MacFormat España 19/macformat_19.iso/Shareware/Info/Inside Games Update/Inside Games Update.rsrc/TEXT_133.txt

Text File | 1996-06-30 | 20KB | 358 lines

develop for the Studio's production banners on a first-look basis. Keaton
is no new-comer to Disney Studios as she starred in the 1991 Touchstone
comedy Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride II. Keaton made her
debut as a dramatic feature director with the Hollywood Pictures' comedy,
Unstrung Heroes. Prior to that, she had directed the feature-length
documentary, Heaven, as well as the award-winning film Wildflower, for
Lifetime.



Warner Brothers: HASTA LA VISTA--ERASE USERS'IDENTITIES
The underworld of witness protection as seen in the upcoming Arnold
Schwarzenegger action-thriller film, Eraser, can be experienced at
http://www.movies.warnerbros.com/eraser. Folks can have their own
identities fictitiously erased. Production information, storyboards,
special- effects information, sound clips and photographs can also be
accessed.

After entering their actual names, relevant personal information and
identifying characteristics, as well as more imaginative data such as their
reason for seeking protection and a new identity, users find their
identities replaced with new data through an interactive section of the
high-tech site that imitates the film. These folks learn what it takes to
remain anonymous and can link to sites where they can potentially find
traces of their real identities located on the Web. Users are also invited
to go on a cyber-hunt where they decipher and follow clues to locate items
related to their new identities. When users find icons such as passports,
credit cards and cars within the Warner Bros. online site, they will be
returned to the to the Eraser site to participate in prize-winning
contests.



Warner Brothers: TWIST ON THE PLOT--ALLEGES TWISTER WAS STOLEN
It appears that Stephen Kessler from Missouri claims that the hit movie
Twister has been stolen from a story Kessler wrote called Catch the Wind.
Catch the Wind, written by Kessler, was part of a screenplay contest that
was circulated in Hollywood and, the suit alleges that the story line is
too similar to Kessler's to have been a coincidence. The suit was filed
Tuesday in federal court in St. Louis. Kessler, who lives in Kirkwood,
Missouri, produces documentaries and commercials.

Kessler seeks all of the movie's profits and names writer Michael Crichton
and his wife, Anne-Marie Martin, Amblin' Entertainment Inc. and its
president Steven Spielberg, as well as Warner Bros. Inc. and Universal
Studios.



Yamaha: PLAY ON POSSIBILITIES WITH PLUG-IN
The ability to download and play music via the Internet has been relegated
to those folk who can manage rather complex software and who understand the
complexities of recording for streaming technologies. Yamaha is coming to
the aid of those who simply wish to "do" without having to learn a great
deal of new "stuff." Yamaha Corporation is now offering a free trial
version of their Midplug software, which will work until its date-code of
August 31st deactivates the software. You install this with Netscape
Navigator and you'll be able to experience high-quality music through your
home page as well as incorporate such capabilities into your own online
pages. The compression ration is 1:10 when using the new plug-in which will
be distributed through magazine-bundled CD-ROMs and Yamaha's own WWW page.
The fully developed version is expected to sell toward the end of 1996.



Ziff Davis: SHOP TILL YOU DROP WITH ZIFF
Coming this fall will be a one-stop shopping center for everyone's computer
needs, courtesy of Ziff Davis. The Computer Shopper NetBuyer (working
title)  will be like Computer Shopper magazine and will bring the largest
number of vendors to a massive audience of interested buyers and, with
product evaluations, product reviews, and editorial opinions, advise the
audience of the best buys. Watch for more info when such becomes available.



Mudgeon's Magical Ministry #1

To better everyone's life through the blessings of respite and relief in
the knowledge I have spoken the truth about the ever-mystical world of
digital entertainment.

To remain so invisible within my work post does leave me somewhat bereft of
my senses as hours turn into days and days into weeks. With the constant
attention to my computer systems, I see much and wish to impart to those
who seek some of my words of wisdom. I grant you that much boils down to a
single fact . . .there's a great deal of magic afoot these days!

In this particular sermon, I cover:

   SnailBait of the WebCralwer Kind . . .
   Self-Defeating Self-Service . . .
   PERSPECTIVE: Conquest of the New World from Interplay (review)
   PERSPECTIVE: VR Soccer '96 from VR Sports (review)
   PERSPECTIVE: Total Mayhem from Eidos Interactive (review)
   Render Unto Caesar: The I.R.S. Unplugged . . .


