Ñ The Ultimate Print Shop is now for Windows platforms
Mudgeon: On Games¬
Ñ The View from Macworld Boston╤Likes & Dislikes!
Mudgeon╒s Distillations¬: Bits of important stuff
What a fantastic opportunity for the publishers and editors of Inside Games Update. Why, by golly, they╒ve accepted my invitation to journey to my Celtic home across the Atlantic for a visit this very month! They shall sit, enraptured, near (but not upon) my sandal-clad feet as I expose them to my scintillating understandings of electronic entertainment, based upon centuries of wizdum. After all, was it not I who foretold the demise of beta? The foretelling was based upon my understanding that even when a technology is superior, it╒s marketing that counts! And so doth this hold true, albeit even unto today, with entertainments of all genre, from video to computer to CD-i. He or she who markets best, markets last!
To this end I must forewarn all readers of this fine newsletter╤these staffers shall be without access to their files or computer. Therefore, expect ye not another issue until the week ending September 11th. Not only hath these fine folk earned this respite, but their gleanings in the land of Scots shall also bring forth new and timely discussions and even greater insight upon their return!
The Japanese government has continually been of enormous asset to the high tech companies within their domain. P╒raps there are some who might say some of their policies should be adopted by Washington, once those politicos remove their heads from the rosy clouds wherein they do rest. The latest info is that interest-free loans will be offered to those private companies that will engage in work on an optical-fiber network. No actual, formal plan has yet emerged, nor a date by which this network would be implemented, but there╒s little doubt as to where the Japanese see the future!
Athird venture fund has been created by Applied Technology venture program to invest heavily in new information companies, especially those that produce differentiated content and enabling technologies. The companies involved include NYNEX, Hughes Aircraft, National Semiconductor, Pearson (English media company), Cable & Wireless (British communications firm) and CSK (development and service company). Hype won╒t get you much attention, but if you can facilitate information delivery with actual product, you might have a shot at attracting their interest. The fund is looking to raise about $30 million in capital from the financial community, with $30 already committed by the six corporate partners.
It╒s starting to become quite natural for folk to believe they may, also, become multimedia pioneers, thanks to the plethora of multimedia products being produced by companies such as SuperMac Technology. Why, with some effort, you also may become a multimedia maven. After all, this company╒s new SpigotPower AV enables AV Macintosh owners to create their own QuickTime¬ videos wherever their system is established, on desk or floor. With a street price of under $1,000, this product features JPEG compression with full-motion video playback at up to 60 fps (frames per second). Detailed images may be captured at 24 bits per pixel. Use with such programs as Adobe Premiere and you have a true multimedia workstation at your fingertips. In fact, despite the cost of shipments to Scotland, I shall also acquire this magic to enhance my multimedia portfolio.
Humongous Entertainment is bringing even more expertise to their physical environs. Now on board are Alex Brown (from Sanctuary Woods) as Vice President of Sales, Tony Peccolo(from Optical Data Corp) as Director of Marketing and David West (from Central Point Software) as Director of Development. And I should say I╒m rather jealous╤after all, not only did they join an adventuresome company, but they also happen to now work in one of the most delightful communities in the United States, that being none other than Woodinville, Washington. Heartiest congrats to all!
Overseas they go╤aye, ╒tis 3D0 on the way to England to establish a new subsidiary firm. This is in preparation for the European onslaught of 3D0 titles that╒ll be introduced there later this year. The next year should see a great deal of activity by 3DO as they polish their image with not only increased domestic sales, but the European title push. (By the way, ye might wish to know that I recently noted the sale of ╥demo╙ Panasonic branded 3DO units with Crash ╒n Burn and demo CD on sale at The Good Guys in Northern California for $374.00. And this price included as much as a two-year warranty! Not a bad price for a machine that seems as though they╒re about to turn the corner to acceptance.)
Bundling continues to be a major ploy by hardware and software companies to turn a profit. Now you should look for Advanced Gravis Computer to bundle their very popular Mac GamePad with Inline Software╙s Firefall Arcade program. As an aside, Windows¬ gamers should learn that a version of this title is enroute to your platform╤shortly!
