Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Accolade
San Jose, CA
THE GAMES: WINTER CHALLENGE: This
product demands "peak" performance from
up to ten competitors in eight different pulse-
pounding winter sports simulations. Included
are downhill, cross country and giant slalom
skiing, the ski jump, bobsleds, luge and more.
A combination of VGA bit-mapping and poly-
gon-filled graphics combine with full sound sup-
port and instant replay feature to create a
"winter wonderland" for sports enthusiasts.
IBM ($54.95). Circle Reader Service #1.
Disney Software
Burbank, CA
DICK TRACY: THE CRIME-SOLVING ADVEN-
TURE: A tour de force for Disney's Sound
Source, Dick Tracy is full of digitized sounds,
voices and music that add a cinematic touch
to a game with comic book transition scenes
and arcade actions sequences. There's plenty
of problem solving, too, as criminals must be
interrogated, clues found and wiretaps placed.
Will Tracy be able to clean up the city? Get a
clue and find out... IBM ($39.95 or $59.95 in a
combo pack with the Sound Source). Circle through an animated adventure that is a cross
Reader Service #2. somewhere between The Wonder Years and
The Simpsons. A wild adventure game that's
HARE-RAISING HAVOC: Roger Rabbit has
full of youthful mischief and grand adventure.
his own personal gauntlet to run in this interac-
IBM ($59.95). Circle Reader Service #4.
tive cartoon. Using some very bizarre logic (?)
puzzles, Roger must figure out how to rescue Flight Deck Software
Baby Herman before Mother comes back and Williamsburg, VA
sends Roger back to the science lab. Full of (804) 229-1757
pratfalls, electrocutions, and other forms of car-
THE INSTRUMENT FLIGHT TRAINER
toon violence, Hare-Raising Havoc gets plen-
(PROFESSIONAL 5.0): This is not a flight
ty of laughs. IBM ($49.95). Circle Reader Ser-
simulator, per se, but is an instrument trainer.
vice #3.
This is not a game, although it is fascinating
Dynamix in its true-to-life "feel" for real life instrument
Eugene, OR flying. The program doesn't emphasize the
"outside view" and the user interface relies on
THE ADVENTURES OF WILLY BEAMISH:
both keyboard and joystick input. Basically,
As previewed in CGW #86, cartoon hero Willy
what Microsoft Flight Simulator is to civilian
Beamish, the irrepressible pre-teen and
flight, this product is to civilian instrument
modern suburban survivalist, takes players
Taking a Peek
his is Rhonda Buryit reporting from are the People's Awards! And, ladies and 4. Select a first place, a second place,
guitars from "Judas Priest," and a gold and the sensuous passion of a femme fa-
record from "Van Halen." I suggested tale, "Ooh, who is that?!" As soon as I
o matter which Hard Rock Cafe a that about the only item missing was a realized that she was not referring to the
PRICE:
Amiga, IBM, Atari ST,
and Macintosh
$49.99
PROTECTION: None
DESIGNERS: Robert Clardy, John
Coonley and Alan Clark
Virgin's Vengeance of Excalibur PUBLISHER: Virgin Games
Irvine, CA
by Stefan Petrucha
any have tackled the tales of Arthur and his knights, with ings. After reading a somber description of the "Roles of Faith
and home VR devices would enable the pletely outdated in a year if it was fun to
visually-oriented Japanese consumers to play around with in the meantime. So, be-
experience the seemingly limitless cause of Japan's consumer focus, there
spaces of VR's 3-D universes. Third, is a great deal of trial and error. Using
Japanese households have more than the consumer marketplace to test ideas
twice the penetration of game machines is extremely viable in their society, while
than do U.S. households. So, Japanese such a strategy might well be disastrous
manufacturers are more willing to incur in the U.S. Ultimately, if a hit product be-
market risk than their gaijin counterparts. comes evident, it is picked up by
Naturally, there is, therefore, a lot of re- Japanese low-cost producers and then
search being directed into VR by floods the international market. Typically,
Japanese corporations. Matsushita, electronic products introduced in Japan
which already operates a VR showroom take a year to hit the U.S.
for their kitchen manufacturing unit, is How serious are the Japanese in
developing a VR theater in conjunction marketing VR? NTT, the Japanese
with MCA/Universal Studio Tours, and equivalent to AT&T, has The Kenwood
has licensed technology to LucasArts, cializes in VR environments and remote Group, a video production house in San
Ltd. Also, Sony is starting a SonyLand, presence technologies and applications. Francisco, completing a 20-minute
a spin-off from its Columbia Pictures Finally, Fujitsu's game machine, the FM promotional for a VR home entertain-
properties, and seventy other companies Towns, is being developed to take ad- ment service that they foresee selling
are members of an industrial group that vantage of its 386-based processor over their phone lines in the near future.
is studying VR. power for VR applications in home enter- "The Touchdown" features an American
In Japan, the government broadcasting tainment. and a Japanese who strap on Cyber-
station has formed a company called Cleats to play in a virtual football field
Generally speaking, the U.S. is industrial-
Media International Corp. (MICO), a and play a 'through-the-air' guitar with a
ly oriented and Japan is consumer-
consortium of 47 companies in various band in front of a virtual audience. CGW
oriented. U.S. consumers tend to wait
fields that is doing work with Palo Alto, until standards are in place before adopt- Tony Reveaux is a San Francisco-
California-based Telepresence Re- ing a product. Japan is tolerant of multi- based consultant who serves as the
search, and is representing them to ple standards. Gadget-crazy consumers editor of Computer Publicity News and
Japanese companies. Telepresence spe- don't care if a $700 device becomes com- as contributing editor for Artweek.
Review
It takes considerable practice to be able to score sufficient points mix it up with both head and body combinations. Mike Tyson
to win with a "stick and move" approach. was particularly effective in his early career by doubling up a
right hand to the body and then to the head. It is very nice to see
The Main Event (Game Play) that work in the 4D Boxing program.
The fighter starts off as the number 51 ranked fighter and Indeed, the more one plays this game, the more one sees that
moves (one hopes) up the rankings by beating a fighter of a for all its "game" trimmings, this is, in fact, a very accurate
higher ranking. This seems quite a quaint concept, causing one boxing simulation.
to wonder why the major boxing organizations do not simply
take a page out of 4D Boxing's book! (grin!) Television Coverage (Camera Angles)
I he top 50 fighters are a punster's delight. Lance Boil, Sadie This is an option which this writer used very infrequently. The
Mazo-Chisholm and others add a silly side to this product, but program provides nine different camera angles from which to
one should not make the mistake of thinking that this is a silly view the fight. This can be an effective learning tool. It is par-
product. Players will need a lot of skill and, ultimately, an under- ticularly useful for replaying a round of action and picking up
standing of the strategies of boxing in order to be successful. tips and pointers.
This is not a Low Blow-type of game.
Another one of the nice touches that this product delivers is the
Trainer Talk (Strategy) ability to see the fight, while one is fighting, from any of these
camera angles and through either fighter's eyes. As the manual
As one's boxer climbs the rankings, it is profitable to look for notes, "This is a good way to look at your opponent close up....
the fighter with the lowest stamina rating. Naturally, these are the You can really tell when he's about to go down. It's also a rather
easiest to knock out. interesting view if you get knocked down." They are not kidding
Never forget that the body is an easier target than the head and there is a very weird sensation when one's boxer drops to the
canvas.
that boxers can still score effectively while in close. Indeed,
though this reviewer is not entirely certain, but it seemed that a
counter punch thrown correctly scored more effectively than a
Press Coverage (Newspaper Headlines)
regular punch. After the decision of the fight is announced, the last couple of
Combinations are important. The jab is only an effective seconds of the fight are displayed against a newspaper format
weapon if it is used with a second or third punch. Remember to background with suitable headline ("TKO Stuns Crowd").
Whoever thought of this delightful piece of
chrome is a "genius." Although it is just a
five-second piece, it adds a considerable
amount to the atmosphere of the game.
X nd Round One
begins.... Black
Data East's ABC's Wide World of Sports Boxing jab which scores. Adder
fires another jab, and a
third, all scoring effective-
by Wallace Poulter ly. Bilotta ducks inside a
fourth jab only to be met
by a straight right. Sensing that Adder is al-
TITLE: ABC's Wide World of Sports Boxing
SYSTEM: IBM ready on his game, Bruiser fires his own jab,
PROTECTION: Document Look-up but Adder comes downstairs with a punish-
PRICE: $49.95 ing right cross to the body. Bilotta winces
DESIGNERS: Michael Knauer, Jerry Albright and from the blow and Adder has found the weak-
John Cutter
PUBLISHER: Data East ness he was looking for. Blow after blow
San lose, CA rains into the mid-section of Bilotta and
down he goes. The referee counts to five and
Bruiser rises defiantly, but it seems only a
matter of time. Again, Adder starts off with shots to the head and
then pulverizes the body, looking for weakness. Down goes Bilot-
ta a second time. There's the five count, but again he rises. This
time, however, there is no escape. Black Adder rushes in, eschew-
ing defense, as he looks to finish off his man. Punch after punch,
pounding with the incessant meter of Bilotta's own pulse, comes
in. Adder meticulously searches for the finishing blow. Finally, a
solid right cross does the trick and Bilotta goes down for the
final time. Adder wins on a TKO due to the three-knockdown rule.
as convicted felon Don King control the major fighters and the out- Piling Up the Points
side actions of Tyson and others have left a bad taste in the mouths
of many. Practice, practice, practice. It is the only way to get any experience.
Use the exhibition option to learn the ropes. Use the jab to set up
ABC's Wide World of Sports Boxing embraces this sleaze. The
combinations. Learn how to exploit a weakness and, most important-
fight managers are characters like Don McQueen, "Very flamboyant
ly, learn defense. It is impossible to load up on every attribute and
and powerful. He is untrustworthy and will do anything for a buck,"
the computer-controlled player will search (but not cheat) for the
and Fifi Lamore, who refers to her fighter as a "big stud." On a per-
weakness.
sonal level, this critic finds that these characters detract from the
overall product. However, they do not detract from the game play.
Going for the Knockout
Middle Rounds: Picking Up the Pace The "Wide World of Boxing" magazine (documentation) provides a
number of features including rankings, schedule, results and clas-
The game offers enough options when creating a fighter that it is
sifieds. These are, of course, provided to give the career option more
possible to create widely different fighters in skill and style. Each
definition and substance. In this they succeed. Fighters move up and
fighter has a base of points allocated for such attributes as Power,
down the rankings constantly. Smart players will keep notes of how
Defense, Stamina, Cuts, Chin, etc. Experimenting with these settings
to beat a fighter, such as the body attack against Bruiser Bilotta, so
shows one of the strengths of the product. Every type of fighter from
that as one's opponents move up in the rankings, it will occasionally
a stick and move dancer to the slowest slugger can be created.
be possible to fight a rematch to improve one's own position.
One note of strategy for all their differences, Muhammad Ali and
Mike Tyson have/had one thing in common: incredible hand speed. A Strong Final Round
Unless one is a superb counter-puncher, the setting up of an ac-
Data East must feel somewhat like Carl Lewis at the World Track
curate jab is vital to the success of any fighter. Hand Speed and
Reach are important. and Field Championships in Tokyo. Lewis broke the world record in
the long jump, but still finished a very close second. If this product
Counterpunches Score had been released a week earlier it would have been the champion
boxing game on the market with no close contenders. Now, one
There are a number of small problems in the program. For ex- would be remiss in ignoring the fact that the boxer's movements are
ample, during a fight, a fighter will be cut on the right side of the inferior to the action in 4D Boxing (reviewed elsewhere in this issue),
face. Nevertheless, when the decision is announced, the cuts are like- but the career options and resulting emotional involvement in the
ly to be shown on the left. Further, a fighter can receive a rank of boxers created for ABC's Wide World of Sports Boxing make the
65,526, obviously somewhat lower than one would expect even the latter somewhat superior. Regardless, boxing aficionados may spend
amalgam of fast proliferating sanctioning bodies today could as much time arguing about which computer game is best as they
manage to create. Of course, with the confusion in boxing today, do about who will win the next heavyweight championship.
that might entitle the fighter to a title shot!
t
Sneak Preview
assimilated on the three different islands que geography which is accessed via the
Threepwood will explore during the game. "sky-cam" view used in the original
Secret of Monkey Island.