SNAILBAIT
WebCrawler . . .for three days (May 24th through May 27th), access to this
search tool was IMPOSSIBLE! No matter what browser was utilized, WebCrawler
certainly did crawl . . .the WAIT icon simply hovered atop Navigator and
Explorer and, after three to four minutes of attempted entry, I simply
surrendered my efforts! Attention, AOL-type folk, even if you happen to be
super engaged with a variety of duties, I beg you to engage in kind works
that will enable others to access this site! If there are that many
cyberians attempting to climb onto the WebCrawler bandwagon that you cannot
handle the traffic, I might have to happenstance a guess that your
operational forecasting is somewhat amiss! Thank heavens Yahoo! and Alta
Vista seem to always be accessible. Hmmm, an inkling of thought
here--perhaps I simply do not require WebCrawler anymore!

SELF-DEFEATING SELF-SERVICE
No matter the World Wide Web site visited these days, seems as though
everyone now purports themselves to be experts in the field of WEB PAGE
DESIGN. No matter if the WWW site happens to be one that expounds the value
of the culinary arts. Upon some subsequent page, the individuals
responsible for creating this food fest site are also hammering home the
fact that they are supremely talented and quite naturally the best experts
in the creation and management of YOUR site as well. For a fee, of course.
This is not charity work.

Are all of us net'ers simply overselling our services to one another? Seems
a scandalous waste of time to me. What is of supreme interest is the fact
that many "promo sites" actually do a significantly poor job of
demonstrating WWW page design expertise. You have probably already noted
such sites where HTML code remains visible, where text has dropped off the
planet, where animations simply are not refreshing their backgrounds after
each GIF is displayed, and on and on and on. I say, should one wish to
promote oneself as an expert in any discipline, that someone should be
certain to ensure that his or her pages are absolutely perfect before
advertising them as the cat's whiskers.


PERSPECTIVE
Conquest of the New World from Interplay for PC CD-ROM

The coming of SimCity and Civilization from Maxis and MicroProse,
respectively, a few years ago resulted in sims that required gamers to
manage resources and build their empires. They proved to be enormously
popular. As that's right to occur, for these titles showcased the coding
expertise of programmers, product managers and publishers who knew what the
consumer wanted and filled that need.

Similar, numerous sims now populate your retailers' shelves. Some occur in
space, others in the ocean, and others attempt to better what has already
been done. For example, SimCity 2000 and Civilization II both built upon
the success of their predecessors and enhanced those environments with
better programs. Obviously, the betterment of computer technologies also
played a role in the enhancement of these programs for the wonders of SVGA,
digital sound, faster CPU processing and the like brought new life to what
were already classic environments.

Many companies attempted to mimic the success of competing publishers.
Interplay is certainly one such company and their Conquest of the New World
seems to have been released in direct response to the success of
MicroProse' Civilization and Civilization II programs. Did Interplay
succeed? On most levels, yes. Their product is graphically far more
pleasing, and the sound bytes that accompany your colonization of the new
world truly are certainly game-enhancing in tone. In fact, as I happen to
own both Civilization, Civilization II and Conquest of the New World, I
recommend folk who enjoy such games should probably purchase all three of
these titles. There is a proviso, however.

Where Conquest of the New World loses points to the MicroProse product is
in the area of speed. The game was obviously designed for gamers with
133MHz or better machines, for if your computer putts along at between 66
and 100MHz (as surveys indicate remains the clock-speed most machines run
at these days), you're going to be rather disappointed in the game speed. I
purposely run a 100MHz Pentium machine so that I may report accurately on
the games I review for the majority of PC owners who enjoy playing digital
entertainments. Conquest of the New World is extremely sluggish on my
machine. The time between turns becomes blatantly boring as the processor
has to compute a huge number of algorithms, due to the advanced graphics
and multiple sprites and textured backgrounds of the game. This leisurely
wait for the next turn to occur is also impeded by the number of opponents
you have decided to compete against, whether computer- or
friend-controlled.
At the end of a turn, the waiting becomes rather unbearable as each
opponent's moves and stats are updated and calculated. To help pass the
time, a "newsletter" appears that offers you historical facts that are
relevant to the year in which your turn is progressing. Unfortunately, the
news items are chopped off at about mid-screen and you cannot finish the
article. Such is rather pointless, as one never really knows whether the
facts being offered to you could impact the manner in which you play your
next turn!