Skeptical about the burning desire for folk to become involved in ITV (Interactive Television)? P╒raps this╒ll chum your grin, me hearties╤according to the San Francisco Examiner, the Feds sold 298 licenses for ITV in one day╤with an average tune of $654,000 per license╤during their broadcast freq auction.
The Canadians now, bless ╒em, now have their very own national rating system for all manner of electronic entertainments, specifically video games and interactive titles. Yep, not satisfied to simply sit and burn consumers in the good ol╒ U.S.A., the Canadian Interactive Digital Software Association has now developed this rating system for America╒s northern neighbors. Guess the Canadians are correct in some aspects╤not everything exported by the U.S.A. is worthy!
The rundown on who publishes with whom can, at times, be confusing. To assist in clearing your heads, here╒s the Electronic Arts list of their affiliated companies whose titles will be distributed by this mammoth electronic entertainment firm: Eidolon, Humongous Entertainment, Morgan Interactive, Multicom Publishing, Nova Logic, Pop Rocket, Sanctuary Woods Multimedia, and Strategic Simulations. Look for 21 titles from these companies before year╒s close!
If Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) means anything to you╤if Magic: The Gathering (M:TG) means anything to you, then the following news item will definitely be of extreme interest to you. MicroProse, a member of the Spectrum HoloByte family, has signed an exclusive agreement with WOTC to produce a computer version of M:TG. And for the uninitiated, M:TG is one of the most popular fantasy card games ever created in the history of mankind. Not only will a stand-alone version be produced, but also an online version as well. For a M:TG fanatic such as myself, this ceases months of pondering as to which company would end up with these licensing rights. This is totally awesome!
For those unaware of this game, it was released in the fall of 1993 and during the first six-week period, more than 10 million cards were sold. As of this writing, more than 300 million cards have been sold, both in the U.S. and overseas. As in my case, you now have to ╥pre-order╙ at your favorite book or comic store upcoming ╥sets╙ should you wish to ever have hopes of obtaining the latest cards.
M:TG is a game of exploration that appeals to a variety of personalities. With the computer version, you╒ll gain the experience necessary before you decide to duel other wizards in an online, multiplayer arena. Based on CD-ROM media, the title will offer the cards from the Revised Edition as well as from the four expansion sets now available: Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends and The Dark. As later sets are released, new software will become available.
One of the most popular aspects of the game is in the trading of special cards, or the collecting of cards due to their beautiful graphic design. This will be able to be completed online. With the stand-alone PC version, graphics will be implemented using SVGA.
SimCity will be coming to you online as well. Optigon Interactive will produce this top-selling title from Maxis for their Total Entertainment Network. Multiple players will be able to interact online where they may cooperate and communicate with other cities. They╒ll also compete, as well. Optigon now has the rights to produce online versions of several Maxis products and then distribute them to other online services. This network will debut nationally this fall.
They╒ve moved╤all of the company╒s admin, finance, marketing and PR division have packed their goodies and left the gold country and are now ensconced in Burlingame, CA. The Imagination! Network move to Silicon Valley is seen as important to this service╒s continued growth with new titles for online subscribers. The network╒s member services, operations and programming remain in Oakhurst.
The new address is 577 Airport Boulevard, Suite 300, Burlingame, CA 94010. The phone is 415-548-2500 and their fax number is 415-548-0149.
Thanks to Image Entertainment, it won╒t be too long before you╒re able to purchase full-length movies digitized onto CD-ROM. WHen you consider that the expected cost of each title on CD-ROM is going to be between $10 and $20, these compressed entertainments should be quite a hit at home.
Dataquest has released a report entitled Dataquest User Wants and Needs ╥Demand for Interactive Multimedia in the Home 1994.╙ What╒s interesting about the report is that their survey indicates home consumers will be more likely to buy games and reference software in the aftermarket than all other software categories. For more info on this report, call 800-419-DATA.
