• Tag Archives Game Gear
  • 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!


  • Advanced Computer Entertainment (January 1992)

    Source: Computer & Video Game Magazines – ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) – Issue Number 52 – January 1992

    ACE, which stands for Advanced Computer Entertainment was a gaming magazine published in the U.K. in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It covered both computers and consoles. Computer coverage in 1992 included the Amiga, Atari ST, and PC. The January 1992 issue includes:

    Columns

    • Games News – Spiderman’s 30th anniversary celebrated with a new arcade game and an upcoming movie from Sony’s Columbia Pictures; B17 Flying Fortress from Microprose coming soon; Gremlin producing sequel to Utopia; Sega starts bundling Sonic with the Megadrive; Japanese gamers camp out for Zelda III; expansion for Wing Commander II coming from Origin; Electronic Arts to release editor for Populous; Namco introduces Starblade to arcades; Bart Simpson, Terminator 2 and WWF Superstars coming to the Game Boy; and more.
    • Tech News – Spectrum Holobyte and W Industries (makers of the Virtuality arcade system) join forces to develop virtual reality games.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about the short length of some games, recent changes in ACE, the CDTV, rising software prices, big game boxes with little in them, and more.
    • In the Works – Previews of games that are in progress including Cyber Fight from Electronic Arts, ATAC from Microprose, and Apocalypse from Mirrorsoft (sort of an updated Choplifter).
    • Previews – Previews of soon to be released games including Bodycount from Strangeways, KGB from Virgin Games, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis from Lucasfilm, Populous from Bullfrog, John Madden’s Football (the first!) from Electronic Arts, Fire and Ice from Image Works, and Special Forces from Microprose.
    • Console Section – Reviews of Super E.D.F for the Super Famicom, Mega Man for the Game Boy, Super R.C. Pro-Am for the Game Boy (one of my favorite racing games though not necessarily the Game Boy version), Pac-Mania for the Megadrive, QuackShot for the Megadrive, Factory Panic for the Game Gear, and Woody Pop for the Game Gear.
    • Next Month – Coming in the next issue: the ACE Awards (plus the usual reviews, previews and more).
    • Reviews Directory – 30 pages of brief reviews for tons of games.

    Reviews

    • Another World – An arcade adventure game for the Amiga (version being reviewed), Atari ST and PC (DOS) that is reminiscent of Prince of Persia.
    • Epic – A 3D space shooter for the Atari ST, Amiga, and PC (DOS). Compared here to Wing Commander.
    • Populous II – Sequel to the classic Electronic Arts real-time strategy game for the Amiga, Atari ST, and PC (DOS).
    • Wolfchild – An arcade side-scrolling run and gun type game with a sci-fi theme for the Amiga and Atari ST.
    • Eye of the Beholder 2 – Sequel to the classic D&D RPG from SSI for the PC (reviewed here) and Amiga.
    • The First Samurai – An arcade martial arts themed adventure game for the Amiga (reviewed here), Atari ST, and PC (DOS).

    …and more!


  • Electronic Gaming Monthly (May 1992)

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

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

    Departments

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

    Features

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

    …and much more!