonel decided that with humanity hanging int he
balance, a few weapons were better than none. The operation test of the
CyberGen Assault Armor was scheduled for late 2029.
Outfitted in the CyberGen Assault Armor a man could meet a Terminator on
equal or better terms. With CyberGen, one man became equivalent to a
full squad of Resistance fighters, a killing machine able to take
substantial damage and still delivery vast amounts of ordnance to
selected targets. Its Phased Plasma Fusion Cannons could deliver bolts
of super-heated plasma in the 40, 60, 80, and the 100 watt range. It
also had a fully integrated battle logic circuit, originally manufactured
for the newer Terminator models, tied into an automatic Target Tracking
and Acquisition System (TTAS). New Tomahawk class grenade launchers were
developed that delivered a full spread of fusion or scatter grenades.
The Hellraiser IV Rocketpod completed its destructive arsenal by
providing a multi-role missile system with both ground-to-air and
ground-to-ground capabilities. Neurolink implants augmented the user's
strength and reflexes well past normal human capabilities. The titanium-
detrium skin alloy could deflect or absorb most of Skynet's plasma weapon
discharges. CyberGen had the ability to deliver hard punishment with
extreme prejudice. It was the answer to Colonel Connor's prayers.
Through rigorous testing, battlefield experience, and genetic screening
you have been selected to carry out the first Special Operations Test of
the CyberGen Assault Armor. Although CyberGen is still in the prototype
stage, it will be your job to test its practical limits in an actual
battlefield environment. your performance will help determine the role
the CyberGen Assault Armor will play in furthing the war effort of the
Resistance. Colonel Connor is confident that with CyberGen's full
capabilities realized, targets once thought inaccessible willnow be
within strike potential. Through your efforts, the opportunity to bring
the war directly to Skynet Central Command may present itself to the
Resistance. Such is Colonel Connor's hope. Good luck and good hunting."
Pretty cool, eh? This is just good old-fashioned visceral fun. It kind
of reminds me of Wing Commander on the ground. There is a role-playing
element where you must generate your character and participate in mission
briefings and debriefings. You can be promoted or demoted based upon
your mission outcomes. You also get to select your own weapons and
defensive systems based on your mission objectives. There's even stats!
You can get a full readout of your accuracy with each weapons system. If
you recall the first two movies, you'll remember the forces you're up
against in the future. You will do battle against Hunter Killers,
Eradicators, Razors, and the latest in Skynet's arsenal, the 101-E Heavy
Combat Terminator. The targeting systems are quite remarkable, down to a
pixel on the screen. If you can see it, you can kill it. After you
complete your mission successfully, you can acquire more powerful weapons
and defensive systems. The sound effects in this game are to be heard to
be believed too. The blast of the Phased Plasma Cannon are very
realistic (?), and the TTAS system as it locks onto a target really draws
you into the combat as well.
Clear some hard drive space, it's going to take up 12 MB of space, but
Terminator 2029: CyberGen should be worth every byte.
Terminator 2029: CyberGen should be available by early October.
Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant by Sir-Tech Software
We can FINALLY start saying, "It's heeeerrre" .... pretty soon! :-)
Crusaders is in its final stages of beta testing now and the long, long
wait will soon be over. From initial observations, the wait will have
been worth it.
To run down a bit of the details of what Crusaders is all about, this
title is a sequel to the very successful Wizardry 6: Bane of the Cosmic
Forge, released quite some time ago. Crusaders will actually let you
start the game at four different points, depending upon your completion
(or lack thereof) of Bane. Depending on a player's starting place, they
will be offered a somewhat modified form and a different twist to the
introduction narration. Basically, this serves to align the player with
one of the major characters in Crusaders, and reveal some special
information for that beginning alone. Of course, players who have never
played Bane will be able to form a new party and jump right in as well.
Graphically, Crusaders is light years ahead of Bane. Sir-Tech has done a
marvelous job of creating the feel of the series, and with lovingly
intimate detail. See the accompanying screen shots. With full 256 color
graphics, a full soundtrack and an automapping feature, Crusaders
definitely jumps to the front of the pack in terms of today's gaming
technology. One other major change to the world of Wizardry is the
addition of outdoor campaigns. No longer will the player be stuck inside
the dark confines of the dungeon. Streams, trees, and other outdoor
landscape adorn this rich environment. Crusaders also offers a 100% point
and click interface, adjustable difficulty levels, an expanded spell and
combat system, as well as many more fully animated monsters and NPCs. The
character generation system along provides over 1 trillion different
combinations of races, professions, and traits. In terms of sheer, raw
size, Crusaders is the biggest, most intricate world in the RPG category
to date.
Crusaders should be available by late September, early October,
THIS year. :-)
A View From the Edge
Editorial by Ross Erickson
Another issue is upon us and by now you've noticed some rather large
changes. We've taken our original design goals for Game Bytes and
rewritten the whole magazine in C (the first four issues were in Pascal)
which provides much more flexibility and power. We hope you like the new
look. One major addition to this new look is the full integration of the
mouse pointer, if you have one. The left mouse button can be used to
make selections and the right mouse button can be considered equivalent
to the ESC key. Also, when reading an article, simply by moving the
mouse up and down you can quickly and easily scroll up and down through
the text. We hope you like this. As with all these changes, please let
us know what you feel and provide us feedback as to the features you
would like to see added to future editions of Game Bytes.
Because the code of Game Bytes now is written in C, this provides us an
excellent opportunity to expand the supported base platform beyond the
PC. We will start (slowly) moving to other workstations such as Sun,
IBM, and Silicon Graphics, as well as considering others. Again, please
let us know of your wishes.
This issue marks the entry into the fall/winter season for gaming and
what a season it will be. Over 100 new titles will reach store shelves
between Sep- tember 1 and Christmas day and the 'envelope' just gets
pushed higher and higher. This issue features some stunning looks at
some of the hottest titles such as 7th Guest, F-15 Strike Eagle 3, and
Wizard 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant. This is not to say that some
older titles still don't deserve a look. Quality titles such as The
Castle of Dr. Brain, Monkey Island 2, and Loom still provide plenty of
staying power and entertainment.
So read on, dear readers, and thanks for taking a look at Game Bytes. We
look forward to hearing from you.
Ross Erickson
Editor and Publisher, Game Bytes
This is part 3 and final section of the C.E.S. report...
New World Computing was present at CES with a number of very interesting
titles in the works for this fall. New World's flagship product, Might and
Magic is about to have another rendition brought to our screens. MIGHT AND
MAGIC: CLOUDS OF XEEN looks like a major hit to keep the series alive.
More dungeons and monsters to conquer than ever before. This one is BIG.
The demo that has been going around now is over 6 MB! Next year when
DARK SIDE OF XEEN comes out, it will interlock with CLOUDS OF XEEN and
you'll be able to travel back and forth between adventures. NWC also had
a very nice looking PC version of SPACEWARD HO in the works as well as a
1992 edition of Mark Baldwin's classic EMPIRE, called (at this point at
least) EMPIRE DELUXE. It will utilize full SVGA graphics and all of
todays hottest hardware.
One of the companies off the main show floor probably had the hottest
products going. Novalogic, producers of such hits as WOLFPACK is gearing
up for a big fall season. Their big announcement was their agreement to
become a full affiliate of Electronic Arts. ULTRABOTS SANCTION: EARTH
will not be coming out under their label, rather they will sell the
entire program to EA and it will be distributed under the Electronic Arts
name. Two other titles, however, will carry the Novalogic name. One of
the most stunning titles at the show was definitely MAXIMUM OVERKILL:
COMMANCHE COMMANDER. This is a helicopter simulation that uses LANSAT
data in such a way that is just beyond belief. You really feel as if
you're flying in a helicopter zooming down river canyon walls. It's
incredible. No more pyramid mountains here. The other very impressive
title was BATTLEFIELD 2000. This is an ultra-modern military simulation
where you control a tank platoon and engage the enemy with sophisticated
21st century weapons. The ray-traced graphics in this really looked hot.
Time will tell on the strategic element.
Origin Systems was in a private booth at CES, but we did manage to get a
sneak at the work in progress on STRIKE COMMANDER. The wait has been long,
but from what we've seen, the wait will be worth it. The main reason for
the delay is that Chris Roberts (the director of the project) has gone
through 3 different "engines" in order to get adequate frame rate and
visual quality. We saw just a bit of this new engine and was very
impressed, but wanted to see more. The graphics of the role-playing
element of the game looked very good but we want to see some flying.
ULTIMA 7 PART 2: SERPENT'S ISLE caught us off guard a bit. This is an
entirely stand-alone game with much improved performance over THE BLACK
GATE. (Hopefully without the bugs too!). You'll continue your quest to
thwart the plans of the Guardian and keep Brittania safe. ULTIMA
UNDERWORLD II was also mentioned as definitely coming, but nothing was
shown at the show. We're told that the monsters in the dungeon are much
bigger and more animated than in the original and the viewing area is
much bigger (though not full screen yet) too.
QQP had one new title at the show that looks to be another hit. CONQUERED
KINGDOMS should be out within a month or so and offer a strategic look at
medieval conquest and castle quest'ing. The graphics had a look similar to
those in THE PERFECT GENERAL, but enhanced to show the lay of the land much
better. You should also expect to see another add-on disk to THE PERFECT
GENERAL shortly called FAMOUS BATTLES OF THE 20TH CENTURY.
Sierra On-Line had much new to show at CES as well. KING'S QUEST VI: HEIR
TODAY, GONE TOMORROW was announced and planned for this fall. QUEST FOR
GLORY 3: WAGES OF WAR was also shown and the rotoscoped animation in this
title looked very impressive. The background artwork was also very
beautiful. The remake of POLICE QUEST I: VGA should be appearing on
shelves any day now too, and the much improved graphics and sound support
make playing this title over again a must. Other new titles from Sierra
include TWISTY HISTORY, where you must go back in time and arrange
history properly; ECOQUEST: SECRETS OF THE RAINFOREST, more of the
environmentally conscious adventures; more puzzle solving in THE ISLAND
OF DR. BRAIN; and finally HOYLES BOOK OF GAMES VOL. 4, of which we don't
know much yet. I've heard it might be a remake of the 1st Hoyle done in
256 color graphics. Sierra has also recently signed on a new affiliate
that will be producing a puzzle game called GOBLINS shortly that is
supposed to challenge even the toughest logician.
Spectrum Holobyte was on display as well and had a number of interesting
titles to show. The now-released OPERATION: FLYING TIGER was on display
and for those who don't have it now, it's VERY impressive and a must-have
for any Falcon 3.0 jocks. SH also had some preliminary artwork of the
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION to show and it was VERY well done. SH is
also working on a new CHESS game (without a name for the moment) that
they say will have some very interesting animation routines in it.
Finally, while we didn't see it, SH says that progress is going well on
the A-10 WARTHOG flight simulator on tap next for the Electronic
Battlefield series.
SSI had a number of very good looking new titles to show at the Electronic
Arts suite. Their first to show up will be GREAT NAVAL BATTLES set in the
Atlantic. Graphically, this look stunning, but we didn't get much of a
chance to see and understand the strategic angle and control to the
simulation. It will definitley win over some diehard marine strategists
though. The next big title planned from SSI is DARK SUN: SHATTERED
LANDS. This represents a bold new beginning for SSI with a brand new
'engine'. The graphics and representation of the world are light-years
ahead of previous SSI role-playing games. Early next year look for M, an
outer space adventure/RPG utilizing the same engine as DARK SUN.
Three-Sixty had PATRIOT on display at CES and it is a ground-pounder's
dream. The SVGA graphics and incredible attention to detail were
impressive. Set in the Saudi/Kuwaiti/Iraqi theatre, you get to be
'Stormin' Norman' all over again and see if your Hail Mary strategy would
work the second time around. V FOR VICTORY: UTAH BEACH for the PC should
be close to shipping by the time you read this and is a very impressive
wargame utilizing SVGA graphics. Traditional hex wargamers will eat this
one up.
Finally, Virgin Games had a special private viewing area for THE 7TH
GUEST and I can honestly say I have NEVER seen a game of ANY category, on
ANY format that comes close to beauty, detail, and scope of this title.
See the First Looks in this issue for more info. This title alone is
reason to buy a CD-ROM drive. Not to dwell too much on just one title,
Virgin also had an impressive disk lineup as well. DUNE 2: THE BUILDING
OF A DYNASTY looks great, and is more of a strategic wargame than the
first. For boardgame lovers, MONOPOLY DELUXE (for DOS and Windows) will
be out this fall with a lot of nifty animation, but with all of the
classic game elements intact. HEIMDALL and REALMS should be on shelves
by now and are worth a look, as is the very impressive KYRANDIA: FABLES
AND FIENDS. Early next year, we'll finally see a decent billiards game
called POOL SHARK coming from Virgin.