Makin' Whoopee
amers who believe that pirates are By the time Guybrush travels to even a
quel is the addition of an icon-based in- the employees at Lucasfilm are still "cut scenes" that make the pacing in the
ventory to allow simplified handling of present. When one enters the costume sequel even more entertaining.
items, tools and artifacts. Ron Gilbert, shop on Booty Island, for instance, one
original designer of the SCUMM system Of course, The Secret of Monkey Is-
not only finds the costumes for "Sam
(Script Creation Utility for Maniac Man- land II: LeChuck's Revenge offers some
and Max," but can get a commercial for
sion) that drives the Lucasfilm graphic of the "cute" puzzles which are typical to
the rare Steve Purcell comic book, as
adventure interface, and the program- the genre. Some of the puzzle solutions
well. The islands in the game are still
ming team that keeps the system improv- are kind of grotesque, however. For in-
"trademarked" in a spoof of Lucas Arts
ing (Aric Wilmunder, Brad Taylor and stance, Guybrush tries new uses for a cof-
early tendency to trademark even such
Vince Lee) have provided a much more fin and sees if they will float; discovers
familiar historical figures as "Nazis" in
stimulating and smoothly functioning en- that alligators (?) are man's best friend;
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" and artifacts
vironment for gamers to explore than develops a rat-infested recipe for vichys-
such as "Ark of the Covenant." There is
those of its predecessors. soise and, appropriately enough for a
also a nifty chuckle when former Gover-
graphic adventure based on the SCUMM
nor Marley's guard scares Guybrush
Familiar Faces and Phrases system and using a piece of code known
when dressed in a LeChuck costume.
as "sputum," wins a "spit decision" on
Fans of the original game will be happy The dialogue choices are just as one of the islands. Indeed, there are
to know that some of their favorite char- hilarious as they were in the earlier game numerous bilious jokes about spit in the
acters from the earlier game are back in and it seems like more conversations are game.
the latest adventure: the men of low available. Conversations such as the one
moral fiber are to be found on Scabb Is- with the men of low moral fiber even Phatt in the Booty
land (their circus debut did not go so offer running gags ("But what does this
well); the Voodoo Lady has her business The real treasure in The Secret of
have to do with performance?") and
on the first island (Voodoo? Who do?); Monkey Island II: LeChuck's Revenge
Guybrush keeps finding out that no one
Stan (who has opened a new and com- is not to be found on Scabb, Phatt or
believes that he killed LeChuck.
Booty Island. It is to be found in beautiful-
pletely different, previously owned busi-
Another feature of the original game ly "painted" backgrounds, charming
ness) and, of course, former Governor
that is still present is the genre spoof. animated characters, witty dialogue and
Marley is to be found in a mansion on
When Guybrush takes a shovel to the a continuously evolving interface that
Booty Island (adding to the non-romantic
graveyard, for example, the program gets more transparent with every new
aspects of the game, Guybrush will have
drops immediately into a self-running skit release. When Gilbert and company
to grovel, grovel, grovel in order to get
where the weather changes and lightning design a humorous and challenging ad-
something very important from his "Ex").
begins to flash. This is also one of the venture game, they mean more than
Also, the in-jokes on Lucas Arts and times when Gilbert has elected to use the "monkey" business.
Review
Martian Memorandum
by Michael Chaut
s I stumbled
A toward the
window,
trying to regain
my bearings in the
Rembrandtesque
shadows of my of-
fice, I realized that
I must have slept
the entire day
away in my office
chair. Almost get-
ting iced will take
its toll on a person
and last night was
nearly the end of
the line for yours
truly.
The view from
my window didn't help, either. The TITLE: Martian Memorandum
San Francisco skyline was SYSTEM: IBM (VGA, MCGA, 640K
emblazoned with a psychedelic red and Hard Disk Required)
that seemed like a Haight-Ashbury PRICE: $59.95
PROTECTION: None
leftover not the normal washed, DESIGNERS: Brent Erickson
ruddy hue but a thick malicious deep and Chris Jones
red, almost the color of blood. Maybe PUBLISHER: Access Software
I'm just being superstitious, but who Salt Lake City, UT
knows... maybe it's a foreshadowing
of what's about to come?
then clicks on the object that he or she needs help with. Players will
note that hints are given at different levels from vague to specific.
If You're Goin' from San Francisco The first hint is general, subsequent hints are more detailed. If a
player wants more information, he or she re-selects the object.
Martian Memorandum, Access Software's latest release, takes
the player from San Francisco (in the year 2039) to the farthest Access continues to make innovations, the most notable of which
reaches of humanity's expansion, Mars. As private investigator Tex (in this outing) is Brent Erickson's technique of retrieving mass
Murphy (who originally appeared in the 1989 release Mean Streets), amounts of compressed data rapidly. He actually has developed a
the player must question suspect after suspect and witness after wit- technique of storing more than 24 megs of data in a 7.2-meg space
ness in order to unravel the web of intrigue, deception and murder while producing restorations of saved games and screen changes
which the designers have crafted. Murphy will have to deal with a (complete with digitized sounds and graphics) instantly. The game al-
"booby-trapped" safe, thwart a man-eating snake and conquer quick- lows the player to visit at least 50 locations and interact with more
sand pits. than a dozen non-player characters. Actors were cast, videotaped,
audio-taped and digitized to create all the characters. The sets and
Over the course of his investigation, it should become obvious to artwork are phenomenal. It is obvious that many man-hours went
Tex that he will not only have to rescue the kidnapped daughter of into the design of this product.
his client (Alexander Marshall, the President of Terraform Corp.), but
he will also have to recover an ancient Martian artifact that is some- The Plot Beckons
how linked to the missing girl.
Warning: This portion of the article contains specific hints on
Adventure Noir game play. Readers who prefer to solve puzzles on their own should
avoid this section.
As one begins Martian Memorandum, the player will find his or
her character in a dingy, 1940s-style office complete with venetian The command bar across the bottom of the screen allows the
blinds and an overhead fan. Even though the game takes place in player to initiate ten different actions by using mouse clicks or func-
the year 2039, the mood, characterizations and ambience (as tion keys. As the game begins, all objects found in the office should
created by the original music score) are set in the typical style of the be inspected (using the LOOK command). The player might even
classic '40s-era Hollywood detective movie. want to try to use the comlink (found in the chair). It will soon be-
come apparent that Tex should visit his new client, Alexander Mar-
Martian Memorandum is a fairly straightforward adventure game. shall. During that visit, the circumstances surrounding the case will
It has a beginning, middle and an end, as well as various ways to ar- be laid out; the player's character will be given a list of suspects to in-
rive at each juncture. The plot holds together and the story even has vestigate and the adventure will begin.
a message. One can tell that the designers spent a lot of time
developing the storyline before any programming actually took place. Players should be certain to move Tex to the far left and right of
each screen. This is required, since several screens scroll right or left
Unlike other games in the adventure genre, the player does not and failing to do so will keep the player from seeing the entire play-
have to be a "nursery rhyme maven" to complete this game. In fact, ing field and hence, severely limiting the player's ability to complete
the game comes complete with an on-line context-sensitive help sys- the game.
tem. The company claims that there should be no need for a hint
book or any desperate phone calls to tech support. To obtain a hint, Film for the camera may be obtained from Jocques Sparrow, the
the player simply selects the HELP icon from the command bar and photographer. (Note: When looking through the camera, one can
Review
find references to various Alfred Hitchcock films: North By This tool will help the player to follow a logical course throughout the
Northwest, Rear Window and Psycho.) game. Another sound piece of advice is to take notice of the expres-
Players should make sure that they give the rose from the gift shop sions that witnesses and suspects give as they are questioned. These
to Rhonda Foxworth some time during the date at the restaurant. expressions provide clues as to a character's veracity.
(She will be much nicer after dinner is finished.) Closing the Case
The dagger found at the murder scene should be given to Mac Mal-
den. (This will be needed to lead Tex to the murderer). The on-line help system was really appreciated. Not having to pur-
chase a hint book or frantically call tech support (at the player's ex-
After Mr. Alexander's body is found, Tex should go back to his of- pense) to finish the game is a welcome marvel. Perhaps the on-
fice and search his safe. (What he finds will be very important.) screen hints could be rated (i.e. first level, second level and third
When in the jungle, the game should be saved often, as the level), thus more clearly providing the player with an option of how
hazards are very deadly. Specifically, the quicksand sequence is very far to pursue the hint.
unforgiving. One should make sure that he or she is on a stone The game allows the player to select sound and music devices
before stepping. separately. Using the Roland MT-32 for music and RealSound for the
Players should make sure that they complete all the puzzles on speech/sound effects was found to be the most consistent. Overall, it
Earth before traveling to Mars. The addresses for many of the Mar- provided a spectacular outcome. Unfortunately, this combination did
tian characters will be found on Earth. Players should think carefully produce, on occasion, music that was so loud and overpowering that
about all the items they acquire and look for references to additional the speech/RealSound was indecipherable. When using the AdLib as
locations they may need to search. the speech/sound device, this reviewer found unreliable results.
Some characters sounded spectacular, while others were muffled and
The invisible beams in Dick Castro's safe are not impossible to get barely audible.
through, but infrared glasses can be obtained from Bradley Ericson
that will make the task much easier. The yellow background text, used from time to time to establish
the storyline, was very difficult to read. The player is encouraged,
The key to the game is to get a suspect or witness to answer your however, to read the text throughout the game, as the humor will pro-
questions honestly, truthfully and completely. This is accomplished vide many a chuckle. [Note: Access is encouraged to hire a
by either talking with them in a manner that befits the situation, proofreader for reasons that will become increasingly obvious to the
giving them something that they want or passing along something players as they move through the game.]
that they perceive as having value. It is also advisable to return and
Martian Memorandum produces hours of enjoyment, provides a
speak to the characters more than once. As Tex attains certain items
and clues, the answers which may be given by the NPCs will often tremendous challenge and even offers an important message:
change. This reviewer found it helpful to set up an information sheet "Revere life, protect the living things and recycle." The game offers
with characters' names, what they do, who they are, what object they quite a different perspective on Mars than the red planet depicted in
give, what leads they provide and what information they divulge. the fiction of Edgar Rice Burroughs or Ray Bradbury, but it is definite-
ly a planet worth visiting.
Review
Guide to Might & Magic III ging up anything on the Forsaken Sands
will cause a Vulture Roc to appear (one
(brooches, scarabs, cameos, medals, etc). You of these will age your party in ways that the Terminators are virtually impossible to kill
can wear up to four different types of pins, for Fountain of Youth can't undo. Also, in some with weapons. They are susceptible to spells,
instance. So, it's usually better to get your unknown fashion, one time more than 30 though, so use such spells as Implosion, Mass
elemental protections and boosts from such years passed in the game, aging my team Distortion, Cold Ray, Incinerate, etc. when you
items, while going for the high protective from 22 to 59. This wasn't mere aging; the ac- come across them, and try to finish them off
values in armor, capes, gauntlets, etc. tual date in the game was 37 years after we fast, as they can eradicate a character. Vary-
had entered the pyramid. ing the spells you use is better than casting
Outdoor Survival the same ones multiple times.
