home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
-
- PORTABLE ADDICTION Issue #00 April 15 by Tjerk Heymens Visser and Yiri Kohl
- The newsletter for the Atari Lynx and the Atari Portfolio
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Welcome to this very first issue of Portable Addiction. This issue is just a
- test issue, so if you find this newsletter interesting, please send us a
- message.
- This is a monthly newsletter for both Portfolio and Lynx users. We will try to
- cover all the new software that is beeing released for both machines, but we are
- also planning to do tips, previews, news and a letter page. to test all newly
- released software for the Lynx, we have made a nice little deal with the
- local Fun Tronics store. They are now officially supporting us. On the
- Portfolio front we have a PC expert. He calls most BBS' every day, so
- if new Portfolio software is released, you'll be the first one to know.
-
- Y.T.Kohl
- Editorial assistant
-
- ALL THE LATEST NEWS...(AND GOSSIP)
- ----------------------------------
-
- The NEC TurboExpress will not be released in Europe. This is done because
- the Lynx is far more popular over here, and because the PC Engine never
- made it to Europe! This means that here, in Europe, NEC is out of the race
- and the Lynx has won again!!! Hurrah!!!!
-
- More and more shop's are selling the Lynx in Holland, the shop's that are
- selling the Game Boy are now selling the Lynx along with it.It will not be
- long untill the Lynx will have won definately (The price has already dropped
- from HLF 500 to HLF 300, the Lynx II will be HLF 200)
-
- A Portfolio II is in production. The only thing we know about it is that it
- will be an improved version of the old model. More info when we have it.
-
- Release dates for the Lynx II have yet to be set(for Europe), but we expect
- to see it in England this Christmas, and early 1992 in the rest of Europe.
- In the US it has already been released, at $99,-.
-
- Here follows a list of the Lynx games currently available. if a game is
- not yet for sale at your local dealer, you know that the game is on it's way.
- Here comes:
-
- California Games Rampage
- Chip's Challenge Klax
- Zarlor Mercenary Gates of Zendocon
- Xenophobe Electrocop
- Gauntlet III Blue Lightning
- Slime World Paperboy
- Road Blasters Ms.Pacman
- Rygar Shanghai
- RoboSquash
-
-
- RoboSquash - LYNX Review - OUT NOW
- ----------------------------------
- Remember PONG? No? Well, think back, about ten years back. Pong, a game where
- you slide your bat to the left and to the right to catch a bal, which then
- bounces away the blocks above.
- RoboSquash is exactly the same, except for some gameplay enhancements, and
- the addition of an extra demention. In other words, RoboSquash is 3-D Pong
- with power-ups. You can play against the computer, or challenge a friend.
- The latter is the only thing that makes RoboSquash reach the AVERAGE accolade.
- And this is indeed a very average game, almost below average.
- PONG was great when it was released.... in the beginning of the '80s! But
- please, leave these games in the decade where they were born! Get real!
- it's 1991 and an improved version of Pong is just not enough to keep today's
- gameplayers happy!
-
- Graphics _6 : Simple but functional
- Sound _3 : Sound hasn't improved much since Pong!!!
- Playability _7 : Quite playable at first
- Lastability _4 : After a few goes inerest starts to wane
- Overall _5 : A pathetic attempt at resurrecting an
- ancient game
-
-
- Blue Lightning - LYNX review - OUT FOR A LONG TIME
- --------------------------------------------------
- Blue Lightning is out since the beginning of the Lynx, it's a good flight-
- simulator and demonstrates the great scaling features of the Lynx.
- The game play is good (very fast play), but it does not really stand out from
- the other flight simulators. There are nine missions, each with a different goal
- like attacking radar bases, nightflights and dogflights.
- There is no music, but who wants to hear music, you're supposed to be flying
- an airplane, the only sound you hear are those of the plane and your gun.
- Overall it's quite nice (graphics are stunning), but it's adviced to buy it
- at a reduced price, unless you really want it.
-
- Graphics _8 : Beautyfull, detailled and fast
- Sound _6 : No music but it does not bore
- Playability _7 : Game play is very good/fast
- Lastability _7 : Missions are just right (not to easy and
- not so hard so you give up
- Overall _7 : Great, one of the nicest simulators I've
- ever seen
-
- SWAPPING SERVICE
- ----------------
- Here follows a list of games that are for sale, if you want to buy or sell
- games please mail to the address below (please state your address when you place
- an add, your address will be printed too).