That's it for the CES report. There are many more titles I'm sure we've
missed somehow, but these should keep you busy for quite a long time. Be
sure to let us know what you think of these new releases once they hit the
stores near you.
Apogee Software Interview
by Ron Dippold
Shareware Success
(c) Copyright 1991 Ron Dippold
After playing with boring spreadsheets all day you might want to kick
back and relax with a good game. Unfortunately, while you can find
awesome flight simulators, war games, adventures, etc. for the IBM, you
won't find many games like you'd find in the arcades. You know, smooth
scrolling background, lotsa moving characters, hopping around and blast-
ing things. Those programmers are working on the Amiga (which does this
much better) or on the game machines or Nintendos (where it's presumably
more profitable). Of course this leaves a big niche to fill.
Introducing Apogee Software and it's unique marketing technique. Scott
Miller used to be manager of an arcade, and wrote the "Computer Fun"
column for the "Dallas Morning News" for four years, so he thought he
knew what made a good game. I've often noticed that my favorite games
are not the ones with the best graphics, but the best concept. Some of
my favorite games, such as "Dino Eggs", have been downright ugly. Scott
wrote "Kingdom of Kroz" (spell it backwards) three years ago with this
in mind. It's an arcade game done all in text mode, but is very addic-
tive. In addition, he used a unique technique to encourage regis-
tration: it is a trilogy of games. The first one is shareware, and the
others are commercial.
Shareware means that the software gets huge distribution. You can get
the first game from almost any bulletin board or copy it from a friend,
all perfectly legal. So the game gets good exposure. Then, if you liked
the first one and wanted more, you could buy two more for $15. In add-
ition, you get game hints and how to access a special cheat mode.
The big break came 20 months ago (things move fast in the software field)
when "Compute's PC" included a shareware disk with "Kroz" and exposed
about 70,000 people to it. They liked it, and they liked the second Kroz
trilogy as well. After it had been doing really well for 6 months (and
it's still selling), Scott quit his job and concentrated on Apogee Soft-
ware. Now that he had good distribution and marketing channels built up,
he realized it would be great for use by other software.
He linked up with George Broussard, now his partner and author of
"Pharaoh's Tomb". This did extremely well using the same marketing
technique, as did the sequel "Arctic Adventure". That did it. "We saw
a gap in the arcade game market, other companies weren't doing it."
Apogee decided to expand. It seeks out promising shareware authors and
companies and offers to collaborate. Apogee provides the marketing and
its Fluid Animation Software Technology (FAST) which allow programmers
to concentrate on the game and leave the details of the animation to
FAST. FAST is continually updated to make it better and add "whatever
[the author] needs to make the game better."
The results are impressive. Todd Replogle and ID (In Demand) Software
have produced some megahits for Apogee. The "Commander Keen", "Duke
Nukem", and "Dark Ages" trilogies have been burning up the charts.
"Commander Keen and the Vorticons" is the story of Billy Blaze, 8 year-
old genius, who has created an interstellar starship using old soup cans,
plastic tubing, and rubber cement. Travel to Mars, the Vorticon star-
ship, and finally the Vorticon planet to stop them from blowing up the
Earth." Keen" was the number 1 shareware for May and April according to
the Association of Shareware Professionals listing. "Duke Nukem" is an
improved Keen who shoots more.
"Dark Ages" is the first shareware game to support AdLib and SoundBlaster
sound cards. The graphics are so demanding that it needs at least an AT
or greater to run.
Good plots, terrific graphics, excellent scrolling and animation, and a
sense of humor. I bought them. Makes a Nintendo look sick, and it'll
keep you or your kids occupied for hours.
In the looks bad but plays great category, there's "Jumpman Lives!", a
faithful recreation of Jumpman for the C-64 with some new levels. And
then there's "Trek Trivia" for those of you what a Horta is.
This isn't time to rest, though. Apogee has been working with at least 8
software designers, and we haven't even seen the results from most of them
yet. "Commander Keen II" is due out by the time you read this. According
to Scott, this "makes the first Commander Keen look like pong." He
compares it favorably to Sega Genesis's "Sonic the Hedgehog". Programmers
who used to work for Epyx and Cinemaware are working on "Gateworld", due in
November or December. In addition, they're working with a new 3D animation
technology that's a true 3D rough-edge system. The resulting game and
animation will be a "lot better than Wing Commander." I'll believe that
when I see it, especially compared to the new "Wing Commander II", but it
should be damned good.
It's impressive to consider that in addition to the great software
companies such as MicroProse, Origin, and BroderBund, we have a shareware
company that is actually improving the state of the art.
Scott Miller never thought Apogee Software would take off like it did, or
that it would be so resilient. During the Gulf War, business was hitting
new records, and the recession doesn't seem to have affected sales at all.
"People always want to entertained." One thing that doesn't hurt is
reasonable prices. Because Apogee doesn't have to add more profit to
cover software dealers and the software retailers and it uses minimal
packaging, it's games are priced to sell. A trilogy of CGA games is $25,
EGA is $30, and VGA is $35.
If you're interested in making some money on that great software program
you've written, you may want to follow their example. Don't cripple the
software, but offer incentives to those who register, and above all, have
quality software.
--------------------------[End of Article]-------------------------------
Here's the interview - "Q:" or unattributed text is from me, "A:" is from
Scott Miller, anything in brackets [] is something I've added that isn't
in the questions or answers they sent.
Q: Have the responsibilities of Scott Miller and George Broussard changed
with the growth? Where does VP Steven Blackburn fit in?
A: Growth has forced us to hire Steven Blackburn, who now handles all
business and operational aspects of Apogee, leaving myself more time
for marketing and game development. George continues to handle game
development.
Q: It seems as if you've greatly expanded your staff (or at least Scott
isn't answering the phone anymore). How do your staff sizes compare
then and now?
A: We now have 16 staff people at our home offices, where orders are taken
and fulfilled. Overall, there are 48 people who receive paychecks from
Apogee.
Q: At the time of the last interview, Commander Keen II was about to be
released. How would you describe business been since then?
A: Business is always on the incline. Every time we release a new game
our overall revenues increase.
Q: At that time you were attempting to join Association of Shareware
Professionals, but they were dubious about your policy of offering
registered users goodies such as cheat mode (bureaucracy strikes
again). Has there been any change in the situation?
A: The ASP does not approve our marketing methods and will not allow us
membership. I have been instrumental, along with fellow shareware
author Diana Gruber, in forming a new shareware association, called
the Shareware Trade Association and Resources (STAR). This new asso-
ciation will be officially taking members in a few weeks. The initial
response to STAR has been overwhelmingly positive, since STAR will not
impose arbitrary rules upon its members. Plus, STAR will represent
all facets of the shareware industry, including sysops and vendors,
which do not having voting rights in the ASP.
Q: You've got distributors now in Australia, Canada, Germany, and more.
How are overseas sales doing?
A: Overseas sales are great and we now have eight overseas dealers.
Q: Have you ever considered moving to another marketing method than the
shareware / trilogy concept? Why do you think others haven't picked
up on this method?
A: Apogee plans to remain in shareware.
[ Not days after I sent off the question list (as always happens), Epic
Megagames released their Jill of the Jungle trilogy using the same
marketing methods that Apogee uses. According to Apogee, they're aware
of this, and even helped them out a bit. There's room for plenty of
quality arcade games. ]
You released Commander Keen 4 and 5 (Goodbye Galaxy), with CK4 as a
shareware version and CK5 as a commercial for those who registered CK4.
Commander Keen 6 (Aliens Ate My Babysitter) was released as commercial
only.
Q: How has Aliens Ate My Babysitter done compared to the shareware pair
of Goodbye Galaxy?
A: Aliens is doing equally well.
Q: And how has the second Keen trilogy done compared to the first? Do you
think you are seeing the effects of an expanded user base?
A: Goodbye Galaxy is doing just as well as the original Keen.
Q: You continue to support CGA machines, first with Pharaoh's Tomb and
Arctic Adventure, and now with Monuments of Mars. Is the demand still
there? Are there plans to continue to support CGA?
A: We will not support CGA anymore. The CGA version of Goodbye Galaxy
showed us that it's a dead market.
Q: Your new games Paginitzu, Crystal Caves, and Secret Agent lack all the
graphical flash of the new Keens and Cosmo, and emphasize intricate
puzzle solving instead, Paginitzu in particular. Do these share the
popularity of your other games?
A: Puzzle oriented games do nearly as well as our top games.
Q: How are the old games, such as Duke Nukum, continuing to sell as new
people find out about Apogee?
A: All our games seem to sell as well as ever, including our five year old
Kroz games.
Now you've expanded into educational games, Word Rescue to be exact.
Q: It may be a bit early to tell, but how does it look like this game is
doing compared to your other titles?
A: Word Rescue is a big hit, and we are now working on Number Rescue.
Q: Do you have any feel for its relative popularity among kids and adults?
In other words, are the grown-up kids getting into the game as well?
A: I think adults are buying the game for their kids, but many adults have
said they enjoy the game, too.
Q: What prompted this? Obviously, the arcade type games were doing well,
so what made the developer decide to spend the time developing a game
aimed at the education market, rather than another arcade-only game?
A: Vendors have said for some time now that they think the educational
category is wide open. Apogee may try to fill the void.
Q: Fun aside, have you had any feedback on the educational aspects of the
game? i.e. is it teaching spelling and word meanings?
A: I don't know if the game is fulfilling its educational promise, since
we don't get that type of feedback in large quantities. Parents gen-
erally tell us their children love the game and want the rest of them.
Wolfenstein 3D has been released in shareware form. As I write this,
you're only taking pre-orders for the two trilogies. [ They are
shipping now. ]
Q: Is it correct that this is the new 3D animation technology that you
were referring to in the earlier interview? If it _isn't_, what's
happening with that?
A: The Wolfenstein 3-D technology is only an intermediate step to our
truly awesome 3-D graphics, which will be seen in games early next
year. We felt that we had a decent enough 3-D engine to make a stop-
gap game, but it is by no means the best 3-D stuff we'll release. Our
new stuff absolutely blows away what you see in Origin's Ultima
Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, and features true rotational objects.
Q: Your catalog more than hints that several big publishers wanted to
publish this game, including Sierra Online, Electronic Arts, Origin
Systems, and others. Why did you (or ID) decide to turn them down?
A: We turned down the big publishers because they wanted full creative
control. Also, we like being the king of shareware. Money is not all
there is to life.
Q: What were the feelings when Ultima Underworld appeared before
Wolfenstein was released? Although their 3D engine is geared more
towards adventuring than arcade gaming, It's still more than close
enough to invite comparisons.
A: Origin's 3-D game didn't bother us. We have a much better engine than
displayed in their game, and next year those games will be released.
We're not competing with Origin.
Q: How much influence did the original Castle Wolfenstein game have on
this game?
A: Castle Wolfenstein had an influence, but only in general concept. Our
version is quite a bit different, and much more action oriented.
Q: As of this writing, the new episodes aren't out yet. How are they
going to measure up in terms of increased complexity, length, types of
enemies, etc. with regards to the shareware episode.
A: The remaining episodes will be tougher, add many more digitized
effects, add new graphics, new enemies, new music, new bosses, and be
full of many surprises.
Q: You've voluntarily rated the game PC-13 due to the amount of gore. What
do you have to say to those who claim that it's still too violent?
A: I'd say that not every game will please every player. If you don't
like it, change the channel.
Q: Other than the obvious, what can you tell us about why the game isn't
being sold in Germany? Concerns about the swastikas and title theme
music?
A: It's banned in Germany due to the violence in connection with Nazi
imagery. That's all I know on the matter. Not many details available
from our German distributor. It has generated all kinds of great
publicity for us, though.
Q: In case you weren't aware, the shareware version is the hottest game
on almost any discussion board or BBS, and a virtual cottage industry
has sprung up producing freeware mappers, level editors, bitmap
editors, etc. for this game. How do you feel about all this, and are
these techniques (and the "God Mode") going to work in later episodes?
A: We like to see map editors, cheat programs, etc. It all keeps the high
interest in the game going. In fact, we're thinking of making the
official map editor for the game.
[ The released versions do still have a "God Mode" but without the mapping
capabilities. In addition, the shareware map editors and level editors,
etc. for the first version no longer work with this version, until
someone figures out how it's packed. ]
Q: How are the advance sales doing?
A: Advance sales (we're now shipping, 6/14/92) are exceptional, and better
than any previous game.
[ In a follow-up call, Apogee claimed that three out of every five calls
they had been recieving were orders for Wolfenstein 3D episodes. ]
Q: Are you seeing other promising applications for this technology?