As you╒ve read several times in the past within Inside Games Update, joint ventures are occurring at an amazing rate between companies not normally considered to be either friendly, or in the same business. Now The Walt Disney Company, BellSouth Corporation, Southwestern Bell Corporation, and Ameritech Corporation will jointly develop and deliver both interactive and traditional video programming to consumers. Such services might eventually include such nicities as satellite and broadcast services, interactive shopping, educational titles, travel, games╤the usual plethora of cool content.
The venture will work like this: Ameritech will spend over $4 billion for network upgrade to its 6 billion customers to deliver video services. BellSouth wants to test interactive services in and around Atlanta in 1995, plus they╒re already installing a high-capacity interactive video network throughout North Carolina with the digital broadband network connecting more than 100 ╥content╙ sites (such as educational, healthcare, and so on) throughout the state.Southwestern Bell has already announced a trail broadband network in Richardson, Texas. And Disney will push its highly leveragable content through the digital broadband networks provided by the aforementioned corporations.
With the three companies other than Disney packing services throughout 19 states to more than 50 million customers, this venture could be highly profitable to all parties concerned╤that is, if the customer really wants what╒s offered.
Within the Cellophane: New Products of Note
It╒s Here!
Mac gamers have been waiting (seemingly) nearly an eternity for the release of Rebel Assault from LucasArts Entertainment Company (415/721-3300). The day has finally arrived and this CD-ROM title for Macintosh computers is now available at your favorite distributor. With more than 400MB of action, the title offers a finely tuned story, detailed 3D graphics, voice-overs, plus the Star Wars score as performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Also included is movie footage from the original Star Wars films and original, full-screen video footage. With forecasts of nearly one million copies expected by the end of 1994 for the PC CD-ROM version, the Macintosh version is expected to do extremely well.
The game art is rendered in camera-perfect perspective using advanced 3D modeling techniques. These are featured in both the cinematic cut scenes, which move the story along, and the first-person interactive sequences. Additional scenes include the smooth integration of digitized, full-screen video. A proprietary streaming mechanism allows Rebel Assault to be accessed directly from the CD without compromising game speed.
Features added to the Macintosh version include variable window sizes and save game capability, as well as passcodes which allow players to access previously completed levels.
Professional actors provides voices and Star Wars sound effects from Lucas Digital╒s Skywalker Sound are liberally used throughout the game. The title features an internally developed, four-channel sound system that can play music, speech, sound effects, and ambient sound simultaneously.
You enter the game as Rookie One, an aspiring male or female Rebel fighter pilot. There are 15 varied levels that take you through training runs to the trench run on the Death Star in an X-wing starfighter. You╒ll also chase TIE fighters through an asteroid storm, take out a Star Destroyer, blow away Imperial walkers and blast through a Rebel base taken over by stormtroopers. Three levels of difficulty adjust to your skill level.
You should also keep your eyes and ears open for the arrival of LucasArts╒ Star Wars Screen Saver for both Macintosh and Windows platforms. A few samples from what we╒re betting will be a great offering are shown on this page. Not only does the title bring the flavor of the Star Wars movies to your computer screen, but they also save your monitor from that dreaded burn-in which can ultimately ruin the equipment that required an outlay, on your part, of hundreds of dollars. Plus, these screen savers are enormously entertaining. Watch as Luke and Darth duel with light sabers across your screen.
Science-Fiction Discovery Game Debuts
From the creative minds of the folk at Creative Insights comes Alien Legacy, published by Dynamix (503/343-0772). This is the same team that developed the Yserbius and Starflight titles for Sierra.
As the commander of a space colonization ship, you must make the strategic decisions as you attempt to rescue the last remnant of human civilization. Crew members aboard the U.N.S. Calypso assist you throughout your journey, offering insights into their particular areas of specialty. You explore the Beta Caeli star system and its planets, all the while trying to discover a faster-than-light propulsion device that could eventually endanger the fabric of the space-time continuum. You╒ll encounter hostile aliens and develop technology that will harness the natural resources you find with the help of the crew.