Alright, folk, Conquest of the New World is a great game--if you have a
great machine! A minimum of 133MHz is required, in my humble opinion, for
this puppy to stand a chance at your home. Otherwise, if your machine is of
lesser capabilities, I would opt an opinion you shall be far happier with
Civilization II from MicroProse. Granted, the graphics are not as rich, but
the gameplay itself is just as gratifying and, speed is not an
issue.--Mudgeon


Perspectives
VR Soccer '96 from VR Sports for Sony PlayStation

Until this CD-ROM came along, I truly was not a die-hard soccer fan. Now I
understand, at least partially, why soccer is the most popular of all
sports, globally-speaking. From a viewer's point-of-view, I have seen no
other soccer games running on any other platform that are as credible in
their display. I must admit, I have only played one other video console
soccer game, and VR Soccer '96 blows that title away.

The realism of the game play is quite enriching, even to the accent of the
game announcer. You definitely will enjoy representing whichever country
you wish in practice, a "friendly" game, or league game. In the latter
mode, when you are playing your match, you shall even obtain information on
other matches "in progress" and you'll see the match results as they occur.

Initially, I found myself spending a great deal of time in the practice
mode where I could actually improve my chip shot capabilities. As you can
set up the controller to match your own command set, you'll spend a great
deal of time at first learning how to control your players. When is the
best time to pass to the nearest player, how to accurately kick, and how to
manuever around the field. The only opposition on the field during practice
is the other team's goalie, so you will not have to bother with a wide
variety of offensive sets to avoid your ball being picked off. The goalie
is aggressive, and you'll soon learn that your shots on goal must be
well-calculated.

You can set the sounds, from the crowd noises to the commentary, as well as
the background music. Plus, you have six cameras that can relay game play
to you. This feature, while nice, really seemed to be less of a concern
during play when the action is intense. The last thing in the world I
needed to do was to zip from a plan camera overheard view of the action to
a far camera that was photographing the action from the location of the
spectator stands. You can, if such is your want, view the game from behind
your goal line, but in my opinion, the classic isometric camera view was
the best screen vantage. Perhaps that's because most sports sims offer such
a view, and I am already accustomed to such a display for a game.

If you have a memory card for your PlayStation, you can save and load games
easily. Also, as my skill set was far less than others who play soccer
sims, I rather enjoyed having the computer control the players. I could
still select the Next Player during an offensive drive, but the computer
seemed to be able to handle the player most suited for a specific task. You
can tell which player you are controlling because there is a colored
highlight around his feet. If you are playing against a friend (or former
friend), his or her controlling highlight color is white and yours is
yellow.

With the In-Match functionality of the game, you can alter your team
formation. Although not on-the-fly, a formation menu appears and, when
you've selected what you feel is the most appropriate formation, you simply
press the X button to activate it. You can also perform player
substitutions and replay those amazing plays.

As I stated earlier, VR Soccer '96 for the Sony PlayStation is a great
soccer sim. I wish I had more talent in this arena to really perform better
on the field, but I enjoyed being beaten by fewer and fewer points as my
experience expanded hour by hour. If you are a true soccer sim specialist,
I believe you will enjoy engaging in this exciting sport with this
title.--Mudgeon


Perspectives
TOTAL MAYHEM from Eidos Interactive for PC CD-ROM

Aye, the package itself reads that this product is from DOMARK, but please
realize that Domark and U.S. Gold merged to form Eidos. And this is one
heck-of-grand-title from this new company! The graphics are super, the
gameplay exciting and the music riveting.
Most gamers are familiar with the Conqueror (from Origin) screen
presentation. Such is the aspect ratio incorporated into Total Mayhem (TM),
with a two-level ZOOM control that allows you to really pull into the
action, or back-out for a broader view of nearby happenstances. The plot
revolves around the fact that machines run the planet. You are a member of
the cyborg freedom fighters called Mayhem Soldiers. You are waging a war of
liberation against these intelligent machines. Should you acquire the
wherewithal to afford them, some of the most awesome weaponry ever
assembled in such a game are at your disposal. This game will find you,
eventually, controlling as many as six Mayhem Soldiers, each one
individually, or as a group.