A: Nah. [ heh... ]
Upcoming technology questions:
Q: The last time I spoke to you, you hinted of an upcoming game,
"Gateworld." [ Not to be confused with Fredrick Pohl's Gateworld
adventure, which recently hit the market. ] What happened with that
one?
A: Gate World is a canceled project, and was replaced by Major Stryker, due
out within two months.
Q: What are the Wizards of ID Software up to next?
A: Id's next project is the final Keen trilogy, which will be in 256-color
VGA graphics, with parallax scrolling like Cosmo. Due out next year.
Q: Is anything else coming up that you'd care to drop tantalizing hints
about?
A: Bio Hazard will be out in two months, and will be geared at Duke Nukum
fans, with tons of action. Monster Bash will star Johnny Dash in his
first of many adventures, and is due out early October, in time for
Halloween. Duke Nukum II, in VGA, will be out early next year, and
will be our pull-out-all-stoppers epic game with tons and tons of anim-
ation and graphics. Five other games are also under development, some
using the Wolfenstein 3-D engine.
And finally....
Q: Is there anything I've foolishly neglected to ask that you'd like to
tell us about?
A: Apogee now has a huge BBS (25 lines are growing rapidly) where anyone
can call and download all our shareware games, without having to pay a
BBS subscription fee. This is one of only three on-line locations
that we ensure has our latest releases and updates.
The BBS numbers are on the business card I included.
[ Software Creations BBS, (508) 365-2359 ]
An Interview with Damon Slye, chief architect of the Great Warplanes Series
from Dynamix, subsidiary of Sierra On-Line.
GB: Tell us about your background. How did you get started and what's
your background?
DS: In my Senior year in High School I became interested in computers.
There was an 32K PET computer in the Science Lab. It was a challenge to
come up with an idea for a game, and then program it. After slaving over
the code you'd end up with a game that was fun to play. It was a blast!
I wrote a variety of games, including a computerized version of Master-
mind, a Star Trek game, plus a bunch of others. Now they seem easy, but
at the time it was challenging. In 1980 when I entered the University, I
bought an Apple II. It was on the Apple that I began doing work with bit-
map graphics. I wrote a font editor and subsequently sold it for $3500.
That's when I realized I could make a living as a programmer. After that,
I programmed a game called Stellar 7. It used animated wire-frame 3D
graphics. It was a fairly complex programming task. Although it didn't
sell that well by today's standards, it was the predecessor and basis for
all the products I did later.
GB: What type of education do you have?
DS: I have a strong background in Math, Computer Science, and Physics,
which I studied at the University of Oregon. I have a year to go to get
my degree at the U of O. After we started Dynamix, getting my degree was
a lower priority in my life than making Dynamix a successful company.
GB: How did Dynamix get started?
DS: I started the company with Jeff Tunnell. I met Jeff at a local
computer software store that he owned and ran. We both had a real passion
to build products. We decided to start a software development company.
GB: What were some of your earlier games you've written or directed?
DS: The first big contract we got was with Electronic Arts. We developed
Arcticfox on the Amiga. Arcticfox was based on Stellar 7. Like Stellar 7,
it was a futuristic tank game in a 3D environment, where the player had to
fight off attacking aliens piloting other tanks and fighters. It had a
more sophisticated 3D package that used solid fill color graphics. Devel-
oping Arcticfox was real tough. We worked on pre-production prototype
Amigas. They were encased in large metal black boxes. The keyboard was
made out of wood. The compilers and linkers available were full of bugs
and were REAL slow. It took us over 1 hour to link the program! This made
development very tedious. We perservered and it was worth it. Arcticfox
was a success. It was the first original game released on the Amiga.
Subsequently we converted it to run on the Apple II, Commodore 64, and
MS-DOS PC's. Arcticfox established our reputation as one of the best
development houses around.
Arcticfox was the last project that I did any significant amount of pro-
gramming on. On the products that followed, I worked as a Designer and
Director. These products include Abrams Battle Tank, Project Firestart,
Mechwarrior, A-10 Tank Killer, the 256-color VGA remake of Stellar 7,
Red Baron, and Aces of the Pacific.
GB: Prior to being acquired by Sierra On-Line, Dynamix developed some
good titles for other companies. What rights or plans do you have to up-
date those titles to utilize today's newer technology?
DS: We don't have any plans to acquire rights to any of our older titles.
With the Great War Planes series, I have my hands full.
GB: Looking ahead past Aces over Europe, one might naturally think your
next simulator would be something in the Korean theater. Can you tell us
what nifty ideas you have for a project like this? Where do you go from
here?
DS: I haven't decided what I'll do after Aces over Europe. Korea, Viet-
nam, modern day jets, helicopters-- there are a lot of possibilities. All
of these products would be exciting to work on.
GB: With the exponential growth in computing power, what do you see in the
future of computer gaming, even 5 to 10 years from now?
DS: Better peripherals. I'd really like to see virtual-reality helmets
the standard display device. Head movement is the last aspect of flight
simulation that we can't model well with the current hardware. Graphics
will get better. When CPU speeds go up we can support SVGA in higher
resolutions. In 320x200 an airplane in the distance we represent as a
single pixel. In the real world, the human-eye could distinguish this dot
as a plane and determine what kind of plane it is and in what direction
its headed. We need more resolution now more than we need more colors.
We'll get both eventually. CPU speeds will continue to increase. This
will increase the frame rate and the quality of math behind the simu-
lations. The flight models and physics will get increasingly more
accurate and detailed. This will make the simulation 'feel' more
realistic.
GB: Is Dynamix following the computer technology curve or trying to lead
it?
DS: We take a sensible approach to new technology. It's possible to get
too far out in front of the technology curve by supporting hardware that
doesn't catch on. It's better to use your energy to work on something
that people will appreciate. However, if we think that a technology will
make our products better and that it will catch on, we'll take on the
challenge and support it whole-heartedly. Arcticfox was the first orig-
inal game on the Amiga. A-10 Tank Killer was the first 256-color flight
simulator for the VGA card. We're supporting all the recently released
advanced flight controls like rudder pedals, and the Thrustmaster throttle
and flight stick.
GB: As networks become more and more important in computing, will Dynamix
be exploiting this technology in any way?
DS: Have you seen Red Baron on The Sierra Network? It's a blast to play.
GB: If Dynamix sees a technology gap (quality sound, high-speed, high-
capacity storage, interactive graphics, etc.) in an area that it wants to
exploit, does it work with vendors to get the technology produced in
quantity cheaply or does it wait until the technology is available before
exploiting it?
DS: We are in contact with vendors prior to their releasing new hard-
ware. If it's something that will make our product more enjoyable to
our customers, we'll support it and let the vendor know. In this way we
have some influence on what they release.
GB: Hoes does Dynamix decide where to position its products with regards
to technology requirements (eg. processor speed, memory, displays, etc.)?
DS: We do frequent marketing surveys to find out what kind of system our
customers have. If 90% of our customers have a certain advanced piece of
hardware, we may decide to require it. Last year we stopped supporting
EGA and MCGA because 95% of our customers had VGA cards. We can create a
better product this way; and hopefully we'll coax the other 5% to go out
and buy a VGA card!
GB: What plans does Dynamix have for modem-playable games for head-to-head
action?
DS: The second expansion disk for Aces of the Pacific, called The RAF in
the Pacific, will include modem support and head-to-head action. I'm
excited about it. Playing against a human is more emotionally satisfying.
GB: It seems that Dynamix has taken some heat for not making AOTP as
technically advanced in its time, as Red Baron was in its time. Could we
have your general comments about the philosophy of the design on AOTP and
contrasting that to the design philosophy on Red Baron? Why not code it
in a 32-bit extended-DOS mode? There also seems to be a LOT of slowdown
on a "ground" mission? Painfully so, even on a fast machine? Can you
comment on this?
DS: Aces is a faithful recreation of air combat in WWII between the U.S.
and Japan. The AI that handles the asymmetrical combat between the U.S.
with its hit-and-run tactics versus the dogfighting style of the Japanese
is the most sophisticated code we've worked on. The computer controlled
pilots can effectively fly either side of this contest. In addition they
can use authentic fighter tactics against bombers (side-passes, overhead
passes, head-on passes, stern attacks), dive-bomb, torpedo-bomb, and fight
in 2-plane pairs. All of this AI was very challenging to design and code,
but it was worth it. The goal when doing Aces was to build an authentic
recreation of what air combat was in the Pacific during WWII. I
think
we've succeeded.
Patch B, which will be released in very soon now, will fix the frame rate
problem with ground attack missions. It will be available on the Sierra
BBS, several of the larger bulletin boards, and through Sierra's customer
support for users without modems.
GB: Does Dynamix plan to produce titles other than the adventure or
flight simulator type of products? What about economic, social, or
political simulations?
DS: We have a lot of other product types in development at this time.
You can get more detail on this from Jerry Luttrell. (ED. Indeed there
ARE many more exciting new products coming from Dynamix such as Front
Page Sports: Football which uses Damon's Three-Space technology.)
GB: Does Dynamix envision a time soon when they will abandon a certain
segment of the PC market entirely, like the 286 processor. Is there
likely to be a certain hardware "minimum" that Dynamix will require?
DS: Aces of the Pacific requires a VGA card, a 386, a hard drive, and 2Mb.
The 286 is a thing of the past.
GB: What plans does Dynamix have for the CD-ROM format?
DS: We have released some products on CD-ROM already. We did a CD
version of Stellar 7. However, right now floppy disk is the dominant
format. This will change. Eventually all of our titles will be released
on CD.
GB: Thanks Damon, and our best wishes to you and your team at Dynamix for
providing us countless hours of enjoyment. Rest assured we're never
TOTALLY satisfied and we're always watching for the latest and greatest,
especially in the flight sim category, from Dynamix. Keep surprising us.
Copyright (c) 1992 by Game Bytes. All rights reserved.
EcoQuest : The Search for Cetus Walkthru
Introduction
You play the role of young Adam who joins Delphineus, the dolphin, on a
quest to find the great whale, King Cetus. First you must gain the trust
of the citizens of Eluria before they help you. Next you are to fullfil
the prophecy of the Oracle and to save Eluria.
Walkthru
You begin the quest at your home. Talk with your father. Look at the
seagull. Poor thing, it's covered with oil. Take the detegent and the
rag beside the box. Pour some detegent on the rag and use it to clean
the seagull. Before your father leaves, he'll pass you a bottle of fert-
ilizer and a transmitter. Look at the tank of water. It's full of oil,
pour some of the fetilizer inside and let the bacteria eats up the oil.
Look at the cage, the gerbil is thirsty. Get the water beside the
cage and give it to the gerbil.
Take the letter on the chair. It contains your certificate and a member-
ship card. Take the letter on the chair and dump it in the recycle box.
Look at the computer. Look at it a second time to play King Quest V. Get
the aluminium can on the table and throw into the recycle box. Pick up the
trash bag. Look at the blackboard. Click on the individual part of the
drawing for more details.
It's time to leave the room. Open the door with the combination number
9731. You are now inside the swimming pool. Read the instructions on the
blackboard. Talk to dolphin a few times. Get mackeral from the bucket
and feed the dolphin a few times. Go inside the pool and ride the dolphin.
Get the frisbee and throw it at the dolphin. Play with the dolphin until
it starts talking. Talk to it. It's name is Delphineus. Throw the
frisbee at the dolphin a few more times. Look at the propeller and see
how it was kept safe. Pull the lever beside the gate to open the hatch.
The dolphin will then swim away.
Days Passed...
The dolphin has return. Open the cabinet and get the swimming gear. Wear
the swimming gear and enter the sea. Swim around until you reach the
cruiser. Pick up all the rubbish with your trash bag. Pick up the bottle.
(Note : I did not manage to stop the cruiser oil leak, maybe you can fig-
ure it out yourself.)
Swim to the left until you see an island. Put on your oxygen tank and
dive into the water. Swim in the weed until you have found the city of
Eluria. Swim to Eluria. Pick up the iron cage and gather all the
rubbish.
Enter the temple. Get the bronze couch shell. Swim outside. Look at the
statue with the trident. Give the couch shell to the servant, take the
trident. Go to the temple again. Use the trident to poke the three eyes.
The Oracle appears, talk to it. Arrange the mosiac. The Oracle will then
ask you three riddles and tell you to click on the picture to answer it.
For my case the 3 answers are : MAN, FISH and LOVE. (I don't know
whether everytime the same riddles will be asked or not). The oracle will
tell you to gain the trust of the citizens of Eluria before it tell you
the prophecy.
Swim outside. Enter the building with a few pillar. Talk to the golden
mask. Turn the pillar until all 9 parts are in the correct position.