So, save before you go into one, and check
There are two types of dungeons: those you the ages of your party, as well as the date, Protection From Elements is the third impor-
can walk into and those that require a key for before you save the game anytime thereafter. tant spell. At higher levels, it is much better
entry. Typically, the keys for the locked places Generally, you can figure that if you touch than the resistance you get from the statue in
will be found in one of the open dungeons. something and nothing appears to happen, Blistering Heights. For instance, with a Protec-
The Cyclops cave, for example, has the keys something actually has happened, and it isn't tion From Fire (as cast by a Paladin) active,
for both the Halls of Insanity (in Evil Eye good. The crystals that give answers, and the we walked all over the Isle of Fire without
Forest) and The Dark Knight Keep (red shield altars that boost stats, are always safe. Any- being singed. This included absolute protec-
on the front). thing else is likely to be bad news. tion from fire breathers such as Fire Lizards
When you don't have the right key, the The pyramid on the Isle of Fire leads to the and Fire Stalkers. It also works well for walk-
game tells you this, and gives you a hint by end game. You must have the Blue Security ing through the fire spots in Castle Greywind.
displaying the word "key" in the same color as Card to pass through the final door. This is ob- At the time we did this, the protection value
the one you need. This is true for all locked tained by giving the eleventh power orb to the was 83 (if you check the day/time icon, you
dungeons, except the Maze From Hell (in the king of your choice. will see your active spells and how much
southern part of Swamp Island); you need the protection they are giving you). Protection
gold key to get in, but the word "key" is dis- Staying Alive From Cold will similarly protect you from the
played in black, not gold. breath weapons of the green dragons, except
Most of the time, it's best to kill something
In the locked dungeons, be prepared for op- before it gets close enough to beat on the from the Dragon King, who uses some kind of
posites. Cleaning out the front part is often not energy breath, from which there is no real
party. Equip everybody who can use one with
too hard; but the "rear," where the big-time protection.
a bow. You can start shooting as soon as a
monsters lurk, can be extremely difficult. For critter is in view, however far away it may ac- For getting past those nasty pendulums in
instance, the Mad Dwarves in Dark Knight tually be. Use the keyboard for this; by hitting front of doors, or choppers set up in incon-
Keep are fairly easy to kill, but the Jousters the S key quickly, you can get off two volleys venient places, or for getting through doors
are another matter entirely. per round instead of one. This doesn't work you can't open or break down, the Etherealize
with clicking on the bow icon, so be sure to spell is what you need. Even when Teleport
Visiting the Great Houses use the keyboard. won't work, Etherealize will, and it takes you
The castles are important mainly for the ex- right past traps and doors with no damage at
However, there are a number of monsters
perience you receive for handing over orbs all. Very handy, especially in the Whiteshield
out there who have distance weapons of their
and artifacts, but also for picking up some dungeon, where all the doors have pendulums
own: orcs and goblins, for example. Being low-
goodies, gems and cash by raiding the chests. in front and Teleport always fails (on the way
level critters, they are usually not great shots,
Stealing from the chests does not appear to out, conserve spell points by unlocking/break-
so it's safe to trade arrows with them. Evil
have any effect on alignment for anyone in ing the door from inside and then Jump past
rangers and archers, however, tend to have
the pendulum).
the party, so go ahead and do some looting. better accuracy. Get immediately into melee
You will, of course, have to fight through the range, instead of shooting it out with them, by Finally, remember that most spells will wear
castle guards when you open the chests, but using either the Jump or Teleport spells. If off at dawn, regardless of when they were
they should not be too tough. your speed is greater than theirs, you will be cast. Putting up a Power Shield or Heroism
able to jump/'port right in front of them and spell at 4:00 in the morning is a waste of
The chests near the thrones are special, re-
get your blows/spells in first. This is also a points, as dawn comes at 5:00 AM. Keep an
quiring a countersign before you even have
handy way of dealing with spellcasting eye on the time, and time your spells to get
the opportunity to pick the locks. Each
countersign is different, and can be found by monsters (such as wizards and witches), and the most out of them, sleeping if necessary.
those like dragons, who have a breath weapon.
going through the dungeons under the castles.
Note that using the countersign just gives you Still, there are exceptionally nasty critters
Terra, Terra, Terra
a chance to open the chest; the alarms al- that you will have a hard time with, even after If you pay all the heads in the swamps (ex-
ways go off when you give the countersign you've been to magic wells or fountains and cept Betrayer!) the money they ask, you can
(except in Dragontooth, where the alarm goes had your stats pumped up. Even with 60th drop a coin in the Well of Remembrance on
off after you pick the lock, or try to). When level characters and very high stats (thanks to Forsaken Sands and be rewarded with a ran-
you open these chests, you are attacked by the Dragontooth statues), it was virtually im- dom selection of Neat Items. You may want to
special guards, who are tougher in some ways possible for my team to take on the Dragon save the game before dropping the coin, just
than the regular castle guards, so be prepared. King or the minotaurs in the Maze From Hell. in case the selection doesn't please you (heh).
Be sure to clean out all the castles before What you need in these circumstances is the Once you do this, the well disappears and
handing over the vital eleventh orb (you can Heroism spell. This is one of the most impor- does not come back. Even paying Betrayer to
give orbs to all the kings for experience, but tant ones in the game. How it actually works make the other statues forget you won't make
only one can get all eleven). Whichever king is a mystery, but it will allow you (especially the well re-appear. Once is all you have, so
receives the last orb good, neutral or evil make the best of it.
when cast by a high-level Paladin or Cleric) to
will immediately trash the castles of the other fight otherwise impossible monsters. Each shell given to the nymph Athea will pro-
two kings. vide you with 250K experience and 250K
Don't rely on the spells from temples after
All castles have statues or fountains you you've made the necessary donations. It is far gold. Males in the party always go bonkers
must visit for the clues to the special words better to use your own Heroism on your char- after a visit to Athea, so it will be necessary to
that permit dungeon access. None of these acters. Do this before going into any tough bat- take them to a temple afterwards. There is
dungeons are places for low-level parties, so tle, such as with minotaurs or dragons. one exception to this, but I'll let you figure out
don't worry too much about picking up the what it is (heh).
Another important spell is Power Shield. At
clues and solving the riddles at the start. You can obtain gold, items or stat boosts by
high levels, this will protect absolutely from
Mystic Clouds, liches and the gaze of the sitting in one of the thrones in Castle Black-
See the Pyramids of Power wind or Castle Greywind on the right days.
Medusae that lurk in the Maze From Hell. It
The Pyramids can be entered once you have will also protect the party from electrical and You only have the chance to sit on one throne
the Gold Pyramid Card from Mount Keystone. energy fields in the pyramids and other (per castle), and only one character can do
A Might of 50 or better is required to break places; you can walk right through them this. Save before trying the thrones, and then
the glass and obtain the card. This will get you without ill effect. Ditto for the weapons wielded decide which one you like best. The day for
into any of the five structures. by Iron Wizards and Ed-409s. However, it does each castle can be obtained by answering the
not do too great a job against the Terminators riddles from the graves on Gargoyle Island.
One thing to be extremely careful about in
in the final pyramid.
any pyramid is what crystals you touch. Some
Sneak Preview
n CGW's August editorial (#85), com- sion kit for Jet Propulsion Laboratory
oriented toward choices with regard to which, in turn, is likely to provide im-
rocket research and development. This re- petus to take more chances (i.e. speed
search continues throughout the game, up the planned schedule) or to become
but new development programs can be more cautious (i.e. enhance the sur-
added as one progresses in the game. vivability of one's astronauts/cos-
Upon nearing the capability for orbital monauts). The computer opponent will
missions, for example, one will need to have to go through the same decision
place considerable emphasis upon re- process as the human player, so the con-
search and development for the capsule cept of a space race is continually em-
itself. The more complex the mission be- phasized during game play.
comes, the more research and develop-
ment decisions the player will have to Opening the Toolkit
make.
Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space may be
The product is expected to include 58 first of many products which can be built
different types of missions. Players will off existing film footage. One can easily
not be required to undertake every mis- formation on which to base his/her next imagine a game of presidential politics
sion type in every game, however. The mission (obviously increasing the chance where the player, as candidate/campaign
missions will be selected on the basis of of success in subsequent missions). manager, edits actual commercials to
the overall track selected and the pres- reflect a message/theme/posture and the
tige points to be gained from each suc- Once the player reaches the manned demographic data within the game adjust
cessful operation. What is not included in mission stage, it is not simply necessary accordingly. One could even do Oliver
the initial 58 missions, but may be in- to declare the object of the mission, but Stone one better by developing an adven-
cluded in the final design, is a "rescue one must assign the crew on the basis of ture/strategy game around the John F.
mission" which would be triggered by desired skills. Astronaut skills will include Kennedy assassination. One player might
another mission going awry. Whatever such abilities as: command pilot, LEM be trying to stop the assassination while
the final mission selection is determined pilot, docking/navigation skill, endurance the other might be trying to perpetrate it.
to be, each successful manned mission and EVA expertise. Regardless of future directions, the publi-
or unmanned probe will provide the As play progresses, the player will get cation of this product foreshadows a new
player with more detail and available in- intelligence on the rival space program genre of multimedia games.
Opinion
by Loyd Case, Jr. If a Tree Falls in the enterprising souls made money by com-
I
Forest... piling books of hints on multiple games.
Soon the game manufacturers themsel-
Of course, there really aren't people in ves got into the act, selling hint books, or
seedy coats selling programs on the supplying hints via a 900 area code
street to help people "improve" their telephone number which dings the phone
magine, if you will, that you're ap- game, but these "modification" programs bill every time they're called.
proached by a seedy-looking fellow actually exist. The two examples in the
in a soiled trenchcoat emerging above little parable, for instance, are Some adventure games have very dif-
from a dark alley. genuine. This commentator knows, for ficult puzzles, indeed, often created by
he has used them. WCVIEW allows a the warped minds of genius program
"Psst hey, buddy! Yeah, you. Don't
player to edit the ships in Wing Com- designers. Thus, using a hint book has
give me that innocent 'who, me?' look."
mander, making them as strong or as become like having a crossword puzzle
"The dark circles around your eyes weak as desired. BOBED allows for the dictionary to help with solving the New
are giving you away, buddy," the man creation of pilots with huge amounts of York Times crossword puzzle. There is
continues. "You've been losing sleep experience for the game Their Finest no loss of honor in using a crossword
trying to finish Wing Commander Secret Hour. puzzle dictionary or a computer game
Missions 2, haven't you? Well, l've got hint book (unless one is really a purist).
the answer for you, on this floppy But is it really cheating? To be more So, maybe using program modification
disk. How would you like a Rapier precise, is it really cheating in a moral "hacks" like WCVIEW and BOBED is not
with 255 shields, 255 armor and six sense? really cheating.
neutron cannons? Don't answer yet, be- Most people play computer games, at
cause you can also reduce those pesky least in part, to escape reality. Further- The End of Civilization (As
Kilrathi cruisers to 1 armor and shield more, these same computer gamers We Know It)
each. Interested?" probably wish to avoid making these Hint books were not the end of the line,
After your rebuke and explanation, same very pesky moral decisions. It however. Soon, erstwhile entrepreneurs
the man continues.... must be acknowledged, however, that and game enthusiast "hackers" were
most games have built-in assumptions developing little programs that would
"Oh, so it's not Wing Commander? about what's right and what's wrong
You're trying to get through the cam- allow people to doctor role-playing adven-
anyway, so the question of "cheats" in ture games. If one keeps getting killed
paign game of Their Finest Hour. No computer gaming is not presented to
problem. Here's another floppy, just for on the ninth level, well, give the hero or
muddy up the waters with debate, but to heroine the patented Rod of Scorpion
you. Those wingmen of yours are real acknowledge a situation and discuss its
idiots, aren't they? If only they could Sting or the devastating Blade de
implications for the computer gaming Cuisinart, boost the character's constitu-
get more experience... but, darn it, hobby.
they just keep getting killed off, don't tion to the max and increase his/her hit
they?. Ahh, but this disk, my friend, is To begin with, hint books have been points from 45 to 150. There, that should
your salvation. It's got 'BOBED.' You available for a long time in order to help do it....
can create instant aces with high adventure gamers solve a given game's BOBED and WCVIEW are simply public-
scores to fly on your side. They're still more difficult puzzles. Hint books started domain descendants of those original
not very good, but at least they can as little flyers handed out at computer game editors such as Wizard's
keep those pesky enemy lighters off shows or messages available on Workbench for the Wizardry game sys-
your six for a while...." electronic bulletin boards. Later, some tem. However, it doesn't even stop there.