-
- FOR SALE: Gauntlet III
- Rygar
- Xenophobe
-
- These games cost $18,- including postage and packing, if someone
- wants to TRADE them for NINJA GAIDEN or BLUE LIGHTNING that's ok.
- All our games are brandnew and are beeing legaly imported!
-
- Internet-address: a15@nikhefh.nikhef.nl
-
- GAMING TIPS
- -----------
- Chip's Challenge
- The code for level 144 is GVXQ. also worth a try if you are a maths freak,
- is the code MAND. This will enter the hidden Mandelbrot explorer.
- A tip on using it: all buttons have a function!
-
- Xenophobe
- The Poofer gun is the most powerfull. it may have a very short range,but if
- you want to survive till the very last level, give it a try!
-
- Zarlor Mercenary - a players guide:
- At the start of the first level you'll find a laser, an auto fire and speed.
- To destroy the most aliens you must put the palm of your hand on the lowest A-
- button and press the B-button with your thumb, so you shoot your cannons and
- laser at the same time (autofire is needed).
-
- End of level guardians:
- The first and second guardians are easy, just keep moving to avoid the bullets
- (and lasers on, level 2) and don't stop shooting.
- On level 3 there are 3 end of level guardians, just keep flying above the
- center, so you can't be hit by the lasers, you'll be hit by all the mines and
- bullets but if you use mega bombs you'll make it through.
- On level 4 you must shoot all the balls first (watch out, when they explode
- they will shoot one bomb at you) after you've done that you must shoot the
- big ball in the center, there will be about ten ships coming out of it (mega-
- bomb is adviced). Level 5 is not special, just shoot it and watch out for the
- alien ships that fly around. Use all your megabombs on the last end of level
- monster, when it still lives use your laser, so you can hit it any time you
- like.
-
- Shopping:
- Buy whatever you need, if you have money left, use it to buy extra things on
- the first 3 levels. Sell every thing you don't need after level 5, that's
- where you make the most profit.
-
- My high-score is 3,56 million Zarbits (Supreme Mercenary).
-
- PORTFOLIO
- ---------
- This month only a small section, but we will have large reviews next month.
-
- A hot item to look out for is the harddisk for the portfolio. This 20 MB
- harddisk is about 1cm high and easily clicks under the portfolio itself.
- this makes the portfolio about 2cm high, but it doesn't make it any bigger.
- The only problem with this item is the fact that it runs on batteries.
- the harddisk does make the storage capacity of the portfolio quite large,and
- therefore makes it more like a PC.
- If you just love small machinery, you'll love this harddisk, but we doubt it
- very much if normal people will really find this thing worth the bucks.
-
- Here's some hot news for programming freaks!!! A basic has just been released
- for the portfolio. PBasic, as it's called, is saved in compressed, downloadable
- form on CIS and GEnie, in a file called PBas1.zip. You'll need the archiving
- tool called zip to unzip the file first. To order PBasic 3.0 on RAM card
- (if you don't have access to a PC), send a RAM card of 64K or bigger size,
- and a self-addressed stamped mailer for return posting to the following address:
-
- BJ Gleason
- The American University
- CSIS
- 4400 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
- Washington D.C. 20016
-
- We'll have a full review on it next month. All I'll tell you now is that
- PBasic is compatible with Quickbasic, so that means that you can now program
- while on the run!!! Mega great!!! There are also some extra portfolio-only
- commands!! Just wait one month and you'll hear all about it!!
-
- P.S. There is also a Basic in production made by Atari self (this will not be
- a public domain basic!).
-
- Well that's all for this month. If you have any suggestions or tips for
- improvements in this newsletter, just mail us.
-
-
- Yiri and Tjerk.
-
- (P.S. If you want to join us you're welcome)
-
- Bye.
-
- a15@nikhefh.nikhef.nl
- Yiri Kohl and Tjerk Heijmens Visser
- c/o Peter Heijmens Visser
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics
- and High Energy Physics ( NIKHEF-H )
- Computer Department
- Postbox 41882
- 1009 DB Amsterdam - Netherlands.
- .
-
-
-
-