Talk to the hermit crab, Superfluous. Exit.
Swim to royal garden. Pick up all the trash. Use the fertilizer to remove
the oil from the coral. The lobster, Demeter, will appear and give you a
healing potion. Pick up the oily shell that have just fallen. Exit.
Swim to fish department. Pick up all the trash, and get the cotton cloth.
Use the cotton cloth to clean the oily shell. Exit.
Go to find the hermit crab and give the shell to it. It will give you a
badge.
Swim to the fish department. The watchman, Gregarious, will appear when
you try to enter any of the department. Show the badge to it to gain
entry. At this time, a blowfish was caught in a plastic bag. Push it
into it's apartment. Remove the plastic bag from it. The blowfish,
Narcissus, will give you some sea urchin.
Enter the apartment of the anglefish, Epidermis. Talk to it. Use the sea
urchins to eat up the algae from the plant. You get a sharp shell as a
reward.
Look for the apartment of the swordfish, Hippocrates. Cut the six pack
rings using the shell. You receive a fish bone tweezer as a reward.
Pick up the 6 pack rings. Cut it with the shell and then trash it.
Look for Erraneous, the turtle apartment. Talk to it. Pull the string
out of it mouth and use the fish bone tweezer to remove the balloon. The
turtle will give you 4 screws. Put the balloons into your trash bag.
Look for the watchman apartment. Talk to it. Follow it to the surface.
Talk to fisherman. Use the 4 screws on the cage and then use it to fix
the propeller.
Return to the fish apartment. Pick up the water pump and remove the add-
itional trash. Enter Olympic, the lionhead fish apartment. Remove the
chlorine bottle and use the water pump to clean up the chlorine. Talk to
lionhead fish, get a spine from it.
Now, you are ready to attend the meeting. After the meeting, get the gold
mask. Enter the temple. Show the gold mask to the Oracle and it will
give you the prophecy. Exit Eluria.
Swim to the giant head. Pick up the mirror and remove all the trash. If
you have clean up all the rubbish in the game, you receive a certain award
and gain some additional points.
Swim right until you reach the anemore, enter the cave there. Look the a
key on the skeleton. Pull the pike out (twice). Open the chest to free
the crab. Swim out the cave. Get the key. Too late, the red fish swall-
owed it. There is no need to follow the red fish immediately. So, do
the following task when you reach appropriate screen.
At the octopus place, pull the cable. Then show the mirror to the octopus
and then get the cable.
At the submarine, use the trident to open the box to get the floating
bulb. Pick up the fish lure. Open the storing cabinet behind the seat
and get the hacksaw, trash the hammer head.
Swim to the toxic cave, touch the red fish. It's will swim back to the
anemore.
At the octopus, use the bottle on the octopus. Hide inside the plant and
watch what happened. The octopus has opened the bottle for you. Get
the bottle.
Swim back to the anemore, the red fish is being eaten by the anemore. Use
the fish lure on it. Since the anemore can only can't digest the key, it
got vomit out. Get the skeleton key.
Go to the giant head. Use the bottle on the ear to catch the flashlight
fish.
Swim to the toxic cave. Release the flashlight fish to light up the cave.
There is a brick wall inside the cave. Remove the brick one by one until
you see something among the rocks. Look at the rock, there is a metal
box hidden there. Use the oily rag to ease the lock, and then open it
with the skeleton key. There is a suit inside, get it and wear it. Enter
the hole. Attach the followings together: floating bulb, transmitter and
cable. Then tied them to the barrels of toxic.
Wait for the divers to clear up the toxic...
Swim through the toxic cave to reach the boat. Use the trident to open
the cabin door. Watch out, flesh-eater is behind you. Swim all the way
until you are caught in the drift net. Use the shell to cut yourself
free. In the meantime, the dolphin is captured by flesh-eater.
Swim to the boat, use the trident to open the cabin door. Enter the cabin
door and follow the cable until you found King Cetus. Talk to it. Swim
away until you see the full view of it. Click the hand on Cetus mouth to
enter its mouth. Use the hacksaw to cut the harpoon shaft. Swim outside
and pull the shaft out. Use the healing potion on the wound to save
Cetus.
Follow Cetus to the boat. Swim to the manta's cave when Cetus is fighting
with it. Use the shell to cut the drift net to free the Delphineus. Swim
outside. Use the spine to attack flesh-eater. Note that you must attack
at the right time. When you have strike the manta, Cetus will defeat it.
From here onwards, just sit back and watch the ending.
Well Done !!! You have completed the game.
Falcon 3.0d Tactics (Part 1) by Daron Stinnett
The 3.0D version of Falcon can almost be considered a new game. It will
demand a greater understanding of everything involved in being an F-16
pilot. To be successful, you must plan your missions -- adding support
flights and carefully selecting your armament. At the higher difficulty
levels, it is no longer effective to just take off and see what happens.
You need to formulate group tactics, specify ingress and egress routes,
and consider things like the appropriate altitude for the mission re-
quired. Remember that the game will set you up with a generic set of
waypoints for a given mission profile; it is your responsibility to
customize your route, taking into consideration terrain and threats.
We at Spectrum HoloByte play Falcon everyday; we enjoy the game. We are
constantly working at improving our simulations -- some of the tactics I
will explain below will become a standard part of our next Campaign disk,
Operation: Fighting Tiger. I must admit that having the programmers
around gives me a significant advantage. I have learned a lot about how
the game "thinks," and I use this knowledge to hammer the enemy.
So, I want to share some of the things I have learned. I am sure that
there is more and this won't be the last discussion of tactics you will
see.
1. Missiles & AAA
1.1. Overview
Evading incoming missiles is a tricky business -- it requires situational
awareness, split second timing, a good understanding of missile perfor-
mance, knowledge of how the SAM operator thinks, and (most of all) some
luck.
Most people don't think about missiles until they get a launch warning on
their threat indicator. The experienced pilot will consider any missile
out there a threat whether it has been launched or not. By understanding
what goes through the mind of a SAM operator or enemy pilot before the
missile is launched, you can formulate tactics that will keep missiles from
ever acquiring you.
1.2. Surface-To-Air
When you select the SAM SKILL LEVEL, you are setting the skill of the
crews launching the SAMs. The skill level doesn't affect the effective-
ness of the missile or launcher! When creating any of the artificial
intelligence in the game, we tried to model the way a human thinks.
Therefore, a SAM crew consisting of recruits will do stupid things. As
you will see in the outline below, having recruits in the SAM launchers
will not necessarily mean you will get shot down less often. The first
thing you will notice about the recruits is the time it takes for them
to launch. There is a very good chance that they will be tying their
shoes when you first show up on their radar screen or come into visual
range. When they notice you, they still have to decide whether you are a
threat or not. Once they have decided you are a threat, they will lock
you up and fire. This takes a little longer because the recruits are not
as familiar with the controls.
The recruits will tend to get a strong case of target fixation as well.
They will lock up and fire on the plane that poses the most immediate
threat -- sometimes with multiple missiles. What that means is that the
flight leader will tend to get the most missiles fired upon him while the
rest of the wing has an easy time. The elites, on the other hand, will
divide their attention between multiple targets. They will check in all
directions for possible targets and not get so easily confused by planes
coming in from multiple directions.
Once the missile is launched, try to turn into the missile, obtaining
about a 135 degree aspect angle on the missile. What you are trying to
do is to create a situation where the missile cannot turn hard enough to
hit you. Since all missiles do what is called pure pursuit (i.e., they
don't lead you), if you pull hard into the missile when it is close, you
should be able to spoof the missile. Don't forget to fire chaff and/or
flares!
1.2.1. Infrared Homing (SA-7 Grail)
You have probably noticed how quick and agile the SA-7s are. These are
very tricky to evade -- but fortunately, they don't do much damage.
Remember that the guys launching these need to acquire a lock before
doing so. So, do your best to keep your tail out of view, and don't go
to afterburner -- unless you want to give an SA-7 a really good heat
source to lock onto.
1.2.2. Radar Homing (SA-6 / SA-8)
These SAMs are not too bad once you get the hang of them. Turning on
your ECM pod will often break their lock, but remember, the elites are not
as likely to panic when their screen goes white and will be a little
quicker to switch frequencies and re-acquire. The SA-6 and SA-8 SAMs are
initially guided by the SAM crews. This allows the SAM operator to depend
on his more powerful radar to guide the missile into range, whereupon the
missile will switch on its active radar seeker head and guide itself.
While the missile is being guided by the crew, you can jam the launcher's
radar. In this case, you may see the missile just fly by. But, if the
crew is able to re-acquire you, the missile will turn around and continue
the chase.
Remember to utilize additional flights and waypoints to set up multi-
directional attacks. The rookie SAM crews will tend to get confused by
this. Use the HARM and Shrike missiles as well. It can be very effective
to set up a flight of F-16's for a SEAD (Suppress Enemy Air Defenses)
mission. But remember, the crews will tend to lock and fire at the first
plane they see, so it is best to send in some CAP guys first to distract
the launchers before the SEAD guys pop out from behind the hills.
1.3. Air-To-Air
The enemy aircraft in Falcon 3.0 do not carry a missile that is equiva-
lent to your AIM-120. Their radar missiles perform more like our Sparrow
missile. The AA-7 Apex contains a passive radar homing device -- it re-
quires the firing aircraft to illuminate the target with its radar while
the missile is in flight. Using ECM is less effective against this type
of missile, because the ECM pod must jam the more powerful and distant
radar carried by enemy aircraft, rather than a smaller radar in the nose
of the missile. A more effective technique is to beam your opponent or
force him to take his nose off you. One effective way to do this is to
quickly launch a missile at your opponent. That should keep him busy
evading your missile and cause his missile to lose lock and fly right
past you. Remember, enemy aces have nerves of steel: if you don't get
your missile off soon enough, they will keep guiding that missile towards
you -- waiting until the last minute to evade your missile.
1.4. Suppress Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD)
Setting up a SEAD mission can be tricky. But on bombing and CAS missions,
it can be rewarding. I have found that three flights works best: one BOMB
/CAS, a CAP and a SEAD flight. Timing is everything on this one. You
want to get the CAP guys in first -- they will distract any enemy fighters
and SAM launchers, allowing the SEAD flight to come in right behind and
launch their Shrikes and HARMs. Following close behind should be the
BOMB/CAS flight.
Set the SEAD flight for a CAS action code; this will keep them from being
distracted by air targets and if you give them only Shrikes and HARMs this
will keep them focused only on the SAM and AAA sites. If you set the
altitude anywhere from 100-200 feet they will keep out of visual and
radar range but remember to change the formation to something flat like
a vic. Have the flight pop up about 10 miles from the target, this will
give them time to find targets and fire.
2. Enemy Pilots
2.1. Overview
The engineer who wrote the enemy pilot logic was once asked: "How did you
make the enemy plane logic so realistic?" His response was simple: "I
modeled the pilot's thinking -- not the enemy plane's movement."
The computer-controlled pilots in Falcon 3.0 have no inherent advantage
or disadvantage over a human pilot. Like you, they must acquire a
target visually or by radar. They have the same field of view, and their
radar operates within the parameters of the real plane. Therefore, if you
sneak up below and behind an enemy (with your radar off), he will not
see you. You will notice that once in a while your wingmen will rock
their plane from side to side while looking for bogies; this is because
computer pilots cannot see below their plane.
2.2 Skill Levels
To help you better deal with enemy pilots, here is a run-down of the diff-
erences between Trainees, Cadets, Veterans and Aces.
Trainees - Trainees have learned BCM (Basic Combat Maneuvers) in class but
have little real world experience. If they don't get freaked out by your
presence and you give them an easy shot (like flying straight and level),
they will use what they have learned to shoot you down. But if you even
look at them funny, they will run away, forgetting everything they have
learned. If you get on their tail, they will probably just start pulling
a tight circle. This is where you have the advantage. Practice one-on-
one in Red Flag. Learn to think in three dimensions, the enemy will most
likely make a mistake sooner or later, and waiting until that happens is
fine... if there is only one enemy out there. But when you have three
enemies to every one of your guys, one of them will see you going in
circles and grab that golden opportunity. Keep your plane at its opti-
mum turning rate (450kts) and use energy management to gain the upper hand.
Cadets - These guys are short on skill but long on enthusiasm. They will
not run (especially when in numbers) and won't panic as often. They will
use a few more advanced maneuvers and are more likely to spot you visually.
Veterans - These guys know their stuff. In addition to nerves of steel,
they will use every trick in the book to get on your tail. You must pay
particular attention to energy management when fighting a Veteran because
he will spot the opportunity to make you overshoot and take it without
hesitating.
