• Tag Archives Nintendo
  • VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (February 1993)

    Source: VideoGames & Computer Entertainment – February 1993

    VideoGames & Computer Entertainment was my favorite magazine in the years that it was published (late 1980s to early 1990s). It was really sort of the successor to the original Electronic Games magazine, at least until Electronic Games was actually rebooted. The February 1993 issue includes:

    Features

    • A Matter of Chaos: Player’s Guide to Dungeon Master, Part I – VG&CE had some pretty great game guides. However, you had to be disciplined about looking at them because they could ruin the game for you. This one covers the first part of Dungeon Master for the Super NES.
    • Much Ado About 3DO: The Real Story – It’s a shame the 3DO didn’t have more success. This article is a first look at the machine with some technical details and a look at its capabilities.
    • VG&CE’s Best Games of 1992 Awards – Sonic the Hedgehog 2 won VG&CE’s Video Game of the Year award with other awards going to Street Fighter II (SNES), Warsong (Genesis), F22 (Genesis), The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES), Loom (TG16), Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun (Genesis), Mick & Mack as the Global Gladiators (Genesis), Contra III – The Alien Wars (SNES), Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (computer game of the year), Hardball III, Wolfenstein 3D, Comanche: Maximum Overkill, V for Victory, Star Control II, The Secret of Monkey Island, Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant, Dune, LINKS 386 Pro, plus numerous honorable mentions and other lists (such as worst games of 1992).

    Previews & Reviews

    • Video-Game Previews – Brief previews of Flashback (Genesis), Bonk 3 (TurboGrafx-16), Street Combat (Super NES), Dungeon Explorer II (TurboGrafx-16), Zen Intergalactic Ninja (NES and Game Boy), Lethal Weapon (NES and Game Boy), Cool World (Super NES and Game Boy), Congo’s Caper (Super NES), Malibu Bikini Volleyball (Atari Lynx), Spot – The Cool Adventure (Game Boy), and Exile 2 (TurboGrafx-16).
    • Video-Game Reviews – Reviews of The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (Super NES) – Capcom made some great Disney licensed games and this was one of them, Mega Man 5 (NES) – and there would still be one more Mega Man game on the NES, Roger Clemens’ MVP Baseball (Genesis), Cybernator (Super NES), Buster Bros. (TurboGrafx-16 CD), Dragon’s Lair (Super NES) – a platform game not really like the arcade version, PGA Tour Golf II (Genesis), Super Strike Eagle (Super NES), Aerobiz (Super NES), Samurai Ghost (TurboGrafx-16), The Adventures of Willy Beamish (Sega CD), Tiny Toon Adventures Cartoon Workshop (NES), and Universal Soldier (Super NES) – another bad licensed game.
    • Computer-Game Previews – Short previews of Ultima VII Part 2: The Serpent Isle, Caesar – I think I actually have this one somewhere though I’ve never played it, Betrayal at Krondor – my roommate in college spent many hours on this game, and Pirates! Gold.
    • Computer-Game Reviews – Reviews of The Terminator 2029 – only a few years away now, The Incredible Machine, Dune II – the first RTS I ever really saw, The Humans, WaxWorks, Mega lo Mania, Amazon: Guardians of Eden, MicroLeague Action Sports Soccer, Discovery, and Task Force 1942.

    Departments

    • Editor’s Letter – A look at what’s ahead in 1993 including the 3DO, Atari Jaguar, the PlayStation (which at the time was essentially an SNES console with CD-ROM), and more.
    • Reader Mail – Letters from readers about RPGs, Nintendo’s 32-bit CD-ROM system, portable systems, and more.
    • Tip Sheet – Hints and tips for Night Trap (Sega CD), The Guardian Legend (NES), and Cosmic Fantasy 2 (TurboGrafx-CD).
    • News Bits – Radio Shack debuts a new interactive CD player called the Memorex MD-2500 VIS, Nintendo cleared of antitrust charges, classic games re-released for the NES (Zelda, Zelda II, Punch-out, Metroid) for $29.99 each, Sunsoft licenses The Pirates of Dark Water, Atari drops price of Lynx to $79.99, and more.
    • Easter Egg hunt – Secrets revealed for Batman Returns (Atari Lynx), Super Mario Kart (Super NES), Dead Moon (TurboGrafx-16), Faceball 2000 (Game Boy), Cobra Command (Sega CD), Toki (Atari Lynx), Alisia Dragoon (Genesis), Magic Sword (Super NES), Wacky Races (NES), and Crystal Mines II (Atari Lynx).
    • Destination Arcadia – A guide to the secrets of Mortal Kombat.
    • Computer Strategies – A strategy guide for The Ancient Art of War in the Skies.