Opinion
Lately, Galoob Toys has successfully Catharsis. There's something strangely cheating one's self. Using a hint to get
won their fight to market an accessory cathartic about jacking up one's fighter past a section of a game which countless
for Nintendo called the Game Genie. in Wing Commander, creating very hours have been spent on is probably
Surprise, surprise... it allows players to weak opponents and blasting away okay. Most people use hint books (and
edit their Nintendo games, so they can through the most linear, eighteen-mission these other accessory programs) in just
get higher and higher scores. path without a scratch. On the other that way as enhancements to the enter-
hand, it gets boring in a hurry, too. tainment experience. People play games
Why Cheat? for entertainment, perhaps for a little
Having talked to a number of gamers,
But Is It Really Cheating? education not to be endlessly
there seem to be only a few factors frustrated.
Still, the question remains: is using
which drive people to use these these "hack" programs really cheating? In the end, individual gamers will have
programs: to strike a balance between the time
The answer is a definite "maybe."
Frustration. After a party has been spent with their entertainments and the
That sounds wishy-washy, but it really other aspects of their lives. Used proper-
killed 86 times trying to get past the
isn't. Sometimes a player almost has to ly, these kinds of programs and game
Temple of the Lost Cause, a player will
cheat because of poor game design. Per- aids do serve to enhance the overall
do almost anything to get past the
haps not in the overall game, but in one gaming experience. The rub is, where is
game's bottleneck. Many players will
area where the designer may have unin- the line drawn? Is a nine-year-old, given
only "edit" their characters to get past
tentionally made it overly difficult or a Game Genie as a birthday present, really
these unusually difficult roadblocks which
bug might have slipped in which unexpec- cognizant of the decisions and tradeoffs
they perceive as placed in their way by
tedly stops the whole show. An analogy discussed here? This commentator
(presumably demented) game designers.
can be drawn to clue books: if all one did doubts it.
Time. In the game Their Finest Hour, was read all the clues and rip through
for example, it takes many, many hours So the next time a gamer stumbles
the game in two hours, this commentator
of play to develop a set of good pilots, across a program like WCVIEW, here's
believes that player would feel oddly
necessary for success in the game. This hoping he/she thinks about it before
cheated.
is true even if the player has gotten very using it. Otherwise, a player is likely to
That's what it finally comes down to: be cheating himself (and that player will
proficient at the game through hours and
cheating in a computer game is really feel cheated... trust me).
hours of play.
Computer Flight
dicating for keeping the aircraft in a Being able to visually answer these
proper attitude (its position in the air) three questions can help the armchair
pilot make a quick decision as to how to
What is the current ground separa-
out-maneuver the enemy. This is also
tion?
very applicable to space flight combat
Again, this is one of the primary causes products such as Origin's Wing Com-
"Humm. The ground looks level but the of armchair pilots creating a crater in the
turn and bank instrument says that I'm mander and Wing Commander II.
ground. By forgetting to keep an eye on
in a turn. Must be a problem with the in-
the altimeter while chasing a MiG, one What is the environment?
strument." No doubt this has been the can quickly discover the unpleasant The environment is the virtual world in
thinking of many a pilot just before collid- "reality" that there was not quite enough which the armchair pilot is flying. It is not
ing with the ground. Just as art imitates altitude for that inside loop maneuver. the entire flying environment provided by
life, many armchair pilots find themsel-
the product but is, rather, the environ-
ves in the same type of situation, only Where are the obstacles? ment that can be affected by the
with a little more difficulty since the simu- As the simulations become more realis- armchair pilot within a certain unit of
lated pilot is not affected by the physical tic, there are more things to run into. time. For instance, in Flight Simulator 4
forces and stresses that are exerted upon Mountains, buildings and other obstacles this could be: Where will the plane be in
a real pilot. In both cases, however, it is have to be kept track of. In Flight ten minutes or what will be the plane's
important to have a good grasp of situa- Simulator 4 from Microsoft, it is quite relationship to the runway after dropping
tional awareness. possible to fly right into a high-rise anten- another thousand feet? For products
Total awareness of all the elements of na structure while looking out the other such as Falcon, this would require more
one's situation at any point in time is the side of the aircraft at the beautiful Golden precise evaluations, such as: Can the
crux of situational awareness. As it re- Gate Bridge. Even though it is important plane be turned to face the enemy by the
lates to flying, this means knowing where to rely on the instruments for the situa- time the enemy comes out of the S-turn?
one is headed, what position the aircraft tion of the aircraft, it is still important to To answer these type of questions the
is in, where the ground is, what the posi- do a regular scan out the windows for armchair pilot (just like real pilots) has to
tion of the ground is, where the obstacles any obstacles. have a knack for thinking in three dimen-
are and very importantly, where is the Where are the other (especially sions (3-D) and requires the capacity for
enemy and what is the enemy doing? enemy) aircraft? a full mental picture of the aircraft, the
enemy, the ground, obstacles and how
So, how does this relate to an armchair This question does require a little more
they all relate to each other.
pilot? Well, in almost every flight/combat mental effort for proper situational aware-
simulation product on the market today, ness. Products like Spectrum Holo- In summary, here are the basic points
the armchair pilot will be able to ac- Byte's Falcon include cockpit instrumen- to evaluate for situational awareness:
complish his or her goals with more en- tation that displays the position of enemy 1. Rely on the instruments for a proper at-
joyment and satisfaction if one is "situa- aircraft in relation to the player's aircraft. titude;
tionally aware." This requires keeping a Naturally, this helps in maintaining aware- 2. Keep an eye on the altitude;
mental fix on the situation that the plane ness. However, Red Baron, from 3. Scan for obstacles;
is in at all times. Fortunately, with the Dynamix, requires one to scan outside 4. Scan and keep a mental picture of
help of some key steps, this is not as of the cockpit in order to see where the where the other aircraft are; and
hard as it sounds. enemy aircraft are. Even in the high-tech 5. Think in 3-D!
combat simulators this is still very impor-
What do the instruments say? In the life of a real pilot, having situa-
tant to do. Remember the scenes in the
As in the example stated above, the movie Top Gun in which "Goose" kept tional awareness helps to promote a
armchair pilot may have to choose turning around in the cockpit to get a longer life. For us armchair pilots, it
whether to trust what can be seen out good look at the enemy? This was to promotes more enjoyment and a chance
the window or what the instruments say. answer several key questions: to "wax the tail" of the enemy a little
The rule is: Believe the instruments! more often.
Was the enemy climbing or diving?
Regardless of what the view out the win- What direction was the enemy going? Until the next flight plan gets cleared,
dow is, rely on what the turn and bank in- Was the enemy banked for a turn and if this is Timothy Trimble, "From the Cock-
strument or the artificial horizon are in- so, in which direction? pit."
Game Hints
Scorpion's Tale
Scorpia Goes Back To School In
Spellcasting 201:
The Sorcerer's Appliance
W ow, it's Christmas time already!
This year sure ran by fast, didn't
it? Fred's been waiting since last
Now, it's time for bigger and better
things like meeting with Professor Tick-
ingclock, the new head of the university.
So, about 9:00 PM, Ernie and the
pledges (sounds like a pre-Beatles-era
dance band, almost) are rounded up and
holiday to get his shrunken head garland All he wants is for Ernie to discover the taken down to the HDP basement. This
up; it's his favorite decoration. Just don't secrets of the "Sorcerer's Appliance," sit- time it's to see if the tasks have actually
look at it too closely (grin). Speaking of ting behind locked doors in the basement been accomplished or not. Naturally,
holidays, this is the time of year that of Ivorytower. Tickingclock sure has a lot Chris is less than thrilled to hear that
most schools close for a week or so, let- of faith in Ernie...but then again, Ticking- Ernie got the mustache on the statue.
ting the students out for home visits. And clock is just this side of senility anyway. This only drives him to come up with
speaking of students... something nastier for the next day.
So, all Ernie has to do is survive hell...
He's baaa-aack! That's right, friends, err, pledge week, learn all about the Ap- Nastier, in this case, means stealing the
your favorite nerd-o wannabe sorcerer, pliance and attend a few classes in be- mascot of HDP's rival frat, Tappa Kegga
Ernie Eaglebeak, is here again! Okay, so tween (and believe me, Ernie'd better go Bru. The TKB mascot happens to be an
maybe he isn't quite your favorite, but to those classes). This time around, they elevephant. Looks just like an elephant,
here he is, and you're just gonna have to aren't just for fun. Important information only eleven times bigger and much
live with it. is learned in them (most of them, any- meaner in disposition. Babar (the
way), so he can't afford to miss one. Be- elevephant) is also being guarded by
Last time, Ernie was a lowly frosh. This
sides, the truancy nymphs will get on his Lyle Onesaltyteardrop, as a precaution
time, he's a lowly sophomore, having
case if he doesn't (heh). against pledge week shenanigans.
somehow managed to survive long
enough to make it to the second year of Monday dawns bright and early, with Hint: there is no way Ernie is gonna
college. And having managed to survive Ernie and other pledges dragged into the get Babar out the front door of TKB.
(and even be something of a momentary basement of HDP. This happens every Don't even consider it. Then, there's the
hero), he's been pledged to that fine old morning and this is where Ernie (and the matter of Babar's pleasant outlook,
Sorcerer U. fraternity, Hu Delta Phart. others) finds out what silly thing has to which alone is enough to reduce Ernie to
be done that day. strawberry jam. And, of course, there's
Can things be looking up for our boy at
Lyle, who for all his sulks is keeping a
last? Not hardly. Chris Cowpatty, Monday's task is simple: just climb up
sharp eye out for people like Ernie.
Pledgemaster for HDP, hates Ernie's guts and stick a mustache on the statue of
with a passion that makes a sun's inte- Meltingwolf. Easy, right? Well, it would Actually, most of this isn't too bad. If
rior seem like the Arctic wastes. Right be, except that loveable old Chris oiled Ernie attended class and took good
there, you know Ernie's gonna have the statue last night. Kinda hard to climb, notes (this is a function of the game; you
some problems. in that condition. There's probably a spell can "read notes" anytime to refresh
around somewhere that could help with Ernie's failing memory), it ought to be ob-
The scene opens on Sunday evening,
this, if only Ernie could get his hot little vious how to get past Lyle and sweeten
with Ernie in the middle of one of those
hands on it. Might be a good idea to Babar's temper.
fun simulations: The Sorcerer's Appren-
check out the old Appliance. In fact, it's
tice. He doesn't really have to get Hey, that reminds me: has Ernie tried
a good idea to check out the Appliance
through it, by the way; none of the sims the Veal Surprise casserole from the
regularly. It's very important with regard
add anything to the point score. But, as cafeteria yet? No? Well, I can't blame
to getting through the game. Also, each
a matter of pride (and for looking good him for the hesitancy, but sometimes, un-
pledge task successfully completed gives
to the profs), he might want to try his pleasant actions are necessary to get on
Ernie another of the special attachments
hand at filling the tub and producing a with life and pledge week. Also remem-
for the Appliance (as mentioned by Tick-
stiff drink for the master sorcerer. All it ber that any time Ernie sees a spellbox,
ingclock during that initial conversation),
takes is a little spellcasting and a little he should open it, no matter what people
which he'll need for the next day.
slicing at the right moments. might think of him.
Game Hints
So, Ernie (guided by your blinding intel- By now Chris is ready to explode, and Friday's little job involves another off-
lect) manages to pull off another pledge comes up with the most difficult task yet: campus jaunt, this time to nearby Bal-
stunt, raising Cowpatty's blood pressure spiking the punch at nearby Barmaid U's moral City. All Ernie has to do is (ahem)
to dangerous levels. Determined to make homecoming party (yeah, Ernie gets to moon the queen at her afternoon parade
Ernie fail, he comes up with another go off campus!). This would be easy, ex- (I just report the facts...blame Meretzky
tough assignment: make all the TKB frat cept for the trigger-happy guards that BU for this stuff!).
brothers jump fully dressed into the pool always hires to make sure the punch
during their sacred champagne toast on First, Ernie has to get off campus, and
stays non-alcoholic.