Aces - Besides having 20/10 vision, these guys have the ability to predict
your position even when they cannot see you. If an ace temporarily loses
sight of your plane, he will predict your flight path and react accor-
dingly. These guys are Veterans that have refined their skills in working
together. If you give them the chance, they will use cooperative tech-
niques to send you to an early grave.
2.3. Tactics
Fighting in groups is very different than one-on-one. When flying against
one opponent, it is just a contest of dogfighting skills. But when you
are involved in a furball, it is usually the side who succeeds in con-
fusing and disorienting their opponents that will be victorious. Start
thinking about an approaching group of MiGs when they are at least 30
miles out. You might consider firing an AMRAAM or two when they get into
range. The enemy pilot will have plenty of time to evade the missile,
but in doing so he will break up the group and possibly spoil any
cooperative tactics they might have tried. Your goal is to split them up
and shoot them down one at a time.
Practice cooperative techniques with your squadron. Cadets and Trainees
can be especially susceptible to something like the Drag-And-Bag
maneuver. They will tend to get target fixation and not realize that it
was a trick until they are floating to the ground. Don't forget to watch
for your buddies when you have a MiG on your tail. It does no good if you
are going in circles and your buddy is trying to help you but is turning
just as hard trying to shoot the MiG. Try to get that MiG into perfect
position for your wingman to shoot him down.
This review copyright (c) 1992 by Daron Stinnett. All rights reserved.
Ivan Luk
Compuserve ID [70401,3133]
I'm a Network Administrator for a small business in Fresno, California.
Occassionally, I freelance for Osbourne McGraw-Hill as a Technical Editor
and Contributor. My interest in computer games dates back to the days of
the good old Apple II. I have a strong preference for flight simulators,
adventure games, sports games and good action/arcade games. Currently,
some of my all-time favorite games include Links 386 Pro, Falcon 3.0,
Red Baron and Monkey Island 2.
Most, if not all, of my testing occurs on this configuration:
Northgate 486/25 with 16Mb RAM
5.25" 1.2Mb and 3.5" 1.44Mb floppy drives
420Mb Fujitsu and 210Mb Quantum SCSI hard drives
NEC CDR-73M CD ROM drive
Always IN-2000 SCSI Host Adaptor
Video Sever VRAM II SuperVGA and ATI Ultra/8514 adaptors
Toshiba 17" flat screen monitor
Pro Audio Spectrum 16 sound card
CH Flightstick and Kraft joysticks, Microsoft serial mouse
Primary software:
DOS 5 and Windows 3.1
QEMM 6.00 (memory manager) and HyperDisk 4.32 (software disk cache)
ULTIMA VII BUG NOTES
by Adam Pletcher
As nearly every owner of ULTIMA VII knows, it has bugs. Here's a list of
the ones that I've seen or had confirmation of, and what you can do to
solve them:
-> The now famous "vanishing key" bug that nabs one of the keys in
your pack every time you sleep. One way out of this is to drop
your pack before you sleep and pick it up in the morning. A free
patch is available on several FTP sites (including
wuarchive.wustl.edu) that will fix it entirely. I also have the
keyfix patch I can email if you don't have FTP access.
-> The "vanishing buildings" bug. First appearing in the buildings
of Britain and spreading as time goes on, this bug makes many
ceilings and walls disappear entirely. My solution: stay out of
Britain as much as possible.
-> The vanishing murder scene in the Minoc sawmill alarmed me, but
turns out to be rather unimportant (just annoying). If this
happens, just ignore the "serpentine dagger" plotline and you'll
be fine.
-> Near the prison cell area in the Isle of the Avatar dungeon
there's a metal wall that may not open when you approach it.
Try backing up to a saved game and trying again. If it still
won't budge, the only thing you can do is send your disks
to Origin.
To my knowledge, _all_ of the above mentioned bugs can be fixed by
mailing your original disks to Origin. They can also fix savegame files
to replace specific keys you might have already lost. They are quite
polite about it, and promise 48 hour turnaround time.
(C) Copyright 1992
Adam Pletcher
adam@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
::: ULTIMA VII HELPFUL STUFF :::
Here's a list of spellcasters, spell vendors, and trainers that I
compiled (with the help of a couple friends). Hope it helps all you
starving Avatars save a gold piece here and there.
:: MAGIC ::
Here is a list of all reagents and spells and where to get them cheap.
Mage Location Reagents(price)
--------- --------- ----------------------------------
Wis-Sur Vesper Pearl(34), B.Moss(16), M.Root(32),
Silk(20), S.Ash(25)
Mariah Moonglow Pearl(8), Garlic(1), Ginseng(2),
M.Root(7), N.Shade(6)
Rudyom Cove Pearl(5), B.Moss(3), Ginseng(2),
M.Root(5), S.Ash(4)
Nicodemus Yew B.Moss(3), Garlic(2), M.Root(5),
N.Shade(5), Silk(3)
Nystul Britain Pearl(10), B.Moss(6), Ginseng(4),
M.Root(10), S.Ash(8)
Sarpling* Terfin B.Moss(2), Garlic(1),
Ginseng(1), S.Ash(3)
* Note Sarpling does not sell spells.
Following is a list of all the spells and where to find them listed from
cheapest to most expensive:
:: First Circle ::
Awaken All Rudyom(25)
Create Food Nystul(35), Mariah(60)
Cure Nicod.(25), Rudyom(25), Mariah(80)
Detect Trap Nicod.(25), Rudyom(25), Mariah(100)
Great Douse Wis-Sur(30), Nystul(35)
Great Ignite Nicod.(25), Wis-Sur(30)
Light Rudyom(25), Wis-Sur(30), Nystul(35), Mariah(40)
Locate Nicod.(25), Wis-Sur(30), Nystul(35)
:: Second Circle ::
Destroy Trap Nicod.(45), Rudyom(45), Wis-Sur(50), Mariah(100)
Enchant Nicod.(45), Wis-Sur(50), Nystul(55)
Fire Blast Rudyom(45), Wis-Sur(50)
Great Light Rudyom(45), Wis-Sur(50)
Mass Cure Nystul(55)
Protection Nicod.(45), Nystul(55), Mariah(80)
Telekinesis Rudyom(45), Nystul(55), Mariah(60)
Wizard Eye Mariah(40), Nicod.(45)
:: Third Circle ::
Curse Rudyom(65), Wis-Sur(70)
Heal Rudyom(65), Mariah(40), Nystul(85)
Paralyze Nicod.(65), Rudyom(65), Wis-Sur(70)
Peer Mariah(60), Nicod.(65)
Poison Nicod.(65), Rudyom(65), Wis-Sur(70)
Protect All Nystul(85), Mariah(100)
Sleep Mariah(80), Nystul(85)
Swarm Nicod(65), Wis-Sur(70), Nystul(85)
:: Fourth Circle ::
Conjure Wis-Sur(90), Nystul(95)
Lightning Rudyom(85), Wis-Sur(90)
Mark Mariah(40), Nicod.(85), Rudyom(85)
Mass Curse Wis-Sur(90), Nystul(95)
Recall Mariah(60), Nicod.(85), Rudyom(85)
Reveal Wis-Sur(90), Nystul(95)
Seance Mariah(80), Rudyom(85)
Unlock Magic Nicod.(85), Nystul(95), Mariah(100)
:: Fifth Circle ::
Charm Mariah(60), Rudyom(115)
Dance Mariah(100), Rudyom(115)
Dispel Field Nicod.(115), Wis-Sur(120), Nystul(125)
Explosion Nicod.(115), Rudyom(115), Wis-Sur(120)
Fire Field Mariah(80), Wis-Sur(120), Nystul(125)
Great Heal Rudyom(115), Nystul(125)
Invisibility Mariah(40), Nicod.(115), Nystul(125)
Mass Sleep Nicod.(115), Wis-Sur(120)
:: Sixth Circle ::
Cause Fear Mariah(80), Nystul(145)
Clone Mariah(40), Rudyom(135), Wis-Sur(140)
Fire Ring Nicod.(135), Wis-Sur(140), Nystul(145)
Flame Strike Nicod.(135), Wis-Sur(140), Nystul(145)
Magic Storm Mariah(100), Rudyom(135)
Poison Field Nicod.(135), Rudyom(135)
Sleep Field Mariah(60), Rudyom(135), Nystul(145)
Tremor Nicod.(135), Wis-Sur(140)
:: Seventh Circle ::
Create Cold Rudyom(155)
Death Bolt Nicod.(155), Nystul(165)
Delayed Blast Nicod.(155), Rudyom(155)
Energy Field Mariah(100), Nicod.(155), Nystul(165)
Energy Mist Mariah(60), Nicod.(155), Nystul(165)
Mass Charm Rudyom(155)
Mass Might Mariah(40), Nystul(165)
Restoration Mariah(80), Rudyom(155)
:: Eighth Circle ::
Armageddon Rudyom(185)
Death Vortex Nicod.(185), Nystul(195)
Invisibiliy All Mariah(100), Nystul(195)
Mass Death Nicod.(185), Nystul(195)
Resurrect Mariah(40), Rudyom(185)
Summon Nicod.(185), Rudyom(185)
Swordstrike Mariah(80), Nicod.(185), Rudyom(185)
Time Stop Mariah(60), Nystul(195)
:: TRAINERS ::
Here is a list of all the trainers I found and what they specialize in.
* marks trainers that give you more training for your buck.
Place Name Specialization Cost
--------- --------- ---------------------------- ----
Britain Sentri Dex 30 (0 if in party)
Denby Dex, Intel, Magic 75
Zella Dex, Combat 45
Buc. Den Lucky Intel, Luck (?) 35
Cove Rayburt Str, Dex, Combat 60
Jhelom De Snel Combat* 40
Minoc Karenna Dex, Combat 20
Jakher Str, Intel 20
Moonglow Jillian Magic, Intel 35
Chad Dex, Combat 45
Ser. Hold Menion Str, Combat 45
Terfin Inforlem Str, Dex, Combat,
Intel*, Magic 50
Trinsic Markus Combat 20
Vesper Zaksam Combat*, Str 40
Yew Perrin Intel*, Magic 45
Bradman Dex* 30
Penni Str, Combat 35
(C) Copyright 1992
Adam Pletcher
adam@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
::: Complete Walkthrough for :::
::: ULTIMA VII: THE BLACK GATE :::
by Adam Pletcher
This is a revised version of the walkthrough I wrote a couple months ago.
A few mistakes have been corrected and a few additional hints have been
added. Enjoy! -AP
>> WARNING!! << This walkthrough contains _explicit_ instructions on how
to finish ULTIMA VII: THE BLACK GATE. It's one giant spoiler, so don't
read this if you aren't _totally_ stumped!
NOTE: There are essentially two ways to go about this game. You can
either follow Elizabeth and Abraham's trails and work on solving the
murders, or you can cut to the chase and do the important stuff. I
decided to tell you how to chase E&A, which takes a little longer, but
gives you more enjoyment of the plot development.
::: TRINSIC ::: You appear in Trinsic. Search the stables and get the
key. Use it on the chest in the dead guy's house (west side of town).
The scroll is your first clue that the Fellowship is not what they
claim to be. Talk to the victim's son, Spark, and Gilberto in the
healer's. Talk to the mayor and get permission to investigate outside
of Trinsic.
::: BRITAIN ::: Skip Paws and go to Britain. Talk to Lord British,
get the Orb of the Moons (_very_ useful). He'll tell you to find Rudyom
in Cove. Talk to Batlin at the Fellowship, and tell him you want to
join the Fellowship. Take the package to give to Elynor in Minoc.
Also talk to the mayor, Millie, Gordon, and Clint, the shipwright.
You will learn the Elizabeth and Abraham have gone to Minoc.
Following this little goose chase is a good way to follow through on
what you need to do to finish the game. Also visit the museum and
"acquire" the moonstones (I like Iolo's little comments on this... :)
I would also get the Mark and Recall spells as soon as you are able.
::: COVE ::: Talk to Rudyom, get the wand and 4 pieces of blackrock.
Read his notebook. If you're a softie, talk to the girl at the
shrine, she's a sure thing.
::: MINOC ::: Surprise, surprise, another murder... Go to the sawmill
ASAP. Talk to everyone outside. Get the dagger from the murder
scene. If you really wanna learn about the Fellowship, open the
package before giving it to Elynor. You can still give it to her and
Batlin will be a little miffed, but he'll still let you join. Talk
to Margareta, learn your fortune. Most of what follows will help you
fulfill your destiny. You will also learn in Minoc that Elizabeth and
Abraham have gone to Paws.
