The purpose of this bulletin is provide monthly reviews (if time permits) of upcoming games and accessories for the OS/2 operating system.
Reviewed this month:
The Gamer's Guide
Ever tried to get DOS games working under OS/2? Had that familiar feeling, spitting blood and pulling your hair out, being driven mad over getting
Doom II
to work? Look no further -
The Gamer's Guide
is here.
Summary:
The Gamer's Guide
provides something that OS/2 misses: a configuration editor for DOS games running under OS/2. It's basically a a GUI (Graphics User Interface) and automatically creates customised WPS desktop objects with an icon for the game. This enables easy setting up of DOS games. There's also help included for first time users setting up DOS games. Settings already exist for popular classics such as
X-Wing, Tie Fighter,
and many more.
The Gamers Guide
works through a relational database approach. The database can be added to as new games come out, and the program also has a comprehensive database of game publishers who you can contact for assistance if required.
The author hopes that all OS/2 users will add to the database, making it a simpler task to run DOS games, and send their configurations to him (
kblack@inforamp.net
) and descriptions of their games, which will be added to the database in the program's next release.
This program is a useful accessory to all OS/2 users, allowing them to utilise and explore the use of OS/2 as a fully integrated multimedia platform, making life easier for all concerned.
Verdict:
A must for all game users running OS/2 as their main operating system, definitely worth the download time. Please support the princple of this software - remember to send your DOS settings to
kblack@inforamp.net
or other adresses provided in the software.
Program tested under:
100Mhz Pentium, 16 Meg, 1 GIG hard disk,
OS/2 Warp 3
Easy install, reboot necessary.
Price:
This program is freeware, no charge. (It's a crying shame the author does not charge for this program.)
Available:
Compuserve: os2users\fun&games.
Classic Review:
X-Wing
(DOS)
A long time ago, in a galaxy in roughly the same place as this one, Lucusarts released the ground-breaking spaceflight sim
X-Wing
. Two sequel mission disks followed, in the predictable sequences of threes in
Star Wars
. There's absolutely no anniversary to celebrate, nor is there any particular significance of choosing
X-Wing
for the first classic review, but it does run quite nicely under OS/2, and that's reason enough.
So strap yourself back into that trusty but slightly dated cockpit and prepare to tolerate the annoying dustbin shaped robot sitting behind you and do battle with the evil,
hegemonous, despotic collective evil that is the Soviet Union and its nasty Emperor, Leonid Breznev. Sorry, the evil Galactic Empire and its nasty Emperor, the Emperor.
Summary:
The basic premise of the game is blow the hell out of the opposition. It's a universal constant that this type of game does very well indeed, and even though
X-Wing
places limitations on your hell-blowing capacity (you can't for example, blow up a Star Destroyer with a tiny little spaceship) it's still pretty much a mindless shoot-em-up. That said, it's still
hard in places
and it can be a little frustrating at times. Completing the hard missions is, therefore, ample compensation for any irritations.
The gameplay is lip-smackingly smooth, and the game actually handles better under OS/2 DOS than it does under MS/PC DOS. There are fewer hangs, and it loads missions much faster. For some strange reason, the colours are brighter too. And, what's more, the settings for OS/2 are included in
The Gamer's Guide.
If, because you're a newcomer to PC gaming or your just plain backward, you've never played
X-Wing
, make sure you find yourself a copy. It's still available to buy (on budget release), and there are demo versions sitting about on-line all over the place. So get yourself a copy immediately and start shooting all over your computer.
Verdict:
(-10% for age).
A classic game, just as good today as it always was. Handles well under OS/2, as do
Rebel Assault II
and
NASCAR Racing
which are notoriously hard to control under MS/PC DOS
Program tested under:
100Mhz Pentium, 16 Meg, 1 GIG hard disk,
OS/2 Warp 3
Price:
A budget release at the moment, so about
15 in Britain. Or you can get a free demo virtually anywhere on-line, or, if you prefer, you can borrow a copy from a friend, since everybody has it.
Available:
All major games stores; demo on Compuserve: gameapub.
Possible OS/2 reviews forthcoming:
Simcity
Lemmings
Simcity 2000
Simtown
Doom II
Doom 1
Avarice
Master of the Empire
Microlearn GamePack II
Entrepreneur
Any other games not in this list, please send infomation to the address below.
Please send comments about this article (or contributions) to:
100621,3027
(G. Salzano) on Compuserve, or
gsalzano@aol.com
for America OnLine. This is the first edition of this monthly review and all constructive criticism will be welcome on making this monthly gaming bulletin for the OS/2 operating system better and more informative. User support for OS/2 is woefully inadequate, so feedback will be to everyone's advantage.
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