For MS-DOS platforms, you╒ll need at least a 386/20, 4MB RAM, and 22MB free on your hard drive, VGA graphics, MS-DOS 5.x or higher, and a high density 3.5-inch floppy disk drive. All major sound cards are supported. A mouse and joystick are definitely recommended by the publisher.
Golf at Desert Course
The latest course disk for LINKS from Access Software (801/359-2900) has been released, and the Super VGA Championship Course disk is compatible with Links, Links 386 Pro as well as Microsoft Golf. There is also a Macintosh version for the recently-released Mac version of this golf simulation.
Entitled Bighorn, this course was designed by Arthur Hills and hosted the PGA╒s Skins Game from 1992 to 1994. The course incorporates natural rock formations, ravines and a desert wash as strategic elements of play.
Worldwide Release on September 9th
Friday, September 9th, is the worldwide release date for the highly anticipated Mortal Kombat II from Acclaim Entertainment (516/624-8888). Driven by a marketing campaign war chest of around $10 million, this title will be available on all leading video game systems and will be released in North America, Europe and Japan
For those who mailed in their warranty cards from the prequel, Mortal Kombat, a special Mortal Kombat II newsletter entitled The Pit II will be mailed to them. This newsletter will provide ╥insider info╙ on this new title╒s development, as well as hints and tips. In addition, major tie-ins and cross promotions with leading action figure and collector card companies are also being formed. As you are aware, Mortal Kombat itself generated more than six million unit sales worldwide.
Space Title Moves to CD-ROM
One of Interplay╒s (714-553-6655) most successful disk-based titles is Buzz Aldrin╒s Race Into Space. The company has now released this offering as an enhanced CD-ROM product, just in time for the 25th anniversary of the lunar landing of Apollo 11.
There are over 20 historic and proposed plans to reach the moon. You must choose to become either the Mission Director for the United States or the Soviet Union, with your mission to be the first to plant your nation╒s flag on the moon. Your resources include over 140 astronauts or cosmonauts who will plan, manipulate and direct every possible mission, from sub-orbital, to planetary and lunar fly-bys, to the actual lunar landing itself.
There╒s over 60 minutes of full-motion video in this offering. One of the several highlighted features is the actual live-action footage of both U.S. and Soviet history-making missions. Additionally, you╒ll witness never-before-seen footage from Soviet archives. A digitized newsroom, with coverage by a live news-anchor, keeps you informed of both U.S. and Soviet movements in the space arena.
You may play against the computer or a human opponent. You╒ll need at least a 386SX to play this sim.
Glider Pro Goes Native
Casady & Greene (408/484-9228) are publishing a Power Mac native sequel to their extremely popular Glider title. The new release, which is actually a ╥fat app╙ in that in runs on both 68k and Power Mac, is called Glider Pro¬. Developed by John Calhoun, this game includes a powerful new editor, enhanced Glider-flying environments, and simultaneous two-player support.
In this new version, the Glider (formerly confined to an eerie old mansion) can now escape out windows and fly over meadows and rooftops. The Glider can pop in-and-out of mailboxes and even venture underground. The new objective is to find and possess the Magic Star Wand and then meet the final surprise at game╒s end. Two-player support is provided without the need of either a network or two machines. Designated keys at opposite sides of the keyboard allow simultaneous flights as buddies or two player competition for the collectibles in each room or outdoor scene. For gamers with a large monitor, you may view more than one room at a time╤or view upstairs and downstairs at the same time.
As an aside, the company has released Conflict Catcher II. As all gamers know, inits and cdevs can sometimes drive you nuts when trying to play some games. This new utility runs native on Power Mac and is also Macintosh System Software v. 7.5 savvy. With the advent of Power Macintosh and native titles come compatibility questions and problems caused by non-native start-up files. These non-native programs create patches to Power Macintosh native code that can adversely affect your machine╒s performance. Conflict Catcher II detects these patches. The program tests existing software and font files without relying on databases that constantly need updating. Yep, this is a utility that could definitely save your day, especially when you move to Power Mac or System 7.5.