NOTE : Some versions of ULTIMA VII have a bug that essentially makes
the Minoc murder scene disappear entirely. If this happens to you,
don't get too upset, it doesn't matter. Solving all of the little
town mysteries is not necessary to finish the game (a couple are, but
most are just for kicks). If you're into maximum game enjoyment, then
I recommend you take the time to solve them.
:: PAWS :: Talk to Feridwyn. He'll say E&A (Eliz. and Abraham) have
gone to Jhelom. You can stay and solve the little "missing venom"
mystery if you like. It will give you practice on how to deal with
people and get information from them. Head to Jhelom. If you can't
afford a ship by now, go to the western entrance to the dungeon
Despise (next the Lost Lake surrounded by mountains NW of Britain) and
get the flying carpet. Follow north shore of the river that feeds the
lake and it will be sitting there. Very useful item (and it's free!).
While you're in Paws, buy the hourglass from Beverlea and keep it in a
safe place.
:: JHELOM :: Talk to Joseph the mayor. He says E&A have left for
Britain (of course). While you are here, talk to DeSnel about the
serpentine dagger you found in Minoc (if the murder scene worked for
you). You can solve the mystery with Sprellic and the banner of Honor,
but it's not necessary. Keep in mind that killing townsfolk is
virtuous ONLY if they attack you first.
:: BRITAIN (again) :: Go to Britain again and talk to Batlin. He'll
tell you to go to Destard and find some Fellowship gold. Destard is
located to the SW of paws on the west side of the mountains. You
don't have to go in, just go near it. It's _crammed_ with treasure and
gems and dragons, so be careful (Invisibility is almost a MUST here).
There are also some glass swords in there (save at least one for
later...). Go back to Britain, and join the Fellowship at 9pm that
night (don't listen to your friends). There is another documentation
scheme here. Batlin should ask you 2 of 3 random questions from the
Fellowship book in the game package (ugh! more protection!).
Make sure you wear your Fellowship amulet, it will effect the way
some characters treat you. Looks like E&A have headed towards Vesper.
:: VESPER :: Find Auston the mayor. He's not a Fellowship branch
leader, but he has talked to E&A. He will refer you to Cador, who
tells you they went to Moonglow. This is an interesting town. Be
careful what you say if you go into the gargoyle tavern...
:: MOONGLOW :: Very important city... Talking to Rankin, the
Fellowship branch leader, will reveal that E&A have moved on (surprise
surprise) to Terfin, the island home of the Gargoyles. While you are
here you need to awaken Penumbra who has been asleep since your last
visit to Britannia. Next to the door of her house is a plaque. By
reading it repeatedly, you will learn how to open the door (by placing
a hammer, gold ring, lockpick, spindle of thread, and some other form
of gold next to the plaque). This will open the door. Once in side,
awaken Penumbra with your Awaken cantrip or by using a potion. She
will say she needs some blackrock to shield her room before she can
continue to help you. Well, what do you know? If you've followed
along closely, you should have 4 chunks of it with you. Put them on
the pedestals in her room and talk to her again. She will tell you
to find the Ethereal Ring. This would be a good place to cast a Mark
spell so you can return when you've found the Ring. Terfin would be a
good place to start.
:: TERFIN :: Talk to everyone, especially Draxinusom and Quan. E&A
have headed to the Meditation Retreat. The altar conspiracy in Terfin
is fun to solve, but it's not necessary. You will also learn that the
Ethereal Ring is on the isle of Spektran (NW of Terfin). You will get
the ring later.
:: MEDITATION RETREAT :: If you go to the Retreat (_not_ necessary at
this point, you will return later...) you will learn that Ian will
only permit entrance to Fellowship members (or people with flying
carpets...). You will learn that E&A have gone to Buccaneer's Den.
Before you pursue them any further you must find the omniscient
Time Lord. The first step is to go to Empath Abbey west of Yew.
:: EMPATH ABBEY :: Talk to Taylor the monk. He will tell you about
the Emps that live in the woods. If you've seen them, you'll know
they won't speak to you (unless you have some honey). Go to the Bee
Cave and get two or three clumps of honey. The Bee Cave is no big
deal. I found that you could basically run right through the bees
and they won't really give a shit. Use the smoke bomb if you get
into trouble.
:: EMPS & WOODS :: With the honey, you are able to talk to Trellek
the Emp about finding the Wisps. If you're having troubles finding
the Emps, look for the giant white Silverleaf trees in the woods.
Trellek will need permission from Saralek who needs permission from
Solomon, the Emp leader. Solomon will give you a written agreement
to have Ben the woodsman sign to stop the destruction of the
Silverleaf trees. Ben's cabin is on the very western edge of the
forest near the shore. When you've gotten the treaty signed,
Solomon will grant you permission to take Trellek to the Wisps, but
Saralek changes her mind. Instead of going with you, Trellek will
give you a whistle to call the Wisps with (that was easy, huh? :)
Head to Spiritwood to find the Wisps (near Destard). They can also
be found in the abandoned fortress they've inhabited somewhere near
Yew woods.
:: THE WISPS :: Blow the whistle when you're near a Wisp and it will
talk to you. They will offer you information if you bring them
Alagner's notebook. They will also give you valuable information on
the Guardian. Off to New Magincia!
:: NEW MAGINCIA :: Alagner will agree to give you his notebook if you
answer the questions of Life and Death. This must be done by asking
the Tortured One in Skara Brae. It might save time if you Mark
Alagner's house so you can return his notebook quickly later. If you
haven't acquired a Seance spell yet, go get one and head towards Skara
Brae on foot (S.B. has anti-flying-carpet geography...).
:: SKARA BRAE :: Use the Seance spell and hitch a ride from the
Ferryman. Destroyed by an accidental fire, Skara Brae is home of
the Dead. Talk to everyone (especially Mordra). Make sure you pick
up the Mandrake Essence (the glowing potion), an empty vial, a curing
potion, and potion of Invisibility at Mordra's pad. Go to the Smithy
and talk to Trent. Take the music box and go to the Dark Tower in
the NW edge of the isle. Use the music box near Rowena and take her
ring to Trent. Take the finished cage and go to the Alchemist's.
Caine won't answer the questions until you destroy the Liche. Plug
the three potions and the empty vial into the thingamajig and turn the
burner on. If you did it right, a sparkling blue potion should fill
up the vial. Take that and the cage to the Dark Tower. Go to the
back of the Tower (through the fake wall by the stairs) and use the
cage on the Well. Go to the throne room and wait for midnight.
(*catch your breath*)
When Horance lies down, plop the cage over him and use the potion.
Horance says you need to find someone to sacrifice. Talk to Forsythe
the mayor. Now you get to find and talk to _everyone_ in the town,
including those who you've talked to already. After everyone refuses
to sacrifice themselves, Forsythe will agree. Take him to the Well
and destroy it. Go to Caine and learn that there are _no_ answers to
Life and Death (you _must_ still do this).
:: TIME LORD :: Go to New Magincia, and tell him there are no Answers.
Get the key, find the notebook in his storeroom and take it to the
Wisps. If you're having troubles reaching the room with the notebook,
use the crates in the room to make a little "stairway" on the table
(It needs to be three crates high from the tabletop...). Use your Orb
to beam to the Time Lord. He will direct you to the dungeon Despise to
destroy the ether-screwing generator. Before you can follow up on
this, you need to destroy the generator found in Deceit. In order to
do this, you need the aforementioned Ethereal Ring (ie Spektran!). If
you go to Alagner's to return his notebook, you'll find him dead (very
dead, actually). Use his crystal ball and you'll get your first
glimpse at the much sought Elizabeth, Abraham, Hook, and Forskis...
:: SPEKTRAN :: The door to the Sultan's place should open when you
approach it. As you will see, the Sultan is somewhat of a loony.
You need to kill his harpy and take its key. The harpy can be easily
killed using invisibility or a glass sword (make sure you still have
at least one glass sword when you leave here. It's ok if you don't,
but it will save you much heartache later...). The ring is in a room
behind the harpy. The key will be on its dead body. Now head to
Moonglow and have Penumbra enchant the ring.
:: DECEIT :: This dungeon isn't too tough, but what's inside the
generator is quite nasty. Follow all the hallways and find the false
walls (try walking into the dark areas and you'll see what I mean).
You can talk to the Cyclops if you want, but it's not necessary.
Before you approach the generator, drop all your party members and put
on the Ring. Inside the generator is the ugliest, toughest sucker
in the whole game (he's the one you've been saving the glass sword
for). I didn't have any more glass swords by the time I got here and
managed to kill him on my 30th or so attempt, so don't fret. By
cornering him and using _lots_ of healing and protection potions, you can
do it with any magical weapon. Click on the box in the middle of the
room and watch as the generator collapses. There should be a miniature
tetrahedron sitting on the ground. Get it and get out of Deceit. Now
Nicodemus (in the "Knight's Bridge house" in Yew) is able to enchant
your hourglass, which is needed to approach the next generator in
Despise.
:: DESPISE :: _Don't_ enter the northeastern entrance to Despise. It's
good for experience, but not necessary. Use the entrance on the Lake
(the one where you found the flying carpet). I won't get into the
details of Despise, but you need to get around the teleporters and
follow the tunnels east of the entrance. The tunnels will burrow
around to the SW side of the lake and you'll find the Spherical
Generator. You'll find a moongate puzzle inside. The correct
sequence is RED, BLUE, BLUE, RED. Pick up the small Sphere and leave
(via Recall if possible :) One more generator to go!
:: MEDITATION RETREAT AGAIN :: This place is pretty much a bore,
except for the cave that you're not allowed to enter (ooo! are you
shaking??). By this point in the game you should have gotten a feel
for what the Fellowship is about (nothing good, that's for sure...).
In the cave is the Cube generator. You won't be able to approach it,
but you should Mark it so you can beam back later. After reaching
the Cube, contact the Time Lord by using the hourglass. He will tell
you to find a mineral called Caddellite. This is found on the Isle of
Ambrosia.
:: AMBROSIA :: This island is kinda hidden. It's located in the NE
sea of Britannia. If you've been using the map from the game package
or the one found in the game itself, you won't be able to see Ambrosia
because it's under the little compass icon in the upper right corner.
It's a large island and shouldn't be too hard to find. Inside a cave
on this island is where the Caddellite is found. It's guarded by a
three headed Hydra. Surprisingly the Hydra is huge wimp and croaks
quickly in combat. There's a secret door in the center of the northern
wall in the Hydra's little room, double click on it and you'll be on
your way. You'll need one chunk of Caddellite per party member (or
just one if you plan on approaching the Cube alone. You can't take
your party members inside anyway...). Take the Caddellite to Zorn in
Minoc and he will fashion helmets for you.
:: MEDITATION RETREAT again ::: Beam back to the Cube and go inside
wearing your special helmet. The puzzle inside involves walking on
certain spots of the walkway that trigger the bridges to other parts.
Trouble is, some spots remove other bridges as well. I could go on for
a page or two on how to solve it, but it would be easier just to tell
you to save the game a lot and do it yourself. It's hard, but not
impossible. Just look out for the fire fields and fireballs. Another
hint: you'll cover almost 100% of the walkways before you're able to
get to the center. After the Cube crumbles, take the little cube and
head to Buccaneer's Den.
:: BUCCANEER'S DEN :: Now you're after the ever elusive E&A, the killer
Hook, and his toadie Forskis. Possession of the little Cube forces the
truth out of people who would normally lie to you (ie most people in
Bucc. Den...). Talking to Danag at the Fellowship Branch will reveal
much about Hook, Elizabeth, Abraham, and the fucked up Fellowship. Talk
to Sintag at the House of Games and get the key from him. The door in
the Games leads into the mountain passages where Hook's hideout is. You
won't find Hook himself, but in his hideout you'll find the navigational
plans for the ever elusive Crown Jewel, and the Black Gate key used to
get past the barrier on the Isle of the Avatar. Also in his hideout is
a list of people the Fellowship has eliminated (with you and ol' LB yet
to go). There's nothing much else in those tunnels, except for a some
torture chambers used by the Fellowship and a couple worthless prisoners.
Off to the Black Gate!
:: ISLE OF THE AVATAR :: If you're not 8th level by this time and able
to cast some major kickass spells, you might want to do some experience-
collecting before going here. The key from Hook's place will allow you
to pass the barrier on the south side of the island and get into the
dungeon. This dungeon is rather long and hard. A couple tips:
- It is not necessary to kill the dragon(s). Lots of cool goodies
though! (ie a Glass Sword that may be handy soon)
- The Chair of Change teleports you to one of 3 places in the
dungeon if you sit in it. At each location it takes you, examine
all the walls for hidden passages.
- Sitting in the Throne of Virtue will make the Chair of Change
take you to a fourth place, necessary to get to the Gate.
- In the "Fellowship Hall" try fiddling with the medallion.