There are 20 missions. I have not managed to play them all. Each mission
requires you to accomplish specific tasks, such as finding a technology or
destroying a communications center. Many missions have multiple tasks, and
I thoroughly believe it is best to complete them in the order they are
given. Otherwise, you may overlook one element or another and spend a few
minutes deciphering the puzzlement of failure when you were certain you had
addressed each issue to be completed.

As you gain experience, you shall find yourself able to equip your soldiers
with better power, armor and shields. Plus, new soldiers will be assigned
to your command, and they, then, may be brought through the fields of fire
to earn their rewards as well. Although these words seem somewhat glib, the
missions are definitely enough to cause you to earn your keep. For not only
do you have to exercise your brain to ensure mastery of puzzles and other
query-filled conditions, but your reflexes must be swift, as well. The
enemy robots delight in catching you with your guard down and their
retribution is rather swift.
Your weapons are quite powerful. The experience of firing your AF-2
Liberator Mini-Gun with explosive shells that leaves the enemy at permanent
peace is quite exhilarating. Or try your L-9 Anarchy Rocket Launcher
against a heavy mech or a rather stubborn door. The results should be quite
pleasing. I certainly am not adverse to warning one and all about the
Walker heavy Bot. A rather unpleasant hunk of metal that possesses this
energy weapon I'd rather not discuss at this point.

If you are of the ilk that enjoys a little help during play, I have managed
to smuggle some hints that could be of assistance to you in your Total
Mayhem operation. There is a cheat mode that is activated when you
simultaneously hold down the SHIFT and CONTROL key and enter the word
CHEAT. Once activated, you can regenerate all of your soldiers' health and
shields by entering CTRL-R. If you would like each soldier to possess one
of each item they can so garner, try holding down CTRL and SHIFT and enter
the word STUFF. There are other cheats, but I feel my duty is to enable you
to find much of these enhancements yourself. Otherwise, what is the use of
game play if there is no challenge?
Total Mayhem is a grand title for those who enjoy shooters and those who
enjoy strats. The combination of both genres in this offering makes for
grand combat entertainment and I must now return and find the rotten red
key!--Mudgeon

RENDER UNTO CAESAR THAT WHICH IS CAESAR'S . . .
For those with some semblance of Biblical knowledge, the command is that
you should pay the government their just due, while acknowledging God rules
all. In that regard, the payment of one's taxes is a duty that should not
be forestalled, no matter how one personally feels about government waste.
Of which, we know, there are billions and billions of dollars going down
the sewer. This does not mean that we should pay unjust amounts!

In that regard, I have received notice of a tax deficiency for a past year.
Aye, 'twas an oversight on my part, and, unfortunately, the interest and
penalties certainly have produced an amount one might consider monumental
when compared to the initial value of the error. However, as one who
believes our form of government remains the best in the entire world, I
have hastened to see what I can do to eliminate this problem. I have called
the 1-800 number three times, remained on hold for a total of nearly 7-1/2
hours trying to reach even an elemental being at the tax office, all with
no luck.

Ahhh, I said to myself, everyone is on the World Wide Web today. And such
is the case for the IRS as well. Hop onto the World Wide Web and, lo and
behold, after much tubular interpositioning from the U.S. Treasury
Department, I enter the IRS site! Success! And, by golly, these fine folk
even WANT your emails to work upon. Two paragraphs down, one to go, and I
felt somewhat refreshed and invigorated that perhaps my taxes were going to
an establishment that did know how to respond to the taxpayer.

Uhh, that was until I glommed onto the last paragraph. And I suddenly
realized that, no matter what the government explains to you, the proof is
in the pudding. To say their response time to your email requests is beyond
belief is an understatement. In order to properly explain to one and all
the befuddlement I experienced within the IRS site, I captured the screen
and hereby produce the same for you and hope you can shed some tears for
those who are now enslaved within the email tax catacombs of Utah.

[screen unavailable in text version -- go to our WWW site at
http://gamesup.com/, access Mudgeon's Ministries from the main menu, and
scroll to the bottom of the page.]


Until next issue, my friends, heartily GAME ON!