Russian Games on CD-ROM
Trans-Ameritech Enterprises, Inc. (408/727-383) is a company that manufactures computers systems for the Russian market. They have now released Russian Games on CD-ROM, all original Russian games developed by Nikita Corporation in Russia. This is the first time so many, original Russian games have been published in the US. Some of the titles include White House Under Siege, Loopy, Dropper, Snakewinder, Locman, Catcher, Crow, Merry Christmas!, Frantis╤Mission II, Memory Training, Music Box, 15 x 15, Crossword (in Russian and English), Choo-Choo-Minder and Notebox. The SRP is $39.95.
Four Strategy Guides Aid Gamers
Prima Publishing (916-632-4400) has released four new titles in their Secrets of the Games book series. The first title is by the Creative Director for this series, Rusel DeMaria. He╒ll help you save the world with Breath of Fire Official Game Secrets, which will reach your booksellers this September. The armies of the Dark Dragons are playing with fire. They╒ll scorch the world, reduce it to cinders, unless you stop them. If the Dark Dragon leader Zorg fines the seven keys of the goddess Tyr before you do, the world is doomed. THis guide includes detailed, illustrated maps of each level in every part of the world. There are specific winning tips and tricks to help you battle your way through the game. All of the game╒s powerful treasures and vital clues to help you gather the seven keys are located for you. And there are strategies included to help you beat the boss monsters and Dark Dragons.
The second title is Aces Over Europe: The Official Strategy Guide. This fully authorized book allows you to relive the fear and excitement faced by fighter pilots in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat as presented by this Dynamix air combat sim. You╒re provided with a complete, playing tutorial as well as private journal entries that follow the fictional careers of two junior officers. One serves in the Luftwaffe, the other in the Army Air Force. You╒ll obtain secrets of battle and hard data on the point values and game scoring, plus details of a variety of training missions to hone your flying and fighting skills. With both historical information and first-hand accounts from those who actually flew the planes to informative backgrounds on the game and its development, this book gives you everything save courage. The book was written by Paul Schuyutema, who also currently writes the Gameplay column for Compute magazine.
The third title is the Doom Battlebook. Secret experiments on Mars╒ moon Phobos have torn open a hole in space, swallowing its companion moon Deimos and allowing to escape mutants from Hell. As a space trooper equipped with a variety of weapons and technological artifacts, the success all comes down to who is tougher, you or them. The Doom Battlebook offers two levels of help for games. Part One is ╥General Strategies╙ that gives you general combat tips, cheat codes, and specific info on the creatures, weapons, maps, artifacts, and toxic hazards you╒ll encounter in Doom. Part Two is the ╥Doom Survival Guide,╙ which steers you through the difficult areas of the game, level by level. Each of Doom╒s three episodes has nine levels╤that╒s eight regular levels plus one secret level per episode. The author is Rick Barba, who is the author of many game books for Prima.
The fourth new title is TIE Fighter: The Official Strategy Guide. This game is the sequel to LucasArts╒ successful X-Wing game and is also based on the classic Star Wars series. This time around, your former heroes such as Luke, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca now become your enemy! You start the game as a young Imperial Navy Academy cadet who must first train and then go into action against the deadly Rebel Alliance fighters to help ensure Imperial rule throughout the galaxy. You receive general tactics and strategies for flying each Imperial spacecraft. Additionally, there are winning strategies presented for each of the more than 50 missions and major battles. You╒ll read about the TIE Fighter design team and be provided with detailed stats for each mission. The appendixes provide an inside look at scoring and tips for using the Combat trainer. THere╒s also tons of coded mission details previously known only to the programmers. The authors of this expansive strategy guide are Rusel DeMaria, David Wessman and David Maxwell.
More From Capstone
Corridor 7: Alien Invasion is enroute from Capstone (305-591-5900). This is a full-screen, 3D action game for DOS machines that will debut on CD-ROM media with modem and network play. There are also several new features. The game is powered by an enhanced Wolfenstein¬ 3D engine and includes 46 floors of action.
Your mission sends you to a top-secret, underground military facility that has been overrun by an army of creatures from another world. You mission is to eliminate all invaders, floor by floor, by whatever means possible. Alien and advanced weapons help you wage your battle to save the human race.