- Watch out for the Paladin guarding one of the last doors, he's
an asskicker (use a Glass Sword if you have one...).
- Take the mage's spellbook from his room. It's fully loaded!
- If you still can't find the Black Gate room, try looking for any
keys you might have missed. Also poke on every wall you see,
there's lots of illusionary walls.
:: THE BLACK GATE :: Ah, the gang's all here! After some little
bickering, they will attack you. I had troubles winning this battle
hand-to-hand until I found a useful little spell called Death Vortex.
TIP: If you use it, don't cast it on an enemy, cast it on _yourself_.
This spell is useful to say the least. After everyone croaks (except
the little weasel Batlin) you'll be left with the choice of returning
home, or using Rudyom's Wand (you still have it I hope!) on the Gate.
The animated sequence at the end of the game is kinda short, but
_completely_ amazing.
Ok people, that's it. Mucho regards to Mr. Garriott and Origin for
making such an incredible game. Two add-in modules for ULTIMA VII
(Serpent Isle and Forge of Virtue) are slated to be out soon, so keep
your eyes peeled. If anyone has any further questions or needs the
keyfix patch, drop me a note!
(C) Copyright 1992
Adam Pletcher
adam@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
Once again, I would like to extend our most gracious thanks to the
following individuals who made it possible for yet another issue of Game
Bytes to be enjoyed by all...
In no particular order:
Tim Walker Lisa Erickson Ron Dippold
Bing Ho Jerry Luttrell Nancy Stevens
Bolko Rawicz S. Bonds Erik Bruvold
Peter Palij Adam Pletcher Paul Close
Robert Dorsett Thom Vaught Jeff from Georgia
Damon Slye Alexandria North Mr. Lombard
Hunter Medney Mike Heyda Daron Stinnett
Steve Bauman Ivan Luk Brian Chung
Stephen Macmillan Tim Pierre Mike McCole
Alan Fusco
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT GAME BYTES?
The positive response we've received from so many around the world has
given us great hope for continuing to publish Game Bytes. As you man
know, there is no income generated through any means for this publication
to continue, yet there are significant expenses, both monetarily and
time. We would like to resist changing our strategy indefinitely, but
expenses are getting tight.
If you enjoy Game Bytes and feel it is of some value to you, please
consider making a donation or contribution of some kind to our cause to
help keep Game Bytes alive. We need your assistance. Your welcome
contributions can be sent to:
Game Bytes
108 Castleton Drive
Harvest, AL 35749
In return for your donation of $15.00 or more, we'll make sure we mail you
directly the next issue of Game Bytes and your name will appear in the
next issue with our thanks.
Thanks for helping us keep Game Bytes alive.
Ross Erickson
Editor and Publisher, Game Bytes
ACCOLADE
VICTIM OR HERO?
CAN YOU OVERCOME THE DANGERS THAT LURK IN THE EVIL WAXWORKS?
Category: Role-playing
Price and Availability: IBM PC/compatibles - $59.95 (November)
San Jose, CA - August 6, 1992 - Bats flew at you from the dark crevasses
of the cave, knocking the flashlight out of your hand. You groped for
the light in the cave's utter blackness. When you finally found it and
flicked it on, your twin brother Alex had vanished and was eventually
presumed dead. Now, even years later, you still feel his presence. This
overwhelming feeling that he is alive leads you to your Uncle Boris'
horror filled Waxworks, a place that fills you with dread, yet was once
like a second home to Alex.
WaxWorks is Accolade's new true horror role-playing game due to ship this
October for IBM PC computers, and in November for Amiga computers. Wax-
Works is being developed by Horrorsoft, creators of Accolade's popular
horror based role-playing games Elvira and Elvira II. This bone-chilling
foray into five very detailed horror filled worlds will provide the
player with over 100 hours of challenging game play.
Uncle Boris has just died and left you his Dodge and his prized poss-
ession, the WaxWorks. It took him years to create his collection of evil
looking wax figures. This is not a normal wax museum full of icons of
royalty, pop stars, and current celebrities. Uncle Boris chose to mold
dark treacherous beings from his imagination, as well as duplicate crim-
inals, witches, and monsters from film and history. Your first temp-
tation is to destroy the waxworks and its dreadful occupants. Yet some-
thing beckons you to the old Victorian house that serves as the host to
the collection. You are drawn into the fearsome scenes depicted in wax.
You find yourself searching for your missing brother throughout the laby-
rinth waxworks, in ancient Egypt, 19th century England, in a dark, musty
mineshaft and in a creepy, haunted cemetery.
Can you excape from the clutches of the Waxworks and rescue your brother?
You'll travel through five different worlds, battle loathsome undead
creatures and monsters, using your wits, weapons, artifacts and even
household items. Use a crystal orb Uncle Boris left you to invoke power-
ful incantations that give you magical powers.
WaxWorks is completely icon driven with a fast and intuitive "point and
click" interface. The first person perspective produces some very terror
filled moments, as you quickly have to decide to escape or fight to the
bitter end.
WaxWorks will be available at local software retailers or can be pur-
chased direct from Accolade by calling 1-800-245-7744. A WaxWorks hint-
book will also be available at a later date and may also be purchased
directly from Accolade.
EASN
ELECTRONIC ARTS SPORTS NETWORK
JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL II
San Mateo, CA, August 24, 1992 - One of the most successful football games
ever for the IBM has scored even higher with the release of JOHN MADDEN
FOOTBALL II, Electronic Arts Sports Network announced today. The original
game was pronounced the "Best Computer Sports Game of the Year" by OMNI
Magazine.
With the design assistance of John Madden, this game delivers hard-core
football for true fans of the sport. Even with the success of the
original, Madden himself wasn't simply content to "run ou the clock." Many
new features were added to make JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL II a solid football
game.
In JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL II, Madden gives a play-by-play analysis on every
down. When it's fourth-and-one with time running out, users can get
advice from the former coach on what plays he would run. With 22 players
on the field, the one-on-one matchup feature is very useful and can be
accessed on a play-by-play basis. Also new is the icon menu screen,
making for a much improved user interface. Now choose from 37 pro-
caliber teams or the "All-Madden" Team that are included right in the
game. In addition, all the action can be repeated with the all-new
Instant Replay feature. This ultimate TV-style excitement lets users
see that fingertip catch in the end zone over and over again, even in
slo-motion or frame-by-frame.
The game now offers a completely new 3-4 defensive playbook to challenge
the offense. The new chalkboard feature allows users to create, view
and practice plays against any defensive formation, or simply walk
through the play without an opponent on the field. Plays can also be
viewed by position, or even isolate on one or more players to assign
individual or group tasks.
Together with the features that made this a top-flight football game, JOHN
MADDEN FOOTBALL II still offers: The Madden Report, which shows player
comparisons based on ratings of nine fidderent attributes; varying field
conditions and injuries; and the ability to design your own unique plays.
KOEI
KOEI RELEASES FIRST TITLES TO SEGA
Burlingame, CA (August 21, 1992) -- Koei Corporation will unveil its first
two titles for Sega Genesis in September. ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS
II and GEMFIRE.
Both titles will be styled after their 8-bit Nintendo counterparts, with
the Sega versions offering superior game play, detailed graphics and
improvement in overall game speed. "There has been a great demand for
third party Sega products." states Seinosuke Fukui, Vice President of
Koei Corporation. "Since Koei has been so strong with its Nintendo
titles, we have made the commitment to expand to Sega also."
While ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS II with satisfy the appetites of game
enthusiasts looking for an intense role-playing title, GEMFIRE has been
developed to appeal to a wider audience of game players who are seeking
a combination of both strategy and adventure. With its King Arthur flare,
GEMFIRE challenges players to re-unite the kingdom of Ishmeria and return
it to peace. As a prince or princess you must recruit legendary
creatures to your ranks and call upon your advisors to unleash magic on
the battlefield against your enemies.
TWO NEW RELEASES FOR IBM ON THEIR WAY
Koei Corporation has two very exciting strategy titles scheduled for
release this fall to IBM as well. Game players will have the opportunity
to reunite the crown in GEMFIRE (September 1992) and fight for American
independence in LIBERTY OR DEATH (November 1992).
LIBERTY OR DEATH gives players the chance to assume the precarious
position of Commander-in-Chief. Assume General George Washington's post
and prepare the colonist to fight for independence. Or, as Lord
Cornwallis, you have the opportunity to redirect the outcome of the war.
In either role, "There are pressures from above, from over anxious
government, and pressures from below, from often discontented officers
and men. These pressures must be balanced in order to succeed." comments
Stieg Hedlund, a member of the development team working on the project.
Koei's development department believes "that the kind of balance the
Koei's games try to provide, between entertainment and education, has
been struck in LIBERTY OR DEATH."
Both GEMFIRE and LIBERTY OR DEATH will offer mouse and Adlib sound board
support.
MICROPROSE ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE
MicroProse Releases B-17 FLYING FORTRESS
For immediate release August 24, 1992
Hunt Valley, MD - MicroProse Software, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of
MicroProse, Inc. (NASDAQ: MPRS), known internationally for it's realistic
military simulation, has announced the release of B-17 FLYING FORTRESS.
B-17 is an accurate re-creation of hazardous World War II missions over
occupied Europe. The simulation features authentic flight dynamics,
ordnance, and World War II atmosphere.
The experiences of the courageous crews are relived as the player learns to
fly the huge bomber, navigate across Europe, identify targets, and operate
the famous Norden bombsight. Players fly in group formation with other
B-17's in an accurate 3-D world that includes canals, roads, bridges,
dockyards, submarine pens, and factories.
Players must successfully command a bomber through 25 daytime missions from
bases in eastern England over occupied Europe, take on the might of the
Luftwaffe, and brave ferocious Germand flak defenses. Mission briefings
and intelligence reports are available for pilots to study.
Players are able to choose a Flying Fortress and customize it with a choice
of authentic nose art. B-17 features the most detailed instrument panel
ever seen in a bomber simulation. In additioin, players are able to
throttle each of the B-17's four engines and operate the flaps and tail.
Ten crew members can be selected by studying their past missions,
promotions, and medals. Crew members can be allocated to specific tasks
such as navigating, carrying out bombing runs, and reacting to damage
sustained. The player is able to view the action and take control of
each crew member from pilot to bombardier.
B-17 FLYING FORTRESS is available for the IBM-PC/compatible and will be
avail- able for the Commodore Amiga later this year. The suggested
retail price is $69.95.
MicroProse, Inc., designs and markets a full line of interactive
entertainment software for personal computers and video game systems.
It's products are available worldwide through major distributors,
retailers, and mass merchants.
MICROPROSE ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE
MicroProse Releases Darklands
For immediate release August 10, 1992
Hunt Valley, MD -- MicroProse Software, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of
MicroProse, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPRS), famous worldwide for it's high-quality
entertaining simulations of combat and adventure, has announced the
release of DARKLANDS, it's first true fantasy role-playing game.
Set in 15th Century Medieval Germany, DARKLANDS is as realistic and
challenging a simulation as previous MicroProse releases. "The common
thread of all our titles, from GUNSHIP to RAILROAD TYCOON, is that they
have an intellectual core," said Arnold Hendrick, DARKLANDS' game
designer. "DARKLANDS is no different -- the problems and tasks the gamer
faces are straight from the events and attitudes of Medieval Germany."
15th Century Germany was a time of violence and corruption and was an era
with three Popes simultaneously in charge, powerless emperors, gangster
nobles and venal clergyman. DARKLANDS recreates this period and
emphasizes the beliefs of the time: witches worshipping the devil,
people praying to saints to produce real miracles, alchemists turning
lead into gold, and dragons inhabiting caves.
Players explore a vast map of Germany with a party of four adventurers
created from the likes of nobles, swordsmen, mercenaries, thieves,
alchemists, monks, and several more. Millions of different character
types are possible by choosing from 26 attributes and skills. The
ultimate goal of the game is to achieve fame and immortailty on multiple
quests, many of them simultaneous. Quests are created by an "adventure
generator" for endless replayability.
DARKLANDS is available for IBM-compatibles at a suggested retail price of
$69.95. It requires 2MB of RAM. the game supports AdLib, Roland, Pro
AudioSpectrum, Sound Blaster, and PC speaker sounds. A hard disk, VGA
graphics, MS DOS 5.0 or equivalent, and a mouse are required.
MicroProse, Inc., designs and markets a full line of interactive
entertainment software for personal computers and video game systems.
It's products are available worldwide through major distributors,
retailers, and mass merchants.