Wednesday night. this time, Cowpatty doesn't provide a
For this one, Ernie's gonna need a pass. As long as Ernie isn't feeling like
Wednesday brings some surprises of its friend; he can't do it alone. So, once himself, that should be no problem. Now
own: during the night, poor old Prof. Tick- Ernie gets his friend (and gets his friend he needs a ticket to get into the royal
ingclock kicked the bucket. Tough luck clothed!), it's off to Barmaid U. A quick grounds to see the parade. (They don't
on the old boy, but good luck for Ernie: look around tells Ernie that an invitation hand these things out to just anyone,
all classes are cancelled for the rest of is necessary to attend the reunion. y'know.)
the week. (Hey, I bet you were worried Wonder where he can get one?
about that, weren't you?) Now Ernie has Maybe his old friend Lola Tigerbelly can
While he ponders that, he might want help, but she doesn't appear to be terrib-
plenty of time to get things done.
to visit the ladies' shower on the second ly thrilled to see Ernie again. Say, did
So what about that pool party? Well, floor. Pretty steamy, huh? (grin) A little Ernie ever do the Enchanted Forest sim?
first Ernie has to get in. No sweat there; too steamy seems the shower doesn't Huh? Huh? I sure hope so, 'cause it has
it's the same technique he used on Lyle. work right. What a shame. Too bad there a big clue for this part of the game.
Then it's just a matter of waiting for the isn't a plumber in the house.
toast (once inside, Ernie is safe from So now Ernie has a ticket and a muddy
Anyway, the rest of this little escapade coin. Into the palace grounds he goes,
being bothered) and doing his stuff.
ought to be pretty obvious, and before and hangs out until Queen Libido (yeah,
What? Can't hear ya, speak louder,
long Ernie will be back at Sorcerer U to that's her name) passes by and...umm,
there's too much music in the back-
bask in the glow of Chris Cowpatty's in- the guards didn't appreciate seeing a
ground. And speak faster, too. Oh, you
candescent visage. Enjoy the moment, place where the sun don't shine (and I
want to know "what stuff" Ernie has to
Ernie, the tough one is coming up. don't mean the brain).
do? Shucks, I just told you that.
Game Hints
In no time at all, Ernie's in a cell and vainglorious spiel all villains feel com- imagination; you should have enough
the royal carpenters are working double- pelled to make at these moments, clues by now to figure it all out.
quick to erect a gallows. This does not reveals all. (No, he doesn't take his
So Ernie makes it into HDP, and will
look good for our hero. He should at clothes off; he reveals his dastardly
probably survive his sophomore year as
least clean up before his final ap- schemes!) Then the CP and Cowpatty
well. That means only two more years to
pearance. Oh ick, the water in the sink is leave, with Ernie locked in the room.
go. (Unless he decides to do graduate
cold, and the hot water isn't working.
A silly mistake on the bad guys' part, work....)
Gee, nothing goes right for Ernie, does it?
of course. Ernie can get out any time he
Whew! All this mucking about (hehe)
Then again....with maybe a little wants to. The question is, where does he
sure made the hours go fast. I see by the
thought (but think fast, time is short!), want to go, and what's he supposed to
old invisible clock on the wall, it's that
and a little hands-on experience, and a do when he gets there?
time again. Remember if you need help
certain spell, Ernie can get himself taken
Well, did Ernie notice what it said on with an adventure game, you can reach
to far more pleasant quarters and a far
the Appliance when he attached the me in the following ways:
more pleasant situation. (Just remember
wand? "Necromancy." We all know that
to grab the wand first, Ernie!) On Delphi: visit the GameSIG (under
has something to do with (ominous
the Groups and Clubs menu).
Now it's all done Ernie has the last at- organ music) the dead! Bet that gives
tachment for the Appliance, and he's Ernie some ideas, and probably bizarre On GEnie: Stop by the Games Round-
completed all the pledge assignments. ones at that. Table (type: Scorpia to reach the Games
What could be left to do? Why, the end RT).
Bizarre, however, isn't the word for what
game of course.
has to be done. Timing is critical here; By U.S. Mail (enclose a self-addressed,
Be prepared: the minute Ernie puts the Ernie needs enough moves to get where stamped envelope if you live in the
wand on the Appliance and opens it, he'll he's going, and the only way to do that United States): Scorpia, P.O. Box 338,
be captured (so to speak) by Chris Cow- is to, well, let's say, bowel over the cam- Gracie Station, New York, NY 10028.
patty and a Certain Person (whose name pus, in a manner of speaking.
Until next time, happy adventuring!
I won't reveal, but whose identity will not
What comes after that is hard to Copyright 1991 by Scorpia, all rights reserved.
surprise anyone who has played this far).
describe without giving too much away.
The Certain Person, in the usual Maybe it's best to just leave this to your
Technical Notes
ctober 8th, 1991 marked a sig- Following the speeches, attendees were MPC are: a 286 processor, 2MB of RAM,
nificant event in personal comput- able to see product demos on working a 40MB hard drive, VGA graphics, an
ing history. The Multimedia PC MPC hardware. According to the Multi- MPC audio card (2-channel digitized 16-
(MPC) launch was the most impressive media Marketing Council, 60 MPC bit audio recording and playback, and
product launch this writer has ever seen; products are either ready to ship or will synthesizer support), a CD-ROM drive
even the surroundings were impressive. It be shipped before the end of 1991. No that must meet minimum speed require-
was held in the largest natural history other computing platform has been ments and, finally, Microsoft Windows
museum in the world, the American launched with such a broad base of sup- with Multimedia extensions. At least
Museum of Natural History in New York port from software vendors. three manufacturers are presently selling
City. Shown among multi-million dollar an upgrade kit that includes an MPC
displays of precious gems was the future The new products are divided into three
categories: working, learning and play- sound board, CD ROM and Windows
of personal computing. with the Multimedia extensions. Of
ing. Perhaps most impressive were the
Keynote addresses started off the after- course, most hardware manufacturers
wide assortment of development tools
noon. James Burke, the renowned available to ordinary computer users. will not be supporting a 286 processor-
science historian, PBS writer and host They will be able to create software that based version of the MPC, as they
(remember his Connections series?), believe that any MPC machine should
can include full-fidelity audio, 256-color
kicked off the event with his prediction graphics and animated or digitized have, at least, a 386SX. Some hardware
that the information age companies will produce 286-
being created by the easy based MPC machines, how-
access to information will ever.
send shock waves What is extremely impres-
throughout civilization. Infor-
mation that is easy to
process, view and manipu-
The Circuit Writer sive is that it does not matter
which hardware manufacturer
provides the basic machine. If
late will allow people to it says MPC, it is compatible
learn at their own pace. with any MPC software. The
Data will be assimilated in Multimedia Windows exten-
the way that is easiest for sions add several important
the computer user to features to windows. The first,
process. Threads will be in of course, is the capacity for
the data that will enable sound that has been so
users to make new connec- elusive for PC users. Further,
tions at their own pace and Windows has a reputation
to direct these new connec- for having slow graphics up-
tions toward their personal dates, but the multimedia ex-
interests. Burke related this tensions provide new and
predicted shock wave to faster graphics drivers. Also,
the Renaissance. The shock the MPC specifications stand-
wave that was created ardize full-motion video
during that period changed playback. Software manufac-
virtually all institutions. turers are able to license the
Education and politics were MPC trademark for their com-
never the same. According patible product.
to Burke, we are at a What about this MPC? So, when one purchases or
similar threshold.
By Steve Witzel upgrades to an MPC com-
Bill Gates (in a recent puter, there should be no fur-
USA Today article, Bill was ther worries about whether
reputed to be the second the software will run on the
wealthiest American), Chairman of "flicks." The best part is that they can do
all this without learning BASIC, C or PAS- machine or not. Software with the MPC
Microsoft, spoke about the power of the trademark will run on any MPC machine.
CAL!
MPC platform. To demonstrate how easy Gone are the worries of sound board sup-
it is to harness this power, Mr. Gates as- port, memory requirements, graphics
signed a group within Microsoft the duty
Who Is Behind This?
standards, etc. If it says, "MPC," it will
of creating an interactive tour of the The Multimedia Marketing Council is work. It's about time!
Museum where the launch meeting was a non-profit subsidiary of the Software
held. In a dazzling display of sound, Publishers Association. The council is After reading all of this, discerning
graphics, full-motion video and interac- comprised mostly of hardware manufac- readers will note that an MPC is just a
tivity, the task was accomplished. The standard PC with sound and CD ROM.
turers and has two main functions: to ad-
"tour" was truly impressive, especially minister the MPC trademark and to This is certainly correct. An MPC is just
since the "tour program" was created promote the MPC concept to the public. an incremental step in hardware. How-
without programming in the traditional ever, the interesting aspect is that the
Most major hardware manufacturers are
sense all that was used was a "tool producing a Multimedia PC or making an software is revolutionary. By having
kit." Now, without having to program, upgrade kit so anyone will be able to standards and a tremendous storage
average users will be able to create stun- capability (over 600MB on a disk), the
turn his or her current machine into an
ning applications on an MPC. end results are amazing.
MPC. The minimum requirements for an
_
Bestseller List
Industry News
Intertainment to Byte
Perspectives From Intertainment '91
his year's conference on the future of ing the masses which was championed by
Kindred Arrests
by J. D. Lambright
O
ne of the great strengths of the original Police Quest was
that the encounters were "fictionalized" versions of actual
arrests and situations, either experienced by designer Jim
Walls himself (a retired law enforcement officer) or one of his col-
leagues, that required correct police procedures to resolve.
Police Quest 3: The Kindred (PQ3) continues the tradition of ex-
cellence. In spite of the controversial "parser-less" interface
(which some veteran adventure garners believe has a tendency
to make the games less complex), the latest installment in the
career of Detective Sonny Bonds still requires authentic police
procedures to solve the case. [Ed: In fact, the police procedural
aspects of the series have been so well-received by actual law
enforcement agencies and personnel that Jim Walls' develop-
ment company, Jim Walls Games, is working on a profes-
sional computerized training program using Sierra's toolkit.]
The puzzles in PQ3 are tougher than those in earlier Police
Quest adventures. Be careful in making decisions early on as
they significantly affect results further on in the game. Also, un-
like some of the other games with the parserless interface, such
as Leisure Suit Larry 5, Sonny Bonds can die.
mouse button to increase speed and the right one for braking. detectives get a radio call indicating that a murder has been com-
The car can be turned by placing the cursor at the intersection mitted in an alley near 300 Rose. Examining the body (a real
(and in the direction) in which the turn is to be made. Since "nail biting" task) should give the detective some idea of the "pat-
these controls are considerably different than those to which tern." This should be followed by a trip to return evidence to the
players are accustomed, it make take a while before they are crime lab.
mastered. In fact, one is very likely to spin out quite a few times
when turning corners too fast. If players are alert for the signs Sonny will eventually get enough evidence to end up at a local
pool hall. Once there, it certainly would not be a bad idea to
which indicate upcoming intersections or are paying attention to
place a tracker on that vehicle Sonny has been trying to locate.
the built-in "locater beacon," they should get this part of the
game mastered fairly quickly. Then, one can enter the pool hall and, essentially, flush the
suspect out.
Note that Aspen Falls does not have a turnout. So, one has to
stop the car, turn off the ignition and exit the vehicle at the ap- It's a Dirty Job
propriate location. There, one must talk to the bystanders, take
notes and proceed according to police procedures. For those not After all the excitement, Sonny might notice that someone has
"taken a powder" (not in the usual sense). It might not be a bad
properly prepared, a watery grave awaits. Sometimes the best
idea to search that person's desk. The locker combination looks
thing to do is "to do unto others as they do unto you." Remem-
ber, a suspect should always be handcuffed and searched before helpful. After that, Sonny might need to get the janitor away
anything else is done. In addition, one must always follow proce- from the door. Well, what are janitors for? After obtaining his ser-
dures when booking a suspect, since mistakes cost lives. vices, it is no problem to exit and enter "forbidden territory" long
enough to examine the contents of the locker. Remember, an of-
Homicide ficer had better inform his/her captain about such things.