    …and more!


  • Advanced Computer Entertainment (April 1991)

    Source: Advanced Computer Entertainment – Issue number 43 – April 1991

    ACE, short for Advanced Computer Entertainment, is a gaming magazine that was published in the U.K. in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It primarily covered computers but also had some coverage of consoles as well. The April 1991 issue includes:

    Reviews

    • On Computer and Console
      • Chuck Rock – A platform game featuring a cave man for the Amiga and Atari ST.
      • Colditz – A strategic spy game set during World War II for the Amiga, Atari ST, and Commodore 64.
      • Flames of Freedom – Sequel to Midwinter for the Atari ST and Amiga.
      • Gods – An action adventure game set in ancient Greece.
      • Gynoug – A side-scrolling shooter for the Megadrive (Genesis).
      • Lemmings – The classic real-time strategy/puzzle game in which you must save as many lemmings as possible as they mindlessly march to their deaths for the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS.
      • Muds – A fantasy sports sim for the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS.
      • Navy Seals – A game based on the movie of the same name for the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad, C64, and Spectrum.
      • Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe – A World War II combat flight sim from LucasArts.
      • Super Monaco Grand Prix – Racing sim for the Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Amstrad, C64, and Spectrum. Looks a bit like Grand Prix Circuit from Accolade.
      • Star Control – The classic sci-fi strategy game. It’s interesting that this game is generally a well regarded classic but it gets a pretty horrible review here.
      • Turrican 2 – The classic side-scrolling shooter for the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad, C64, and Spectrum.
      • Zany Golf – A fun miniature golf game for the Megadrive (Genesis).
    • On CD
      • Sherlock Holmes – A bit about the making of Sherlock Holmes.

    Features

    • Coin-Op Breakthrough – A look at upcoming arcade technologies including increased memory, digital video, and more. This article talks a bit about the Intel i750 graphics processing unit but this was ultimately a failure in the market.
    • CD Report – A look at early CD systems like the TurboGrafx-CD as well as some of the CD based games expected to be in stores for the holidays.
    • Actual Reality Exclusive – Despite the name, this was a virtual reality system under development at the time.
    • The ABC of CD – A brief look at upcoming CD-ROM hardware for the Amiga, Atari ST, PCs, as well as the FM Towns.

    Regulars

    • ACE Tech News – New ‘camera on a chip’ technology, model rocket sales soar (I used to love building and launching these), Socrates Educational Video System from Vtech, and much more.
    • ACE Games News – Sonic the Hedgehog, Alien Storm arcade game, G-Loc, Lemmings II, and much more.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about after sales service for hardware and software, F-29 Retaliator, multiplayer gaming, and more.
    • Tricks’n’Tactics Returns! – Tips and tricks for Rise of the Dragon, Captive, Night Shift, Supremacy, F-19 Stealth Fighter, Gremlins 2, Kick Off II, and more.
    • Pink Pages – Game charts, high scores, classified ads, and more.

    …and more!