SSI
FIVE PLAYERS CAN COMPETE SIMUTANEOUSLY IN SPACE BATTLES AS SSI INTRODUCES
CYBER EMPIRES
Game Category: Science-Fiction
Versions: IBM and Amiga - September ($49.95)
Sunnyvale, CA -- August 21, 1992 -- Cyber Empires, a strategy-arcade
science-fiction computer game, will be released by Strategic
Simulations, Inc. (SSI), in September for the IBM and Amiga. The
suggested retail price is $49.95.
As an economically strategic game, Cyber Empires starts the player off with
a set amount of money and a coutry to control. The player can
then employ
spies, build factories and fortresses, institute taxes, and purchase
futuristic weaponry. The purpose is to control the planet, Orion, through
effectively allocating finances and leading an army of up to nine different
kinds of battle in a true arcade fashion--he can dominate enemy Cyborgs
with lasers, missiles, and flamethrowers.
Kathleen Watson, SSI Director of Marketing, stated, "Cyber Empries is about
military intelligence and world conquest. This makes it both a
challenging and high action game that will completely absorb the player."
Designed for one to five players who can expect 25-75 hours of game play,
Cyber Empires has detailed graphics that show the destruction of cities,
forts, and factories and a simple interface allows for quick play action.
The game features three different ways to play: strategy, arcade, or a
combination of the two. Cyber Empires also includes 256 color graphics
and IBM sound.
Strategic Simulations, Inc., is the leading computer fantasy role-playing
publisher and is noted for its ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS line of computer
products. The company is recognized as the premier war game publsher, and,
based on industry rankings, is one of the top ten entertainment software
publishers worldwide.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to all
readers of Game Bytes to express your views back to us. Let us know if
you like the concept we have developed with this type of publication.
Our reviewers love a little controversy and would welcome alternative
opinions to their own. Be prepared, however, to back up your stand if
you disagree with what was written. These are, after all, opinions.
Game Bytes truly wants to become the people's sounding board for the
gaming industry as a whole. Through your comments and feedback, we can
not only make our publication a better vehicle for communicating gaming
information, but we can also effectively communicate our desires for
better and/or different gaming experiences to the software publishers
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We also want to extend and invitation to all to become regular reviewers
themselves. We have no permanent "locked-in" reviewer staff. Those that
write for us now and excited to do so, but we welcome other reviewers who
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for the gamer from the gamer, and we hope our reviewer ranks will grow.
Don't be bashful - let us hear your views on your favorite games.
In future editions of Game Bytes, we will use this column to publish your
letters, comments, raves, and complaints for all to share. We hope you
will take the time to use it. Editorially speaking, we'll only be
concerned about certain types of four-letter words, so keep those to a
minimum, and we'll not be concerned about censorship. This is a free
forum, but a certain sense of decorum should prevail. Nothing more needs
to be said.
There are several ways to send your letters and comments to Game Bytes if
you wish to be heard. We'll start with the U.S. postal system. Letters
can be mailed to:
Game Bytes
108 Castleton Drive
Harvest, AL 36749
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RossGBytes
And finally, using Internet mail, feel free to mail your letters to:
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Any of these three mailing methods are perfectly acceptable. If you
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We look forward to reading your comments about Game Bytes and how to make
it better with each issue. There are a lot of active gamers out there,
and if we can reach just some of you, we will know this effort is
worthwhile.
Hope to hear from many of you soon!
Ross Erickson
Editor and Publisher
We'll be repeating this message in a few more issues of Game Bytes to
encourage readers to respond.
Bing Ho of Berkley, California writes:
(Game Bytes) It's great! I really like the ambitious nature of Game Bytes
(and the dual format for those who can't afford to download such a huge
file).
GB: We aim to please! :-)
I think that Game Bytes did a good job branching out and trying to start
reviewing hardware as well thise issue.
GB: We want to continue this by starting to review other types of hard-
ware as well such as sound boards. In fact, we'll be doing a full scale
review of the Advanced Gravis Ultrasound card as soon as it ships.
I think that what I would like to see added (though for some reason, I
doubt the practicality) a sound track segment (since games are now
advertising soundtracks to their "movies").
GB: You're right. It's not practical. <g> This will be positively the
LAST feature you'll see added to Game Bytes. It's somewhere near #432.
"Calling number 3, number 3 please."
What you may consider to reduce distribution overhead is the introduction
of the Game Bytes viewer which can support a variety of text, graphics,
and sound configurations, and then have Game Bytes distributed as three
files, the "starter kit", the text only, and the full version. Thus,
those who keep up with the magazine only need to download the basic data
file, and have a customized viewer already. For example, the title screen
is the same from issue to issue and doesn't need to be distributed.
GB: Sounds kinda complex. For the time being, I think we'll just stick to
our 'two-play offense'.
Another thing you may consider: I don't know if anybody else is inter-
ested in this aspect of gaming, but the programming behind it is often
fascinating, such as for Wing Commander or Castle Wolfenstein. I am
currently working on a graphics model that should implement high-speed
sprites on a SVGA resolution (with a little tweaking I currently have it
at nearly the speed of Wolfenstein -- it's about one-half the speed for
four times the pixels).
GB: Well, keep us posted about your game developments. We'd be glad to
cover your product or technology once it matures a bit.
Keep up the good work and expand the format!
GB: Slowly, but surely. Thanks for your support.
Bolko Rawicz of Burnaby, British Columbia writes:
Dear Game Bytes:
I have really enjoyed looking at an issue of Game Bytes each month, for
the past 4 months. I congratulate you on a job well done !
GB: Thanks. Keep reading!
There actually many advantages of Game Bytes over paper magazines, here
are four (4) of the most obvious:
1. The cost (or lack of it).
GB: Hmmm. If you only knew.
2. A saving of paper.
GB: What can we say. We're tree huggers.
3. The information reaches the reader quicker, especially if he/she has
access to the internet/ftp sites.
GB: This very feature is what keeps us going. Very fast turn-around
time.
4. It is possible to see exactly what a game will look like because of
the display of screen shots. In a "regular" gaming magazine the screen
shots are much reduced in size and the games may look different or better
(which is deceiving).
GB: Probably the most 'desireable' feature of Game Bytes, for sure.
For you information, I have been uploading all the Game Bytes issues to
several bbs' local to me (in Burnaby, B.C., Canada) and have noticed that
others have been spreading them to many other bbs'.
GB: Thanks very much. This is how our reputation gets spread - by having
happy readers spread it around their local areas.
Mr. S. Bonds of Claremont, CA (?) writes:
This is mostly to test and see if your new number works. Many pieces of
mail have come back at me...
GB: Yes, a little trouble with my Internet number. Should be all
resolved now.
But anyway, about game bytes 4:
I like the "split" format. This way I can offer to upload the smaller,
text only GameBytes to BBS's that might otherwise cringe at the 1-meg
size. Personally, I think the screen shots are what separates GameBytes
from other electronic magazines. I wouldn't be caught without 'em.
MORE! MORE!
GB: You scream for more, more, yet these files make the issues BIG BIG!
I think you should include at least one screen shot (whenever possible)
of the "bulk" of the game-- not just from the beginning/ending sequences.
This way I can see what the game REALLY looks like, not merely how fancy
the intro is.
GB: Our objective here is to use representative graphics from the game
play and not introductions or cinematic sequences. Whether they come from
the first part of the game, the middle or the end shouldn't really matter.
They represent what you will/should see through the game.
You might offer an option from the graphics-included package to extract the
text to a text-only copy of GameBytes. This would save me from downloading
two copies. (At 2400 baud every byte counts! ;-) Or you could include the
screen shots in a "normal" graphics format like .GIF so I could re-ZIP the
program, but leave out the pictures.
GB: Better yet, just download the text-only version! <G>. Let's keep this
simple.
Another option that would be nice-- perhaps it would be possible to include
an "extractor" that would print a graphics image to a .GIF file. This way
I could send it off to someone and say "look, see how nice this new game
looks" without sending the whole GB package. This could be done with a
screen grabber, but it would be easier if it were coded into GB.
GB: Many of the screen shots already ARE .GIF files. We're not going to
make them extractable though. We already have a permission issue with
each of the software companies to allow us to use them. After all, they
own them, not us.
Pehaps you could include a small section on how to contact each company to
deliver our comments/gripes/praise to someone who might listen. E-mail
addresses, BBS numbers, or consumer relations phone numbers could all be
tossed into one section.
GB: Well......maybe. This might be a decent idea, actually.
My compliments on an excellent package! I hope you can keep it going.
GB: We do too, but we need some support.
Erik Bruvold of San Diego, California writes:
Any chance that you could upload with each issue of Game Bytes a "table of
contents" for that issue. I just read through #4 which had some interest-
ing articles but not much about the games I am interested in. Since it
takes awhile to download/unzip a table of contents would be great to fig-
ure out whether to do it (or probably more realistically - when). Other-
wise, good job and warm fuzzies for the hard work this must entail.
GB: Yes, though not part of the .zip file (this wouldn't do much good,
would it?). On each of the distribution points we'll upload (separately)
a file which describes what each issue contains. Good point.
Paul Close working at Silicon Graphics in California writes:
I really like the two versions approach (just text and text and graphics).
GB: So do we. We'll keep this up.
Two things that bug me a little bit:
1. In the text viewer, it would be nice if space did the same thing as
page-down, for those of us who are "more" (the unix program)
addicts.
GB: Well, with our rewrite, we'll check into this again. I think you'll
like the mouse support we've added a lot.
2. It would be nice if there was some indication that there were
graphics included, and how many, aside from the F10 message at the
bottom. Maybe a different color title bar or something.
GB: Check out the color changes at the bottom of the screen this time.
Jeff from Georgia (we think!?) writes:
Hi there! I want to tell you again (remember me? ;) how much I enjoy
your Game Bytes compu-mag! I look for it at the beginning of every month
on wuarchive. I especially enjoyed this month's edition and the letter
from the Russian user. *smile*
GB: COMPU-Mag. Yeah, I like that. I DO hope that eventually we can
work out something for other languages. It would be cool to see Game
Bytes in Cyrillic.
I have a fulltime BBS running now, and I put Game Bytes on-line for my
users to download and enjoy. As of late, I have had a bit of a dilemma,
which I have noticed that you have already taken some steps to solve.
It has to do with the file size of the magazine. Game Bytes issue #3
and #4 are HUGE, so much so that my users cannot download it because they
do not have enough time. I realize that this is due mostly to the graphics
screen-shots, and I have the much smaller version of Game Bytes that
does not have the graphics. Still, I think the graphics are wonderful,
and a very strong incentive for my users to download it. So, I was
wondering if you could offer a version with the data files split into
several smaller files that could be zipped separately? I know this is
more hassle for you, and you do such a GREAT job in putting the magazine
out now too, but wouldn't it be worth it if even more gamers can have
access to the FULL Game Bytes experience?
GB: I have a suggestion for you. There are several .zip 'splitters'
available on the public market (you probably have one on your board) that
will split a .zip file into as many parts as you want. Try that for your
2400 baud users.
Oh, BTW, I would not worry too much about adding music to Game Bytes.
I agree with you; I don't really see the point. I have a SoundBlaster
Pro, and I enjoy MODs and all, but why add all that file and memory size
just for a little pizzazz? Now, if you were to play samples from the
games, maybe THEN I could see some point to it. *grin* So...when are you
gonna include playable demos as an option too? *snicker* Just kidding,
guy!
GB: WHY I OUGHTA.....Heh. As I said earlier with regard to music....
don't hold your breath.
Stephen Macmillan of Newcastle, Australia writes:
Well done on a great effort. Here in Australia most PC gaming mags come by
ship from the US or England. These mags take 2 months to get here. (Its
August now and I've just got June's PC format mag!). GameBytes is my most
up to date source of gaming news. Keep up the good work!
GB: Hey, that's great to hear. We hope you enjoy all the issues and will
spread them all over Australia.
Mike McCole of Fort Lauderdale, FL writes:
I've read Gamebytes 4, I liked it a lot, especially the interview with the
Wolfenstein developers. I really respect what you are doing and admire
your writing talent. I do have a few suggestions:
1. Spellcheck everything.
GB: Amen to that. You need a job, Mike!!?
2. Don't be afraid to edit reviewers copy. Much of the reviewers writing
would really benefit from grammar and syntax correction.
GB: As I said, would you like a job, Mike!!!???
3. Pick the one best review per game and publish it or edit the reviews
into a composite.
GB: Hmmm. Here we disagree. For virtually every game out there, you
will find a wide variety of opinions. For popular games, I think it's
valuable to hear more than one opinion, even when they differ.
4. One of the reviews started with a checklist of facts about the game,
I'd like to see this standardized and included with every review.
GB: To date, we've still not found a satisfactory "checklist" to satisfy
all the demands of the readers. Would you care to create your version and
mail it to us?
Keep up the good work and good luck!
GB: Thanks Mike, keep reading.