In order to play this title, you╒ll have to have at least a 386, but 486 machine is recommended. 2MB of hard drive space are required, as are 4MB RAM, DOS 5.x, a CD-ROM drive (double-speed recommended!), and VGA graphics. Sound support includes SoundBlaster Pro and all compatibles, AdLib, and PC SPeaker.
Also watch for Body Count, Zorro, The Next Move, and Anyone for Cards? also coming from Capstone in the not-too-distant future.
Storm the Beaches with WW II
Domark Software (415-513-8929) has released World War II, a detailed flight sim of the infamous battles of Midway and D-Day. This title presents not only the legendary warbirds like the Spitfire, Zero and Mustang, but dozens of other famous planes and ships from history╒s greatest conflicts. The offering features new play features, such as improved dogfighting, carrier landings, torpedoes, ╥padlock enemy╙ views, and even more realistic flight modeling.
This is the first in a series of supplemental disks designed specifically to enhance the realism and enjoyment of Flight Sim Toolkit. Look for the second title, Dogfight, in the coming months which offers head-to-head play, superb flight models, and expert-system artificial intelligence. For DOS platforms.
Birthday Party Title Ships
Living Books (Novato, CA) is now shipping Arthur╒s Birthday. When Arthur the aardvark plans a birthday party for Saturday, he runs into big problems╤Muffy╒s planning her party for the same day and all of the girls have decided to go to her party. What will Arthur do? Children ages 6 to 10 will find out how Arthur solves his dilemma in this multimedia storybook with personable characters such as Arthur╒s little sister D.W. and his friend Francine, featured in Marc Brown Living Books.
You join Arthur and his friends for hours of fun in this adventure. The title contains interactive, animated pages which enable children to explore and learn at their own pace. Kids can click on words to hear them read aloud, or, click on one of the many hidden animations to see characters or objects talk, move, sing and dance. The 12-page storybook is narrated in both English and Spanish. The title is available for both Macintosh and Windows CD-ROM platforms.
Ultimate Print Shop Ships
For Windows comes two new products from Br┐derbund Software (415/382-4400) based on the company╒s successful Print Shop titles. The Print Shop Deluxe 2.0 and The Print Shop Deluxe CD Ensemble feature a new project for creating labels, include over 640 additional graphics and support the Kodak CD format. Both packages use this format for digitized images. Users can incorporate their own family snapshots into greeting cards, calendars and other projects created by these programs. The compact disc product includes 20 images in Photo CD format that users can access to see just how easy it is to use photos in designs.
The packages include support for BMP, TIFF, WMF and EPS graphic images. Most of the graphics and files from these programs can be converted to a variety of formats for use in other programs. The products include more than 650 graphics, bringing the total number of color and black and white images to more than 1,000 on the floppy disk version and more than 1,600 on the compact disc version. The CD version combines five separate products on a single compact disc: The Print Shop Deluxe 2.0, The Print Shop Deluxe Companion, Sampler Graphics, Business Graphics, and Deluxe Comic Characters Amazing Animal Graphics!
Mudgeon: On Games¬
Do you know what╒s extremely frustrating, so much so that you end up standing on your head simply to obtain blood flow to your brain in an attempt to fathom if trade show management has any gray matter, whatsoever? For example, the recent Macworld in Boston bifurcated it╒s exhibitions between two remote conference sites. Throw in the mugginess and oppressive heat of Boston in August, the fact that the city is determined to inconvenience citizen and visitor alike with its abhorant and perpetual construction, plus traffic flow patterns reminiscent of what surely must be the tollways in Hell. Not only were attendees hesitant to leave the World Trade Center for the displays in the Bayside Expo Center for fear of not being able to return, but even the shuttle bus service was rarely on time. Forget taxis╤forget driving yourself! Why cannot Mitch Hall and his alleged associates provide for a comfortable, convenient trade exhibition in a city where August is enjoyable and where exhibitors may equally present their products at a single site. And then, let╒s not even get into the idiocy of the E3 and Interactive CES shows scheduled for the same bloody dates in 1995! The culprit here is IDG, who established their trade show after the EIA had set-up their new Philadelphia Show. With E3 in Los Angeles and Interactive CES in Philadelphia, once again the loser is the publisher and the attendee who must now decide to be at one place, and not the other. Loyalties will be split ╒tween west coasters and east coasters and those in the middle╒s air fare will be about the same to either city. Complete idiocy! My heavens, wouldn╒t it be something if trade show management decided they could all win if they made these expositions convenient for one all? Ohhhhh, perish the thought, eh?