After visiting both the coroner and Marie, the plot quickens with
At this point in the game, Walls opts to deviate from realistic
a radio call from dispatch. Sonny will need to proceed to the ap-
police procedures. Normally, when a member of an officer's im-
mediate family is a victim of a crime, propriate address. He should not, however, enter the dwelling
said officer is not allowed to work on the until after the fire marshall says it is all
case. The chance of the officer's emo- clear. Then, he should take careful note
tions causing him/her to make a serious of the contents of the dwelling, particular-
mistake is too great. In this case, Marie ly the photographs. The altar room may
(Sonny's wife) has been attacked and offer very fertile ground for gathering ad-
stabbed. Of course, Sonny's involvement ditional evidence.
in the case is simply a page out of the Eventually, this will lead the detective to
average detective movie where the hero visit the army recruiter at the mall and
violates a direct order just to "make read the file on the suspect. This, in turn,
sure" the crime is solved. In the game, will necessitate a visit with the criminal
for example, Sonny knows that the scene psychologist back at the station and on-
of the crime will have been carefully ward, to the endgame.
scrutinized by the experts, but there is a
tremendous temptation just to make Book 'Em Dan-o!
sure. One must be certain to use
evidence gathering techniques properly If the investigation is proceeding well,
and to take down important information. Sonny should be able to knock on the
door of the crack house and attempt to speak to its occupants.
Also, just as one would expect in a mystery screenplay, it some-
times takes a good night's sleep in order for the subconscious to As usual, the straight-ahead approach does not get him very far,
sort matters out. so he has to appear before a judge and obtain a search warrant.
If successful, he should be able to use the warrant to make a
One thing is certain. Walls does an excellent job of keeping the search and garner enough evidence. He should return to the sta-
player motivated in PQ3. Sonny will definitely want to visit Marie tion and book the evidence. Then, after returning to the court-
and the sight of his helpless wife is enough to bring tears to the house and appearing before the judge, once again, one can final-
hardened crime fighter's eyes. As if Marie's situation were not ly make the bust. Alert players will remember, however, the im-
bad enough, the hospital environment is tremendously depress- mortal words of Yogi Berra ("It ain't over till it's over!") and
ing. Maybe the player could find something to brighten things make sure that the real brains behind the operation is brought to
up? It might even help bring her out of the coma. After all, that justice, even if it is cinematic justice!
happens in other scripts. After that, well, maybe work will help to
pass the time. Debriefing
So, the plot evolves. Sonny is transferred to Homicide and he Police Quest 3: The Kindred is the best of the series to date.
gets a new partner. One must get back to proper procedure to The parserless interface enhances playability so much that even
advance further, though. Studying cases of similar homicides in those who did not care for earlier Sierra releases may want to
order to look for a "pattern," interrogating a witness and creating try the new generation. PQ3 offers more replayability than one
a composite photo should be helpful. Unfortunately, there is would suspect, because every time one tries to do something dif-
something about Sonny's new partner that just seems "funny." ferently, something new will pop up that the player did not see
Maybe watching her might not be such a bad idea. In fact, there during the first experience.
is something "key" about watching her.
Whether one is looking for a good "cops 'n' robbers" story, a
In fact, after a routine court appearance, Sonny may get his police procedural mystery or a challenging adventure game,
chance to "key" in on his partner. Almost immediately, the two Police Quest 3: The Kindred fits the description.
Industry News
ly, CGWs editor was skeptical until they a new CD-ROM version of Sherlock Hol-
allowed him to give the director's "cut mes: Consulting Detective that ran con-
and print" order and then watch the siderably smoother than the NEC Turbo-
machine encode the data and play back Grafx 16 version; Broderbund mes-
from the computer itself. It was an amaz- merized parents of small children with
ing demonstration with tremendous poten- their first "Living Book," Just Grandma
tial. and Me (a multi-lingual animated story
which children can "explore" via the
Is There Really a Multi- mouse or simply enjoy as the computer
media Market? reads the story aloud to them) and Inter
play showcased the sound capabilities of
"Multimedia" is, essentially, the use of
Battlechess CD-ROM.
passive media in the form of digitized im-
ages and sound (in the present sense,
Prognosis for Progress?
usually requiring optical storage and en-
hanced audio-visual capacity) in an inter- If the exhibitions at this Fall's Comdex
active software program. It is an extreme- were any indication, multimedia should
ly popular "buzzword" in computing begin to be a significant minority portion
circles because of its tremendous con- positively amazing estimate, however, of the entertainment software market by
sumer potential (see the reports on the was that the consumer market for interac- the end of 1992 and, possibly, hold a
MPC launch and Intertainment '91 in this tive computer-based multimedia could slight majority of the market in 1993.
issue). The Interface Group, sponsors easily amount to $42.5 billion in revenue Now that the technological issues seem
of Comdex, presented a "white paper" at per year. to be coming together with some near-
the show, which estimated that education- In terms of multimedia entertainment at term solutions, the challenge is to cap-
al materials (including both audio-visual Comdex, Sierra was displaying CD-ROM ture the imagination of consumers with
products and computer software) versions of King's Quest V and Jones in challenging game designs and fascinat-
amounted to approximately $700 million the Fast Lane, as well as their Mixed-Up ing products. There are still plenty of
per year and Mother Goose multimedia title. Access questions about the future of interactive
professional/business-oriented audio-visual materials amount to demonstrated the multimedia allure of entertainment, but there seem to be a
approximately $2 billion per year. The their Links for Windows; ICOM unveiled semblance of answers, as well.
Review
igital Integration has stepped The player can approach the task of
one plays, the more likely one's resour- tend to the terrain. Being a Harrier, it can 'gone wrong,' finds himself in an alien
ces are to run down. Of course, there is land [almost] anywhere. world. Escaping from the planet is the
a limited amount of re-supply occurring task in hand and puzzle-solving com-
Two versions of the game will appear.
in the background, as well, but attrition bined with fast reflexes is the primary
One will be for fast PCs very fast 286s
of supplies is a significant motivation in method of achieving this situation.
or 386 machines and above. The other
expanding one's influence. Release is destined for all formats by the
will be for slower 286s, Amigas and STs.
The commander's major task is to year's end.
The differences? Slower machines will be
remove the targets/insurgents on the is- able to do and display less although Note: The above games, and any of the
lands. How this is accomplished, though, precise details are lacking at the mo- other games mentioned in "Over There"
is open. One decides upon what mis- ment. Also, the terrain will be 3D on fast in past issues, can be obtained from:
sions to fly and what targets to take out. PCs but flat 2D on slow PCs. Release will
Computer Adventure World, 318 Ken-
be via Domark but no release dates
To assist in planning, players will get in- sington, Liverpool, England, L7 OEY.
have yet been finalized.
formation via simulated satellite photos. Telephone: 01144-51-263-6306
Reflecting reality, the photos will not offer U.S. Gold is distributing a new product
100% reliable information, owing to the Miles Better Software, 219/221 Can-
in the UK by Delphine, publisher of Fu-
vagaries of interpreting such photos. nock Road, Chadsmoor, Cannock, Staf-
ture Wars (Interplay distributes Del-
fordshire, England, WS1 1 2DD.
phine products in the U.S.). Known as
The second major role for the player is, Telephone: 01 144-543-466-577/8/80;
Another World, the company must have
of course, flying the plane itself. Fax: 01144-543-466-579
had the co-designer of Future Wars on
Maneuvers, such as VIFFing (dramatical-
an adrenaline drip while he worked on Premier Mail Order, Trybridge Ltd., 8
ly braking in mid-air by reversing the
this product. He has honed his new ad- Buckwins sq., Burnt mills, Basildon,
thrust nozzles), will be obtainable in Har-
venture system to a point whereby this Essex, England, SS13 1BJ.
rier. Other basics like 'ski-jump' take-offs
first by-product can be poised for release. Telephone: 01144-268-590-766;
on the carriers have also been integrated.
Utilizing a 3D system with many Fax: 01144-268-590-076
In addition, the actual undercarriage has
cinematic techniques such as pan, zoom,
been simulated. So, the aircraft can roll All of the above telephone numbers as-
close-up and so on, Another World fol-
off the end of the aircraft carrier and tip sume customers can dial direct. Those
lows the exploits of a nuclear scientist
off the edge rather than just rolling off in having trouble should contact the interna-
who, as the victim of an experiment
a flat horizontal plane. This feature will ex- tional operator.
Survey
ragon's Gate is the newest online such things as how to fight or cast magic
Future Promises
All is not lost, however, for CAW scenario
designers. A scenario editor is promised as a
separate product. SSG has opted to make the
editor a separate product for three reasons:
the additional time it will take to produce it;
the additional cost it would add to the game;
and the increased intensity involved in
scenario design for the new version of CAW.
This latter point is particularly important, since
each ship requires multiple animated ex-
plosions to be pictured for each plane and
(being either destroyed, damaged or ship type whenever said ship/plane takes
"harassed" into making attack runs with great-
What You Don't See Can damage. Many users will simply not want to ex-
ly reduced accuracy). Even though there was Still Hurt You pend all that effort. Further, the size of the
no actual animation depicted on-screen in the documentation and disk space involved are
Of course, carrier warfare still remains very also likely to be huge, even without the design
pre-release version, watching the combat
much a game of "hide and seek." Finding kit features. No "paint" program will be in-
results read across the screen was still exciting
one's adversary, and then getting reports cluded, either. Instead, the scenario editor will
enough to cause several shouts of gaming joy
which are even remotely accurate, will always accept any standard .LBM graphics file from
and anguish to exude from this writer and all
be an admiral's problem. While this was al- Deluxe Paint, put it into a special template
the observers assembled about his monitor. Of
ready the shining star of the 1984 Carriers at and then compress it.
course, those who want to play a truly histori-
War, it has been enhanced in the IBM version.
cal game can turn off the battle display and Another feature which was promised is
The search routines now automatically deter-
wait to read the (often deliberately) inaccurate sound support. While not included to any de-
mine the correct number of planes to cover
reports which simulate the fog of war that gree in the beta version previewed, assurances
the player's selected search patterns, launches
their historical counterparts had to deal with. that it will, indeed, be there must be heeded.
and retrieves said planes and then tags sight-
Even the surface battles have been en- So far, the remake of Carriers at War bears
ing reports by their age. The error factor of
hanced. Now, a graphic battleboard is dis- all the markings of a quality product. As for a
these reports is also built into the game, so it
product release projection... well, SSG has met
played in order to assist players in actually is up to the player to decide how much
maneuvering ships into one of those rare sur- with pretty clear sailing on this project as of
validity to lend to each sighting report. One
face battles. Each side has three rows or thing this writer did not like in the preview press time. If it continues, this game should
"lines" displayed. The central row is the 'Bat- pull into port during the first quarter of 1992.
copy was how sightings were marked on the
On the day this ship comes in, this writer, for
tle Line," where one's battleships and cruisers map. A blue "X" was "impressed" into the
are deployed. Carriers, tankers and transports one, is going to take a long liberty and play
map and was very hard to read. It is hoped
are placed "behind" the battle line, away from many, many hours of Carriers at War.
that the color will change to something a bit
the enemy, while screening vessels like more legible in the production version.
Replay
he
T
following is a replay of the 1973 while but not attaining air superiority is a airborne brigade, helicoptered into a blocking
scenario of Conflict: Middle East (pub- risky proposition for the Arabs, should a position in the Sinai mountain passes, was
lished by Strategic Simulations protracted war ensue./ Arab warplanes in- completely wiped out by Israeli armor.