  • GamePro (December 1991)

    Source: GamePro – Issue Number 29 – December 1991

    Back when video game print magazines still existed, GamePro was one of the most popular. From the late 1980s until they ended, while there were others, GamePro and EGM really dominated, at least in North America. The December 1991 issue of GamePro includes:

    • Letter from the GamePros – An editorial on the upcoming 16-bit holiday battle.
    • The Mail – Letters from readers on technical capabilities of the Genesis vs. the Super NES, hooking a Super NES to a computer monitor, the Game Genie, renting games, and more.
    • Cutting Edge – Updates on the state of the art in gaming, including a sequel to the PC Engine, upcoming CD-ROM systems, a new version of the PC Engine GT that has external CD-ROM, TV, and controller ports, the new Phillips CD-I, and more.
    • Hot at the Arcades – A look at some of the latest arcade games including Steel Talons (Atari) and Batman (Pinball, Data East).
    • Pro Reviews
      • Nintendo – Reviews of The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World (featured on the cover), Mega Man 4, Batman: Return of the Joker, Wizardry II, Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?, Dragon Warrior III, Tiny Toon Adventure, Uncharted Waters, The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy and the Miracle Piano System. Almost all of these are excellent games.
      • Genesis – Reviews of Rolling Thunder 2, Battlemaster, Pit-Fighter (pretty awful game on any system), Chuck Rock, Fatal Rewind, and Quackshot.
      • Super NES – Reviews of U.N. Squadron (one of the earliest horizontal shooters for the SNES), Final Fight, Lemmings, Super Adventure Island, and Smash TV (one of my favorites though it is hard).
      • TurboGrafx-16 – Reviews of Cadash, Champions Forever Boxing, Andre Panza’s Kick Boxing, and It Came From the Desert.
      • Master System – A review of Sonic the Hedgehog (an excellent 8-bit translation)
      • Game Boy – Reviews of Teenage Mutant ?Ninja Turtles II: Back From the Sewers, Terminator 2 Judgement Day, Double Dragon II, Prince of Persia, Blaster Master Boy, and Atomic Punk.
      • Game Gear – Reviews of Ninja Gaiden, Space Harrier, and Pac-Man
      • Lynx – Reviews of Stun Runner and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

    • Special Feature: So, You Want To Buy a 16-Bit System… – A comparison of the major 16-bit systems going into the holiday season including the Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx-16 and the newly released Super Nintendo.
    • Special Feature: GamePro’s Video Football Playoffs – A comparison of some of the available football games including John Madden Football ’92 (Genesis), Joe Montana II Sports Talk Football (Genesis), Mike Ditka Power Football (Genesis), John Madden Football (SNES), Tecmo Super Bowl (NES), Tecmo Bowl (Game Boy), Joe Montana Football (Game Gear), and NFL Football (Lynx).
    • Overseas ProSpects – A brief look at new games released in Japan including Spriggan (PC-Engine CD-ROM) and Valis IV (PC-Engine CD-ROM).
    • S.W.A.T. (Secret Weapons and Tactics) – Tips, tricks, passwords and more for Maniac Mansion (NES), Turrican (Genesis), Bonk’s Revenge (TurboGrafx-16), Little Ninja Brothers (NES), John Madden Football (Genesis), Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), Devil’s Crush (TurboGrafx-16), Moonwalker (Genesis), Bases Loaded II (NES), Super Mario Brothers (NES), Power Ball (Genesis), Fantasia (Genesis), Gradius III (Super NES), SCAT (NES), Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES), Batman (Genesis), Hunt for Red October (Game Boy, NES), and more.
    • Ask the Pros – Readers ask and get answers about difficult gaming situations in Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES), Skate or Die 2 (NES), Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), Spider-Man (Genesis), Bonk’s Revenge (TurboGrafx-16), Operation C (Game Boy), Shinobi (Game Gear), and more.
    • Short ProShots – Short previews if recently available and upcoming games including Space Shuttle Project (NES), TaleSpin (NES), Back to the Future (Genesis), El Viento (Genesis), Darkwing Duck (TurboGrafx-16), Earth Defense Force (Super NES), Lagoon (Super NES), Star Trek (Game Boy), Viking Child (Lynx), and Halley Wars (Game Gear).
    • ProNews – Nihon Falcom to develop software for Sega CD (e.g. Ys), SNK to introduce CD-ROM drive for Neo Geo, Game Genie coming for the Sega Genesis, Microleague to develop games for NES, Home Alone and Sonic 2 coming for the Genesis, Chester Cheetah game coming for the Game Gear, and much more.
    • The 1991 Index – An index of most of the contents for the 1991 issues of GamePro.

    …and more!