To move onto more pleasant thoughts, there were some really outstanding new Mac products announced at Macworld. Of those viewed through our aisle traipses, the following certainly managed the most impact.
You╒ve already read about one of the latest products that I feel has enormous sales potential╤that╒s Rebel Assault from LucasArts Entertainment (see page one). I expect great comments about this foray into Mac gaming by this great publishing company.
I also expect terrific impact to be made upon the Mac game community by Bungie Software and their Marathon product. Not only did their booth in the Bayside Center show innovative design, but to witness four simultaneous players going against one another in this multifaceted, 3D adventure game was extremely enlightening. One might think of this title as just another shooter╤you╒d be incorrect! There is a great deal of strategy to employ as you battle for your life against various real-time foes. Plus, you╒ve got to find better weapons and ammo all the time, else be annihilated rather quickly. One tip offered by Alex Seropian (president of the firm) and employed by Tuncer Deniz (publisher and editor of Inside Games against various Bungie staffers was that of standing still and awaiting your enemy. Blimey, but doing this, you don╒t register on your competitor╒s movement scopes and they blunder directly into your path of fire. However, once you fire, rest assured everyone else now knows where you are! Marathon is definitely going to be a hit for Bungie, to the delight of Mac gamers.
Stuck in one corner of the Bayside Expo Center resided Thrustmaster and ParSoft. Their exhibit of not only ParSoft╒s A-10 flight sim but the complete Thrustmaster flight control line was most impressive. The crowds certainly agreed with my assessment that this was one flight sim that would definitely take the Mac gaming community by storm.
And then there was the inimical High Priest from MacPlay╤Bill Dugan╤ and his crew revealing all of the goodies to be pumped out for the Mac this year. Not only did it include Wolfenstein 3D, but Flashback, whose development has taken a turn for the good and will be released earlier than expected. What I observed onscreen definitely leads me to believe that this title is going to be out of this world!
For sheer bulk comes the new flight stick I/O device from Advanced Gravis. Although really quite impactful when first observing it╒s broad-based identity, this joystick does provide all the features anyone could wish for in a joystick/flight control package. Yet, the more I looked at this device, the more I began to wonder╤did its large size make it somewhat impractical for gamers who flight sim in the sparse real estate on their desktop? Was this puppy just, simply, too big? Only sales will tell!
Deep within the crowded confines of the Apple tent pavilion resided Domark, their staff gleefully handing out full working demos of their latest product for the Macintosh, Out of the Sun. This dynamic flight sim certainly seems to offer Mac gamers a complete and thorough flight sim environment, pitching you against the best WW II had to offer. There was no question that the crowds attracted to their displays were impressed by the imagery seen on the Mac monitors.
A new company named Frontal Assaultware was on hand to reveal the latest demo for a brand new war sim entitled Onslaught. With cool pop-up menus on various military units and an extremely easy-to-use interface, the race for the best war sim company will now heat up! This looks to be an exciting product!
Also on hand were Changeling Software with their latest offerings Avatar and Space Madness, PegLeg and version 2.0 of their popular Pax Imperia science-fiction conquest game. The company not only develops their own games but also has become a distributor. Macworld Boston╤hot & frustrating, but at least the games were cool!
Inside Games Update¬ is co-published weekly by The Word Warriors¿, Tracy, CA and IMG Publishing¿, Glenview, IL. Federal law prohibits the reproduction or redistribution of this newsletter╒s contents without the express written permission of the owners.