Inc.). The article focuses on the first eight flicted some damage, but lost nearly 100
turns (four days) of the game's historical aircraft to Israeli fighters during this first day Several newly mobilized Israeli brigades were
scenario, including the initial Arab assaults of the campaign. The Israelis committed some consolidated into larger formations. [Ed: This
and the subsequent Israeli counterattack of their aircraft to attacking surface-to-air mis- to provide local "hammer blow" counterat-
along the Golan Heights. sile sites, but reserved the majority for close tacks with which to blunt the Arab spear-
heads.] Just as in real life, poor 1973-era
Holiday tranquility reigned in Israel on the air support for the coming ground battle.
avionics grounded the Arab air forces during
afternoon of Oct. 6, 1973. It was Yom Kippur, On the ground, superior command and con- the night. While this same darkness hand-
the Jewish Day of Atonement. But the peace trol enables the Israelis to move after Arab icapped the Israeli Air Force as well, its fleet of
suddenly was shattered by the roar of moves were completed, but prior to combat. versatile F-4 Phantoms flew some grueling
thousands of guns and hundreds of jets streak- Also, Israeli units have flexibility in being able night missions which blasted Syrian armor.
ing toward Israel. Along the Suez Canal and to reassign and form ad hoc units from troop Despite the increase of fatigue due to night
the Golan Heights, massive Arab armies thrust detachments. For example, a detachment of combat, the Syrians mopped up most of the
across the Israeli border. The Arab strategy the 7th Armored Brigade, the only strong Is- remaining Israeli strongpoints on the Golan,
was simple. They would grab a large chunk of raeli unit on the Golan, reinforced the crucial but an assault along the southern Golan
Israeli territory and then force the Israelis to observation point of Mount Hermon. The heights failed after an Israeli parachute brigade
wear themselves out in counterattacks against armor helped repulse an assault on the moun- was helicoptered into the hex.
the weaker, but more numerous, Arab forces. tain by Syrian paratroopers and a Moroccan in-
The Israelis intended to use their central posi- fantry brigade. Yet, other Syrian attacks on the During the night, Egyptian commandos un-
tion to concentrate their gradually mobilizing undermanned Golan fortifications succeeded successfully assaulted the remaining Israeli
forces against Syria and then Egypt. in capturing several fortified hexes. forts along the northern and southern ends of
the canal. Egyptian infantry, however, were
The Onslaught Oct. 6 A.M. In the south, an interesting Israeli stratagem able to cross three more bridges and link
was to withdraw garrisons along the Suez these bridgeheads along the eastern bank of
and P.M. canal before the Arab blows landed. An Israeli the Suez. Not an auspicious start for the
The Arab offensive began with heavy air at- armored counterattack along the northern Arabs, but the situation was far from hopeless.
tacks on Israeli troops and artillery units to area of the canal ejected an Egyptian comman-
open up the ground campaign. [Ed: Players do brigade which had crossed the Suez. A Mop-up Oct. 7
who do not attempt to grab air superiority southern counterattack was launched, but less
successfully, as it was smothered by Egyptian The morning began with heavy IAF (Israeli
will get the job done on the ground for a Air Force) strikes on Syrian units. Though far
artillery and anti-tank weapons. An Egyptian
Replay
smaller, superior Israeli effectiveness enabled naissance capabilities made the rear areas of fered some losses during their Golan counterof-
the Israeli Air Force to gain air superiority at both sides largely invisible. However, the Is- fensive. Most of the Israeli reinforcements had
small cost. The IAF concentrated on Syrian raelis did bomb seemingly empty Golan hexes been mobilized and neither side could expect
armor and SAM sites which, in turn, took their in hopes of finding Syrian artillery and more than scanty arms shipments from the su-
toll on the vulnerable A-4 Skyhawks. In the managed to achieve some success along the perpowers. Intending to preserve their power-
dawn light, Syrian tankers on the Golan constricted Golan. A ground pause ensued ful but fragile spearheads, the Israelis rejected
Heights gazed down on the Israeli settlements along the Israeli-Syrian border, while the Egyp- a 1967-style blitzkrieg in favor of systematical-
in the clear terrain below. Their observation tians continued to ooze forward beyond the ly clearing the Golan. An interesting plan, if
was enhanced by the occupation of Mount Her- range of their protective SAM umbrella along the Egyptians didn't press too far....
mon, which the Israelis had abandoned be- the canal.
cause of confused orders. (The Israelis acciden- Payback Oct. 10 to Oct. 17
tally moved the garrison out and could not Counterattack Oct. 9
retract the move an important limitation in The Israelis advanced further into Syria and
the game's mechanics.) Israeli reserves The morning passed quietly except for the ground up most of the remainder of the
smashed another Syrian assault along the customary air activity. That night, however, Syrian army. The Israelis chose to bottle up
southern Golan, while Israel continued retreat- the Israeli counteroffensive began with a mas- the surviving Syrians around Damascus and,
ing from the Suez canal, screening the Egyp- sive attack by four heavily reinforced brigades by Oct. 14, had begun transferring artillery to
tian infantry and armor which were streaming poised along the southern Golan. Syrian artil- the now long-neglected Sinai front. The Israeli
across it. lery and anti-tank weapons caused some los- successes precluded Jordanian intervention ex-
ses, especially among the antiquated M-3 cept for the introduction of a handful of
Again the ubiquitous Phantoms were the halftracks, but the defenders were being warplanes. Also on Oct. 14, the Israelis began
only aircraft seen in the night skies. Con- destroyed or dislodged handily. Though punching through the Egyptians on the north-
cerned that some of their assault brigades had bolstered by the arrival of an Iraqi armored ern Sinai road, supported by devastating IAF
taken 50 percent losses, the Syrians halted division, the Arab weaknesses were becoming air strikes. By Oct. 17, the Israelis were within
their offensive and waited for the Israelis to dig painfully clear to the Syrians. The Arab units, 20 kilometers of the canal, facing only a
them out. The weak Israeli units in the Sinai usually about 80 percent weaker than their Is- depleted Egyptian army. The Arabs finally
continued withdrawing, pursued by hordes of raeli counterparts, could not consolidate. The agreed to a cease-fire, and UN-sponsored dis-
Egyptian troops. Meanwhile, all Israeli reinforce- attritional nature of combat resulted in hordes engagement talks began. The cost had been
ments poured into the Golan and were con- of depleted Arab units, who could only stack horrific. The Arabs had lost 60 percent of their
solidated, along with the remnants of two per hex, a key design element in the tanks, 80 percent of their artillery, 30 percent
destroyed Israeli formations there. game simulating differences in doctrine. This of their aircraft and 90 percent of their SAMs.
left the Arabs vulnerable to being systematical The Israelis had also lost 60 percent of their
Pause Oct. 8 ly destroyed. The massive Syrian artillery only tanks, 75 percent of their artillery and half
The day began with sporadic Arab air at- managed to inflict moderate damage and was their warplanes. It had been a dearl y bought
tacks on the Golan. Israeli Phantoms attacked itself being attrited by Israeli counterbattery victory.
SAM sites, while the vulnerable Skyhawks fire and IAF air strikes.
pounded Syrian ground targets. Limited recon- Despite their success, the Israelis had still suf-
Review
by Alan Emrich
"Listen my children side, the game is played in real time (which can be altered from
And you shall hear arcade-fast to strategy slow and is "paused" every time a unit is
Of the midnight ride selected and pondered over). Alternately, a player may just elect
Of a Panzergrenadier." to observe a battle fought by the computer as both sides. Jaded
wargamers who have been playing paper wargames for years,
n Patton Strikes Back, prolific designer Chris Crawford (who
however, have seen scores of "Bulge" games come and go. So
I has solid wargame credits dating back to the days of
mainframes) presents history as it was meant to be: entertain-
ing. While we can easily imagine Laugh-In's German soldier Arte
what makes Patton Strikes Back something new?
Finally, for the new players especially, there is a selection on Hickory Dickory Docs
the menu called "Tactical Advice." When selected, the German
player will see Chris Crawford, in uniform and bearing a delicious About the only place where this reviewer minded that the game
attitude of German aristocratic arrogance, as he offers sound ad- "went a bit off the paper" was, ironically, on paper. The documen-
vice such as "pull these troops out" or "seize that bridge." An tation is certainly concise and accurate. No, that wasn't the prob-
equally humorous, cigar-chomping, coffee-drinking American lout lem. The classroom, conversational style of the rules was a tad
of a General will offer similar advice for Allied players. The tacti- distracting. Passages like "Don't get surrounded, and if a big
cal advice is very sound and repeated requests for advice do not mean Panzer division approaches, turn tail and run" and
give duplicate answers. "'Squares?' you say. 'What squares?' Oops I forgot to mention
the map is divided into invisible squares, just like a chessboard"
You Are There are certainly personable, but not everyone will be comfortable
with such casual banter in a game's documentation.
Every wargame tries to capture some type of "you are there"
experience, such as the plain-speaking, yet detailed, battle The Fortunes of War(gaming)
reports mentioned above. To help the player achieve true
"suspended disbelief" and truly feel in command of this war- This reviewer must certainly tip his hat to Patton Strikes Back.
game, one need only listen. Listening, in fact, is what has drawn Broderbund took a courageous publishing risk on this introduc-
a crowd around the old family computer while playing Patton tory war/strategy game, no doubt because Chris Crawford
Strikes Back. The audio portion of the game has a perfect believed so in the idea and sold them on it. Wargame sales will
soundtrack of bullets flying, bombs dropping, tanks squeaking pale next to their Carmen Sandiego and Print Shop titles, but
along, the thunder of marching infantry, the bugle call of any good game, done right, will be a hit, even if only in a niche
"reveille" to begin each game day and so much more. It is the market.
equivalent of a Hollywood soundtrack for a good war film. Every- The design team had a definitive idea in mind for what it would
thing about the sound and opening music to the game has been take to create exactly the type of game they wanted: easy
designed to hit players emotionally enough to communicate the enough for beginners, fast enough to keep the excitement level
feel of war. high and rich enough in historical detail to actually teach some
enjoyable lessons. For every design goal, they clearly hit a bull's
Newsreels eye. When a professional critic like this reviewer can't find some
Adding to the "you are there" element are little "mini-movies" chink in a game's armor, the design and development work
which occur during play. As units engage in battle or conquer must have been thoroughly executed. Now, it's all up to the con-
key objectives, not only do the sounds of battle and maneuver sumers, voting with their wallets, to determine if Patton Strikes
fill the air, but "newsreel" footage of the event also plays for a Back sells as well as it was made.
Review
I
One must understand that the areas, named after cities, do not
Wellington alleged, what can one say about the American Civil reflect the cities themselves, but also encompass the surrounding
War, in which the leaders of both armies were trained in the same area. Thus, an area like "Philadelphia" is more accurately "Eastern
institutions? Was the ACW won in the factories of the North or near- Pennsylvania." In fact, the designer considered the more general
ly lost in the legislative chambers of Capitol Hill? The answers to label, but concluded that individual city names offered a better flavor
such questions can be explored in Strategic Simulations, Inc.'s of the Civil War.
No Greater Glory (hereinafter referred to as NGG). An obvious des-
cendant of designer Ed Bever's Revolution '76 (Britannica Since sound is limited to the internal speaker and does not add any-
Software), NGG allows the player, as leader of either the North or thing to the aural experience of the game, this reviewer recommends
South, to simulate the American Civil War on a strategic level. It also that players immediately switch to the menu and turn off the sound
allows players to discover political and economic parameters, as well just as soon as the game loads. Otherwise, one will be compelled to
as control more military facets than was possible in Revolution '76. listen to at least four renditions of "Dixie" as the Southern States
secede from the Union. More importantly, turning off the music al-
Dispatches from the Commander (Documen- lows combat to be resolved much faster.
tation) Flanking Maneuvers (Game Mechanics)
The documentation is complete, although one must read it careful- NGG is mouse-driven and provides a multitude of menus to be ac-
ly. NGG can be played with a cursory glance at the rules, although cessed during the game-turn. This reflects the fact that each year is
to play well, one must read thoroughly and carefully consider what divided into three periods (i.e. game turns) and one must make a
has been said. For example, when assigning commanders to the multitude of decisions during each period/turn: civil affairs (decide
field armies, they should be assigned in order of prestige. While the
documentation clearly states this, it is all too easy to assign them in (Continued on page 115)
Game Aid
p
layers of SSI's new strategic level ridge, Mason and Hunter as part of the eight the combined force can be determined by con-
American Civil War game No Greater total assignments (including foreign ambas- sulting the "Experience/Morale Combination"
Glory have a tremendous challenge in sadors). For the Union player, one should use tables. Basically, the values are averaged
trying to balance the political, economic and Blair and Johnson (Border State moderates) together. On an IBM computer, however, frac-
military elements of the game. This article to balance out Wells and Adams (New tions are never retained in these "integer
should help players learn how the computer England radicals). To better visualize the poten- divides." This means that lower numbers from
opponent thinks and enable the "human" presi- tial balance or imbalance created by one's "averaging" will prevail. Consequently, when
dents to be able to campaign on a level bat- selection of a potential cabinet officer's geog- even one unit of a lower value is added to a
tlefield. raphy, abilities, loyalty and political affiliation, force, the cumulative value will drop by, at
see the "Political Appointees" table accom- least, one point.
Handicapping the War panying this article. Keep in mind that a
For example, a force of 50,000 men with an
When a player selects a difficulty level, only cabinet must be balanced at the end of the
experience of "7" and a morale of "7" is com-
two areas are actually affected: battles and both the Cabinet Phase (the first five appoint-
bined with a force of 2,000 men with an ex-
diplomacy. The rest, as they say, is history ments) and the Diplomacy Phase (the last
perience of "0" and a morale of "6." The resul-
(historical?). three appointments).
tant force will be 52,000 men with an ex-
Keeping up with the Ratings perience of "6" and a morale of "6."
Playing Politics
When troops of differing morale and ex- Therefore, to keep a high valued force's
To balance the Confederate Cabinet, a values as high as possible, even when they
player must, of necessity, use Bell, Breckin- perience levels combine, the new ratings of
must be combined with lower valued forces, it
is wise to combine all of the lower value rein-
forcements first into a single group, before join-
ing them with the higher valued force. In this
way, the higher valued force will only ex-
perience the "truncation" on one occasion,
rather than several times.
For those interested in knowing exactly how
many units can or must be combined to mini-
mize value lowering and maximize value rais-
ing, the two Experience/Morale Combination
Tables will give the formulae.
Judging Character
When playing a scenario using random
leader ratings, the computer receives some
added advantages. First of all, the computer
player is not restricted by prestige levels when
playing with random leader ratings (the
Game Aid
Lost in Love
Dave Arneson's Tactics For The Lost Admiral
I
2
2
2
a
Review
Mission Improbable teries off after starting the plane, etc. For-
tunately, after a few times through, these
There are three areas of combat in "little things" that can ruin one's day will
Megafortress: Red Flag (Nevada Desert),
go away and flight procedures will be-
the Persian Gulf and the Flight of the
come automatic.
Old Dog mission. The Red Flag missions
are designed as a training ground for the Perhaps the biggest mistake new pilots
new pilot. Sixteen progressively more make is to engage the enemy head-on.
complex missions expose the new flyer Avoidance is the best strategy the ap-
to possible combat situations. Gamers propriate time to take action is when the
are advised to spend much time refining B-52 becomes an item of interest. Always
skills in practice flights at Red Flag. Key engage a plane while it is on the ground
skills that need to be perfected are: or in the air in front of the plane. As in
avoidance, stealth, damage control, all flight simulations, one must avoid al-
weapons control and, most importantly, lowing the plane to get on one's six at all
navigation. The navigation officer can costs. While attacking a plane, he should
make or break a mission. be lined up on the scope so that it is pos-
sible to go active with the radar and, when he is within fifteen
Once the pilot has gained confidence at Red Flag, the game miles or so, launch two AIM-120C AMRAAM missiles. If the
provides fourteen missions straight off the front page from the enemy survives, it is good to fire off some air mines and make
Persian Gulf theater. Then, for the ultimate in challenge, The sure that the Rear-Looking Infrared system is on. This will control
Flight of the Old Dog mission will take the player from the the AUTO CHAFF and AUTO FLARE systems if they are active.
Nevada Desert's "Dreamland" compound (the USAF's top-secret The Electronic Warfare Station should only be used as a last
test facility near Nellis Air Force Base) to the Kamchatka penin- line of defense. Use of the jamming systems only broadcasts the
sula in the eastern Soviet Union. Very little information is given
plane's location and invites more enemy response to the B-52's
to the player beyond occasional communications from the mis- presence. So, unless the player is particularly looking forward to
sion commander, General Elliot, and intermixed storyboard taking on MiGs head-to-head in an oversized, slow plane, it is
screens. The missions are full of the familiar waypoints of other good to avoid jamming.
games in this genre. However, in this simulation the player has
full control and can relocate waypoints, alter altitudes at To complete bombing runs, the player will have to plan his or
waypoints and even add temporary waypoints while in-flight. As her approach to an Initial Point (IP). Targets are generally near
an example of the simplicity of design, setting a temporary waypoints, but the flight plan rarely lines up the plane for an ef-
waypoint while the autopilot in engaged requires only a few fective bombing run. Select an IP that is about 30 miles from the
clicks of the mouse. The player goes to the navigator's station; target and has an unobstructed flight path to the target. Make
switches the large EVS monitor to RADAR mode (a high-resolu- sure that the radar range is set to 10 miles and that there are no
tion image of the landscape ahead of the plane); points to the mountain ranges within 10 miles after the target. The TAC can
desired location for the temporary waypoint on the image; clicks manage variable terrain but slow speeds and steep inclines can
and drags the indicator to the appropriate altitude and releases cause the computer to force a stall and a gear-up landing into
the mouse button. The display reflects the change with a vertical the side of a mountain. The player will want to disengage the
indicator marking the new waypoint and the plane adjusts course autopilot or use temporary waypoints for an approach. The
to reflect the change. The predefined course is resumed after ar- arrow keys will allow minor adjustments to the flight path from
rival at the temporary waypoint. the Offensive Weapons station. Proficient use of the camera
mode and attack radar systems will make these bombing runs
Weapons Briefing go smoothly.
D
rawn from the pages of Dale extend flaps; toggle the Taxi/Land switch now go back and "clean up" (raise the
Brown's novel of the same name, to "Land;" flip the Autopilot switch to landing gear and flaps).
the "Flight of the Old Dog" mis- "On" and turn the TAC "On." Then, one
sion combines both the elements of an Success in this phase of the "Old Dog"
should immediately switch to the Nav sta-
adventure game and a simulation. To mission is based on how fast the player
tion, select Waypoint Edit, and place
retain the challenge of the mission, there can get into the air and deal with the
"Waypoint 1" on the extreme left edge of
are a few differences between the ex- MiG. No further action is necessary for
the map due west. When the player
this leg. Eventually, an interlude screen
periences of the crew in the novel and returns to the pilot's seat, the hangar
will appear informing the player that he
the crew directed by the player. This ar- doors should be fully opened.
ticle is designed to help garners reach must get past the controller at Seattle.
Remove the wheel brake and throttle
and destroy the laser in Kavaznya.
up to 100% at this point. This should get The Seattle Dodge
Weapons Loadout the plane blasting down the runway and
Now, the Megafortress should be at al-
clear of the hangar. The player should im-
The "Old Dog" mission table describes titude over the Pacific and ready to slip
mediately man the OW station and allow
the targets and their respective coor- past Seattle Control. Again, timing is cru-
the TAC and Autopilot (which is now set
dinates as they have been pre- cial. The player should squawk whatever
up to steer the aircraft due west) to take
programmed into the navigation com- code Seattle wishes, and then, switch off
care of the rest. From that position, one
puter prior to the mission. Also shown is all active radar (attack mode) and toggle
should quickly switch to attack radar and
an appropriate weapon for taking out the off all the lights and the transponder. If
designate the MiG (red blip) as the tar-
target. one immediately pushes the nose over
get. Then, turn on the camera and lock
into a 60-degree dive until the plane
on the MiG for the
reaches angels 10 (10,000 feet), it
satisfaction of watch-
should be easy to pull out of the dive
ing the bogey ex-
after passing Seattle's control area. While
plode. That MiG
diving, it is important to keep an eye on
driver may be in-
the artificial horizon/pitch instrument and
timidating to ground
begin decreasing the minimum altitude in
targets, but once in
order to be able to switch on the TAC.
the air, he's a wimp.
Since it takes a few seconds to bring the
The player need
nose down 60 degrees, a fast player may
only select an AIM-
be able to switch to Nav mode and edit
120C AMRAAM
Waypoint 1 to due west of his position.
from one of the
Note that it will take full power to pull
pylons and let fly.
out of the dive when the plane has a full
That MiG pilot will
load of ordnance and fuel. If the player
be looking for
does not dive steeply enough, Seattle will
reverse PDQ when
come on with a wisecrack and scramble
he sees the busi-
interceptors to end the mission. If the
ness end of that AM-
dive is handled correctly, the player
RAAM en route for
should be able to match altitude with
his bird.
dive angle for example, 35 degrees of
Modification of this standard loadout is The player should dive for 3500 feet of altitude. If done
desirable. Since the AGM-142A Have properly, this will insure pulling out of the
Nap has a pre-determined location on dive at precisely the altitude one has set
the wing pylons and the player will want for TAC (108 feet). One should come out
to have more than one on each pylon, it of this screaming dive at just over 150
will be necessary to start by removing all feet and, of course, disappear from the
of the AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. Then, Seattle radar screen. General Elliott will
one can load up the AGM-142As and advise the player to have his navigator
finish up with the AMRAAMs. set a waypoint for due west (if one hasn't
accomplished this during the dive). This
Great Escape The Dream- is where the player must exercise cau-
tion. The Megafortress must do a 180-de-
land Scramble gree turn after that dive. If one is flying
Since the mission begins with a MiG-29 at 108 feet, a sharp bank may lose
harassing the good guys, all can easily enough altitude to cause the player to
be lost if a player takes too much time have to end his mission. Also, one must
flipping switches and performing the try not to overcorrect or else the plane is
standard checklist. Instead, while the en- apt to reappear on the Seattle control-
gine is revving at 15%, the player should ler's scope and, again, end the mission.
Strategy
To Refuel or Not to Refuel MiGs, SAM sites, and rough terrain to waypoint 4 (X +130, Y +168), and
overcome) or, after the first attempt at Waypoints 3 and 4 should be superim-
By now, the player should notice that taking out the laser base, he may wish to posed upon Waypoint 5 (X +221, Y
all this action (not to mention the flight try the following as an alternate to the +254) so that the player will still have a
from Nevada) has taken its toll on the "stock" mission. waypoint for the Anadyr airbase in order
fuel stores of the mighty EB-52. As in the to land, refuel, and end the mission as a
book, there will be a tanker for the player To do this, edit the first waypoint as an
brigadier general.
to refuel from. Climb to angels 10 to IP (initial point) on a run that travels right
facilitate finding the KC-135 tanker. between two SAM sites (touching the
perimeters of the range for both sites)
When the tanker appears, the player and on toward the laser base. The player What Do I Do When I'm
should click on the "C" button on the should fly "in the weeds," hitting the IP at Finished?
refueling panel. The player will then 108 feet (using the TAC) and throttling
"authenticate" by painting the tanker back to 65 percent to conserve fuel. The Megafortress Mission Disk
with the targeting (attack) radar with an player will be painted by both SAM sites to Be Released
AIM-120 AMRAAM selected and a heavy and the laser base will eventually "lock
finger resting on the launch button. Then, on" to the Megafortress. This is the Similar to a Harpoon Battleset, the
after the player re-selects the "C" key primary threat. Failing to deal with it will Megafortress Mission disk will have two
once again, the KC-135 crew will sudden- require rebooting the game in short new theaters: Lybia and Iran. The
ly be most eager for the player to have order. The laser base radar is difficult to premise is that a more extremist govern-
his pilot bring the EB-52 over for a drink. jam, though a HARM (High-speed Anti- ment in Iran has overthrown the current
The active radar can then be switched off Radiation Missile) will take out the laser one and is, in turn, providing arms to
by going back to either "Scan" or radar. Once this initial threat is dealt Lybia. The Megafortress will fly covertly
"Camera" mode. Once the bomber per- with, the player will be able to get in and out of Kuwait and Malta against targets
forms the rendezvous with the tanker, it blast the airbase, along with nearby tar- in Lybia and Iran which are fortified with
is time to move on to the real meat of gets of opportunity. The rest of the SAM more sophisticated Gadfly and Gremlin
the mission. sites may be taken out, but it is SAM sites. New targets will include ships
preferable to continue jamming these and mountain-based AAA sites. There
On the Road to Kamchatka and save his ordnance for the airbase. will also be new weapons including the
Penguin missile and the GBU-95 an
Once en route to the target area, the In order to accomplish this, the player FAE (fuel/air explosive). The product is
player can fly the waypoints as should edit Waypoint 1 to the coor- expected to ship in early December 1991
programmed (This can be quite challeng- dinates of X +169, Y +116. Waypoint 2 with a suggested retail price of $34.95.
ing, as there are more than enough should be edited to the location of
Editorial